Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Detainees compensated for 'degrading' ride CANBERRA, Australia, March 12 (UPI) -- A man who drank his own urine and other prisoners who were subjected to a long ride to an Australian detention center sans food or water are being compensated. Advertisement Nigerian Austin Okoye, who drank his own urine twice during the seven-hour transport to quench his thirst, has been awarded $18,700 by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, The Age reported Wednesday. The commission ruled the man and four other detainees who were locked in the back of the van with him during the 2004 ride to Baxter detention center without food, water or access to bathroom facilities had been subjected to "degrading treatment." The commission also awarded $18,700 to Huong Hai Nguyen, a Vietnamese man who was found to have been the subject of excessive force when he was removed from his dormitory at Maribyrnong immigration center for the trip to Baxter. Advertisement The three other passengers were each awarded $14,000. Kansas woman spent 2 years on toilet NESS CITY, Kan., March 12 (UPI) -- Authorities in Ness County, Kan., said charges may be filed against the boyfriend of a woman who spent approximately two years sitting on the toilet in his home. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said his office is "possibly looking into" mistreatment of a dependent adult charges against the boyfriend, the Hutchinson (Kan.) News reported Wednesday. Police arrived at the boyfriend's home in February after he phoned authorities to report something was wrong with his girlfriend. Officers who arrived on the scene said the woman was sitting on the toilet -- a position she is believed to have held for about two years. Authorities said the boyfriend had been bringing her food and water. The sheriff said the woman's muscles had atrophied and she had to be removed from her position by medical personnel because she had become bound to the toilet by "natural means." Authorities said the woman, who is being treated at Wichita hospital, has refused to speak to police, leaving open the question of why she remained on the toilet for such a long period of time. Advertisement Her boyfriend claims sitting on the toilet was her own idea. Danish prince loses ring in Florida water COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 12 (UPI) -- Danish Crown Prince Frederik is offering a reward to anyone who recovers a priceless ring he lost while diving in the coral reefs off Florida's Key West. The loss of Fredrick's wedding ring, which was made from the first gold discovered in Greenland, led to two weeks of unsuccessful searches by diving teams, The Copenhagen Post reported Wednesday. The 39-year-old prince, who married in 2004, has offered a plane ride to Denmark and a tour of Fredensborg Castle as a reward for anyone who finds the missing item. However, divers who participated in the search didn't see the ring's recovery as likely. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," one diver said. Man retires to childhood cave HASANKEYF, Turkey, March 12 (UPI) -- A man who spent 27 years working in the city of Adana, Turkey, said he could not imagine spending his retirement anywhere other than a cave where he was born. Mehmet Tilki, 54, said the cave, located in the Hasankeyf region of Batman province, has all the modern furnishings he needs -- including electricity and satellite TV -- as well as the feeling of home, the Dogan News Agency reported Wednesday. Advertisement "Living in a cave is something else. My family visits me from time to time. I am very happy here," Tilki said. Tilki said he passes the time by breeding partridges and freeing them into the wild. "I freed four female partridges just the other day. I also have 10 domesticated partridges in my cave. They are like my children. Waking up to their sound is like a dream," he said. The cave dweller said he also has two dogs that keep his unusual domicile secure. "This cave, which my father left me, is my everything. Whenever I touch the walls I remember my childhood. Reports about this cave being submerged underwater after the dam is built make me unhappy," he said. The Ilısu Dam, which is currently under construction, is expected to eventually submerge much of Hasankeyf.
