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‘Stop the affront to the right to a fair trial and justice, Singapore’ — Group expressed their frustrations in aftermath of hanging case

The Independent
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‘Stop the affront to the right to a fair trial and justice, Singapore’ — Group expressed their frustrations in aftermath of hanging case

The hanging of a Malaysian for drug trafficking last month is still up for debate in Malaysia and this time, it is a group comprising 20 civil society organisations that have criticised Singapore’s Court of Appeal for ordering Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam’s lawyers to personally pay the cost.

They expressed their frustrations with the order, calling it an affront to the right to a fair trial and justice.

According to local media here, the cost amounts to S$20,000 (RM64,000) and has to be paid to the country’s Attorney-General’s Chambers or AGC. The AGC had originally sought S$40,000 from the lawyers in question, M Ravi and Violet Netto, for attempting to delay Nagaenthran’s execution by filing unmeritorious applications, they said in a statement.

Unnecessary costs were stated to have been incurred as a result of this.

“What is even more shocking is that the five-judge Court of Appeal, led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, makes this cost order a month after the said lawyers’ client, Nagaenthran, had been executed,” said the group.

They expressed their frustrations with the order, calling it an affront to the right to a fair trial and justice.

“This will seriously impact the ability of lawyers and their clients from doing the needful, including the filing of needed applications in the defence of their clients.

“Whilst in some jurisdictions, it seems possible that the court can order the defendant/accused/convicted person to pay the cost to the prosecution, it is rare.

“Such laws or practices ought to be repealed,” they said.

Twenty local and international civil society organisations signed the statement, including Aliran, Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet), the North-South Initiative, Black Women for Housework Wages, and Lawyers Collective (India).

The Singapore court did not order the defendant to pay the cost to the prosecution, said the group.

“The existence of laws, and this action of the Singapore court ordering lawyers to personally pay the cost of prosecution, is a violation of, amongst others, of Rule 16 of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers,” they said.

Governments must ensure that lawyers are allowed to exercise all professional tasks without fear of intimidation or inappropriate intervention, according to Rule 16.

The post ‘Stop the affront Singapore’ says group in aftermath of hanging case appeared first on The Independent News.

 

Sriya Lenka, India’s first K-pop star joins girl group Blackswan

The Independent
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Sriya Lenka, India’s first K-pop star joins girl group Blackswan

From being just a Korean phenomenon, K-pop is fast becoming a worldwide favourite with a globalized membership in its fraternity. Making history, 18-year-old Sriya Lenka became the first ever K-pop artist from India recently. Lenka who hails from Odisha will join the Korean pop band Blackswan together with Brazilian Gabriela Dalcin.

The announcement was made by Blackswan’s label DR Music on Instagram. “Sriya and Gabi were finally selected as members of Blackswan after participating in the global audition programme for the last 6 months,” DR Music said in a post.

Blackswan made its debut in 2020. The group now consists of six members – Youngheun, Fatou, Judy, Leia, Sriya, and Gabi.

Lenka is trained in Hindustani classical as well as Odissi and other forms of contemporary dance.

“Since I have a deep voice, I faced difficulty in finding the right vocal trainer. My grandmother helped me find one. She took me to a Hindustani classical music teacher, who taught me twice a week. But, for the western songs, I had to rely on online videos and self-learning,” said Lenka.

The search for the group’s fifth member was a result of its oldest member, Hyeme quitting in November 2020. In May 2021, DR Music held a global audition and Sriya Lenka and Gabriela Dalcin were chosen from among 4,000 people. Although originally Blackswan planned to pick only one person to replace Hyeme, the group chose both Lenka and Dalcin to join them.

“With their debut, we will be back with the new Blackswan,” DR Music posted on Instagram.

The duo will be based in Seoul where they will undergo intense training which includes standard vocal, rap, dance lessons, personal training, language and musical instruments.

Lenka said that it was a dream come true for her. “When my name was announced, all my fears were washed away. It was the happiest moment of my life. It was a dream come true. I have been away from my home, my country, my family and friends for so long and I wanted to make everyone proud. So, when I was selected, the first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Yes, I did it!’” she said.

Blackswan used to be known as Rania in 2011. It later became BP Rania before getting its current name in October 2020. The group debuted in 2020 with a full album Goodbye Rania, followed by its first single album Close to Me in 2021.

The post Sriya Lenka, India’s first K-pop star joins girl group Blackswan appeared first on The Independent News.

 

Thief wears plastic bag over head to steal cash register from coffee shop at Boon Tiong Road

Anna Maria Romero
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Thief wears plastic bag over head to steal cash register from coffee shop at Boon Tiong Road

A man was able to break into a coffee shop on Boon Tiong Road on Saturday (May 28) at about 2 am, where he took a mobile phone and five cash registers, which contained over $700.

He wore a plastic bag over his head in the hopes that his identity would be hidden if his acts were caught on CCTV cameras.

However, police were able to arrest the 55-year-old man on the same day.

On Monday (May 30) he was charged with housebreaking and theft.

Shin Min Daily News said that people discovered the break-in when they reported for work on Saturday morning. 

By 5:30 am, just before the start of the working day, an owner of a drinks stall at the Tiong Bahru coffee shop found the mess that the robber had made.

He also discovered that his cash register had been stolen.

The stall owner then proceeded to call the police, as well as the other stall owners of the coffee shop.

When they arrived, they discovered their cash registers had been broken into as well.

A video from a CCTV camera shows a man in a white shirt and dark pants with a dark cross-body bag wearing a white plastic bag over his head.

He is seen taking a pair of scissors and cutting the wires of a cash register and then lifting the cash register from the counter where it was installed.

The thief then places it somewhere off-camera and then can be seen again in the video, presumably about to repeat his actions.

Fortunately, the stallholders say they only leave small amounts in their cash registers for the sake of having change the next day, while the bulk of their earnings is taken home.

Officers from Central Police Division were able to identify the man through CCTV footage and ground inquiries, and arrested him the same day.

On the housebreaking to commit theft charges, the man could end up in jail for as long as 10 years, or be given a fine. /TISG 

CCTV: ‘Ghost cat’ scares off thief from robbing woman’s house

VIDEO | Mommy tiger can cuddle with cubs too

The Independent
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VIDEO | Mommy tiger can cuddle with cubs too

Tigers are aggressive, but we have seen cubs raised by humans and know how adorable they are as babies. They appear innocent, playful, and harmless. The video below shows a mother tiger cuddling four of her cubs, but it starts with the big tiger finding some shades on the hot, shiny day.

At that moment, one of her cubs has already fallen asleep in the shade, and the mother approaches the cub and lies down to cuddle with it. Soon after, her other cubs become envious of mommy’s undivided attention and join her for the cutest cuddle session ever.

One, two, and then three more tiger cubs join them in the shade, cuddling around their mother for a nap.

The post Why did the Mommy Tiger Cuddling With Cubs video go viral? appeared first on The Independent News.

 

19-year-old S’pore ‘Spider-Man’ breached COVID rules to film YouTube video in Clark Quay on New Year’s Eve

Anna Maria Romero
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19-year-old S’pore ‘Spider-Man’ breached COVID rules to film YouTube video in Clark Quay on New Year’s Eve

A teenager breached pandemic regulations just to create content for his YouTube channel, interviewing people—several of whom were drunk—at Clarke Quay on New Year’s Eve.

Kotra Venkata Sai Rohankrishna, a Singaporean, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020. He was given a fine of $4,000 in court on Tuesday (May 31).

Videos of a raucous crowd on the evening of Dec 31, 2021, went viral online quickly, prompting fears of a superspreader event. 

Photos: Tiktok, FB screengrab/ @shihanahnafshoeb, lawrencewong

The Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) overseeing measures to deal with the pandemic highlighted “blatant breaches” of safe management measures at the gathering and called it a “potential super spreading” event.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-leads the MTF,  told the press on Jan 5 that the revellers “got caught up in the moment” and added that enforcement action would be taken against those who breached safe management measures.

“Our investigations show that this was not an organized event. What happened was that people started gathering together, they got caught up in the moment, and soon we have a crowd of more than one hundred people at that location with many flouting the rules,” Mr Wong said.

In the wake of the viral videos, authorities arrested numerous people involved in the gathering, including Kotra, who was in a Spider-Man costume that night. 

The court was told by Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin that the 19-year-old thought of the idea of filming drunk people in the crowd to make a video for his YouTube channel, enlisting help from three friends, Glaxy Low Xuan Ming, Lee Hern Sing and Putchakayala Akash, who helped him film and were also featured in the video, The Straits Times reported.

The four met up at Prinsep Street to make the video. In order to attract attention, Kotra went as Spider-Man.

The hit movie Spider-Man: No Way Home had just been released and Kotra would have presumably caught many people’s eyes.

DPP Bin said that the teen failed to wear a face mask under the costume.

Kotra and his friends went to Clarke Quay at around 11 pm, and proceeded to engage with several people in the area to make the video.

He and Low pretended to wrestle so that the crowd would pay attention to them.  

“By virtue of their costumes and actions, they were focal points of attention in the crowd,” added the DPP.

On Jan 3, Kotra uploaded a four-minute and 22-second video on his YouTube channel, and in one part of the narration he said, “this New Year’s celebration was a complete slap in the face to the law.”

The video clearly showed him gathering with more than five individuals and failing to keep the prescribed one-meter safe distance, which was in effect at that time.

DPP Bin asked for a fine of $5000 for Kotra, saying, “The accused was the mastermind in the present case. His culpability is the highest of any person in the Clarke Quay incident charged thus far.”

His friend Low has been given a fine of $2,000. 

The Urban Redevelopment Authority that 14 people have faced charges related to the NYE gathering at Clark Quay, and 19 people have been handed composition fines.

A person convicted of breaching Covid-19 regulations could face a jail sentence of as long as six months or a fine of as much as $10,000. /TISG

‘So lenient’ — Netizens say NYE revellers at raucous Clarke Quay gathering are getting off too lightly

Woman says her virtual avatar fell ‘victim’ to virtual rape in virtual world Metaverse

The Independent
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Woman says her virtual avatar fell ‘victim’ to virtual rape in virtual world Metaverse

Women appear to be unsafe, not just in the real world. In the virtual world, they are likewise at risk. That is an unprecedented event for a researcher who was observing user behaviour on the site only to fall ‘victim’ to a virtual rape!

Should she have gone into the virtual reality world with a ‘chaperone’ to do her research? She travelled alone onto the platform, only to discover that it isn’t entirely free of nefarious characters.

This incident is not the first reported. In Feb, a woman, Nina Jane Patel who works as the vice-president of metaverse research in Kabuki ventures was gang-raped virtually in Meta’s metaverse.

The researcher claims that the incident occurred an hour after she put on her Oculus Virtual-reality headset.

SumOfUs produced a paper last week called “Metaverse: Another Cesspool of Toxic Content,” which recounts the researcher’s violent encounter in Meta’s Horizon World.

The researcher was invited to a private party on Horizon World, where individuals in the same room asked her to disable her safety bubble setting, according to the study.

A link to a video that, according to the group, depicts what occurred to the researcher’s avatar from her point of view.

A male avatar gets quite close to her in the video, as another male avatar looks on. A bottle of what looks to be booze is transferred between the two avatars in the 28-second video, while male voices make filthy comments.

Another user kept telling the researcher to ‘turn around, so he could do it from behind,’ while users outside the window could watch.

When another user touches you, the hand controllers vibrate, generating an extremely disorienting and even disturbing physical feeling during a virtual assault, says the researcher.

‘It happened so fast, I kind of disassociated. One part of my brain was like wtf is happening, the other part was like this isn’t a real body, and another part was like, this is important research,’ she said.

Many individuals are eager to reject virtual reality assault as it is something that did not occur in the real world.

When doing such acts, is the ‘sexual’ attack by users on another user in a virtual world become a non-consensual sexual relationship? It is a virtual world, but everyone has rights even in a virtual world, some say.

And that is why experts are calling the attack a virtual rape, as it was an act perpetrated without the consent of the victim.

The post Within an hour of logging into the metaverse, a woman’s avatar was raped appeared first on The Independent News.

 

A five-year-old child witnessed the gruesome murder of her Indonesian mother in Sarawak

The Independent
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A five-year-old child witnessed the gruesome murder of her Indonesian mother in Sarawak

Many countries were still celebrating Mother’s Day during the last weekend of the month, but this child of five had to watch the gruesome murder of her mom in Sarawak. On Sunday, the girl was in her rented apartment when her Indonesian mother was slain (May 29).

Supt Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad of the Padawan OCPD stated to the local media that the case is being investigated, but urged the public to provide any information they may have on the murder case. “Anyone who has information on the case is advised to pass it to the nearest police station,” he said to a local news portal.

The woman is thought to be from West Kalimantan and was residing with her daughter in a rented room. According to a source, the toddler fled down the street weeping from the leased room to a coffee shop.

The coffee shop owner was unaware of what had transpired and was concerned for her safety, so he took her to her mother. He was taken aback when he saw the woman lying dead in a pool of blood.

It is believed that the suspect slit the victim’s throat with a sharp weapon after a fight broke out. The victim died at the scene, while her daughter suffered minor injuries to the hand, the police said.

The police also said the large wound on the victim’s neck could have been made with a sharp weapon.

The victim, 35, worked at an entertainment outlet and lived in an apartment unit with her daughter.

There was no trace of a break-in at the scene. However, it could be a robbery, as some of the deceased’s belongings were found missing.

The Sarawak Contingent Police Headquarters Forensics Unit is investigating the situation, with help from a forensics team from the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).

The case has been reported to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in this city.

The post A five-year-old kid witnessed the gruesome murder of her mom appeared first on The Independent News.

 

Anwar’s men defeated in new party polls — latest setback for Malaysian opposition leader

The Independent
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Anwar’s men defeated in new party polls — latest setback for Malaysian opposition leader

Since the lockdowns and the fall of the Pakatan Harapan regime, Anwar Ibrahim’s popularity has plummeted, and his party, Keadilan Rakyat, has suffered the same fate. Ministers and MPs deserted the Keadilan in March 2020 to support a back-door government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the party’s biggest split in years.

Following this, the party lost the majority of the seats it ran for in by-elections, the most recent of which being its terrible showing in the Johor state elections last year. The PKR central election committee announced the unofficial results of the party polls last night. The results for all states and federal territories, except Sarawak, have been announced.

According to unconfirmed results given by the Keadilan’s central election committee, Rafizi Ramli has defeated his challenger Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in the contest for the post of deputy leader.

Except for Sarawak, the results for all states and federal territories have been announced as of 8.30 p.m. and it shows Rafizi with a massive lead against Saifuddin. Rafizi won the remaining states, including the very much prized Selangor, while Saifuddin won Perlis and Sabah.

The results also show the Selangor MB Aminuddin Shari leading as Naib President with Chang Ling Kang second and Nik Nazmi third. The fourth place seems to be for Aminudin Harun.

In the vice-presidential race, of which four elected positions are available, the projected winners are Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin (52,304 votes), Tanjung Malim MP Chang (40,280 votes), Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi (39,572 votes), and Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun (38,114 votes).

To mitigate the impact against Anwar, party players are now saying the big win by Rafizi Ramli, a popular figure on the local scene will be a great thing for the party.

Nik Nazmi, who is an MP in Parliament, says Anwar and Rafizi would be the best ticket for PKR to face the 15th general election (GE15).

The shattered party is attempting to rebuild itself, and many followers are hoping that Rafizi will be given the opportunity to rethink the party’s strategy.

The defeated candidate for the deputy leader post, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, is said to be close to Anwar and is in favour of a ‘big tent’ for the opposition to accommodate the party of ex-PM Muhyiddin Yassin, Bersatu.

Some MPs of the Bersatu are those who left Anwar’s party in March 2020 thus preventing the latter from gaining the post of Prime Minister after Tun Dr Mahathir resigned in February 2020.

Most of the new party leaders are against the ‘big tent’ and Anwar is now forced to work with a deputy leader who is not in favour of the ‘big tent’.

The post Anwar’s men defeated in new party polls in latest setback for opposition leader appeared first on The Independent News.

 

Lion gets new hairstyle, rebonded + straight bangs, but does not look too happy about it, hairstylist might get in trouble

The Independent
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Lion gets new hairstyle, rebonded + straight bangs, but does not look too happy about it, hairstylist might get in trouble

Photos of a lion looking dejected at a zoo got the online community commenting that he lost his pride thanks to his straight bangs and surprisingly straight mane. On Sunday (May 29), a Weibo user shared the photos of the lion in the Guangzhou Zoo, causing many to ask if zookeepers had given him a makeover.

It was confirmed by the zoo’s official Weibo account that the hairstyle was all-natural. It explained that the high humidity levels caused the lion’s mane to droop. For reference, this is what a lion’s mane would typically look like.

Photo: Taken from Canva.com

However, this particular lion’s mane looked like it was fresh out of the salon. Needless to say, the straight bangs didn’t help.

Photo: Weibo screengrab

Maybe the lion already knows what he looks like because he looked down dejectedly at the grass in another photo.

Photo: Weibo screengrab

The photo soon went viral, the lion becoming the zoo’s “mane attraction,” his caretakers reiterating they wouldn’t dare give him a haircut.

Netizens also couldn’t help but poke fun at the photos through witty comments.

“Lion: can you feel the love tonight? Lioness: I really can’t,” said Facebook user Karen Tan, referencing the Disney movie The Lion King.

Photo: Weibo screengrab

“The lion’s expression says it all. Poor thing, not gonna have little cubs for a while with that mane cut,” added Facebook user Serena Immanuel.

Others also agreed that the lion’s expression in the photo was on point to how he could possibly be feeling.

“He looks embarrassed!” said a netizen.

“Don’t worry mate, it will grow,” said Facebook user Elizabeth Barton in reassurance. /TISG

VIDEO: Lion drags zookeeper away before being savaged by the beast

VIDEO | Parents allow young son ‘drive’ BMW along Goodman Road, netizen says “If airbag deploys… little boy will likely die”

Anna Maria Romero
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VIDEO | Parents allow young son ‘drive’ BMW along Goodman Road, netizen says “If airbag deploys… little boy will likely die”

What one mother may have meant to be an “awww” moment for a young boy was strongly criticized online. People expressed that allowing a small child to “drive” a car—or even sit on a parent’s lap with their hands on the steering wheel—is very dangerous indeed. A 44-second video originally posted over IG stories and then shared on the SGRV Facebook page went viral, but for the wrong reasons.

It first shows a little boy and his mum walking hand in hand in a carpark. Ironically, the words “Baby and mummy secured,” are written across the first part of the video. The scene then cuts to the boy sitting on what is presumably one of his parents’ laps, driving down the street.

 

 

Indeed, riding in a car with a child on your lap, let alone driving, is dangerous. Small children should be seated in a car or booster seats and safely buckled in, with special seatbelts made for them.

The following is part of Honda’s safety reminders:

“Never hold a baby or child on your lap when riding in a car. If you are wearing your seat belt, the violent forces created during a crash will tear the child from your arms. The child could be seriously hurt or killed.

If you are holding a child and not wearing a seat belt in a crash, you could crush the child against the inside of the car.

Never put your seat belt over yourself and a child. During  a crash, the belt  could press deep into the child and cause serious internal injuries.”

Netizens drew attention to the dangers of what the family was doing.

Some said the family should get ready to find themselves in trouble with the traffic police and the law.

/TISG

My eyes small but not sleeping! Taxi driver has multiple disclaimers for passengers

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