Sex-for-fixing referees jailed in Singapore

SINGAPORE (AFP) – Three Lebanese football referees pleaded guilty Monday to accepting free sex from a gambling-linked global syndicate in return for agreeing to rig a match, with a Singapore judge jailing two and deferring sentencing for the third.
A district court judge jailed assistant referees Ali Eid, 33, and Abdallah Taleb, 37, for three months. He deferred sentencing till Tuesday for referee Ali Sabbagh, whom state prosecutors said was the most culpable.
The assistant referees broke down into sobs and repeatedly looked up as if to thank God when Judge Low Wee Ping said they could be freed by later Monday or Tuesday, after remission for good behaviour and due to time already served awaiting sentence.
Turning to Ali Sabbagh, 34, the judge said: “I need time to consider your sentence. I don’t, for the moment, accept that you should be sentenced to six months.”
Deputy public prosecutor Asoka Markandu described Ali Sabbagh as “the most culpable” among the three as he was the one approached by the syndicate and the one who persuaded the two linesmen to accept the sexual bribe.
The three men were arrested and charged on April 4 with corruption for accepting sexual favours in exchange for agreeing to fix an unspecified football match.
They had been abruptly pulled out of an Asian Football Confederation Cup match they were scheduled to officiate in Singapore on April 3 between Singapore-based club Tampines Rovers and India’s East Bengal.
The three were denied bail and have been detained at Singapore’s Changi prison since April 4.
Eric Ding Si Yang, 31, a Singaporean businessman who allegedly supplied the prostitutes, has also been charged with corruption and granted bail.
The judge lashed out at the FIFA-accredited referees for bringing disrepute to the sport, saying they were probably the first international football match officials to be charged with corruption in Singapore.
“That alone, the fact that you are international officials, in my view, is already an aggravating factor,” he said.
“The Singapore public has an interest in preserving football as a professional sport in Singapore. This is because it has social, recreational and economic value,” he added.
Defence lawyer Gary Low cited his clients’ previously unblemished records, their guilty plea and the fact that their acceptance of the sexual bribe did not result in any football match being rigged.
“The gratification was arranged by Mr Ding Si Yang with a view to fixing a football match in the future. Our clients did not reach an agreement with Ding to fix a particular football match,” Low said.
“In these circumstances, our clients’ conduct did not in any way affect or influence the outcome of any football match.”
State prosecutors have said Ali Sabbagh, a sports teacher with Lebanon’s education ministry earning $850 a month, was approached by Ding in “mid-2012″ in Beirut, indicating a “clear international dimension” to the offences.
Ding, described in Singaporean media as a nightclub owner who drives an Aston Martin sports car, is facing three counts of corruption charges but was freed after posting bail of Sg$150,000 ($121,000).
Singapore has a long history of match-fixing, and syndicates from the wealthy Southeast Asian island have been blamed by European police for orchestrating a network responsible for rigging hundreds of games worldwide.

Doctor mutilates baby’s corpse, removes eyes, tongue,private part

The hospital

LAGOS — The Ogun State Police Command, Sunday, said it has arrested one Dr. Babawale Joshua who owned Ajike Medical Centre at 11, Adeyemi Street, Saka, Sango Ota, for suspected ritual activities and disrespect to the corpse of a 13-month-old baby who died in his hospital, Saturday.
According the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, for the state, Mr Muyiwa Ogunjobi, the police discovered that the boy’s corpse was mutilated. He told Vanguard that  the eyes, tongue, two lips, two ears, private part, nails and the left hand and veins were cut off at the hospital.

Father’s account
In his account of what happened, the child’s father, identified as Obinna Oleh, a 35-year-old auto spare part dealer at Ladipo market, from Umunze village in AnambraState, said: “On Friday the 7th of June, my child took ill, my wife joined me to rush him to the hospital.
“The next day, being Saturday, I came to see them at the hospital in the morning before going to my shop while the child was actually getting better then.
“It was with this hope that I left for my shop thinking that at least before the end of the day, the child would have recovered fully.
“But in the afternoon, my wife called to inform me that the baby’s health had deteriorated, that I should rush home. When I got here, I met my child in a very critical condition.
“I asked if any medication had been administered on him and my wife told me that the doctor gave him an injection that afternoon and that the child’s stomach swelled after the injection.
“The baby was practically abandoned by the hospital management in this condition until around 8p.m when he finally died.
“As we attempted to carry the corpse, the nurse in charge said we had to clear our bills before we could take the body away. She also said she needed to call the Medical Director for the full amount we were to balance before they could release the corpse to us.
“Mind you, we were not owing them before the baby died. We made some  initial deposit prior to the baby’s admission and treatment. So when the nurse came up with the balance payment issue, I was not in the mood to argue that with them. I took my wife and we left, with the intention of returning yesterday morning to clear what ever bill there was, and take our child for burial.
“Also our pastor advised us to get a death certificate first before taking the corpse away for burial, so that we don’t encounter any problems with the police.
“We also needed to inform our kinsmen here about what happened. These were  the  reasons why we  left the body of our baby at the hospital till the following morning.
“But yesterday morning, I was having a meeting with my brothers on how to get a doctor’s report on my child’s death when the nurse called me to come over to the hospital, that it’s like they used a spiritual arrow to kill my child. I asked her what she meant by that. And at same time, followed her to the room where the body was.
“I was shocked to the bones to find my child’s body in a gory state. His ears were cut off, his private part, his tongue, his lips, and his eyes were plucked out. I am yet to recover from the shock of that sight.The police was informed and they came and took the body away.”
Meantime, when Vanguard visited the hospital, yesterday, it was under lock and key, having been shut by the police who confirmed the development.

Two women sacked for being pregnant

It sounds incredible, but it’s true. Two mothers, Sarah Poppy, 29, and
Nona Stanley, 36, who claim they were sacked while on maternity leave
are suing their former employers for unlawful discrimination and
sexual harassment.
They have file a law suit in the Federal Court in Adelaide alleging
their employer –  South  Service to Youth Council – discriminated
against them on the basis of their “sex, pregnancy and family
responsibilities”.
In court documents, Poppy says she worked with the council from June
2006 and was promoted to marketing manager on $60,000 a year before
she fell pregnant with son Hudson in 2009 and told work she would take
maternity leave.
In her claim, she alleges that after this request she was moved from
her office to a “common work area” and was told to no longer attend
management meetings.
She claims she was informed her position was redundant in June 2010
while on maternity leave.
She also alleges that her work duties were undertaken by another
employee during her maternity leave and after Ms Poppy was made
redundant.
Stanley, on her part, says she was employed from November 2009 in the
council’s property department and took maternity leave on September
19, 2011, after the birth of her daughter Olivia.
Five months later, while still on maternity leave, she was told “her
position was redundant” and there were no other positions available in
her department, she alleges.
The pair, whose case is being funded by the Federal Attorney-General’s
Department, also claim they were subjected to comments of a sexual
nature which “offended, humiliated and intimidated” them.
The women are seeking an apology and compensation for loss of income,
leave, chance of promotion, “hurt and humiliation” and legal costs.
In a statement, the SYC said it “strongly refutes the allegations”
brought against it “relating to alleged breaches of the Sex
Discrimination Act 1984 and the Fair Work Act 2009″ and will fight the
claims in court.
On its website the council describes itself as a “community
organisation centred on employment, training and youth services”.
Latest figures show the state Equal Opportunities Commission has
received more than 100 complaints this financial year from employees
about sexual harassment, caring responsibilities and pregnancy.

Patience Ozokwor storms SA for iroko TV launch

Patience

Nollywood superstar Patience Ozokwor alias Mama G comes to Johannesburg, South Africa, to launch iROKOtv’s new Nigerian movie DVD collection.
Nollywood’ is the second largest film industry in the world, producing around 2,000 movies a year. iROKOtv has selected ten movies to be distributed on DVD.
Mama G, who has starred in more than 500 movies including Old School, Airline Babes, Ukwa and One Dollar, will be in Johannesburg to officially launch iROKOtv’s new DVDs at the screening of her new movie, Airline Babes. Organisers say tickets are free for this unmissable chance to see the star.

Patience will also be touring Johannesburg to sign the new iROKOtv DVDs which will be making their debut across market places and local shops throughout Johannesburg. There will be a meet & greet event at Bara Mall in Soweto from 14-16 June where fans can have their photos taken with and get an autographed DVD from Mama G.
Some of the DVDs she will be promoting include: Mrs Somebody, Kiss & Tell, Single & Married, Airline Babes, Damage and Aki & Popo Sisters