Showing posts with label People. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People. Show all posts

Friday, February 5, 2010

Caning Therapy

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News reports recently mentioned a Malaysian man based in Singapore reaping good profits from his “caning therapy” business. 72-year-old Wu Cheng Guang charges S$20 (approximately RM46) for each caning session.

Apparently caning relieves the customers' aches and sore muscles.

Wu Cheng Guang, who also has caning centres in Thailand and Penang, began treating people in Singapore near a friend’s flat at Jurong West in November last year. He is now treating from 50 to 70 people each day and business has been steadily increasing.

Wu Cheng Guang said he learnt his method from a lama in Xichang when he was 50 years ago.

He said that the cane marks on the customers is a positive sign showing that the “dangerous energy” clogging their blood system has been eliminated.

Please post your comments.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Botak Chin - The Terror Of Jalan Ipoh Part 2

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Continued from Botak Chin - Malaysia's Robin Hood ? Part 1

Although his gang was very successful, there were some gangsters who disputed Botak Chin's leadership. This led to confrontations with rival fractions and gangs. To consolidate his power as the supremo gangster in Kuala Lumpur, Botak Chin became involved in gang wars. In one major war, both his rival, Tua Pui Lek (the head of the Five Finger Mountain gang) and Botak Chin's own right hand man, Ah Wong, were killed at a disused tin mine in Jinjang.

Owing to the growing terror in Kuala Lumpur, the police also stepped up their war against Botak Chin. This gained some success where one of his trusted lieutenants Seh Chai killing himself when he was surrounded by the police in Jalan Alor.

Early 1976, Botak Chin started recruiting new members into his gang. This followed with 3 robberies where the gang fled with RM400,000. Despite the successful robberies, 7 of his men were shot dead and a few others were caught. The police confiscated 15 firearms, ammunition and hand granades.

Finally, on February 16 1976 night, he and his gang members was captured by the police in after a shoot out at the Eng Leong sawmill in Jalan Ipoh. Botak Chin miraculously survived despite being seriously injured with 6 gun wounds.

According to the news report by the New Starits Times at that time, Botak Chin implied that he was set up by his own men, one Pang Kok Chye and an Ah Keong.

Botak Chin told the High Court that on that day, he was at the Tiong Nam settlement between 7pm and 8pm when Pang Kok Chye and Ah Keong came to see him. They told him that 2 other people needed help and wanted to meet with him. Botak Chin then follow them by car to the Jalan Ipoh sawmill to meet the 2 people.

Inside the sawmill he sat on a chair for 15 minutes before asking Pang Kok Chye and Ah Keong where were the 2 people they came to meet. He then said he proceeded to make a telephone call. After the call, as he was replacing the receiver, shooting started outside. He then felt pain all over his body. He became weak and giddy then fell to the floor. Only then he realised that he had been shot.

Botak Chin claimed that during the shooting, Pang Kok Chye and an Ah Keong ran to the back of the mill. Then, when the shooting stopped, something was thrown into building filling the room with smoke. He found it difficult to breathe and became unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in hospital. Botak Chin also denied being involved in robberies and said that his name was used by others who committed the robberies.

However, a senior police officer testified in court that Botak Chin was conscious during his arrest. Botak Chin allegedly told police officers who arrested him that if he wasn't injured in his arms he would have shot and killed many of them. Botak Chin apparently said, "Kalau saya punya due tangan tidak jem, saya sudah tembak. Lu nasib baik."

Upon Botak Chin's capture, many rumours began circulating about his alleged invincibility. Some people believed that the reason the police was able to wound and apprehend Botak Chin was because, on that day, he left home without wearing his tangkal. Another version is that the police went to Thailand and obtained the assistance Botak Chin's bomoh siam to defeat him.

According to newspaper reports, at the time of capture, Botak Chin with him a green cloth with Siamese writing and a plastic green purse containing a note book. He also wore 3 tangkal - one tangkal round his neck and 2 other tangkal round his waist.

Apparently Botak Chin protested when the police wanted to remove the tangkal, saying "Ini saya punya tokong". Botak Chin also wore a Rolex watch, a gold chain with 2 pendants and a jade gold ring. Police also found in his wallet some money (RM231, HK10, 50 pieces of Japanese "banana" notes and some baht) and photograph of 2 women.

On May 12 1980, 27 year old Botak Chin, facing 3 charges under the Internal Security Act at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, denied having possession of firearms or ammunition under his possession or control. He denied that even the 2 pouches of bullets found in his trouser pockets during the saw mill incident were his. He claimed he did not know how they came to be in his pockets, reported the New Straits Times.

He was sentenced to death by the High Court in 1980. The next year, on Jan 1, 1981, while on death row, he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from his cell in Pudu prison, stabbing prison wardens but was seriously injured himself. On June 11, 1981, at 3am, Botak Chin was hanged.

Dr Mahadevan, the former director of Tanjung Rambutan Mental Hospital in Perak, who treated Botak Chin for 19 days to determine if he was sane enough to stand trial, found Botak Chin to be highly intelligent - but a "misguided genius".

At the mental hospital Botak Chin told Dr. Mahadevan that since he was a young boy he always wanted to help the poor and down-trodden. He wanted to protect them from corrupt officials and gangsters who extorted money from the poor and weak. Botak Chin revealed that he was once brutally attacked by gangsters who entered his vegetable stall at the market and tried to extort money from him, failing which, they beat him until his collar bone was fractured.

This incident changed his life. Botak Chin then started to learn martial arts and joined a gang for protection. He also encouraged people to join his secret society so that they wont be harmed and exploited. Members of his secret society had to swear not to take advantage of the poor, cut their hair short and not take dadah.

He further told Dr. Mahadevan that in his kampung people regarded him as Robin Hood because he robbed from the rich and gave a considerable amount of the spoils to the poor. Apparently, part of the loot went to his gang and part of it went to the family of those members who were killed or caught by the police.

This possibly explains why he managed, time and time again, to hide and gain refuge in the squatter settlements when pursued by the police - with the goodwill he had with the poor, the community were helping him escape. He was their hero.

Botak Chin was no ordinary gangster. His secret society was guided by his philosophy and governed by strict principles and guidelines. These had to complied with by everyone, including himself. To enforce discipline among his troops and keep order in the gang, he had executed henchmen who had breached the rules. He was not a killer, he was their taikor and he was just doing his job, he told Dr. Mahadevan.

Having built a reputation of reverence among society as Robin Hood, people, especially the lower classes, treated him as such. During his stay at the hospital, patients offered to wash his clothes and perform chores for him.

Although Botak Chin never married, he had plenty of female admirers. Dr Mahadevan said he would get calls from women inquiring about Botak Chin when he was at the hospital.

Dr Mahadevan said that Botak Chin was rushed back to Kuala Lumpur when a bullet was found in his high security hospital cell because it appeared that his men were coming to help him escape.

During his final days, he sought solace in various religions. While it was his dying wish was to donate his organs for medical purposes, this request was rejected as he had not signed a written consent.

Please post your comments.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Botak Chin - Malaysia's Robin Hood ? Part 1

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Wong Swee Chin aka Botak Chin is probably Malaysia's most notorious gangster in the 70s. Botak Chin, the self styled modern-day Robin Hood, was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1951 to a family of 10 children. As his father was a retiree who worked with the Malayan Railways, they lived at the Malaysian Railway quarters next to the Caltex station in Jalan Ipoh.

Botak Chin studied at a Chinese vernacular primary school and then went on to attend the Methodist Boys’ Secondary School in Sentul up to Form 3 (the Lower Certificate of Education), after which, he quit school.

Having left school at age 15, Botak Chin started working as a fishmonger at Jalan Tun Ismail (formally Maxwell Road) market. After his mother's death, he often spent time away from home preferring to live with his friends. Away from his father's watchful eye, he then got involved with the local hoodlums where he was initiated into committing petty crimes. This, in turn, led to him joining his first gang; the 360 gang (Sak Pak Lok).

At the age of 18, in 1969, when he illegally obtained his first firearm (a .22 revolver), he formed his own gang and proceeded with robbing sprees. This led to his first arrest, conviction and prison sentence. He then spent a few years in prison.

However, within a few months upon his release from prison in 1974, he formed a new gang with Ng Cheng Wong (aka Ah Wong), Beh Kok Chin (aka Pangkor Chai) and Teh Bok Lay (aka Seh Chai). A month prior to this, he went to Thailand to purchase guns. Then on June 2 1975, readily armed, the gang hit an illegal gambling den in Sentul and made off with RM5,800. With the proceeds from that robbery, Botak Chin "reinvested in his business" - he again went to Thailand to acquire even more firearms and ammunition - he apparently bought another 8 pieces of firearms and 100 bullets.

The gang used a vacant tin mine in Kepong as their shooting range, targeting stray dogs. There were also reports that Botak Chin used to openly display his gun at the Sentul market but nobody dared offend him for fear of being made a victim.

On July 20 1975, now with even more "tools of trade" - the new firearms - the gang became more ambitious, they robbed a bank in Jalan Imbi and fled with RM95,000. They then gunned down several mahjong players inside a Chinese temple in Jalan Kolam Ayer and made off with RM10,000. This was big money in those days, as a double storey house in Subang cost only about RM15,000, then.

Because of his many robberies, gun battles with the police and feuds with rival gangs, Botak Chin needed more firearms and ammunition, possibly to enlarge his "army" and strengthen his position. To easily obtain these weapons, he targeted policemen next - in one case, he attacked 3 policemen and took their pistols.

It is also understood that Botak Chin made frequent trips to Thailand not only to procure illegal firearms and but also to obtain protective talisman (called tangkal) from Siamese shamans (locally called bomoh siam or bomoh Thai) practicing black magic.

It is believed that the reason he managed to successfully evade capture, survive and escape from numerous gun battles with the police is because he wears a very powerful Phra Pidta tangkal obtained from a bomoh siam.

In one epic incident in Segambut Dalam involving a shootout with the police, he managed to slip away unharmed, despite his car being riddled with bullets. This led to many rumours claiming that the tangkal he was wearing made him invulnerable (kebal) to bullets, knives and even poison. Some even believed that he could become invisible, at will, thus escaping unseen.

Botak Chin is fearless and determined in pursuing his goals. On 25 September, although one of his right hand men, Chau Kuan (aka Ah Kuan) was shot dead at a sundry shop at Jalan Kovil Hilir, this did not cripple his gang activities or demoralise his will.

Their biggest hit was on Oct 26 1975, where the gang fled with RM218,000 after gunning down a security guard delivering money to a horse racing club. With his share of approximately RM40,000 from the robbery, he again went to Thailand. This time he purchased even more weapons adding his arsenal to 19 guns, 5 hand grenades and 1,000 bullets.

Business was looking good for Botak Chin and his men.

To be continued...in Part 2

Please post your comments.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Rose Chan - The Legendary Malaysian Adult Entertainer

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Rose Chan (1925 – May 26, 1987) was a cabaret dancer turned "Queen of Striptease" who has become legendary in Malaysia. Apparently, in the late 1970s, she received a RM3 million offer from an American publisher for her autobiography, but the deal fell through when she insisted on USD$3 million instead.

Rose Chan was born in Soochow, China, to parents who were acrobats. In 1931, at 6 years old, she came to Kuala Lumpur with her adoptive mother. She had no formal education, apart from 8 months of schooling at the age of 12.

After many odd jobs and a failed marriage, she became a cabaret dancer.

In 1952, at the age of 27, was the turning point of her career. She transformed herself from a top cabaret girl to the "Queen of Striptease". Rose Chan had gained fame in many parts of the world including Germany, France, Britain, Australia, and Indonesia.

Please post your comments.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

The Rajah Brooke

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On the left is the Rajah Brooke (Trogonoptera brookiana), a distinctive black and electric-green birdwing butterfly from the rainforests of Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsula.

The Rajah Brooke birdwing was presumably named after James Brooke, the first Rajah of Sarawak (born 29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868). He was also known as Sarawak's White Rajah.

I still think the butterfly is better looking.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Andy Lau and Carol Chu - The Real Story

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Andy Lau Tak-Wah, a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, film actor, and producer is one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the 1990s.

Andy Lau has since appeared in more than 100 films and 300 mini-series with Hong Kong's TVB channel, and has a huge fan base throughout Asia with the success of both his on-screen performances and his musical career.

He has been married to his long time Malaysian girlfriend Carol Chu since June 23, 2008, but the marriage and relationship, though rumored, have only been confirmed by Andy Lau in August, last month.

Andy Lau and Carol Chu made a public appearance together for the first time last month, after years of evading rumours of their relationship.

The couple returned to Hong Kong after attending the funeral of Carol Chu’s late father who passed away last month in Malaysia.

Andy Lau and Carol Chu's public appearance together has ended 24 years of public speculation about the couple who have been linked together, but kept their relationship a secret until recently.

According to the rumour mill, Andy Lau has kept his relationship with Carol Chu a secret to protect her from threats by certain underworld figures, fans and harassment from the media.

There are also reports that Andy Lau has received an 'indecent proposal' by a female Malaysian Datuk to spend the night with her after she became infatuated with him.

Here is a short biography of Carol Chu:

It is believed that Carol Chu was born in Penang in 1967. She is the 4th child among 5 daughters in her family. Her father owns a seafood restaurant and moved the family to Kuala Lumpur when she was still young.

There are very little details about Carol Chu's career background but some say she was a part time model who was crowned Miss Modern Malaysia in 1986. Others, however, dispute this saying she was just a runner-up.

There are also many versions of how Carol Chu met Andy Lau, but which one is true, is still a mystery. She has, thus far, kept a very low profile and has not been known to speak to the media. Some sources say Andy Lau met Carol Chu when he was holidaying in Malaysia. Another claimed Carol Chu met Andy Lau in Hong Kong when she was attending a beauty seminar. Whatever the case, we wish the couple the very best in their marriage.

Please post your comments.

15Malaysia - Meter

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This clip called "Meter" is part of the 15Malaysia mini- mocumentaries. This one shows a dysfunctional taxi driver who talks about everything typically Malaysian. It is directed by Lim Benji with special appearance by UMNO Youth Leader, Khairy Jamaluddin.

Excellent.

Please post your comments.

107 Year Old Woman Seeking 23rd Hubby

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Pic from Yahoo News

According to Yahoo News, Wook Kundor, a 107 year old woman from Terengganu who has married 22 men is seeking to marry her 23 husband. Wook Kundor, pic above, last married Muhammad Noor Che Musa, 37, 4 years ago. This is the pic of Wook Kundor and Muhammad Noor Che Musa during happier times.

Wook Kundur is preemptively looking for new husband as she suspects her 37 year old husband, who is currently undergoing voluntary drug rehabilitation treatment in Kuala Lumpur, will leave her once the programme ends.

What do you think ? Please post your comments.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Goodbye Yasmin, RIP

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Yasmin Ahmad,
51, Malaysia's filmmaker extraordinaire, who touched many with her distinctly Malaysian films and TV ads – passed away on July 25, after suffering a stroke and brain haemorrhage.

Yasmin Ahmad, aka the storyteller, collapsed while presenting a working paper at Sri Pentas, the headquarters of the TV3 television station. She was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Damansara Specialist Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery.

She was one outstanding Malaysian with extraordinary talents.

Goodbye Yasmin, rest in peace. Thank you for your contribution to Malaysia. I think a posthumous Datukship should be given to her.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

RIP Michael Jackson, The King Of Pop

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Michael Jackson as he was

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, 50, has died on 25th June. It was reported that Michael Jackson collapsed and died at his rented mansion at Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles due to a heart attack.

He dominated of pop culture in the 80s and early 90s with his unique brand of music and dance. Michael Jackson's 1982 Thriller album is still the world's best-selling album of all time and his other works remain among the world's top selling albums and singles.

HIStory world tour in Malaysia
27th and 29th of October 1996 at the Merdeka Stadium




Few people are born not just to celebrity but to stardom, Michael Jackson is one of those people. Despite his fame and fortune, he was born never to know what it was like to live a normal life, or even behave like everyone else. He started his singing career when he was 9 years old as part of his family's musical act, the Jackson 5, and was already celebrity when he was 14. This somewhat explains the mixture of his charisma, mystery, indulgence, isolation, eccentricities and loneliness throughout his life.

Despite the recent official news report about the heart attack that caused his death, rumours persist about possible suicide.

As far back as 2005, there were news reports that Michael Jackson may commit suicide. He was then facing charges for sexual molestation in court in addition to having to deal with pressures of personal financial dificulties.

Recently, his close friends have revealed that Michael Jackson had confided that he intends to die like Elvis Presley (who died by drug overdose in August 16, 1977). Even after all these years, there is still the infamous claim that Elvis faked his death to enter into the government's Witness Protection program. They believe that Elvis Presley is still alive and is in hiding. Not surprisingly, some people are already saying the same about Michael Jackson.

This is life. People can say anything they want, and they will, for many years to come. As I see it, whatever Michael was or whatever he was not in his personal life, isn't important. Michael Jackson was an extrodinary talent who has captured the imagination of billions of people around the world with his music and dance. He remains one of the greatest musical genius the world has ever seen.

To this, I say goodbye Michael. We sang your songs, we danced to your music, and now, we mourn your passing. Rest in peace. You will not be forgotten.

Please post your comments.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Najib Tun Razak Is Malaysia's 6th Prime Minister

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Pic source: the sun

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was sworn in as Malaysia’s 6th prime minister yesterday, taking over from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who lead Malaysia for more than 5 years.

At Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's swearing in ceremony at Istana Negara, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi was conferred the the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara (SMN), while his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah received the Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM), both awards carries the title Tun.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bruce Lee For Good Fortune This Year

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Since its Chinese New Year, I've decided to cheer you up with some excellent Bruce Lee video clips.

Watch the real dragon in action for some "semangat" to start work after the long break.


Bruce Lee playing Ping Pong with a Nunchaku.




More Bruce Lee Nunchaku moves.




The Classic Bruce Lee Vs Chuck Norris In Way Of The Dragon





Please post your comments.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Web Barack Obama 2.0

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After a seemingly impossible 2 year campaign, Senator Barack Hussein Obama was elected the first black president of the United States earlier this month. The president elect has grabbed his ticket to the White House with the largest, most organised and active grass roots support in the history of United States politics, and possibly that of the world. He undeniably owes much of his campaign success to the power of the internet - to raise funds, gain publicity and organise support.

Barack Obama's has reportedly an army of over 3 million Internet associated contributors and volunteers who helped him raise a record breaking $600 million in donations and tirelessly lobbied for support on the ground.

In an acceptance speech in Chicago, Senator Obama said, "I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause."

Related stories:

Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign

Obama: The Internet Maverick

How Obama's Campaign Changed Politics

For the past 10 years, the web has indeed changed the way people work and live. And it now has made another breakthrough; by changing the way people participate in local and world events, including the selection of leaders.

Please post your comments.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Barack Obama Elected President

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Barack Obama, the "Prince of Change", is set to be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States Of America. Some Malaysians believe that 44 isn't a good number. In Chinese geomancy the number 44 represents a "double death" (Sei-Sei, in Cantonese). But adding 4+4, you get 8 (Fatt, in Cantonese) - as Fatt means prosperity, it is believed that the number 8 brings the equivalent positive vibes. So, WTF ? (What The Fatt ?)

The America people have made yet another dramatic and benchmark decision today by electing their first black president. With this landslide victory, Senator Barack Obama is poised to start a new era in America and possibly the world. What kind of new era, however, is yet to be seen. But as the last eight years under President Bush have been very disappointing for most Americans, how bad can Obama be, in comparison ? If you've been eating roti canai everyday for the last eight years, even maggi mee will be a welcome change.

Barack Hussein Obama, whose father is Kenyan and mother, a white American, beat his rival John McCain by winning the key states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, prior to passing the essential threshold of 270 electoral college votes at 0400 GMT, when results showed he had also won California and many other states.

America's political hurricane has also caused Obama's Democratic Party, to wrest convincing control over both the Senate and the House Of Representatives as well. This shows how desperate Americans must be for change.

Change has already started in America, and the winds of this change may blow towards our direction. Eating roti canai everyday for so many years can be really enduring, and equally bad for health. Why not try eating something different ?

Please post your comments.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Sufiah Yusof Gets Help From Pisang

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According to Harian Metro, Sufiah Yusof aka Shilpa Lee, the maths genius turned high class prostitute, has agreed to undergo counseling and "treatment" from Pisang this October, to help her turn a new leaf.

Pisang is the acronym for the Professional Islamic Support and Nurture Group or Kumpulan Penyokong dan Pengasuh Profesional Islam. It is a non-profit organisation registered in England.

Pisang provides counseling and "treatment" to those who are possessed by evil spirits or those been hexed by witchcraft etc.

Sufiah Yusof became famous in 1997 when she was accepted by St. Hilda's College, Oxford University to study mathematics at the age of 13.

Sufiah's mother Halimaton Yusof, a scientist, is from Muar, Johor and her father Farooq Yusof, a mathematician, is from Pakistan.

However in March this year, Sufiah Yusof made headlines again, but this time as a high class call girl working in England. It was reported that Sufiah, 23, charges £130 (RM829) per hour for her services as a high class hooker operating in Manchester, England.

Sufiah told the British tabloid the News Of The World that, being a social escort is not sleezy. She admitted to the tabloid that she always had a high sex drive and being a social escort / call girl gives her the opportunity to have lots of sex.

A fews days ago, a Malaysian prostitute based in Birmingham, England, Noor Azura Mohd Yusoff made headlines when she was was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing a Chinese karaoke hostess Evelyn Xie Xing Xing.

We hope Pisang will be able to help Sufiah find the right path.

Latest: According to a local daily, Sufiah Yusof is now doing social work and is no longer working as a prostitute. Apparently she was posessed by a djinn and under the influence of witchcraft. Sufiah is now recovering following intensive treatments by experts from Pisang.

Pisang said that somebody actually cast the sihir on her to use her for something else.

Please post your comments.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Malaysian Prostitute In England, Noor Azura Gets15 Years Jail

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Noor Azura Mohd Yusoff, 22, the Malaysian prostitute based in Birmingham, England was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing a Chinese karaoke hostess Xie Xing Xing, 23, also known as Evelyn to her friends.

Noor Azura has assumed several names. Although she was known to her friends as Princess, she is also known as Putri, Fioneia, Latina, Soffyah and Jenny.

Xie Xing Xing body has been cut up and dumped in different parts of London's Thames river.

Noor Azura Mohd Yusoff's Belfast-born, Vietnamese boyfriend, Gian Trach Lon, 27, was found guilty of the same offense and was sentenced to 22 years in prison, because he has 2 past convictions for violent crimes.

Gian Trach Lon also assumed aliases Alan, Lee, Lon and Lun.

The judge, Giles Forrester said: "The attack was vicious and cruel. Not only was she stabbed twice in the neck, she was indeed decapitated whilst alive."

Evidence showed that Xie Xing Xing's head was cut off while she was still alive and was intoxicated with very high levels of cocaine. A post-mortem result showed that Xie Xing Xing had 37 separate knife wounds.

According to a news report, Xie Xing Xing came from well respected academic family in Sichuan, China, and was a successful student at a university in Liverpool when she came to the UK in 2002.

Related posts - Nor Azura Is A Prostitute

Sufiah Likes Being A Prostitute

Sufiah Gets Help From Pisang

Friday, July 11, 2008

Indian Begger Gets Bank Account

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When 60-year-old Laxmi Das recently deposited her earnings in an Indian bank in Calcutta, it was a bit more than the usual mundane money transfer.

Ms Das handed over 91kg (200lb) of coins - the produce of 44 years of hard begging - enabling her to open an account and qualify for a credit card.

Laxmi began begging near Hatibagan, a busy road junction in northern Calcutta, at the age of 16.

Officials say she could have saved as much as 30,000 rupees ($692).

"She would spend frugally from her daily collection and save the coins. She was very possessive about them," says her sister Asha.

Ms Das saved the coins in iron buckets covered with jute bags at her home in a shanty town near the crossing.

In all, she collected four buckets of coins - of all denominations - some even minted as far back as 1961 and now clearly out of date.

"But we will accept those coins as well because she is poor and needs all our support," said Central Bank of India spokesman Shantanu Neogy.

He says there is a directive from India's Reserve Bank to accept all such outdated coins and reimburse the depositor in full.

'Unique savings'

Ms Das told bank officials that she had stored the coins for when she reached "old age" and needed a pension plan for when she was too old to beg.

Coins in Guwahati
Old Indian coins fetch high prices in Bangladesh (Photo: Subhamoy Bhattacharjee)

She was encouraged to deposit the money by police who feared it could have been stolen from her home.

"It is not safe for her to have the coins in the shanty any more, now that people have come to know," said police officer Baidyanath Saha. "A bank account would be the best option for her unique savings."

Bank officials say they are still counting thousands of her coins and still do not know the exact amount.

They say that there are "a lot of coins to count".

Once her account is eventually opened, officials at the Central Bank of India will give her advice on how to use her money.

Ms Das chose to ignore - or did not know about - a thriving racket in this part of the world in which old Indian coins are smuggled and melted down in Bangladesh to make razor blades that sell for up to seven times their value as coins.

The scam has caused an acute coin shortage in eastern India, forcing government mints to cut down on the amount of metal they now use to make the coins.

Source: BBC

Please post your comments.


Black Magic Power: Strangle Women & Drink Their Saliva

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Pic by MetroTVNews

Ahmad Suraji in the middle

He drank their saliva after strangling his victims. He did this to enhance his magical powers.

Ahmad Suraji, 57, a well known shaman who murdered 42 women and girls in black magic rituals has been executed by firing squad in Indonesia.

The Indonesian sorcerer Ahmad Suraji, had been sentenced to death in 1998 after police found 26 skeletons of females believed to be his victims buried in his sugar cane plantation.

The victims were mainly prostitutes who came to the sorcerer with wishes for money, love and to be made more beautiful.

Belief in black magic in Indonesia is still widespread, especially in rural areas.

Malaysians and Thais also strongly believe in black magic and the supernatural.

Related posts:

Black Magic And Superstition - Leaders And Victims


Bomohs Making Money From Politicians

Please post your comments. What do you believe ?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Youngest PHD Student In Oxford

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Britain's prestigious Oxford University has accepted a 17-year-old Horatio Boedihardjo from Hong Kong on one of its Phd programmes making him its youngest Phd student. Horatio Boedihardjo studied at Oxford as an undergraduate at 14 and has now been admitted to the university's mathematics doctorate programme.

How would this guy turn out in life ?

Read these related posts:

Sufiah Is A Prostitute

Is Sufiah The New Asia Carrera

Sufiah Likes Being A Prostitute

Child Prodigy: Two Sides Of Genius

Please post your comments.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Malaysia's Miss Universe Candidate - Levy Li Su Lin

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This is Levy Li Su Lin, Malaysia's Miss Universe Candidate.

This year the Miss Universe pageant will be held in Vietman's central Nha Trang resort city on July 14, 2008.

So what do you think guys, does Malaysia have a chance to win anything this year ?

On looks alone, how do you rate her from a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being ugly and 10 being super pretty).

Latest news - Miss Venezuela Is Miss Universe

Please post your comments.
 

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