SCMP Asia·Tuesday, January 13, 2026

SCMP Asia - Tuesday, January 13, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Malaysian streetwear boss suspended after car chase video draws cries of entitlement

Malaysian police are investigating after a viral road-rage video showing a Ferrari driver aggressively chasing another driver triggered a wave of online fury in the country. Social media users turned their ire on perceived elite entitlement after the Ferrari driver was identified as the co-founder of a local streetwear brand. The label, Stoned & Co, said it had suspended co-founder and managing director Tan Jia Hui after a video circulating over the weekend showed him tailgating and blocking a..

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India overtakes Japan, Bali mulls bank check requirement: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. India overtakes Japan in economic size – while prosperity trails far behind India ushered in the new year with a symbolic triumph as its economy edged past Japan’s to become the world’s fourth largest by nominal gross domestic product. 2. Nearly 94% of Malaysians who...

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South Korea’s worst air disaster: fury erupts over ‘mound of death’

South Korea has belatedly acknowledged that a concrete structure built beyond a runway turned a routine emergency landing into the deadliest-ever domestic aviation disaster, in a reversal that has unleashed a furious debate over safety oversight and accountability. Newly disclosed findings based on computer simulations show the structure – originally constructed to support navigation equipment at Muan International Airport – acted as a deadly barrier. Without it, investigators concluded that all

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Singapore jails helper who slapped, hit and kicked elderly dementia patient

A domestic helper in Singapore abused a 90-year-old woman she was supposed to care for, including slapping her face and hitting her with a diaper. Some of the mistreatment occurred while the victim, who has moderate vascular dementia, was partially unclothed, as her helper, Nwe Nwe San, attempted to help her put on a diaper. Nwe Nwe San, a 49-year-old Myanmar national, was jailed for 52 weeks on Monday. She pleaded guilty through an interpreter to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to a...

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Nestle formula recall rattles Malaysian parents: ‘who are we going to trust?’

When Nestle began pulling its baby milk formula off shelves last month over fears of contamination with a dangerous toxin, Malaysian father Mukhriz Hazim felt his trust in the world’s largest food company begin to falter. Since news of the contamination scare first emerged primarily in Europe in December before spreading across the world, the 33-year-old father has taken to scouring the ingredients list on every formula box with almost forensic precision. “If big nutrition companies are selling.

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Japan’s Takaichi seeks unity with South Korea’s Lee as China tensions persist

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will push for closer ties with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at a summit on Tuesday, as Tokyo struggles to draw a line under its widening diplomatic dispute with China. Both sides will focus on security challenges and Takaichi is expected to avoid “divisive” issues, while Lee, who last week met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, will try to achieve a “neutral” stance, analysts say. Lee’s two-day visit to Nara, Takaichi’s hometown, comes at a...

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Fatal Tokyo fist-fight leads to rare duelling charge and fears over amateur fight culture

A Japanese man has been arrested under a rarely used 19th-century law against duelling after a late-night street fight in Tokyo that police say was arranged in advance left another man dead, fuelling wider concern about Japan’s violent amateur fight culture online. Police said Fuzuki Asari, 26, from Yachiyo in Chiba prefecture, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of duelling and causing injury resulting in death under a statute enacted 137 years ago. The case centres on a late-night...

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How Japan’s capital put a lid on crow chaos with a ‘simple’ fix

For years, Tokyo residents woke to the sound of crows ripping open rubbish bags, the city’s backstreets strewn with the remains of last night’s dinners. Today those scenes have mostly disappeared, thanks to a 25-year campaign to curb the crow population. A survey conducted in December showed the number of crows in Japan’s capital had fallen to less than 20 per cent of its early-2000s peak. City officials and bird experts say the success stems from a mix of civic discipline, careful waste...

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Why the US will fail to use Taiwan to counter China

Last month, the United States announced its decision to sell advanced weapons amounting to US$11.1 billion to China’s Taiwan region. The authorisation of the largest ever arms package to Taiwan since China and the US established diplomatic relations has seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, severely undermined Chinese sovereignty and security interests, gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs and sent the wrong signals to “Taiwan...

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Australian ambassador hated by Trump to leave US post early

Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, is stepping down, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, a year ‍earlier than expected following criticism from US President Donald Trump. Rudd, a former Australian prime minister, is returning to head the Asia Society think tank and will finish his posting in March, Albanese told a news conference. “Australia and the ⁠United States are the closest of friends and allies, and this will never change,” he said. “We will continue to.

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