Strange but TRUE - Apr 2006

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Woman tricks herself out of reward

Fri Apr 7, 9:43 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - When a German woman found a wallet containing 1,000 euros (696 pounds) she decided it was better to get a reward from the owner than to keep the money -- even if that meant resorting to extortion, police said on Friday.

"It was a bit stupid. She could just have kept the wallet," said a spokeswoman for police in the southwestern city of Darmstadt. "But she wanted the finder's reward -- and might have got one anyway. But she opted to extort it instead."

Police said the 47-year-old found the owner's phone number in the wallet and told the pensioner she could only have it back for 100 euros "plus 20 euros travel costs".

The owner agreed to the terms, and tipped off police, who arrested the woman with the wallet at the handover point.

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Tanzanian legislator wants errant investors spanked

Thu Apr 6, 5:14 AM ET

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The Tanzanian government should add spanking to its list of possible punishments for errant investors, local media on Thursday quoted a member of parliament saying.

"Spanking should be added in the list of punishments to deal with investors who are not abiding by the laid down laws," The Citizen newspaper quoted legislator Masolwa Cosmas Masolwa as saying during a parliamentary debate on a bill to strengthen laws that regulate banks and other financial institutions.

"A stroke or two on offenders would humiliate them and whip them back in line," the state-owned Daily News also quoted Masolwa, who belongs to the ruling party, as saying.

The east African nation's political stability since independence in 1961 and healthy recent economic growth has made it popular with foreign investors who have poured more money into Tanzania recently than into neighbouring Kenya or Uganda.

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'Karate kids' rescued after Japan mountain quest

Thu Apr 6, 4:42 AM ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - Three Singaporeans were found safe on Thursday after getting lost on what they said was a mission to find a legendary karate expert on a snowy mountainside in Japan.

One of the three men told police in Hirosaki, near the northern tip of Japan's main island, that they had come to Japan after his dying father, a martial arts expert, had ordered them to seek out the karate teacher, TV Asahi said on its Web site.

"Japan looked so small on the world map that we thought we would be able to find him straight away," one of the group, aged between 25 and 50, was quoted as saying.

All three were dressed in light clothing and huddling in an abandoned car when they were rescued from the slopes of 1,600-metre (5,249-ft) Mount Iwaki in the early hours of the morning after calling for help on a mobile phone, a police spokesman said. "Neither police nor local people know of anyone running karate classes in this area," the spokesman added.

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Singapore doctor jailed for secret lewd pictures

Tue Apr 4, 11:32 PM ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore doctor who used his mobile phone camera to secretly film up the skirts of women was jailed for two months, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Straits Times said the 41-year-old doctor was persistently walking close to a 20-year-old woman at a supermarket, carrying a grocery basket with his mobile phone facing up inside the basket, and positioning it close to the victim's legs.

Earlier that day the consultant radiologist had taken shots of his 25-year-old female colleague who had brought documents for him.

Last year the doctor also used his mobile phone to stealthily record a video of a woman showering. The defence lawyer told the court that the doctor had committed the offences out of stress.

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NZ police union wants ban on burqa-wearing drivers

Wed Apr 5, 5:39 AM ET

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's police union wants to ban Muslim women wearing burqas from driving for safety reasons and also because criminals may start using burqas to hide their identity, local media reported on Wednesday.

"We deal with criminals who will very quickly cotton on to the fact that it's to their advantage to be driving around wearing burqas," Police Association president Greg O'Connor told domestic newsagency New Zealand Press Association (NZPA).

The call for a ban follows a new police policy on burqas which stipulates that women police officers should be responsible for confirming the identity of Muslim women wearing burqas, as they can not reveal their faces to men under Islamic culture.

O'Connor said all motorists should be treated equally and drivers should not hide their identity.

"I think the issue is if women are that strongly in their beliefs around the burqa, then perhaps they shouldn't drive," he told Radio New Zealand.

President of the Federation of Islamic Associations said police were within their rights to ask a Muslim woman driver to reveal her identity, but to impose a ban on burqa-wearing drivers was excessive.

"If the police have strong suspicions about a person who is a driver and (they are) wearing a burqa, then they are well within their rights to stop the car and do their investigation in line with the police policy," Javed Khan told NZPA.

"But saying that a person who is wearing a burqa cannot drive a car -- I think that is going a bit far."

Muslims make up less than one percent of New Zealand's four million population.

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New Zealand teenager takes car on 500km test drive

Wed Apr 5, 1:35 AM ET

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A test drive meant more than just a spin around the block for a New Zealand teenager who took a car he was considering buying on a 500 km drive.

Police in Timaru, about 100 km southwest of Christchurch, said the 16-year-old boy returned the car after taking it on the lengthy test drive over the weekend.

The boy will not face any charges as the owner did not stipulate any conditions for the test drive, police said on Wednesday.

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These boots are made for... hiding 112,000 dollars in coins

Thu Apr 6, 5:01 AM ET

SYDNEY (AFP) - A former worker at the Royal Australian Mint has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from his employer by regularly hiding two-dollar coins in his shoes and walking out of the building.

Prosecutors allege 48-year-old William Bosia Grzeskowiak stole more than 155,000 dollars (112,580 US) from the Canberra mint between April 2005 and February 2006.

Coining hall worker Grzeskowiak literally walked out with about 600 dollars each time by secreting the two-dollar coins in his boots, and sometimes his lunchbox, under the eyes of watchful security guards, they said.

He admitted the theft charge but his lawyers said he would dispute the amount stolen during sentencing hearings later this month.

Grzeskowiak was arrested in southern Victoria state in February after he tried to change a large number of two-dollar coins for notes.

Police said they found more than 100,000 dollars in coins hidden in his mother's garage, and estimate more than 23,000 dollars had been converted into other forms of cash by the time of the arrest.

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Anti-aircraft shell donated to Canadian thrift store

Thu Apr 6, 1:16 PM ET

OTTAWA (AFP) - A not so thoughtful donation to a thrift store in central Manitoba province sparked the rare domestic mobilization of Canada's military bomb squad this week, police officials said.

"Someone had dropped off an old military shell to a local thrift store," Altona police chief Glen Robinson told AFP by telephone.

"I suspect someone was cleaning out their house. I'm sure they had it as a souvenir. It dates back from 1955. They probably didn't know it was active."

The "fairly large" 40 millimeter Bofors anti-aircraft shell was picked up by the military's bomb squad in Winnipeg, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Altona, and detonated over the weekend.

It is rare for the bomb unit, trained for operations abroad, to respond to local calls, officials said.

The rapid-fire 40mm anti-aircraft Bofors cannon, developed in Sweden and used by western allied forces during the Second World War, had a range of about 3,810 meters (12,500 feet).

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Man gets probation for releasing alligator in Los Angeles

Thu Apr 6, 3:25 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A man was sentenced to three years' probation for releasing an alligator into a Los Angeles lake, sparking a massive hunt for the elusive reptile, prosecutors said.

The sentencing of one of two men charged in connection with unleashing the toothy beast came as the alligator, nicknamed Reggie, remained at large in the second largest US city more than eight months after his release.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Robert Kawahara also ordered Anthony Brewer, 36, to spend 45 days working to clear litter on California's freeways after he pleaded no contest to violating the state's Fish and Game Code.

A second suspect in the case, former Los Angeles police Officer Todd Natow, 42, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on 14 misdemeanor charges related to Reggie's release.

Natow and Brewer were arrested last August after authorities served search warrants at their homes, which are located within six miles of Lake Machado, where Reggie was released.

Authorities believe Brewer owned the alligator and gave it to Natow, and that Natow put it in Lake Machado because the animal had become too big for a backyard pond.

State law forbids possessing or transporting live alligators for private pet ownership, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

Reggie -- who was last seen in Lake Machado last October -- has eluded capture despite numerous efforts by several "gator-wranglers".

Efforts to catch him were suspended during the winter months, when the cold-blooded reptile was expected to lay low.

The city's Department of Parks and Recreation has incurred more than 155,000 dollars in costs relating to increased security at the park since the alligator was discovered last August, prosecutors said.

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Cheeky monkeys told to get off the phones

Wed Apr 5, 5:21 PM ET

LONDON (AFP) - A troop of mischievous monkeys at London Zoo has had to be retrained after showing too much interest in visitors' mobile phones, officials said.

Visitors who held out the phones to take pictures or video of the squirrel monkeys in their no-barrier enclosure found the inquisitive primates could not resist the devices' ring tones and bright lights.

A short training programme using old mobile phones covered in a sticky substance the monkeys dislike was then developed to prevent the animals trying to grab the phones.

Malcolm Fitzpatrick, curator of mammals at the Zoological Society of London, said: "They soon learned not to touch the phones. They are back to their usual pastimes of sleeping and foraging now."

Squirrel monkeys are native to South America where their status in the wild is threatened. They are used for biomedical research, as pets, and for bait and food.

London Zoo, along with other zoos in England, is currently involved in breeding programmes aimed at increasing numbers of the species.

Opened early last year, the new walk-through enclosure at the zoo has been designed to mimic the forests of Bolivia.

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Satellites lure motorists to danger in Crackpot

Wed Apr 5, 1:04 PM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Motorists using satellite navigation around the sleepy English village of Crackpot are finding themselves being directed to the top of a 30-metre (100-foot) cliff, local residents said.

Cars, minibuses and even big trucks often take the steep, twisty road used by holidaymakers, walkers and sightseers travelling from Swaledale to Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, in the north of England.

But when their GPS systems lure them onto a rough gravel track -- thanks to an apparent programming glitch -- they perilously have to back up close to the edge of the cliff in order to turn round.

"When they get grounded on the small boulders, we're having to go up there in the tractor and pull them out," said Carol Porter, who farms in Crackpot with her husband Steven.

"If we're outside, we try to stop them, but it's a public right of way so we can't put any signs up saying no entry. We want this sorting out before something terrible happens."

Grinton Parish Council, which includes Crackpot, is asking North Yorkshire County Council to look into the problem and see if safety signs could be erected.

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Donkeys more loyal than housewives, says Indian school textbook

Tue Apr 4, 12:53 PM ET

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Housewives and donkeys are much the same except that the beasts of burden are better companions, complain less and are more loyal, according to a school textbook used in India's western state of Rajasthan.

"A donkey is like a housewife. In fact, the donkey is a shade better, for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents' home, you'll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master," Tuesday's Times of India quoted the Hindi-language book as saying.

The book, for 14 year-olds, was approved by the state's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party administration but has sparked protests from its women's unit, the report said.

Shimla Parasher, chief of the party's women's wing, has threatened protests if the "objectionable sections" are not deleted.

The state education department however noted that women were not singled out -- politicians also were rated.

"The same chapter also compares the donkey to politicians, calling the animal thick-skinned," a state education official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Another state education official said the textbook was just an attempt at making school lessons humourous.

"The comparison was made in good humour. However the protests have been taken note of and the education board is in the process of removing it," A.R. Khan, a state education officer, told the newspaper.

Rajasthan state, known for its conservative attitude towards women, has a ratio of 886 females to 1,000 males, according to the 2001 national census.

The ratio is largely attributed to high abortion rates for girls as families use ultrasound tests to identify the sex of a foetus, a practice that is outlawed in India.

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Breasts out of fashion in India obscenity probe

Tue Apr 4, 3:44 AM ET

MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian police are to investigate claims of obscenity after a series of clothing blunders saw catwalk models flash breasts and bottoms at startled audiences at a Mumbai fashion show.

State government officials said they would order the police to look into the bursts of partial nudity that have prompted acres of coverage in the media in this western Indian city.

"We will check if any obscenity has occurred and whether those incidents were mishaps or deliberate," said deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state R.R. Patil.

"If it is found that it was a publicity gimmick, strict action will be taken against the culprits," he told Tuesday's Hindustan Times.

The problems with Mumbai's ready-to-bare collections saw one model's bustier slip to expose her breasts while another revealed her bottom after a problem with a skirt zip.

Although such moments are common at fashion shows, the media had questioned whether designers had conspired to create a stir for the low-key style festival that ended Saturday ahead of a rival event in New Delhi starting Tuesday.

Patil is known for morality-tinged campaigns and has previously cleared bars of dancing girls in the city and overseen strict regulations that have closed many clubs and pubs.