China defence minister says Huawei not a military company
Singapore: Huawei is not a military company despite its founder Ren Zhengfei's previous career in the army, China's Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe said Sunday, amid growing US-China tensions over trade and technology in which the Chinese telecom giant has been a main target.
The US placed Huawei on an "entity list" on grounds of national security on May 16, a move that curbs its access to US-made components it needs for its equipment. The Department of Commerce alleged that Huawei was engaged in activities that are contrary to US national security or foreign policy interest.
The Trump administration later issued a 90-day reprieve on its ban on dealing with Huawei, saying breathing space was needed to allow for software updates and other contractual obligations.
"Huawei is not a military company. Do not think that because the head of Huawei used to serve in the military, then the company that he built is part of the military," General Wei said while speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
"It doesn't make sense because these sorts of ex-servicemen, upon their retirement, a lot of them have set up companies in countries across the world," said General Wei, who is the first Chinese defence minister to attend the forum since 2011.
China's commerce ministry last week said it will release its own list of "unreliable entities". General Wei also said that the door is still open for talks with the US on the trade issue.
"On the trade friction started by the US: if the US wants to talk, we will keep the door open. If they want to fight, we are ready," he said.
The US and China are locked in a bitter, year-long trade dispute which has seen the Trump administration recently boost tariffs on USD 250 billion of Chinese goods.
Trump is demanding China to reduce the massive trade deficit which last year climbed to over USD 539 billion. He is also pressing for verifiable measures for protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), technology transfer and more access to American goods to Chinese markets.
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Broken relationships don't automatically amount to abetment of suicide: SC
New Delhi (PTI): Broken relationships, while emotionally distressing, do not automatically amount to abetment of suicide in the absence of intention leading to the criminal offence, the Supreme Court on Friday said.
The observations came from a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ujjal Bhuyan in a judgement, which overturned the conviction of one Kamaruddin Dastagir Sanadi by the Karnataka High Court for the offences of cheating and abetment of suicide under the IPC.
"This is a case of a broken relationship, not criminal conduct," the judgment said.
Sanadi was initially charged under Sections 417 (cheating), 306 (abetment of suicide), and 376 (rape) of the IPC.
While the trial court acquitted him of all the charges, the Karnataka High Court, on the state's appeal, convicted him of cheating and abetment of suicide, sentencing him to five years imprisonment and imposing Rs 25,000 in fine.
According to the FIR registered at the mother's instance, her 21-year-old daughter was in love with the accused for the past eight years and died by suicide in August, 2007, after he refused to keep his promise to marry.
Writing a 17-page judgement, Justice Mithal analysed the two dying declarations of the woman and noted that neither was there any allegation of a physical relationship between the couple nor there was any intentional act leading to the suicide.
The judgement therefore underlined broken relationships were emotionally distressing, but did not automatically amount to criminal offences.
"Even in cases where the victim dies by suicide, which may be as a result of cruelty meted out to her, the courts have always held that discord and differences in domestic life are quite common in society and that the commission of such an offence largely depends upon the mental state of the victim," said the apex court.
The court further said, "Surely, until and unless some guilty intention on the part of the accused is established, it is ordinarily not possible to convict him for an offence under Section 306 IPC.”
The judgement said there was no evidence to suggest that the man instigated or provoked the woman to die by suicide and underscored a mere refusal to marry, even after a long relationship, did not constitute abetment.
