'Dead' boy sits up in coffin, asks for water and dies again in Brazil - Yahoo! Singapore (News)

Wearing face masks to prevent infections, people carry a coffin containing the body of a landslides victim at a cemetery in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011. Survivors of mudslides that killed more than 500 people are growing frustrated, saying Brazil's government has fallen short in rescuing victims still stranded on remote hillsides and finding the bodies of the dead.

Melbourne, June 7 (ANI): A two-year-old Brazilian boy, who was declared dead, sat up in his coffin and asked for water before laying back down again lifeless.

According to Website ORM, Kelvin Santos stopped breathing during treatment for pneumonia at a hospital in Belem, northern Brazil, News.com.au reported.

The boy was declared dead at 7.40pm on Friday and his body was handed over to his family in a plastic bag.

The child's devastated family took him home where grieving relatives held a wake throughout the night as the boy's body laid in an open coffin.

But just an hour before his funeral was to take place on Saturday, the boy apparently sat up in his coffin and said asked his father for water.

"Daddy, can I have some water," the child said.

"Everybody started to scream, we couldn't believe our eyes. Then we thought a miracle had taken place and our boy had come back to life," the boy's father, Antonio Santos said.

"Then Kelvin just laid back down, the way he was. We couldn't wake him. He was dead again.....

Mr Santos rushed his son back to the Aberlardo Santos hospital in Belem,where the doctors reexamined the boy and confirmed that he had no signs of life.

"They assured me that he really was dead and gave me no explanation for what we had just seen and heard," Santos said.

The boy's family decided to delay the funeral for an hour hoping that he would wake up again, but ended up burying him at 5 pm the same day in a local cemetery.

Santos, who is convinced that his son was victim of medical malpractice, has now registered a complaint with the police who have launched an investigation.

"Fifteen minutes after rushing him away for resuscitation, they came and told me he was dead and handed me his body. Perhaps they didn't examine him properly. Dead people don't just wake up and talk. I'm determined to find out the truth," Santos said. (ANI) 

6 foods to help you have great sex - Yahoo! Singapore (News)

They say sex is a great stressbuster. They are right because love-making has been found to relive the pressure of the burdens of life, ease stress, soothe chronic aches and pains, spur creativity and rev up the energy levels.

Experts say that anything that makes you feel good, alive and physically excited will make you feel as if you've shed years. And all these things are associated with sex.

You are probably aware of the basics of terrific sex, but let us suggest you a few aphrodisiacs which can add zing to your sex life.

Figs have been found to be brimming with minerals like magnesium, manganese and zinc and alsoVitamin E. All of them can do wonders to spice up your sex life.

The flashy-red watermelons contain a substance called citrulline, which sends the body the signals to release arginine, which relaxes blood vessels. This produces an effect similar to Viagra. And need we give you details about what Viagra does?

You've tried whiskly, you've tried wine but didn't feel the buzz. Pick a bottle of champagne and feel the difference. It enters the bloodstream faster than the wine does, so make sure you don't drink too much of it. Many champagnes have been found to have the same amount of antioxidants as red wine.

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers can bring out the hotness in you. They help recreate the symptoms of arousal: flushed cheeks, a quiver on your tongue, and more kissable lips. They also up the heat in the body.

Cheese releases 10 times more endorphins than the great ol' aphrodisiac - Chocolate. It will help you set the right mood.

Chocolate has been your trusted friend when it comes to having a great sex. You just need to maintain the bond. Its aphrodisiac property has been ascribed to two chemicals. One, tryptophan, which is the building block of serotonin, a brain chemical involved in sexual arousal. And two, phenyethylamine, a stimulant.

So the kind of food we gorge upon can do wonders with our sex life. Right food can make you positively sexual. (MensXP.com)

Is 'Sticker Lady's' work vandalism or art? - Yahoo! Singapore (News)

Many Singaporeans are unhappy over the recent arrest of street artist Samantha Lo.

The 25-year-old is believed to have painted “MY GRANDFATHER ROAD” on several roads here, and to have created circular, black-and-white stickers with captions such as “Press to time travel”, “Anyhow press police catch” and “Press to Nirvana” that have been found around Lau Pa Sat and Robinson Road.

An online petition to the authorities calling for Lo's release has also been put up on www.change.org, a website that claims “to promote social change by the use of online petitions”. By Wednesday afternoon, more 11,000 people had put their names to the petition.

A Facebook event page has also been created to get more people to sign the petition.

Stephanie Choy, the creator of the Facebook page, wrote that she had started the page because “I am not happy by the constant censorship of art in Singapore”.

While users on Facebook and Twitter debate on whether Lo should have been charged or not, we’d like to get your opinion on what constitutes art vis-à-vis vandalism.

Let us know in the poll and comments below.

Man says sorry for pushing elderly woman off bus - Yahoo! Singapore (News)

Man says sorry for pushing elderly woman off bus (Youtube video screengrab)

A man who pushed an old woman down a bus along Upper Thomson Road on Tuesday has apologized for his actions, saying he suffers from depression.

Alex Ong, a 25-year-old man, was travelling onboard bus service 167 when he suddenly flew into a rage at an elderly woman for pressing the bell at the last-minute along Upper Thomson Road.

During an ugly spat and shouting match that ensued, he physically threatened to slap the woman, who is 76, before going on to push her down the bus.

The whole scene, which was captured on video and uploaded on YouTube, lasted about two minutes. As of Thursday afternoon, the video has been seen 1,600 times. 

Ong has since given his statement to the police regarding the incident and apologized to the woman who dropped the matter.

“Do any of you really, truly know what it is like to be in my shoes? Really?” Ong said on his Facebook wall at around 2pm on Thursday, before adding “People are already threatening to physically assault me over Facebook”

In an earlier post on Tuesday, Ong posted his side of the story on Facebook.

He explained that he has been diagnosed with medical conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder, clinical depression and autism – spectrum disorder.

“I do not represent a society of decaying morals. I’m a product of a society that has abused me, neglected me, and ultimately, misunderstood me,” the former Canberra secondary school student said.

Ong also explained on his blog that he had “never intended to injure the lady, that everything happened as a culmination of a lot of anger that has been simmering inside me.” He set up the blog a day after the incident with the intention of clearing his name.

He also explained that his anger stemmed from not being able to find a good job and constant abuse and bullying since young.

His remorseful Facebook posts have garnered a mixed reaction from other Facebook users.

“Under no circumstances should a gentleman lay hands on a woman, not to mention that she is an elderly one whom he should be even more considerate towards,” said Desmond Wong, 22 , a business student from Singapore Management University.

On the other hand, several people have empathised with him.

“I understand, dude. I don’t think what you did was right, but I understand why you did it” said Malcolm Ang in response to Ong’s Facebook post.

Watch the video here:

Who are the 3 women linked to ex-SCDF chief Peter Lim? - Yahoo! Singapore (News)

Ex-SCDF chief Peter Lim allegedly had sexual intercourse with Esther Goh, director of business development of NCS in a carpark near Marina Bay Golf Course. (Yahoo! photo)


[UPDATED on 7 June: added details on women alleged to be involved]

The woman most prominently cited in the sex-related corruption charges against a former top civil servant in Singapore held a senior post at a large IT solutions company.

Esther Goh Tok Mui was director of business development at NCS Pte Ltd when she allegedly had sex with former Singapore Civil Defence Force commissioner (SCDF) Peter Lim seven times between April and November last year.

Lim was charged in court on Wednesday morning with 10 counts of corruption by “advancing the business interests” of Goh and two other women for sex, court documents showed.

Goh is believed to be the only single woman out of the three named.

NCS, according to its website, counts among its clients various Singapore ministries and agencies, including the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

On Wednesday afternoon, a woman answering calls at NCS said Goh no longer worked there.

It’s not clear whether or not Goh was dismissed or if she resigned on her own accord.

The NCS building in Ang Mo Kio, where most of the company's employees work. (Yahoo! photo)

 
A colleague of Goh’s told Yahoo! Singapore that Goh’s employee profile was still on record in the company’s intranet directory at around 1pm on Wednesday, though the page was no longer searchable later that afternoon.

NCS deputy director for marketing and communications Sophia Ong said she was unable to disclose more information about Goh as it is not within the company's policy to "comment on individual employee's [sic] employment".

She did say, however, that the company has a strict code of conduct that spells out the roles and responsibilities of employees when dealing with parties outside of NCS.

"We adopt a zero-tolerance policy against fraud. Employees are to uphold a high standard of personal and corporate integrity," she added.
 
Goh allegedly had sexual trysts with Lim at a carpark near Marina Bay Golf Course, a carpark at Singapore Indoor Stadium, an apartment in Tanjong Rhu and a flat in Clementi.

The carpark opposite Singapore Indoor Stadium, where Lee allegedly had a sexual tryst with Goh. (Yahoo! photo)
 
The other two women named in court documents are Lee Wei Hoon and Pang Chor Mui.
 
Lee, who holds a directorship position at Singapore Radiation Centre (SRC) Pte Ltd, was alleged to have slept with Lim in a hotel in Paris in October, and engaged in oral sex with him in November in a carpark at Big Splash East Coast Park last year.

The New Paper reported that the 40-year-old, who stays in an HDB estate in Teck Whye, is married and has a young son.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Lee is still employed at SRC but is currently on leave. The receptionist also told the paper that the director has shoulder length hair and is good-looking.
 
SRC provides services that include national disaster management solutions, air treatment and decontamination products, as well as maintenance and repair service support. It currently is not a vendor to the SCDF.
 
The company is a subsidiary of local manufacturing company IPS Group, which distributes engines, generators, security and aviation equipment in Asia and Africa.
 
IPS is placed among the top 50 small and medium enterprises in Singapore, and its offices, including those of SRC, are located in Tuas Tech Park.

Pang Chor Moi, the third woman allegedly involved with Lim was general manager of Nimrod Engineering, a small firm …
 
As for the third woman named in the 10 charges slapped on Lim, Pang Chor Mui, she was named in one charge against Lim for receiving oral sex from her in May 2010 in a carpark at Stadium walk.

Yahoo! Singapore understands that Pang, who is in her late forties, is currently still employed as the general manager of Nimrod Engineering Pte Ltd, a current vendor of the SCDF.

A source close to Pang revealed that she is married and stays with her 17-year-old son and maid in a condominium in Siglap. Her husband often travels overseas for work and seldom returned to the four-room flat.
 
A visit to Nimrod’s office revealed that the company is a small one, consisting of only about 15 employees. Colleagues Yahoo! Singapore spoke to declined to offer comment on Pang, saying they preferred not to speak “to avoid any misunderstanding”.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, Pang had known Lim for a long time, even before she joined Nimrod six, seven years ago.
 
Nimrod’s website states that the firm is a certified company providing security solutions with a diverse range of branded quality products.
 
With additional reporting by Ang Kai Fong

Ex-Singapore official charged with sex-related graft - Yahoo! Singapore (News)

A former top Singapore civil servant was charged in court Wednesday with corruption for allegedly "advancing the business interest" of three women associates in return for sex.

The charge documents obtained by AFP said Peter Lim had sex with the women on separate occasions between May 2010 and November last year in a Paris hotel as well as stadium car parks and golf courses in Singapore, among others.

The three women held senior positions in companies which were providing services to the Singapore Civil Defence Force when Lim was its chief.

If convicted, Lim faces a maximum five-year jail term and a Sg$100,000 ($78,000) fine for each of the 10 graft charges filed against him.

Large-scale graft cases are rare in Singapore, a thriving global financial centre and business hub which enjoys a reputation for being the least corrupt country in Asia.

It pays its civil servants some of the highest government salaries in the world as a deterrent to corruption.

Last year, two senior civil servants were sentenced to 22 years and 15 years in jail, respectively, for their role in one of the worst corruption cases in the country's history.

'Vampire' skeletons discovered in Bulgaria - Yahoo! Singapore (News) Singapore

Melbourne, June 6 (ANI): Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages, which were pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into vampires, the head of the history museum said on Wednesday.

Pagan's believed that people who were considered bad during their lifetimes might turn into vampires after death unless stabbed in the chest with an iron or wooden rod before being buried.

"These two skeletons stabbed with rods illustrate a practice which was common in some Bulgarian villages up until the first decade of the 20th century," News.co.au quoted national history museum chief Bozhidar Dimitrov as saying after the recent find in the Black Sea town of Sozopol.

The historian explained that the people also believed the rod would also pin the dead into their graves and prevent them from leaving at midnight and terrorizing the living.

The practice was common, Dimitrov added, saying that some 100 similar burials already had been found in Bulgaria.

Archaeologist Petar Balabanov, who in 2004 unearthed six nailed-down skeletons at a site near the eastern town of Debelt, said that the pagan rite was also practiced in neighbouring Serbia and other Balkan countries.

Vampire legends are widespread across the Balkans. The most famous of them all is that of Romanian Count Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula, who staked his war enemies and drank their blood. (ANI)