By Jamie L.

PETALING JAYA: A Filipina maid was found murdered in her employer's home at Jalan Gasing near here.

The employer found out the victim's body in her bedroom at 11.45pm on Saturday after returning home from dinner.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said Sunday police believe the murderer was known to the 36-year-old victim as there were no signs of break-in.

Initial police forensics unit findings show the victim, who was fully clothed, had bruise marks on her neck, suggesting she was strangled, and blunt force trauma marks to the back of her head.

"Some items were reported missing and we are still investigating as no suspects have been identified so far," he said.

The victim had been working as a maid at home for the past 9 years.

The victim's body was sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM) for post mortem.

By Jamie L.

IPOH: Two students of Sekolah Menengah Tunku Abdul Rahman (STAR) Ipoh were rushed to the hospital after being stung by hornets when they were returning from a climb to Mount Korbu near Kuala Kangsar, about 60km from here, on Saturday.

Kuala Kangsar Fire and Rescue Department Senior Officer Ismail Darus said the victims, Mohd Adlin Aiman Razali and Mohd Harith Zainuddin, both 14, suffered swells on the body and were being treated at the Kuala Kangsar Hospital.

"They are still being treated at the hospital and are in stable condition," he said.

He said the incident happened at 7pm when the two with 23 other students from the school were coming down from the mountain to return to their school hostel.

The other students were uninjured.

By Jamie L.

BUTTERWORTH: A 13-year-old girl from Butterworth is claiming that her mother inserted chili into her private parts.

The girl was spotted wandering around the town with her school bag on Wednesday night.

When approached, the girl refused to go home and remained quiet.

The girl later told the police that she was tormented by her mother who had inserted chili into her private parts.

However, the mother denied this when she was called by police.

The girl refused to go back to her mother and stayed at a neighbor's house overnight.

By Jamie L.

SUBANG JAYA: The Lions Club of Subang Jaya and Cameron Highlands Hillview (CHH) sold vegetables and flowers to raise funds for two students of SK Subang Jaya who are stricken with cancer. Twenty boxes of flowers and vegetables were transported from Cameron Highlands, courtesy of CHH.

The event took place at the school canteen on the annual open day. Lions, Lionesses and teachers were the vegetable seller.

It got off to a slow start in the morning because of heavy rain. But, the sales improved when it stopped raining.

All the vegetables and flowers were sold out before noon.

The profits which totaling RM1,349 were handed over to the school.

By Sonia S.



PETALING JAYA: While newspapers in Britain were abuzz with reports that the owner of the world's most expensive luxury yacht is a Malaysian, no one can confirm it.
British daily The Sun reported that the 31m History Supreme is owned by a Malaysian businessman who paid 3bil (RM14.5bil) for it.

To put things in perspective, this figure is close to the estimated cost of the country's first mass rapid transit (MRT) system, which has a price tag of RM20bil.

The Sun also reported that the History Supreme is made out of 100 tonnes of gold and platinum, which cover more than half its surface, and the base of the vessel is wrapped in gold.

According to the newspaper, the businessman had approached Liverpool jeweller Stuart Hughes for this unique project. The businessman had even asked Hughes if he could customise an aeroplane.
Hughes, who is famous for creating exclusive, gold-plated and jewel-encrusted luxury items ranging from mobile phones to aquariums, took three years to build the yacht.

The yacht is believed to be based on Italian yacht-maker Baia's latest One Hundred model, which costs at least RM30mil.

By Jamie L.

MELAKA: The Home Ministry and the Australian government are to sign an agreement soon on the relocation of migrants, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said.

He said the agreement was intended at preventing and eradicating cross-border crime in human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, which were considered serious.

"In this context, Australia will send 800 people to Malaysia while Malaysia will send to Australia 4,000 refugees known by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees," he said.

He said the Home Ministry would investigate and recognize the status of the 800 people who would be accepted into the country to determine if they were victims of human trafficking or illegal immigrants.

"If they were victims of human trafficking they would be given protection as had been gazetted," he said.

He said that if they were recognized as illegal immigrants they would be confined and deported to their countries of origin or referred to their respective diplomatic representatives.

In the meantime, Abu Seman said a total 510 suspects were confined by enforcement agencies as of June this year under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

By Carmeline A.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry, in an unanimous decision, found that Teoh Beng Hock had been driven to commit suicide by “aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous” interrogation by three MACC officers.
The three named were Selangor MACC Deputy Director Hishamuddin Hashim, and his officers Mohamad Anuar Ismail and Ashraf Mohd Yunus.
The commission said that unlawful intimidatory tactics used "would have had grave consequences upon Teoh's mind and would have been a culminating factor that drove him to suicide.”
In the 124-page report released Thursday the commission said that three MACC officers had probably tried to coerce him into making a statement that it was Selangor state executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, Teoh's boss, who had “directed him to commit unlawful acts in handling” an allocation.
“This session must have been very taxing on Teoh both physically and mentally.
“He had been deprived of sleep throughout that night and into the morning and had had to endure persistent, aggressive and unscrupulous questioning.
“His physical condition as described by Ashraf when fetching him the glass of water was that Teoh had moved to sit in an upright position very slowly.
“This fourth interrogation session, to our minds, must have been the final straw that broke the camel's back.”
Teoh, 30, the political secretary to Ean, was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, Selangor, after giving a statement at the Selangor MACC office on the 14th floor of the same building.
The setting up of the commission was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Jan 26 after the Coroner's Court delivered an open verdict.
The commission also made some recommendations for the change of attitude of MACC officers as there were "serious weaknesses" at the Selangor MACC office.
These include:
a)brutality in interviews
b)poor interview skills
c)poor reporting
d)arrogance
e)poor relationship with the public and other agencies
f)insufficient use and understanding of the capacity of modern technology
g)possible problems with interaction between intelligence-gathering and evidence gathering
h)lack of discipline
Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen chaired the Commission of Inquiry.
The other CI members were former Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, former Appeal Court judge Datuk T. S. Nathan, Penang Hospital's forensic pathology consultant Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, Dean of Cyberjaya Medical Science College University and consultant forensic psychiatrist Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom and Legal Affairs Division Director-General at the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Saripuddin Kasim.
Saripuddin was appointed the commission's secretary while Amarjeet Singh a/l Serjit Singh (deputy head, Legal Affairs Division I), Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud (deputy public prosecutor) and Kwan Li Sa (deputy public prosecutor) were named conducting officers.
The CI was tasked with investigating Teoh's death as well as whether there were improprieties in the course of the MACC investigations into Teoh, in relation to the standing orders and practices, and to recommend any appropriate action, if necessary.
Throughout the proceedings from Feb 14 to May 18, 70 witnesses were called and 750 pages of written submissions were handed over to the Bar Council, MACC and conducting officers of the commission while 19,200 pages of notes on witnesses' testimonies and 256 exhibits were tabled.
The proceedings uncovered new information such as the content of text messages, telephone conversations and the computer of an MACC officer.
The MACC's investigations also exposed alleged irregularities in the awards of tenders for bumiputera contractors.
The commission, which had appointed its own investigator, former British police officer Michael Leslie Squires, was also assisted by Bar Council representatives and MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Last month, the commission's findings were submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

By Jamie L.

KEDAH: Hearing a scraping sound while putting up the curtains in the living room, a housewife was shocked to see that a monitor lizard had roamed into the house.

More horrifyingly, the reptile quickly moved to the adjoining bedroom and crawled up to where her two-month-old baby was sleeping.

"I quickly rushed to the bed to pick up my child and panicked when I saw traced of blood on the little girl's head," said Nor Faizah Aziz, 27, when relating the incident which occured at 11.30am on Tuesday at her house in Pendang, Kedah.

Her family called the local Civil Defence Corps to catch the 5kg reptile while she rushed to a clinic to have little Eryna Insirah Mohd Redzuan, who had scratches and light injuries on her head, treated.

Pendang civil defence operations chief Izzudin Inus Meah said it took them five minutes to trap the scaly intruder which vomited out a kitten before it was caught.

He said the lizard would be handed over to the wildlife department, adding that it was a rare case since the corps had mainly dealt with snakes slithering into home previously.

By Jamie L.

KUALA LUMPUR: If you are between the many who just cannot remember when your driving license needs to be renewed, there is now the perfect "reminder" a birthday renewal.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, who revealed this yesterday, said the Road Transport Department (JPJ) was operating on the particulars.

He said many motorists caught driving with expired licenses tended to use the excuse of forgetting to renew it.

"If the holder's next birthday is less than six months after the expiry of the license, the fee for the period will be free during the transition time," he said.

But if the period between the holder's next birthday and the expiry date of the license was more than six months, the holder would be charged 50% of the renewal fee, he added.

Kong said license holders would still be permitted to renew their license for up to five years.

The minister said the RTD was open to feedback and ideas on the proposed renewal system.

By Carmeline A.

SEPANG: A group of 15 Chelsea die-hard fans from Yangon, Myanmar arrived at the KL International Airport (KLIA) today to watch the friendly match between The Blues against the Malaysian Olympic squad at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Thursday.
The group leader, Zaw Htun, 38, said they were excited by the prospect of watching the Chelsea team under the tutelage of new coach, Andres Villas-Boas and the team's young bloods, Patrick Van Aanholt, Ryan Bertrand, Daniel Sturridge, Billy Clifford and Slobodan Rajkoviv.
"Since Malaysia is one of venues for the Chelsea Asian Tour, we took this opportunity to come here.
"We also want to watch how the star-studded Chelsea players like Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Fernando Torres perform against the Malaysian side," he told Bernama at the KLIA today.
Zaw said another group of 32 Blues fans from Myanmar would be arriving here tomorrow, to watch the match.
Thein Tin, 36, said he wanted to see the Chelsea players in action, live, as there was no live telecast in his country for the English Premier League (EPL) Asian Tour.
"I've been following the team for a few years now and hopefully the new manager will guide the Blues to win the EPL Cup next season which starts in August," he said.

NEGERI SEMBILAN: A secondary school in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, chose to remove all the doors in its male toilets to punish vandals. 

By Jamie L.

GEORGETOWN: All newborn babies in Penang might be getting a one-off RM100 present from the state government starting this year.

The Penang Government is considering a suggestion to give RM100 money to the newborns as long as one of their parents is a Penang voter and that the total family income does not exceed RM4,000.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Sunday that the Program Anak Emas Pulau Pinang (Penang Golden Chil Program) was expected to cost the state between RM5mil and RM10mil a year.

He said that the program would be presented at the state executive committee meeting this week for discussion.

By Jamie L.


PETALING JAYA: A teacher was raped by a robber after he failed to remove her gold bracelet at a flat in Petaling Jaya.

It is reported that the victim was 48 years old and also had her handphone stolen in the incident.

She was alone in the house when she suddenly saw the robber, said to be in his 20s, standing in front of her armed with a knife.

Her husband and two children, in their 20s, were away during the 5am incident on Tuesday.

It was suspected that the robber got into the house through the toilet window.

By Carmeline A.

KUALA LUMPUR: The air quality in Jalan Tasek area in Ipoh, Perak, which reported unhealthy air Wednesday, has improved.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) there recorded a 74 (moderate) at 7am Thursday from 139 a day earlier.
The API readings posted on the Department of Environment website showed the air quality in 23 areas categorised as good, 29 at moderate level and no areas with unhealthy air.
Other areas with moderate air quality include Jerantut (API reading of 51), Sarikei, Labuan and Tanah Merah (53), Seremban (54), Putrajaya and Samarahan (56) and Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani (57).
Among the 23 areas with air quality recorded as good are Sri Aman (15), (27), ILP Miri and Kapit (30), Alor Setar (32), Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu (34) and Sibu (36).
API readings are categorised as: 0-50 (good), 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and harzardous (300 and above).
The DOE said it would continue to monitor the air quality nationwide.
It is still activating the Open Burning Prevention Action Plan in all states and implementing the Standing Operating Procedure for the Prevention of Peat Soil Fires to control and check factors that impact air quality.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in a statement said that enforcement on smoke emissions from vehicles and industries would be intensified.
In a situation of unstable air quality amid the hot, dry weather, the public is advised by DoE not to carry out open burning, it said.
The public is also urged to help put out small fires and report cases of open burning to the Fire and Rescue Department by calling 999 and DoE at toll-free 1-800-88-2727.

By Jamie L.

MUAR: Some 20 children have returned to the Serikids kindergarten where a hostage drama took place last week.

Majority of them seemed happy to see their friends and teachers who welcome them at the kindergarten which re-opened yesterday.

The children played among themselves at the front porch under the surveillance of teachers.

After playing for more than 30 minutes, all of them were called to the kitchen area to have their breakfast.

The assistant principal, Khoo Chon Den said the remaining 10 children had yet to return to the kindergarten as their parents had engaged temporary helpers to look after them following the incident.

But, one of the teachers, Salmiah Abdul Talib said the hostage incident had made her very alert and she would look at the front gate whenever someone or any vehicle passed by.

She also said that passers-by also tended to drive slowly to look at the kindergarten when passing the area, making her feel very uneasy.

Serikids kindergarten chief executive officer Tee Siew Tuan denied that the kindergarten was illegal as claimed by the authorities.

"It is licensed by the Muar municipal council which has been renewing the license every year since 2008."

She also said the place was registered with the Registrar of Companies under Tadika Serikids and allowed to operate until March 24, 2016.

"We have almost all the required approvals from a variety of departments, including the Health and the Fire Departments, but not from the Welfare Department.

"We have submitted our application to the department in 2008, but until today we have yet to receive its approval," she said. "The department only sent officers to look at our kindergarten after the hostage drama last week," she added.

By Jamie L.

By Carmeline A.

KIEV, Ukraine (AP): A two-headed snake has gone on display at a zoo in southern Ukraine.
The "Skazka" (Fairy tale) zoo in the Crimean city of Yalta on the Black Sea said Wednesday that the albino California Kingsnake has two heads that think, react and eat separately, though one is more passive than the other.
Dmytro Tkachov, a zoo worker taking care of the snake, said he puts a barrier between the heads when feeding the snake lest one eats the other.
The snake will be on display at the zoo until mid-September. The zoo would not provide further details.

By Carmeline A.

KELANTAN: A housewife was seriously injured on Monday after being kicked by a man who snatched her bag containing RM93 while she was riding her motorcycle to visit her daughter in Kampung Lundang.
Kelantan OCPD Asst Comm Azmi Othman said the victim, Rosimah Che Dolah, 44, broke her left hand and suffered injuries on her head and lips after falling in the 7.15am incident.
“The victim was unconscious when she was brought to the Raja Perempuan Zainal Hospital for treatment. She is now in stable condition,” he told reporters here yesterday.
He said Rosimah was travelling alone on her motorcycle to visit her pregnant daughter when two men on a motorcycle approached her from the rear.
The pillion rider pulled her bag from her motorcycle basket, but she managed to hold onto it, leading to a struggle.
In the scuffle, the victim was punched by the pillion rider and kicked before she was flung to the ground.
ACP Azmi said the victim received several stitches to her mouth, eyebrow and head.
She reported losing RM93 as well as personal documents.