2 Customs officers killed in boat crash

MUAR: It was supposed to have been a normal boat trip up the river for a Customs Department preventive unit.

But the vessel exploded in a ball of fire after crashing into a swamp, killing two Customs officers. Two other officers, who were on the vessel, which had set out from the Muar Customs Department jetty, had a close shave as they jumped overboard in the nick of time.

This is believed to be the first time such an incident involving a Customs boat has occurred. Muhammad Yusri Hashim and Mohd Asri Abdul Ghani, both 37, died while Osman Hussin, 54, and Kamaruisah Mohd Yusof, 33, have been warded.

Based in Port Dickson, the four had gone to Muar to take the highspeed boat for repair.

Early yesterday, they set out in the boat from the Muar Customs jetty for the dockyard at Kampung Tanjung Selabu, near Bukit Pasir. About 10am, the antenna of the 16-metre boat is believed to have snagged an electricity cable that hung across the narrow Sungai Terap.

The vessel spun out of control and crashed into the mangrove strewn riverbank near Kampung Pergam before it was engulfed by a cloud of smoke and burst into fireball. Fishermen, who rushed to the scene to help, found Custos officers Osman and Kamaruisah floating in the middle of the river and rescued them. Muhammad Yusri and Mohd Asri perished in the blaze.

Muar police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Nizar Mohd Ali said the boat was three kilometres away from the dock when it ran into trouble. Mohd Nizar refused to disclose what had caused the boat to lose control an crash into the riverbank, but said investigations were being carried out.

A fisherman who helped rescue the two officers recounted how one of the officers had pleaded with him to save his friends, who were trapped in the blazing vessel.

"He (the officer kept saying, 'My friends are still in the boat, my friends are still in the boat'", said Mohd Diah Hashim.

The 43-year-old fisherman said he and some officer as the blaze had totally engulfed the vessel.

"We could not do anything as the fire was too big and the heat was too intense," Mohd Diah said.

Firemen took more than two hours to extinguish the blaze and recover the bodes of Muhammad Yusri and Mohd Asri from the cabin. The two survivors have been warded at the Muar Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital.

The bodies of Muhammad Yusri and Mohd Asri were sent to the same hospital for a post-mortam and later sent back to Negri Sembilan.

Source: NST newspaper

Bomoh wins appeal against conviction in molestation case

IPOH: The High Court here allowed an appeal by a bomoh to set aside his 14 months' jail sentence for molesting a woman during the therapy session 10 years ago.

In freeing 69-year-old Abu Bedor Janum, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Hashim ruled that the accused should not have convicted of the crime because there were too many discrepancies in the prosecution's case.

He said the most detrimental factor was the inconsistency shown by the key prosecution witness, who was also the victim in the case. He said the victim had contradicted herself many times when giving evidence during the examination-in-chief and cross-examination.

Agreeing with defense counsel Charan Singh's submission, he said the court not accept the victim's two versions of evidence pertaining to where the crime supposedly took place.

"At one time, she said it happened in the bathroom and another time she said it was in Abu Bedor's room.

"She also could not tell whether the accused forced her to swallow one or two pills before she was molested," he said.

On May 13, 2002, a magistrate's court in Parit had found Abu Bedor guilty of using force to outrage the modesty of the then 24-year-old woman. Abu Bedor, then 56, was alleged to have committed the crime at his house in Lambor Kiri, Bota, at 4.45pm on Sept 6, 1997. Judicial Commissioner Ridwan noted that the failure by the prosecution to call several material witnesses, including the woman's boyfriend, had resulted in a break in the chain of evidence.

"There is no testimony from the boyfriend despite him being the first person to be informed about the alleged incident by the complainant," he said.

He also said the woman's parents had also given contradictory evidence as the reasons they went to see Abu Bedor.

"The parents had said that they went to the accused's house to get their daughter to break off with her boyfriend.

"But the complainant said she was taken to see the accused because her spiritual problems," he said.

Judicial Commisioner Ridwan said the contradictory evidence among the prosecution witnesses had resulted a charge framed against Abu Bedor that could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Source: Star newspaper

Crime-spree gang busted

IPOH: Police have crippled a gang which held up six shops - all in just 84 minutes.

Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Jalaludin Ibrahim said the gang of four, armed with just a chopper, hit the shops which included a bridal studio, boutique and electrical store, between 4.30pm and 6pm on Saturday.

"This was very alarming, but after swift investigations by officers, we managed to round up three men at their homes in Lunas, Kedah, he following morning.

"Another suspect, a 25-year-old with a drug record, is still at large," he told reporters.

Police have remanded the three men, aged between 24 and 27 till Monday, he said, adding that the oldest suspect has six previous cases for robbery and drug offences.

Among the items recovered were a bloodstained chopper, six mobile phones, a camera, laptop and RM2,750 which are believed to have been taken from victims.

ACP Jalaludin also said that police have extended the remand order for five suspects to assist in investigations into the murder of car wash employee R. Ravi Kumar.

The body of the 23-year-old man was found dumped in a stream at the Kledang Saiyong Permanent Forest Reserve in Silibin here on May 8.

Source: Star newspaper