Mi Choza De Nipa: 02/14/2010

Friday, February 19, 2010

A new way to steal, then make money

SOLE-SEARCHING MOURNER STOLE 1,200 PAIRS OF SHOES

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SEOUL - A South Korean who stole 1,200 pairs of expensive shoes from funeral homes while posing as a mourner has been arrested.

The man identified only as Park, 59, took off his own shoes before entering mourning rooms and donned the stolen footwear when he left.

The police in southern Seoul's Suseo district said Park intended to sell them through his own second-hand shoe business.

Koreans normally remove outdoor footwear when indoors, especially at funeral homes. Park was caught stealing three pairs of shoes, worth a total of 2 million won ($2,440) when new, at one funeral home.

The police then raided his warehouse and found 1,200 pairs stored according to size in preparation for resale.

A police officer said they put the footwear on display last week and many pairs were reclaimed by owners. AFP

From TODAY, Friday, 19-Feb-2010

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A Real Issue, or the "uncovering of a feisty wound"?

PASTOR IN CONTROVERSY AGAIN

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SINGAPORE - Film-makers Royston Tan and Sun Koh are among a group of Singaporeans, said to number about 80, who have called the police to complain about Pastor Rony Tan in the past week - this time, over his comments about gays and lesbians.

The comments were made in a video clip of his interview with a former lesbian, and this had been posted on his church website, Lighthouse Evangelism Church.

The pastor had made the news earlier this month after he was called up by the Internal Security Department for his insensitive comments made in videos posted on his church's website about Buddhists and Taoists.

He has since publicly apologised for the remarks and expressed his remorse to members of the church, which he founded.

When contacted, Mr Tan, 33, said he made an independent decision to call the police.

He heard about the video on gays and lesbians after some friends told him how offended they felt by it.

"How could a religious leader make this kind of comment?" he said.

He dialled 999 at about 5pm last Saturday to provide the police with the weblink to the video, as well as his mobile number.

He posted what he had done on Facebook, and soon learnt of others who had similarly called the police.

Ms Koh, 32, also confirmed with MediaCorp that she had called the police.

In an earlier interview she gave to a Web portal, she said she wanted to inform the police about instances of "gay-bashing that often goes unnoticed".

The original video containing Pastor Tan's comments on lesbianism had been removed along with the other videos on the two religions a day after he issued a public apology for offending followers of the two faiths. But it has since spread online. NEO CHAI CHIN

From TODAY, Friday, 19-Feb-2010

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