LOSSES resulting from commercial crimes have doubled to RM500mil in the first eight months of the year compared with same period in 2006, reported Sinar Harian.

Quoting deputy IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar, the report said its Commercial Crime Investigation Department found that losses in the past two years totalled RM833mil.

Ismail said the crimes involved fraud, cyber crime, computer crimes and unlicensed money lending.

Kosmo! reported Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar as saying that indifferent passengers who did not report ticket touts were encouraging syndicates to continue their activities.

"We have said many times that people should report details such as the company's name and departure date so that we can take immediate action," Noh said at a Giat Mara ceremony. He added that any companies found to be working with touts would face strict action.

The daily also reported that a 14-year-old student from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perlis who kicked his teacher on Oct 16 was expelled on Monday.

State education director Mansor Lat confirmed that action was taken against the student who attacked civics teacher Azhana Ibrahim, 27, when she asked him to explain why he wrote "gila babi" in an exercise she gave him.

Mansor said the boy can appeal to the Education Department to be admitted into other schools.