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Foster Mother A Suspect In Bali Murder

JAKARTA – Bali police have named the adoptive mother a suspect in the brutal murder of an eight-year-old girl last month, in a case that has gripped Indonesia.

Margriet Christine Megawe, who has already been named a suspect for child neglect, was yesterday accused of involvement in the killing of her adopted daughter, Engeline Megawe.

“For the time being, Megawe is the main suspect,” Bali’s police chief, Inspector-General Ronny Franky Sompie, said.

He said the decision was based on evidence presented by expert witnesses from the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar, Bali police’s forensic laboratory and the National Police.

Police said earlier that they used the latest technology to identify fingerprints on the body in order to identify the suspected killer.

“That (technology) is for revealing the identity from their fingerprints,” said the head of the National Police Fingerprints Identification System Centre, Brigadier-General Bekti Suhartono, Antara news agency reported last week.

Police said yesterday that they would be questioning Megawe again yesterday and today to find the motive.

A former domestic helper at Megawe’s home, Agustinus “Agus” Tai Hamdamai, told the police during interrogation last week that Engeline had been murdered by Megawe in her room on May 16.

He said he heard Engeline shouting to Megawe to let her go, a few minutes before he was called to her bedroom. He saw the girl lying on the floor lifeless, Tempo news reported on Sunday.

Agustinus, himself a suspect in the case, claimed that Megawe ordered him to bury Engeline’s body in the garden, and that she had promised him 200 million rupiah (S$20,000) for doing so.

Police found Engeline’s body in the garden on June 10.

She was last seen playing in front of her adoptive mother’s house in Sanur in Denpasar, Bali. The family had reported her missing, leading to a frantic public search.

Engeline’s biological mother, Madam Hamidah, who was from East Java, was distraught upon seeing her child’s body at Sanglah General Hospital last week.

“Who killed you, child? Why were you killed? Your mother cannot accept that you are treated like that,” she was quoted as saying by kompas.com.

“Mr Policeman, go and capture the killer of my daughter, sir. Sentence them to death,” she said.

A relative of the victim – named only as Mr Supri – said Engeline was adopted by Megawe when she was three days old.

Madam Hamidah was prohibited from meeting her daughter after the adoption based on an agreement between her and Megawe, he said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 30, 2015
Problems With Increasing Housing Grants

I disagree with the calls to increase the Higher-Tier Central Provident Fund Housing Grant for young couples who wish to buy a resale flat in mature estates so as to live close to their parents (“Buy resale flat near parents? Financial help is key: Experts”; last Tuesday).

There are problems with increasing the grant.

First, it could lead to a mentality among the younger generation that living close to their parents is an entitlement, and if they cannot live near them, then that is an excuse to not look after them.

Second, raising the grant would lead to an increase in property prices in mature estates, and could trigger a vicious circle where the Government constantly has to raise the grant for young couples as the property prices in mature estates keep rising.

A better idea would be to give the seniors incentives – not limited to monetary ones – to move out of mature estates to live near their married children in new estates.

When elderly couples move out of mature estates, it increases the supply of resale flats available in these estates, thus lowering the asking price of these units and making it more affordable for young couples who wish to live there.

Ultimately, young couples should not be encouraged to buy a flat in a mature estate where decades of the lease have already expired.

Singapore will face a major challenge in future when there are too many couples outliving their property lease because they bought a property with a shorter remaining lease.

Chan Yeow Chuan

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 30, 2015
Thailand Launches Muslim-Friendly Tourist App

BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thailand on Monday launched a smartphone app to attract Muslim visitors, something that could help further boost an industry which has been steadily recovering since a 2014 coup.

Thailand is predominantly Buddhist but parts of the south are majority Muslim. Known for its laissez-faire attitude towards travellers, powder-white beaches and as an aviation hub, Thailand draws millions of tourists each year.

Now its tourism body hopes the new app will help further boost Thailand’s tourism sector, which makes up about 10 per cent of its economy.

The industry took a beating last year as some foreign governments issued warnings against non-essential travel to Thailand due to political unrest and a May 22 coup, but it has been steadily recovering.

Efforts to welcome Muslim travellers to Thailand come amid rising anti-Muslim sentiment in some Western countries and recent Islamist militant attacks.

The new app will be available on Google Inc’s Android and Apple Inc’s iOS systems, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said in a statement.

With search and navigation features, it will help visitors find hotels and shopping centres with prayer rooms and halal, or permissible under Islamic law, restaurants, said Juthaporn Rerngronasa, acting governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Among non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, Thailand was ranked the second most popular place for Muslim travellers to visit in the world after Singapore by the Global Muslim Travel Index in 2015. “We believe this is because we have the required range of products and services for Muslim travellers,” said Juthaporn.

The app is available in English and Thai but will be expanded to include Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia.

Thailand expects a record 29.5 million tourists this year, up 19 per cent from 2014, its tourism council said last week.

Source www.straitstimes.com

June 30, 2015
Toddler In ICU, Scalded By Hot Oil

While she was cooking in the kitchen, her 15-month-old son, AafaaZuhayr Muhammad Al-Khair, wandered in and accidentally tipped over a hot frying pan she had placed on the kitchen counter to cool.

He suffered second-degree burns when sizzling oil trickled down his body and arms. A week after the incident on June 22, he is still in the intensive care unit (ICU) of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), where he had a fourth operation on Monday.

Madam Masshitah Abdullah, a 31-year-old marketing manager, is so traumatised by her son’s injuries that she dreads going home and being reminded of the accident.

She and her property agent husband, Mr Muhammad Al-Khair Salahuddin, 30, have made KKH their second home as they pray for their baby’s recovery.

Finding it difficult at first to accept that the whimpering toddler with a red swollen face was her son, Madam Masshitah said: “I kept asking the doctor if that’s my son.”

Said Madam Masshitah: “I just wanted my baby. I couldn’t really hold him and could only see him from afar.

“I’m so afraid to fall asleep. Whenever a doctor runs into the ICU, my heart would stop for a while, wondering if anything had happened to my son.”

Worried sick about her baby, she lost her will to eat, having nothing more than just a cup of Milo every day since the incident.

Source: www.tnp.sg

June 30, 2015
Singaporean Youth Put On Restriction Order Under ISA After Probe Into Extent Of Radicalisation

A Singaporean youth who was arrested so that investigations could be carried out into the extent of his radicalisation, has been placed on a Restriction Order (RO) under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for two years starting this month .

The 17-year-old youth, who was arrested last month and was not named, has been released from custody but is required to abide by conditions specified in the RO, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Monday.

The ministry said investigations showed that the youth had become radicalised after viewing videos and materials on websites and social media materials propagated by “radical ideologues and terrorist elements”.

“He had wanted to engage in armed violence alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and had started making preparations to carry out his plans,” the statement said without elaborating on what these plans were.

Having been released from custody, the youth is required to abide by a series of conditions.

He will have to attend religious counselling and must stop accessing violent or extremist online material. He will also not be allowed to leave Singapore without permission or be able to issue public statements.

The ministry said that the youth’s release on a Restriction Order with conditions attached, “provides a balance between rehabilitation and preserving public security”.

“Further measures will be taken against him if he breaches the conditions of the RO, or if it is assessed that further measures are needed to protect public security.”

In April 2015, another youth was detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities.

M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i, 19, had planned to carry out violent attacks in Singapore and to assassinate President Tony Tan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong if he was unable to go to Syria to join ISIS.

In its statement on Monday, the ministry reiterated that the community has an important role to play in protecting fellow Singaporeans from radicalisation and terrorism.

Family members and the public can call the Internal Security Department Counter-Terrorism Centre hotline at 1800-2626-473 should they know of or suspect that someone is radicalised.

“This could save such individuals and allow them to be helped and counselled, so that they are prevented from engaging in violent activities that may cause harm to themselves and others,” the statement added.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 30, 2015