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Trader strikes
RM9m jackpot
PETALING JAYA: A 40-year-old business-
man walked away with RM9,702,223 as the
first winner of Magnum Corporation Sdn
Bhd’s Magnum 4D Jackpot game.
Using the jackpot’s System Bet 4, he
won with a combination based on his car
number, his child’s birth certificate number
and two other numbers. The combination
was 1741 + 9062.
“I was shocked that I won the grand
prize and I am so happy. It is only the second
time that I bought the Magnum 4D Jackpot
but I have been a loyal Magnum customer
for over 20 years,” said the winner in a
statement yesterday.
The lottery’s first prize jackpot is equal to
a minimum of RM2 million upfront plus 55%
of the lottery prize pool, which was equal to
55% of the lottery’s total sales collection.
A Magnum spokesperson, meanwhile,
said the winner created history by being the
first Magnum 4D Jackpot 1st prize winner.
Since the Magnum 4D Jackpot game
was launched in Sept 23 this year, three
players have claimed the Jackpot 2 prize
and the winning stakes have been increas-
ing rapidly due to high demand, according
to the statement.
Each Magnum 4D Jackpot bet line is sold
for RM2 at all selling agents.
Decision on Herald application
on Nov 10
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday
fixed Nov 10 to arrive at a decision on whether to
set aside or uphold its own order in allowing eight
parties to intervene in the matter relating the use
of the word “Allah” in the weekly publications of
The Herald magazine.
Justice Lau Bee Lan set the date in chambers
after hearing submissions from the contesting par-
ties on the Kuala Lumpur Roman Catholic Church’s
application to set aside the court’s order.
Counsel S. Selvarajah, who is representing the
church, told the media that the church had submit-
ted to court that based on the Federal Court ruling
on Sept 3 in the case of Majlis Agama Islam Selangor
vs Bong Boon Chuen & 150 others, the High Court
had no jurisdiction to allow intervention in judicial
review proceedings under Order 15 Rule 6(2)(b) of
the Rules of the High Court 1980. – Bernama
Music shop ordered to return
blind singer’s RM100
KUALA LUMPUR: Blind singer Alfred Ho yes-
terday managed to get back his RM100 paid to
a musical instrument shop after referring his
case to the Tribunal for Consumer Claims.
Ho, who had recorded an album before, said
he was thankful for the outcome and advised
consumers who felt cheated to refer their
complaints to the tribunal.
“Although I’m blind, I still came here to fight
for my rights. My message is, those with sight
should be able to do more for themselves when
they feel cheated,” he said.
Ho, who now sings at a club, said he brought
his complaint to the tribunal when Woh Fatt
Music House Sdn Bhd refused to give back his
money for a guitar case bought from the shop.
Tribunal president Rahazlan Affandi Abdul
Rahim ordered the shop to pay back Ho within
14 days while Ho should immediately return the
case after receiving the payment. – Bernama
Police quiz Ronnie Liu’s aide
by Karen Arukesamy
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SHAH ALAM: Selangor executive
councillor Ronnie Liu’s personal
assistant Daniel Chong was called
in by police for questioning yes-
terday on alleged underground
activities at Liu’s office.
Police from the Commercial
Crimes Investigation Depart-
ment called Chong to the Umno
building here at about 9.30am
yesterday.
Chong was released at about
2pm, according to an official.
Denying the allegations, Liu
said: “There is no such activity
going on. The police called Chong
in for questioning and we are
cooperating with them.”
He said this at a press confer-
ence after an exco meeting at the
state secretariat yesterday.
Religious duty ... Supporters of Pakatan Rakyat pray in front of the State Secretariat during the state assembly sitting yesterday.
Some 300 opposition members had earlier escorted the 28 Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen to the assembly hall.
Engineers say bridge tragedy could have been avoided
by Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: A wooden or
concrete beam bridge instead of
the suspension bridge that gave
way over a river at Kuala Dipang,
Kampar could have avoided the
tragedy which left one pupil dead
and two others missing.
The missing pupils are (from
left) M. Devadarshini and V. Dir-
yasree.
Two civil engineers contacted
by theSun, who have expertise
in building bridges, agreed that
the suspension bridge which
collapsed at Kuala Dipang was
poorly engineered without safety
in mind after viewing photos
published in newspapers.
“The anchorage of suspension
bridges is a critical area in such
structures. The pole in this case
was not embedded deep enough.
The reinforcement of the pole ap-
pears to be done on weak soil too.
“Such structures are not advis-
able for such ground as soil on
river banks can be unpredictable.
There is high risk of soil failure
due to the moisture and water
| THURSDAY OCTOBER 29 2009
However, when Liu tried to
contact Chong, the call went
unanswered.
Meanwhile, state executive
councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar
said the Selangor government
will bear the full expense of send-
ing murdered Indonesian maid
Mautik Hani’s remains back to
her country in two or three days’
time.
Conveying the administra-
tion’s condolences to the victim’s
family, he said, “The state had
also decided to contribute a token
to the victim’s family.
“We are in contact with the
Indonesian embassy and they
welcomed our aid,” he said.
The arrangements will be made
through an agency here, he said.
“This is an isolated case and
we urge the police to conduct
thorough investigations into
from the river,” said the engineer
whose expertise is in building
bridges and spoke on the condi-
tion of anonymity.
“If at all it has to be built then
it should be done with proper soil
testing and solid ground anchor-
ing to offset the expected loading
on the bridge. Safety features
should also be installed in case of
a failure,” he said.
“Although a hanging bridge
may appear more ideal to spice
up such boot camp sites, a simple
beam bridge would have been
more appropriate.”
Another engineer, who wanted
to be only known as Raj, said
suspension bridges should be
inspected regularly for safety.
He expressed shock when told
this despicable crime,” Xavier
said.
The 36-year-old maid from
Surabaya, who was allegedly
abused and found locked up in
a toilet with multiple injuries on
her face and body, died in the
intensive care unit of the Tengku
Ampuan Rahimah Hospital at
about 10am on Monday.
Mautik was rescued by police
from a house in Taman Sentosa
on Oct 20 following a tip-off.
A married couple believed to
be her employers have been ar-
rested by police and remanded
pending investigations.
District police chief Asst Comm
Mohamad Mat Yusop said the
case had been reclassified under
section 302 of the Penal Code as
murder.
It was initially investigated
under section 326 for voluntarily
the ill-fated bridge had failed
barely a week after it was opened
for use.
“There is clearly building neg-
ligence here. Bridges are not built
to fail just days later. The claims
that the schoolchildren were
jumping on the bridge which
added to the load on the bridge is
no excuse too. When a bridge is
erected, all these factors should
be considered for it to withstand
such stress,” he said.
Former Perak mentri besar
Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamal-
luddin, who was at the site of
the mishap on Tuesday to offer
his condolences to the families of
the victims, also shared similar
views on inspecting the suspen-
sion bridge.
Mohd Nizar, who is a qualified
mechanical engineer, said the
materials used for constructing
the bridge were satisfactory but
the foundation on which it was
mounted appeared shoddy and
flawed.
“The poles which hold the
bridge across were planted into
shallow ground. It should have
been driven deeper and reinforced
causing grievous hurt by danger-
ous weapons.
Meanwhile, Selangor is also
organising a Jom Kerja (let’s
work) employment roadshow
for unemployed graduates, re-
trenched employees and single
mothers next month.
State executive councillor
Dr Halimah Ali said the state
had identified more than 20,000
job vacancies in various indus-
trial companies and unemployed
youths and graduates can use this
opportunity to find a suitable job
at the roadshow.
The roadshows will be held on
Nov 7 and 8 at Dewan Sekinchan,
Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam and
on Nov 14 at Dewan Pandamaran
from 9am to 5pm.
Halimah said some of the
companies will also be holding
walk-in interviews.
with more piling and concrete.
“There is also the load bear-
ing factor of a bridge and the soil
strength where it stands which all
must be tested before it is certified
fit for use.
“All those involved in the
building, planning and certifica-
tion of the fallen bridge must be
hauled up by the authorities to
explain themselves,” he said.
Nizar also said more teachers
should have been put on duty to
monitor the students as he learnt
there were not enough to manage
the unity camp.
The students were crossing
the bridge from their camp site,
believed to be in alphabetic order
of their names, to a shed next to
the school for supper at 10.30pm
when the incident occurred.
Police said they are also
probing witness accounts which
alleged that the students were
jumping on the bridge before it
gave way.
Although the authorities said
the bridge was opened several
weeks ago, villagers in the sur-
rounding areas said it was barely
a week since it was in use.