Ex actress convicted
Ex actress convicted of maid abuse
SINGAPORE: A former Singapore television actress has been convicted of physically abusing her Indonesian maid with needles and a high-heeled shoe, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.
Gao Man Hua, 42, who will be sentenced in January, admitted in court on Wednesday that she poked Yahya Herin Kartikawati, 19, with needles and hit her with a high-heeled shoe last year, the paper reported.
The Straits Times said Gao appeared in a program called Star Search 14 years ago. Court officials could not immediately confirm Gao's conviction.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report released earlier this month that maids in Singapore suffered serious abuses including sexual violence, home lock-ups, and food deprivation. The government dismissed the report as an exaggeration.
About 150,000 women work as maids in Singapore, most of them from impoverished villages in the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. -- AFP
;AFP;IVY; ANPAu..r.. ASEAN-Singapore-politics-MP Singapore opposition MP charged with reckless driving JP/11/ASEAN
Opposition MP charged with reckless driving
SINGAPORE: One of Singapore's few opposition politicians has been charged with reckless driving after allegedly running a red light and hitting a bus in July, court officials said on Thursday.
Steve Chia faces a maximum fine of S$3,000 (US$1,786) and a one year jail sentence if convicted, meaning he would be ineligible to contest the next general election due by June 2007.
Under local electoral rules, anyone who has been fined S$2,000, jailed one year or both, is barred from contesting the national polls for five years.
The 34-year-old saw his promising political career damaged after he took topless photos of his Indonesian maid. He was also given a warning last year for possessing an obscene film.
Chia is a non-constituency opposition member of Parliament. There are two other constituency-based opposition members in the chamber of 84 elected representatives.
Singapore's opposition plays a marginal role in politics. Its leaders are hounded by lawsuits and their activities curbed by strict laws against protest rallies and lack of access to the mainstream media. -- AFP
;AP;IVY; ANPAu..r.. ASEAN-Philippines-Cease-fire Philippine communist guerrillas refuse to declare Christmas JP/11/ASEAN
RP guerrillas refuse a Xmas cease-fire
THE PHILIPPINES: Philippine communist guerrillas on Thursday said they will ignore the military's offer for a cease-fire over Christmas and New Year, accusing the government of an unrelenting campaign against left-wing activists.
"The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army do not see any basis to declare a cease-fire in the coming Christmas and New Year," CPP spokesman Gregorio Rosal said in a statement sent to reporters via phone text message.
"This is in response to the relentless attacks being waged by government forces and other armed elements" against unarmed civilians, he added.
Rosal said at least 110 left-wing activists have been killed by government forces since March. He said the decision not to halt fighting over the holidays was due to calls from the guerrillas' supporters to step up attacks and hasten the fall of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government.
The military, citing an increase in rebel attacks, urged Arroyo last week to order government troops to stand down only on Christmas and New Year's day -- the shortest unilateral truce by the government in nearly 20 years.
Both sides have traditionally declared a truce during Christmas to provide their troops a respite from fighting and allow the nation to celebrate the holidays in peace. -- AP