Bukit Brown cemetery to get 3-D mapping of graves AsiaOne | Sat, Dec 10, 2011 The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will be collecting the GPS data points of graves at the Bukit Brown cemetery to create 3-D mapping of the place. A new road will be constructed into the cemetery in 2013, and about 5,000 graves will be affected by it, reported The Straits Times. Almost 300 people have signed up to help document the graves, and they have been working together since Dec 1 to clean the tombstones, record its inscriptions, and capture photographs for archiving purposes. A historian, Dr Loh Kah Seng, 39, is part of the team and he is in charge of documenting early life around the Bukit Brown area. URA has also announced a group of representatives that will form the new advisory committee, The Straits Times added. This committee includes representatives from various heritage groups and government agencies, and they will oversee the project.

Fire hazards found in shopping malls, nightspots AsiaOne | Sun, Dec 11, 2011 SINGAPORE - A surprise safety check on two shopping malls and four nightspots by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and police officers found 12 instances of fire hazards. The checks, which commenced at about 8pm Friday, started off with SCDF visiting shopping centres The Verge and Mustafa Centre's new wing in Little India. The largest number of fire hazard offences was found at The Verge, with the building's management being handed five notices and tenant Sheng Siong handed two. The notices serve as a warning to offenders to take steps to remove the fire hazards or be fined. A number of exit doors and escape passageways were found to be blocked by barriers and goods, The Straits Times reported. A smoke curtain, designed to contain smoke within a specified boundary when a fire breaks out, was found to be blocked by large Christmas trees and other display items outside shops on the fifth level. For Sheng Siong supermarket, an escape route was found to be blocked by wooden pallets and goods. The supermarket's assistant manager Mr Yean Fook Yee said a lot of stock had been imported in view of the upcoming festivities. He said that staff had been told to move the goods but may have neglected to do so as they were too busy that night. SCDF officers were later joined by the Police to conduct checks at nighspots Attica, Club Rebel, Zirca and Shanghai Dolly. Attica was fined $500 for a large fan blocking an important exit. At Club Rebel, a common area was found to have been converted into a storage area. The club was handed a Notice of Fire Safety Offence, which carries a composition fine of up to $500. Zirca and Shanghai Dolly had no fire safety violations. More than 650 checks at hotels, shopping centres and entertainment outlets have been conducted by SCDF in the first 10 months of 2011. SCDF warned building owners to be more vigilant in ensuring fire safety standards are maintained, especially during the year-end festive period when there may be an increase in customer traffic. yamadak@sph.com.sg

Tales of the Ouija Readers share their chilling experiences with the infamous "talking board" and how it has forever affected their lives. More of this Feature • Part 2: Stalked by the Unknown Join the Discussion "The Ouija board is just a wooden board that can be used as a psychic tool. The reason some people get into trouble is that they use a paranormal approach rather a magical approach using some form of protection, and dismissal of the spirits. The Ouija board is not 'The Devil's Board' or 'A Gateway Into Hell' or 'Necromancy.' The horror stories you hear are from people who called down into their house, or room, a variety of spirits, and then put the Ouija board away, leaving the spirits to wander around. And yes, when you use the board, it opens a doorway. which needs to be closed." Read more here Related Resources • Ouija: How Does It Work? From Other Guides • Creative Writing for Teens: The Homemade Ouija Board Elsewhere on the Web • The Museum of Talking Boards • Ouija 2000 Is the Ouija a harmless toy? Or is it an instrument that connects users to a darker dimension? Or, perhaps, does it tap into the unconscious where our own fears and powers of suggestion create sometimes frightening experiences? Read these tales of the Ouija and decide for yourself. Zozo I am in my late 30s and now living in Massachusetts where I grew up. I was a middle child of five in a very close family. When we were really young, my two younger sisters and I were always fascinated with the unknown. We would look in the obituaries in the newspaper to see who had recently passed away and we would have séances in our garage with some other local neighborhood kids. Usually nothing would happen, but a couple of times some weird things happened that we just could not explain. When my sisters and I were in high school, we learned about Ouija boards. We bought one and began to play with it. Two of us would get on it and the other would write everything down. At first it was fun. We talked to several different spirits that told us where they were from and about their families, etc. This went on for weeks, then gradually things started getting a little scary. Eventually, every time we got on the board, the same spirit would come on, who was not very nice. He told us he was the devil and he was going to get us somehow. He called him self "Zozo." When a friend of ours confronted our priest about this name, he got very angry and told us we should not be playing with Ouija boards; they were not toys and we could get into trouble. He gave his Sunday sermon on the subject. Needless to say, we stopped playing with it. Then, while still in high school, one of my sister's best friends lost her sister in a van accident. She and her sister were very close. She knew of our adventures with our Ouija board and begged my sister to let her come over and use it to talk to her deceased sister. Hesitantly, my sister sat down with her and contacted her sister with the board. Her friend bawled and told her sister how much she loved her and missed her. She didn't want to live anymore without her and wished she could be with her. About two weeks later, my sister's friend died... in a van accident - exactly the way that her sister had died. My sister took the Ouija board and put it out with the trash, and none of us has touched one since. - Bonnie F. The Saloon Owner The first time I ever saw a Ouija board being used, I was the only male in the room. I wasn't using it; I was standing there, watching. I didn't see anything to indicate that the little plastic thing with the window in it was moving on its own. I would have sworn that my girlfriend and her friend were moving the thing. We were in my girlfriend's house; they wanted to talk to the person who lived in the house when it was first built. They got an answer: J. McGillicuddy. I thought they were full of it, making it up as they went along, but then again, there's no way that they could have both come up with the same fictitious name. And I know they didn't plan it ahead of time because up until an hour prior, they didn't even know the board was in the house. (I had found it up in the attic when I was weathersealing a drafty window.) They got a second answer: the house was actually built at another location in 1913, then moved to its current location. I had noticed on the outside of the house that there were these big round things still attached to the house that looked like big round chain links. Those were to strap the house down when it was moved. I checked out some of the information at the county courthouse, looking at archives of census figures, etc. Indeed, there was a J. McGillicuddy who lived there and operated a saloon that had long since burned down. He died at the age of 33 - stabbed to death when he tried to intervene in an altercation between two of his patrons. To this day, I don't know if the girls were making it up. If so, it was quite a hoax, and they're both better tricksters than I ever gave them credit for being. - THISNAMESTAK The Choking Entity One night, my brother and I were playing with my new Ouija board, and it didn't take long for the entity to come. As soon as it was there, I felt this strange feeling come over me. It felt as if something was inside of me. It got hard for me to breathe, but I didn't say anything. We asked the entity if it was good or evil, and it spelled out "EVIL." Right then I knew something was wrong, because the entity was getting upset. It got harder and harder for me to breathe, until finally it felt like something pushed me and it was over. Ever since that night, strange things have been happening in my home: doors shut by themselves, I hear strange noises and see shadows in the middle of the night. Although this experience scared me, I still bring out my Ouija and talk to entities - even the upset ones. I ask them what their problem is and see if there's anything I can do to help. I just hope I never run into that same entity that tried to choke me. - BMSEP

  Girl's fingers caught in supermarket conveyor belt The New Paper | Sun, Dec 04, 2011 PARENTS, keep an eye on your young children when paying for groceries at supermarkets. Last Saturday, a toddler got her fingers stuck in the conveyor belt at a payment counter, causing a cut that required three stitches. The two-year-old was injured at the Giant Hypermarket in Tampines while she was with her parents. Her mother wrote to citizen journalism website Stomp earlier this week to advise parents to watch their children around the payment counters. "It was all because of our negligence, but I really did not know that there is a possible danger at the conveyor belt," she wrote. "I will definitely be more careful next time when I take my child out again." The mother, who called herself Li Foong, said the girl was standing in a shopping trolley while her father loaded items on to the conveyor belt. The child tried to follow her father's actions and a finger on her left hand slipped into the side of the conveyor belt. Ms Li Foong wrote: "My husband pulled her hand out immediately. It was bleeding badly and I could see the exposed flesh of my child's fingers. "The cut on the fourth finger was quite deep and it was about 3.5cm long. The last finger also had a deep cut that was about 1cm long." A spokesman for Giant told The New Paper in an e-mail that the the duty manager was alerted and a grocery supervisor, Mr Nordin Ahmad, went to help the family. Mr Nordin has worked in Giant for five years and is certified by the Singapore Red Cross Society to give first aid. Bandage fingers The girl's father took the first aid items Mr Nordin supplied and bandaged her fingers. The family then rushed to the accident and emergency department of Changi General Hospital (CGH). The girl received three stitches on the fourth finger and a special glue was used to seal the wound on the last finger, wrote her mother. She expressed her gratitude for Mr Nordin's fast response and the care showed by the nurse and doctor at CGH. Giant's spokesman said it was the first such accident in the hypermarket. She said: "Our staff is communicating with the parents to follow up on her condition." The hypermarket's maintenance manager and work safety officer are reviewing its checkout counters to ensure all necessary safety precautions are in place. She added: "Customer safety is paramount at Giant and we strive to provide a family-safe environment at all our hypermarkets. "We would encourage all shoppers to exercise safety precautions in the store. We discourage shoppers from letting their children stand in the trolley or to run around the store. "Children should also not be left unattended in the hypermarket." Dr Kevin Teh, the medical director of Singapore Lipo, Body & Face Centre, told TNP that supermarkets are generally safe. He felt there was no need for additional precautions. The problem is that the fingers of children, being smaller, may get past safety devices designed for adult hands, he said. Dr Teh, who was formerly in the National University Hospital's hand and reconstructive microsurgery department, said the girl's fingers probably got caught in the small gap between the edge of the payment counter and the rubber belt. "The girl could have sustained a shearing injury, when the skin gets pulled in different directions and a tear occurs." Dr Teh, who has a two-year-old son, said he had a similar incident on Wednesday night when his son wanted to be helpful and placed an item on the belt. "I got a momentary pang of panic as he tried to grope around the conveyor blindly. "Thankfully, the belt wasn't moving at that moment and no harm was done." Dr Teh advised parents not to let children place items on the conveyor belts until they are older. This article was first published in The New Paper.

Man allegedly starves elderly mum to death in China AsiaOne | Sat, Dec 03, 2011 A Fujian government worker allegedly starved his 90-year-old mother to death while she was under his care, reported The Shanghaiist. Netizens are in a furore over a video uploaded to video sharing site Youku which showed an extremely frail old woman lying on a dirty mat. According to The Shanghaiist, it was titled "Changping (Fujian) government worker starves 90-year-old mother." The 90-year-old elderly woman reportedly has five sons and a daughter. However, her husband passed away at a young age and her oldest son and daughter-in-law helped to raise the family. She was left in the care of her fourth son after the family split. According to online sources, she had advanced dementia and was unable to care for herself. Her condition deteriorated after she went under his care. The elderly woman was discovered after a niece found her on the floor and called the police. She died soon after from severe malnutrition despite being rushed to the hospital. The son was detained by the police. He allegedly works for the Fujian Ministry of Trade office. Netizens question why such behaviour is still present in modern-day China. A reader said it was shocking when she first saw the photo. "I did not think in the 21st century, there could be such a thing! "I hope (those responsible) not only suffer harsh moral condemnation, but are also severely punished by law," the reader said. Neighbours were shocked that the son could be capable of such an act as he was known to be very filial towards his mother. "We will have to wait until there are more facts available, usually the son has been very filial towards his mother," they said.

  Man homeless after Indonesian wife disappears with $200k AsiaOne | Thu, Dec 01, 2011 A 68-year-old retiree lost $200,000 after he sold his flat to marry a 28-year-old Indonesian woman who later disappeared. He had given her the money to buy a house, a car and start a new business. However, the woman sold everything within six months and disappeared. Former security guard Jacky Yan now lives on the streets. Lianhe Wanbao reported that Mr Yan first met his wife in a bar more than a year ago while he was holidaying in Tanjung Balai, Indonesia. The couple fell in love and registered their marriage half a year later. He then sold his flat at Block 418, Fajar Road, with the intention of moving to her home country. When interviewed, Mr Yan said he received more than $200,000 from selling his house. He then used his wife's name to buy a two-storey shop unit, a terrace house, a car and a motorcycle. He opened an Internet cafe on the lower floor of the shop unit and converted the upper floor into guest houses. After moving to Indonesia, Mr Yan had to return to Singapore every month to settle administrative issues with his Indonesian visa. However, in May this year, he realised his wife had disappeared and that the locks to the shop and home had been changed. After asking around, he was shocked to hear that his wife had sold everything and gone missing. He has not found his wife after searching for half a year, nor has he received any messages from her. Mr Yan has also not been able to recover the money. Nowhere to stay When he returned to Singapore, he did not have a home to return to and had to stay with a friend. However, he moved out after two months as he could not stay for the long-term. He then wandered the streets. Now, Mr Yan collects cardboard and drink cans in the day and sleeps at void decks at night. He was once arrested by the police for vagrancy at a coffee shop and was brought to an old folks' home. However, the home was unable to accommodate him as he still had family here and did not meet the criteria. Last month, he loitered at a coffee shop for a few days and placed some luggage there, but the owner reported him to the police as the owner felt his presence interfered with business. Mr Yan's son is now not speaking to him as he did not listen to his family's advice. He now survives on a monthly pension of $500 and collecting drink cans for cash. He sleeps at void decks and hangs his clothes on water pipes. His luggage is strewn everywhere. A resident who stayed nearby told Lianhe Wanbao that the void deck is now a mess as he leave cardboard and drink cans lying around. paullim@sph.com.sg

Cyber cafe worker hacked to death near temple The Star/Asia News Network | Thu, Dec 01, 2011 GEORGE TOWN - A cyber cafe caretaker was hacked to death by four men near a Chinese temple in Berapit, Bukit Mertajam. State CID chief Senior Asst Comm Zahruddin Abdullah said Tang Cheong Kok, 37, was having a drink with several friends at a roadside stall when the four, armed with two softball bats and a parang, approached him at 11.50pm on Tuesday. "The victim was dragged away and assaulted. "We believe it's a case of revenge as no valuables were stolen," he said yesterday. He added that the victim's skull was broken and his right hand almost severed. SAC Zahruddin also released the photofit of a person known only as Boy, in his 20s, who is believed to have information about the murder of another 37-year-old in Berapit, at a cyber cafe. On Nov 26, Ho Soon Lai, a customer at the cafe, was stabbed in the abdomen at about 5.30am when he tried to help two cashiers who had curry powder thrown at them by two men. The suspects escaped with RM780 and Ho succumbed to his injuries the next day.