Singapore - The Singapore government is taking an editor of The Wall Street Journal to court over three articles that it said showed contempt for the city-state's judiciary, a news report said Saturday.

A judge in the High Court granted an application by the attorney general to start proceedings against Melanie Kirkpatrick, a deputy editor with the New York-based business newspaper's editorial page, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

The three articles were published in June and July in the editorials and opinion section of The Wall Street Journal Asia.

Singapore - A Singapore court on Friday sentenced a former airforce sergeant to 20 months in jail for physically abusing his Indonesian maid, media reports said.

Tong Chew Wei, 31, was also ordered to pay the victim, Nana Widayanti, 6,480 Singapore dollars (4,200 US dollars), the online edition of Straits Times newspaper reported.

Tong was convicted on seven charges for abuse that took place between December 2006 and February 2007.

Singapore - Singapore shares surged 5.62 per cent Friday as a bounce on Wall Street helped to ease pressure on the market.

The key Straits Times Index rose 83.99 points to 1,577.52.

Singapore - Singapore's retail sales dived in January as shoppers turned their backs on expensive goods amid the city-state's worst recession in decades.

Retail sales in January were 12.2 per cent lower than in the same period last year, the Department of Statistics said in a statement Friday.

Compared with January 2008, the drops in sales of motor vehicles, watches and jewellery, furniture, household equipment and technical items varied from 14.5 per cent to 31.7 per cent.

Singapore - A Singapore court on Friday fined a Danish aircraft engineer a total of 1,200 Singapore dollars (780 US dollars) for being drunk and behaving in a disorderly manner on board a Singapore Airlines flight, news report said.

Kim Borch Petersen, 39, pleaded guilty to being drunk on board the flight from London to Singapore on Thursday and also admitted to shouting, uttering vulgarities and pushing a steward, the online edition of Straits Times newspaper reported.

Singapore  - A former taxi driver who supposedly torched a Singapore legislator at a community club event in January has been found to be of unsound mind and unfit to plead, media reports said Friday.

Ong Kah Chua, 70, has been remanded in a mental hospital pending a minister's order, after being diagnosed to be suffering from delusional disorder, the online edition of Straits Times newspaper reported.