PETALING JAYA: Precedent was set at the Petaling Jaya Sessions court after a satire and parody blogger 'Hassan Skodeng' was charged by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) over a blog post entitled TNB To Sue WWF Over Earth Hour.

KUALA LUMPUR: TV3 personality Maria Tunku Sabri (pic) this morning filed an appeal against a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on July 30 when it ruled that a contract with businessman Datuk Wan Johani Wan Hussin, who allegedly breached a RM5.5 million contract for not marrying her, was not valid.

PETALING JAYA: Indonesian authorities have agreed to lower their fees for the hiring of Indonesian maids in Malaysia said Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Alwi Bavutty.

It was reported yesterday that the finalised provisions under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia on maids will include a lower hiring fee compared to the current market rate.

This was announced by Home Ministry deputy secretary-general (senior) Datuk Raja Azahar Raja Abdul Manap.

KUALA LUMPUR: Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman, wife of former national badminton player Jalani Sidek, who was arrested at the Pandan Indah police station yesterday, arrived at the 5th floor of the Jalan Duta Civil High Court at 9.26 am escorted by three policewomen.

Dressed in long blue skirt with long blouse, Raja Azmi was brought in front of judge Datuk Lim Yee Lan.

The judge questioned Raja Azmi on why she did not turn up in court despite being issued subpoena.

KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife is suing a store in One Utama shopping centre for RM50,000 in damages and the return of RM500 she was allegedly forced to pay.

Having filed a statement of claim on July 20, How Mooi Kwee, 50, yesterday appeared before registrar Yasmira Yasin who fixed Sept 15 for the case to be mentioned at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

KUALA LUMPUR: A former principal of a home for the underprivileged was allowed bail of RM7,000 by the Magistrate's Court here this afternoon after claiming trial to a molest charge.

Abdul Rahman Ramani, 41, had allegedly molested the private parts of a 14-year-old resident of the home on Oct 20, 2009 at 8pm at the office of Asrama Baitul Ummah in Taman Setapak Indah here.

It is understood that the home is no longer in existence.

PETALING JAYA: The Human Resources Ministry is unaware of any Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to lift the freeze on Indonesian maids to Malaysia that i s supposed be signed on Thursday.

"I am not aware of such a meeting or MoU," its minister, Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, told The Malay Mail yesterday.

He was responding to our frontpage report yesterday, quoting Indonesian embassy's labour attache, Agus Triyanto, in Kuala Lumpur as saying there would be a meeting on Thursday for an MoU signing between Malaysia and Indonesia.

KUALA LUMPUR: Two senior figures formerly attached to Pembangunan Pelancongan Nasional Sdn Bhd (Pempena) were charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court this morning.

Mohammad Rosly Md Selamat, 56, formerly its operations director; and Lim Khing Tai, 38, its former financial controller, were charged with making payments without obtaining approvals from the board of directors.

They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Act for CBT.

PETALING JAYA: We might see the return of Indonesian maids soon.

Indonesian embassy labour attache Agus Triyanto told The Malay Mail yesterday: "There will be a meeting this Thursday to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia to lift last year's June freeze on the supply of maids."

KUALA LUMPUR: A Nigerian student was discharged and acquitted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning for drug trafficking.

In his judgment, High Court judge Justice Ghazali Cha said in the trial of Nigerian Ezeh Ben Oscar, 27, there was a contradiction of testimony between two witnesses, Chief Insp Basri Husain who was head of the raiding team and Sgt Mjr Abdul Halim Md Said who was an officer in the raid.

"There are so many contradictions in testimony by Abdul Halim and I feel he was not telling the truth," Ghazali
said.

KUALA LUMPUR: A friend to two brothers charged with torching a church in Desa Melawati told the sessions court today that they were at a barbecue party at his house on the night of the arson.

Mohd Hamzan Zainal Abidin,24, said he saw Raja Mohamad Faizal Raja Ibrahim's body caught fire while Raja Mohamad Izham was trying to put it out.

He earlier spoke to the two siblings and then went inside the house to fetch chicken and squid.

(UPDATED 9.10pm)

PETALING JAYA: The school van driver who allegedly raped a 10-year-old girl in his vehicle along Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya offered two different pleas when he was charged for the offence at the Petaling Jaya Sessions court this morning.

PETALING JAYA: The Bahasa Malaysia version of Datin Paduka Professor Dr Jamilah Ariffin's book entitled Readings on Women and Development in Malaysia – A Sequel: Tracing Four Decades of Change, will be launched on Saturday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial resumed today at 9.13am with his chief counsel informing the High Court here that they had applied to strike out the charges due to recent reports of an affair between a member of the prosecution team and the star witness.

KUALA LUMPUR: One of the three accused charged for the Metro Tabernacle Church arson in Desa Melawati in January was so badly burnt in the incident, he had to be placed on a ventilator.

"He was on a ventilator as he had lung injuries and sustained 16 per cent burns on his face, neck and both hands up to his mid-arms," testified Dr Leong Ai Chen - who had treated the accused Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, who was warded in Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) on Jan 8.

KUALA LUMPUR: A school for pregnant teenagers is not a viable idea, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil yesterday.

Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam had suggested a special school for pregnant teenagers aimed at preventing baby-dumping among teenagers.

Still, she suggested the issue should be looked at from a broader perspective.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning heard the petitioner's answers to the submission of preliminary objection filed by Hulu Selangor Member of Parliament P. Kamalanathan to strike out an election petition filed on May 24 by Federal Territory Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief Datuk Zaid Ibrahim (the petitioner) to declare Kamalanathan's election as Hulu Selangor MP as null and avoid due to alleged corruption of voters.

PETALING JAYA: A more supportive environment must be in place for Penan sexual abuse victims to lodge reports about sexual exploitations they faced.

Also, having police to urge victims — who are generally timid and living on the outskirts — to come out and make reports may not be a good solution as the Penans have limited access to transportation and also the fear about coming forward.

These were among the facts gathered by a group of 13, who went on a fact-finding mission by visiting the Penan community in Sarawak last November.