Police nab woman

Police nab woman with 'Ecstasy' pills

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian police have detained a Singaporean after she was found to have 4,050 "Ecstasy" pills, a designer drug, strapped to her waist and under her armpits, news reports said yesterday.

The 21-year-old woman was detained at the Kuala Lumpur airport on May 16 while she was waiting for her flight to Jakarta.

Airport security officials noticed she was acting awkwardly and carried out a body search, said Salleh Mat Som, director of the federal police narcotics department.

"We are on the lookout for such pills that have made their way into the country," Salleh said, adding each pill costs 160 ringgit (US$64). The designer drug acts as a stimulant and is harmful if taken in large doses.

;REUTER;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Thailand-press Thai reporters say govt curbing freedom JP/7/ASEAN2

Thai reporters say govt curbing freedom

BANGKOK (Reuter): Thailand's main journalists' association accused the government yesterday of trying to curb press freedom after police warned five daily newspapers about their reporting.

"The government is attempting to curb freedom of the press by blocking the reporting of the truth about people's feelings by issuing warnings to newspapers," the Reporters' Association of Thailand said in a statement.

Special branch police, who oversee the print media, warned five daily newspapers this week over alleged provocative reporting following the government's curtailment of a censure debate on May 10.

Thailand's press is among the most free in the region, but newspaper editors say Banharn's government is becoming increasingly intolerant of negative reporting.

;REUTER;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Vietnam-chorus Thousands sing for party congress JP/7/ASEAN3

Thousands sing for party congress

HANOI (Reuter): Thousands of Hanoi residents are taking part in a singing contest to welcome Vietnam's biggest Communist Party Congress in five years, state media said yesterday.

The party mouthpiece Nhan Dan newspaper said the competition, involving 25,000 people, had been running for several weeks. Popular themes have included Vietnam's Doi Moi reform process and the country's late President Ho Chi Minh.

"The final round will see the participation of a chorus from the Hanoi Party Committee," the newspaper said. The final round of the competition is due to begin tomorrow.

Vietnam's 8th Communist Party Congress is only its second since reform policies were introduced in the late 1980s. The congress is a major policy-defining event in the Southeast Asian country and is expected to begin in late June.

;AFP;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Singapore-rapist Rapist gets 12 years in jail JP/7/ASEAN4

Rapist gets 12 years in jail

SINGAPORE (AFP): A Singaporean odd-job worker who raped a teenaged girl while under investigation for another sexual assault has been sentenced to 12 years in jail and six strokes of the cane, The Straits Times said yesterday.

Judge S. Rajendran took into consideration a second charge of rape relating to the same girl and two other charges of rape in respect of another girl in passing the sentence on Ng Chin Keong, 21, on Wednesday, the newspaper said.

Both victims were 15 years old. The judge was quoted as saying that the most disturbing feature of the case was that Ng, who confessed, had committed the rape in October last year even while under investigation for the first.

Counsel Lim Kia Tong said in his client's defense that the offenses arose out of Ng's "biological sexual urge" which he failed to control, the newspaper said.

;AFP;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-court Ex-dealer charged with short-selling JP/7/ASEAN5

Ex-dealer charged with short-selling

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A former junior stock dealer has been charged in a Malaysian court with 30 counts of short-selling, news reports said yesterday.

Lau Yik Hor was charged under the Securities Industry Act 1983 with short-selling 960,000 units of plantation counter North Borneo Timber Bhd. while working for Seagrott and Campbell Sdn. Bhd., a local brokerage, on March 27 last year.

Lau, 28, claimed trial to all charges. Each charge carries a maximum fine of one million ringgit or 10 years' jail or both. Short-selling, which involves selling stocks not yet owned by the seller, is currently illegal here.

In a short sale, sellers hope that the price of the shares sold will fall after a deal is struck, so that they can cover the short sale at a profit before delivery to the buyer is due.