How would Mas Selamat Kastari hide himself?

29 02 2008

Maybe he did some changes to his appearance. It has been almost 2 days and there’s still no sight of him.

omy did some mock-ups of how he might have possibly disguised himself:

Mas Selamat Kastari in disguise

There are more than 1000 uniformed personnels out there hunting for this lone, limping man, not to mention the general public who have probably all seen his face all over the local newspaper and television reports.

Isn’t it strange there’s no sighting of him to date? Read the rest of this entry »





Edison Chen showing off his photo collection

29 02 2008
edison chen show off photos

Apparently, he looks very proud of his wonderful collection. :)

Read the rest of this entry »





Today is a Leap Day!

29 02 2008

leap year
Picture from Osiris Posters

Today is 29 February, a leap day - a special day that only occurs once in four years. Do you have anything special to say to your loved ones or any special moments to remember?

If you want to express your love to someone, today is a romantic day to do so. :)

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Wanbao & Shin Min @ omy.sg

29 02 2008
omy homepage

Not sure if many people know this - the daily covers for both Chinese evening tabloid newspapers, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily are available for viewing on the homepage of omy.

14 Feb 2008
Wanbao frontpage: 24 Feb 2008

24 Feb 2008
Shin Min frontpage: 28 Feb 2008

For those of you who have a habit of reading tabloid papers while on your train journey home, in the toilet shitting, or just before bedtime, you can now take a look at the headlines first on each cover before deciding which to buy (or both). :)

wanbao button shin min button

To access the daily front covers, you can click on the two respective buttons above, or visit the homepage of omy and navigate from there. It’s interesting to note that Edison Chen has been hogging the front pages of both newspapers for the past few weeks. I don’t think his face is going to disappear anytime soon, haha.

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Who is Mas Selamat Kastari?

28 02 2008
Mas Selamat Kastari
Picture taken from CNA

Mas Selamat Kastari, 45, is the terrorist who planned to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport in 2002. He is on the loose now, having escaped from detention yesterday.

A massive manhunt involving thousands of policemen and Gurkhas was launched yesterday to hunt him down. Mas Selamat is said to have fled the Internal Security Department’s Whitley Road Dentention Centre at 4.05pm yesterday.

Here’s the full report from CNA:

A massive police operation is underway in Singapore after the leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah network here, Mas Selamat Kastari, escaped from detention at 4.05pm on Wednesday.

A statement from the Home Affairs Ministry says Mas Selamat walks with a limp and is presently at large.

He is not known to be armed and is one of Singapore’s most wanted men.

Extensive police resources have been deployed to track him down after he escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre.

Anyone with information about him can contact the police at 999.

Mas Selamat was arrested by the Indonesian police on Bintan island in January 2006.

He was picked up then for using a fake identity card.

Based on investigations then, Indonesia’s elite anti-terror police discovered he was the leader of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah network, a terrorist organisation.

They then deported the man to Singapore in 2006.

The 45-year-old father of four was also said to be involved in JI’s plans to mount attacks against foreign and local establishments here.

These included the US Embassy and American Club, the Defence Ministry headquarters at Bukit Gombak and the Education Ministry building at North Buona Vista Drive.

Mas Selamat fled Singapore in December 2001 following an Internal Security Department operation against the terrorist organisation.

The militant leader had been on the run after Singapore authorities discovered plans to crash seven truck filled with bombs at various locations around the island.

Investigations also revealed that he was the mastermind behind a plan to hijack an airplane and crash it into Changi airport.

When he was last arrested in Indonesia, officers found literature on bomb making on the man.

Mas Selamat’s deportation to Singapore two years ago was seen as a significant development in the close network of cooperation amongst intelligence officers in the region to share information on terror suspects and to defeat the terror threat.

The islandwide manhunt has fanned out to areas in Beauty World in Upper Bukit Timah and Goldhill Avenue near Barker Road.

Officers are also knocking on homes asking residents if they have seen the escapee.

Police have also formed a formidable blockade around Malcolm Park, near the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. - CNA/ch

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a brief statement yesterday about the escape, saying that Mas Selamat walks with a limp and was not believe to be armed.

If you see him or know where is, please call 999 to assist the police.

Actually, I was wondering how did Mas Selamat get away in the first place… he’s unarmed and walks with a limp, how fast can this guy run? We seldom even hear of convicts escaping from Changi Prison, not to mention the Internal Security Department.

In any case, I hope they find him soon before he attempt any jihad actions which may harm Singaporeans. Read the rest of this entry »





My 元宵 Dinner

28 02 2008
steamboat

We had steamboat last Thursday on 元宵节; same as for our Chinese New Year reunion dinner. My mom spent a lot of effort on preparing this meal. She used a toothbrush to manually scrub the shells of every single cockles we dipped into the steamboat that night.

There were less leftovers this time round compared to the reunion dinner. This time, my mom was better able to estimate the amount of food we can all consume.

It was a satisfying meal and we all were too blotted to talk when it was over. :)

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Who is Ong Boon Jun?

28 02 2008
ong boon jun

Ong Boon Jun is a pimp who operates in Singapore and dubbed as the Most Suay Person in Singapore for his involvement with full-time national serviceman, Dave Teo Ming who had gone AWOL from camp with a rifle and live ammunition in September last year.

Ong has been sentenced to 6.5 years jail and 6 strokes of the cane on Monday (25 Feb 200 8) for not reporting his friend, Dave, to the authority even though he had ample time to do so.

Here’s the full article from Straits Times:

ONG Boon Jun, the co-accused of full-time national serviceman Dave Teo Ming who had gone AWOL from camp with a rifle and live ammunition, had every opportunity to report his friend to the authorities but he did not.

The 22-year-old was hauled to court for being found in the 20-year-old’s company at a Geylang hotel room in circumstances which presumed that he knew Teo had the firearm in his possession last Sept 3.

On Monday, District Judge Liew Thiam Leng sentenced Ong to six and a half years and six strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to the charge last week.

In passing sentence, the judge said the safety of the public and the security of the state could not be compromised.

‘A person who is in unlawful possession of a rifle will pose a security risk to the state and the public,’ he said.

As a former national serviceman, Ong was ‘well aware of the importance of preserving the security of the state’.

‘It was incumbent upon him to report to the police to ensure that no harm is caused to anyone after he came to know that the co-accused was in possession of a stolen army rifle. More so in this case as the accused was informed by the co-accused that he intended to commit robbery.’

The freelance pimp operating near Lorong 18 Geylang had known Teo, who had engaged the services of a Thai prostitute through him.

Teo, whose case is pending, went absent without leave from Mandai Hill Camp on Sept 2 when he took the SAR-21 and five rounds of ammunition.

He went home and retrieved three more rounds he had earlier stolen and loaded them into the magazine. He left home with the rifle in a bag and checked into Champagne Hotel in Lorong 16 Geylang the next day.

After assembling the rifle and loading the magazine in the room, Teo covered the weapon with some pillows before calling Ong for the services of the Thai prostitute.

The court heard that Ong knew about the rifle and Teo had even shown it to him in the hotel room, saying he had stolen it from camp to commit robbery. Teo later left with the dismantled rifle in his bag while the prostitute and Ong stayed behind and took a nap.

Teo was arrested that night in the third floor toilet at Orchard Cineleisure. Ong was nabbed the next day at 3.45am.

Ong remained expresionless in the dock when he was sentenced. But according to his father who saw him later, Ong was crying.

The father, together Ong’s mother and a cousin, declined to speak to the media.

Under the Arms Offences Act, Ong could have been jailed between five and 10 years and given not less than six strokes for the offence.

This guy is really sibeh suay! If a very good friend of mine AWOL and come find me… I will also be in a dilemma as to whether to report him to the authority.

Dave Teo is such a big time Sabo King! He want to steal rifle and act Rambo - also don’t need to drag in his friend right?

The last time I went back reservist in January, SAF made a lot of extremely stringent changes to weapon safety precautions, thanks also to Dave Teo.

Ong must really hate Dave Teo to the core now for landing him in such hot soup. If not for Dave, he will still be outside, pimping the services of the prostitutes under his care, leading a carefree life, “test-driving” newbies to the trade.

All eyes are now on the sentence of the Sabo King himself will get. In any case, it will definitely be harsher than what was meted out to his buddy, Ong Boon Jun.

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200,00 hits - thanks to Edison Chen

27 02 2008
200,000 hits

This blog cross the 200,000 hits mark this morning. Much thanks to the many curious folks out there searching for Edison Chen’s sex scandal photos. Just look at the evidence above from a screen grab of yesterday’s web stats for this blog. :)





Thank you for Haze again Indonesia

27 02 2008

I woke up at around 12 midnight with irritation to my throat and nose. Due to my sinus, I am very sensitive to climate changes and the air we breathe.

It’s now 2am and I still can’t sleep because my breathing feels irregular and dry.

My mom came into my room at around 1am,. Apparently, she’s having the same problem and is having difficulty sleeping too. At first, I thought it could be the poor ventilation in my room because of the condominium construction going on nearby. Hence I decided to take a short stroll outside to get some fresh air and then come back and sleep again.

Alas, the air outside is even worse! My breathing felt even heavier after strolling for about 10 minutes. I quickly turned back, return to my room, switched on the air-conditioner and humidifier.

That’s when I suspected it’s the bloody HAZE again! Did a quick check on the Internet, and this is what I found:

haze picture
Picture from NEA’s website

Haze is back…sooner than expected

Tania Tan in Singapore & Salim Osman in Indonesia
Straits Times 26 Feb 08;

ILL winds are blowing the haze towards Singapore again, as farmers in the Sumatran province of Riau have begun clearing undergrowth by setting it alight earlier than usual.

Singapore’s Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings hovered in the ‘moderate’ range last week, and hit 56 on Sunday, the year’s highest so far.

The weekend’s slightly hazy conditions are expected to last over the next few days, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

But yesterday’s afternoon showers helped clear the air and put it back in the ‘good’ range.

At 4pm, western Singapore registered 44 on the PSI, followed by the south with 35. The central, northern and eastern parts of Singapore clocked readings of between 23 and 33.

Readings varied through the day. A check by this newspaper found Ang Mo Kio and Bukit Timah hazy at 3pm, and the Central Business District largely clear during the lunch hour.

Last week and through the weekend, however, dry weather and variable wind conditions over Indonesia worked together to send over haze particles from the fires set by the farmers, said the NEA.

But it expects stronger winds to pick up and push the smoke haze away, so better air quality can be expected ‘in the coming days’.

Rain also fell in central and southern Sumatra yesterday, which helped douse some of the fires.

Provincial officials told The Straits Times that they were confident the fires could be controlled if rain continued over the next few days.

The head of the Riau government’s environmental impact committee, Mrs Arbaini, said: ‘We have mobilised all our resources to fight the fires. We don’t want smoke from forest fires here to travel to neighbouring countries.’

Riau provincial government spokesman Surya Maulana, calling the rain ‘a godsend’, noted that the meteorological station had not predicted a wet day for the area.

The slash-and-burn clearing of forests usually starts in late March, but north-easterly winds often blow the haze away from Singapore. In September 2006, Singapore became enshrouded in a choking haze as a result of dry weather and winds that blew the smoke in this directio

Damn it! It’s Indonesia again! The PSI Index tomorrow morning surely damn jialat one. Trust me, my nose is super sensitive to the PSI index.

Sigh…

Guess I will be suffering from respiratory irritation for the next few weeks to come.

Thank you again for the Haze again Indonesia.

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Interviewed by kids from Creative O

27 02 2008
kids from creative o

Last week, group of children from local preschool, Creative O came to visit us at our workplace, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) News Centre.

We can hear them once they stepped out of the lift lobby. Kids, being kids, they were a noisy bunch. They are here with a mission - that is, to interview people who work in the local newsroom and hand in an assignment based on their interview findings.

I had the honour of being one of their interviewees.

quiet kids

Their teacher brought a bunch of them to my desk, and got them to sit down quietly on the floor. A little boy was then assigned to do the interview.

He stood up and froze for quite a while. After some coaxing from his patient teacher, the boy then gathered his courage to ask the first question.

frozen boy

Here’s how the interview went:

Shy boy: What is your name?

Me: Alvin

Shy boy: How you spell?

Me: A - L - V - I - N (following that, all the kids scrambled to copy my name down on their assignment sheets)

Shy boy: Where you stay?

Me: er…. Singapore (some of the kids started laughing)

Shy boy: ok (keep quiet)

At this point another more talkative girl sitting at the back raise up her hand and asked me: Why you have so many toys? (referring to the decorations on my work desk)

Me: oh… I like toys.

All the kids roared into laughter. I supposed they think it is funny?

Talkative girl: What is your age?

Me: 28 (sheepishly)

Talkative girl: What you do at work?

Me: I do marketing. I sell the website, omy.sg.

The whole session lasted no more than 15 minutes. Following that, their teacher did an excellent job, explaining to them in detail, what marketing was about since I was finding difficulty trying to explain the concept to them.

The little kids then proceed to get my name again, and begun to write it down onto their interview sheets for those who haven’t done so. They also drew sketches me.

Their teacher got them to thank me and then the little journalists were on their way to their next interviewee.

A little girl saw some of the Alvin and the Chipmunks merchandises on my desk, and turn around to ask me if I am a chipmunk before she smiled and left.

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