■ NEW ZEALAND
Officer admits to lying
A former undercover police officer has confessed to lying in court testimony that sent at least 150 people to jail, a newspaper reported yesterday. Patrick O’Brien, nearly 60, wrote to Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, admitting perjury and saying that he was racked with guilt after carrying a “dreadful secret” for more than 30 years, the Herald on yesterday reported. O’Brien was an undercover agent in covert drug operations for three years in the 1970s and the star prosecution witness in the resulting court trials but said he lied under oath every time, the paper said. It cited his confession letter, which the Herald obtained under freedom of information legislation. All but one of the juries he gave false evidence to returned guilty verdicts, the report said. Police have appointed a senior lawyer to investigate O’Brien’s claims that he often presented exhibits to the juries that were not the drugs he claimed he had bought from defendants accused of drug dealing.
■ MALAYSIA
Peeping Tom slips, dies
A suspected “peeping Tom” slipped and fell to his death from the eighth floor of a condominium on Friday in the northern state of Penang, a news report said yesterday. The 20-year-old laborer was believed to be alone when he allegedly spied on a woman in a nearby high-rise through his binoculars from the balcony of his rented apartment and lost his balance, the Star daily said. Police recovered a pair of binoculars at the scene and ruled out foul play as investigations revealed that neighbors had seen the man peeping before the incident. Classifying the case as sudden death, state police chief Azam Abdul Hamid said that the deceased could have been too preoccupied with his peeping when he lost his balance and fell.
■ CHINA
Agency says milk not toxic
The quality control agency said the latest tests found that dairy products met the new temporary limits on melamine. The tests covered 532 batches of liquid milk, including yogurt, from 69 brands in 23 cities, the General Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine said on its Web site. The government last week imposed limits for melamine in milk. China has conducted investigations into the industrial chemical following the tainted baby formula scandal that killed four infants and sickened more than 54,000.
■ THAILAND
‘Grandpa Yen’ passes on
“Grandpa Yen,” a 108-year-old man who lived alone on a small boat on the Phetchaburi River for years, died yesterday from natural causes. Yen Kaewmanee was found unconscious in his boat by neighbors and rushed to Prachao Khlao Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Nation reported. To save on rent, Yen had been living on small houseboats in the Phetchaburi River since his wife died when he was in his mid-90s. Fondly known in the local media as “Grandpa Yen,” he shot to fame in 2004 when his austere lifestyle was captured in a TV documentary. After the documentary was aired, Yen was flooded with services and gifts including a new fiberglass houseboat donated by Thai Queen Sirikit. The fame was not without its down side. Yen had to open a bank account for the first time in his life after thieves took 70,000 baht (US$2,060) from his small boat.
■ CHINA
Reptiles still missing
Authorities are on the watch for a group of escaped crocodiles and alligators that broke out of a theme park during a typhoon, a news report said. Up to 200 reptiles ranging from 2m alligators to saltwater crocodiles that can grow up to 6m reportedly escaped when Typhoon Hagiput lashed the theme park near Hong Kong a fortnight ago. Crocodile Island administrators in Zhuhai later claimed they had captured the animals but Hong Kong officials remain on alert, the Sunday Morning Post reported.
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