燒香案被告﹕指控無法接受 依足規定繼續拜神 上訴未定
(明報)2011年6月6日 星期一
【明報專訊】因燒香拜神煙霧鬧上法庭的罕見官司，被指燒香對鄰居造成騷擾的被告一方，日前被判敗訴要賠償7.5萬元，他們昨日開腔回應稱，拜神燒香只是依照長輩家訓，因今次官司已花費高達20多萬元，輸掉官司後已經被人「告到驚」，不敢隨便望向原訴一家門口，而且至今還無法接受有關指控，今後仍會繼續上香拜神，不過就會依足法庭的限制。
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本報記者昨日到荔灣花園C座追訪兩個捲入官司的家庭，勝訴原訴人胡偉欣與其夫麥泳泉一家的單位，記者先後於早晚最少3次按門鈴，但始終無人應門，直至今晨零時仍不見夫婦二人現身，唯有在門外張貼聯絡紙條，至截稿前也未收到回覆。
至於被告人，包括馬鴻榮、許嬋美夫婦，以及兒子馬偉業，住在同一樓層，兩家門口距離僅約8呎之遙。馬家昨日向記者回應事件時，非常警覺，見記者曾使用錄音機作為「筆記」，便同樣以錄音機記錄訪問過程，未知是否因過去惹上過官非，於是錄音保障自己。
經過今次事件，被告之一馬偉業指家人已生活在陰影之下，兩老亦受官司驚嚇。
現時，他們已經遵守判令，無論在屋內外拜神，都改用了微煙香（環保香），以免再被人投訴。至於是否上訴問題，家人會在端午節 後與律師商討後再作打算。
對於會否因今次官司索性搬家避開煩惱，他說﹕「現時都唔知道。」
遵家訓拜神 未料被控罪成
馬家又指出，燒香拜神只是依照長輩家傳訓言，每天早晚要為門外「天宮」及「土地」等神位上香。
較早時被鄰居入稟控告，事件拉扯數個月，雙方對簿公堂，馬家終於敗訴，馬偉業昨向記者嘆稱﹕「發夢也沒想到裝香會畀人告上法庭罪成。」
他又說﹕「我畀佢口地告到驚，一家出入時都急步跑入升降機，不敢隨便望向原告一家門口，避免被攝入（對方裝在大門的閉路電視）鏡頭，惹起對方不滿。」
戶主女兒馬小姐稱，女麻女麻訓言指門口旁上設「天宮」下設「土地」，每天早晚要各上3支香，可保家宅平安，家人一直遵從至今，對於今次官司，她說﹕「我們會繼續拜神傳統，不過同樣會遵守法庭判令，採用只有11厘米長的微煙香。」
「相信因宗教衝突而起」
馬偉業又說﹕「至今還無法接受有關指控，無法接受兩炷香造成的煙霧，會經門隙大量滲入對方寓所這個說法。由於對方是基督教徒，我相信今次事件是因宗教衝突而起。」
他又稱，去年曾有警員接獲投訴，上門就拜神燒香滋擾鄰居一事查問，並表示對面單位會接受用微煙香拜神的做法，「當時我們以為，只要改用微煙香便可以，萬料不到之後會接獲律師信……」
指對方風扇吹散灰塵
回想爭拗期間，曾經發現對方在家門裝設閉路電視鏡頭，及小型電風扇。馬偉業相信對方用意是想拍攝證據，及用電風扇吹走煙霧，但風扇啟動後，卻將地上灰塵吹散；其母許嬋美用掃帚在走廊清理灰塵，又被指摘為有心將灰塵掃到他人家門前，爭執沒完沒了。
明報記者﹕ 鍾炳然、林錫禮、何朝財、衛永康
因燒香拜神惹官非的被告家庭，其中一個香爐設在大門左方（從閘外看）位置，被告許嬋美的兒子馬偉業昨日向記者講述事件時亦「夠鐘上香」，並已改用較短身、長11厘米的環保香。
2011-06-07
2011-06-06
Disney legends Betty Taylor, Wally Boag die within a day of each other
Disney legends die within a day of each other
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER, Associated Press
Sun Jun 5
ANAHEIM, Calif. – They shared a stage at Disneyland five days a week for nearly three decades and died within a day of each other.
Betty Taylor, who played Slue Foot Sue in Disney's long-running Golden Horseshoe Revue, passed away Saturday — one day after the death of Wally Boag, who played her character's sweetheart, Pecos Bill.
The 91-year-old Taylor died at her home in Washington state, Disneyland announced on its web site. Boag, who was 90, died Friday. He was a resident of Santa Monica, Calif.
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The causes of death were not announced and attempts to contact relatives for comment were not immediately successful.
"Betty's role as leading lady in Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue helped turn it into the longest-running stage show in entertainment history," George Kalogridis, the president of Disneyland Resort, said in a statement. `'It is a tragic coincidence that her passing comes just one day after the death of longtime co-star Wally Boag."
Boag, a former vaudeville performer, signed a two-week contract with Walt Disney in 1955. He originated the role of Pecos Bill in the revue, taking the stage three times a day and logging nearly 40,000 performances before retiring in 1982.
Most of those shows were alongside Taylor, who joined the revue a year after Hoag. Her run on the show — which closed in 1986 — lasted nearly 45,000 performances.
The Golden Horseshoe Revue is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running stage production in show business history.
"Wally was instrumental in the development of live entertainment during the early years of both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World Resort," Kalogridis said. "His characters will continue to live in the hearts of our guests, while his larger-than-life personality will forever make him the true Clown Prince of Disneyland."
Boag's comedic timing influenced generations of performers, including actor Steve Martin, who called Boag his "hero." Martin tweeted Saturday that Boag was "the first comedian I ever saw live, my influence, a man to whom I aspired."
Boag and Taylor both appeared on television in "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color."
And before joining Disney, Boag appeared in a number of films during the 1940s, including "Without Love," starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and "The Thrill of Romance," with Esther Williams.
He later appeared in Disney films such as "The Absent-Minded Professor," "Son of Flubber" and "The Love Bug."
Born in Seattle, Taylor began taking dance lessons at age 3. At 14, she sang and danced in nightclubs across the country, and by 18, led her own band called Betty and Her Beaus, which included 16 male musicians and appeared regularly at the Trianon Ballroom in Seattle.
In 1956, while living in Los Angeles and performing as a drum player with a musical group, Taylor heard about auditions for a song-and-dance job at Disneyland. She got the gig, which she held for 30 years, leading to appearances on a USO tour of Greenland and Newfoundland and a show for President Richard Nixon and his family in The White House.
She performed at the park until 1987, but continued to appear in special events, such as Walt Disney's Wild West, a 1995 retrospective at the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles.
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER, Associated Press
Sun Jun 5
ANAHEIM, Calif. – They shared a stage at Disneyland five days a week for nearly three decades and died within a day of each other.
Betty Taylor, who played Slue Foot Sue in Disney's long-running Golden Horseshoe Revue, passed away Saturday — one day after the death of Wally Boag, who played her character's sweetheart, Pecos Bill.
The 91-year-old Taylor died at her home in Washington state, Disneyland announced on its web site. Boag, who was 90, died Friday. He was a resident of Santa Monica, Calif.
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The causes of death were not announced and attempts to contact relatives for comment were not immediately successful.
"Betty's role as leading lady in Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue helped turn it into the longest-running stage show in entertainment history," George Kalogridis, the president of Disneyland Resort, said in a statement. `'It is a tragic coincidence that her passing comes just one day after the death of longtime co-star Wally Boag."
Boag, a former vaudeville performer, signed a two-week contract with Walt Disney in 1955. He originated the role of Pecos Bill in the revue, taking the stage three times a day and logging nearly 40,000 performances before retiring in 1982.
Most of those shows were alongside Taylor, who joined the revue a year after Hoag. Her run on the show — which closed in 1986 — lasted nearly 45,000 performances.
The Golden Horseshoe Revue is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running stage production in show business history.
"Wally was instrumental in the development of live entertainment during the early years of both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World Resort," Kalogridis said. "His characters will continue to live in the hearts of our guests, while his larger-than-life personality will forever make him the true Clown Prince of Disneyland."
Boag's comedic timing influenced generations of performers, including actor Steve Martin, who called Boag his "hero." Martin tweeted Saturday that Boag was "the first comedian I ever saw live, my influence, a man to whom I aspired."
Boag and Taylor both appeared on television in "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color."
And before joining Disney, Boag appeared in a number of films during the 1940s, including "Without Love," starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and "The Thrill of Romance," with Esther Williams.
He later appeared in Disney films such as "The Absent-Minded Professor," "Son of Flubber" and "The Love Bug."
Born in Seattle, Taylor began taking dance lessons at age 3. At 14, she sang and danced in nightclubs across the country, and by 18, led her own band called Betty and Her Beaus, which included 16 male musicians and appeared regularly at the Trianon Ballroom in Seattle.
In 1956, while living in Los Angeles and performing as a drum player with a musical group, Taylor heard about auditions for a song-and-dance job at Disneyland. She got the gig, which she held for 30 years, leading to appearances on a USO tour of Greenland and Newfoundland and a show for President Richard Nixon and his family in The White House.
She performed at the park until 1987, but continued to appear in special events, such as Walt Disney's Wild West, a 1995 retrospective at the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles.
Officials: US missiles kill 16 in Pakistan
Officials: US missiles kill 16 in Pakistan
By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD, Associated Press
6/06/2011
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – The United States fired missiles at three suspected militant targets near the Afghan border Monday, killing 16 people and keeping the pressure on insurgents days after a strike was believed to have killed an al-Qaida commander, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The identities of the dead in the unusually intense volley of drone-fired strikes in the South Waziristan tribal region were not known. Several Arabs were said to be among the victims of one of them, according to the officials, who did not give their names in line with agency policy.
Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters remain in South Waziristan, despite a Pakistani army offensive launched there in 2009.
Since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in northwest Pakistan, missile strikes have picked up pace from a relative lull in the year's first half. But anger at the bin Laden operation, seen here as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, has led to fresh calls on Washington to stop the attacks.
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Pakistani authorities said Sunday that they were increasingly sure that a Friday missile strike in South Waziristan killed Ilyas Kashmiri, a top al-Qaida commander rumored to be a longshot contender to replace bin Laden as the terror network's chief.
Getting definitive confirmation about who died in the missile strikes is difficult, especially if no body is retrieved. U.S. officials have not confirmed the death of Kashmiri, who was wrongly said by Pakistani and American officials to have been killed in a missile strike in 2009. Pakistani officials declined to comment on whether they had assisted the U.S. in the strike.
Before dawn, one set of missiles hit a compound in Wucha Dana village, killing seven people. The second set landed at about the same time at a Muslim seminary there, killing five people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
They said several Arab men were believed to be among the dead.
Later Monday, missiles hit a vehicle traveling in Dra Nishter village elsewhere in the region, killing four, officials said.
Washington says the missiles have killed hundreds of militants, including several top al-Qaida commanders since they began in earnest in 2008. More than 30 have struck this year, compared to last year's tally of about 130. Some experts question their legality and the secrecy under which they operate. Transparent investigations of alleged civilian casualties are not carried out.
Pakistani intelligence is believed to provide the U.S. with targeting information for at least some of the strikes. But its civilian and military leaders publicly protest the strikes and say they create more enemies than they kill. It would be politically toxic to acknowledge collaborating with the U.S. in attacks unpopular among many Pakistanis.
Also Monday, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed 18 people at a bakery in an army neighborhood in the northwest town of Nowshera the previous night. The militant group said the attack was vengeance for Pakistani army actions against them in the nearby Swat Valley.
___
Associated Press Writer Rasool Dawar in Peshawar contributed to this report.
By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD, Associated Press
6/06/2011
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – The United States fired missiles at three suspected militant targets near the Afghan border Monday, killing 16 people and keeping the pressure on insurgents days after a strike was believed to have killed an al-Qaida commander, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The identities of the dead in the unusually intense volley of drone-fired strikes in the South Waziristan tribal region were not known. Several Arabs were said to be among the victims of one of them, according to the officials, who did not give their names in line with agency policy.
Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters remain in South Waziristan, despite a Pakistani army offensive launched there in 2009.
Since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in northwest Pakistan, missile strikes have picked up pace from a relative lull in the year's first half. But anger at the bin Laden operation, seen here as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, has led to fresh calls on Washington to stop the attacks.
DVD Stores
DVDs Australia
DVD Rental Australia
Pakistani authorities said Sunday that they were increasingly sure that a Friday missile strike in South Waziristan killed Ilyas Kashmiri, a top al-Qaida commander rumored to be a longshot contender to replace bin Laden as the terror network's chief.
Getting definitive confirmation about who died in the missile strikes is difficult, especially if no body is retrieved. U.S. officials have not confirmed the death of Kashmiri, who was wrongly said by Pakistani and American officials to have been killed in a missile strike in 2009. Pakistani officials declined to comment on whether they had assisted the U.S. in the strike.
Before dawn, one set of missiles hit a compound in Wucha Dana village, killing seven people. The second set landed at about the same time at a Muslim seminary there, killing five people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
They said several Arab men were believed to be among the dead.
Later Monday, missiles hit a vehicle traveling in Dra Nishter village elsewhere in the region, killing four, officials said.
Washington says the missiles have killed hundreds of militants, including several top al-Qaida commanders since they began in earnest in 2008. More than 30 have struck this year, compared to last year's tally of about 130. Some experts question their legality and the secrecy under which they operate. Transparent investigations of alleged civilian casualties are not carried out.
Pakistani intelligence is believed to provide the U.S. with targeting information for at least some of the strikes. But its civilian and military leaders publicly protest the strikes and say they create more enemies than they kill. It would be politically toxic to acknowledge collaborating with the U.S. in attacks unpopular among many Pakistanis.
Also Monday, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed 18 people at a bakery in an army neighborhood in the northwest town of Nowshera the previous night. The militant group said the attack was vengeance for Pakistani army actions against them in the nearby Swat Valley.
___
Associated Press Writer Rasool Dawar in Peshawar contributed to this report.
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