theSun | THURSDAY MAY 21 2009 3

news without borders

Residents complain
No local transmission of Juru camp’s
filthy conditions
of viral strain: D-G
by Husna Yusop passengers of the AK5358 and and one each in Kuala Lumpur
Speaker’s
exit fails
by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

SEBERANG PERAI: Residents

newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia was
declared free from local trans-
mission of influenza A(H1N1)
yesterday as all contacts of the two
patients showed no symptom of
the disease during the seven-day
home quarantine.
“The 222 contacts placed un-
der home quarantine since May
13 will be free to leave their home
beginning today,” said Health Di-
rector-General Tan Sri Dr Ismail
Merican.
“The home quarantine period
for all 222 contacts ranging from
flight passengers, crew, fam-
ily members and other related
individuals ends today. If they
do not show any symptoms they
will be considered free from being
six crew have been traced and
placed under home quarantine
until yesterday.
There were also two American
passengers of Cathay Pacific
flight CX831 from United States
to Hongkong – contacts of a
Hongkong citizen on board found
positive of A(H1N1) – who have
been placed under quarantine in
Kota Kinabalu until Saturday.
Ismail said both of them were
healthy as of yesterday.
He said the people should
not be unduly worried about the
situation as long as they take care
of their personal hygiene and
cleanliness.
“The cases we found in Ma-
laysia were brought from outside
the country and not locally
transmitted. However, the
Hospital and Sultanah Bahiyah
Hospital, Kedah.
All were A(H1N1) negative.
According to the World Health
Organisation, there were 41 af-
fected countries as of yesterday
with Greece (two cases) as the
latest addition.
Altogether, there were 10,243
cumulative cases of A(H1N1)
around the world with 610 more
reported on Tuesday – 545 in
Mexico, Japan (47), Panama
(four), Spain (four), El Salvador
(four), Chile (two) and one each
in Colombia, France, Peru and
Poland.
Four new deaths were also
reported in Mexico, resulting in
80 fatalities to date.
to end around the immigration de-
partment’s detention camp in
clamour Juru here, which was hit by a
for UK leptospirosis outbreak, have
clean-up submitted a memorandum to
the state authorities complain-
pg 7 ing about the facility’s filthy and
unhygienic conditions.
Penang Environment, Health,
Welfare and Caring Society Com-
mittee chairman Phee Boon
Poh received the memorandum
when he visited the camp yes-
terday.
He said the unsanitary envi-
ronment has affected surround-
ing housing estates, industries
and a school for years.
“I shall write to the
federal government to
address the complaints,”
said Phee.
“The previous state govern-
ment had asked the federal
government to shift the camp
out but nothing was done.”
Two Myanmar detainees in
the camp died of the disease
and more than 30 others were
admitted to hospitals.
Leptospirosis is commonly
transmitted to humans through
contact with water contaminat-
ed by urine of infected animals
like rats, mice and dogs.
He said that many illegal
immigrants were afraid to come
out for medical examination as
there was no legal amnesty by
the federal government for them
to do so.
Phee appealed to factories
and construction companies
housing foreign workers to
ensure that their hostels meet
hygiene requirements.

infected by the A(H1N1) virus.
“This means there is no local
transmission in the country to
date,” he told a press conference
in the ministry yesterday.
The virus’ incubation period is
seven days.
As for the two 21-year-old
students found to be A(H1N1)
positive after returning from the
United States and were admitted
to the hospitals on May 14 and 15,
they will be discharged today and
tomorrow.
The first, a male student, is re-
ceiving treatment in Sungai Buloh
Hospital and the second, a female
student, is in Penang Hospital.
Both are in stable condition.
As of yesterday morning, only
39 passengers of Malaysia Air-
lines’ flight MH091 from Newark,
New Jersey to Kuala Lumpur In-
ternational Airport and AirAsia’s
flight AK5358 from the Low-Cost
Carrier Terminal in Sepang to
Penang, still could not be traced.
The rest of the 108 from MH091
passengers and 15 crew and 74
30 NS trainees show flu symptoms
PETALING JAYA: Thirty National Service
trainees at the Setia Ikhlas NS training
centre in Semenyih have been show-
ing flu symptoms the past week.
The trainees started coming down
with fever, light cough, sore throat
and aching muscles last Thursday.
To date, 26 trainees are being
briefs
public must all give seri-
ous attention to the current
situation of the disease and
get the latest and accurate
information from the min-
istry.
“Those with symptoms
of flu, even though they
have not been to the affected
countries, should avoid go-
ing out shopping or being
in public places. And, please
make sure you wash your
hands properly,” he added.
As of yesterday, the Na-
tional Crisis Preparedness
and Response Centre had
received 156 notifications of
people being admitted into
hospitals nationwide. All tested
negative for A(H1N1) except
for the two.
On Tuesday, 22 notifications
were received – 11 in Sungai
Buloh Hospital; two in Sultanah
Aminah Hospital, Johor; five in
Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital,
Pahang; two in Tengku Ampuan
Rahimah Hospital, Selangor;
treated in the camp’s
isolation room, three are
warded in Kajang Hospital
and one was discharged on
Tuesday.
The Health Ministry, in a statement
yesterday, said it was monitoring the
situation at the camp.
June 19 mention for
couple
BUTTERWORTH: The sessions court
yesterday fixed June 19 to mention
BERNAMAPIX
A(H1N1) cases surge
past 10,000
TOKYO: The number of worldwide (A)H1N1 flu infections
surged past 10,000 yesterday, as the epidemic gathered pace
in the United States and the first case was recorded in Tokyo.
The announcement in the Japanese capital that a 16-year-
old high school girl had caught (A)H1N1 on a trip to New York
underlined the scale of the challenge to contain the virus
which has now been recorded in 41 countries.
The health ministry said that the number of (A)H1N1
virus inflections in Japan rose to 251, excluding the Tokyo
case, as of late yesterday.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases now stands at
10,243, said a spokeswoman for the World Health Organi-
sation. The number of dead stands at 80, spokeswoman
Fadela Chaib added.
“There is an increase of 413 cases in the past 24 hours,
with most in the United States with 346 new cases ... and
in Japan there are 51 new cases,” Chaib told journalists.
The increase in the US raised the total there to 5,469
cases in 47 states plus Washington’s District of Columbia.
Man denies causing death The number of confirmed A(H1N1) infections in
Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak, rose by almost
of pregnant woman 100 in 24 hours to 3,660, health authorities said as they
also announced four new deaths. Local officials say 76
BATU PAHAT: An unemployed man pleaded not guilty in people have died in Mexico, although not all of these
the sessions court here yesterday to a charge of causing
the death of a pregnant woman in a robbery early this
deaths have been registered by the WHO.
And as dozens more cases were reported in Japan,
month. Taiwan became the latest Asian government to record a
Mohamad Ariffin Anang, 26 (pix), from Taman Flora, case of the virus on its soil – in an Australian doctor who
is charged with culpable homicide not amounting to arrived by plane from Hongkong earlier in the week.
murder in the death of Jamilah Selamat at 7.15pm on Australia itself reported four new cases, including
May 3 in Jalan Kaloi, Air Hitam. three young brothers, raising the overall number of
He also pleaded not guilty to another charge of vol- confirmed infections to five.
untarily causing hurt on the woman during a robbery at Victoria state health authorities quarantined the
the same place and time. family, along with some of the boys’ classmates.
The incident happened when Jamilah, 31, an assistant Meanwhile, Egyptian health minister Hatem al-Gabali
at a handicraft shop in Air Hitam, was riding her motor- warned of the dangers posed by the flu to millions of
cycle to return home to Taman Air Hitam. Muslim pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Judge Indra Nehru Sabandiah, who refused bail for Gabali told the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom
the accused, ordered that he engage a lawyer and fixed that “there is a large possibility” the A(H1N1) virus may
July 13 to mention the case. – Bernama reach Egypt with returning pilgrims. – AFP

a case of a couple charged with

New date for bus
tragedy driver
KUALA LUMPUR: The magistrate’s court
in Selayang yesterday fixed July 22 for
re-mention of a case involving the driver
of a double-decker bus which crashed
on the North-South Expressway near
Rawang last month, killing six people.
Magistrate Riny Triany Muhamad
Ali fixed the date after counsel Rajpal
Singh, who represented Fauzi Muha-
mad, 33, asked for a new date as he
needed more time to get the necessary
documents.
Fauzi, from Kuala Nerang, Kedah,
is charged with reckless driving on
Km442.9 of the North-South Express-
way at 5am on April 13. – Bernama
spreading an obscene comment on
the Perak Sultan’s website.
Judge Julie Lack Abdullah fixed the
date to enable counsel Jagdeep Singh
Deo, who represented Chan Hon
Keong and wife, Khoo Hui Shuang, to
submit preliminary objections.
Chan, 26, and Khoo, 27, are alleged
to have committed the offence in
their house in Permatang Pauh, near
here at 12.05am on Feb 13.
They are charged under Section
292(a) of the Penal Code which car-
ries a jail sentence of up to three
years or fine or both, if convicted.
The couple also face an alterna-
tive charge for posting the obscene
remark on the internet with an inten-
tion to hurt other people’s feelings.
– Bernama
Company director charged with cheating
KLANG: A Merces Holdings Berhad
director was charged in the sessions
court here yesterday with cheating a
director of another company over a
transaction involving 15 million shares
five years ago.
Yap Seng Yew, 50, from Southern
Park here, however, pleaded not guilty
when the charge was read out to him
Singaporean acquitted of drug trafficking charge
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court ac-
quitted and discharged a Singaporean
of drug trafficking yesterday.
Justice Datuk Ghazali Cha made
the decision after finding that the
prosecution had failed to make out
a prima facie case against Poh Peng
Chye.
before Judge Datin Anita Harun.
Seng Yew is alleged to have de-
ceived Te Soh Peng , 34, into believing
that he (Seng Yew) would pay RM13
million on May 2, 2006, for the pur-
chase of Merces Holdings shares.
His action is alleged to have caused
Soh Peng to transfer 15,009,000 units
of Merces Holdings shares to him
He said there was no evidence at
all to prove that Poh, 42, was in pos-
session of the drug.
Based on the testimonies of wit-
nesses, Poh’s room was not locked
from inside and the cupboard, as well
as the safe box which contained the
drug was open, he added.
(Seng Yew).
Seng Yew, who was arrested on Jan
2, is accused of commiting the offence
at No 51 & 53, Jalan Batai Laut 5, Ka-
wasan 16, Taman Intan here between
July 2004 and Nov 2004.
Anita set bail at RM50,000 in one
surety and fixed Aug 12 for re-mention.
– Bernama
He also said the testimony by hotel
security guard Azman Abdul Aziz did
not rule out the possibility of other
people entering the room.
Poh was charged with trafficking in
1,098gm heroin in a room at a hotel in
Jalan Conlay, at 9.55am on Feb 5, 2005.
– Bernama