Monday, October 26, 2009

One girl dead, 2 missing, 19 safe after falling into Sg Kampar






KAMPAR: One girl is dead, two pupils are still missing and nineteen have been found safe.

They are the 22 pupils on a camping trip who fell into Sungai Kampar when the suspension bridge they were crossing broke near Kuala Dipang, Kampar, at about 10pm on Monday.
Police divers searching for 2 missing pupils who had fallen off the suspension bridge at Sungai Kampar in Kuala Dipang.

The dead girl was identified as Dina Deve Nathan, 11, from SK Tamil Mambang Diawan. Rescuers found her at Kampung Pasir, about 2km downstream from the broken bridge, at about 8.40am Tuesday. Her body was sent to the Kampar Hospital.

Police said twenty other pupils, who were not on the bridge, escaped unscathed.

According to one of the survivors, Mohd Azid Teng, 12, from SKJC Bemban near Kampar, the pupils had had supper at SK Kuala Dipang and were crossing the bridge to get to the camping site when a few of the pupils started jumping and shaking the bridge.
A man walking near the ill-fated suspension bridge at the Sungai Kuala Dipang which collapsed when a group of primary school students who were camping near the river crossing it last night. SAIFUL BAHRI/The Star

The bridge then gave way and he found himself falling into the river along with the other screaming pupils.

Fortunately, he fell into shallow waters and waded out.
Fire and rescue department manage to bring up the first victims body of a girl at about 8.40am on October 27.

They were among 298 students from 60 primary schools from Kampar, Tronoh and Batu Gajah who were attending a co-curriculum activity organised by the Kinta Selatan district education office.

Search and rescue is ongoing.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir visited the scene.

Meanwhile, at 11.15am Tuesday, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran filed an emergency motion with the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to discuss the collapse of the bridge.-STAR

Abused Indonesian maid dies in Malaysia: police

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – An Indonesian maid who was allegedly severely beaten by her Malaysian employers, and then bound and locked up in a toilet for two days, has died in hospital, police said Monday.

A Malaysian market vendor and his wife have been arrested over the abuse of 36-year-old Mautik Hani from Surabaya, in the latest in a series of cases that have prompted Indonesia to temporarily ban sending domestic workers here.

The neighbours are negotiating a deal on salaries and conditions aimed at preventing mistreatment of maids, who currently have no legal safeguards on their working conditions.

"I can confirm that Mautik Hani has died in hospital," district police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop told AFP.

"We have to wait for the hospital's report on her cause of death before deciding on the next course of action regarding her employers. They are still being detained," he added.

Hani was rescued from her employers' home a week ago. She was found by another Indonesian cleaner hired to replace her who noticed a foul smell coming from a locked bathroom.

Police said that when she was found she was tied up around her arms and legs, and was bruised all over her body. Among her injuries were a serious wound to the right leg that exposed the bone.

Local papers reported Hani had been abused by her employers almost daily during the two months she worked at their home.

One of Asia's largest importers of labour, Malaysia depends heavily on domestic workers, mainly from Indonesia, but has been criticised for not passing legislation to govern their rights and conditions.

In May, the government announced plans for new laws to protect domestic workers from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor working conditions.

Indonesian maids typically work seven days a week for as little as 400 ringgit (113 dollars) a month.