[OMG] Egyptian charged with sex assault of NY hotel maid

NEW YORK - An Egyptian man was charged on Monday with sexually assaulting a hotel maid at a luxury New York City hotel, police said.


Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar, 74, is accused of assaulting the maid when she delivered tissues that had been requested to room 1027 about 6 p.m. (next day 6am local time) on Sunday at the Pierre Hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side, police said.

An assault was reported to police on Monday morning. Omar, of Alexandria, Egypt, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching and harassment.

The arrest comes two weeks after former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with trying to rape a hotel maid at another luxury Manhattan hotel.

Strauss-Kahn, now under house arrest in multimillion dollar New York townhouse, has denied charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.

If convicted, Strauss-Kahn, who resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund after his arrest, faces up to 25 years in prison. He is due to appear in court again on June 6.

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[AIDS CELEBRITY] Magic Johnson,Rock Hudson,Freddie Mercury

LOS ANGELES - AIDS claimed a string of celebrity victims in its early days, from Rock Hudson to Freddie Mercury, but fellow stars have played a major role in fighting the killer disease over the years since.


Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor were among leading figures who used their celebrity from the start to raise awareness and funds for research into HIV, as well as reducing the stigma of what was initially seen as a "gay plague."

Retired basketball player Magic Johnson has campaigned tirelessly since announcing in 1991 that he had contracted HIV, while pop icon Michael Jackson, a friend of Taylor's, was also a strong supporter before his death in 2009.

John's "White Tie and Tiara Ball" has become an annual star-studded fixture organized with his partner David Furnish since 1999 to raise funds for his Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF).

The EJAF has raised some $225 million for projects in 55 countries since it was founded in 1992.

"Both Elton and David are absolutely passionate about the work of the Foundation. They are on the phone weekly getting updates ... and discussing stategy," said Anne Aslett, boss of EJAF's British arm.

"Celebrities can speak personally and emotionally ... This means their influence can be enormous," she told AFP, citing the impact of others including the late Princess Diana, Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone.

AIDS first came to broad public notice in 1981, when US doctors noted an unusual cluster of deaths among young homosexuals in California and New York.

In the three decades since then it has killed nearly 30 million people, and 33 million others live with it or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS by destroying immune cells, according to 2009 World Health Organization (WHO) figures.

The first major celebrity victim was Hudson, whose admission that he was suffering from HIV in the early 1980s helped raise the profile of the disease. He died in 1985, aged 59.


Flamboyant US entertainer Liberace died in 1987 followed in 1990 by Scottish "Chariots of Fire" actor Ian Charleson and New York artist Keith Haring, who was only 31 when he died.

Queen frontman Mercury died the following year, perhaps the first high-profile pop star to succumb publicly to the disease. Jacques Morali, creator of camp music icons the Village People, died the same year.

Also in 1991 Oscar-winning British director Tony Richardson died, while Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, retired immediately and dedicated his life to fighting the deadly disease.

In 1992 "Psycho" actor Anthony Perkins, Britain's Denholm Elliott and sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov all died, followed by tennis star Arthur Ashe and ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev in 1993.

The list of high profile AIDS victims has tailed off as awareness grew and more effective treatments were introduced -- at least in rich developed countries -- but celebrity campaigners kept fighting.

Screen siren Taylor, who died in March aged 79, regularly organized AIDS fund-raising benefits until her own health complications mounted.

"She saw this terrible disease, and she was angered by the fact that nobody was doing anything about it," said Kevin Frost, head of the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), co-founded by Taylor in 1985.


"She just stepped right into the breach."

Magic Johnson, 51, was one of the first to benefit from the cocktail of antiretroviral medications which emerged in the mid-1990s to keep HIV in check -- and he believes his infection and survival were meant to be.

"This happened to me for a reason, and I know it was for me to help someone else," he said in an interview in Newsweek magazine ahead of the HIV anniversary.

But he is concerned that, while gays have taken steps to protect themselves, African Americans still treat the subject as taboo -- the HIV infection rate for black women was 15 times that for white women, according to 2006 figures.

"Those numbers really break my heart... The gay community has done such a great job of getting their message across, and it's worked, But there is still such a stigma with the virus in our community, and that prevents any progress."

Some groups who benefit from celebrity funding play down the importance of star power, saying staying power is more important.

"In the world of AIDS advocacy, Elton is seen less as a celebrity and more as one of the real leaders in the fight," said Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation, one of dozens of groups backed by Elton John's Foundation.

"When he gets involved he sticks with it when others show only temporary interest," he told AFP.

But while the British singer has made a huge difference, after three decades there is still much more to be done, stresses Aslett.

"I know Elton would say we've lost so much and we've come so far because of AIDS, we cannot give up now. The fight against AIDS is mobilizing the greatest support even seen for a health issue," she said.

"As we go into the fourth decade since HIV first appeared, we must work towards an end for this global killer."

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[OMG] Singapore Sex and Orgies Party at Chalets

AFTER darkness falls, what goes on behind closed doors at the many chalets around Singapore may shock parents.

With the curtains of the chalet unit drawn, out comes the cocktail of alcohol and illegal drugs to be shared among10 or so teenagers, including girls as young as 14.

Once they are high, they cast their inhibitions and clothes aside, and start getting intimate, progressing from French kissing to heavy petting to sexual intercourse.


Gang violence in Singapore

Some of the girls are willing partners, some are too wasted to be aware of what's happening and sometimes, those who resist end up getting raped.

When morning comes, they pack their bags and check out of their unit. The guys may go through the same routine a few months later with new girls, or "fresh meat" as they are called.

Such chalet stays, organised by some members of gangs in Singapore, are getting more common, several former gang members told The New Paper.

An 18-year-old former gangster, who gave his name as John, said: "We would tell our parents that we were going for a barbecue, but we didn't even take any charcoal or chicken wings with us."

John, who left the gang last year after he was arrested for theft, said he had attended such sex-and-drug orgies twice, but claimed he didn't take part.

Former gangster shares what he witnessed at chalet stays organised by gang members.

'High' and violent

"I don't do drugs, so I would go home when the rest got too 'high' and became violent or started taking their clothes off," he said.

He said most of the gang members at these parties were in their teens.

"It was too much for me to see them having sex at the same time in the same room.

"They simply didn't care who was watching when they became 'mabuk' (drunk in Malay)."

Speaking in a mixture of Mandarin and Hokkien, John described the girls who take part in the parties.

"We call some of them 'lor kway' (Hokkien for streetwalker) and some of them 'ah dai' (fools)
"Lor kway" are girls who are considered to have loose morals, he said, while "ah dai" refers to newbies who attend the chalet parties with no inkling that drugs and sex are involved.

Sometimes, the revellers have no recollection of the night before as they were under the influence of drugs such as ketamine and "ice".

The parties would usually have more males than females, said former gangsters.

Such situations occasionally lead to several men sharing one woman and can even result in gang rape.

A 28-year-old former gang member , who wanted to be known as Peter, said: "The victim is usually a gang member's girlfriend.

"After everyone gets high, the boyfriend offers her to the rest of the guys."

Peter, who is a social worker now, said he has not seen such a gang rape before, but he has heard of four or five such incidents among his former circle of friends.

"It is not just happening in chalets...such activities can also take place in pub shophouses or in the homes of the gang members," he added.

John pointed out that not all chalet outings organised by his gangster friends involved sex and drugs.

The "healthier" outings are usually organised by a birthday boy and the number of people attending, which could be as many as 50, depends on his influence in the gang, said John.

At such outings, underage drinking, gambling and even fighting are par for the course, he added.

Social workers contacted by The New Paper said they have counselled teens who have had sex in chalets as part of their gang activities.

They said that those involved may not necessarily come from broken or low-income families, a common stereotype in the past.

But there's a common thread - these teens usually suffer from an emotional void at home.

Miss Faith Png, 39, a social worker with YouthReach, said: "Some parents give too little affection and neglect their children because they are busy, while others give too much attention because they are authoritative.

"Both will drive their children to seek freedom and love outside of the family and sometimes, the children befriend gangsters."

Worrying trend

Mr Alfred Tan, 50, the executive director of Singapore Children's Society, said: "The media's portrayal of casual sex, and easy access to pornography have caused our youth to become more promiscuous than in the past.

"This is a worrying trend as there may be peer pressure to have sex.

"Instead of being harsh to their children, parents should get to know their friends."

Mr Jeffrey Mak, 45, a social worker with The Silver Lining Community Services, said: "There is usually a ring leader in such illegal gang activities.

"The rest are just the 'kah kia' (sidekicks) and not real gangsters.

"If we give them a listening ear and a second chance in life, many of them can become successful as adults."

In Singapore, it is illegal to have sex with children under the age of 16.

If the victims are between 12 and 14 years old, it is considered statutory rape and offenders can be jailed upto 20 years and fined or caned.

If the victim is above 14 but below 16, offenders can be jailed up to five years and fined $10,000 for carnal connection.

The maximum penalty for rape is 20 years' jail with possible caning.

Security stepped up at chalets during holidays


CHALET operators here said they have not come across sex-and-drug parties on their premises.

Mr Vikas Gupta, 22, manager of Goldkist Beach Resort at East Coast Park, said: "To the best of our knowledge,we have not come across any such incident so far."

Mr Steven Tang, director of Costa Sands Resort, which has two outlets in Pasir Ris and one in Sentosa, said his management has also not come across such parties.

He added: "It has always been our practice to step up our security presence during our peak periods, such as the June school holidays, to deal with the additional visitors."

Mr Vikas also said the frequency of security patrols in his resort will increase by 50 per cent during peak periods.

Drug possession

Crimes in resorts go back several years.

In a 2000 case, 13 young people, including a 12-year-old girl, were arrested at a Pasir Ris chalet for possessing six sachets of ketamine anda packet of cannabis.

Last November, four youths were arrested at Costa Sands Resort in Pasir Ris after two of them were found to have choppers.

The police state on their website that a key concern is combating youth crime.

While the total number of youth arrested for crimes dropped slightly from 4,271 in 2009 to 4,176 last year, the number of those nabbed for rioting rose from 468 in 2009 to 531 last year.

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[TOPLESS] Public Sun-tanning at Marina Bay Sands Bridge...

from STOMP:

This man was spotted sun-tanning topless on the link bridge near Marina Bay Sands, in full view of passers-by walking past. He appeared completely unconcerned by all the attention he was getting.

This is not the first time people have been spotted sunbathing in public. Another man was also spotted recently catching rays on the roof of a public carpark.

STOMPer Unknown describes the situation:

"While I was out with my friends at Marina Bay Sands, we crossed this bridge link and I saw this guy topless sun-tanning on MBS Bridge.

"I found it pretty funny. 

"Many people who passed there also had a smile on their faces.


"Well, I guess he will most probably be the next 'tourist attraction'."

------------------

tourist or otherwise, it's like this guy's some country bumpkin who's never been to a beach before. real low class.


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[Premature Ejaculation] pill sold out within first month, Singapore

Within its first month of release, the premature ejaculation (PE) pill, Priligy, has sold out in Singapore.
Premature ejaculation (PE) is believed to be one of the most common male sexual health problems globally.



About one in three men in Singapore suffer from PE, according to a study on Premature Ejaculation Prevalence and Attitudes (PEPA) of Singapore men.
Priligy, to be taken orally, boasts the ability to treat one of the most common male sexual health problem.
The survey conducted prior to the launch of Priligy also found that 77 percent with PE never discussed their sexual health with a medical practitioner.
Its strong sales indicate that a growing number of local men are willing to discuss treatment options with doctors, says manufacturer, Janssen, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

[PHOTO] Students love SEX ALLEY

MALACCA: A group of delinquent secondary school students have turned the back alley of a commercial centre in Jalan Gajah Berang into a pre-dawn "sin and sex" paradise.

The students converge at the area as early as 5.30am before going "wild" some explicitly engaging in sexual acts which traders in the area claim to have witnessed almost daily since the beginning of the year.

Many were spotted smoking before the school session started at 7.40am.
"These students have gone wild. We have caught them kissing at back lanes. They have no shame even if someone watches them.
"They caress, kiss and even indulge in oral sex in the semi-lit alleys," said a trader, 45, who requested anonymity.

State Education, Youth and Sport committee chairman Datuk Gan Tian Loo expressed his disappointment.


"I am startled over these students and their morally despicable activities," he told The Star yesterday.
Gan said he had just embarked on a campaign to eliminate school gangs when notified about the students' behaviour and would now also have to focus on moral behaviour.
"I am supposed to meet a group of students with disciplinary problems at a secondary school (today) to delve on matters relating to gangsterism but it appears I have to start my inaugural campaign at Gajah Berang schools."

The Star visited the area at 5.30am and discovered a teenage girl in school uniform fondling and kissing her peer at the back lane of a fast food outlet.


At another part of the alley, 10 students including schoolgirls were smoking even after they were aware of the media's presence in the area.

The principal of one of the schools near the alley encouraged the media to highlight the students' behaviour in the hope that police would intensify patrols in the area.

State police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said police would dispatch school liaison officers to all three schools to meet with the principals.

"We will investigate the traders' claims and step up our patrols. We have to nip this in the bud," he said.

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[BEST] World's BEST MAGICIAN Daniel Copperfield !

[ON BUS]NUS Scholar Chong Weien Ejaculate after brushing his private parts on Woman

A TOP graduate blamed his medical condition for ejaculating on the thigh of a woman in a bus but the judge did not buy it.

Two doctors said Chong Weien, 28, suffers from spontaneous ejaculation and is easily aroused even without any physical stimulation.

This cut no ice with District Judge Jill Tan, who said in her judgement: 'Even if the accused did suffer from a spontaneous ejaculation on the bus, this did not rule out the possibility that he could have brushed his penis against the victim's thigh as well.'

The judge found him guilty and sentenced him to 15 months in jail and three strokes of the cane on June 19.

Chong has filed an appeal against the conviction and sentence while the prosecution is appealing to the High Court to increase the sentence.

He has a previous similar conviction and was jailed for 15 months and caned three times in 2002

On his release, Chong continued his studies in psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). His latest offence was committed in his final year.

On the night of Sept 14, 2006, the victim, a Chinese national studying in a different faculty, boarded a NUS shuttle bus to return to her hostel.

Chong, who was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and holding a jacket at waist level, pressed his crotch against her in the bus.

She felt something wet on her thigh and demanded to know what he was up to. Both of them then got off the bus.

Her male friend who followed them noticed damp stains on Chong's jacket and realised that it was semen.

The woman, who cannot be identified as she is a victim in an outrage of modesty case, testified that Chong apologised and promised not to do it again.

Police were called and a DNA test confirmed that the semen on her thigh was his.

The court also heard from two doctors that Chong suffers from spontaneous ejaculation.

Chong's lawyer Ravinderpal Singh told the court that his client had graduated at the top of his class in 2007 and has been accepted to do a Master's in clinical psychology at James Cook University in Australia.

The lawyer asked for a minimal sentence without caning.

But Judge Tan noted that Chong had outraged a woman's modesty on a bus, which she said was 'an extremely brazen act'.

She felt a maximum sentence was inappropriate as no minor was involved.

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[OMG]Girl hypnotised and raped in Malaysia, just by looking in the eyes

Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) - An 18-year-old Malaysian girl has lodged a police report a month after she was raped, reported Malaysian newspaper Harian Metro.


The girl claimed that she was hypnotised by a man in his 20s at their first meeting during lunch on a working day.

She said the man looked straight into her eyes while muttering something to himself.

A police source said the woman claimed that she could not remember being raped even after the suspect sent her back to the office hours later.

She only realised something was amiss the next morning after she woke up.

She recollected that she was taken into a Taman Bukit Permai house in Ampang the day earlier and was raped.

"The victim, who suddenly realised what had happened, called the man but he turned off his phone.

"She made her police report on the matter on Monday in Pandan Indah police station," the police source added.

Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin confirmed receiving the report and that they are investigating.
source

[OMG] Bogus Police MOLEST housewifes

MALACCA- Police have nabbed members of a gang who impersonated cops and molested a woman during a robbery at a flat in Melaka Raya here last week.


Investigators are now trying to find out how two gang members, said to be children of rank and file officers, had obtained a walkie-talkie and vests with the police emblem during the robbery at the Pink Flat on May 11.

The so-called Sham Botak gangsters, who were armed during the robbery, had targetted an Indonesian couple living there.

They fled after taking RM10,000 (S$4111) and outraging the modesty of the man's wife by placing a sharp weapon against her private part.

However, all the five members of the gang - aged 26 to 41 - were nabbed in four ensuing raids.

Malacca police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said among the items seized in the raids was a Proton Waja, which was reported stolen in Semenyih, Selangor.

Other items included several weapons and sharp objects and a pamphlet of a company supplying uniforms for the police, the armed forces, Rela and security firms.

SAC Chuah said initial investigations showed that two members of the gang were recently released from prison while the others had a string of criminal records.

He also disclosed that three other gangs - a house breaking gang and two motorcycle theft syndicates - had been crippled.

The house breaking gang had been active in Batu Berendam and Ayer Keroh.

A 21-year-old suspect, who was nabbed, led police to recover several items, including LCD television sets and expensive bicycles.

Four other members of the gang are still at large.

SAC Chuah said police also thwarted the Jackie gang, whose young members ditched cannibalised parts of stolen machines into swamps and rivers in Bukit Rambai and Tangga Batu when police moved in.

The other group, the Bimbar gang, was responsible for a series of thefts over the past six years here, in Muar and Kuala Lumpur.

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Must Watch THIS before YOU FINALISE YOUR GF as WIFE !!!

[OMG] Sexual Performance Art or Obscene ?

Documents showed that “Cheng Li’s engaged in an obscene performance in the nude, attracting many onlookers, creating chaos at the scene”, establishing that he has created a public disturbance. 

Netizens engaged in intense discussion with regards to whether this was art or obscene.

It can be seen that while a naked Cheng Li and a female engaged in sexual performance, there were many people wearing serious expressions observing or taking photographs around them. 

Cheng Li’s lawyer Wang Zhenyu told this reporter that Cheng Li told him after the incident that there were two purposes for this performance art:

1) To satirize the current situation where art has been overly commercially packaged, and 
2) call for people to not demonize normal sexual behavior or think of it as ugly. What more, this exhibition only invited a specific range/field of artists and was not open to the public.

Like wtf???? Is this really considered art?
source

[OMG] Rapist caught with his pants down in M'sia

Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - A college student was literally caught with his pants down when raping a 15-year-old girl in his luxury car at Taman Kosas, Ampang, in Malaysia.

It is learned that the 23-year-old man had followed the girl while she was walking and grabbed her at about 1pm on Wednesday.

He then parked his car on the shoulder, undressed the struggling girl and raped her in the rear seat.

As the incident took place in an open area, several witnesses who saw it alerted the police.

A patrol car arrived later and the partially undressed suspect was detained.

Ampang Jaya Asst Comm Amiruddin Jamaluddin confirmed that police had arrested the man.

source

[OMG] Students Sex Classroom in Hebei Caught on Video

A leaked video clip of two Chinese students allegedly having sex in a classroom has stirred controversy online.
The couple are reported to be students from the Hebei Polytechnic College of Light Industry, who decided to have an intimate lunch-hour.
But unbeknownst to them, a high-definition hidden camera was secretly recording their romp in the lecture theatre.
The 15-minute clip was recorded last year, but was leaked online only recently, reported Chinasmack.
In Singapore, students have also been caught making out in public places, some of them underaged and still in uniform.

source

[OMG] Adult magazine found at Singpost ?

IT is now possible to get a copy of Penthouse magazine in Singapore, although the magazine is banned here.

A Stomp contributor, who went by the moniker LouLou, claimed surprise that the magazine can be acquired through SingPost's VPost service.

Penthouse through Vpost Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: STOMP)

A check on VPost claimed that pornographic materials from the US or Europe are banned and Penthouse is one of Singapore's gazetted publications.

LouLou also suggested that SingPost review its current filtering process.

SingPost was not reachable for comment
.

source

[OMG]CEO Shaolin abbot visit Prostitutes, caught during sex raid

POLICE in Henan, China are investigating online rumours accusing Shaolin temple's abbot of being caught visiting prostitutes by police.

The Buddhist temple, which is a UNESCO world heritage site and the birthplace of kung fu, reported the case to police on Monday and said the rumours are false.

Xinhua reported that the rumours have been circulating online that abbot Shi Yongxin, 46, was caught paying for sex during a police raid.

The temple posted a statement on its website on Sunday that the rumours were vicious and libel, and had hurt the feelings of Buddhists, as well as tarnished the reputation of both the Shaolin temple and the abbot.

"Shaolin Temple and Abbot Shi feel deeply sorry for this and reserve the right to take legal action," the online statement said.

Shi is the temple's 30th abbot and is known as the "CEO of Shaolin" for his pursuit of commercial development since taking over as abbot a decade ago.

source

[OMG] Man Claims to HEAL by raping the girl

KLANG: A LORRY driver allegedly claiming to be a "bomoh" claimed trial at a Sessions Court here for two counts of raping a minor who had sought his help.


Azizan Mahadi, 47, from Kampung Jawa, pleaded not guilty before judge Nor Sharidah Awang here yesterday.

He was charged under Section 376(f) of the Penal Code for having sexual intercourse with the 17-year-old.

He was alleged to have obtained her consent by gaining her trust after deceiving her into believing he was a "bomoh". The victim was said to have come to him for treatment.

The offence was allegedly committed in a rented room at No. 48, Jalan Melikai, Taman Kapar at about 3pm in February.

Azizan also faced another count of raping the girl at the same place and time in March. He was arrested on April 18.

If convicted, he faces a minimum eight years imprisonment and a maximum of 30 years and whipping.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Aimi Syazwani Sarmin offered a RM20,000 bail.

The accused, who was unrepresented, pleaded to the court for a lower bail.

Nor Sharidah set bail at RM12,000 in one surety and fixed June 14 for mention.

-The Star/Asia News Network

[SECRET] Untold Secrets behind Voting Tickets

“At the last election, we had only thirty-something polling agents and counting agents,” said Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan at a briefing on Polling Day. He was smiling. The party office was full to overflowing.

I hadn’t planned to be a counting agent. Besides having an Australian visitor in town, for weeks my friends were hatching plans to hold election-watch parties. Eventually, nothing much came of those plans and so when at around 4 p.m., a text message came to me from Vincent Wijeysingha appealing for help to round up more counting agents, I was able to volunteer.

“How many do you need?” I texted him back.

“We need about 100. So send as many as u can,” came the reply. I later learned they were about 40 short as at mid-afternoon.

With a flurry of text messages, I rustled up a significant number from among my friends, and via the gay and lesbian network. It was amazing how many people said Yes without hesitation, jumping into taxis to make their way to a part of Singapore few have ever been to (the party headquarters is really out of the way). At least one friend cancelled dinner plans to come in. This lot may not be representative of Singaporeans generally, but at least among this section of Singaporeans, ranging from National Servicemen to civil servants to retirees, the climate of fear is becoming a thing of the past.

The SDP was not the only party with a surfeit of volunteers, albeit a surfeit that poured in only when they realised ridiculously late in the day that they were short. I know for a fact from Sylvia Lim, chair of the Workers’ Party, that they too had more than enough polling and counting agents well before Nomination Day.

* * * * *

I shall take this opportunity to describe what happens at a counting centre, based on my first-hand experience.

After the briefing and the oath-taking (secrecy under the law) at the party HQ, three of us arrived at our assigned counting centre just before 8 p.m, to find three more volunteers for SDP already there. That made a total of six, the maximum quota for this counting centre. Shortly after passing through a security check to enter the hall, volunteers #7 and #8 came but were not allowed in because the quota had been filled. Wow, from being short of volunteers four hours earlier, the party had more than they could use!

The People’s Action Party’s six counting agents arrived after us, all dressed in party white, almost marching in like an infantry platoon — not like us, some in workclothes, one in shorts, complete with satchel bags and cups of sugar-cane juice. Ah, but beneath the ragtag appearance, we were armed with pens, notebooks and calculators. I wonder if the the PAP guys were surprised to see a full contingent for the SDP unlike previous years.

At around 8:30 p.m. the ballot boxes arrived from the six polling stations this counting centre would serve. The boxes (about three or four) from each polling station were brought to one of six assigned tables. Thus, each table would count the votes of one polling station, with an average of 3,000 – 4,000 ballots.

The tables were about 2 metres square — larger than a king-sized bed — around which was seated a table chief and four counting staff. Upon instruction by the officer presiding over the entire centre, the ballot boxes were shown to us, so we could verify that the seals which had been affixed at the polling stations at the close of the voting day were not broken.

The boxes were then opened and the contents poured out onto the centre of the table. Counting agents were free to move around to look over the shoulders of the counting staff. However, we could not speak to the staff, nor touch any ballot paper. If we wished to dispute the sorting of any ballot, we had to take it up with the table chief.

Generally, the counting process was very efficient, with all tables following a standardised procedure. There were several rounds of counting, with each block of sorted ballots rechecked and re-counted by another member of the staff.

Most of the time, the voter’s choice was obvious. Where the ballot paper had unusual markings, the counter would pass it to the table chief who would show it to a counting agent from each party and announce his decision as to how to treat that ballot. As counting agents, we could offer our views but his decision would be final.

Here are some of the things I remember coming across:

The vast majority of voters marked their ballot paper with a cross as in example 1. A few marked their ballot paper with a tick, but so long as the rest of the ballot paper was clean, the tick would be accepted as sufficiently indicative of the voter’s intention. Other than such clean markings, counting staff would pass the ballot paper to the table chief for adjudication.

Table chiefs routinely rejected ballots where any part of the cross or tick crossed the boundary line, such as example 3. Where the voter made more than one marking, as in example 4, it was always rejected by the table chiefs at the counting centre where I attended.

However, I later exchanged notes with my friend who was assigned to a different counting centre, and she told me that at that place, there was at least one incident when a ballot paper marked like example 4 was awarded as a vote for the “triangle and star” party. The table chief’s reasoning was that by law, the voter should mark his intention with a cross and since the cross was placed against the “triangle and star” party, the vote was given to it.

Occasionally I saw ballot papers with all sorts of strange markings, but so long as there was only one marking that did not cross the boundary (e.g. examples 5 and 6 above) the table chief would treat it as a valid vote.

More strange markings I came across, routinely accepted by table chiefs as valid votes.

 

I saw one ballot that looked like example 9, with two ticks. It was accepted as valid. There was one ballot that looked like example 10. It too was treated as a valid vote for the ” triangle and star” party despite my protest, the reasoning being that the voter only marked one half of the ballot paper and left the other half clean.

While watching another table, I came across another ballot rather similar to example 10, shown here as example 11. It too was accepted as a vote in favour of the “triangle and star party”.

However, the counting staff and table chiefs were scrupulously fair. For every “go to hell” ballot there were at least fifty more with the faintest of scratches, as in example 12. Again, they would use the same rule — so long as the single marking stayed within one box, they accepted it as a valid vote. The layman might think however that the marking was accidental, the result of a pen falling onto the paper or slipping out of the voter’s hand. Then again, there might well be some people who, liking neither candidate, deliberately let a dropping pen from a height of 40 cm make the choice for them. Who is to say that is not a valid decision matrix?

* * * * *

Democracy is a seductive concept in the abstract. Look too closely and you might see the whole thingamajig flying by the seat of its pants.

From Yawning Bread

[BIG MISTAKE] Why OBAMA was killed ?

Upon the Death of Osama, This News Broadcast to the world,
telling everyone she is TIRED of WORKING...

I guess so...

[OMG] Osama bin Laden is dead

WASHINGTON, US - Osama bin Laden is dead and his body has been recovered by US authorities, US officials said on Sunday night.

US President Barack Obama was to make the announcement shortly that after searching in vain for bin Laden since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist is dead.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, having fulfilled the goal once voiced by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, to bring to justice the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. --REUTER

The revelation that bin Laden was sheltering inside Pakistan is likely to ratchet up pressure on Islamabad.

The country's arch-rival, India, was quick to comment, saying the news underlined its "concern that terrorists belonging to different organisations find sanctuary in Pakistan".

A Reuters photographer in the valley town of Abbotabad north of Islamabad said police had blocked the road leading to the area where the night-time raid at a huge compound took place.

"After midnight, a large number of commandos encircled the compound. Three helicopters were hovering overhead. All of a sudden there was firing towards the helicopters from the ground," said Nasir Khan, a resident of the town.

"There was intense firing and then I saw one of the helicopters falling down," said Khan, who had watched the dramatic scene unfold from his rooftop.

Senior Pakistani security officials said the operation, carried out at around 1:30 a.m., involved both helicopters and ground troops.

A Pakistani military helicopter crashed near Abbotabad on Sunday night, killing one and wounding two, according to local media.

It was unclear if the crash was related to bin Laden's death, but witnesses reported gunshots and heavy firing before one of two low-flying helicopters crashed near the military academy.

Express 24/7 television showed an image of what it said was bin Laden shot in the head, his mouth pulled back in a grimace.

Bin Laden was the mastermind of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people and put the United States on a decade-long war footing.

The fact bin Laden was apparently living in relative luxury not far from Islamabad could pose awkward questions for Pakistan.

Just 10 days ago Pakistan's army chief addressed army cadets at the academy near where bin Laden was killed, saying the country's military had broken the back of militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban.

"For some time there will be a lot of tension between Washington and Islamabad because bin Laden seems to have been living here close to Islamabad," said Imtiaz Gul, a security analyst.

"If the ISI had known then somebody within the ISI must have leaked this information," Gul said, referring to the Pakistani intelligence agency.

"Pakistan will have to do a lot of damage control because the Americans have been reporting he is in Pakistan ... this is a serious blow to the credibility of Pakistan."

However, defence analyst and former general Talat Masood said the fact bin Laden was killed in a joint operation would limit the damage to Pakistan's image.

"There should be a sigh of relief because this will take some pressure off of Pakistan," said defence analyst and former general Talat Masood.

"Pakistan most probably has contributed to this, and Pakistan can take some credit for this - being such an iconic figure, it's a great achievement."

Abbotabad is a popular summer resort, located in a valley surrounded by green hills near Pakistani Kashmir.

Islamist militants, particularly those fighting in Indian-controlled Kashmir, used to have training camps near the town. -REUTERS

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