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Asia on my Mind
with Hiran Balasuriya
Blue roses, stringent drugs laws, and
kidnapping for sex
Monday, February 11, 2008
Just What the World Needs, Part II
Not to be outdone by China's glowing pigs, a Japanese company,
Suntory Ltd., claims to have designed the world's first ever genetically-
modified blue roses.
The craze for oddly-coloured flowers has evidently not died down in
Tokyo since rainbow roses were imported from the Netherlands, creating
a popular Christmas gift.
The blue roses (more purple than blue) will be on sale next year. Suntory
Ltd. predicts that they will not be cheap.
Education Dedication
In Tokyo, Japan, eight boys aged 12 to 13 were confronted by one of
their teachers in the school playground and taken hostage.
The teacher forced the boys to remove their trousers and underwear,
wielding a knife to express his urgency. Two of the kids managed to
escape, getting help. Unfortunately, one of the boys suffered minor cuts.
To add insult to injury, the teacher then stole one of their cell phones,
and prank called the boy's house.
When asked to comment on the incident, the school could only reply
that the man was “a dedicated teacher”.
By the Laying On of Hands
A doctor in India has been sentenced to life in jail after being caught
filming his patients while they were in the nude and posting his ill-gotten
gains on the internet.
As if this practice were not embarrassing enough, he was also found to
be guilty of luring patients back to his place for more sinister post-
treatment fun.
Three others were sentenced to seven years each for their involvement.
Further charges include criminal intimidation, and kidnapping for sex.
Phnom Penh Phooey
One of the surviving leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime has
requested bail at his genocide trial, stating that he was “not a flight
risk”.
Nuon Chea is being charged with crimes against humanity, by a UN-
backed tribunal. Despite his (alleged) involvement in the massacre of
more than a million Cambodians, Chea insists he will not flee his “beloved
country”.
Severe Drug Laws are a Major Downer
More controversy has been sparked in the United Arab Emirates as the
government starts to enforce more-rigid-than-usual drug laws.
Already, dozens have been detained over trivial offences. A man and his
wife were arrested at Dubai after their flight from London after a rolled-
up cigarette was found stuck to his shoe. He was promptly charged with
possession of 0.003g of cannabis, and then sentenced to four years in
prison.
The litany of similarly questionable cases includes that of the a Swiss
national, now serving a four-year term after three poppy seeds were
found on his clothes, having fallen there while he ate a bread roll at
Heathrow.
In the hope of preventing more of these serious downers, Fair Trials
International has published a comprehensive list of banned substances.
© lizardmagazine.com, 2008
BACK TO HOMEPAGE
with Hiran Balasuriya
Blue roses, stringent drugs laws, and
kidnapping for sex
Monday, February 11, 2008
Just What the World Needs, Part II
Not to be outdone by China's glowing pigs, a Japanese company,
Suntory Ltd., claims to have designed the world's first ever genetically-
modified blue roses.
The craze for oddly-coloured flowers has evidently not died down in
Tokyo since rainbow roses were imported from the Netherlands, creating
a popular Christmas gift.
The blue roses (more purple than blue) will be on sale next year. Suntory
Ltd. predicts that they will not be cheap.
Education Dedication
In Tokyo, Japan, eight boys aged 12 to 13 were confronted by one of
their teachers in the school playground and taken hostage.
The teacher forced the boys to remove their trousers and underwear,
wielding a knife to express his urgency. Two of the kids managed to
escape, getting help. Unfortunately, one of the boys suffered minor cuts.
To add insult to injury, the teacher then stole one of their cell phones,
and prank called the boy's house.
When asked to comment on the incident, the school could only reply
that the man was “a dedicated teacher”.
By the Laying On of Hands
A doctor in India has been sentenced to life in jail after being caught
filming his patients while they were in the nude and posting his ill-gotten
gains on the internet.
As if this practice were not embarrassing enough, he was also found to
be guilty of luring patients back to his place for more sinister post-
treatment fun.
Three others were sentenced to seven years each for their involvement.
Further charges include criminal intimidation, and kidnapping for sex.
Phnom Penh Phooey
One of the surviving leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime has
requested bail at his genocide trial, stating that he was “not a flight
risk”.
Nuon Chea is being charged with crimes against humanity, by a UN-
backed tribunal. Despite his (alleged) involvement in the massacre of
more than a million Cambodians, Chea insists he will not flee his “beloved
country”.
Severe Drug Laws are a Major Downer
More controversy has been sparked in the United Arab Emirates as the
government starts to enforce more-rigid-than-usual drug laws.
Already, dozens have been detained over trivial offences. A man and his
wife were arrested at Dubai after their flight from London after a rolled-
up cigarette was found stuck to his shoe. He was promptly charged with
possession of 0.003g of cannabis, and then sentenced to four years in
prison.
The litany of similarly questionable cases includes that of the a Swiss
national, now serving a four-year term after three poppy seeds were
found on his clothes, having fallen there while he ate a bread roll at
Heathrow.
In the hope of preventing more of these serious downers, Fair Trials
International has published a comprehensive list of banned substances.
© lizardmagazine.com, 2008
BACK TO HOMEPAGE
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