Man in UN graft case out on $69m bail

NEW YORK • A billionaire real estate developer from Macau accused by US authorities of bribing a former United Nations General Assembly president on Friday won the right to be released on US$50 million (S$69 million) bail and live under house arrest in a luxury Manhattan apartment.

Ng Lap Seng, 68, had been in US custody since his arrest on Sept 19, but US Magistrate Judge Kevin Fox in Manhattan accepted a proposal by Ng's lawyers to allow him to live under house arrest at a US$3.6 million apartment under 24-hour watch by two private security guards.

REUTERS

Indian villagers kill cattle smuggler

DHARAMSALA (India) • Villagers in northern India have killed a Muslim man for allegedly smuggling cattle, police said yesterday, in violence critics say is fuelled by the Hindu nationalist government seeking a nationwide ban on cow slaughter and beef trade.

A group of local villagers attacked the victim, known only as Noman, and four other men last Wednesday evening in Himachal Pradesh after seeing them transporting cattle in a truck, a senior police official said.

Noman was beaten to death, while the other four men, who survived the attack, were charged with animal smuggling and cow slaughter, the official said.

REUTERS