Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police have detained a Singaporean man and his wife, a Thai national, after his young stepson was found dead in his home with bruises on the body, hands, legs and head, a news report said Monday.

The victim, an 8-year old boy, was believed to have been abused before he died, said deputy district police chief Mohamad Akhir Ishak.

Neighbours called police Saturday afternoon after they heard a commotion in the boy's home in the southern Johor state, the Star daily reported.

"We discovered the body in the back room of the apartment," said Mohamad Akhir, adding that the post mortem result showed that the boy died from multiple injuries especially from those inflicted on the head.

Los Angeles - Police revealed new details late Friday about the gruesome attack by a man dressed as Santa Claus who went on a maniacal killing spree during a Christmas party hosted by his former wife's parents.

Police said the killer, Jeffrey Pardo, had planned to escape to Canada after the attack. But instead he killed himself after he suffered third-degree burns when he set the house on fire.

Police also said they detonated a homemade bomb found in his rental car and that Pardo, 45, had 10,000 dollars in cash and an airline ticket for Canada.

Hong Kong - Police in Hong Kong Friday appealed for help to identify a baby boy found dead near Hong Kong International Airport on Christmas Day.

Public Works Department (PWD) engineer M K Gupta was beaten to death in Auraiya for refusing to pay for chief minister Mayawati's birthday celebrations. The state administration has denied the allegation.

According to sources, BSP MLA and his supporters tortured Gupta after he refused to pay Rs 50 lakh for the birthday celebrations of Chief Minister Mayawati on January 15. Marks of torture and electric shocks were found on the body.

According to Auraiya Additional SP Sureshwar, Gupta was unconscious when Tiwari left him at the police station before dawn. Gupta was declared dead when police took him to hospital. SHO Hoshiar Singh was later suspended for negligence.  

New Delhi - Midnight Christmas mass was attended by thousands of Christians amid heavy security across India's eastern state of Orissa that had witnessed widespread anti-Christian violence earlier this year, a news report said Thursday.

"We have not received information of any trouble. It seems to be all peaceful," Raphael Cheenath, Archbishop of Bhubaneshwar, the state capital, told the IANS news agency.

Cheenath said the Christmas mass was held with prayers and singing in churches across the state, adding that he was satisfied with the security arrangements made by the government.

Lucknow, Dec. 25: Uttar Pradesh Police arrested the Bahujan Samaj Party MLA from Auraiya, Shekhar Tewari, on Wednesday for allegedly killing Manoj Kumar Gupta, an executive engineer of the Public Works Department near State capital.

The BSP MLA Tewari, who already has many court cases for murder and abduction pending against him, was arrested near Raniya in Kanpur district.