TheSun News of the week 15/10/2005

EPF lodges police reports KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund has lodged police reports in connection with six cases of fraudulent withdrawal and 19 cases of attempted fraudulent withdrawal under the Incapacitation Withdrawal category in Penang and Perak. EPF investigation found the applications were made using forged medical reports purportedly issued by government hospitals and clinics. In a statement on Friday, EPF's senior public relations manager Nik Affendi Jaafar said: "We take a serious view of fraudulent withdrawals and the fact that we have made police reports in Penang and Perak is a testimony to our resolve to end this unhealthy practice." Top cop's son detained KUALA LUMPUR: A top brass federal police officer's son was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for allegedly taking bribes to secure City Hall licences to set up Ramadan trading stalls. The ACA detained him the man together with a 25-year-old, believed to be a City Hall officer, at a shopping centre on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman at about 4pm on Wednesday. He was arrested following a tip-off from an anonymous caller. On Thursday, the suspects were brought before magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham who has issued a remand order for three days. RM4m LCD heist KUALA LUMPUR: All vehicles leaving the KL International Airport (KLIA) are now subject to 100% checks. The move followed the theft of RM4 million in LCD panels from the airport's cargo village at 4am on Monday, right under the noses of Customs officers. Carpenter charged KUALA LUMPUR: A carpenter was charged in the magistrate's court on Friday with throwing two Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs) into the Jalan Tun H.S. Lee traffic police station at about 8.45pm on Oct 8. Chok Wan Wai, 27, from Jalan Kuchai Lama, pleaded not guilty. He expressed surprise when the interpreter explained to him the act had caused losses to the station. RM14m CBT charges BUKIT MERTAJAM: Two former Dell Asia Pacific employees claimed trial in a magistrate's court to a total of 14 charges of forgery and theft involving more than RM14 million while under the employ of the company in 2003. Ng Chung Khoon, 33, a for mer manager with Dell, denied 10 counts of falsifying material requisition forms causing the company to lose RM11.98 million while Tan Boon Hoe, 31, a former technician, claimed trial to similar charges which allegedly caused Dell to lose RM2.42 million. Tan also faces another charge of stealing 5,000 pieces of certificates of authenticity belonging to Dell between June and July 2003. Car kills sleeping man KUALA PILAH: A man who was fast asleep in his room died after a car ploughed into his house at Km6 KepisSenaling Road at 2pm on Thursday. Kuala Pilah Deputy OCPD DSP Mohd Isa Hussin said Mohd Nor Abdul Rahman, 50, died on the spot due to serious head and body injuries. The car is believed to have gone out of control and ploughed into the wooden house situated close to the road shoulder. Dr M unhappy KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to be unhappy with the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti). On Monday, he accused the ministry of covering up the award of national status to South Koreanmade cars. He also said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz has not answered his questions on the Approved Permits issue. Much ado over an office KUALA LUMPUR: The creation of a parliamentary affairs office caused a furore among members of Parliament who saw it as meddling by the executive. During a roundtable called by the Opposition Leader on Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz assured MPs that the new department will not undermine Parliament's independence and the rights of MPs. On Wednesday, National Service director-general Kamaruddin Mohd Baria was appointed Head of Administration of Parliament. The next day, MPs from both sides unanimously called for the re-enactment of the Parliamentary Services Act. The 50-odd backbenchers and opposition members present stood in unison, heeding the call by Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad to show support for the Act's revival. The Act, repealed in 1992, provides for a separate service for Parliament. ­ (MPs take a historic stand Page 5). WORLD Rescue work halted MUZAFFARABAD (Pakistan): Pakistani authorities on Friday called off efforts to rescue any survivors caught beneath the rubble of last week's massive earthquake, saying the focus must now shift to the living. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people died in Saturday's earthquake. Unicef spokeswoman Julia Spry Leverton said children were especially vulnerable and accounted for around half of the population in the affected areas in northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Tough new laws LONDON: Britain has published sweeping plans to fight terrorism which, if passed into law, would let police hold suspects for three months without charge, sparking anger from senior judges and civil rights groups. However, Tony Blair's government may still have to back down on the most contested parts of the bill, which was drawn up after the attacks on London's transport system in July. The government has heeded police calls to extend the time they can detain terrorism suspects without charge to 90 days from 14. Back on course BEIJING: China's Shenzhou VI space capsule fired rockets Friday morning to tweak its trajectory during a 30th orbit of Earth, a correction that state media described as routine and planned even before lift-off. The operation took just a few seconds to restore the vessel to its original trajectory, Xinhua news agency said. The Shenzhou VI blasted off on Wednesday, carrying China's second and third men into space. Germany's first BERLIN: Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats agreed on Monday that conservative leader Angela Merkel should replace him as chancellor at the head of a coalition government, a spokesman said. He said party members had approved by a large majority the deal that would make Merkel the first female chancellor in German history. Parting shot SINGAPORE: The outgoing US envoy to Singapore criticised the city-state's limits on political expression, saying governments will pay an increasing price for failing to give citizens freedom of choice and expression. US Ambassador Franklin L. Lavin said it was surprising to find what he called constraints on discussions given Singapore's strong international links. "In this era of weblogs and webcams, how much sense does it make to limit political expression?" Lavin said at his farewell dinner on Tuesday. Saddam's `immunity' LONDON: Saddam Hussein's defence lawyers will argue that he has immunity from prosecution at his trial in Iraq later this month, according to a member of his legal team. Lawyer Abdel Haq Alani told the BBC the former president "had full immunity under the prevailing Iraqi constitution and you cannot have a retroactive legislation that removes that immunity". Oprah's mission NEW YORK: US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, whose influence can turn the New York Times bestseller list on its head, is having a similar impact on the FBI's most wanted list with a campaign to catch fugitive paedophiles launched last week. The results were almost immediate. Within 48 hours, two absconding child molesters had been picked up following tips from viewers of Winfrey's syndicated talk show which pulls in around 30 million viewers a day and reaches 112 countries.