Price of clothes up next month

By K.M. LEW

PETALING JAYA: Consumers will have to pay more for new clothes this Christmas and the New Year after a surge in the price of cotton and yarn.

    The shortage of raw materials worldwide and higher demand for garments has led to the escalating prices of all raw materials for textiles and garments since early this year.

     Malaysian Textile Manufacturers Associa­tion chief executive officer Andrew Hong said local manufacturers had to absorb the higher manufacturing costs and cope with surging raw material prices.

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Malaysian charged with hacking into US bank

By K.M. LEW

NEW YORK: A Malaysian man, charged on Thursday with hacking into computer networks of the US Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) and a defence contractor, was caught by Secret Service agents while selling stolen credit card numbers for US$1,000 (RM3,200) at a diner in New York.

     Court documents released by US prosecutors said the man, identified as Lin Mun Poo, 32, was arrested on Oct 21, hours after arriving in New York.

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E-bike must meet basic standards

By K.M. LEW

PETALING JAYA: The electric motorcycle must meet the basic standard dimensions of a petrol-powered motorcycle, including its length and the size of its wheels, for it to be registered with the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

     JPJ director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said the vehicle must also be equipped with headlights, signal lights and brake lights, adding: “The braking system must be of a certain mark as it will be used on public roads.

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Never too old for good sex life

By K.M. LEW

KUALA TERENGGANU: Sex is not just for the young and an inaugural workshop has been organised to rejuvenate the sex lives of elderly couples in Terengganu.

     A host of health specialists and geriatricians, including renowned sex therapist Prof Dr Mohd Ismail Mohd Tambi, have been invited as facilitators in the pioneer workshop to start tomorrow in Setiu. Some 300 senior citizens are expected to take part.

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AirAsia to open new hub in Chiang Mai

By K.M. LEW

BANGKOK: Beginning Jan 24, AirAsia will open a new hub in Chiang Mai, and launch daily flights from there to Hat Yai and Singapore.

      Thai AirAsia chief executive officer Tassapon Bijleveld said the move would offer more connectivity for people who wished to travel to or from the northern city of Thailand to Singapore or Hat Yai in Southern Thailand.

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Couple and twin sons killed in road accident

By K.M. LEW

IPOH: A couple and their twin sons died when the car they were travelling in was involved in an accident with three other vehicles at the 377th kilometre of the North-South Expressway near Slim River.

      Their two other children were injured in the midnight Wednesday mishap that also involved a trailer, lorry and taxi, about 130km from here.

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Eight teenage girls held over beating

By K.M. LEW

KUCHING: Eight female secondary school students were detained in connection with the beating of a female schoolmate.

     The girls, ages 16 to 17, were rounded up in a police operation from 11.30pm to 1am at their homes in Kampung Gita here yesterday.

     Their 16-year-old female schoolmate was beaten unconscious outside the school grounds on Thursday after she was accused of being conceited and a show-off.

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A three-year-old boy takes 10km bus ride alone and unattended

By K.M. LEW

KUALA LUMPUR: With his milk bottle in his hand, a three-year-old boy climbed onto a public bus on his own and went on a more than 10km ride before a good Samaritan brought him to a police station.

Bystanders recalled seeing the boy, who was wearing a red shirt, at the bus stop near the Sri Sabah Flats here at noon yesterday.

"A woman in her 40s noticed that the boy was alone and unattended.

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Fried onions and used condom for dinner

 By K.M. LEW

     A USED condom was found in a 100gm packet of fried onion that was sold at a convenience store in Singapore, Sin Chew Daily reported.
     A 46-year-old air-con mechanic only be known as Ho told a daily in Singapore that he and his wife had the fried onion as a side dish for dinner last Saturday.

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Boy dies in Deepavali fire tragedy

By K.M. LEW

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a sombre Deepavali for the family of a three-year-old boy who perished in a fire in his flat in Batu Caves near here on Thursday.
     A. Praveen Dhurai, who had celebrated his birthday two weeks ago, was laid to rest at a Hindu cemetery in Taman Kepong yesterday.
     Praveen, who was with two older siblings. was in his house on the third floor at Jalan 3, Centre Point when the incident occurred at about 11.30am. His parents were away at the time.

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Floods hit more areas in Kedah

By K.M. LEW

Steady hands: Fire and Rescue Department officers carrying former principal of Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, Baharuddin Abd Majid, 64, to drier ground after floods inundated his house in Taman Uda, Alor Setar, yesterday.

ALOR SETAR: Several new areas in Kedah have been hit by floods, including Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak’s home at Jalan Sultanah here.
     Azizan, who lives in the house with his wife Tok Puah Faekah Sheikh Hamzah and son Mohamad Azizan, 28, moved out from the house at about 11am yesterday after it was submerged in one metre of water.
     Also flooded was the compound of the state police contingent at Jalan Stadium.

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Man drowns while attempting to save newly-wedded wife

By K.M. LEW

KUANTAN: A man drowned while attempting to rescue his newly-wedded wife after both of them were swept away by strong currents during a family picnic at a recreational spot in Kampung Pasir Kubur, Sungai Lembing here Saturday.

     It is learnt that Mohd Hazrul Abdul Jalil, 26, had taken his wife Norfaridah Mohd Amin, 26, together with his mother and younger brother, Mohd Helmi, 25, to the spot for a picnic at 10.30am.

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Penang man fined RM10,000 for porn clips

By K.M. LEW

A 21-year-old mobile phone kiosk operator from Bukit Mertajam, Penang was fined RM10,000 by a magistrate’s court for having a laptop containing pornographic video clips saved in a few folders.

Tang Wei Khang from Taman Juru pleaded guilty to committing the offence at J & S Communication Trading sales counter in Megamal Pinang complex, Prai at 8.50pm on Aug 24.

The offence, under Section 5(1)(a) of the Film Censorship Act 2002, is punishable under Section 5(2) of the same Act.

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Witness - dragon boat occupants "swallowed" into sea after crashing into barge

By K.M. LEW

GEORGE TOWN: A boat slammed into a barge moored off Macallum Street Ghaut before its occupants was “swallowed” into the sea, the dragon boat accident inquest was told.

     Assistant coach Yee Bee Fat described the dramatic moments when five Chung Ling High School students and a teacher perished in the water during the tragedy.

     The inquest at the Coroner’s court was to determine how the accident happened.

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Death toll rises to four, almost 50,000 evacuated as floods worsen (Update)

By K.M. LEW

KUALA LUMPUR: The death toll has doubled to four and two more people are feared to have drowned as the flood situation in Kedah and Perlis continued to worsen this evening, with almost 50,000 moved to relief centres.

     However, the situation in Kelantan has improved tremendously, with all the 475 evacuees having returned home by this afternoon and the sun shining brightly for most of the day.

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Woman run over while trying to save son

By K.M. LEW

SEREMBAN: A woman managed to save her four-year-old son from being knocked down by a speeding Proton Gen 2 – but was herself killed when she failed to get out of the vehicle’s way.

     Parvathy Chinnakano, 36, had just crossed the road with her son after throwing rubbish when she saw two Proton Gen 2 cars heading their way in Pajam near here.

     She quickly pushed her son to safety but was knocked down by one of the speeding cars. Both drivers sped off.

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No plastic bags from January

By K.M. LEW

GEORGE TOWN: Come Jan 1, plastic bags will be practically banned state-wide.

     The move – an extension of the current “No Plastic Bag Day” in shopping centres and hypermarkets on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays – means that no plastic bags can be used every day by almost all business sectors.

     The ruling will cover all hypermarkets, supermarkets, departmental stores, pharmacies, fast food restaurants, nasi kandar outlets, convenience stores including petrol kiosks and chain stores.

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Floods worsen; two dead; two feared drowned; over 36,000 evacuated

By K.M. LEW

Most retail shops seem to be running out of dry or canned foods such as salted fish, sardine, eggs and rice.

KUALA LUMPUR: The death toll has risen to two and more than 36,000 people have been driven to relief centres by this evening as the floods in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan worsened, forcing the closure of roads, rail services, schools and government offices.

     Kedah is the worst hit of the three states, where the floods have claimed two lives, so far, and forced the evacuation of 25,088 people as at 5pm as well as washed out the plans of several Hindu families to celebrate Deepavali on Friday.

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Floods: More than 19,000 evacuated, one dead

By K.M. LEW

ALOR SETAR: More than 19,000 people have been evacuated in Kedah and Perlis, while a 13-year-old boy drowned after he was swept away by floodwaters.

     Padang Terap OCPD Deputy Supt Ku Yaacob Ku Hamad said the incident occured while the boy was fishing at Kampung Charok Bongor, near Kuala Nerang, around 5pm Tuesday.

     Villagers found the body of the boy, identified only as Mohd Zaki, an hour later.

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RON 97 price up 5 sen and reflects global petrol market price

By K.M. LEW

KUALA LUMPUR: The price of RON 97 is up 5 sen to RM2.15 per litre from Tuesday and reflects the price of petrol in the global market, said Deputy Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerim Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim.

      The price of the more widely used RON 95 remains at RM1.85 per litre.

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