Friday 31 October 2008

Mother of Chinese girl killed in fall from balcony arrives, The Australian, 31 October 2008. Additional reporting.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/mother-of-balcony-fall-girl-arrives/story-e6frg6o6-1111117906055

Mother of Chinese girl killed in fall from balcony arrives

Reporter
Brisbane
THE mother of a Chinese student who was allegedly raped at knife-point and murdered arrived in Sydney yesterday and visited the apartment from which her only daughter fell to her death.
The woman, described as a successful Chinese businesswoman, was accompanied by the girl's stepfather, who was later taken to Glebe morgue to identify her body.
Within an hour of their arrival, the couple were escorted through the Waterloo apartment where the 18-year-old girl was allegedly raped three times before falling from a third-storey balcony on Sunday.
Lawyer David Sheen, acting on behalf of the dead girl's family, said the mother was a famous businesswoman who ran a supermarket before earthquakes struck her home province in China. "So she lost her home, her business and now she's lost her daughter," Mr Sheen said.
He said a funeral would probably take place in Australia, while the student's ashes would be taken home with her mother.
As the mother visited the apartment, the 26-year-old man accused of the murder and of raping the girl's boyfriend and forcing two of her friends to perform indecent acts on each other, declined to appear in Central Local Court.
Brendan David Dennison, who was arrested in Redfern on Wednesday night, remained in the cells below the court after being charged with 21 offences.
He was arrested about 4 1/2 hours after detectives released CCTV footage of him entering the apartment building.
Sources from the Redfern community said yesterday he had come to Sydney from Boggabilla, in northern NSW, about 10 months ago.
They said he had drifted through accommodation in the inner-city suburbs of Redfern and Waterloo.
Mr Dennison was charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on the woman's 19-year-old boyfriend, who also fell from the balcony and may not recover from spinal, leg and pelvic injuries.
According to court documents, Mr Dennison allegedly sexually assaulted the woman three times and her boyfriend twice at knife-point during an hour-long ordeal.
The lone male victim was allegedly forced to perform indecent acts with his girlfriend, and then with all three women, before being further forced to commit another act with Mr Dennison, the documents said.
The court documents also allege that Mr Dennison used his tongue to touch the anus of the male captive at one point during the ordeal.
One woman was robbed of her wallet containing $120, while Mr Dennison allegedly robbed another of $50. Mr Dennison is also accused of aggravated break and enter, threatening two women with actual bodily harm, and illegally detaining the four victims. His lawyer did not apply for bail and the accused was remanded into custody.
Magistrate Allan Moore ordered that Mr Dennison give a DNA sample to police within 14 days and issued a suppression order on the identities of the victims.
Mr Dennison will face Central Local Court on December 11.
Additional reporting: John Stapleton

Out of jail, jockey Chris Munce focuses on family and career The Australian 31 October 2008



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/out-of-jail-munce-jockeys-for-career/story-e6frg7mf-1111117905819

Out of jail, jockey Chris Munce focuses on family and career

NOT many prisoners hold a press conference on the day they are released from jail. But yesterday, wearing a smart striped suit, a beaming Chris Munce, one of Australia's leading jockeys, did just that.
A couple of hours earlier, Munce had left Sydney's Silverwater jail, in jeans and a T-shirt, after spending 13 months behind bars in Australia following six months in Hong Kong.
Arriving at his old stomping ground, Sydney's Randwick racecourse, Munce shook hands with some of his many friends in the racing industry. He then read a prepared statement to the media, declining to answer any questions.
The Melbourne Cup-winning hoop was arrested by anti-corruption officials in Hong Kong in July 2006 carrying almost $50,000 worth of Hong Kong dollars in his pocket and with a piece of paper allegedly relating to bets on races.
Munce was found guilty of selling racing tips and jailed in Hong Kong in March last year. Under an agreement brokered by government officials, he was transferred to Australia six months later.
Munce said his two goals in life now were to spend time with his wife and three children and to resume his racing career.
"I have no doubt I will return to the top and race many winners," he said. "I feel refreshed and reinvigorated, positive and excited about what the future holds."
Munce, 39, said the past months had been tough for him and his family, and he could barely describe the relief he felt at being free.
He paid tribute to his "remarkable" wife, Cathy, who he said had been an inspiration and source of strength, as well as to his children, who he said had come through the ordeal well.
"A man could not be more proud of his children than I am," he said.
Munce could be riding again within weeks, depending on the outcome of a stewards inquiry by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The inquiry is separate to the judicial procedures he has undergone, and jurisdictions around the world respect penalties against jockeys made in other countries.
Meanwhile, Munce's jockey licence has lapsed in Australia. Head of Racing NSW Peter V'landys said officials here would be making a decision after the Hong Kong stewards investigation.
"From our perspective, we believe 20 months jail by Australian community standards is harsh and over the top for what he did," Mr V'landys said. "Munce is a very popular jockey of the highest stature, highly regarded by his peers and trainers. Everybody in the racing fraternity in Australia believes he has been treated extremely harshly."

Thursday 30 October 2008

Man to face 21 charges over death of Chinese student The Australian 30 October 2008

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/man-to-face-21-charges-over-death-fall/story-e6frg6nf-1111117898678

Man to face 21 charges over death of Chinese student in balcony fall

A 26-year-old man will appear in court today to face 21 charges, including murder and inciting others to commit an act of indecency, over the death of a Chinese student in a fall from a Sydney apartment balcony.
The man was arrested about 8.20pm yesterday after an extensive manhunt.

The deceased  was one of four Asian students who allegedly endured sexual assaults for up to an hour at the hands of a knife-wielding intruder before she and her boyfriend fell from the balcony in inner city Waterloo about 1.40pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

Her boyfriend,  19, remains in hospital with serious spinal injuries from which police say he may never recover following the fall from the third floor of the apartment complex in Hunter Street.

Strike Force Alma was established to investigate the death of the student  from head and internal injuries. Her family is travelling from China to retrieve her body.

The charges include murder, recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and five counts of aggravated sexual assault.

He was also charged with two counts of inflicting actual bodily harm with intent to have sexual intercourse, assault with act of indecency, two counts of robbery armed with offensive weapon, four counts of detaining person with intent to obtain sexual gratification and four counts of inciting others to commit an act of indecency.

He was refused bail and will appear at Central Local Court today.

His arrest came after detectives released CCTV footage of a man leaving the apartment block.

- with AAP

We're Not Fresh Meat: Muslim Women Hit Back, The Australian, 30 October, 2008

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/were-not-fresh-meat-muslim-women-hit-back/story-e6frg6n6-1111112437012

We're not fresh meat: Muslim women hit back

SYDNEY'S Bankstown might be less than 30 minutes' drive from the Lakemba Mosque, but yesterday it seemed like 1000 years away.
The almost medieval attitude that hailed Taj al-Din al-Hilaly on Friday when he justified his attack on immodest women was put to the sword yesterday in Paul Keating Park.
At the celebration of the end of Ramadan, speaker after speaker condemned Sheik Hilaly for his comments on rape, comparing unveiled women to meat left out to be devoured by rapists.
"I am not fresh meat; he should not compare girls to meat," said one young Muslim woman. "It was totally unacceptable and I am embarrassed by him," said another. Yet another described him as "ignorant, unprofessional, unacceptable".
One senior Islamic woman, Elettra Mehia, a teacher who addressed the Sydney Eid festival in the crowded park, said Muslims did not need someone in a leadership position to incite hatred and violence.
"We need strong leadership to join our community together and solve issues, not to create issues, and certainly not to give an excuse for violent acts against women. It is just wrong," she said.
"No matter what colour or creed, it is just not right. I think the majority of Muslim women would feel this way, it would be unimaginable for them to support him. Being a woman, how could you support that view?"
She said that as an educator she taught children they needed to be responsible for their actions. "This is what a leader should be saying to his male followers, that they should be responsible for their actions."
Among the official events of the festival, organised by the Islamic Charity Project in conjunction with Muslim Youth for Truth, was the awarding of certificates from the High Islamic Council of Australia for those who had passed a series of Islamic instructions.
One of the organisers of the festival, Mohamad Abboud, said the event had been a happy one, with almost everyone opposed to Sheik Hilaly.
"He is not representing the Muslim religion in Australia, he is representing himself," he said. "We are completely against what he has said."
A librarian, Dalal Saad, said she thought the mufti's comments degrading and appalling. "I think he should step down from his position," she said. "The majority of Lebanese Muslim people don't agree with what he said."
Another Muslim woman said she did not think Sheik Hilaly was fit to lead a group of people on a pilgrimage to Mecca, as he will be doing next month.
Local federal member for Bankstown Michael Hatton, who addressed the crowd, described Sheik Hilaly's comments as inappropriate, tasteless and damaging to the way Muslims were seen in Australia. He said he had long hoped the sheik would moderate his views and embrace Australian democratic society, "to make a better place for Australians, a better place for his flock".
He called on the Lebanese Muslim Association, which controls the Lakemba Mosque, to put a stop to the attacks on Australian women emanating from there.

Saturday 25 October 2008

Self-funded retirees slam 'policy on run', Weekend Australian, 25 October, 2008. Page One.






Self-funded retirees slam `policy on run': [1]

Kelly, JoeAuthor InformationView Profile. John Stapleton, Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 25 Oct 2008: 1.

Abstract

"AXA's reaction may well be a knee-jerk response but it's no more so than what the Government has done," he said.
He was "reasonably confident" his $200,000 account with AXA, along with his other investments, could provide an income for him and his wife for the next 19 years -- but he would never cut off his options. "Every investment we have has lost," he said.
Association of Independent Retirees president Theresa Kot said: "It doesn't take a retiree long to get on the panic pathway, or to feel hopeless. They thought it was their money and suddenly it's frozen. There's no one they can turn to."

Full Text

Friday 24 October 2008

Leak soon to leave intensive care ward, The Australian, 24 October, 2008.

Leak soon to leave intensive care ward

Stapleton, JohnThe Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Oct 2008: 3.
Show highlighting
"He is remaining talkative, but is a bit tired," Dr [Nazih Assaad] said. "You don't get much sleep in intensive care.
[Bill Leak]'s son Johannes told The Australian yesterday that "considering what he's been through", his father was doing well. "We're all pretty relieved. His limbs are in working order, and he is chatting away.
"But he's heading in the right direction," Johannes, 27, said.

Thursday 23 October 2008

Leak wakes worrying about his drawing hand, and dog, The Australian, 23 October, 2008.



Leak wakes worrying about his drawing hand, and dog

Madden, James. John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 23 Oct 2008: 3.
Show highlighting
Following further bleeding, he underwent a second brain operation on Sunday. The pressure inside his head is also being monitored with a probe. "I am pleased to say he is doing very, very well," Dr [Neurosurgeon Nazih Assaad] said. "His immediate family, including his mother, is by his side. He is very well loved. He is awake. He knows where he is. He is talking and is apparently in good spirits, chatting to the nurses. He is interacting appropriately and appears to be thinking sharply.
The artist's son Johannes told The Australian that while his father "still has a long way to go", the signs were promising. "I don't want people to think that he will be bounding out of hospital any time soon," Johannes said.