DALAM keadaan ekonomi tidak menentu kini, Encik Rahmad Basir dan isterinya, Cik Reetha EF, memberanikan diri membuka restoran empat tingkat – Rayz Bistro – di kawasan Selegie pada awal Ramadan lalu.
Malah sebelum mendapatkan tempat bagi restoran itu, Encik Rahmad terpaksa meneroka pelbagai tempat sehingga menemui sebuah bangunan klasik kolonial.
Pasangan suami isteri yakin dapat kendali Rayz Bistro bersandarkan pengalaman dan kemahiran
Source: Berita Harian
When Michael Thedford arrived at the daycare centre on Tuesday (June 21) morning to drop off his three children, he found that the youngest, his six-month old daughter, was a little ill and running a fever.
So he dropped off the five-year-old and the three-year-old and headed back home in his van with the infant, Fern.
When he reached his house in Melissa, Texas, though, he decided he needed a nap. In his haste to get inside, he forgot Fern in the van while he slept for about four hours, according to the arrest warrant obtained by the media.
The temperature in Melissa soared to 35 deg C that day.
At 1pm, Thedford woke up and realised his daughter was in the car. Panicking, he ran to the front yard, according to the warrant.
When he reached the van and flung open the door, he found his daughter “stiff” as a board and “hot as a brick”. She was unresponsive as he carried her little body into the house.
Apparently in an attempt to cool her down, Thedford then did the unthinkable: He placed his daughter in the refrigerator, among the Thedfords’ groceries, and left her there for “an undetermined length of time”, the authorities said.
After a while, he pulled her body from the fridge and attempted to perform CPR. Only then did he call his wife and the authorities, both of whom rushed to the house.
According to a neighbour, the couple hugged and cried together.
Fern was dead. Thedford has since been charged with manslaughter.
The firefighters and paramedics left quickly after they arrived, but the detectives remained behind. They pointed cameras at Thedford and asked him to reenact what had happened.
“They used a Mickey Mouse type of doll for him to show what happened,” Ms Fabiola Contreras, the Thedfords’ neighbour, told the media. “And now that I think about it, they also were measuring from the van to the door.”
The Thedfords had always seemed like a loving family, the neighbour said. Thedford worked as a substitute teacher, and his wife was a well-known local veterinarian. In fact, Ms Contreras had witnessed the family laughing and joking around just a few days prior.
“It’s kind of shocking how this happened because on Sunday we saw family members and them having a good time for Father’s Day,” Ms Contreras said.
Mr Bill Hemby, the assistant superintendent of Celina High School, where Thedford taught introductory physics and chemistry last year, said Thedford deeply loved his children. “Michael is rocket-science smart,” Mr Hemby said. “He did a great job for us while he was here. We all had an understanding of how much he loved his children. We’re all in mourning, just like he is.”
Thedford’s father Stan had a similar reaction, saying that his son was a doting and loving father.
But as countless similar tragedies have demonstrated, loving your kids and being well-educated affords no protection from such tragic events, which are all too common.
“Every year at this time it happens to people from all walks of life,” the older Mr Thedford said. “It’s something we should all be more aware of.”
He is right. As of June 9, at least 11 children had died in 2016 after being left in hot cars, CNN reported.
That is triple the number of deaths recorded in 2015. Since 1990, about 700 children have perished this way in the US, according to the nonprofit safety group Kids and Cars.
The temperature in a car can rise rapidly, and children left inside – even for just a half hour, even on a relatively cool spring or summer day – are almost immediately in danger.
Dr Christopher Haines, director of pediatric emergency medicine at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, told WebMD that most parents don’t understand how quickly an innocuous errand can turn deadly.
“On a day that is just 72 deg F, the temperature (inside a car) can increase by 30 to 40 degrees in an hour, and 70 per cent of this increase occurs the first 30 minutes,” Haines said.
In addition, a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s, according to the Seattle Children’s Hospital.
It should be noted that if this does happen, a refrigerator is not the proper way to cool a child down. If you accidentally leave a child in a hot car, call the authorities immediately.
Death can come quickly from heat stroke. While waiting for the proper authorities, cover the baby with cool damp clothes and get the child into the shade, according to advice from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
As for how to remember one’s children, Safe Kids Worldwide chief executive Kate Carr said it’s best to leave a physical reminder of the child in the backseat.
“A car can heat up about 19 degrees in as little as 10 minutes, and we’ve seen heat stroke deaths recorded when the temperature is in the 60s,” Ms Carr told CNN. “Put something in the back seat where a child seat is always located that you’re going to need at your final destination, something you know you’re going to look for, like your cell phone, your purse, a briefcase.”
Added Ms Carr: “This, in fact, can happen to anyone, and we’ve seen it happen to anyone.”
Thedford was booked in the Collin County Jail, and posted a US$20,000 bond late on Tuesday. Booking records list no attorney for Thedford, the Associated Press reported Wednesday morning. It was also unclear as of Wednesday morning whether Thedford had entered a plea, according to ABC News.
Source: The Straits Times
Setiap hari selama lima minggu, Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser, 2 tahun, menderita dek didera ibunya sendiri dan teman lelaki wanita itu.
Setiap hari juga, pasangan itu menendang, menampar dan memijak Daniel, dan memaksa budak itu berdiri selama berjam-jam lamanya sambil meletakkan kedua-dua tangannya di atas kepala – dengan hanya memakai lampin.
Mereka juga memaksa anak kecil berusia 2 tahun itu makan cili kering.
Perbuatan tidak berhati perut itu terbongkar juga apabila kanak-kanak itu akhirnya meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan teruk selepas lima minggu didera, pada 23 November 2015.
Ibu mangsa, Zaidah, 41 tahun, dan teman lelakinya, Zaini Jamari, 46 tahun, mengaku bersalah hari ini (23 Jun) – masing-masing atas satu tuduhan menyebabkan kecederaan teruk hingga menyebabkan kematian, dan tiga tuduhan penderaan kanak-kanak.
Pasangan itu bersama bayi mereka yang berusia 1 tahun dan Daniel, iaitu anak lelaki Zaidah dari hubungan sebelumnya dengan lelaki lain, tinggal bersama di flat satu bilik Telok Blangah. Dua lagi penghuni lain turut menyaksikan penderaan itu.
Lagi 26 dan 18 tuduhan penderaan kanak-kanak ke atas pasangan tersebut, yang kedua-duanya pekerja pembersihan, akan diambil pertimbangan apabila mahkamah menjatuhkan hukuman pada 15 Julai ini.
PENDERAAN YANG “KEJAM DAN TIDAK BERPERIKEMANUSIAAN”
Di mahkamah hari ini, Timbalan Pendakwa Raya, Claire Poh menyifatkan “penderaan fizikal, mental dan emosi” terhadap kanak-kanak dua tahun yang “tidak boleh mempertahankan diri sendiri” sebagai “kejam dan tidak berperikemanusiaan.”
Mahkamah diberitahu bahawa dalam satu insiden pada 18 November 2015, budak itu tertidur ketika berdiri dengan tangannya di atas kepala. Melihat keadaannya itu, ibunya mula menampar muka dan dada budak itu untuk mengejutkannya dari tidur.
Rakannya yang tinggal dalam flat yang sama melihat darah mengalir dari mulut budak itu apabila ibunya menderanya.
Budak lelaki itu terjatuh ke lantai, dan Zaidah memintal kedua-dua tangan anaknya itu dan memijaknya.
Dia kemudian mengangkat budak itu ke tandas dan menukar lampinnya, sebelum memaksanya terus berdiri dengan tangannya diletakkan di atas kepala, kata DPP Poh di mahkamah.
PIJAK DADA ANAK & DITAMPAR
Pada 22 November, iaitu sehari sebelum kematiannya, Daniel didera selama berjam-jam lamanya.
Sekitar 10.00 pagi, apabila budak itu enggan makan sarapan, Zaidah menamparnya. Dia memberikan mangkuk sarapan itu kepada Zaini, teman lelakinya, yang cuba memberi budak itu makan.
Apabila mangsa tetap enggan makan, kedua-dua Zaidah dan Zaini menamparnya beberapa kali dan wanita itu juga memukul bahagian belakang tubuh budak itu, hingga mangsa terjatuh ke lantai. Apabila Daniel tidak bangun dari lantai, Zaidah memijak dada anaknya itu sebelum menarik lengannya.
Budak itu makan dua atau tiga sudu makanan, namun enggan makan lebih banyak daripada itu. Dia kemudian disuruh berdiri di satu sudut.
Sekitar 7.00 malam pada hari itu, kanak-kanak itu sandar pada katil kerana letih setelah berdiri sepanjang hari. Apabila pasangan itu melihat keadaan budak itu, mereka menampar Daniel, yang baring di atas lantai dan menutup matanya.
Zaini membawa budak itu ke dapur dan memaksanya makan dua sudu cili kering, sebelum memaksanya terus berdiri di ruang tamu.
PERUT DANIEL DIPIJAK, KEPALA TERHENTAK KE LANTAI
Pada sekitar 8.45 malam kemudian, Daniel menjadi lemah dan tidak mampu terus berdiri. Ibunya mencubit tubuhnya dan pipinya dan menamparnya beberapa kali.
Mahkamah diberitahu Zaidah menyangka budak itu berpura-pura lemah dan mengadu kepada teman lelakinya.
Zaini menampar budak itu, memijak perutnya hingga Daniel terjatuh ke lantai dan terhentak kepalanya. Zaini kemudian memaksa budak itu makan cili buat kali kedua hari itu.
Keesokan harinya, pasangan itu tidak mampu mengejutkan budak itu, dan dua rakan mereka yang tinggal bersama mereka menelefon ambulans. Daniel disahkan meninggal dunia pada 9.11 pagi.
PASANGAN PULANG TONTON TV SETELAH SOAL SIASAT
Apabila ditanya para paramedik dan polis mengapa tubuh mangsa berlebam-lebam, pasangan itu berbohong dan berkata budak itu biasa mencubit dirinya sendiri, dan jatuh tersungkur di tandas.
DPP Poh berkata pasangan itu tidak menyesali tindakan mereka itu dan menyeru mahkamah menjatuhkan hukuman penjara sekurang-kurangnya sembilan tahun dan 12 kali sebatan untuk Zaini serta hukuman penjara lebih berat untuk Zaidah.
Pendakwa raya itu berhujah bahawa pasangan itu lebih mementingkan untuk melindungi diri sendiri dan langsung tidak mengendahkan tragedi yang berlaku itu. Bahkan, kata DPP Poh, pasangan itu pulang ke rumah dan menonton televisyen setelah disoal siasat polis tentang kematian budak itu.
DANIEL ALAMI LEBIH 40 KECEDERAAN
Pendakwa raya mengambil masa beberapa minit untuk membacakan di mahkamah senarai lebih 40 kecederaan yang didapati pada tubuh mangsa semasa bedah siasat. Mangsa juga didapati mengalami keretakan tulang rusuk dan pendarahan dalam otak.
Hakim Daerah Bala Reddy mengarahkan pegawai mahkamah menunjukkan kepada pasangan itu, yang berdiri bersebelahan satu sama lain di kandang tertuduh, gambar-gambar kecederaan yang mereka lakukan sendiri kepada Daniel, yang dipetik setelah budak itu meninggal dunia.
Namun, pasangan itu tidak menunjukkan sebarang reaksi, kata hakim, yang menunjukkan mereka tidak menyesali perbuatan mereka itu. Apabila ditanya sama ada mereka mahu berkata apa-apa, kedua-dua mereka mengambil kesempatan itu untuk merayu dijatuhi hukuman lebih ringan.
Atas kesalahan menyebabkan kecederaan teruk hingga menyebabkan kematian, pasangan itu boleh dipenjara sehingga 10 tahun dan didenda atau disebat.
Atas kesalahan penderaan kanak-kanak, mereka boleh dipenjara sehingga empat tahun dan/atau didenda sehingga S$4,000 bagi setiap tuduhan.
Source: Berita MediaCorp
I WORK IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
My wife convinced me that I needed to share this. Most of you know that I work for Siemens as a Service Engineer in the Middle East. I am currently on a project in Egypt. It is a German project and I believe I am the only American here (definitely the only Texan).
Over the last two days I have had over 20 people (Egyptians) many I don’t even know personally come and ask if my family and friends were okay. They understand the magnitude of the Orlando shootings and they simply wanted to let me know they cared.
This morning I went out to site with a smile and a “sabah-al-kheir” (Good Morning) and the supervisor shook my hand then apologized to me for what happened in Orlando. As we talked, even more foreman and laborers began gathering around me shaking my hand. They wanted to let me know that this act is not acceptable to them as Muslims and they were “anah-aswah”…I’m sorry.
Those who couldn’t speak english asked the supervisor to translate who in broken english let me know that they all wanted to let me know that this upset them and they hoped I would not hold all Muslims responsible. They hoped America would not blame Islam.
This was impressive enough, but when I went to another area well away from where I was before, the same thing happened. Shaking hands, apologies, and condemnation to the shooter and the shame he has brought upon their religion. From Engineers to the young man who makes us coffee, even the guy who cleans my room; they all wanted to let me know they are angry too.
I know that after the shootings the news and radio are probably all over this spreading fear and anger, because that is what sells. I want you to know, I spend months at a time living here and in other Muslim countries to include Saudi Arabia and it is the same everywhere. The Muslim people I meet are honest, friendly, caring, and consider you a close part of their lives with a simple shake of the hand.
So take it from someone who practically lives here; don’t let the media or politicians sway you with their spin to win ratings and votes.
True Islam does not accept these actions, it condemns them. Don’t hold the majority responsible for the actions of the very, very few.
Source: Edsel Townsend
In a surprising turn of events, Yang Kaiheng, founder of socio-political website The Real Singapore (TRS), indicated yesterday that he wished to plead guilty to the seven sedition charges he faces.
Yang, 27, had originally claimed trial, denying he had posted inflammatory articles on the TRS website and Facebook page between 2013 and 2015. (See report…)
During the trial, which went on for seven days in March and April, Yang claimed his involvement in TRS was for only a month in 2012 after helping to set it up.
The trial was supposed to have resumed yesterday until his lawyer told the judge in chambers about his client’s intention to plead guilty.
During the trial, Yang claimed that his wife, Ai Takagi, 23, an Australian national of Japanese descent, was responsible for the day-to-day business and editorial content of TRS.
Between December 2013 and April 2015, TRS raked in almost half a million dollars in advertising revenue, the court heard.
In April, Yang claimed that he and Takagi had been inspired to start TRS after their Facebook page, which petitioned for the removal of new Member of Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling after the 2011 General Election, garnered about 60,000 likes.
But during cross-examination, Deputy Public Prosecutor G. Kannan asked how this was possible when the couple had not yet met during the 2011 GE period.
DPP Kannan said he had a log of very personal and embarrassing WhatsApp messages that proved they had met only after the petition Facebook page was created.
Yang’s lawyer tried to interject, but Yang then conceded: “It’s okay, Your Honour, I admit I am lying.”
The next day, Yang again admitted to lying – this time for having falsely told the police he did not know that his friend, Mr Damien Koh, was involved in setting up TRS.
Yang had met Mr Koh, who later quit TRS, during their University of Queensland days.
Yang told the court: “I was being investigated for sedition during my interview. I didn’t want to implicate my friend. I was sure he had nothing to do with sedition in the TRS site.”
Yang turned up at the State Courts yesterday wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and knee-length bermuda shorts.
He is expected to be back in court tomorrow.
If convicted of each charge under the Sedition Act, he faces up to three years’ jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
Takagi pleaded guilty to sedition in March after also initially claiming trial and was jailed 10 months.
Now about five months pregnant,, she began serving her sentence on April 22.
Yang Kaiheng is accused of seven counts of sedition:
An eighth charge of failing to produce documents to the police for investigations has been stood down.
2012
The Real Singapore (TRS) is set up.
February 2015
TRS publishes an article on Feb 4 alleging that a Filipino family’s complaint over noise from drummers led to a scuffle during the Thaipusam procession on Feb 3. The police receive reports about an “insensitive article” online the next day. The authorities arrest Yang Kaiheng and Ai Takagi in Singapore that month.
April 2015
Yang and Takagi are charged with sedition and failing to produce documents to the police.
May 2015
The Media Development Authority suspends TRS’ operating licence and orders that it be taken down.
August 2015
Yang and Takagi open two ramen stalls in two National University of Singapore foodcourts.
October 2015
They get married.
January 2016
They open a third ramen stall at a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8.
March 2016
Yang claims trial while his wife pleads guilty. Takagi is sentenced to 10 months’ jail.
April 2016
During Yang’s trial, he admits to lying on two different occasions before the trial is adjourned to June. Takagi begins her sentence on April 22.
June 2016
Yang indicates he wishes to plead guilty.