‘X-men’ director accused of sex assault on teen boy

‘X-men’ director accused of sex assault on teen boy
Appeals court affirms death sentence for drug trafficker
Harrowing crash for teacher in swampy land
Man dies, his son injured when car flipped over
Four motorcycle theft ring suspects nabbed
18 days’ jail for stealing dad’s phone

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT

A lawyer for "X-Men" director Bryan Singer dismissed as defamatory Thursday claims that the filmmaker sexually assaulted a former child model and aspiring teenage actor.

The alleged victim, Michael Egan III, said in a lawsuit that Singer forced him to have sex at parties in California and Hawaii in the late 1990s, when he was 17 years old.

But Singer's lawyer said the allegations were absurd, and that the timing of their release was designed to generate maximum publicity ahead of the release of the latest "X-Men" movie next month.

"It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan's new movie is about to open in a few weeks," said Marty Singer, who said he is not related to the director.

In the lawsuit, Egan alleged that Singer "manipulated his power, wealth, and position in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse and exploit the underage Plaintiff through the use of drugs, alcohol, threats, and inducements."

The abuse "resulted in Plaintiff suffering catastrophic psychological and emotional injuries," added the legal document, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

The 13-page lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Hawaii, claimed that Singer promised Egan acting roles in an "X-Men" movie, commercials and other projects.

Singer allegedly plied Egan with drugs and sexually assaulted him in and near a swimming pool in Hawaii, in one of the alleged attacks listed in the legal document.

"Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children. This is the first of many cases I will be filing to give these victims a voice and to expose the issue," the alleged victim's lawyer Jeff Herman said in a statement.

Egan and Herman were due to hold a press conference in Beverly Hills on Thursday to give more details about the allegations. -AFP

Appeals court affirms death sentence for drug trafficker

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:58 PM PDT

by Anasathia Jenis, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on April 18, 2014, Friday

KUCHING: The Court of Appeal yesterday affirmed the decision of the Miri High Court meted on a former court interpreter who was sentenced to death for a drug trafficking charge.

Datuk Mohamd Ariff Md Yusof, Datuk Rohana Yusuf and Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, who unanimously made the decision on Mervyn Chan, 30, ruled that the findings of the Miri High Court were correct.

Among others, they said the prosecution witnesses were reliable and thus had no reason to disturb the verdict.

Chan was convicted by a Miri High Court judge who found him guilty of trafficking 460grammes of methamphetamine. He committed the offence at 1.05pm on Jan 29, 2010 when he was arrested at the Miri Pos Laju office to collect parcels which contained the drugs.

Chan went to the Court of Appeal with the aim of reversing the death sentence after being convicted under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death penalty.

He has another chance to appeal his case to the Federal Court. Chan was represented by counsels Janbir Singh and Orlando Chua while DPP Farah Exlin Yusof Khan prosecuted.

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Harrowing crash for teacher in swampy land

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:57 PM PDT

MIRI: A teacher in his 50's was lucky to survive a single vehicle accident on Wednesday night, when his 4WD went out of control before turning turtle in mushy undergrowth by the roadside along the Miri by-pass.

His four-wheel-drive toppled over in the bushes after it skidded off the road, leaving the driver pinned in the driver's seat.

The victim was heading towards the airport from Pujut area before the mishap occurred around 9pm.

He was travelling alone in the vehicle.

One fire engine from Lopeng Fire Station dashed to the scene, which was located at about some 200 metres from the station.

It took firemen about 15 minutes to extricate the victim from the vehicle. The injured driver was sent to Miri Hospital.

Man dies, his son injured when car flipped over

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:56 PM PDT

SIBU: A man died on the spot while his son was seriously injured when the car they were in flipped over on the way from Sibu to Daro around noon yesterday.

They were passing by Tanjung Manis when a punctured tyre caused them to lost control of the car, which flipped over several times.

Yu Jun Nang, a 60-year-old from Lada Road, fractured his right shoulder, injured his head, waist and chest and passed on.

His son suffered injuries to his head, stomach and ribs, and was semi-conscious when he was sent to the Sibu Hospital, arriving at 2pm.

Four motorcycle theft ring suspects nabbed

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:55 PM PDT

KUCHING: Four members of a motorcycle theft ring were arrested by police within hours of stealing a bike at Tabuan Jaya on Wednesday night.

The suspects, all local men, were nabbed by a task force team from district police headquarters at a house in Petra Jaya around 10pm, some two hours after they allegedly committed the crime.

Police were able to recover the stolen machine at the house and detained the four men in lock-up pending further investigation.

A source disclosed that one of the arrested suspects, a 38-year-old, is believed to be the mastermind of the group who possesses prior arrest records for motorcycle theft and house breaking.

In a separate case, an insurance broker lodged a police report after his Toyota Landcruiser was stolen from the carpark of Sarawak General Hospital on Wednesday.

The 53-year-old discovered the theft around 1.30pm when he returned to the carpark and saw it was no longer where he had parked it.

Apart from losing his vehicle, the broker also lost some valuables in the form of wristwatches, branded shoes, some cash and a number of personal documents.

Police are investigating.

18 days’ jail for stealing dad’s phone

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:54 PM PDT

KUCHING: A youth was sentenced to a total of 18 days' imprisonment by a magistrates' court here after he pleaded guilty to stealing his father's mobile phone and concealing the stolen handphone.

Magistrate Portia Tham Ong Leng imposed the sentence on Awang Nazrin Awang Sulong, 21, after convicting him under Section 380 of the Penal Code for the first charge and Section 414 of the same Act for the second charge.

Awang Nazrin was given the 18 days' jail after he admitted stealing his father's mobile phone at their house at Kampung Tabuan Ulu between 8pm on April 8 and 7am on April 9 this year. He was also given another 10 days' jail for selling the mobile phone at a shop in Tabuan.

The court ordered his custodial sentence to run concurrently and to take effect immediately.

The accused's 58-year-old father lodged a police report after he lost patience with his son for stealing items from the house.

Following the report, a police team picked his son up from the house for investigation, after which he led them to a shop where he sold off the phone.

In a separate magistrates' court, a security guard was slapped with a RM3,000 fine in default four months' jail after he pleaded guilty to intimidating his wife and children in a car with a parang last Sunday.

Jamil Sindi, 50, from Taman Sukma admitted to have threatened his wife, who is a nurse, and his children at a parking space in front of a government clinic at Batu Kawa around 11.20am on April 13.

He was convicted under Section 506 of the Penal Code. The accused's 53-year-old wife said her husband took a parang from his car bonnet and asked them to get out from the car they were in. Earlier on, they had a heated argument over personal matters.