The exhibits of the young scientists of YBIS engaged and excited the audience at The Amazing Science-X Challenge (ASCX) 2016 – a joint venture by DSO National Laboratories, National University of Singapore and Science Centre Singapore on August 25.

The students expressed the marvels of science through the spark of their creativity and won the coveted School Challenge Trophy for the Best Performing School under the Junior Category A for 2016.

Seven teams from YBIS participated in the challenge. Of these, four teams were in the senior category and three in the junior category.

Junior category Team 1 project Magic Box, which won the gold medal, featured one of the significant properties of light – Light travels in a straight line.

The team used a series of mirrors to reflect light in a curved path around an object and achieved an effect which allowed the object to be hidden from plain sight.

The members of the team were Sarvesh Sridhar, Sanjana Rao and Aneesh Nair Sreerag.

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He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and might have been wrongly identified as a suspect in a double homicide and kidnapping.

He ended up being attacked by a police dog that tore into him, ripping off his ear lobe and chomping on his thigh.

Mr Vicknesh Supramaniam, a 26-year-old Singaporean studying in Canada, kept shouting that he was innocent, but his cries went unheeded.

The incident happened in New Westminster, a city in British Columbia, Canada, on Monday afternoon (Tuesday morning, Singapore time) during a dramatic police takedown of several suspects following a car chase.

Mr Vicknesh was driving to a Home Depot hardware store when he heard sirens from a police chase and pulled over.

A white car that was being pursued by the police then crashed into his car.

The chase was part of a police operation relating to the murders of a man and woman in their home in East Vancouver, and the kidnapping of another man from the house, on Saturday night.

In an interview with Canadian news outlet Global News while recovering in hospital, Mr Vicknesh said: ”I started seeing smoke in the white Acura, and my instincts were not to stay in the car.

”The moment I got out, I heard shots and took cover behind a bus stop bench.”

The next thing he knew, a police dog was attacking him.

”The dog bit me and dragged me all the way down the hill. All I saw was just blood all over me,” he said.

In another interview the next day with Global News, he said: ”Why did they have to attack me? I kept saying I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I’m not part of these people you are looking for.

”I want them to answer for what they did.”

CBC news reported that a witness who came out of her home saw a police dog ”dragging a man down the little grassy hill”.

The witness also said she was later told that the loud bangs were stun bombs.

The dog ripped off part of Mr Vicknesh’s left ear lobe, and left him with bite marks on his thigh.

On Tuesday, Vancouver police apologised for the injuries sustained by two innocent bystanders during the arrest of three suspects.

Without naming Mr Vicknesh, they said a male bystander suffered serious injuries after he was bitten by a police dog.

The incident has sparked demands by civil rights advocates for changes to police dog takedowns.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said last night that it was rendering necessary consular assistance to Mr Vicknesh and his family members.

Yesterday, Mr Vicknesh told The New Paper over the phone that he had been discharged from hospital and will be seeing a plastic surgeon today.

”I’ve been through a lot these few days. It’s been a very traumatic experience that no one should ever go through.

”I want to put the past behind me and move forward with my health and (be on) the road to recovery,” said Mr Vicknesh, who is taking a two-year programme in Vancouver to become a pilot.

PILOT PLANS IN LIMBO

The savage attack has now put those plans in limbo.

His brother, Mr Gunashekaran Supramaniam, 37, who helps their father run a minimart in Woodlands, said the incident had greatly affected the family.

”We work hard here to pay the expenses for him to study in Canada, and this happens,” he said.

”I don’t understand why they had to release the police dog on him. It’s ridiculous.”

Mr Gunashekaran said their mother died of cancer two years ago, and their father, who is almost 70, was heartbroken to hear about what happened to Mr Vicknesh.

”He’s very affected, and my brother’s education and dreams are now on the line,” he said.

He added that Vancouver police have yet to find the ear lobe that was torn off.

The youngest brother, Mr Gopinath Supramaniam, 25, who also helps out at the minimart, said Mr Vicknesh was supposed to graduate next year and return to Singapore.

”We’ve been talking to him every day through video calls,” he said.

When asked if the family intends to fly to Canada to see Mr Vicknesh, he said that Mr Vicknesh lives with their eldest brother in Vancouver. That brother and Mr Vicknesh’s girlfriend are looking after him.

”We trust that my oldest brother has everything under control, and even if we go over, we can’t do anything,” he said.

”It is also not advisable for my father to take a 22-hour flight because he is not in the best condition.

”We need Vicknesh to get well, and we’re focused on what we can do next. We just want him to recover and carry on with life.”

Three men charged with assault, kidnapping

Three men in their 20s have been charged with kidnapping, extortion and aggravated assault.

They were arrested earlier this week in relation to a double murder and abduction case in East Vancouver, Canada.

The Vancouver Sun named the three accused as Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, Shamil Amir Ali, 22, and Gopal Figueredo, 24.

According to the paper, a court records search of Ali’s and Figueredo’s names showed that Ali had been linked to offences such as assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, robbery and mischief, and Figueredo’s records include aggravated assault, possession of a firearm, and robbery with the use of a weapon. Shortly before 10pm on Saturday in Vancouver, the police were called to a house in Dieppe Place, where they discovered the bodies of a man and a woman.

The victims have been identified as Mr Xuan Vanvy Bacao, 24, and Ms Samantha Le, 29.

A four-year-old boy was found unharmed in the home.

Evidence gathered showed that a man who lived in the house had been kidnapped.

Police believe the murders and abduction were targeted incidents.

On Monday afternoon in New Westminster, the police rescued the kidnap victim and arrested several people during a dramatic operation.

The Vancouver Sun reported that two innocent bystanders were injured during the operation.

Apart from Mr Vicknesh Supramaniam, a woman was also injured when her car was crashed into.

The next day, Acting Sergeant Brian Montague, the Vancouver Police Department’s spokesman, told a news conference: “We’re dealing with an active kidnapping. We had an opportunity to rescue the kidnap victim. We took that opportunity.

“We apologise that someone from the public had to get caught up in something like that. Our officers are reaching out to their families to see if there’s anything we can do to help them, but there’s no doubt that they’ll be traumatised.”

INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION

On Wednesday, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of British Columbia announced that it was investigating the arrests because a male bystander suffered serious injuries, reported the Vancouver Sun.

The IIO investigates all police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, and its job is to determine if any officer may have committed an offence that resulted in the bystander being injured.

The IIO is not investigating the incident involving the injured female bystander because her injuries do not meet the criteria for serious harm.

Investigations into the homicides and kidnapping are ongoing, and the police are still hunting for other suspects.

This article was first published on September 23, 2016.
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Eight years ago, when she was 12, Miss Edith Enright was hit in the head by two schoolmates during an orientation activity, she alleges.

Now aged 21, the Harvard undergraduate is suing them and the National University of Singapore (NUS) High School of Mathematics and Science for the injury which she claims affected her balance, and still causes migraines and giddiness, and has left her sensitive to certain smells and lights.

She could have sued earlier through a legal representative such as her parents. But the law also allows Miss Enright, an American, to wait till she reaches the age of majority, which is 21 here, and sue in her own name within three years.

Senior lawyer Niru Pillai said: “They do this for a variety of reasons, such as to better gauge how the effects of the injury manifest itself over time and also to spare the possible anguish and trauma of a minor having to face court litigation.”

It was the third day of school in 2008 when Miss Enright and the other two NUS High students were involved in an orientation activity known as “Wet-the-Flag”, together with about 160 other students.

In the activity, the students of each class had to construct a “fort” using metre-length wooden poles, and then place a flag on top.

Part of the challenge, which took place on the school track, was for rival groups to wet the others’ flag by throwing water balloons. Poles were also used to deflect the water balloons.

Miss Enright claims that the two defendants struck the side of her head with a pole during the activity.

The injury, she said, kept her away from classes for three months. When she returned to class, she could do so only on a part- time basis, and took her examinations on a modified schedule.

Miss Enright, then a proficient athlete and competitive ice-skater, also claims she partly lost her ability to balance.

In the year that followed the incident, she had to consult several specialists, was repeatedly hospitalised and suffered post- concussion syndrome and insomnia, her lawyer Subramaniam Pillai said in court papers filed.

Since the incident, she also has had to rely on special schooling arrangements, including at her current place of learning, Harvard University.

These include attending fewer classes, unique arrangements for exams, and special accommodation which keeps her away from flashing and coloured lights.

All three defendants deny her claims.

One of the former NUS High students said he was 12 then, and had no choice but to take part in the orientation games as he had just enrolled in the school.

According to the papers filed by his lawyers, Ms Choo Yean Lin and Mr Lee Chow Soon, he remembers holding on to a yellow pole with his classmate to deflect the balloons, and had no intention of hitting the plaintiff.

His classmate said he was also unaware that either he or his classmate had hit Miss Enright until he heard a shout. Even then, he was unsure if it was directed at them. He alleged that she was also to blame for failing to keep a safe distance.

The school, defended by Dentons Rodyk & Davidson lawyers Loh Jen Wei and Nerissa Tan, made clear that the activity was closely supervised by student leaders and teachers.

Miss Enright’s class mentor, Ms Joon Ng, had ordered both defendants to stop and the event was terminated immediately as the students had breached the rules by stepping out of the “fort”.

The school added that Miss Enright contributed to the injury by failing to keep a safe distance from the other two students.

A High Court pre-trial conference was held last week.

vijayan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on September 23, 2016.
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A routine trip to Johor turned into a nightmare for a Singaporean couple after their car was stolen.

Mr Tengku Kamarudin Abdullah, 63, and wife Madam Fauziah Mohamed Ali, 59, were having lunch at a friend’s home in Skudai on Sept 18 when the incident occurred. They had just finished shopping in Johor Baru.

Mr Kamarudin, a taxi driver, had parked their silver Toyota Mark X two units away from their friend’s house when they arrived at around 1.30pm. When the couple were about to leave two hours later, the car was gone.

Mr Kamarudin told The New Paper: “We didn’t even hear anything. We only stepped out of my friend’s house and realised the vehicle wasn’t there.”

Their Toyota has a standard remote locking system. The couple lost all their groceries and a library book Madam Fauziah had left in the car, but no other valuables were lost.

She said: “We never leave our valuables in the car. I had my passport stolen from a car once, 15 years ago, and from then we always keep our valuables with us.”

Mr Kamarudin said that the car belongs to his eldest daughter and son-in-law.The couple filed a report with Malaysian police immediately and with Singapore police the next day.

Their eldest daughter, Madam Tengku Suhailah Tengku Kamarudin, 34, told TNP that they bought the second-hand car only last December.

“My husband travels a lot for his job, so my parents use the car more often,” she said.

She added that her parents would drive to Johor once or twice a month to do their grocery shopping. She said they had no plans to get a new car.

Car thefts are becoming a common occurrence in Malaysia, and Singaporeans have fallen victim several times.

Malaysian newspaper The Star reported last month that about 138 vehicles are stolen in Malaysia every day.

S’poreans losing cars in Malaysia

JUNE 7, 2016

A Toyota Estima belonging to a Singaporean was reported missing at Plaza Angsana on June 7, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported.

The Toyota and five other cars were recovered after Malaysian police busted a car theft syndicate that used a master key to disable car security systems.

Seven people were arrested between June 15 and 17.

MAY 16, 2016

Animal welfare activist Derrick Tan’s Toyota Mark X was stolen in Johor Bahru while he was getting a massage at Jalan Serampang on May 16.

The Straits Times reported that Mr Tan, 35, had to pay a four-figure sum to car theft syndicates to retrieve his car 24 hours later.

SEPT 11, 2015

Housewife Nur Suliana, 28, had her black Honda City stolen while she was doing her grocery shopping at Perling Mall in Johor Baru.

According to Ms Suliana, who managed to review nearby CCTV footage, the car thief – whom she described as a medium-built, dark-skinned man – carried out the theft alone in about 20 minutes.

AUG 24, 2015

Mr Yunos Salajudin’s white Toyota Estima went missing after he parked it at Giant Tampoi Mall for half an hour.

To his surprise, Malaysian police contacted him in October to inform him that his car had been seized in a drug bust.

He was finally reunited with his car on Dec 31 last year.

This article was first published on September 23, 2016.
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