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Tag: Indonesia

  • Maid Gives Birth To Stillborn, Hides Body In Drawer At Employer’s House

    Maid Gives Birth To Stillborn, Hides Body In Drawer At Employer’s House

    A 33-year-old maid who gave birth to a dead baby boy and kept the body in a drawer at her employer’s house has been arrested.

    The incident occurred on Monday (Oct 19) afternoon at a two-storey house along Lorong Ong Lye in Serangoon.

    According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman, said to be a maid from Indonesia, had complained to her employers that she was not feeling well.

    She was taken to a clinic and subsequently referred to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for tests, where a doctor suspected that she had recently given birth.

    Upon further questioning, the woman admitted to having delivered a baby boy who died on birth and having hidden the body in a drawer in a second-floor room at her employers’ house.

    When contacted, a police spokesman said it was alerted to the incident at 1.22pm and discovered the baby’s body in the drawer.

    The baby was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

    The spokesman said the woman was arrested for concealment of birth by secret disposal of a dead body.

    The Straits Times understands that the baby was born premature at five months old.

    Shin Min said the woman has been working for the family – an elderly couple and their daughter, her husband and her 11-year-old son – for more than a year. According to the report, the maid is married with two sons.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Indonesia Finally Takes Up Singapore’s Offer To Fight The Haze

    Indonesia Finally Takes Up Singapore’s Offer To Fight The Haze

    Indonesia has indicated it will now take up Singapore’s offer to help fight the ongoing haze, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Facebook today (Oct 7).

    Jakarta had declined Singapore’s assistance package several times since the smog descended last month, saying it has the resources to manage.

    But Dr Balakrishnan wrote last night that his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi has now indicated Jakarta will take up the offer following a “good discussion” the pair had this evening. “Good for our countries to work together to resolve this as soon as possible,” he added.

    Singapore’s assistance package includes assets and personnel, such as a C-130 aircraft for cloud-seeding operations, a Chinook helicopter with a water bucket for aerial fire-fighting, and up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry the Singapore Civil Defence Force fire-fighting assistance team. In addition, Singapore also offered to provide high-resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates.

    Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement that the Indonesian government had yet to turn over the names of errant companies suspected of playing a part in causing the haze that has plagued Singapore since last month.

    A formal request for the names of these companies was sent to the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore, the ministry added.

    “This was in response to the request by the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister, Ms Siti Nurbaya Bakar, who had previously said that if Singapore wanted the names of these companies to be officially sent to it, then this had to be done through the Government-to-Government channel,” an MFA spokesperson said.

    “We look forward to an early response from the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on our requests so that we can take the necessary action against those who are responsible for the haze.” In its note to the Indonesia embassy, Singapore also reiterated its haze assistance.

    Air quality and visibility improved significantly today, thanks to rain in the early morning. As at 7pm, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading was 86 to 108, the three-hour PSI was 70 and the one-hour PM2.5 concentration was 22 to 41 microgrammes per cubic metre.

    The NEA said prevailing winds are forecast to be weak and to blow from the east or southeast tomorrow, and the 24-hour PSI is expected to improve to the moderate range.

    Eight hotspots were detected in Sumatra today, and the NEA attributed the low hotspot count to partial satellite pass, when the orbiting satellite’s field of view covers just part of a region of interest. The agency added that widespread haze continues to persist in parts of Sumatra, and some haze spreading westward from Kalimantan was observed over the sea at the far south of Singapore.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Two Suspected Lesbians In Aceh To Undergo Rehabilitation

    Two Suspected Lesbians In Aceh To Undergo Rehabilitation

    BANDA ACEH — Two suspected lesbians detained earlier this week by Islamic Shariah police in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province will undergo rehabilitation instead of being charged with a crime, a police chief said today (Oct 3).

    The women, 18 and 19 years old, were taken in for questioning Monday night by Sharia police officers who saw them sitting and hugging each other in Ulee Lheue, a coastal neighbourhood in the capital, Banda Aceh, according to the Shariah police chief, Evendi Latief.

    “They later confessed to be a lesbian couple and that was supported by pictures found on their handphones,” Mr Latief said.

    The two women, identified only by the initials “AS” and “N” will not be charged because a new criminal code for Aceh that criminalises homosexuality won’t take effect until later this month, he said.

    Under that code, any person found guilty of homosexuality could face up to 100 cane lashes or a maximum fine of 1,000 grams of fine gold or imprisonment of up to 100 months. Indonesia’s national criminal code doesn’t regulate homosexuality.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Singaporean Helps Fight Indonesian Fires With Solutions

    Singaporean Helps Fight Indonesian Fires With Solutions

    Many Singaporeans have taken to donning masks or staying indoors as the Pollutant Standards Index climbs to unhealthy levels.

    But not Mr Judah Jay, 60.

    Instead, he headed straight for the forest fires in Jambi, a province in Sumatra, to help firefighters put out the blaze that has been causing the haze.

    The Singaporean owner of a company that manufacturers eco-friendly fire extinguishers also donated about 1,000 litres of a special fire-fighting solution to the Indonesian firefighters.

    When asked why he chose to help Indonesia fight the fires for free, Mr Jay said he felt a sense of responsibility.

    “It’s like I am a doctor and I see someone getting hit by a car. I won’t ask if he can pay me, I would help him immediately.

    “In the same way, I have all this knowledge and resources, and it is my duty to help people who need it.”

    The managing director of Fire Terminator International (FTI) and his team arrived in Indonesia three months ago to market a product called JN1010, a fire-fighting solution that not only extinguishes blazes, but also rapidly cools surfaces, removes oxygen, and stops combustible gases from igniting so that the fire does not start again.

    Plans to meet potential clients were cut short two months in, after Mr Jay realised the severity of the haze and forest fires. 
He then shifted his focus to helping the Indonesians deal with the fires, instead.

    He said: “I knew that this was beyond earning money. People there needed help, and I had the means to help them.”

    For four weeks, he donned fire-fighting gear and battled the fires shoulder-to-shoulder with others in Jambi, working day and night to extinguish the blaze.

    Recounting his time there, Mr Jay said: “The heat from the fires was intense. Visibility was so bad that I could not see who was beside me. It was terrible.”

    Although he shipped 1,000 litres of JN1010 for the fire fighting efforts, it took less than a month to use it up.

    “Even though the firefighters were so busy and tired, they gave their all and kept on fighting, so I gave them what I could too,” Mr Jay said.

    MEDIA ATTENTION

    His efforts caught the attention of Indonesian media, with TV network TVRI interviewing Mr Jay and showing him putting out fires during a news clip.

    He returned to Singapore about a week ago to attend the Fire and Disaster Asia 2015 exhibition, which was held at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.

    When The New Paper spoke to Mr Jay at the exhibition last Thursday, he said that he was raring to return to Indonesia to help again.

    “We only brought 10 per cent of our 
supply that time. When I go back in three or four days, I am prepared to bring the remaining 9,000 litres to help fight the fires,” he said.

    Mr Jay added that he would be heading to Kalimantan, in Borneo, this time, and would stay there for as long as he could.

    His wife, Mrs Davina Jay, who is the director for FTI, will stay in Singapore to look after the business while her husband is in Indonesia.

    She said: “I have confidence that he will exercise due caution there.

    “He has been blessed with wisdom and know-how to help minimise human suffering. It must be shared for a good cause”.

    10 firms declare no links to those causing fires in Indonesia

    Ten companies which manufacture paper products sold in Singapore have pledged that they do not use raw materials from the five Indonesian firms believed to be responsible for the ongoing forest fires.

    A joint press release by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) yesterday said that all 10 firms, which are certified under the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS), have signed declarations forms.

    SEC and Case also revealed that they were awaiting declaration forms from seven other third-party manufacturers.

    The list of all the companies which have signed will be updated regularly on both agencies’ websites.

    SEC is also encouraging other paper companies which have not participated in the SGLS to contact it for certification.

    However, certified firms which are found purchasing wood, paper or pulp products from companies suspected to be involved in the haze pollution are bound by the declaration to inform SEC. They will then be removed from the list.

    STRONG SIGNAL

    Meanwhile, Case has issued a reminder urging consumers not to support companies using such products unless they have pledged to be socially responsible.

    “This will send a strong signal to the errant companies that consumers’ goodwill should not be taken for granted and consumers will not support companies which are environmentally irresponsible and/or have contributed to the environmental disaster year after year,” it added.

    Last month, Singapore started legal action against five companies which it believes are among the culprits behind Indonesia’s pollution-causing fires. Four are Indonesian companies which have been told to take measures to extinguish fires on their land, not to start new ones and submit action plans on how they will prevent future fires.

    The fifth one is Singapore-listed firm Asia Pulp and Paper. It has been served a legal notice to supply information on its subsidiaries in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires on their concessions. – The Straits Times.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Jusuf Kalla: Indonesia Open To Help From Any Country, Including Singapore

    Jusuf Kalla: Indonesia Open To Help From Any Country, Including Singapore

    JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is open to help from any country, including Singapore, if they wish to assist in fighting the forest fires that are causing the haze in the region, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said yesterday (Sept 27).

    Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in New York, Mr Kalla said the Indonesian government has noted Singapore’s protests against the haze.

    “Please come, we are open. Singapore can see for itself. Singapore, please come if you want to help. Don’t just talk,” local news agency Antara News quoted Mr Kalla as saying.

    Mr Kalla said Indonesia has explained that it is working hard to put out the forest fires, but it is difficult to solve the problem within a short period of time.

    “The forest fires in Indonesia are helped by the dry weather and winds,” he said.

    This is not the first time Mr Kalla is inviting Singapore to help. On Sept 15, he appealed to Singapore through local media to help fight the fires, and was quoted as saying: “Singapore, please come. Singapore also knows that the natural disaster can happen anywhere.”

    The Singapore Armed Forces had offered to send C-130s for cloud seeding and Chinooks to carry large water buckets to douse the fires.

    However, Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has declined Singapore’s assistance, and said that her country is trying to handle the crisis on its own. Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi also said that she has spoken with her Singaporean counterpart to explain the steps that Jakarta has taken.

    “Indonesia is very serious about resolving the fires, and this will be complemented with law enforcement and education,” said Ms Retno.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com