Author: news22

<strong>GEORGE TOWN</strong>: Inquiries to the attorney-general (AG) and the Health Ministry on the status of investigations into six custodial deaths here this year have been met with silence.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy said he had sent letters to the AG's Chambers and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam about a month ago on the issue but has yet to receive any reply.

"This is a serious issue as deaths in custody should not happen in Malaysia," he told a press conference today after announcing the state has set up a task force on custodial deaths.

The task force is aimed at monitoring such incidents and to provide legal assistance if required and is chaired by Ramasamy.

This comes after the latest custodial death of lorry driver Agin Raj Sunmarkkan Naidu, 29, who died on June 7 after being arrested on June 2, with his death making it six cases this year.

Meanwhile, state housing committee chairman and task force member Jagdeep Singh pointed out Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) required an inquiry to be conducted by a magistrate in the event of a death in custody.

He said the law requires such action to be taken and urged the AG to be forthcoming on the matter.

"The task force will be writing to seek an explanation from the AG on the status of the cases vis a vis Section 334 of the CPC," he said in the same media conference.

<strong>KUALA LUMPUR</strong>: A Filipino maid who was hired to take care of an elderly man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, allegedly uploaded indecent photos of the man on Facebook.

The maid, known as Evelyn, apparently did so while claiming that she was not paid the wages she was supposed to get.

Speaking at a press conference today after meeting MCA Public Service and Complaint Bureau head Datuk Seri Michael Chong, the man's daughter, known only as Chia, 50, said she had hired the maid as a part-time caregiver for her 79-year-old father for one week from April 14 until April 20.

Her father passed away in June.

"My late father needed some help because he was also a stroke patient. So I needed someone to take care of him at that time as I was busy with my business," Chia said.

"I contacted Evelyn, who had worked with me for four years from 2004, and offered her RM100 per day and she agreed to it. Her wages for seven days was RM700 but I paid her RM1,000.

"On April 24, she uploaded my late father's indecent photos on her Facebook page and claimed that I did not pay her enough.

"She claimed her wage should be RM13 per hour, making it RM312 each day," Chia said.

Chia warned Evelyn that she had lodged a police report against her on April 25, but Evelyn countered by claiming she had lodged a police report against Chia for running an illegal business.

Chia said she was told by her current maid that Evelyn was still displaying her late father's indecent photos.

Chong advised the public to always keep an eye on their maids to prevent similar incidents from happening to them. He said his department had received six maid-related cases so far this year compared with 18 last year.

<strong>KUALA LUMPUR</strong>: Taman Kepong residents are up in arms over the construction of a metal fence behind their houses by the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) as it posed inconvenience and danger to them.

Residents Association of Taman Kepong chairman V. Sivaram said the 600m stretch of fencing in their backyard has resulted in them not being able to park their vehicles there, thus causing traffic congestion along the main road.

"The fence should have been built within their reserve land but instead it is constructed 20ft away from their plot, more towards the residential houses, thus causing a lot of problems to house owners," he added.

He said RAC should have embarked on a study or discussion with the residents before constructing the fence.

"Not only is the fence posing a problem to the residents but also to the public," said Sivaram.

RAC had put up the fence at the site over the last two weeks without notifying the 285 house owners of their intention.

Sivaram said every year, some 15 dengue cases are reported within the housing estate and now they expect the situation to worsen with the fencing.

"We cannot (access and) destroy the mosquito breeding sites beyond the fence," said Sivaram, adding that the fence has also caused narrowing of the road.

"What will happen if there is a fire? The Fire and Rescue Department vehicles will have a problem getting into the area," he added.

The residents have urged RAC to look into their plight and move the fence 10ft away from the existing site.

Meanwhile, Kepong Member of Parliament Dr Tan Seng Giaw urged RAC to manage their reserved lands properly, especially in high populated areas, to curb the issue of mosquito breeding as they are badly managed.

"There is no point in fencing the area if it is poorly maintained and managed," he added.

<strong>GEORGE TOWN</strong>: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants the federal government, via the energy, green technology and water ministry to be mediator to resolve talks on water supplied by Perak.

He said the supply of raw water from Perak as suggested by the Penang Government under the Sungai Perak Raw Water Transfer Project Scheme was aimed at ensuring sufficient raw water supply to the state until 2050.

"Penang needs an alternative source of raw water supply to prevent water rationing and ensure sufficient water supply in the future.

"However, the problem is that the Perak Government does not want to sell raw water but treated water.

"We (Penang Government) do not agree as the cost is high and could result in an increase in water tariffs which are now low…this is not fair to the people of Penang," he said in a media conference here today.

Lim was commenting on a statement by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir who confirmed that a state wanted to buy raw water from Perak.

In that statement, Zambry was reported as saying he would not sell raw water but only treated water.

Lim said the new rate for domestic water tariff for the first 35,000 litres a month suggested by the state government was RM0.32 for every 1,000 litres while the Perak water tariff for the same category was RM0.73 every 1,000 litres.

"Imagine how expensive it would be if we buy treated water from Perak. Thus, we hope the federal government will be the mediator to resolve this problem. We will pay for raw water bought from Perak," he said. – <em>Bernama</em>

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