Singapore opposes Olympic games boycott

Singapore on Tuesday voiced its strong opposition to the calls to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games in August this year.

“The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports opposes the call from some quarters to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games,” said the ministry in a statement on Tuesday night.

Singapore’s Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said in the statement that a boycott will mean many missed opportunities for better cross-border and inter-cultural understanding.

It will also be a great disappointment for all the athletes who have trained so hard to fulfill their dreams of competing in the Olympics, he added.

The minister stressed that sports should be separated from politics.

“I believe it is vital to keep sporting competitions and politics separate. We must not let politics obstruct the celebration of sports and all that it stands for,” he said. (story)

South Korea big winners at Asian Film Awards

South Korea dominated the Asian Film Awards for the second year running, with “Secret Sunshine”, a tragic movie about death and faith, taking home three top prizes including best picture.

“Secret Sunshine” — the story of a widow who moves to her dead husband’s hometown with her son, and then turns to evangelical Christianity when her child is abducted and murdered — also won for best director and actress.

South Korean actress Jeon Do-Yeon, who won the top acting prize at last year’s Cannes film festival for her performance as the suffering woman, again took home top honours in Hong Kong late Monday.

“This is beyond my expectations,” she said.

“Secret Sunshine” director Lee Chang-dong bested Taiwan’s Ang Lee, whose erotic World War II spy thriller “Lust, Caution” went home with just one award — a best actor trophy for Hong Kong veteran Tony Leung Chiu-wai. (story)

Singaporean drug mule jailed 5 years

A Singaporean man who swallowed more than A$500,000 worth of heroin and then tried to smuggle it into Australia, was jailed five years by a court in Brisbane on Tuesday. Ng Teck Boon, 40, had 91 packets of heroin in his stomach when he was arrested at Brisbane International Airport on June 27 last year, The the Supreme Court in Brisbane was told.

He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, according to a report carried on news.com.au.

Commonwealth prosecutor Paul Huygens told the court that Ng had arrived on a flight from Hong Kong and was grilled by Customs officers after looking ‘nervous’.

He quickly admitted to having swallowed a large amount of heroin before boarding the flight.

He was arrested by Australian Federal Police and spent two days in hospital while he passed out all the packages, said the online report. (story)