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28 March 2024

Crazy World: Mum sells toddler to buy new mobile phone

Published

INDIA: A 17-month-old baby boy was sold by a mother for Rs5,000 (Dh350) to pay for a new mobile phone, a pair of jeans, few new tops and cash cards for her phone.

In the extremely curious case in the Indian state of Odisha, the court directed the police to find the child and hand him over to social services since the mother was clearly not capable of handling the responsibility of a child, reports Hindustan Times.

The mother of the child ins 20 years old and a poor daily wage earner. She pleaded guilty and refused to take her son back when she was offered so by the police initially.

 

Boy, 13, fakes his own kidnapping

SINGAPORE: A teenager who wanted to scam S$40,000 in ransom money from his parents in Singapore, plotted his own kidnapping.

The incident came to light when the teenager as well as his car was missing from home and the father found a note which said he would have to pay up if he wanted to see his son alive, reports Asia One.

The father also found some currency missing from home.

After the police were informed, they found the boy hiding at his friend's place with two other boys of the same age. 

The car was traced to a shopping mall and the boys later revealed that they used the money the young boy had stolen from home to buy bicycles for themselves.

 

World's youngest grandma is 23!

ROMANIA: A woman aged merely 23 became the youngest grandmother in the world when her daughter gave birth to  a son recently.

Rifca Stanescu, from the town of Investi, was merely 12 years old when she gave birth to her daughter, Maria, reported Mid-Day quoting ANI.

The great grandmother is aged 40.

In the ROmanian traveller community, it is acceptable to get married at a tender age and have kids.

In fact, a two-year-old is already engaged to 8-year-old local girl.

The grandmother is happy with the new arrival but sad as well as she wanted something different for her daughter. She wanted her daughter to remain in school and get a decent education.

 

Clown abducts, rapes girl, 12, in full costume 

CALIFORNIA: A professional clown has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after DNA evidence tied him to the 2002 rape of a 12-year-old girl he abducted while in full costume.

Orange County District Attorney's spokeswoman Farrah Emami says 43-year-old Jose Guadalupe Jimenez of Anaheim was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony count of forcible lewd acts upon a child under 14 and another felony lewd act charge.

Jimenez was dressed as his clown character "El Tin Marin" when he approached the girl at a Taco Bell in Fullerton. He dragged her into his car, drove her away and raped her in the car.

DNA was gathered from Jimenez for an unrelated corporal injury on a child crime in late 2010, and was linked to the rape in 2011. (AP)

 

Outrage as 14 men who raped 2 girls let off leniently

PARIS: Lenient sentences and acquittals for 14 men accused of gang raping two teenage girls are causing a stir in France, where women's organizations decry what they call a culture of impunity and even politicians from the governing party have expressed shock at the ruling. The prosecutor's office said Friday it would appeal.

On Thursday, a court in Creteil convicted four of the men of repeatedly gang raping one of the girls in a tough neighborhood outside Paris more than 10 years ago. The 10 others were acquitted, including all those accused of raping the second girl.

Most of the prison time handed out was suspended. The longest term was for five years, four of which were suspended. The lightest term was for three years, all suspended.

Clothilde Lepetit, a lawyer for the victims, called the verdict a "slap in the face," according to the Sipa news agency. The victim whose accusations led to convictions told French television she thought the verdict was a joke and that she had been living a nightmare since it was handed down. Neither victim has been identified by her real name.

The prosecutor's office for the Paris region said Friday it would appeal all four sentences and four of the acquittals, Sipa reported.

But that has not stopped outrage from many quarters, including from more than 30 women's organizations, which have started a petition online demanding a government response, including stronger laws to protect women.

"This verdict is catastrophic," the petition on www.change.org says. "It seems to say to victims, bringing charges is worthless, and to rapists, you will not be condemned or barely!"

The petition, which has gathered more than 2,400 signatures, laments a France in which few victims report their rapes, even fewer get convictions and where a woman who does come forward is immediately shamed and discredited.

While the petition is calling for better laws to fight violence against women, it recalls a debate earlier this year over rampant sexual harassment in France, where catcalling in the streets in considered a sign of appreciation and off-color remarks are common in the workplace. A new law now makes sexual harassment a crime punishable by jail time after the old one was struck down for being too vague.

Government ministers also expressed surprise and disappointment at the ruling.

"This affair won't encourage ... victims to come forward," Health Minister Marisol Touraine said on French radio France Inter.

Before the prosecutor's office announced it would appeal, Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said she was dismayed by the verdict. This decision is "unacceptable from an ethical point of view and for the integrity of the victims," she told Europe-1 radio. (AP)