Indian-origin man in Singapore charged for setting off fireworks on Diwali
Singapore: A 43-year-old Indian-origin man was charged on Monday with setting off fireworks in Singapore's Little India precinct during the festival of Diwali in October.
Sivasarvanan Suppiah Murugan faces a charge under the Dangerous Fireworks Act, which prohibits a person to possess or discharge any dangerous fireworks.
Under the Act, he could be jailed for up to two years and fined up to SGD10,000 (7,306 USD) or both.
According to court documents, Murugan allegedly set off a box of fireworks at around 12.35 am on October 27 at the junction of Campbell Lane and Madras Street in the Little India precinct, Today Online newspaper reported.
The police had earlier said that no injuries were reported. It was the second time that day that fireworks were set off in Singapore.
In a separate incident, a 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly setting off fireworks in Jurong West, the housing and industrial estates of Singapore.
Murugan told the court that he intends to plead guilty and will return to hearing on December 31. He remains out on bail of SGD5,000 (USD 3,654).
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
