The Star Online: Metro: South & East

CHC leader ask for another extension
Prison officer fined over inmate's death
Maid jailed for abusing boss' mum who suffers from dementia

Posted:

MOST of the eight City Harvest church leaders who face being stripped of office are believed to have asked for a further extension to the deadline for them to submit their objections.

The cut-off date to make representations to the Commissioner of Charities was last Saturday – a deadline already extended from a previous one on May 13.

Church founder Kong Hee was among those who requested a further extension.

But at least two – Tan Ye Peng and Chew Eng Han – submitted their documents on time.

In April, the Commissioner launched a bid to discharge the eight from office after an inquiry revealed there was mismanagement of funds at City Harvest – in particular at least S$23mil (RM57.9mil) used to fund the music career of Kong's wife, Ho Yeow Sun.

The eight are board member Kong Hee, board chairman and trustee John Lam Leng Hung, vice-chairman and trustee Tan Ye Peng, executive director of the church's administration division Kelvin Teo Meng How as well as executive members Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, Chew Eng Han, Jacqueline Tan Su Pheng and Serina Wee Gek Yin.

All were suspended from office following the Commissioner's inquiry.

If the Commissioner is successful in removing them – which he can do only with the consent of the Attorney-General – the four key officers will no longer be allowed to hold any office position in churches or any other charities for life.

The eight were given a month to submit their objections in writing, after which the Commissioner will assess their cases.

But when the May 13 deadline came, the Commissioner extended the deadline by another two months as a "goodwill gesture" after all eight asked for more time.

The May deadline coincided with the start of a criminal trial in which six members of the group face charges of criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts.

Kong said yesterday that his lawyers had written to the Commissioner requesting that he defer the removal proceedings until after the trial has ended. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Prison officer fined over inmate's death

Posted:

The senior prison officer found guilty of causing the death of an inmate by negligence had failed to adequately supervise his men when they were restraining the deceased, Dinesh Raman Chinnaiah, the court heard.

Lim Kwo Yin, 36, who holds the rank of deputy superintendent with the Singapore Prison Service, pleaded guilty yesterday to the charge and was sentenced to S$10,000 (RM25,000) fine.

The prosecution, recounting the incident of Sept 27, 2010, said Dinesh – who was serving a jail sentence for rioting and theft – had to be restrained after he had kicked a prison warden in his abdomen at about 10.45am that day in Changi Prison.

He was moved to a disciplinary housing unit and left alone on the ground in a "prone position" by officers under the supervision of Lim.

But the inmate was later rushed to Changi General Hospital after he did not respond to Lim, who had gone to check on him at 11.18am. Doctors at the hospital subsequently pronounced Dinesh dead at 12.45pm.

A pathologist report showed that the 21-year-old was likely to have succumbed to "positional asphyxia" while being restrained. The prone position he was left in had restricted the respiratory movements of his chest and abdomen, according to the report.

Lim was also found to have failed to adequately supervise "restraint operation".

For an offence of causing death by a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, Lim, could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined, or both. —The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Maid jailed for abusing boss' mum who suffers from dementia

Posted:

A Myanmar domestic worker has been jailed for four weeks for causing hurt to her employer's elderly mother who suffers from dementia.

Naw Toe Toe Mar, 26, had admitted to dragging Loh Kin Soo around and then pushing the 77-year-old's head against the wall once, causing her to suffer injuries at the HDB flat in Teck Whye Avenue on May 16. She had also admitted to using her hand to hit the victim's head and back multiple times earlier that day.

A magistrate's court heard that the maid had worked for the employer for about a year and one of her duties was to look after the victim.

Since July last year, the employer, Edwina Chan Ruth, 45, had noted several bruise marks all over her mother's body. When she asked the maid, she claimed she did not know how the victim was injured. Neither could the victim recall as she was in an advanced stage of dementia.

Chan then installed a video camera in her unit's living room. The CCTV footage captured some of the incidents of abuse. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Sabtu, 20 Julai 2013