 | PerspectiveVolume LIV | 
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Sunday August 17, 2003 |
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| Perspective is a weekly features of unorthodox news reports from around the globe. Some of the reports serve to prove the point that we as Nigerians are not as unique as we may think. To put any news report in Perspective please send a note to perpective@ekiti.com | ||
Headlines
Man Cuts Off Own Penis to Cure Sex Addiction "The man called a friend around eight o'clock to say he'd done something stupid," police said in a statement. He had been drinking vodka to pluck up courage for the amateur surgery. Police arrived to discover the blood-soaked man, 41, in his apartment and his organ under the kitchen table. Emergency services rushed the man and his penis to a nearby hospital. Police said the man did not want his penis to be reattached but were unable to say if doctors had complied with his wishes.
91-year-old Convicted Robber Behind Bars Again The 91-year-old Texas man is back behind bars, accused of robbing his third bank in five years. Police say Rountree walked into a branch of First American Bank in Abilene about 10 a.m. Tuesday, demanded money from a teller and passed over a large envelope with "ROBBERY" written on it. He left in a car parked near the bank, but a witness got the license plate, which police tracked to an address in Goldthwaite, 110 miles southeast of Abilene. About a half-hour later, Rountree was pulled over by officers 16 miles south of Abilene on U.S. 84 on his way home. Rountree was jailed on a charge of bank robbery. Bail was set at $150,000. On Dec. 9, 1998, one week before his 87th birthday, Rountree was arrested in Biloxi, Miss., minutes after he robbed a bank. He was eventually given three years probation, fined $260 and told to leave Mississippi. In October 1999, he was arrested outside a NationsBank in Pensacola, Fla., after giving a teller a note that said "ROBBERY" written in red ink and telling her, "Give me the $100s." He was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to three years in prison, becoming the oldest inmate in the Florida prison system. Abilene Police Sgt. Mike Perry said about $2,000 was taken in Tuesday's robbery.
Man Bites Off Girlfriend's Nose but Keeps Her Love
Judge Beatrix Homann said on Thursday her court in the western city of Hanover had sentenced the 26-year-old man to 18 months in jail for the assault, but that his partner, 50, had forgiven him. "I still love this man," the judge quoted the woman, who has had six operations to build a synthetic nose, as saying at the hearing on Tuesday. "He was just drunk," Homann told Reuters.
Mistaken text message leads to marriage Paul Bishop, 30, was intrigued when he received a mystery message which read: "26, ski instructor, GSOH, 36-26-28ish and brunette." Mr Bishop, from Royston, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, replied: "Tell me more." After a flurry of text messages between Mr Bishop and Jo Hartley, 28, of Leicester, romance blossomed and the pair will tie the knot next Saturday. The love affair began in April 2001 when Miss Hartley mistakenly sent the joke text message to his phone. She said: "I was supposed to send a message to a mate at work and I had written his number down but got it wrong by one digit and it landed on Paul's phone. "I've no idea how we got to this stage. The message could have landed on anyone's phone. "But we are just so well matched that it seems like it must be fate or something." The couple still have the original text message as a memento of their chance romance. Mr Bishop said: "I was slightly surprised to say the least when I received the text. "I assumed somebody had got the wrong number but just for a laugh sent a message back. "I never believed in fate before, but I definitely do now." The couple will marry at St John the Baptist Church in Royston before flying to the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon.
Thief uses Honeybees as escape sheild K-mart store security workers followed the shoplifting suspect into a bathroom. When they opened the door, they were buzzed by about 100 bees. "He probably started yelling 'Bees! Bees,' then created this big diversion and got away," said Commander John DeGonia, of the Sedalia Police Department. "He must have walked into the store with them in a jar or a container." Store employees used bug spray to contain the bees and nobody was injured. The thief got away with about $60 worth of CDs, perfume, batteries and a pair of scissors, DeGonia said.
Fisherman's toes replace lost fingers Colin Thomas, 58, from Swansea, south Wales, lost all eight fingers when both his hands were caught in a roller at a steel plant. He feared his fishing days were over because he could not hold a rod, nor could he reel in his catch, without fingers. But surgeons came to the rescue in a 13-hour operation to take a toe from each foot to transplant onto his right hand. Colin is absolutely delighted with the result. "I'm just so thrilled that the surgeons were able to give me the chance to go fishing again," he said. "I just love the sport - but it is impossible without fingers. The toe transplant means I can be out there with my rod again. "I never dreamed surgeons could do something like this. The doctors were just amazing. "It means I can bait the line, grip the rod and reel in the catch." Colin, from Cockett, has bought a boat from the £100,000 compensation he got from steel giant Corus for the accident. His hands were trapped in a roller, and he lost all his fingers but kept both thumbs. The father-of-two was in hospital for seven weeks recovering from his terrible injuries and had to have more than 20 operations. Plastic surgeons Philip Sykes and Hamish Laing amputated the toes next to the big toes on each foot and transplanted them into his right hand. Doctors told him he was the first person in Britain to have two toes transplanted onto his hand. Toe-to-hand surgery is one of the most technically demanding microsurgical operations - and the blood vessels were joined up with 12 tiny stitches using fibres narrower than human hair. Colin, a keen angler since he was nine-years-old now goes out fishing almost every day in his new £20,000 boat called Chorus Girl, fishing mainly for bass just off the Gower coast. He is able to hold the rod steady with his left hand even though he has no fingers on it. He has made a kind of a glove which attaches to a Velcro pad on the rod, allowing him to keep control, while the thumb and two toes on his right hand give him enough control to bring in the catch. "I'm enjoying my fishing again but I always need one of my mates to go out with me," Colin explained. "I couldn't cope with the boat on my own if there was an emergency. "People stare at me but I've got used to that - and I always joke that I'm the only man who can pick his nose with his toes."
82-year-old man charged with making child porn The material, which includes photographs, negatives, slides and magazines, dates back to the 1950s and appears to go through to the 1990s, Staff Inspector Bruce Smollet of the sex crimes unit told a news conference yesterday. "The majority of the images are of children between the ages of 3 and 12, some of whom are engaged in explicit sexual activity with other children or adults," he said. Eighty-two-year-old Kurt Frenkel is charged with possession and making child pornography. Frenkel, a short man whose bony frame barely filled out his jail-issued, orange jumpsuit, appeared in court yesterday and was remanded in custody until tomorrow. Frenkel appeared confused and indicated to the judge he was hard of hearing. He has not retained a lawyer. Smollet said police have released pictures of the accused, including one from 1966, in the hope someone might recognize him. Frenkel was born and raised in Germany and immigrated to Canada in 1948. He has since become a Canadian citizen and "we have information that he has travelled extensively during the 1970s and 1980s to Western Europe," including Denmark, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Police allege that some of the pictures of children may have been taken at nudist resorts in Europe. Investigators also want to talk with anyone who has known Frenkel in Canada, Smollet said. Officers brought a "small sampling" of the seized material — three clear bags filled mostly with yellow slide cases but also a poster-size blowup of naked children — to police headquarters yesterday. The entire amount would likely fill 15 more bags. "What is unusual in this day and age is it doesn't appear that Frenkel had access to a computer, so all of these images are what we would call hard copy. It does not appear that they were stored electronically in any way," said Smollet. Police allege some of the images are Frenkel's own work behind the lens. Photo equipment, including "a large quantity of cameras and darkroom supplies," was also seized after police searched Frenkel's Bloor St. E. apartment last Friday. So far none of the images appears to have been taken in that apartment, "but we've only really scratched the surface of starting to examine these images," said Smollet
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A burglar who took a nap after breaking into an elderly woman's house in Amsterdam was arrested Sunday after she found him asleep on her couch.
The burglar slipped in through a window and combed the house for valuables before settling down for a snooze, police said. He was rumbled at about 6 a.m. when the woman found him in her living room and called the police. "The police came and he was still asleep. They woke him up," Amsterdam police spokesman Rob van der Veen said. The drowsy burglar, who was found with some of the woman's jewelry, admitted to police he had broken into the house
Acrobat Falls to Death in Circus Eva Garcia, 38, appeared to lose her grip on the loop she was holding while sliding down a wire during a circus performance last Friday. She fell and landed on her head in the circus arena in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, eastern England. She died a few hours later in hospital. Police said the case was "non suspicious" but local Environmental Health officials said they were investigating whether an equipment failure may have caused the acrobat to fall. "One of the areas we will look at is how the equipment was used," a spokesman said. "That equipment is used for other performances as well and there might be lessons to learn." The accident occurred while Garcia was performing an act inspired by the computer game heroine Lara Croft as part of the Hippodrome's circus show. "She was a fantastic performer and it has been a great loss for everyone who knew her," Hippodrome producer Peter Jay told Reuters Monday.
Waiter takes revenge on "sturborn" customer Police said Jonathon Voeltner and two others went to the home of a family who had complained about his service earlier that evening. The group then served a smorgasbord of eggs, flour, maple syrup and toilet paper on the family's lawn. Darlene Keller was dining at the restaurant Friday night with her family and parents when she asked for vegetables to accompany her steak dinner. "We don't have any vegetables," Voeltner yelled at her, "I can bring you a baked potato or French fries," according to the police report. Darlene's husband, Wayne, insisted that the waiter bring her some vegetables. Voeltner returned with a small salad. The Kellers called the manager, who apologized for the waiter's behavior and cooked Darlene Keller a plate of broccoli and cauliflower. Meanwhile, Voeltner planned his revenge. "He had his girlfriend, a minor, follow the family home when they left the restaurant to get their address," said Corona Police Sgt. Jerry Rodriguez. "When he got off work she picked him up with his 17- and 10-year-old brothers." After a quick trip to the grocery store, Voeltner, his oldest brother and girlfriend went to the Kellers home and threw eggs against the house, plastered trees with toilet paper and sprinkled flour and maple syrup on the lawn. They then rang the doorbell several times and about 1 a.m. and waited to see the Kellers' reaction. Within minutes, the police arrested Voeltner and the others. The 10-year-old was not charged since he remained in a car during the incident, Rodriquez said. The three were charged with misdemeanor vandalism and are due in court on July 24. Meanwhile, Sizzler said it has fired Voeltner.
Man Fails Alcohol Test, But His Dog Passes Police said the 47-year-old man failed to perform any of the required actions, only to be upstaged by his West Highland white terrier who executed all of the commands given perfectly, including a 360 degree turn as his master staggered and fell. At the conclusion of the uneven contest, the supervising doctor announced, "Man: fail; dog: pass."
Doc sued for surgically inserting screwdriver in patient's spine Rosalinda Iturralde, the sister of the patient who died last month, filed suit against Dr. Robert Ricketson. It was at least the eighth time Ricketson has been sued for malpractice, attorneys said. According to the suit, filed Monday, when Arturo Iturralde underwent spine surgery in 2001, Ricketson had already had his medical license suspended in Oklahoma and revoked in Texas. His license was under review in Hawaii. After the surgery began, the lawsuit claims, the doctor realized the rod he planned to insert was missing. The plaintiff says Ricketson used a hacksaw to cut a stainless steel screwdriver, then tightened it into place in the patient's spine. Days later, the screwdriver snapped in half and Iturralde again underwent surgery for its removal. A nurse who later found it in the trash notified the family, attorneys said. Iturralde underwent more surgeries, but eventually became a paraplegic. Rosalinda Iturralde contends her brother died June 18 at age 76 because of complications from the surgery. Efforts to find an address or phone number for Ricketson, 48, were unsuccessful. He applied for a medical license in Kansas last year, but later withdrew the application.
Girl weds dog to break 'evil spell' The girl, Karnamoni Handsa, had to be married quickly because she had a tooth rooted to her upper gum, which is considered a bad omen by her Santhal tribe in the remote village of Khanyhan, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Calcutta. "Members of the village jury asked us to get her married to a dog or to face the bad omen," the girl's father was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. The tribe elders said the marriage would not affect the girl's life, and that she would be free to marry again later and did not need to divorce the dog. "It will not spoil her future. We will marry her off to eligible bachelor when she grows up," the girl's mother told AFP. The wedding - which took place on 11 June - was attended by more than 100 guests, who danced to the beating of drums and drank home-made liquor. "I have no regret in marrying the dog Bacchan. I am fond of the dog who moves around our locality," the girl told the AFP. "Bacchan is a stray dog who survives on left-overs. I will take care of the dog," she added. Indian newspapers reported that local police officials had ordered an inquiry into the incident. The Santhals - most of whom are sharecroppers - are a large tribe living in the states of West Bengal and neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand
Forged Notes Found in Central Bank Vault The country's central bank said on Wednesday it had found fake currency worth about $850 in its high-security vault and had suspended four employees suspected of a racket. "Crime, forgery and cheating have become so rampant in the country that the central bank should better look for other instruments -- say, the pied piper of Hamelin -- to clear it of all the rats," said a commercial banker who declined to be identified. The central bank, which has ordered banks to change soiled and torn currency notes, discovered the forgery as it was changing notes itself. Many Bangladesh currency notes have become so dirty and smelly that even fishmongers refuse to accept them. The central bank, which had threatened to deny branch licenses to banks that would not comply, had set up its own special counters to exchange unusable notes. "Forged notes amounting 50,000 taka were detected when a bundle of fresh notes was handed to a client," said Abdullah Al Mamun, an executive director of the central bank. "This has badly damaged the central bank's reputation of being the country's financial guardian." Four bank employees have been suspended and a special inquiry was looking for other suspects, Mamun said. He added the bank would take stern action against anyone found involved in the forgery. "We have been getting forged notes for many months now but relevant authorities hardly took any step to find out the culprits," said a second commercial banker who wanted to remain anonymous. "Now they have invaded the heart of the banking system." Even if they overcome criminal records, the perpetrators will have a tough time finding new jobs in the banking sector: The World Bank earlier this week asked Bangladesh to fire about half of the 61,000 people employed by the country's four state-run commercial banks as a first step in reforming its financial sector.
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