Penang Bridge Bomb Scare

Thousands of Penangites were caught in a massive evening jam when the Penang Bridge was closed for more than two hours after police received a call that there was a bomb on the bridge.

Many motorists heading towards the bridge after work were caught unaware and found themselves in a traffic bottleneck at the Bayan Lepas coastal road leading to the bridge on the island and Seberang Jaya on the mainland.

The bridge was closed to traffic at 4.30pm and only reopened at 7pm.

Traffic had to be diverted to the ferry terminals on both the island and Butterworth, causing George Town and Butterworth town to be choked with cars and motorcycles.

Hundreds of motorcyclists lining up at the ferry terminal in Penang after the Penang Bridge (inset) was closed following a bomb hoax on Wednesday. The bridge was closed for more than two hours, but the streets of George Town and Butterworth were choked with vehicles as road users turned to the ferry service. The bridge reopened only at 7pm after a bomb squad declared it safe. - K.T. GOH and CHRIS LIM / The Star

Just hours earlier, a 10-wheel truck had broken down on the bridge before the middle span, causing a traffic crawl that stretched almost 15km to the Juru interchange near Auto City. The truck’s rear wheels had jammed and it took mechanics nearly five hours to get the vehicle moving again.

Around the same time the truck was removed, police at the state contingent headquarters operations room received a call saying that there was a bomb on the bridge.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said police then alerted Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and he gave the green light for the police to close the bridge.

“A six-man bomb squad was sent to the bridge immediately. They found a 0.3m-long, 10cm-diameter steel pipe,” ACP Azman later told a press conference at the Northern Region marine police base.

Rare sight: The mid-span of Penang Bridge completely free of traffic. The bridge was closed for more than two hours after police received a call that there was a bomb.

The pipe, he said, was found wedged in the divider at the 3.9km point of the bridge on the Butterworth-bound side.

“It was suspected that the steel pipe contained explosives. Not taking any risk, the squad detonated it at 6.45pm at the site,” said ACP Azam.

He added that police had earlier informed RTM to announce on air that the bridge would be closed. Messages were later flashed on the electronic signboards advising motorists to use the ferry instead.

Arrangements were also made with the Penang Port authorities to increase the number of ferries to cater to the large number of vehicles heading for the ferry terminals.

Tempers flared on both ends of the bridge as traffic came to a standstill. Irate motorists voiced their frustrations after being stranded for nearly two hours.

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]

Manila Hostage

Children look out of a school bus in Manila today. Two armed men took over the school bus on Wednesday and were holding 32 children and two teachers hostage, police and television reports said.

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]

Bomb found at Cheras Petrol Station

KUALA LUMPUR: The bomb disposal squad detonated what was believed to be a home-made bomb at a petrol station in Taman Connaught, Cheras, near here yesterday.

The bomb was in a plastic box wrapped in a white plastic bag.

Cheras OCPD Asst Comm Rusli Ahmad said a woman worker at the petrol station found the bag at 9.30pm on Wednesday in the ladies toilet.

Without checking to see what was inside, she left the bag in the storeroom overnight and only showed her manager the bag at about 9.30am yesterday, he said.

The manager found two 12-volt batteries connected with wires. He immediately alerted the police.

A bomb disposal squad and firemen rushed to the station.

The bomb squad used a robotic detector to detonate the homemade bomb at about 11.30am.

The operation caused a three-hour-long traffic jam along Jalan Cheras.

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]

New Year's Eve Blasts in Bangkok .... and they were not Fireworks

A spate of New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, including two set off shortly after midnight, killed at least three people and injured 36 others including 10 foreigners, Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said Monday.

"We still don't know who was behind the bombings," said Apirak, who advised people to stay home unless it was necessary to go out on Monday, a public holiday. The governor said a meeting was scheduled Monday morning with Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to discuss the attacks.

Altogether seven bombs were detonated in Bangkok and one in nearby Nonthaburi province on Sunday and early Monday, Aprirak said.

In the first spate of attacks, six bombs and grenades were set off Sunday evening shortly after 6:00 pm, killing two Thais and injuring about 25 people.

Two more bombs were detonated shortly after midnight near the Central World Plaza department store in Bangkok, where a New Year's count down had been planned but cancelled.

Bangkok authorities issued warnings to revellers to cancel their New Year's Eve celebrations shortly after the first spate of attacks. Public count downs for the New Year were cancelled at Sanam Luang and the Central World Plaza.

A bomb set off minutes after midnight at the Best Seafood restaurant near Central World Plaza ripped off the leg of one foreigner and injured three others along with two Thais.

A second bomb was detonated at Central World Plaza near the spot where a the New Year's Eve Bangkok Countdown 2007 public party had been scheduled, but was cancelled by Mr Apirak.

Authorities said the second explosion wounded both foreigners and Thais passing by, killing one person.

Two other bombs were reportedly defused by police before they exploded, including one at a bar on Khao San Road, the capital's most popular place for budget travellers.

The six bombs that went off earlier Sunday after 6 pm (1100 GMT) were placed at busy Victory Monument, near a Chinese temple in Klong Toey, two police traffic box at Sukhumwit Soi 62 and another in Nonthaburi, behind the Seacon Square shopping mall in Eastern Bangkok and at a Tesco supermarket.

Initial speculation was that the bombs were the work of groups opposed to the current military-installed government after a junta ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Sept 19.

Thailand is undergoing a difficult return to democratic government after the popular, but allegedly corrupt, former premier Thaksin was ousted by the military. Thaksin, a billionaire businessman who held the premiership between 2001 and 2006, is in exile.

Several powerful groups, including the supporters of Thaksin, are unhappy over what they see as the military's high-handed action and the ongoing investigations into allegedly corrupt deals perpetrated by Thaksin's family and political associates.

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]