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SINGAPORE: A Sarawakian man working as a cleaner at the Singapore Zoo died Thursday after he was mauled by a white tiger.

Nordin Mondong, 32, is believed to have fallen into the moat surrounding the white tiger enclosure at about 12.15pm and was immediately pounced on by the three big cats weighing over 100kg each.

The Singapore Zoo has three Bengal white tigers - Omar, Winnie, and Jippie.

Earlier this year, nine-year-old Omar was shortlisted as a possible contender to replace Ah Meng as the zoo’s icon.

Terrified visitors near the section watched the vicious attack in horror and screamed.

Three zoo keepers were alerted to the commotion and sprang to rescue Nordin. Two of them tried to distract the three tigers and managed to keep them under control but a third kept on mauling Nordin.

The keepers managed to pull the cleaner to safety and rushed him to hospital. But he died on the way.

Nordin started working at the Zoo in June.

It is believed he was not supposed to be in the tiger enclosure and was assigned to clean the chimpanzee section.

He was seen behaving in an agitated manner before he fell into the moat. - ANN/Straits Times

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Christian Bale Arrested


LONDON — "The Dark Knight" actor Christian Bale was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister, police said.

The 34-year-old actor spent four hours at a London police station before being released on bail.

Bale's attorneys released a statement Tuesday denying the allegation:

"Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister. Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale."

A woman thought to be Bale's sister Sharon told reporters "it's a family matter" from her home in Corfe Mullen, 110 miles southwest of London. A man who answered the door at the home of his mother Jenny Bale in nearby Bournemouth said she did not want to comment.

Earlier Tuesday, the Welsh-born actor, who plays Batman in "The Dark Knight," was in custody at a central London police station being questioned by officers over the incident, said to have taken place in his hotel suite.

“A 34-year-old man attended a Central London police station this morning and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault," a police spokesman said.

British police do not name suspects before they are formally charged.

The force later said in a statement that the man had been released on bail pending further inquiries and told to return on an unspecified date in September.

Bale allegedly lashed out at his relatives in his suite at Park Lane’s Dorchester Hotel on Sunday.

According to Sky News, Bale's mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, went to police on Monday to make a formal allegation against Bale. The complaint about the actor was then passed on to the Metropolitan Police for further investigation.

Despite the alleged incident and report, Bale was allowed to attend the first European screening of the new Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" in London's West End on Monday night.

The film, which stars the late Heath Ledger as Batman's nemesis The Joker, took in a record $158.4 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. last week, overtaking former record-holder "Spider-Man 3."

Bale first made a splash as the child star of Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" in 1987. His screen credits also include "American Psycho," "The Machinist" and "Batman Begins."

In "The Dark Knight," Bale reprises his "Batman Begins" role of wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego Batman, a brooding vigilante superhero still scarred by the murder of his parents.

Heath Ledger not the first star who died before the release of movie


Heath Ledger, whose performance as the Joker in the summer blockbuster "The Dark Knight" earned rave reviews, died months before the film hit theaters. He is hardly the first movie star to die before release of a film.

Here's a list of others:

AALIYAH: The R&B star died in a 2001 Bahamas plane crash before the release of vampire flick "Queen of the Damned."

JAMES DEAN: "Rebel Without a Cause" was released one month after Dean, 24, was killed in a 1955 car accident.

CLARK GABLE: Gable died of a heart attack at 59 before the 1960 release of the film "The Misfits."

RIVER PHOENIX: Died of drug-related heart failure four months before his film, "Silent Tongue," came out.

JEAN HARLOW: Harlow was just 26 when she died of kidney disease just a month before release of her 1937 film "Saratoga."

SPENCER TRACY: The 67-year-old screen star died of a heart attack after completing "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

BRANDON LEE: The son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee died in a mishap on the set of "The Crow" just eight days before filming was to be completed.

BRUCE LEE: The martial arts star died at 32 from a cerebral edema, one month before the release of his last film, "Enter the Dragon."

NATALIE WOOD: The "West Side Story" starlet drowned in 1981 just before the completion of the science-fiction thriller "Brainstorm."

JOHN CANDY: The comedian dropped dead in 1994 while on location filming "Wagon's East." Another Candy film, "Canadian Bacon," was released after his death.

TUPAC SHAKUR: The rapper, 25, was killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting after completing two films, "Gridlock'd" and "Gang Related," both of which were released the following year.

PHIL HARTMAN: SNL star was shot and killed by his wife, Brynn Hartman, in a 1998 murder-suicide two months before the release of his film "Small Soldiers."

CHRIS FARLEY: The pudgy SNL funnyman died of a drug overdose in 1997. His final film, "Almost Heroes," was released the following year.

GARY COOPER: Screen legend died of cancer in 1961, just a month before the release of his British mystery film "The Naked Edge."

Airbus A320-200 Lufthansa nearly crashed during a crosswind approach on the runway 23 at the airport Hamburg International (EDDH) on 1st march 2008 in Germany. Extreme landing or approach. Crash. Left wing touched the runway. Crazy. Hard and dangerous. Funny landing. Storm Emma 2008 in Germany (Hamburg EDDH). After the landing the left wing was destroyed. This first landing was a wingstrike.