OBITER

 

Begging for Free Speech
Whilst Singapore's penal laws are undergoing an overhaul, elsewhere in the world, archaic laws are being reviewed. Ireland's High Court recently struck down a 19th century law against begging, ruling in favour of a beggar who had argued that his arrest violated a right to free speech. Justice Eamon De Valera rejected the argument made by Niall Dillon that the law discriminated between rich and poor, but agreed that a section of the Vagrancy Act of 1847, enacted during the Great Famine, was unconstitutional because it interfered with the rights of freedom of expression and freedom to communicate with other people.


Justice for All, but 'No' to Metallica Baby
A Swedish couple struggling to convince officials that `Metallica' is a suitable name for a baby girl might well have been inspired by the band's lyrics in Carpe Diem Baby: 'Live to win, Dare to fail'. The parents are locked in a court battle with Swedish authorities, which rejected their application to name their six-month-old child after the legendary rock band. Despite baby Metallica having already been baptised, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word 'metal'. The baby's mother has argued that the name suits her: 'She's decisive and she knows what she wants.' The tax agency has now appealed to a higher court, frustrating the family's foreign travel plans as they are unable to obtain a passport in the child's name.

 

Modern Day Miss Marple
A 95-year-old German woman solved a series of mystery thefts in a retirement home when she set a trap, hid in a toilet, and caught the thief red-handed. The elderly sleuth left cash out in her room as bait and then withdrew to the toilet to lie in wait. A cleaner then entered and pocketed the money, unaware she was being watched. 'Then the old lady hit the alarm button in the toilet and staff in the home nabbed the cleaner,' the spokesman said. The cleaner, 36, later confessed to police she was responsible for other thefts from the home near a spa resort.


'No' to Sexist Adultery Law in Uganda
A 95-year-old German woman solved a series of mystery thefts in a retirement home when she set a trap, hid in a toilet, and caught the thief red-handed. The elderly sleuth left cash out in her room as bait and then withdrew to the toilet to lie in wait. A cleaner then entered and pocketed the money, unaware she was being watched. 'Then the old lady hit the alarm button in the toilet and staff in the home nabbed the cleaner,' the spokesman said. The cleaner, 36, later confessed to police she was responsible for other thefts from the home near a spa resort.