Maid jailed for threatening employer

Maid jailed for threatening employer

SINGAPORE: An Indonesian maid was jailed for two months for
threatening her employer with a knife after she was told she
would be sent home for refusing to have a haircut, a report said
on Tuesday.

Sulasmi Paiman, 21, had refused to have a haircut and was told
she would be sent back to Indonesia, the Straits Times said.

She then brandished a knife at her employer Chan Fong Yin, who
had to be shielded by her in-laws with a chair during the
incident on Saturday.

Police arrested the maid, who pleaded guilty to a charge of
criminal intimidation, the report said. --AFP

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Vietnam-drugs
drug traffickers to face death penalty in Vietnam
JP/9/ASEAN

15 drug traffickers to face death penalty

VIETNAM: At least 15 people will face the death penalty for drug
trafficking in twin trials being held in central Vietnam this
week, local courts said on Tuesday.

The Ha Tinh provincial court on Monday started a four-day
trial against 18 people for trafficking seven kilograms of heroin
from neighboring Laos, a court official said.

At least three of the defendants are facing the death
sentence. The ring admitted it had smuggled the heroin between
1998 and 2001.

They are accused of trafficking nearly 40 kilograms of heroin
and 254 kilograms of opium. Up to 12 of the accused will face the
death penalty if convicted.

Last year, Vietnam sentenced 55 people to death for drug
offenses compared with 85 in 2000. --AFP

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-RP-polio
Philippines suffers polio relapse, orders nationwide vaccination
JP/9/ASEAN

RP suffers polio relapse

PHILIPPINES: President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the vaccination
of 12 million Filipino children following the discovery of three
new cases of polio, a year after the Philippines declared itself
free of the virus, an official said on Tuesday.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said the three separate cases
monitored last year were from a "mutant strain" of the virus.

Arroyo has since issued a proclamation ordering the health
department to administer oral vaccines to all children not more
than 59 months old on Feb. 2-8 and again on March 2-8, Dayrit
said.

Poliomyelitis, or polio, is an acute viral disease caused by
the polio virus. It is characterized by fever, motor paralysis,
and atrophy of skeletal muscles, often leading to permanent
disability and deformity. --AFP

;AP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Thai-cannon risk
Old cannons to be removed from fort for security reasons
JP/9/ASEAN

Old cannons to be removed from fort

THAILAND: Eight cannons dating back more than 200 years are to be
removed from Bangkok's historic battlements because they could
still be used to fire on motorcades carrying royalty and other
VIPs, government officials in Bangkok said on Tuesday.

The cannons are mounted on remnants of Bangkok's old defensive
wall, near which many motorcades carrying foreign and local
dignitaries as well as members of Thailand's royal family pass.
The Grand Palace is located nearby.

The cannons were placed on the ramparts when many historic
areas were renovated in 1982 as part of the capital's
bicentennial celebrations.

But police have warned that shells or other devices could
still be fired from the cannons, according to district chief
Kittinan Khaosut. --AP

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-S'pore-chopper
Two air force pilots injured as helicopter makes emergency
landing
JP/SINGAPORE

Chopper makes emergency landing

SINGAPORE: Two Singapore air force pilots were injured when their
helicopter made an emergency landing while on a training flight,
the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.

The aircraft was severely damaged in the incident on Monday
but both pilots sustained only minor injuries, the ministry said
in a statement, adding it was investigating the incident. --AFP