News Briefs

STUDENT SHAKE DOWN

A Vancouver man who threatened to hurt an adult Japanese student if a large amount of money was not paid out was arrested by Richmond RCMP last Wednesday.

Hideyuki Kura, 23, appeared in Richmond Provincial court last Thursday morning and will remain in police custody until his trial, likely this month.

The amount of money Kura demanded and his reasons for threatening the victim can not be released as it will be used as evidence in his trial, said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Willy Laurie.

Laurie did add, however, that Kura is a former Japanese student himself.

HOLD THE PHONE

The provincial government has changed its mind about eliminating toll-free calls.

Employment minister Dan Miller has announced that the Enquiry B.C. information service will continue to patch long-distance calls through to government offices free of charge for at least another year.

The announcement came just three days before the call-transfer service was to be cancelled because of a projected $1-million budget overrun.

Pressure from rural areas of B.C. is believed to be what persuaded Miller, the NDP MLA for the Prince Rupert area, to keep the service alive.

Enquiry B.C. expects to handle about 1.6 million calls this year, roughly half from the Lower Mainland. The number is 660-2421 in the Vancouver area and 1-800-663-7867 elsewhere.