23 Jan 2008 2:52:00 pm

>.<

shit la. how to study 74 pages of econs notes with a throbbing headache.
nv had this problem. but feeling a lil nauseous these days. screwed. TSK!


typical chinese.



AN EXPENSIVE $288,000 mistake.
That is Singapore Athletic Association president Loh Lin Kok's damning assessment of missing thrower Dong Enxin.

Four months after leaving Singapore for his native China without permission, the SAA has all but given up on the thrower, who also missed last December's South-east Asia Games.

Yesterday, Loh thundered: 'I'll be frank. I admit that he's an investment gone wrong.

'I can't waste my time hunting for him in China.

'There's no news about Dong. He's disappeared into oblivion.'

Dong, reportedly studying for a sports degree at the Shenyang Institute of Physical Education since July 2006, could not be reached for comment.

Loh said: 'We have taken care of his welfare, trained him and sponsored his studies in good faith and he just scooted.

'From his arrival in early 1999 to his disappearance last September, we paid for everything - save for the ice cream he buys from 7-Eleven.

'He drew a monthly salary of $1,200. His lodging cost $300 a month. Food took up another $500.

'He had a habit of leaving the air-conditioning on even when he was not at home. At times, his electricity bill went up to $500, which the SAA paid.

'He even took money from us for buying a new bicycle pump.

'Add the money we forked out for his overseas competitions, and Dong easily cost us $3,000 a month.

'You do the maths and see if he has been worth it. To me, he has been a total loss.'

According to Loh's estimates, the thrower's eight-year stay in Singapore cost the SAA $288,000.

During that spell, the 26-year-old yielded just one SEA Games gold medal - in 2003.

He missed the 2005 edition owing to injury.

And his disappearance last year meant that he missed the trip to Korat, even though he had been nominated.

According to Loh, the thrower left in a huff because he turned down the athlete's demands.

The SAA chief said: 'When he studied in China, he sent us bogus training reports.

'You can't bluff your way in track and field. What good are the reports if he can't get his results validated?

'He returned for September's Singapore Open looking flabby and threw three metres below his personal best in the shot put.

'He still dared to ask for a physiotherapist to treat him at his doorstep and to be allowed to train in China.

'When we refused, he took off on Sept 9.'

Meanwhile, the SAA has also rejected Zhang Guirong's request for a monthly $3,000 allowance to prepare for the Olympics.

Zhang, 30, captured the SEA Games shot-put gold last year, and her 17.21m effort earned her a ticket to Beijing.

Loh explained: 'We wanted her to test herself on bigger stages like next month's Asian Indoor Games and the World Indoor Championships in March.

'But she came up with a list of kacang putih (Malay for peanuts) meets around the region.

'There is no way the SAA is going to pay for her to make a fool of herself at the Olympics.'