Police arrest two boys for attempting to rob elderly man

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested two boys, aged 12 and 14, who are believed to have assaulted a 79-year-old man in a bid to rob him.

The elderly man lodged a police report on Tuesday, informing that he had been assaulted by two boys who tried to rob him earlier on the same day at Block 124 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.

He suffered a swollen left eye and abrasions on his face, knee and palm as a result of the attack.

Police said officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division were patrolling in the vicinity of Blk 341 Ang Mo Kio St 31 later that day when they spotted a group of youths at the BBQ pit.

The group fled in different directions. The officers gave chase and detained one of them - a 12-year-old boy, after a short chase.

Police said that preliminary investigations revealed that he was believed to be one of the suspects who had attempted to rob the 79-year-old victim earlier.

The officers managed to establish the identity of his 14-year-old accomplice through follow-up investigations and arrested him in the vicinity of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 on Wednesday morning.

Niece who harboured Mas Selamat likely to lose teaching job

The niece of Mas Selamat Kastari, who harboured the terrorist after his escape two years ago, will likely be dismissed from her post as a Malay language teacher, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE).

A spokesman told The Straits Times (ST) on Tuesday, “‘MOE takes disciplinary action, including dismissal, against teachers who have been charged and convicted in court for a criminal offence.”

“We will proceed to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Nur Aini Asmom, with a view to dismiss her from service, as she has been found guilty by the Subordinate Courts for harbouring a prisoner of State.”

Nur Aini was sentenced to 18 months’ jail for her role in harbouring Mas Selamat.

Mas Selamat, who escaped the massive island-wide manhunt for two days after his escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC), hid in his brother’s home in Tampines for a night on Feb 29, 2008, before escaping to Malaysia.

It was a move that puzzled many, since standard procedure for season militants from Jemaah Islamiah (JI) would be to approach other JI members and not family members.

Terror experts said it could be because the authorities were focusing on other JI members, or that the JI network in Singapore had been dismantled.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday, “Mas Selamat believed that it would be safe for him at Asmom’s house as only Nur Aini would be there and that she would render assistance to him.”

He wanted to get help from his niece, Nur Aini, whom he thought was home alone. He had thought that his brother and his wife were staying in their Johor house, while Asmom’s son, Mahadir, was overseas.

Asmom, his wife Aisah and daughter Nui Aini were jailed between three and 18 months for harbouring the terrorist after his escape. His brother, Asmom was given 12 months while his sister-in-law Aisah, three months’ jail. They were arrested and charged last Wednesday, on November 10.

Mas Selamat’s nephew, Mahadir, who had a lesser role in the matter, has been served a stern warning in lieu of prosecution.

Mr Shanmugam added that Nur Aini had persuaded her mother to allow Mas Selamat to enter the flat. Her mother had reservations about allowing Mas Selamat into the flat because his fugitive status had gone public and she knew that it was wrong to help him.

Nur Aini allowed him to use her bedroom, provided him food and water, and also helped him to destroy the clothes he wore to the flat, which included his WRDC-issued attire.

On 1 Mar 2008, before Mas Selamat left the flat, Nur Aini applied make-up on Mas Selamat and secured a tudung (headscarf) over his head so that he could disguise himself as a woman to evade detection and recapture. She also handed to him a map of Singapore that showed part of Malaysia.

Asmom gave him S$100 and RM100 to facilitate his escape from Singapore to Malaysia. He also gave Mas Selamat some traditional medicine which the latter kept in his backpack while Aisah gave him an EZ-link card and hair-net which he wore as part of his disguise, and some paracetamol.

Mr Shanmugam said the three had knowingly harboured Mas Selamat, an escaped prisoner of the State, whom they knew was the subject of a massive manhunt.

They deliberately withheld information when they were interviewed by the authorities on March 3, 2008.

It was only in October this year, after being confronted with the facts, that they admitted to what had happened.

Mr Shanmugam added that Asmom and his family’s decision to harbour Mas Selamat and provide him with material support that enabled him to escape to Malaysia was very wrong, illegal, and had grave security implications.

As to how Mas Selamat made his way to Asmom’s flat and how he subsequently made his way to Malaysia, Mr Shanmugam said the account given by Mas Selamat is still subject to verification.

Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, said he was very disappointed that Mas Selamat was aided by his family members after he escaped from WRDC.

In a statement, Dr Yaacob, who is Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said harbouring criminals is a very serious offence — more so when it involved a wanted fugitive who was a threat to the whole country — at a time when everyone was deeply concerned and actively looking out for him.

“I am disappointed because we know that Singaporeans from all backgrounds have come together since 2002 — the Malay/Muslim community very prominently — to keep the lid on the danger of terrorism.”

He added that the good work must continue at all levels to build understanding and confidence, and enhance safety and security for Singapore to emerge stronger from this episode as a society.

Mas Selamat is a hardened and dangerous terrorist, who has been involved in various plots by the JI to mount terrorist attacks in Singapore since the 1990s. He is operationally trained and has undergone training twice in Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.

Mas Selamat was caught in Johor on April 1, 2009 and held in a Malaysian prison until he was handed over to Singapore on Sept 24, 2010.

Taiwanese competitor disqualified at taekwondo

GUANGZHOU, China – In the first major judging controversy of the Asian Games, Yang Shu-chun of Taiwan was disqualified from the taekwondo competition Wednesday for using an illegal sensor on the heel of her shoes.

Yang Jin-suk, secretary general of the World Taekwondo Federation, told a media conference that officials noticed in a pre-match inspection that the 2008 Beijing Olympic competitor appeared to have one extra sensor on the heel of each shoe.

The judges told her not to use them in the under-49 kilogram division match, then disqualified her with 12 seconds left in the first round because they noticed she still had them on her shoes. Philippine referee Stephen Fernandez then stopped the fight.

The 25-year-old Taiwanese competitor was leading Thi Hau Vu of Vietnam 9-0, but Vu advanced to the quarterfinals.

The decision, which the secretary-general said was confirmed by a five-member games technical committee, left Yang Shu-chun and her coach in tears, and unwilling to leave the competition area.

"She was very well-known in the circuit. Why even bother to do anything like that?" the WTF secretary-general told The Associated Press.

"The fact of the matter is while she was out there competing, the sensors were discovered. That relates to the question of did she get that many points because of the sensors?"

Tai Hsia-ling, the minister of Taiwan's Cabinet-level Sports Affairs Council who was in Guangzhou, disagreed with the situation.

"This is a very, very unfair statement," Tai said. "We will protest strongly again. We are very upset that he (the WTF) made a statement like that before the results of the investigation are out. It is very unfair to our athletes."

Taiwanese taekwondo competitor Huang Hsien-yung later went on to win gold in the under-46 class, and said she used her teammate's disqualification to motivate her.

"When I first found out, I thought 'how could that be?'" Huang said. "But I turned my grief into motivation."

Yang Jin-suk's announcement at Guangdong Stadium, venue of the taekwondo competition, was met with boos and chants from some of the Taiwanese media attending the event.

Yang Shu-chun, who was not immediately for comment, also competed at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

These are Poly students on smoke break

More than 100 students from Republic Polytechnic blatantly flout smoking rules at the void deck of a Woodlands block.

EVERY day, more than 100 students from Republic Polytechnic (RP) blatantly flout smoking rules by lighting up at the void deck of a Woodlands block.

Students are not allowed to light up on campus and the school has also established a "no smoking" zone around its premises.

Block 806, Woodlands Street 81, a seven-minute walk from RP, lies within the smoke-free zone.

The students appear there during their lunch break, which is from 11.30am to 2pm.

After The New Paper reported last week that some Choa Chu Kang residents were unhappy that students from ITE College West caused a nuisance in their neighbourhood, we received complaints about students from RP and the Lasalle College of the Arts smoking and littering.

Housewife Jane Koh, 51, who lives in the opposite block, said that from her second-storey flat, she usually sees "40 to 50" students gathering at the void deck of Block 806 every day.

"They smoke, make noise and throw their cigarette butts all over the place," the resident of three years added.

Two other residents who have lived there for more than 20 years said the problem started in 2006 when RP moved to its permanent location in Woodlands.

Construction supervisor Simon Lim is upset that the students pollute the air in the coffee shop at the block.

The coffee shop places six or so additional tables and chairs outside.

Mr Lim, 50,and his friends have lunch there sometimes.

"We are non-smokers.When the wind blows, the smoke gets in our face," he said.

When the TNP team was at Block 806 on Tuesday, we saw about 100 students arrive around 11.30am. An hour later many of them had left, but another 150 or so students streamed in.

They spread themselves across the void deck in groups of three to four. Most stood as they puffed away, while others sat on the stone benches or on the ground.

Two students sat on chairs that belonged to the coffee shop.

When we approached a group of four students and asked why they were smoking there, a 19-year-old first-year student, who gave his name only as Rus, said: "This is the only place that is not directly opposite the school."

Some students said they choose to smoke at Block 806 as they can buy cigarettes at the minimart there and the coffee shop.

The minimart owner, Madam Jennifer Loh, who is in her 40s, said she gets brisk business from students buying drinks and cigarettes. Every day, she sells 20 to 30 packs of cigarettes to RPstudents.

She said she checks the students' identity cards to make sure that they are not underage.

It's against the law to sell tobacco products to those below 18. The New Paper understands that first-year polytechnic students are aged 17 to 20.

By 2pm, the students had dispersed and headed back to school.

But they left behind a mess - more than 200 cigarette butts and at least 10 empty drink cans and plastic cups littered the ground. The ashtray on top of the dustbin at the void deck was filled to the brim with cigarette butts.

There were two other bins outside the void deck but only a handful of students used them.

A town council cleaner, who declined to be named, said he spends about an hour every day cleaning up after the students.

An RP spokesman said the school had indicated the "no smoking" boundary on a map and e-mailed it to all its students.

According to a copy of the e-mail obtained by TNP, smoking is banned in "the polytechnic, in Admiralty Park, on all roads, sidewalks, bus stops and the overhead bridges around the polytechnic, and in the area bounded by Woodlands Avenue 2, Woodlands Avenue 9 and Woodlands Street 81".

The RPspokesman said: "Our roving discipline officers conduct spot checks from time to time."

He added that the school had written to the National Environment Agency (NEA) on several occasions last year, requesting them to send in enforcement officers.

"They have acknowledged our concerns and have worked closely with RP to conduct regular enforcement in the estate," he said.

Checks with the NEA showed that 51 tickets were issued for littering offenders at Woodlands Street 81 between January and Oct 26 this year. The latest patrol conducted at Blocks 801 to 808 was on Sept 25.

When the TNP team was at Block 806 yesterday, three male discipline officers from RP were seen approaching the students.

The students quickly walked away. After approaching four students sitting on the grass verge and speaking to them for a while, the officers left.

PURWOBINANGUN, Indonesia (AFP) - – Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano exploded in a frightening new eruption of lava and red-hot rocks on Wednesday, sparking panic and forcing the government to order new evacuations.

Scientists said the 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) mountain in central Java erupted with more force than last week's blasts that killed 36 people, spewing huge clouds of searing gas into the sky.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had visited some of the 75,000 evacuees in shelters near the fuming peak earlier Wednesday, but it was not clear if he was still in the area when the latest full-scale eruption began.

Witnesses said a huge grey cloud of ash and hot gas shot high above the mountain and tumbled down its slopes in a deadly avalanche.

Locals who have grown used to seeing the volcano belch gas and ash over the past eight days jumped on motorcycles and fled for their lives.

"Hundreds of people fled in panic from the refugee shelter in Glagaharjo, 10 kilometres from the peak," relief worker Anwar told AFP.

"There was extraordinary chaos and panic. The refugees cried and screamed hysterically, and some fainted."

Witnesses said two huge explosions shook the surrounding countryside.

"They were the biggest heat clouds I've seen since I was posted here last week," relief worker Sulih Putra said.

"I was actually panicking but I tried not to be because I didn't want the refugees to panic too."

Government volcanologist Surono said: "It's the biggest eruption and it's been happening for almost two hours, since 2:27 pm (0727 GMT)."

"This is the most extraordinary, the biggest," he added, referring to eruptions on October 26 and 30.

Officials expanded the danger zone around Mount Merapi and ordered people living closer than 15 kilometres (10 miles) to evacuate, while some international flights to and from the area have been cancelled.

"We've decided to widen the danger zone to 15 kilometres, the refugee camps must be moved outside the zone," Surono said.

The previous exclusion zone radiated 10 kilometres from the volcano. Around 75,000 people have evacuated the area since last Tuesday, when Merapi started its latest series of eruptions.

Heat clouds seethed from the crater early Wednesday morning as Yudhoyono visited refugees and repeated scientists' warnings that further eruptions were likely over the coming weeks.

"There will be more eruptions from Merapi, albeit small ones. If the conditions are safe you will be able to return to your homes," he told residents of one temporary shelter in Sleman district, near Yogyakarta.

He asked evacuees to be patient and promised government assistance to rebuild their communities once the all-clear is given for their return.

Evacuees said they were bored in the shelters and expressed concern for their livestock on the mountain's slopes, which represent the life savings of many of the region's poor farmers.

"My cows are still in my village so I have no option but to occasionally return. There should be a shelter for cows here in the safe area so people don't have to go back," herdsman Basuki, 39, said.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia said about 8,000 people scheduled to depart from Solo airport to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage now had to leave from Surabaya due to the volcanic activity.

The disaster-prone Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines from the Indian to the Pacific oceans.

In the Mentawai island chain 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) to the west of Mount Merapi, more than 400 people were killed when a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake slammed into coastal villages on October 25.

About 15,000 people were made homeless in that disaster, which scientists said was directly related to the 2004 Asian tsunami, also created by an earthquake off the Sumatran coast.

Officials said bad weather was hampering operations to bring aid supplies to the isolated islands.

"More than 10 ships and helicopters from the military and the police have been dispatched but the bad weather has prevented them from regularly distributing food and medical supplies," a disaster response official said.

Meanwhile concerns were raised for three New Zealand yachtsmen who have not been heard from since the tsunami. They were believed to be sailing towards the Mentawais on the night the three-metre wave struck.