■HONG KONG
Public opinion sought
Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang (唐英年) said the government would start consulting the public on expanding its 60-member legislature and the 800-member panel that picks the local leader in 2012 — part of a long path toward greater democracy in the territory. Tang, the territory’s No. 2 official, told lawmakers yesterday the government has issued a consultation document that proposes expanding the legislature by 10 seats and the leader selection panel by 400 seats. The limited reform proposals came after China ruled in December 2007 that Hong Kong can elect its leader no sooner than 2017 and its legislature after that, in 2020 at the earliest.
■HONG KONG
Killer in love triangle jailed
A cheating deaf-mute husband who killed his deaf-mute lover when she tried to persuade him to divorce his wife began a 15-year jail term on Tuesday in the territory. Yip Kai-ming, 47, stabbed to death 39-year-old Ng Kwai-fong when she pressured him to leave his wife, who is also deaf-mute, the High Court heard. The pair, both married with two children, met at the Hong Kong Deaf People’s Christian Church, where Yip was a deacon who helped parishioners by fixing faulty electric wiring or appliances at their homes. He began an affair with Ng in October 2007 and killed her last September when she pressured him to leave his wife.
■SRI LANKA
Banknote to mark war’s end
The government on Tuesday released a banknote to mark the end of the nation’s 37-year separatist war, following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels in May, the central bank said. The first commemorative banknote in the 1,000-rupee (US$9) denomination was given to President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday, the bank said in a statement. “The valiant contribution made by the nation’s victorious sons and daughters, of the security forces and the police, is the theme on the reverse of the note,” the bank said in a statement. “The design at the center depicts the hoisting of the national flag by members of the security forces.”
■INDIA
Gas leak affects 61 people
At least 61 employees from a plant belonging to South Korea’s Samsung Group were admitted to a hospital near New Delhi following a suspected gas leak on its premises, officials said yesterday. The incident occurred at the multinational company’s washing machine assembly unit in Delhi’s suburb of Noida on Tuesday night. Local police said workers reported breathing problems and a burning sensation in their eyes. Some of the workers fainted, which led to operations being halted and the affected employees being taken to a local hospital. They were discharged yesterday morning.
■AUSTRALIA
Lost man drives 600km
An 81-year-old man who became lost on an early morning drive to the shops and ended up almost 600km away told police he failed to stop because he “liked to drive.” Eric Steward was visiting friends in Yass in New South Wales, when he left to buy a newspaper at about 7:30am on Monday. But after taking a wrong turn on the highway, he drove for more than eight hours before stopping police to ask for directions near Geelong in Victoria. He said yesterday he could not remember what he was thinking during the drive. “I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew it was somewhere, and with a bit of luck I would eventually find my wife again,” he said.
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