Robber foiled by vigilant staff

The Cyprus Weekly Newspaper



Viewing News dated :14/11/2008 12:15:57



Robber foiled by vigilant staff


Attempted robberies foiled by vigilant staff

A discouraged robber was forced to flee the scene of crime yesterday morning when faced with an impenetrable security door.Police Spokesman Andreas Angeligis said the incident took place at around 10pm when the suspect was trying to gain entrance to a department store in Limassol.

An employee who was in the shop at the time noticed the hooded suspect and promptly called the police.

The suspect struggled tying to open the door for some time, but after realising it was a futile task, fled the scene on foot.

Police are currently looking for the suspect who is reported to be of large build, around 1.75m, and was at the time dressed in jeans and a dark coloured top.

Elsewhere on the island another attempted robbery was foiled when employees of a Laiki Bank in Paphos notified the police of two men acting suspiciously outside the premises.

According to Paphos Deputy Police Chief Nikos Sophocleous two men were spotted outside the entrance of the bank at 9 am wearing motorbike helmets, dark clothes and gloves while acting in a suspicious manner.

The bank employees noticed the suspects and were about to raise the alarm when the two men fled the scene in a hurry, leaving behind a bag they were carrying.

Paphos Police speculated that the suspects intended to rob customers of the bank as they departed the building.

The bag that was left at the scene was taken in as evidence and the Police have confirmed that both suspects were Greek Cypriots.
Copyright (C) 2008 Cyprus Weekly
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Infants need funds for surgery

Infants need funds for surgery
By Laviinia Dhanagunan

2008/11/14



KUALA LUMPUR: Two seriously ill infants are depending on the kindness of strangers to help them win their battle to survive. With swollen eyelids and tubes coming out from all over his body, tiny Nik Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad Latiff elicits sympathy from anyone who sees him.The 4-day-old boy, who suffers from "persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn", is the focus of doctors at a hospital here who are struggling to help him breathe.

Since his admission on Monday evening, Nik has been put on respiratory support and nitric oxide in a bid to increase the oxygen supply to his lungs.

His mother, Tengku Aznaini Raja Husin, hovers over her youngest child's hospital bed, watching for positive signs that his lungs are expanding and allowing him to breathe better.

"He was transferred from Selangor Medical Centre as he needed critical care.

"The combination of respiratory support and nitric oxide has so far helped relax his blood vessels and improve the oxygen content in his blood.

"Hopefully, his condition will continue to improve," said the housewife.

However, Nik's father cannot afford the treatment which costs RM35,000 with his monthly salary of RM2,500.

"We hope that the public can help our little boy," said his mother.

Also being treated at the same hospital is 8-month-old Li Mei Yan, from Johor.

The toddler suffers from "pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum" (a condition where the blood vessels to the lungs are completely disconnected from the right side of the heart chamber), and she requires major surgery.

Her parents, a technician and housewife, can only afford RM6,000 of the RM45,000 cost of the operation needed to save their youngest child's life and are appealing to the public for funds.

Li already underwent an operation in April to restore normal blood flow to her heart, but needs to undergo two more procedures.

Those who wish to help Nik and Li can send cheques, made payable to The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, with their names written on the reverse to The Cashier, Finance Department/Charity Unit, The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, Balai Berita, 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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UPSR Results: A special student with a very special result

UPSR Results: A special student with a very special result
By Zainuddin Muhammad

2008/11/14


KUALA TERENGGANU: The odds were stacked against him but when the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) results were announced yesterday, Muhammad Danial Zainuddin became the first special education candidate in the state ever to score all As. The 13-year-old student has come a long way since he was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit disorder at 3. Unable to sleep without medication until he turned 6, and unable to speak until he was 7, Danial started special education classes early at Sekolah Semangat Maju in Taiping, Perak.

In between speech therapy sessions and visits to the psychiatrist, he had little time to improve his social skills, said his mother, Rozina Mohd Ik-ram, 43.

A former business manager who quit her job to care for her eldest son, she said she noticed a little improvement in Danial's behaviour after he had spent two years in the special education class at Padang Hiliran.

"All of a sudden, he was not that hyper-active, and he developed a keen interest in reading.

"I was happy to notice that he could mix with his sister, Nurul Diana, and his brother, Muhammad Dini.

"In his third year there, his teachers thought it was time he joined students in the regular class and after a few glitches in the first few weeks, he has not looked back."

It was in Year Four when Danial began to show his academic prowess and it wasn't long before he emerged the best student in his class, beating the rest of his normal classmates.

Headmaster Md Sidek Besar said he was amazed at Danial's change as the following years saw him leading the pack of high achievers.

"He was not just an excellent student. In later years, he developed other skills, including being the school chess champion and runner-up twice in the state-level Quran recital competition .

"He still finds it hard to mix with other students, but I instilled self-confidence and responsibility in him by appointing him as prefect.

"I noticed he become better at handling responsibilities."

Sidek said the school had performed well in this year's UPSR as 21 out of 110 students, including Danial's sister, Nurul Diana, scored all As.

Nurul Diana said she was happy with her brother's achievement although she was a bit jealous with the attention he was getting.

"But he deserved it. My classmates and I tried hard hard to beat him all year but he was just too smart."

Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said, who visited Danial at home yesterday, said he was proud that a special education UPSR candidate scored all As.



To view more pictures, visit the UPSR 2008 Gallery on this site.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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Real change begins with you

Real change begins with you
By Marc Lourdes

2008/11/10

KUALA LUMPUR: All that the medical student wanted was a free lunch and the chance to hobnob with celebrities. Little did Dr Teh Wee Min realise that his participation in an AIDS awareness programme in 2005 would end up being a life-changing experience.
"I went thinking I would enjoy a free lunch and meet some celebrities.

"But, as I took part in the event, I was forced to reflect more on the plight of AIDS patients," said Dr Teh.

He said the "It Begins With You" programme helped shape his personality, especially when it came to dealing with HIV-positive patients.

"The exposure to AIDS patients was good and helped in my profession. It helped shape my personality, especially in dealing with AIDS patients.

"I now try not to be as judgemental as I used to be when I would question why some patients bothered to seek treatment after choosing to take drugs in the first place.

"I now discard that notion and try not to be too judgemental. I have even formed close friendships with some of them."

Dr Teh is just one of the many success stories of the programme -- a collaborative effort between the government, civil society and the corporate sector aimed at increasing awareness about AIDS and reducing victims' social stigma, especially among the medical fraternity.

A collaboration between the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), Malaysian Society of HIV Medicine (MaSHM) and pharmaceutical giant Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD), the programme was introduced in 2005 to update on the HIV and AIDS scenario in Malaysia as well as to inspire medical students by highlighting the challenges faced by AIDS patients in the country.

At first, only about 100 students from the International Medical University (IMU) and Universiti Putra Malaysia took part.

The programme was soon a hit and attendance rose to more than 300 students from four universities.

At a panel discussion recently between MAC executive director Bakhtiar Talhah, MaSHM president Dr Christopher Lee, MSD corporate affairs director Abby Tan, Dr Teh and participant Yeo Kee Kiat, it was concluded that AIDS patients were still being discriminated against by society and, worrying still, by the medical community.

Bakhtiar said: "MAC and its partner organisations have experienced many cases of stigmatisation in the medical community.

"Sometimes doctors and nurses refused to even touch patients without gloves. There's a lot of judgment involved."

However, Dr Lee said, the stigma now was not as bad as it used to be.

"It has gradually lessened. The medical fraternity has changed and the Health Ministry has helped with that.

"I remember one houseman about 15 years ago who brought his mother to see me. She said she didn't want her son to handle HIV patients. That has since changed."



Dr Lee said discrimination prevented many AIDS victims from seeking treatment until they were critical. By then, it's too late as their condition worsens quickly.

"Stigma and discrimination also make work much harder. If doctors and nurses cannot accept it, you can forget about the pakcik and makcik doing so.

"We have to win this small battle to win the bigger war out there."

The idea, he said, was not only to get more doctors trained in handling infectious diseases but also to ensure that the doctors played their role.

The argument that some medical practitioners stigmatised AIDS patients was borne out by the initial reaction when Yeo came in contact with AIDS patients.

"I was scared and worried."

However, his perception changed after talking to the doctors and nurses.

"I was touched and wanted to do something for the patients because they were feeling isolated."

Meanwhile, Dr Lee said that the best way for medical students to learn about AIDS was by interacting with patients.

"Medical students aim to become doctors. What better way to achieve that than to see real patients? There is no better teacher than the patients themselves."

So, what can be done to improve the plight of HIV-positive patients and shield them from the negative perceptions of society?

Tan said universities and organisations needed to carry out more awareness programmes.

"We can only do so much and we need to work together on this."

She added that plans were in the pipeline to include nurses in future "It Begins With You" programmes.

Bakhtiar said everybody should realise that they had a role to play in combating the stigma against AIDS. "It's not a passing issue but a growing problem."

Yeo added to this saying that more programmes should target the community.

"Targeting colleges would a good start because that would bring change in 10 or 20 years."

Dr Lee feels private hospitals can do more.

"The response is mainly from the public sector. There are a couple of infectious disease specialists in the private sector, but the average doctor at a private hospital, unfortunately, is still uncomfortable when it comes to handling AIDS patients.

"There have been cases where a patient is diagnosed with AIDS at 4pm, and by 8pm, is discharged and sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital."

Ultimately, Dr Lee said, patients should be free to go anywhere and provide a true medical history. The reality is that they now have to mask their condition.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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'Now, I'm more positive after getting HIV'

'Now, I'm more positive after getting HIV'

2008/11/10

With his stubbly head, pierced ear, tinted glasses and blue jeans, Benedict Montero looks like a gracefully ageing rock star -- an illusion reinforced by the 52-year-old's gravelly voice and megawatt smile. But Montero's calling is one which is far more noble than making rock music. Diagnosed HIV-positive in 1992, Montero has made it his life's mission to guide others who have been afflicted with the illness.
Montero was candid about his life prior to contracting the sickness.

"I was taking drugs and basically drifting when I got the illness. I spent the early years in denial and isolation," he said, adding that his family told him to leave the house when they found out about his condition.

"There was little awareness of HIV back then."

In 1998, he discovered Positive Living, a programme where people with HIV guided others in the same boat.

"My life changed when I began to work with other HIV-positive people."

Montero broadened his knowledge by working with non-governmental organisations and the international community, besides attending leadership courses.

His advocacy paid off as he became one of the voices instrumental in getting free first-line medication for AIDS patients in Malaysia.

"It's odd but I became more positive after getting HIV.

"If I hadn't got the illness, I would have probably died earlier. But, now, my life has changed and I think it's a blessing in disguise," he mused.

Even his personal life has changed. Montero, a divorcee before his illness, has been in a steady relationship for the past decade.

And Montero, who aims to live till the ripe old age of 80, has pledged to continue fighting for his cause.

"I want to improve the lives of people with AIDS and give them hope, especially single mothers and children.

"At the end of the day, it's about living, and not about dying."
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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