■ China
Gang members get death
Eight members of a Chinese gang have been sentenced to death for a five-year robbery spree in Cambodia that left 10 people dead, the government said yesterday. Those sentenced Friday by a court in the eastern city of Nanjing were leaders of a 28-member gang that committed 12 robberies, four kidnappings and a rape in 1999-2004, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Gang members killed seven people during the robberies and three hostages during a kidnapping, Xinhua said. It said those killed included Cambodians, South Koreans and Chinese.
■ China
US honors three Chinese
The US government has honored three Chinese, only one of whom is still alive, for providing often life-saving aid to Americans held captive by the Japanese during World War II, state media said yesterday. The three received Certificates of Appreciation for helping US prisoners of war incarcerated with more than 2,000 other Allied soldiers at Camp Hoten near northeastern China's Shenyang City, Xinhua news agency reported. Only one of the three, 81-year-old Li Lishui, was alive to accept the certificate in person from the US consulate in Shenyang. He had smuggled vegetables to starved prisoners at the risk of his own life during the war. Of the two who have died, Gao Dechun was recommended for helping three Americans escape and providing them with a map, an act for which the Japanese sentenced him to 10 years in jail.
■ Singapore
Bulge in pants led to bust
An unusual bulge in a Singaporean's pants led to the city-state's largest heroin seizure this year and leaves the man and his alleged accomplice facing the death penalty, a report said yesterday. The 45-year-old man and his driver, both unidentified, were found with 3.3kg of heroin worth an estimated S$822,000 (US$493,000) as they attempted to enter Singapore from neighboring Malaysia, the Straits Times said. Customs officials were alerted when they noticed a huge bulge in one of the men's pants. They discovered the heroin hidden in plastic packs strapped to the insides of his underpants and thigh.
■ New Zealand
State to pay for sex change
A 73-year-old former New Zealand soldier is to undergo a sex change and the government has agreed to pick up the NZ$30,000 (US$20,900) cost of the operation, a report said yesterday. After the operation, transsexual Vicki Harvey will be able to legally change the gender on her birth certificate to "female." Harvey, who served 20 years in the New Zealand Army, was part of a lobbying campaign that resulted in the government agreeing last year to fund a small number of "gender reassignment" operations.
■ Japan
Cult head to get psych test
A doomsday cult guru convicted of masterminding a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo subways will undergo a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he is fit to stand an appeals trial, a Japanese news agency reported. The Tokyo High Court judge presiding over the appeal of Shoko Asahara, founder of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, decided to deny the defense's request to suspend the case until Asahara's mental condition improves, Kyodo News Agency said on Friday.During his eight-year trial, Asahara frequently dozed off, mumbled incoherently and made bizarre gestures.
■ Colombia
US$4m in fake bills seized
Police backed by US Secret Service agents on Friday broke up a network capable of printing millions of dollars a month in counterfeit money and arrested 13 suspects during raids across northeast Colombia. At least US$4 million in fake bills were seized during some 15 separate raids in Antioquia and Risaralda departments, said Colonel Oscar Naranjo, head of Colombia's Judicial Police. Naranjo said the fake money was apparently going to be sent to neighboring Ecuador, where the dollar has been adopted as legal tender. Colombia reportedly produces more than 40 percent of fake money circulating around the world.
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