Sabtu, 28 Disember 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Candle-light vigils as India remembers gang-rape victim

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 07:33 PM PST

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday marks 12 months since the death of a student savagely gang-raped on a Delhi bus - an episode that sparked nationwide protests - with candle-light vigils and prayers.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died on December 29 last year, nearly two weeks after being brutally attacked by a gang of six men on a moving bus as she returned home from the cinema with a male companion.

The attack and her subsequent death shook the country, shone a global spotlight on India's treatment of women and unleashed seething public anger about sexual violence and harassment of women.

The victim's family will hold a religious ceremony in their ancestral village in northern Uttar Pradesh state, away from the constant media attention they have faced since the attack, her brother said.

"We want to remember her in a quiet way, away from all the glare. We want it to be a private, family moment," the brother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told AFP.

The family will follow traditional Hindu rituals on Sunday, with a prayer ceremony and symbolic offerings made to their ancestors, which are believed to bring peace to those who have died.

The student, who was repeatedly assaulted with an iron rod during her ordeal, has been praised for her determination to report her attackers to the police before she died of her injuries. 

Four of her attackers were convicted and given the death penalty in September after the case was fast-tracked, while a juvenile was sentenced to a detention centre.

The sixth convict died in prison in March in an apparent suicide.

The angry and sometimes violent protests against the attack jolted India's parliament, which this year passed tougher laws against rapists and other sex-crime offenders.

Women's groups say some improvements have also been made in the last 12 months to India's notoriously slow, inefficient and sometimes corrupt police and judicial systems, which has encouraged some victims to report sexual crimes against them.

In the capital on Sunday, scores of students, professionals and others were slated to gather at Jantar Mantar, a protest site in the city's centre, where a makeshift memorial has been set up for the victim.

Small lamps, candles and flowers will be placed around the memorial before a peaceful vigil in the evening, one of several expected to take place across the city.

One of the organisers said women who turn up at Jantar Mantar will be encouraged to share their own experiences of violence and discuss societal changes that have taken place since the student's death.

"We need to remind the society that sex crimes won't be tolerated anymore," student Ishaan Ahmed told AFP. -AFP

Forget Mr Right, some prefer Mr Can Do

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

The sharp rise in the number of Singaporeans marrying foreign women in the past decade has resulted in various challenges.

VIETNAMESE bride Nhi, 22, chose to marry a Singaporean hawker twice her age despite strong objections from her father about the whirlwind union, which was arranged by a marriage broker.

"I actually had a boyfriend in Vietnam, but I knew that if I married a Vietnamese, the most he could do would be to take care of me only. He wouldn't have been able to take care of my family," she told researchers.

"Not all the girls who married Singaporeans can support their families in Vietnam, but at least, they are well taken care of and they have an easy life for themselves."

Then there is Puk, a 35-year-old Thai who used all her savings to fly to Singapore to hunt for a husband and a better life.

A friend introduced her to a Singaporean man at a pub, and after a few months of courtship, she urged him to marry her. During that time, he regularly gave her money to spend.

"At that time, I did not love him but gradually, I came to love him because he always took care of me," said Puk. They are now married, and he gives her S$350 (RM900) to send home every month.

In the past decade, there has been a sharp jump in the number of Singaporeans marrying foreign women, so considerable research is emerging on the lives and problems faced by foreign brides here.

Last year, 5,599 Singaporeans wed foreign women who were not citizens or permanent residents – a 40% jump from 2002.

Some research papers have shed light on why foreign women plunged into matrimony with Singaporeans they hardly knew.

No prizes for guessing that most just wanted a better life.

But more than that, many also hoped that their husbands would help support their families back home and lift their loved ones out of poverty as well.

Thai researcher Rattana Jongwilaiwan, together with Associate Professor Eric Thompson of the sociology department at the National University of Singapore (NUS), wrote a journal paper, published in 2011, about the lives of Thai women married to Singa­poreans.

Jongwilaiwan spent more than a year interacting extensively with the Thai wives and did 22 in-depth interviews with them.

"The Thai women interviewed consistently and frankly stated that their primary reason in choosing to marry Singaporean men was material gain and not romantic love," the paper said.

"For many women, it is seemingly the best among available strategies for achieving upward mobility and socioeconomic status, and to fulfil traditional cultural expectations as dutiful daughters."

Most of the women had moved from their homes in rural areas to cities such as Bangkok to find work – some in the sex trade – before meeting their Singaporean grooms in Thailand or Singapore.

Apart from being better off financially, Singaporean men are also regarded as being more loving and responsible husbands, compared with their counterparts elsewhere in the region.

The Thai women interviewed described Thai men as being abusive, womanisers, financially irresponsible, gamblers and alcohol addicts.

More recent papers have examined another aspect of such unions. In the past two months, three journal papers have been published based on a three-year study of Vietnamese women who married Singaporean and Malaysian men after they were introduced by commercial matchmakers.

The papers were written by Professor Brenda Yeoh of the geography department at NUS and a team of researchers that included Dr Chee Heng Leng and Dr Vu Thi Kieu Dung.

Different aspects of the women's lives were studied, from their expectations of love to the importance of sending money home to the problems they face here.

In the interviews, the Singaporean men hardly spoke of love either in their choice of a wife.

They wanted a companion and someone to care for them, look after their parents and do the housework.

What was important to the women was being able to send money home – an act that boosted their self-esteem and their standing in the family.

Take Thach, 19, who feels trapped in a marriage to a man she does not love. Yet, she is grateful to her husband, a security guard in his 50s, because he helped her pay off her family's debts and enabled her mother to start a small business.

Or 25-year-old Bich, who speaks proudly of her husband, a driver twice her age who paid off her family's S$20,000 (RM50,000) loan and gives her mother S$500 (RM1,300) every month.

The paper notes that these marriages are "not necessarily less sustainable or more fragile".

The authors say: "There is no simple trading of money for care, or care for money."

Couples are "keenly aware of the fluid nature of the negotiated relationship at stake", and they put in time and effort to make the marriage work.

They know the roles expected of them – breadwinner husband, dutiful stay-at-home wife, mother and daughter-in-law – and they try to play their parts conscientiously.

Not surprisingly, the husbands are usually not keen to have their wives join the workforce.

Such relationships might puzzle the Singaporean woman looking for love, passion and Mr Right.

But for many women from countries in the region, romantic love is not the core issue. As a Vietnamese woman once told me, romantic love is a Western concept – a luxury she and others like her cannot afford.

Instead of hunting in vain for that elusive Mr Right, they settle for Mr Can Do. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Minister: Little India rioters stayed in approved conditions

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

THE workers allegedly involved in the Little India riot were staying in approved dormitories, according to Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin.

"While substandard worker housing does exist here, the rioters stayed in those which meet official standards," he told Bloomberg TV in an interview aired on Friday.

"From what is known so far, the workers had no particular employment disputes that may have contributed to the riot," he said in the interview, which also covered issues such as productivity and politics.

On foreign labour curbs, he said these were similar to government policies to cool a strong property market: "You don't know exactly at which point it will bite and you don't want to overdo it."

He added that the curbs seemed to be taking effect. As the economy restructures, there are some "positive glimpses" in productivity figures for the third quarter of this year.

When asked what former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's "deepest imprint" on Singapore was, Tan named a largely corruption-free system and a government "prepared to make the calls".

Even as Singapore evolves and political pressures mount, the government remains mindful of the danger of becoming populist.

"Listening to people, engaging, isn't about being populist," he noted. "But making a policy, still believing that it's in the best interests of the people, remains sacrosanct."

However, he does not resent the changing landscape. "A questioning, challenging electorate keeps us on our toes.

"As for the People's Action Party itself, it still has the support of many," he added.

Meanwhile, civil society group Workfair Singapore has called on the Committee of Inquiry, set up to investigate the riot, to deliberate in public and at a publicly accessible venue. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

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U.S. intelligence estimate sees big rollbacks in Afghanistan -report

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 07:50 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new U.S. intelligence estimate predicts that gains the United States and allies have made in the Afghanistan war in the past three years will be significantly rolled back by 2017, even if some U.S. troops remain, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing officials familiar with the report.

The National Intelligence Estimate also predicts that Afghanistan will quickly fall into chaos if Washington and Kabul fail to sign a security pact to keep an international military contingent there beyond 2014, the newspaper said. The pact must be signed for the United States and its allies to provide billions more dollars in aid to the impoverished country.

The newspaper cited officials who have read the classified report, which includes input from the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, or were briefed on its conclusions.

"In the absence of a continuing presence and continuing financial support," the intelligence assessment "suggests the situation would deteriorate very rapidly," the newspaper quoted one U.S. official familiar with the report as saying.

But the newspaper said some officials felt the report on the potential outcome of the longest war in U.S. history was overly pessimistic and did not take into account progress made by Afghanistan's security forces.

"I think what we're going to see is a recalibration of political power, territory and that kind of thing," the paper quoted one official as saying. "It's not going to be an inevitable rise of the Taliban."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has balked at signing the security pact that would permit U.S. forces to stay in the country beyond 2014, and U.S. officials have said that unless a deal is reached to keep perhaps 8,000 U.S. troops, the Taliban insurgents might stage a major comeback and al Qaeda could regain safe havens.

(Writing by Vicki Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Skier, snowmobiler die in Wyoming avalanches

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 04:35 PM PST

(Reuters) - A skier and a snowmobiler died less than two hours apart this week in separate snow avalanches in western Wyoming, a National Forest official said on Saturday.

The skier, Michael Kazanjy, 29, was buried under four feet (122 cm) of snow on Thursday and could not be uncovered in time to save his life, said Bob Comey, director of the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center. Kazanjy was skiing in back-country near Jackson, Wyoming.

The snowmobiler, Rex J. Anderson, 39, died in an avalanche less than two hours later near the Idaho border.

Anderson was in a group of several snowmobiles and got caught in a 100-yard-wide (91-metre-wide) slide that left him buried under six feet (1.8 metres) of snow, according to a report on the avalanche center website.

He was dug out in less than 10 minutes, but died, Comey said.

People can quickly suffocate under heavy snow, which also can have a crushing effect on their bodies, Comey said.

Snow conditions were not especially hazardous on Thursday when the deaths occurred, Comey said. The avalanche center posts detailed information on snow conditions.

"Our mission is to give people the information they need that is available," Comey said. "We have no control over the decisions they make."

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis, Kevin Gray and Vicki Allen)

Five decapitated bodies dumped in Michoacan capital

Posted: 28 Dec 2013 02:45 PM PST

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Five severed heads and their bodies were dumped in two spots Saturday morning around the capital of the western state of Michoacan that has been plagued by worsening drug gang violence this year.

Three sets of bodies and heads were displayed in the street in a township on the northern edge of Morelia and the other two were left in the town square of a community in the southern part of the capital, according to a statement from the state prosecutor's office.

Michoacan's murder rate rose in 2013 compared to declines in most states. Last month, dozens of mutilated corpses were found buried in mass graves in an area on the border between the states of Michoacan and Jalisco.

Nationwide, murders peaked in 2011 amid a military-led war against drug gangs, official data shows. President Enrique Pena Nieto, who ends his first year in office, shifted focus away from battling drug cartels to pushing a series of economic reforms through a divided Congress.

Violence spiked in Michoacan in recent years and masked groups of vigilantes took power in some rural communities in 2013, claiming the government was failing to stop gang extortion and violence.

Michoacan's murder rate has nearly doubled since 2006 as traffickers increasingly turned from marijuana plantations to producing methamphetamine in crude labs hidden amid the state's mountains and avocado groves.

Decapitations became an increasingly common form of gangland vengeance across Mexico since five heads were tossed onto a barroom dance floor in the Michoacan town of Uruapan in 2006.

(Reporting by Tomas Sarmiento; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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The Star Online: Business

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China formally eases one-child policy, abolishes labour camps

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:13 PM PST

SHANGHAI: China formally approved on Saturday easing its decades-long one-child policy and the abolition of a controversial labour camp system, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Both were among a sweeping raft of reforms announced last month after a meeting of the rulingCommunist Party that mapped out policy for the next decade.

Under the new policy, couples will be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. Previously, a couple could generally only have a second child if both parents were only children.

The plan was envisioned by the government about five years ago, with officials worried that the strict controls were undermining economic growth and contributing to a rapidly ageing population China had no hope of supporting financially.

The resolution, formally approved by China's largely rubber- stamp parliament on Saturday, will allow local legislatures to decide when to implement the policies, Xinhua said.

Parliament also approved the abolition of the "re-education through labour" system, in place since 1957, which allows police to sentence petty criminals to up to four years' confinement in labour camps without going through the courts.

Critics say the system undermines the rule of law and is often used against political activists and followers of Falun Gong, a banned spiritual group.- Reuters

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Memorable villains of 2013

Posted: 23 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

Find out who was really good at being bad on the big screen this year.

IS there a Hans Gruber in the house?

Can Hannibal Lecter come out and play?

Darth Vader, please report to the principal's office.

You know where I'm heading with this – it's our annual list of the most memorable movie villains of the year.

Heroes are only as good as their villains are bad. A worthy adversary is necessary in measuring the worth of our heroes.

Every actor will tell you that it's more fun to play a villain than a hero. The good guy must stay within a structure and conduct himself by certain rules of behaviour, which can be confining for an actor. But a bad guy doesn't have to play by the rules so it is inherently more freeing than a leading man role.

But not all villains are created equal.

Some villains are dastardly but delightful, like the aforementioned Hans Gruber, played so well by British actor Alan Rickman in Die Hard. Likewise, Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader are villains we love to hate.

The flip side to those lovable villains, of course, are the movie characters we don't like so much but love to watch on the big screen. Amon Goethe, the sadistic Nazi camp commandant of Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, played with chilling efficiency by Ralph Fiennes, and Nurse Ratched of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Louise Fletcher) are not the kinds of people you'd like to meet in a dark alley, although you love them in a darkened movie theatre.

The performance of a great villain is etched in our movie memories. Not-so-great movie villains are forgotten before you get to your car.

So, how does this year's crop of movie villains look? Do any of them have staying power? Will any of them be remembered 10, 20 or 30 years from now? The only test is the test of time.

Here are our nominees for the most memorable movie villains of 2013. Do you think any of them could be a classic villain like Auric Goldfinger? Or perhaps they will be dismissed like Mel Gibson's Luthor Voz in Machete Kills?

1. Bilal

The terrorist leader opposite Tom Hanks in the thriller Captain Phillips was played by newcomer Barkhad Abdirahman, who responded to an ad in a Minneapolis newspaper. The filmmakers conducted their search for actors to play Somali pirates within the substantial Somali community in Minnesota. Who knew there was a substantial Somali community in Minnesota?

2. Edwin Epps

Played by Michael Fassbender in 12 Years A Slave, he is the sinister slave owner who is so much more complicated than the classic moustache twirler of the Silent Era, who would look into the camera and twirl his moustache as he tied the damsel to the railroad tracks. 

The best villains are complex, and Epps is conflicted as he inflicts beatings on the same young female slave that he also covets. It is a performance that not only will be remembered, but might bring Oscar nominations to both Fassbender and his victim, a young actress fresh out of the Yale School of Drama – Lupita Nyong'o.

3. Butch Cavendish

Not much can be said about The Lone Ranger, but William Fichtner's villain was truly villainous. The bird on Johnny Depp's head was a close second.

'All this rust, wear and tear ... Abrams, this is supposed to be the bright shiny Star Trek universe, not the Star Wars universe, dammit!' - Benedict Cumberbatch as the sinister John Harrison.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness.

4. Khan

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Captain James T. Kirk's formidable foe in Star Trek Into Darkness, and almost makes us forget Ricardo Montalban, who first breathed life into the Khan character in the 1982 film Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan, which remains to many the best Star Trek ever. And one of the reasons is the film's awesome villain.

5. Loki

Let's see, sibling rivalry leads one brother to try to kill the other brother. Where have we heard that story before? Tom Hiddleston played Thor's villainous brother in Thor and The Avengers, and then reprised the character in the 2013 film Thor: The Dark World.

6. General Zod

Like Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon of Boardwalk Empire fame had to deal with the ghost of the villain's originator (Terrence Stamp in the 1978 film Superman) when he pulled rank on the Man Of Steel.

7. President Snow

Donald Sutherland is a politician that everybody can hate in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, regardless of which side of the aisle you sit.

8. The zombies

Remember when I told you that a hero is only as good as his villain? Well, what villain could match Brad Pitt's pretty face better than millions of zombies in World War Z?

9. Smaug

Yes, we're talking about the dragon in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug. This isn't Puff the Magic Dragon. This is a nasty, trash-talking monster who likes to play with his food before he eats it.

The Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley) in Iron Man 3.

10.   The Mandarin

Ben Kingsley's terrorist leader in Iron Man 3 is not what he seems. That's all we can say under penalty of death. — The Orange County Register/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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The Star Online: Nation

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Duo arrested over car break-ins

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

IPOH: Police believe they have solved 10 car break-in cases with the arrests of two men near the Wooley Food Court in Ipoh Garden here.

OCPD Asst Comm Sum Chang Keong said police trailed the duo, aged 35 and 21, for two days before nabbing them on Thursday night.

ACP Sum said the two unemployed men were behaving suspiciously in their Honda Civic car and were believed to be targeting another victim.

"We have seized a machete, two screwdrivers and a mobile phone from the suspects.

"The younger suspect tested positive for drugs, while the other man has three previous records for car break-ins."

"We believe they are involved in 10 cases of car break-ins in Sungai Senam, Kampung Tawas, Simpang Pulai and Ampang," ACP Sum told journalists yesterday.

ACP Sum explained that the arrests of both men were in response to a car break-in report lodged in Ampang Baru on Dec 17.

"The window of the complainant's car was smashed and he lost four gold rings, a mobile phone and some personal documents," he said.

"During the arrest, we only recovered the complainant's insurance card. We are still tracking where his other belongings have been sold."

ACP Sum said the duo were believed to have been active from the beginning of the year.

Both men, he said, would be remanded to facilitate investigations.

In an unrelated case, state commercial crime chief Supt Maszely Minhad said police had removed 253 loan shark banners in four districts – Ipoh (137), Taiping (25), Teluk Intan (26) and Manjung (65) during its Ops Vulture on Dec 26.

Supt Maszely said the police had also arrested two men, 35 and 27, believed to be involved in illegal activities near Lahat.

"We seized two mobile phones used to contact victims and two ATM cards belonging to victims to pay off the loan sharks," he said.

FMM: Businesses suffer as ships bypass Penang

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

GEORGE TOWN: Businesses in the northern region are expected to suffer substantial losses if ships continue to bypass the Penang Port, which has a shallow draught depth.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Penang branch is urging the Federal Government to take immediate steps to address the problems of siltation, which is the cause of the shallow draught depth, by dredging and upgrading the port.

An FMM spokesman said the larger ships were bypassing the Penang Port and would sail to other ports such as Port Klang and the Tanjung Pelepas port in Johor.

"The larger vessels are bypassing Penang as their port of call due to its shallow draught depth. This will have a serious impact on manufacturers and cross-border businesses in the northern states and the region.

"The cost of shipping and doing business will escalate, given the need to use feeder vessels or land transport to move their cargo through Port Klang, for example.

"It incurs an additional cost because of the transportation of the goods from other ports to the northern region. There is also the delay because of the longer time it takes for the transportation of goods," he said in a statement yesterday.

However, he could not estimate the losses should the situation continue.

The spokesman said the North Channel is subjected to heavy siltation and capital dredging is periodically required to maintain the required draught of 14m to enable bigger vessels to call at the Penang Port.

"The Federation views with concern the shallow draught depth at the North Channel, which the Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) has confirmed to be at 10.5m currently," he said.

PPSB managing director Datuk Ahmad Ibnihajar could not be reached for comment.

In November, he had said the delay in the port's privatisation had, in turn, put several projects on hold such as the RM350mil seabed dredging and the abandonment of a RM60mil contract with Belgian Lhoist Group.

The privatisation of the port was announced in 2010 when Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari, the Tanjung Pelepas Port and the Johor Port owner, won the bid in a limited open ten- der.

MTUC proposes a RM300 monthly cost of living allowance

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: The MTUC has proposed a RM300 monthly cost of living allowance (Cola) for the 10 million private sector workers in view of the escalating cost of living.

Its president Khalid Atan said it was essential for the Government to introduce the regulation on Cola because almost five million private sector workers were now earning just about RM30 above the poverty line of RM870 per month.

At present, the minimum wage for workers in peninsular Malaysia is RM900 and for those in Sabah and Sarawak it is RM800.

Khalid said MTUC was working out strategies to help ease the workers' burden.

Khalid had suggested that companies provide subsidised food and lodging for their workers.

In turn, he said the workers would also help the companies to increase productivity, and that would result in a win-win situation for all parties.

Khalid said the congress was concerned about the immediate impact of the increased transportation, food and schooling cost particularly on workers from the lower income group.

He assured that MTUC, as a responsible organisation, would not go to the streets to demand for its rights but would instead prefer peaceful negotiations.

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One dead as gunman opens fire at Thai protesters

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 07:06 PM PST

BANGKOK (AFP) - An unidentified gunman opened fire at opposition protesters in Bangkok Saturday, killing one person and wounding several others in a pre-dawn attack that fanned tensions in the politically divided kingdom.

The shooting follows weeks of mass anti-government protests - seeking to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra - that have triggered bloody clashes between police and demonstrators.

A protester died after he was shot in the torso and three others were hospitalised with gunshot wounds, a spokesman for the city's Erawan emergency centre said.

Police confirmed the shooting but said its forensic team was unable to access the scene of the incident, which happened where a group of protesters was camped overnight near Government House.

It was unclear who fired the shots but armed provocateurs have a history of trying to stir tensions in the politically polarised kingdom, with each side usually blaming the other.

Some local media reports said the shots were fired from a passing car by more than one gunman.

Yingluck has called February elections in the hope of bringing an end to the demonstrations, which have drawn tens of thousands of people seeking to curb her billionaire family's political dominance.

But the protesters have vowed to block the vote, saying it will only return the Shinawatra clan to power.

A second round of registration for constituency candidates was due to begin around the country on Saturday, raising fears of further clashes.

Eight people, including a policeman, have been killed and about 400 wounded in several outbreaks of street violence.

The government has said it will ask the army to provide security for election candidates and voters.

A policeman and a civilian died of gunshots fired by unknown assailants while 153 people were injured after violence erupted Thursday when demonstrators tried to force their way into an election registration venue.

The army chief insisted Friday that the military would remain neutral and said it was up to the election authorities whether the vote could go ahead, but he did not rule out another coup.

"The door is neither closed nor open. In every situation, anything can happen," he said when asked about the possibility of a coup, without elaborating.

Thailand has been periodically convulsed by political bloodshed since Yingluck's older brother Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup seven years ago.

The protesters, a mix of southerners, middle class and urban elite, accuse the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician of corruption and say he controls his sister's government from his self-exile in Dubai.

They want an unelected "people's council" to run the country to oversee loosely-defined reforms - such as an end to alleged "vote buying" - before new elections are held in around a year to 18 months.

Yingluck's government still enjoys strong support in the northern half of the country and is expected to win the election if it goes ahead.

Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters have accused the demonstrators of trying to incite the military to seize power again, in a country which has seen 18 successful or attempted coups since 1932.

It is the worst civil strife since 2010, when more than 90 people were killed in a bloody military crackdown on pro-Thaksin Red Shirt protests under the previous government.

Vocal teacher faces the music

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

A VOCAL instructor at a music school organised sex-and-drug parties and also sold "Ice" on the side to pay for the medical treatment of his AIDS condition.

Tommy Lim Yong Thong's days of partying and pushing drugs are now over. He was sentenced yesterday to five-and-a-half years in jail and six strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to trafficking and consuming drugs and planning the drug-fuelled gatherings.

Lim was arrested with two other men by officers of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) at 1pm on May 26. He was then with Diego Mark Jason Solares, 29, and De Tomas Camerino Efren Jr, 33, both Filipinos, in a room at the Furama Riverfront Hotel. More than 40gm of Ice, the street name for methamphetamine, was found in the room.

Later that day, CNB officers returned to the hotel to raid the room of Coert Isaac Stanley Parree, 42, and found Ice and an improvised pipe. The Dutch national was then a flight attendant with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Investigations then revealed that Parree had messaged Lim on May 22 that he was in the Furama Riverfront Hotel. Lim agreed to organise a "session". Within the gay community, this refers to a party involving sex and drugs.

The next day, he booked a room at the hotel and invited Solares and Efren. Lim admitted to bringing the Ice and giving it to the two Filipinos for free, with whom he had sex with.

He also admitted to selling the drug to his clients outside the hotel. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion

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Warrior sculptures of Unsung Heroes

Posted: 21 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

Mat Ali Mat Som's passion for metal and history shines through in his latest exhibition.

MAT Ali Mat Som looks rather amused when asked if he has a punching bag in his art studio. Or if he needs to reach a boiling point of Travis Bickle proportions to channel his artistic vision.

He tries to gather the reasons behind the questions. He does mention that he practises silat gayung and silat lincah at home, which is the small town of Semenyih in Selangor. It is a passion he shares with his wife and three children.

Slowly, the bespectacled artist realises that most people would like to know where he gets the raging energy that fuels the aggression and passion very much evident in the warrior sculptures of his second solo exhibition, Unsung Heroes, now showing at the Museum of Asian Art, Universiti Malaya.

"My sculptures aren't necessarily about blind aggression, nor are they about blind loyalty," reveals Mat Ali, who combines his talents as an artist, history buff and art mentor to great effect.

Throughout the university gallery, Mat Ali has assembled his metal-based materials in his unique way. Each sculpture (which straddles or sits or rests on a stone) is dedicated to a warrior hero derived from our nation's storied past.

The eye-catching piece 'Rentap', which shows the Sarawakian warrior in full battle cry as he charges forward and fights against colonial British rule.

The eye-catching Rentap, which shows the Sarawakian warrior in full battle cry as he charges forward.

 

Anchored by 14 sculptures, the exhibition is also accompanied by his paintings and sketches, which share a common narrative with his metal handiwork.

"Not everything is panas hati (angry) in that sense. But there is a fighting side in each of them. I tried to capture each warrior's bravery, unbroken spirit and loyalty in defending their land, freedom and rights from colonial invaders like the British, and the Siamese hundreds of years ago."

Mounting them on flat pieces of stone, Mat Ali moulded into shape the heroic likes of Tok Gajah, Hang Jebat, Panglima Hitam, Mat Salleh, Pendekar Lidah Hitam, Mat Kilau and many more.

"Even these warriors had struggles every day to define and defend their sense of purpose and integrity. But they fought and lived by a code. That's how we remember and relate to them."

Coming across like a mix of Hong Kong artist Mah Wing-Shing's distinctly Asian-centric warriors and American fantasy and science fiction artist Frank Frazetta's muscular figures, the Unsung Heroes sculptures boast a particularly arresting presence.

If anything, the great J. Allen St John (author Edgar Rice Burroughs' favourite illustrator) looks to be one of Mat Ali's key inspirations throughout his career.

Mat Ali, 39, who regards himself as an outsider in local art circles, took nearly four years to complete this exhibition.

This UiTM fine art graduate, who started pursuing art full time in 1997, will be the first to admit he isn't someone chasing contemporary art notoriety, but rather has stuck to his trade grounded in realist art and semi-abstract work.

Leader of men: The 'Tok Gajah' sculpture, which captures the much-feared Pahang warrior in his full glory as a national hero who resisted British rule.

Tok Gajah captures the much-feared Pahang warrior in his full glory as a national hero who resisted British rule.

 

"This is my passion ... sculpture work is close to my heart. I like working with metals. It might be a lonely field here, but I will carry on improving my technique.

"I do realise that most local contemporary art has to fit a certain profile ... you know, the more bombastic the issues, the more people look out for such artwork."

Mat Ali isn't too fussed about not appearing in swanky galleries or attracting the cocktail set. From sculpting for group shows at feature galleries to creating commissioned work, he has steadily made a name for himself.

Upon further investigation, his diverse work in Unsung Heroes is literally solid and shiny enough to stand out in the modest surrounds of the Museum of Asian Art.

The progress from his first silat-inspired solo sculpture show, Dendam Tak Sudah in 2009, is most apparent.

At a glance, his new works have grown in size – bigger sculptures, more impact and outstanding workmanship. Gathered metals include copper, tin, aluminium and brass, while wood, deer horn and quarry rocks (as the sculpture base) complete this project.

Undoubtedly, these Unsung Heroes sculptures are crafted, illustrated and explained in exquisite detail (from anatomical precision to the range of weapons, headdresses, feathers, facial expressions, bulging veins, etc), making this exhibition an absolute must for those interested in metal sculpture design as well as history enthusiasts.

The production time line for each work averaged a month or two, says the artist.

Mat Ali handpicked his heroes from the great histories of Kedah, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Sabah, Sarawak and Pahang. And he doesn't discount a sequel for this series.

"This exhibition revisits the enduring legacies of our forgotten heroes, and their roles in a series of conflicts through history that have made them such legends."

One of the earliest sculptures made was Hang Jebat, who is well known for his vengeful revolt against the Malacca Sultan whom he served.

Little known warriors like Rentap and Ontoros, from Sarawak and Sabah respectively, have also been realised intricately in sculptured form to remind us of their roles in fighting British colonial rule.

"In our haste to absorb history lessons in school, we often jot down the names of our national heroes, where the men came from ... and little else.

"Unsung Heroes is my way of presenting, and putting a context of time and place to, these warriors, or keepers of the nation," says Mat Ali, who referred to Malay journals and Indonesian reference books to research his sculptures.

"If this exhibition enables the casual viewer of art to better appreciate the role and contributions of the nation's heroes, it will have served its purpose," he hopes.

Unsung Heroes is showing at Museum of Asian Art, Universiti Malaya, till Jan 7. Admission is free. Opening times: Monday to Thursday, 9am to 1pm, 2pm to 5pm; Friday, 9am to noon, 2.45pm to 5pm. Closed on weekends and public holidays.

Artist Mat Ali Mat Som will be holding a sculpting workshop at the exhibition venue on Jan 4 (10am onwards). Bring your own modelling clay. Spaces are limited; to book a seat, e-mail stephenmenon@gmail.com.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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The top 10 songs of 2013

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

From Paramore's Still Into You to Daft Punk's Get Lucky, here are the songs that critics just loved.

THE writers at PopMatters, an international magazine on arts and culture, compiled their favourite songs of 2013.

Check out the playlist on Star2's YouTube channel

10. Chvrches: The Mother We Share 

Electroshock therapy wouldn't get this thing out of your head. From the opening samples to the anticipatory handclaps and all the way to the cutest use of the word ***k in 2013, Chvrches' The Mother We Share is the most complete pop song of the year.

Rarely does a song sound so retro while encompassing all that's new, but Lauren Mayberry and her crew crafted what amounts to the most inescapable hook any music fan has heard in a long, long time. If the accented synths through the verses won't get you, the desperation of the chorus will.

It's true: Everything old is new again and in this case, everything new is better than it's ever been. — Colin McGuire

9. Paramore: Still Into You

Hayley Williams and her man live in eternity, and each spiky power pop beat does not shorten, but lengthens their eternity. Kierkegaard said that. Ambushed by joy, Williams opts for the more sensible, "I should be over all the BUTTERFLIIIIIIES!!!" Endless love is nothing new – in fact, it's one of the most hackneyed and cloying sentiments available to songs, so cheers to these good-hearted brats for barreling through it. Every moment offers new pleasures. Williams spits her words because her love is not croony.

If she can make love work, so can you. If you haven't looked someone in the face today and hollered, "Baby not a day goes by that I'm NAWWWWWWT... EHHHHHHHHNTO YOWWWWWWWW!!!," well, what are you waiting for? Life's short! (OR IS IT...) — Josh Langhoff

8. Janelle Monae: Dance Apocalyptic

When Dance Apocalyptic first hit the airwaves a couple of months before Monae's Electric Lady album came out, certain circles derided the song for not sounding tougher. After all, shouldn't a song called Dance Apocalyptic have something of a hard edge to it?

But a closer listen to the lyrics demonstrates that the song is about celebration in the face of disaster. But I really really wanna thank you / For dancing 'til the end, goes the refrain. So a soul-pop confection seems just about right. In her relatively short career, Monae has already proven herself adept at any number of styles, but this track is one of those rare moments of pop perfection.

From the simple, catchy beat to Monae's impassioned vocals to the chant-along background vocals (Smash smash / Bang bang / Don't stop / Chalangalangalang), Dance Apocalyptic deserves a place in the 21st century song canon alongside fellow retro-pop luminaries Hey Ya and ***k You. — Chris Conaton

7. Haim: The Wire

Haim are a melting pot of various influences, veering from synth-pop to throwback guitar rock throughout their debut album Days Are Gone. The Wire serves as a synthesis of all of their styles and influences in one infectious four-minute helping. At times, the song feels like a throwback, recalling everything from Prince to Tom Petty.

However, the trio's vocals – all of which are refreshing in a pop landscape filled with diva moments and faux-sexy cooing – elevate the song from being merely satisfying to transcendent. By the time the band break the down the song in a sea of handclaps and synths, it's just the icing on top of a slice of pop perfection. — Kevin Korber

6. Vampire Weekend: Step

A little too often, Vampire Weekend gets crowned as kings of the melting pot. The Ivy League, multi-culturally cognisant band is unafraid to dump everything from Auto-Tune, M.I.A. samples, harpsichord, in a brew for the sake of a poignant hipster anthem.

Their influences are patched squarely on their sleeves, perhaps more than ever on Step. Culling a sample from both YZ and Bread, Koenig and company name drop Modest Mouse and Angkor Wat in the same tune and still manage to distill it all down to a perfect pop bliss-out.

Step shows that when Vampire Weekend turn it down and subscribe to a minimalist philosophy, they might be worth all the accolades. — Scott Elingburg

5. Neko Case: Man

On a largely staid and pensive album, Man is where Neko Case is able to just let loose. Thrust forward by drums that gallop like a mustang herd and M. Ward's caffeine-jittering guitar licks, Case projects a character fuelled by righteous ire and a declaration of self that bursts from being stifled for so long.

Whether the narrator is a transgender woman or a male who doesn't live up to macho stereotypes is up to the listener, but either way, in the vehicle of Case's inimitable voice and scathing lyrics, the figure is a confrontational badass, shedding his or her identity crisis amid this middle-finger waving anthem. — Cole Waterman

4. Kanye West: Black Skinhead

The opening 20 seconds of Black Skinhead – the wolves-are-coming riff, drums and Marilyn Manson quote – might be the aural representation of Yeezus' ethos. The sounds are indelible, but Kanye West's breathless, unhinged, slightly deranged rhymes steal their thunder.

 

Emulating and commenting on the idea of black man, and black superstar, and West the egoist, as "menace," he's "getting his scream on," as he puts it, but also introducing the God / King / Demon persona that drives the album. (Even in this setting he can't keep from throwing in bad puns / jokes, keeping alive the idea of West as stand-up comedian.)

Musically, the song well represents the build-up / rip down approach he took to the album. There are nearly 20 names credited with writing or producing the song, but there's just one name on the marquee, and he likes it that way. — Dave Heaton

3. Bastille: Pompei

Call me the chest-beating, hair-rending, existential angst-ridden type, but news headlines can bring me to tears. Tales of suffering, past and present, creep up to my bed in shadowy form at 2.30am and sit heavily beside me.

Surely such tales haunt Bastille's Dan Smith, as well. Eros and Thanatos, libido and mortido serve as the sonic flames and shadows in Pompeii, the moving song that has propelled this talented band to fame.

Indeed, with its gorgeous, primal chorus, Pompeii could be an anthem for the regenerative spirit of humankind, albeit an anthem sung amidst the rubble of our sins. In a mere three and a half minutes, Pompeii gives us much-needed, heart-pumping optimism. — Karen Zarker

2. John Newman: Love Me Again

On an album full of stadium-sized stunners, Love Me Again was the song that broke massive in Britain and also the tune that says "John Newman" better than any other. Full of passion, wicked beats and sublime vocals, it's the best dance and R&B song of the year. Imploring his former girlfriend to Love Me Again, Newman draws deep from his inner Otis Redding to illustrate his heartbreak.

It draws from classic Stax-style southern soul married to contemporary British dance music. The story is timeless, everyone can relate, and you dance yourself up to a full sweat in the four-minute run-time. If you doubt that British dance / R&B is the greatest flowering of new music in 2013, then Love Me Again will convince you otherwise. — Sarah Zupko

1. Daft Punk: Get Lucky

It became one of the most indelible images of 2013: four silhouettes backed by a blazing sunrise. The corresponding soundtrack, however, is what set the music universe on fire. 

A hybrid of classic and contemporary dance music sensibilities, Get Lucky kept the world "up all night" for the better part of 2013. The question wasn't "who's heard the new Daft Punk single" but "who hasn't?"

In the second decade of the 21st century, only a few songs reach the level of ubiquity that Get Lucky achieved this year. The reason for that is more than luck. It's the individuals behind those four shadows: Daft Punk members Thomas Bangalter (guitar) and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (drums), Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers. 

Pharrell might ask "What is this I'm feeling?" but we all know. It's the most infectious groove of the year. — Christian John Wikane – PopMatters/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

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Why saying 'I am excited' makes you perform better

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:55 PM PST

NEXT time you've got a public speaking engagement or exam coming up, psych yourself up by telling yourself how excited you are, rather than trying to calm down, and you may actually perform better.

That's according to a new Harvard study published by the American Psychological Association, which found that affirmative statements like "I'm excited" helped people improve their performance compared to self-pep talks that urged relaxation such as "I am calm".

"People have a very strong intuition that trying to calm down is the best way to cope with their anxiety, but that can be very difficult and ineffective," said study author Alison Wood Brooks in a statement.

"When people feel anxious and try to calm down, they are thinking about all the things that could go badly. When they are excited, they are thinking about how things could go well."

The results of the study are based on several different experiments. In one experiment, 140 participants were instructed to prepare a public speech on why they would be good work partners. Researchers videotaped the speeches and participants were told they would be judged by a committee to increase anxiety levels.

Before delivering their spiel, subjects were instructed to say either "I am excited" or "I am calm". Judges found that those who made the first statement were more persuasive, competent and relaxed, the study says.

Similar results were observed during a math exam, with those who psyched themselves up with the mantra "I am excited" scoring an impressive eight per cent higher on average compared to the "I am calm" group.

In a karaoke experiment in which participants' heart rates were monitored with a pulse meter, again singers who repeated the mantra "I am excited" scored an average of 80% on the karaoke machine which measures pitch, rhythm and volume. Those instructed to tell themselves they were calm, angry or sad scored 69%.

The moral of the study?

"It really does pay to be positive, and people should say they are excited. Even if they don't believe it at first, saying 'I'm excited' out loud increases authentic feelings of excitement," Brooks said.

A 2012 study out of the University of Chicago in the United States also found that performing math equations under anxiety prompts responses in the brain similar to physical pain. – AFP Relaxnews

US study: No need to avoid peanuts while pregnant

Posted: 23 Dec 2013 11:45 PM PST

Researchers say there's no reason for a woman to avoid peanuts during pregnancy.

WOMEN who eat peanuts while pregnant are less likely to have children with peanut allergies than women who avoid them, said a US study out on Monday.

The findings in the Journal Of The American Medical Association (Jama) were based on a study of more than 8,200 US children.

Among those, researchers found 140 cases of children who were allergic to nuts.

When they looked into the mothers' diets during and soon after pregnancy, as reported in the Nurses Health Survey II, they found that women who ate five or more servings per week of peanuts or tree nuts, such as cashews, almonds and walnuts, were far less likely to have children who were allergic than women who avoided nuts.

"Our study showed increased peanut consumption by pregnant mothers who weren't nut-allergic was associated with lower risk of peanut allergy in their offspring," said senior author Michael Young of the Boston Children's Hospital Division of Allergy and Immunology.

"Assuming she isn't allergic to peanuts, there's no reason for a woman to avoid peanuts during pregnancy."

Doctors used to recommend that women steer clear of peanuts while pregnant and nursing, out of concern they might lead to allergies in children.

The United States recently saw a tripling of peanut allergies in children, going from 0.4% of young people in 1997 to 1.4% in 2010, according to background data in the Jama article.

Allergies arise when the body treats nuts as a harmful invader. Symptoms can be severe and even fatal, causing hives, rashes, swelling, difficulty in breathing and a swift drop in blood pressure.

But recommendations changed in 2008, when the American Academy of Pediatrics decided there was not enough evidence to continue urging women to avoid nuts in pregnancy.

Subsequent studies, like the latest one in Jama, have shown that exposure is more likely to be helpful than harmful, though some confusion remains among the general public on the issue.

"Our study supports the hypothesis that early allergen exposure increases the likelihood of tolerance and thereby lowers the risk of childhood food allergy," said the Jama article.

Young noted that researchers cannot say that eating more peanuts in pregnancy will prevent peanut allergy in children.

"But we can say that peanut consumption during pregnancy doesn't cause peanut allergy in children," he said. – AFP

How sticking needles in your ear could help with weight loss

Posted: 24 Dec 2013 12:10 AM PST

A SMALL study out of South Korea has found that ear acupuncture could be used to help people shed belly fat.

In the same way that pressure points in the feet are supposed to be linked to certain organs in the body, a new study claims that the stimulation of five acupuncture points in the ear could help patients with weight loss, particularly in battling the midriff bulge.

Published online in Acupuncture In Medicine, scientists out of Kyung Hee University in Seoul divided participants into three groups: 31 people were given acupuncture treatments to the outer ear in five different points. The needles were inserted 2mm deep into the flesh and held in place with surgical tape for a week. The same treatment was switched to the other ear, and the process repeated over eight weeks.

In the second group of 30 participants, a needle was applied at one single hunger point.

The third group was given a "sham" treatment which involved removing the needles immediately after insertion.

Throughout the experiment, it should be noted that participants were asked to follow a reduced calorie diet and to refrain from exercise.

In total, 24 people dropped out before the eight-week term was up, 15 of whom were in the control group.

But among those who remained, researchers say the first group lost 6% of their body mass index at the midway point, while the group that received the single-point acupuncture treatment lost 5.7%.

Scientists say that the largest drop in waist circumference was observed in the group that received the five-point acupuncture treatment.

A study published this summer out of the University of Maryland in the United States also found that when used to complement in-vitro fertilisation treatments, acupuncture could help improve success rates. – AFP Relaxnews

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The Star Online: Metro: South & East

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One dead as gunman opens fire at Thai protesters

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 07:06 PM PST

BANGKOK (AFP) - An unidentified gunman opened fire at opposition protesters in Bangkok Saturday, killing one person and wounding several others in a pre-dawn attack that fanned tensions in the politically divided kingdom.

The shooting follows weeks of mass anti-government protests - seeking to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra - that have triggered bloody clashes between police and demonstrators.

A protester died after he was shot in the torso and three others were hospitalised with gunshot wounds, a spokesman for the city's Erawan emergency centre said.

Police confirmed the shooting but said its forensic team was unable to access the scene of the incident, which happened where a group of protesters was camped overnight near Government House.

It was unclear who fired the shots but armed provocateurs have a history of trying to stir tensions in the politically polarised kingdom, with each side usually blaming the other.

Some local media reports said the shots were fired from a passing car by more than one gunman.

Yingluck has called February elections in the hope of bringing an end to the demonstrations, which have drawn tens of thousands of people seeking to curb her billionaire family's political dominance.

But the protesters have vowed to block the vote, saying it will only return the Shinawatra clan to power.

A second round of registration for constituency candidates was due to begin around the country on Saturday, raising fears of further clashes.

Eight people, including a policeman, have been killed and about 400 wounded in several outbreaks of street violence.

The government has said it will ask the army to provide security for election candidates and voters.

A policeman and a civilian died of gunshots fired by unknown assailants while 153 people were injured after violence erupted Thursday when demonstrators tried to force their way into an election registration venue.

The army chief insisted Friday that the military would remain neutral and said it was up to the election authorities whether the vote could go ahead, but he did not rule out another coup.

"The door is neither closed nor open. In every situation, anything can happen," he said when asked about the possibility of a coup, without elaborating.

Thailand has been periodically convulsed by political bloodshed since Yingluck's older brother Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup seven years ago.

The protesters, a mix of southerners, middle class and urban elite, accuse the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician of corruption and say he controls his sister's government from his self-exile in Dubai.

They want an unelected "people's council" to run the country to oversee loosely-defined reforms - such as an end to alleged "vote buying" - before new elections are held in around a year to 18 months.

Yingluck's government still enjoys strong support in the northern half of the country and is expected to win the election if it goes ahead.

Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters have accused the demonstrators of trying to incite the military to seize power again, in a country which has seen 18 successful or attempted coups since 1932.

It is the worst civil strife since 2010, when more than 90 people were killed in a bloody military crackdown on pro-Thaksin Red Shirt protests under the previous government.

Vocal teacher faces the music

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

A VOCAL instructor at a music school organised sex-and-drug parties and also sold "Ice" on the side to pay for the medical treatment of his AIDS condition.

Tommy Lim Yong Thong's days of partying and pushing drugs are now over. He was sentenced yesterday to five-and-a-half years in jail and six strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to trafficking and consuming drugs and planning the drug-fuelled gatherings.

Lim was arrested with two other men by officers of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) at 1pm on May 26. He was then with Diego Mark Jason Solares, 29, and De Tomas Camerino Efren Jr, 33, both Filipinos, in a room at the Furama Riverfront Hotel. More than 40gm of Ice, the street name for methamphetamine, was found in the room.

Later that day, CNB officers returned to the hotel to raid the room of Coert Isaac Stanley Parree, 42, and found Ice and an improvised pipe. The Dutch national was then a flight attendant with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Investigations then revealed that Parree had messaged Lim on May 22 that he was in the Furama Riverfront Hotel. Lim agreed to organise a "session". Within the gay community, this refers to a party involving sex and drugs.

The next day, he booked a room at the hotel and invited Solares and Efren. Lim admitted to bringing the Ice and giving it to the two Filipinos for free, with whom he had sex with.

He also admitted to selling the drug to his clients outside the hotel. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Alleged killer to undergo mental evaluation

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

A FORKLIFT driver charged with the murder of a beautician whose decapitated body was found floating in Whampoa River has been sent for psychiatric assessment.

Gursharan Singh, 25, an Indian national, was charged last week with the murder of Jasvinder Kaur, 33, together with an unknown person at a Balestier Road premises between Dec 10 and 12.

Jasvinder's body was wrapped in a trash bag when it was spotted floating in the waterway between McNair Road and St George's Road.

Besides her still-missing head and hands, her arms had also been apparently mutilated.

Gursharan, who is on a Special Pass, was arrested last Wednesday at his workplace in Sims Avenue.

According to the police, he is a friend of the victim's senior logistics coordinator husband, Harvinder Singh, 33, who skipped town half an hour before his wife's body was found on Dec 12. Gursharan's case will be mentioned again on Jan 17. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

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