Cable Briefs

Press, 15 October 1982, Page 8

Cable Briefs

Extortion attempt

The police are searching for a man after the attempted extortion of $1 million (SNZI.3 million) from a drug company after the deaths of seven people who took headache pills laced with cyanide, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Chicago has said. A spokesman said Robert Richardson, a Chicago resident, aged about 35, was also wanted for questioning about any knowledge he might have of last month’s cyanide deaths. He said samples of Mr Richardson’s writing, obtained from a tax office where he once worked, had identified him as the author of a letter sent to Johnson and Johnson, makers of the Tylenol pain killers. The letter, received by the company after the deaths, threatened more killings- unless $1 million was delivered to an account in a Chicago bank. — Chicago. Mass wedding Nearly 12.000 Moonies, followers of the controversial Unification Church leader, Sun Myung Moon, have been married at a ceremony in a gymnasium in Seoul, billed by the church as the largest wedding ever. But the couples, some matched by Mr Moon only, two days before, will not be allowed to consummate their marriages for at least 40 days under Unification Church rules. To repeated renditions of the wedding march, six couples abreast marched between the white-clad, crowned figures of Mr Moon and Mrs Moon who threw water over them from silver bowls. — Sequl. x • • Witness killed ; Gunmen have killed a witness on his way to the trial of a. Philippine Communist leader against whom he had turned State’s evidence. Sources said the dead man, Jaime Bernal, aged 45, had

faced rebellion charges but became a State witness against his five fellowaccused, including the Communist • leader Horacio Morales and Father Edicio de la Torre, a Catholic priest. Officials said the gunmen, believed to be members of the Communist new people’s army, could have killed Mr Bernal because of this. He and his police escort were shot while having their car fixed north of Manila. — Manila. Cyanide stolen A thief has stolen enough cyanide soda from a Tokyo factory to kill 10,000 people. The police reported the theft of two kilos of the lethal chemical, used to strengthen metal car parts. — Tokyo. P.M. standing down The Dutch Prime Minister, Dries van Agt, has said in a surprise announcement that he would not be available to serve in a new Cabinet. Mr van Agt, who has been Prime Minister since 1977, had been involved in negotiations to form a coalition between his Christian Democrats and the Right-wing Liberals after general elections last month. — The Hague. Submarine search . The Swedish Navy has dropped depth charges against a “possible" submarine in Stockholm’s southern archipelago, a Navy spokesman was quoted as telling the Swedish News Agency. The agency quoted .Lieutenant-Colonel Evert Dahlen as saying that the depth charges were dropped after 'the Navy had a new contact with a possible submarine. He did not say how many depth charges were dropped, or where, only that it was within the search area. — Stockholm.