Husband, wife take turns in jail
Husband, wife take turns in jail
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean couple is taking turns to serve jail terms for abusing their Indonesian maid so that one of them can take care of their three children, the Straits Times reported on Tuesday.
Yee Siew Sang has just completed his two-week jail term and his wife Wong Wai Cheng begins her six-week stint on Wednesday, the report said.
The couple pleaded guilty last month of assaulting their 22- year-old maid.
Yee admitted kicking Triviana Supangat for dozing while washing the dishes, and his wife confessed to slapping the maid.
There are some 140,000 foreign maids officially accredited in Singapore, including more than 70,000 Filipinos, 55,000 Indonesians and 12,000 Sri Lankans. --AFP
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-cigarette KL bans tobacco-related advertising JP/12/ATW
KL bans tobacco-related advertising
MALAYSIA: The government will ban cigarette-related advertising and sponsorship of some events starting in January to curb Malaysia's rising number of smokers, the health minister said on Tuesday.
Tobacco advertisements have been banned for years in Malaysia, but many firms skirt the law by sponsoring sports and entertainment events and advertising their brand names without referring to cigarettes.
Several major sports events, though, including the Malaysian leg of the Formula One auto racing competition and soccer tournaments, will be temporarily exempted from the new ban because "further discussions" were necessary in these cases, Minister of Health Chua Jui Meng was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.
Officials believe that the promotion of events by cigarette companies has contributed to an increase in smokers, especially among young Malaysians, Chua said. --AP
;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Myanmar-arrests Six students arrested in Yangon JP/12/ASEAN
Six students arrested in Yangon
MYANMAR: Six students have been arrested by Myanmar's military after one of them staged a peaceful protest in the capital, a dissident group in Bangkok said on Tuesday.
The All-Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) said that three university students were arrested on Saturday, a day before final year law student Thet Naung Soe staged a lone protest outside Yangon's city hall.
Thet Naung Soe was arrested after the protest, along with two more students, the group said, adding that all six remain under arrest. Authorities have not released any details.
"Even though the regime claims to the international community ... that they released some political prisoners and are reducing political suppression, the reality shows there are still arrests and oppression of activists of the freedom movement in Burma," ABSFU spokesperson Min Naing said in a statement.
Burma is the former name of Myanmar. --AFP