PRESS DIGEST - Singapore newspapers - July 17

SINGAPORE, July 17 (Reuters) - The following are stories from Singapore newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories.

THE STRAITS TIMES

- High-profile Buddhist monk Ming Yi has become the first religious leader to be suspended by Singapore authorities from management roles in religious groups. The Commissioner of Charities' office said yesterday that it decided to suspend Ming Yi as the criminal charges against the former Ren Ci Hospital chief executive involved fraud and dishonesty.

- Three Singapore bodybuilders planning to compete in this week's Asian Championships have tested positive for illegal drugs that enhance performance.

- More foreign lawyers are setting up shop in Singapore - their numbers have doubled to 900 in the last five years.

- A 38-year-old jobless man was jailed for 15 years by the High Court after admitting that he made his young daughter perform oral sex on him six times.

- Singapore has taken to task a British writer who disparaged Singapore as a modern, undemocratic form of authoritarianism. John Kampfner, writing in The Guardian newspaper, had highlighted Singapore as a model for a growing phenomenon he had observed in many countries, including Britain.

- Singapore Airlines Cargo (SIAL.SI) and two other international carriers are facing court action in New Zealand related to an alleged price-fixing cartel.

BUSINESS TIMES