A 32-year-old Shanghai woman who fell off a cruise ship that was returning to China from Japan was miraculously saved after floating in the sea for more than 38 hours. She even fell asleep for awhile, according to her father.

The woman, whose name was not disclosed, was travelling with her parents aboard the ship on Wednesday evening when her companions noticed she was missing. She had gone for a walk on the deck at around 8:30 pm but didn’t return. Her parents and more than 100 volunteers searched the boat but failed to find her.

The parents gave up hope. A police officer on the ship told the father that there was no chance of survival if his daughter had fallen from the deck, which is 20 meters above the water.

So, when the father received a phone call on Friday informing him that his daughter had been saved, he thought the call must be from someone who wanted to defraud him of money, according to a report in thepaper.cn.

“Only after I heard my daughter’s voice did I believe she was still alive. It’s a miracle,” the man said.

A fisheries official surnamed Wang in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, who wanted only his surname used, said that he saw the missing woman.

“She was in a stable condition when I saw her, with only minor injuries on her arms,” he said.

Wang’s department was called by a fishing boat and informed that the woman had been found in a coastal area over which Zhoushan has jurisdiction. Wang was asked to check out the situation once the boat arrived in port at Zhoushan at 7:40 am on Saturday.

The woman said she fell off the cruise ship while leaning over a 1.4-meter rail and gazing into the sea, Wang told China Daily.

He said the woman was rescued at about noon on Friday and was too weak to eat until dinnertime.

Wang said she went home with her parents at around 5 pmon Saturday.

The woman learned to swim when she was in kindergarten and is physically strong and a good swimmer, the father was quoted as saying by Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily. He said his daughter reported falling asleep for awhile as she drifted in the water.

The bomb and arson attacks in seven provinces last Thursday and Friday were all connected and carried out by a single mastermind, Thai police said yesterday.

Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen said that authorities were putting together the jigsaw to identify the network behind the attacks that hit Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, plus six southern provinces, including Phuket. He spoke after a teleconference with regional chiefs in affected provinces.

However, he did not identify or elaborate at this stage on the individual mastermind or the motives behind the attacks, which killed four people and injured dozens of Thais and foreigners.

The events are connected, carefully planned and carried out across many areas and masterminded by one individual, Pongsapat said.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities have sought help from Malaysian officials to track a mobile phone used in a bombing in Phuket last Friday, said to have originated in Malaysia.

“The explosion did not destroy a portion of the mobile phone with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s serial number still visible on the phone and Thai investigators have asked for Malaysia’s co-operation to identify the origin of the phone,” a source told Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama.

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According to Pongsapat, the network behind the multiple bomb and arson attacks was believed to include 10-20 people and the incidents had no connection with unrest in the Deep South.

Police sources said two separate teams were involved in the attacks late last week, with one responsible for bombs and the other team behind the arson attacks. Their operating route started in Phuket followed by Phang-Nga, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Surat Thani. Songkhla and Phatthalung were not affected because they were off the main targeted route.

Sources said a number of suspects believed to be members of this network were now being interrogated by authorities.

Earlier, a court approved an arrest warrant for Sakharin Karuehas, who was captured on camera, for his alleged role in setting fire to a Tesco Lotus store in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat during the August 11-12 incidents.

Police yesterday searched the business premises of Taweesin Plastic in Surat Thani, that was set on fire during the two-day rampage. Arthirat Sri-jarassin, owner of Taweesin Plastic, said he had no serious conflicts with other people, while police have detained two suspects for incidents in Surat Thani.

Regarding several small bombs set off in Hua Hin, Pongsapat said authorities had offered a Bt200,000 (S$7,752) reward to anyone who provides tips for police, as the suspects are believed to be still in the country.

Meanwhile, an unexploded bomb was recovered near a hotel on Pracha U-tit Road in Phuket’s Patong beach. The explosive was hidden in a cloth bag left unattended at a souvenir shop inside Paradise Plaza, a spot popular with tourists.

Col Winthai Suvaree, spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order, said suspects in the incidents would be taken for interrogation and released within seven days if found to have no connection to these incidents.

National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda said the bombings may have been carried out by opponents of a military-drafted constitution, which was approved in a referendum last week.

The two main political parties, both of which campaigned against the constitution, have condemned the attacks as reprehensible and called for a speedy investigation.

HONG KONG – Three leaders of Hong Kong’s “Umbrella Revolution” face possible jail sentences Monday over protests that sparked massive rallies in 2014, as fears grow that Beijing is closing its grip on the city.

Their conviction last month in the highest profile court case to emerge from the pro-democracy movement was slammed by rights group Amnesty International, which described it as an intimidation tactic and a “chilling warning” to the city’s activists.

All three, including the teenage face of the Umbrella Revolution Joshua Wong, could be jailed for up to two years when they appear for sentencing at district court on Monday morning.

They were convicted for their part in a small protest that saw students climb over a fence into the government complex forecourt, known as Civic Square, on September 26, 2014.

After their arrests, more protesters began to gather. The rallies then exploded on September 28 when police fired tear gas on the crowds.

The umbrellas used by protesters to protect themselves from tear gas and pepper spray gave the movement its name.

Thousands of demonstrators brought parts of the city to a standstill for over following two months, but failed to win concessions on political reform from Beijing.

Wong, 19, was convicted in July for taking part in an unlawful assembly over the Civic Square protest, as was fellow student activist Alex Chow, 25.

Protest leader Nathan Law, 23, was convicted for inciting others to take part.

All three are currently on bail.

Wong has always said the various protest-related charges against him and others are political persecution.

Since the failure of the mass rallies to win reform, a growing number of young activists have begun calling for Hong Kong to break entirely from Beijing.

Wong and Law recently founded a new political party, Demosisto, campaigning for self-determination for the city.

They have been in and out of court hearings for the past year after being charged with offences linked to various protest actions.

Both were acquitted in June over a separate anti-China rally in the summer of 2014.

Law is a candidate for the city’s upcoming legislative council election, but will not be able to stand if his prison sentence is more than three months.

In another high-profile case, activist Ken Tsang of Civic Party was sentenced to five weeks in prison in May after he was found guilty of assaulting and resisting officers during the rallies. He is currently on bail pending an appeal.

Hong Kong was returned to China by Britain in 1997 with its freedoms are guaranteed for 50 years, but there are growing concerns that Beijing is no longer adhering to the agreement.

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Reuters, AFP