STORY TO BE TOLD

Labourer to hang for killing son, flinging him into a river

SHAH ALAM: A labourer was sentenced to death by hanging for killing his son, stuffing him into a bag and throwing it into a river.

High Court Judge Datuk Wira Mohtarudin Baki said Fridaythat the defence had failed to cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution's case.

M. Murthy, 32, was charged with murdering M. Ruthren, tw- years and nine months old, in a house at Lot 848, Jalan Kapar, Sungai Klang, Klang at 4.15pm on Jan 20 2007.

The charge under Section 302 of Penal Code provides for death by hanging upon conviction.

Media reports said the luggage, with the body, inside was found by fishermen in the Straits of Malacca near Pulau Sembilan, Teluk Intan, Perak.

An autopsy on the body revealed several broken bones and bruises.

Mohtarudin said Murthy claimed that Ruthren fell in the bathroom and died from fits but that was never raised by the defence counsel.

"As a responsible father, the accused should have taken the victim to hospital. Instead he smoked a cigarrette in the living room. There was no panic."

He added the defence claim that Murthy’s wife was an accomplice in the murder was rejected as he had threatened her with death.

The medical officer's testimony stated that the body had a broken nose and bruises in the buttock from beatings with a blunt object like a piece of wood.

"The DNA expert confirmed that the victim was the son of the accused and his wife. I agree that his defence was an after thought to save himself," he added.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Rosida Abu Bakar called 20 witnesses while defence counsel K. Vikneswaran called only one witness. - Bernama

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A special Xmas for de Mellos
By ALLISON LAI and CINDY TAN
malacca@thestar.com.my

MALACCA: Having spent the last few Christmases by their daughter’s bedside in hospital, the De Mello family is looking forward to celebrating it at home this year.

They have also decided to add to the festive cheer by having a 1Malaysia theme.

Augustine De Mello, 39, and his wife Lisa Carmel De Costa, 29, have been looking after their nine-year-old daughter, Luisa Doreen, who was then battling cancer.

Christmas sparkle: The Mello’s home gleaming with festive lights and decorations at dusk in Malacca.

“This year’s celebration is very special for us. We have never had the chance of celebrating Christmas properly as a family at home but instead did it by my daughter’s side in the hospital.

“We are thankful to God that she has recovered and can now enjoy Christmas with the family,” he said when met at the Portuguese Settlement here yesterday.

De Mello, a fishermen, said the family spent five months sourcing for Christmas decorations and lights and decided to go with the 1Malaysia theme.

“We may be from a humble background and money may be tight but Christmas must be celebrated joyously. It is a time for family bonding,” he added.

He said he chose the 1Malaysia theme for the decorations as it captured the festive spirit that Malaysians share and enjoy together irrespective of racial backgrounds.

“Besides the usual Christmas decorations, I used the traditional Chinese lanterns, peacocks and ketupat motifs as part of the trimmings,” he said, adding his wife even made a large 1Malaysia decorative sign.

The 1.5m-tall sign complete with festive greetings of the various communities in Malaysia were strung up in front of his house at Daranjo Street here.

Meanwhile, Deputy Information, Communication and Culture Minis­ter Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said that this year’s national-level Christmas celebrations would be held here on the night of Dec 26.

He said that Malacca Governor Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob would attend as guest-of-honour with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam and Information, Commu­nications, Culture and Arts Ministry Datuk Seri Rais Yatim in attendance.

Some 10,000 visitors are expected to turn up during the celebration with many local artistes performing, he told reporters after chairing a meeting on the finalisation of the national-level Christmas celebration here yesterday.

One of the highlights of the night, he added, would be a 1Malaysia Joget with more than 2,000 participants that would be listed in the Malaysia Book of Records.

Regedor (village headman) Peter Thomas Gomes said some 1,500 car parks would be provided at two vacant compounds near Taman Kampung Atap from early evening.

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UAE hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree


AP/Hussein Malla

Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejewelled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday.

It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over 11 million dollars," said Hans Olbertz, general manager of Emirates Palace hotel, at its inauguration.

The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.

But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value.

It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones, said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery.

"The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars," Olbertz said. "The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars -- I think 11.4, 11.5."

This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records, Olbertz said, adding that Emirates Palace planned to contact the organisation about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year.

Asked if the tree might offend religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates, where the vast majority of the local population is Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. "It's a very liberal country," he said.

The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year "we said we have to do something different," and the hotel's marketing team hatched the plan, said Olbertz.

The tree is not the first extravagant offering from Emirates Palace -- a massive, dome-topped hotel sitting amid fountains and carefully manicured lawns.

The hotel, which bills itself as seven-star, in February introduced a package for a seven-day stay priced at one million dollars.

Takers of the package have a private butler and a chauffeur driven Maybach luxury car at their disposal during their stay, as well as a private jet available for trips to other countries in the region.

And in May, the hotel opened a gold vending machine, becoming the first place outside Germany to install "gold to go, the world's first gold vending machine," said Ex Oriente Lux AG, the German company behind the machine.

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Kim Kang-woo to become a father
by javabeans

Kim Kang-woo (Story of a Man) married quietly earlier this year, and now he’s announced that he and his wife are expecting their first child. They married in June after a seven-year courtship, having been introduced by friends in 2003. This also means that actress Han Hye-jin (Jejoongwon) will be an aunt — his wife is her older sister.

A representative from Kim’s management company, Namoo Actors, stated on the 8th that the couple is three months into the pregnancy, which puts the expected delivery date sometime in spring. Kim is generally protective of his privacy, so there were some at his management company who didn’t even know the truth until the reports leaked to the press: “He’s amazed at how the news got out, but he’s extremely happy at becoming a father.”

Most recently, Kim starred in the action-thriller film Invincible, a remake of the classic Hong Kong noir A Better Tomorrow, which he follows with upcoming maritime-police drama Poseidon, where he’ll play Eric’s main rival and friend in an elite team of counterterrorism agents. Can’t wait for all the bromancey goodness to come — surely it will come, right? I mean, frenemies/rivals on the same military team? It’s Maverick and Iceman, yo, to a tee. Can you play volleyball at sea?

Poseidon is aiming to air early next year and is currently filming.

Aunt Han Hye-jin

Via Asia

• Kim Kang-woo cast as lead in Poseidon
• Kim Kang-woo’s photo spreads for Arena and sure
• Kim Kang-woo to marry next month
• Kim Kang-woo isn’t so clean-cut anymore
• Kim Kang-woo: Birth of a devil

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Lee Seung-gi nominated for SBS MC Daesang
by girlfriday

Looks like puppy’s having a good year. Triple threat singer/actor/MC Lee Seung-gi (My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Brilliant Legacy) is playing with the big boys now—he’s been nominated for SBS’ MC Daesang, up against veteran heavyweights Kang Ho-dong, Yoo Jae-suk, and Lee Gyung-gyu. There’s not so much a chance in hell that he’ll win, but that’s not the point, as being nominated with these guys is pretty much the highlight for such a relative newbie like him.

I say relative, of course, because compared to these comedians (all three come from the gagman-to-MC camp), 23-year old Lee Seung-gi is just a kid. Lee Gyung-gyu debuted before Seung-gi was even born; Kang Ho-dong debuted in 1988, Yoo Jae-suk shortly after in 1991. But despite his greenness, there’s something about Seung-gi that almost everyone universally acknowledges: what Koreans would call MC-chaejil, meaning he was born to do this.

He has this disarming way of making everybody love him, which isn’t so hard to believe since he’s everything from the Nation’s Little Brother to Korean moms’ number one pick for a son-in-law. He and Kang Ho-dong have fantastic chemistry as an odd couple, on both Strong Heart and KBS’ 1 Night 2 Days, and frankly, theirs is my favorite tv bromance, because it’s real, and completely adorkable.

I think what makes him good is that he’s natural in front of the camera and doesn’t shy away from being himself, which is dorky and funny and naive. But his success as an MC has everything to do with Kang Ho-dong, who isn’t afraid to look bad while making Seung-gi look good. Together they have this great comic timing that makes them click.

I have no doubt that the real battle for the award will be between Kang Ho-dong and Yoo Jae-suk, as they are both at the top of their game and always neck-and-neck for the year-end MC awards. But it’s nice to see Seung-gi coming up in the world.

Lee Seung-gi and Kang Ho-dong (bottom right) are both nominated for Strong Heart (and Kang Ho-dong also for Star King); Yoo Jae-suk (top right) for Running Man; and Lee Gyung-gyu (top left) for Star Junior. The SBS Awards will air December 30.

Via Newsis

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Lin Dan upset after his marriage registration photos leaked on Internet
By CHOW HOW BAN

BEIJING: Photos of badminton star Lin Dan and long-time girlfriend Xie Xingfang registering their marriage surfaced on the Internet yesterday.

The Olympic and Asiad champion, who had not responded to mounting rumours of his marriage with the former Chinese national women’s singles player, was put on the spot by the leak of the photos.

The photos showed that Lin Dan and Xingfang signed the marriage documents at the Haizhu district marriage registration centre in Guangzhou on Monday.

The southern Chinese city is the hometown of Xingfang.

Local media reports said that Lin Dan did not return together with his team-mates to their training base in Beijing on Monday from Hong Kong where they competed in the season-ending Super Series tournament but went for his marriage registration instead.

When approached by reporters at the training grounds, Lin Dan was apparently upset over the exposure of the photos.

After his training, he made a phone call and told the press that he and Xingfang would not comment on their marriage for the time being.

“I just feel that our marriage registration is a personal matter and we did not want to announce it early.

“It is not the right time to do so,” Lin Dan was quoted by qq.com as saying.

Last week, local media reported that Lin Dan and Xingfang would tie the knot soon.

They quoted Lin Dan’s mother as saying that he had submitted his application for marriage to the Liberation Army.

Lin Dan is a soldier and it is compulsory for an officer to apply for marriage.

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Lin Dan hints at getting married before 2012 Olympics

BEIJING: Chinese badminton superstar Lin Dan says his preparations for the 2012 London Olympics will not delay his plans to marry former world champion Xie Xingfang.

Lin Dan, viewed by many as the best badminton player ever, last month secured a long-coveted gold medal at the Asian Games to go with his world and Olympic titles.

His sporting legacy secured, the 27-year-old Lin Dan says he is ready to focus on other things, raising the possibility of a marriage before the London Summer Games.

“I have sacrificed so much to play badminton at the expense of my family, girlfriend and friends. Now, I feel my family and friends are just as important as the sport,” Lin Dan told the China Daily in comments published yesterday.

“I won’t postpone the marriage simply because of the London Olympics. I have experienced a lot and I know how to do everything,” he said.

“I am considering getting married before the London Games and I am making efforts towards that.”

Lin Dan’s romance with Xingfang, a silver medallist at the Beijing Olympics, has been an intense media topic in China with millions of adoring fans eager to know the couple’s every move.

Only last month, Lin Dan said he was too young to wed and that marriage “is not on my agenda”.

Lin Dan skipped this month’s China Open in Shanghai due to fatigue, after defeating Malaysia’s world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei for the title at the Asiad in Guangzhou. But he is competing this week at the Hong Kong Open. — AFP

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Philippines 0 Indonesia 1 - Gonzales puts Indonesia on top

Click here to view the match summary

Jakarta: Cristian Gonzales capitalised on a defensive mix-up to give Indonesia a narrow advantage over the Philippines in the first leg of their AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final on Thursday.

The Uruguay-born striker headed the only goal of the game after goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and full-back Ray Jonsson had got in each other's way in the 32nd minute at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

It proved to be the only real lapse by the Filipino defence who defended heroically throughout the evening. But it was enough to give the Indonesians a precious lead to take into the return match at the same venue on Sunday.

The partisan home crowd of 70,000 created a deafening roar as the game kicked off but the Philippines showed few signs of nerves early on despite the intimidating atmosphere.

Gonzales put a weak shot wide in the opening minute but the first real Indonesian chance only arrived after 10 minutes when Oktovianus Maniani gave the ball to an overlapping Mohammad Nasuha, who cut the ball back from the left for Gonzales whose close range attempt went straight at Etheridge.

The Philippines were solid defensively in the early stages and created a few chances of their own. On 14 minutes, Phil Younghusband drilled a low shot from the edge of the Indonesian box that goalkeeper Markus Harison turned out for a corner.

Midway through the first half, Phil's elder brother James created a fine opening for himself. He turned brilliantly away from a challenge by Muhammad Ridwan on the left flank and ran unchallenged before unleashing a vicious low swerving shot from 25 metres that Harison did well to parry. Ian Araneta attempted to pounce on the rebound but was flagged for offside

The Philippines competed well for the first half-hour, allowing the Indonesians few real scoring opportunities. But having gone nearly four hours without conceding a goal in the tournament, their composure finally cracked after a fatal defensive mix-up.

There appeared to be little danger when Firman Utina swung in a deep cross from midfield to the right of the Filipino box. But Etheridge and Jonsson got in each other's way and the ball fell nicely for a lurking Gonzales, who placed his cushioned header into the unguarded net.

The goal ignited the Indonesian crowd and the home side turned up the pressure for the rest of the half.

The Filipino defence had recovered their poise though and Alexander Borromeo made a great defensive header to clear a dangerous cross by Muhammad Ridwan before it could reach Irfan Bachdim or Gonzales. Jonsson then made up for his earlier lapse with a good challenge to deny Irfan before he could fire a shot on target.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Robert Gier produced the tackle of the game with a sliding challenge to stop Gonzales as he bore down on the Philippines goal after being released by Irfan's through ball.

The Indonesians continued to plug away throughout the second half only to be turned away time after time by the Filipino defence, which put in some fine last-ditch tackles to deny the Indonesians a clear change against Etheridge.

The visitors themselves had few real chances but they nearly drew level after an Indonesian defensive mix-up in the 75th minute. Maman Abdurachman got in the way of Harison as the goalkeeper attempted to gather the ball on the edge of the box and the loose ball fell to James Younghusband who fired a bicycle kick towards goal. Fortunately for the Indonesians, Zulkifly Syukur was alert to the danger and heroically headed the ball off his goalline.

Bambang Pamungkas came on as a substitute and broke into the box in the 80th minute only to be forced wide by Etheridge. The striker was still able to put in a cross from the left but it flew just over the head of Gonzales.

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Prison officers killed in crash
RUBEN SARIO
sario@thestar.com.my

KOTA KINABALU: Four Sabah prison officers were killed when a bus plunged down a steep slope and overturned several times near Kampung Moyog, some 45km from here, yesterday.

In the incident at about 10.15am, the driver of the department bus lost control of the vehicle before it went off the road and plummeted down the slope.

Twenty-one people including family members of prison officers were injured.

Seven have been listed in critical condition.

The impact of the accident along the hilly and winding Tambunan-Kota Kinabalu trunk road sheared off the roof of the bus, pinning two of the dead victims.

The injured and the bodies of the dead were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

A Fire and Rescue Services Department official listed the dead as bus co-driver Muslimin Muhamad, Madinah Alahamdulilah, Selamat Idris and Sabirin Murad.

Bus driver Rizwan Samda Mudin was injured.

Among the first to be plucked out by rescuers was 14-year-old Mohd Hafidz Ramli, whose father, Ramli Basal, was among the injured.

Mohd Hafidz said that after negotiating a sharp bend on a steep downhill slope, the driver lost control of the bus.

“It seemed as if he was trying to apply the brakes but he couldn’t control the vehicle.

“Everybody was screaming, then I passed out,” he said.

The bus also narrowly missed an electricity pole before the plunge.

Muslimin’s 14-year-old son, Mohd Noraihan, who had been sitting beside his father before the accident, said he was thrown about when the bus overturned.

“All I could remember was the bus shuddering as it plunged down the slope and I was thrown about in the bus,” he said after being pulled out from the wreckage.

The 40-seater bus was one of three buses carrying prison officers and their family members back after a three-day inter-state departmental football tournament.

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Birthday joy ends in death

BUTTERWORTH: The joy of celebrating a friend’s birthday ended in tragedy when a 25-year old mechanic was killed in an accident at KM5.1 on the Prai-bound lane of the Penang Bridge.

A police spokesman said Khor Chai Tong from Nibong Tebal died shortly after the car he was driving crashed into the bridge divider and caught fire at about 1am yesterday.

“A friend, who drove in a separate car from behind, stopped and pulled him out before the car caught fire.

“But he died shortly afterwards due to multiple injuries on his head,” the spokesperson said, adding that his body was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for post-mortem.

The spokesman said initial investigations showed that the man was driving fast on the right lane and lost control of the vehicle.

On hitting the divider, the car spun a few times before coming to a halt and catching fire, he said.

Prai fire station senior officer Ismail Rahim said 14 firemen on two engines and four Rapid Intervention Motorcycle units from the station rushed to the scene after receiving a call at 1.18am.

He said the firemen took about five minutes to put the fire out.

State Police Traffic Operations chief Deputy Supt Abdul Rahim Md Din said the case was being investigated to check if there was any element of reckless driving.

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Muhyiddin: History curriculum unchanged until 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: The History curriculum for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) will remain unchanged until 2017. That is because students who will use the new curriculum from Form One in 2014 will only sit for the SPM in 2018.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told Dewan Negara yesterday: “The new curriculum starts for Form One students in 2014 and they will become the first batch of students to sit for the exam under the new curriculum in 2018.

“The move is to give the ministry time to allow teachers to adjust to the new curriculum.”

He added that the ministry would also set up a committee to study the new History curriculum and textbooks to ensure a comprehensive coverage of history.

In October, the Government announced that apart from Bahasa Malaysia, History would also be a must-pass subject for SPM, starting 2013.

He also told Senator Datuk Dr Yeow Chai Thiam that History would be among the subjects offered to candidates sitting for their SPM Ulangan examination from 2014.

Muhyiddin said the decision was made to give students an opportunity to achieve better results in their SPM.

He said the format for examinations and appraisal on students would also be revised to provide additional motivation to students during History periods in class.

Later, during a press conference after chairing a meeting of the 2011 School Session Committee, Muhyiddin advised schools to adhere to the ministry’s circular on school supplementary fees and not burden parents with huge payments in the new school session.

“If schools felt that a small contribution from the parents was necessary, they could ask for it but with the agreement of the parent-teacher association (PTA),” he said, adding that the matter should be agreed on by the PTAs before forwarding it to the state education director for approval.

Muhyiddin said there would be 210 schooling days and 78 school term holidays in 2011, adding that 66 new schools would be opened next year.

He said that to ensure schools had enough teachers, the ministry had redeployed or transferred teachers to areas with a shortage. – Bernama

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