Singapore is known for having some of the toughest drug laws in the world. The government insists that the death penalty helps keep the country safe. But a spate of executions has caused alarm and triggered unprecedented protests in the city-state. Authorities say the majority of Singapore’s residents support its zero-tolerance policy. But critics maintain…… Read More
India’s red sandalwood is one of the most expensive timbers in the world. It is also an endangered species. An international black-market trade in it has decimated valuable forests, with armies of smugglers terrorising local law enforcement. One man stands accused of being at the top of the trade – Sahul Hameed. Hameed is wanted…… Read More
The plight of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority has faded from the media spotlight. But some journalists are bravely filming in secret inside what they call an apartheid state and sharing hundreds of hours of exclusive footage with 101 East. The videos tell a grim story. Although the atrocities that triggered a mass exodus in 2017…… Read More
Blogging is a dangerous business in Bangladesh. Four prominent secular bloggers have been brutally murdered this year and a publisher linked to one of them was recently slashed to death. Police blame religious hardliners for the killings, and there are fears more attacks could follow. But it’s not just hardliners who are causing concern. The…… Read More
On the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia, hundreds of middle and high school pupils arm themselves with deadly weapons to fight rival gangs from other schools. These brawls can last for hours, leaving blood and bodies in their aftermath. The violence is extreme, but the motivations are muddy. In this episode of 101 East, we talk…… Read More
Bangladesh is home to the world’s largest refugee camp, hosting more than a million Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s military in 2017. Five years later, the camp is beset by overcrowding, squalid conditions and crime. To ease these pressures, authorities have sent more than 23,000 refugees to a remote island, where…… Read More
Chinese cyber-scam operations are stealing tens of billions of dollars from victims around the world. But few realise that thousands of those perpetrating these frauds are victims too. Young men and women are enslaved, tortured and forced to scam in countries like Cambodia. In an exclusive report, 101 East investigates Chinese cyber-slave syndicates operating in…… Read More
Since a military coup in February, a climate of terror has engulfed Myanmar. Disappearances, detention without charge, alleged torture and mysterious deaths are just some of the actions under the spotlight following widespread protests against the military takeover. 101 East uses witness testimony and forensic analysis to expose a secret interrogation centre in the country’s…… Read More
101 East travels to Bangladesh to find out why young girls are often forced to marry men twice their age. In Bangladesh, 13-year-old Beezly Roy is preparing for her wedding. She is to be married the following day. Despite child marriage being illegal, it is not unusual. Almost a third of all Bangladeshi girls marry…… Read More
A notorious highway in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is the site of a shocking trade. Girls as young as 10 are being forced to work as prostitutes – and it’s their own families selling them to passing trucks. The girls are from the Bachara tribe, a low-caste community known as Dalits. Most of…… Read More
Bangladesh’s Disappearing Activists: Missing in Action Political turmoil escalates in Bangladesh amid growing calls for an independent investigation into the mysterious disappearance of scores of opposition activists. The BNP, Bangladesh’s main opposition party, organised protests across the country after one of its regional leaders, Elias Ali, went missing on April 17. On 29 April, 2012,…… Read More
Lured by the promise of a better life, Vietnamese families are sending their children to Europe. Criminal gangs load them into trucks where they spend months on the road and in hiding, until they finally reach cities like Berlin in Germany. Living in constant fear of the traffickers, children are forced to work off their…… Read More