Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru

[Sci Medical & Health]

My new projects... Anybody who can help me to get ALL the info? This post will be saparated into a few topic.

Introduction:



From the Director:



HSA History:



HSA Today:



HSA in News:



Services:



Activities:



Gallery:



Links:

But I've moved it to H S A J B . org. Unofficial weblog for Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru.

I've got this from Lina

[My Malaysiana]

Dear JobStreet.com Member,

We are pleased to announce that JobStreet Corporation Bhd will be admitted to the Official List of the Bursa Malaysia on the Mesdaq Market at 9am on Monday, 29 Nov 2004.

For all our latest news and updates, please visit
http://my.jobstreet.com/aboutus/media_reports.htm

Sincerely,
Mark Chang
for JobStreet Corporation Berhad

9T9: One lot share for each members? Loyal members like me i mean.

Dont CHOKE your child

[Sci Medical & Health]

One another good articles from our neighbours website. Another precautions to bear in minds.

PREVENT CHOKING

Choking occurs when food or small objects block the airway. When this happens it prevents oxygen from getting to the lungs and the brain. When the brain is without oxygen for more than 4 minutes, brain damage and even death can occur.

Choking is a common cause of death here in Singapore, especially by food. Many children die from choking each year. While adults are more adept at recovering or even preventing themselves from being choked by foodstuff, children may have less control, and babies, even less. Parents and caregivers can thus do much to prevent their kids from choking on foodstuff.

Choking is a common cause of unintentional death in children under the age of one. Avoid all foods that could lodge in a child's throat. Some examples include popcorn, grapes, food with pits, raisins, nuts, hard candies, raw vegetables, and small pieces of hotdogs.
Never let children of any age eat or suck on anything, such as hard candy, while lying down.

Keep floors, tables and cabinet tops free of small objects that could be swallowed. Such objects include coins, button-sized batteries, rings, nails, tacks and broken or deflated balloons.

Babies - Suffocation
Babies are most prone to suffocation during their sleep.

Infants, when placed on an adult bed of any kind, can roll into the space between the wall and the mattress and suffocate. Exercise caution if sleeping in the same bed with an infant. It is possible for an infant to become wedged between your body and the mattress and suffocate. Infants should not be placed on top of soft surfaces like sofas, large soft toys, sofa cushions, pillows, waterbeds or on top of blankets, quilts or comforters.

Keep these other precautions in mind:

Babies should sleep on their backs.

Crib bars should be no more than 6-7 cm apart to prevent infants from getting their heads stuck between them.

The crib mattress must fit tightly so there are no gaps for an infant to fall into. Keep the crib clear of plastic sheets, pillows and large stuffed animals or toys. These items can cause suffocation.

Keep toys with long strings or cords away from infants and young children. A cord can become wrapped around an infant's neck and cause strangulation. Toys with long strings, cords, loops or ribbons should never be hung in cribs or playpens. Similarly, pacifiers should never be attached to strings or ribbons around the baby's neck.

Check window curtains for potentially hazardous pull cords. Avoid accordion style safety gates with large openings between bars that children could fit their heads through and get stuck.

Children
Children 4 years and below are very likely to swallow anything they get their hands on, or at least attempt to bite on them. Keeping your home free of loose objects that can suffocate them is a first step to preventing choking. Education of the child is also essential.

Eat well

Insist that your children eat meals at the table, or at least sitting down. Never let your children walk or run with food in their mouth.

Supervise mealtimes for infants and young children. Young children can choke on food or objects an older child has given them. An example may be when an older child picks up free hard candy in a restaurant and gives to the infant.

Teach your children to chew their food well before swallowing. Create a game out of it.

A Safe Home

Remove small objects that may be hidden in the carpet or under furniture that a child may put into his/her mouth and choke on. Make this a daily habit while your children are young.

Keep your home clear of all small objects. This would include jewellery or coins you might place on low tables when relaxing for the evening. Watch your home for things that may become detached easily. These objects include buttons, pen caps, furniture knobs or small light bulbs that may become detached by you or your child.

Warn your guests who are staying overnight not to leave small objects around that may cause choking to your young children or baby. Extra caution should also be taken when you visit other people’s homes.

Keep medicine and pills out of reach. And do not take them in front of children. Children learn to imitate their parents at an early age.

Avoid buying toys with small parts, especially if they are plastic. Children are often more enthused with the parts that come off than the toy itself. Follow age recommendations manufacturers place on toy packages in the stores.

Keep small household items out of reach. Small toys and household objects can be kept safely out of reach in plastic jars or containers. Lock up small toys, and drawers in the house that your child may be able to reach.

Keep your older children’s toys out of reach if your child is under three. Teach older children the importance of this. Keep younger children out of older children’s rooms in the house. Encourage older children to play only in their room when playing with small toys or games with small pieces.

Never let a small child play with a deflated balloon. Supervise your child if they are playing with a balloon. Balloons will often pop or deflate and have little pieces that can be swallowed. Pop the balloon and discard the pieces once it starts to lose air.

Empty ashtrays regularly if you smoke. A child may want to imitate you and put a cigarette butt in his mouth.

Small batteries are a common danger if left around the house or if a small child removes one from a watch, camera or calculator. Store these items safely away.

The following lists of foods and other materials pose a choking hazard for children. Although not complete, this list includes foods and objects most often reported by emergency room doctors:

Foods: Chunks of meat, chunks of peanut butter, grapes, hot dogs, nuts, popcorn, raisins, fruit peels.

Household objects: Balloons, light bulbs (small torchlights), small toy balls, coins, batteries, marbles, buttons, cigarette butts, nails, screws, tacks, cough drops, paper clips, crayon pieces, pen caps, furniture knobs, game pieces, safety pins, jewellery, toy parts.

Be prepared... just in case
Be prepared in case your child does choke on a small object or food. Take an approved class in basic First Aid, CPR or emergency prevention.

When a person is unable to speak, cough or breathe, they need immediate first aid to dislodge the object in their throat and restore normal breathing.

First Aid differs for choking victims, depending on their age. For a conscious adult or child over 1 year of age, experts recommend the Heimlich maneuver. Stand behind the victim, make a fist, place it above her navel, put your other hand on top of your fist, and give quick, upward thrusts.

For conscious infants, give five back blows followed by five chest thrusts. Check the mouth with your finger only if you can see the object near the front of the mouth and you are able to remove the object.

Call for emergency help and start CPR to clear the airway of a choking victim whose breathing or heartbeat has stopped.

Heimlich Maneuver maybe can helps.

[Sci Medical & Health]

From what was happened lately (especially to the little Poh Yan). Hopefully its can make a lot of different by knowing it. Just to share something, maybe one day its can save our loves one.

Heimlich Maneuver

This procedure can save a choking victim by expelling objects blocking the airway.

What is it? (Overview)

You’re enjoying a meal with friends when suddenly your spouse clutches his throat. He can’t talk and gestures for help. You have to act quickly. Brain damage or death can happen in just 4 to ten minutes without air. You jump up, grasp him from behind, and give a quick upward thrust with your fist. A piece of meat flies out and he takes a deep breath. You just successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver.

This simple procedure first captured the medical world’s attention in 1972 when Dr. Henry Heimlich, a noted chest surgeon, experimented with techniques for helping choking victims. News of his invention (a simple bear hug with an upward thrusting motion) spread like wildfire and is now used worldwide.

It’s also used to help drowning victims and asthma sufferers. The maneuver forces water out of the lungs of drowning victims and the excess mucus that plugs lungs during an asthma attack.

How do I know if someone is choking? (Symptoms and Diagnosis)

He can’t speak or cough. He may grab at his throat or wave his arms. His eyes may bulge and his color may change. If he can still talk, he should recover on his own by coughing up the blockage. If he isn’t getting any air, he needs help.

What should I do? (Emergency Treatment)

Stand behind him and wrap your arms around his middle. Make a fist with one hand and place, thumb toward the victim, just below his rib cage. Cover it with your other hand. Using great force, squeeze your arms together and thrust your hands upward in one quick motion. What you want is to see the object fly out of his mouth. If that doesn’t happen, check inside his mouth to see if it’s still blocking the airway; perform the maneuver one or two more times, and then check again. Ask someone nearby to call for help. Continue thrusting and then checking until he begins breathing or until help arrives.

What should I do if a baby is choking?

Sit down, lean forward, and fold the top half of his body over your forearm. Cup the baby’s chin in your upturned hand. While positioning the baby, ask someone to call for emergency assistance. Using the heel of your palm, give five quick blows to his upper back just below the shoulder blades. Gravity and the back blows may dislodge the object. If they don’t, turn the baby over along your arm, rest his head in your arm, and lower it so that is body is higher. Put two of your fingers in the center of his chest and push down and forward quickly five times. Check for breathing by looking for chest movement, listening for breathing sounds, or feeling his breath against your cheek. Continue until he starts breathing or help arrives.

Before you start the procedure, if the baby is coughing or crying heartily, don’t do anything. He’ll probably cough up the problem on his own.

What should I do for older children?

Use the same procedure for adults except don’t thrust quite as hard. Their smaller bodies don’t need quite as much force.

How can I prevent it? (Prevention)

Chew your food completely, especially meat, which people choke on more than any other food item. Choking often happens when people are laughing and talking while eating. Take your time and finish chewing before you talk. Not only is it safer, you’ll be a more pleasant dining companion as well.

Infants and young children under age 4 often choke on food because they can’t chew it into small enough pieces; they sometimes swallow food whole. So do the work for them and break their food into smaller, easy to chew pieces. Children most commonly choke on the following:

* hot dogs
* nuts
* whole grapes
* popcorn
* hard or sticky candy
* raw carrots
* chunks of peanut butter
* chunks of meat or cheese

Keep these household items away from children age 4 and under:

* latex balloons
* coins
* marbles
* small toys or parts
* caps of pens or markets
* small batteries
* buttons

More reading:

First aid for choking resources

Heimlich Maneuver

How to prevent children from choking on food

Choking

WHITE RIBBON DAY

[My Australasia]




The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women - also known as White Ribbon Day - is marked on 25 November each year and is an opportunity for governments, businesses and community groups to focus on a problem that affects many people in Australia and throughout the world.

Violent crimes against women and girls - like domestic violence, sexual assault and people trafficking - are committed every day. It affects everyone in the community, and the White Ribbon Campaign provides a time for us to pay particular attention to this very important issue.

9T9: But this is last year issues, mates. Still in 2003 archeived. Nobody really care about it right mate. Just a tag line... Violences against women not happen in just one day. Everyday and every second, its happened. Not many from us are really care about this. How about Malaysian, are they really know about this? Just want to find out.

PDRM laksanakan sistem integrasi dengan masyarakat cegah jenayah

[Crimes]

KUALA LUMPUR 24 Nov. - Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) akan melaksanakan sistem integrasi bersepadu antara anggotanya dengan masyarakat bertujuan mencegah jenayah di semua Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen (IPK) dan Ibu Pejabat Daerah (IPD) seluruh negara dalam tempoh terdekat.

Pengarah Keselamatan Dalam Negeri dan Ketenteraman Awam (KDNKA) Bukit Aman, Datuk Seri Salleh Mat Som berkata, sistem menyerupai program Rakan COP (polis berorientasikan masyarakat) Kuala Lumpur itu akan diguna pakai bersama aplikasi terkini PDRM iaitu mengarah, mengawal, komunikasi, koordinasi dan informasi (C4I).

Melalui sistem C4I itu, ia berupaya menunjukkan secara tepat, cepat dan terperinci lokasi berhubung sesuatu kejadian jenayah dan seumpamanya di seluruh negara.

Beliau berkata, pelaksanaan sistem integrasi itu dibuat ekoran kejayaan IPK Kuala Lumpur mengurangkan kadar jenayah di ibu negara sejak Rakan COP dilancarkan pada Julai lalu.

``Kita melihat pendekatan polis Kuala Lumpur menjaga ketenteraman dan mencegah jenayah adalah berkesan sekali.

``Jadi, kita akan memperakukan sistem ini untuk diguna pakai di seluruh negara dalam tempoh terdekat,'' kata Salleh kepada pemberita pada majlis lawatan kerjanya ke IPK Kuala Lumpur di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir ialah Ketua Polis Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Mustafa Abdullah dan Timbalannya, Datuk Ahmad Bahrin Idrus.

Menurut Salleh, selain membantu mencegah jenayah, sistem integrasi yang disokong teknologi terkini seperti khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS) itu juga boleh digunakan bagi membentuk jaringan kukuh antara anggota polis dan masyarakat.

Jelas beliau, pada dasarnya terdapat beberapa IPK kini telah mengguna pakai sistem tersebut tetapi belum lagi diperluaskan ke seluruh negara.

``Pelaksanaan sistem ini akan dijalankan secara berperingkat dan pada masa ini ia sudah selesai dalam fasa pertama iaitu di bandar-bandar besar. Bagi fasa kedua khususnya berhubung perkara logistik, ia dalam proses ke arah itu,'' katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Mustafa memberitahu, pelaksanaan Rakan COP menyebabkan jenayah kekerasan dan jenayah harta benda menurun sehingga 12.5 peratus sepanjang Januari hingga 21 November lalu berbanding tempoh yang sama tahun lepas.

``Bagi jenayah ragut di kawasan segi tiga emas misalnya telah menurun dengan ketara iaitu sebanyak 30 peratus manakala kes curi kereta menurun 11.6 peratus; curi van (10.7 peratus); pecah rumah siang hari (8.6 peratus); pecah rumah waktu malam (7.6 peratus); curi motosikal (4.3 peratus) dan lain-lain kecurian (5.3 peratus),'' katanya.

Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata, sebanyak sembilan kawasan di ibu negara telah dipasang kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) untuk tujuan cegah jenayah.

Katanya, antara kawasan tersebut ialah Ampang Mayang; Ampang Hamsphire; Ampang Bayu; Jalan Conlay; Cangkat Bukit Bintang Tiong Shin; Cangkat Bukit Bintang Alor; Chow Kit dan Lebuh Ampang.

``Kesemua CCTV itu disambung terus ke Bilik Gerakan C4I IPK Kuala Lumpur dan dipantau selama 24 jam oleh pegawai dan anggota bertugas,'' katanya.

Mustafa memberitahu, usaha menambah CCTV ke kawasan-kawasan lain di seluruh ibu negara sedang dijalankan

UTUSAN Online

Ban this killer jelly

[Sci Medical & Health]

A consultant pathologist has urged the authorities to ban cup jelly candy as it poses a high suffocation risk among children.

Prof Dr Kasinathan Nadesan of the University Malaya Medical Centre told The Malay Mail that most children sucked the jelly straight from its container after lifting the tab.

Due to the texture of the jelly, it gets sucked straight into the throat and this may cause children to choke.

"If the blockage is not cleared quickly the victim may die within minutes," Dr Nadesan said when asked to comment on the death of three-year-old Wong Poh Yan on Sunday.

Poh Yan was riding a bicycle accompanied by her Indonesian maid near her house in Seri Petaling when she choked on the candy, the second piece she had within minutes.

The maid tried to dig out the candy using her fingers but failed. The girl was pronounced dead when she was taken to a nearby clinic by her father.

A post-mortem at the UMMC on Monday revealed that the candy was lodged in her throat between the larynx and vocal chords.

Checks by The Malay Mail at shops near the victim's house showed several brands of the jelly on sale at RM1.20 for a packet of 20 cups.

Dr Nadesan said what happened to Poh Yan is not an isolated case. He said there have been similar cases in the past year, although he could not give details.

"That is why I am calling for a ban on this particular type of jelly which is sucked by children," he said.

"Meanwhile, parents should supervise their children when this jelly is consumed." Asked what was the best way to help a child who is choking, Dr Nadesan said the child has to be held by the legs, upside-down and slapped hard on the back, just below the neck.

"This is the most effective and the fastest way to dislodge the foreign object from the throat. There is no point running to a doctor at that time, as every second counts," he said.

"The child could end up dead by the time he or she gets medical attention." Poh Yan, the youngest of four children, was cremated yesterday at the Cheras crematorium.

MM

9T9: No need for over react, just a precaution.

'Sex' star covered up

[InterFaith]

From correspondents in Jerusalem

SEX In The City star Sarah Jessica Parker's fashion sense raised the ire of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel who demanded that billboards featuring the actress in a skimpy dress be covered up.

Photos of Parker lying in a skin-revealing, spaghetti strap gown were pasted on billboards across Israel to promote Lux soap.

But ultra-Orthodox Jews took offence at the sight of Parker's arms, back, shoulders and even a little thigh.

So much so that one leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi contacted the distributor and warned that if the offending posters were not removed, the religious community would boycott the company's extensive product line, the Haaretz daily reported.

Almost immediately, the Israeli branch of consumer product group Unilever removed the posters and replaced them with a more chaste version.

In the new posters, Parker is wearing an uncharacteristically modest long-sleeve gown that would have made Carrie Bradshaw, her fashion goddess character in the iconic American TV show, blanch.

Downplaying the makeover, a marketing manager for Unilever said jokingly: "We decided to make her dress more suitable for the winter weather".

Reuters

9T9: So how about Malaysian Unilever... if there any cover up for make their model dresses more suitable for our weather that fairly hot and humid all year round.

Penganggur mengaku salah ragut dompet wanita

[Crimes]

IPOH 22 Nov. - Seorang penganggur mengaku bersalah di Mahkamah Majistret di sini hari ini atas tuduhan mencuri dengan cara meragut dompet milik seorang wanita di pusat membeli-belah Ipoh Parade pada 18 November lalu.

Azzahri Arrifin, 27, dari Kampung tersusun Kopisan, Gopeng mengaku mencuri dompet milik Chah Foong Ting yang mengandungi lesen memandu dan wang tunai sebanyak RM39, kira-kira pukul 4 petang pada tarikh tersebut.

Dia didakwa di bawah Seksyen 380 Kanun Keseksaan yang boleh membawa kepada hukuman maksimum penjara 10 tahun jika sabit kesalahan.

Majistret Rohaida Ishak menetapkan 19 Januari ini untuk menjatuhkan hukuman dan membenarkan ikat jamin sebanyak RM3,000.

Bagaimanapun tertuduh gagal menjelaskan wang ikat jamin.

Pendakwaan dikendalikan oleh pegawai pendakwa, Chief Inspektor Sarjit Singh manakala tertuduh tidak diwakili peguam.

Dalam kejadian Khamis lalu, Azzahri berjaya diberkas oleh orang ramai di Jalan Mustafa Al Bakri di sini ketika cuba melarikan diri selepas mencuri dompet milik Foong Ting di Ipoh Parade.

Dia yang melarikan dompet jenis Rossini bernilai RM60 hanya sempat meloloskan diri sejauh satu kilometer sebelum ditemui oleh dua lelaki yang mengejarnya.

Kegagalan tertuduh menyerahkan semula dompet yang dicuri telah mencetuskan pergaduhan yang akhirnya mengakibatkan dia cedera di bahagian kepala sebelum diserahkan kepada polis.

UTUSAN Online

Girl chokes to death on sweet

[Sci Medical & Health]

BY PARVEEN GILL

KUALA LUMPUR: An evening bicycle ride routine for a three-year-old girl turned tragic when she choked on a sweet and fell from her bicycle in Sri Petaling here on Sunday.

Wong Poh Yan's father rushed her to a nearby clinic minutes later but she was pronounced dead upon arrival.

A post-mortem at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre yesterday revealed that she had choked to death.

Wong Yok Keow claimed his daughter's body some three-and-a-half hours later.

The 58-year-old contractor said the incident occurred as his 30-year-old Indonesian maid was escorting Poh Yan, who was riding her bicycle near the house.

“My daughter, the youngest of four siblings, was chewing on a sweet given by the maid when she suddenly choked and fell off the bicycle some 100m away from the house,” he said when interviewed,

“On seeing this, the maid stopped a passing car and rushed home carrying Poh Yan in her arms.

“I rushed Poh Yan to a nearby clinic but she was pronounced dead upon arrival,” said Yok Keow.

To a question, Yok Keow said the maid truly cared for Poh Yan.

“After my wife gave birth to her, she was suffering from post-natal depression and returned to her hometown in Ipoh.

“My wife never returned home and it was my maid who cared for Poh Yan and my three other children, aged, 16, 15 and 12.

“I believe that my daughter was fated to die and I am not going to blame my maid for that,” said the tearful father.

The maid, who declined to be identified, said when Poh Yan collapsed, she tried to dislodge the sweet by inserting her index finger into her mouth but failed.

It was then that she hitched a ride from a passing car back to her employer's house.

---

Budak 3 tahun mati tercekik gula-gula - Berita Harian

Oleh Raja Nurfatimah Mawar Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR: Seorang kanak-kanak perempuan mati dipercayai tercekik gula-gula ketika sedang bermain basikal bersama pembantu rumah di kawasan perumahan Sri Petaling, di sini, petang kelmarin.

Wong Poh Yan, 3, anak bongsu daripada empat beradik mati di tempat kejadian akibat kesukaran bernafas kira-kira jam 5.45 petang.

Pembantu rumah warga Indonesia berusia 30-an membawa mangsa keluar bersiar-siar kira-kira 100 meter dari rumah sebelum kanak-kanak itu dipercayai tercekik gula-gula ketika mengayuh basikal.

Berikutan itu, mangsa terjatuh dari basikal dan tidak sedarkan diri.

Pembantu rumah terbabit cuba mengeluarkan gula-gula dari mulut mangsa tetapi gagal dan bergegas menahan sebuah kereta yang kebetulan lalu di situ untuk membawa mangsa balik ke rumah selepas melihat kanak-kanak itu sudah tidak bergerak.

Bapa mangsa, Wong Yoon Keow, 58, menghantar anaknya yang tidak sedarkan diri ke klinik berdekatan. Bagaimanapun Poh Yan disahkan meninggal dunia.

Wong berkata, beliau terkejut apabila pembantu rumah memberitahu anak perempuannya pengsan selepas tercekik gula-gula.

“Saya terus membawa Poh Yan ke klinik berhampiran, bagaimanapun harapan saya berkecai apabila dia disahkan meninggal dunia akibat kesukaran bernafas,” katanya.

Mayat mangsa dibawa ke Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM) untuk bedah siasat, semalam.

Ketua Polis Daerah Brickfields, Asisten Komisioner Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin mengesahkan kejadian itu.

Zulhasnan berkata, bapa mangsa membuat laporan di Balai Polis Sri Petaling, semalam.

Mayat kanak-kanak itu dituntut keluarganya kira-kira jam 4 petang semalam untuk dibawa ke krematorium, Jalan Kuari, Cheras, di sini.

---

A three-year-old girl choked on a sweet and died yesterday. - NSTP

Wong Poh Yan was cycling near her home in Sri Petaling when the incident happened at 5.30pm. An Indonesian maid, who was looking after her, had given her a jelly sweet to chew on. When she was given a second sweet, she suddenly choked and fell off the bicycle.

The maid, who has been with the family for five years, tried to remove the sweet from Poh Yan's mouth but was unsuccessful.

She stopped a car and asked the driver to send them to their house, about 100 metres away.

Wong Yoon Keow, 58, said his daughter's face turned blue and he noticed that she had stopped breathing. He immediately drove her to a clinic nearby but she was pronounced dead on arrival. Poh Yan's body was sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre for a post-mortem. Wong, a contractor, said that Poh Yan, the youngest of his four children, loved chocolates and sweets very much.

"She had the sweetest smile...," he said, unable to complete the sentence after being overcome by emotion.

Brickfields police chief Assistant Commissioner Zul Hasnan Najib confirmed the incident and said the case had been classified as sudden death.

---

Budak mati tercekik gula-gula jeli - Utusan Online

Oleh: AZIAN AZIZ

KUALA LUMPUR 22 Nov. - Seorang kanak-kanak perempuan yang riang berbasikal sambil mengunyah dua biji gula-gula jeli mati tercekik gula-gula itu di Jalan 6/149J, Sri Petaling di sini petang semalam.

Ketika kejadian pukul 5.30 petang itu, Wong Poh Yan, 3, mengayuh basikal kira-kira 100 meter dari rumahnya di Jalan 8/149J sambil ditemani pembantu rumahnya.

Mangsa dikatakan tercekik ketika mengunyah gula-gula jeli yang kedua dan terjatuh dari basikalnya dipercayai setelah sesak nafas sebelum tidak sedarkan diri.

Menurut bapa mangsa, Wong Yeon Keow, 58, apabila melihat Poh Yan terjatuh dari basikal dan tidak bernafas, pembantu rumah terus menahan sebuah kereta yang kebetulan lalu di tempat kejadian dan meminta pertolongan pemandunya menghantar dia dan Poh Yan ke rumah.

Kata Yeon Keow, dia yang berada di ruang tamu terus berkejar ke luar rumah apabila melihat pembantu rumahnya mendukung Poh Yan sambil menjerit memberitahu anaknya tidak sedarkan diri akibat tercekik gula-gula jeli.

``Saya terus mengambil kunci kereta dan menyuruh pembantu rumah masuk bersama Poh Yan dan terus ke klinik berdekatan.

``Sesampainya di klinik, doktor yang membuat pemeriksaan memberitahu saya Poh Yan telah meninggal dunia,'' ceritanya dengan nada sedih.

Tambah Yeon Keow lagi, mayat Poh Yan kemudian dihantar ke Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM) untuk dibedah siasat.

Sementara itu, jurucakap bilik mayat PPUM hari ini memberitahu, laporan bedah siasat mendapati Poh Yan mati akibat tercekik gula-gula jeli setelah menemui gula-gula itu tersekat di tekaknya.

Katanya, mayat Poh Yan telah dituntut oleh ayahnya petang ini untuk urusan pembakaran.

Ketua Polis Daerah Brickfields, Asisten Komisioner Zulhasnan Najib Baharuddin mengesahkan menerima laporan kejadian tersebut dan memberitahu kes tersebut tidak disiasat di bawah kes jenayah.

---

9T9: Another sad stories because of lack-off OUR first aid knowledge. Feel sorry to her family for this great loss. For me personally, we must have this basic first aid to bear in minds. Not necessary you must have MD to know this. Everybody must know at least the basic one. But some says, "When faced with a first aid emergency no matter how minor or severe the biggest mistake people make is that they PANIC," so how to handle this PANIC situation mates, because everybody must be PANIC when in that situation? And an expert also said "By learning basic first aid and having the proper supplies to deal with minor first aid situations, the panic factor could be eased dramatically..." hopefully.

Polis diminta proaktif tangani jenayah di Gombak

[Crimes]

Saudara Pengarang,
KEGIATAN ragut di sekitar kawasan Jalan Madrasah, Gombak dekat Kuala Lumpur semakin membimbangkan.

Hampir saban hari ada sahaja kes cubaan meragut di jalan itu oleh penunggang bermotosikal. Yang pergi surau, pergi kedai dan jalan untuk keluar bekerja kerap menjadi mangsa.

Para penduduk di sini kerap menghubungi polis tetapi tiada tindakan berkesan diambil. Apabila aduan dibuat di balai, kedengaran komen-komen yang kurang enak seperti ``sepatutnya ke balai lain'', ``inilah kalau tak hati-hati'', dan ``biasalah kawasan tu, berisiko''.

Anehnya, jarang dapat dilihat polis bermotosikal meronda di kawasan itu yang terletak kira-kira 150 meter dari Balai Polis Gombak dan 200 meter dari pondok polis Taman Melati.

Saya mencadangkan supaya polis mengambil pendekatan lebih berkesan menangani kes ragut di kawasan tersebut dan sekitarnya yang mempunyai kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi.

Ini meliputi:

* Membanteras kegiatan penagih dadah. Ramai penagih dadah berkeliaran di kawasan berkenaan terutama di kawasan perumahan DBKL dan rumah pangsa Taman Melati.

* Memperhebatkan pemeriksaan penunggang motosikal termasuk di kawasan tumpuan seperti belakang stesen LRT Taman Melati, sudut-sudut rumah pangsa dan di kawasan gerai.

* Memperhebatkan kegiatan risikan jenayah di kawasan berkenaan bagi mencari dan membongkar `akar' golongan penjenayah ini.

* Menukar modus operasi-operasi cegah jenayah menerusi anggota berpakaian preman di kawasan-kawasan yang kerap berlaku jenayah.

* Polis mewujudkan rangkaian kerjasama erat dengan penduduk setempat menerusi Rukun Tetangga, RELA, persatuan penduduk dan jawatankuasa surau/masjid.

* Para pegawai kanan polis sendiri harus kerap turun padang dan melihat suasana di sesuatu tempat bagi membolehkan mereka memantau kerja anak-anak buah. Selalulah bercakap dengan penduduk untuk mendapat maklum balas sebenar.

Saya juga berharap pegawai dan anggota polis di kawasan-kawasan berkenaan supaya lebih proaktif dalam melaksanakan tugas mereka dan jangan hanya menanti sesuatu terjadi, baru bertindak.

Sebagai contoh di Taman Melati, kegiatan mat rempit atau lumba haram yang selalu menyebabkan kebisingan melampau, seakan-akan tiada tindakan diambil walaupun tempat mereka berkumpul diketahui oleh anggota polis. Malah mereka adakalanya minum di gerai yang sama dan polis tahu di mana rumah penunggang-penunggang itu, yang segelintirnya dipercayai penagih dan peragut.

Saya juga hairan dengan beberapa jalan di Gombak (di bawah seliaan DBKL) yang masih belum mempunyai lampu jalan walaupun tiangnya ada. Ini termasuk Jalan Madrasah. Ironinya, pihak DBKL tidak pernah terlewat atau lupa dalam menuntut cukai pintu tetapi berdiam diri apabila ditanya soal seperti itu.

Semoga pandangan ini dapat mendorong kepada semua pihak untuk berusaha menjayakan gagasan mewujudkan persekitaran dan kawasan perumahan yang lebih selamat untuk warga kota.

Janganlah hanya beri tumpuan kepada penduduk golongan mewah dan memandang ringan kawasan rakyat biasa. - BEKAS POLIS, Gombak, Selangor.

Wanted, DODOL

[My Malaysiana]

Anybody knows where can I get a good fresh traditional kampung DODOL in KL.

Yes the real DODOL... No joking. Im really my mom want it badly. Missed to get it last Raya. I tried to find it along Jalan Masjid India, around Masjid Jamek... along MRR highway to Giant Taman Permata this evening but no one have to sell it. Pasar Datuk Keramat also dont have it. There is only LEMANG everywhere. Please help if you know anybody who sell DODOL around KL.

DODOL (some call it rice halwa) Made from glutinous rice flour cooked with coconut milk and sugar, added with durian or pandan as a flavor this traditional delicacy is stand test of time (evergreen). Dodol is popular especially during festive season like Hari Raya and other important festivals. It is also called as traditional Malay sweet cakes, a must just like Chinese Kuih Bakul.

Solitaire Master

[My Malaysiana]

Wondering when found that my PC always turn on all the night. Thanks god, no other games installed there. Better I keep my PS2 away.

Snatch Thieves News - Updates

[Crimes]

Penganggur dinafi ikat jamin

KUALA LUMPUR: Mahkamah Majistret di sini semalam, tidak membenarkan jaminan diberikan terhadap seorang penganggur yang mengaku bersalah atas tuduhan meragut beg tangan seorang wanita di Sentul, di sini, minggu lalu.

Majistret Mohd Khairi Haron, membuat keputusan itu terhadap James Arokian, 24, dan menetapkan 28 Disember depan untuk kes itu disebut semula serta bagi menjatuhkan hukuman.

Tertuduh bersama rakannya yang masih bebas didakwa meragut beg tangan berwarna kuning yang mengandungi wang tunai RM17, telefon bimbit jenama Nokia 2100 serta kad pengenalan milik Hui Choi Lian @ Joan Hee, 22.

Dia didakwa melakukan kesalahan itu kira-kira jam 8.50 malam di Blok 27, Bandar Baru Sentul, 9 November lalu.

Jika sabit kesalahan, dia boleh dihukum penjara maksimum tujuh tahun dan denda.

Dia juga menghadapi tuduhan kedua iaitu gagal menunjukkan kad pengenalan atau sebarang dokumen ketika ditahan seorang anggota polis pada hari kejadian.

---

Polis buru peragut sasar pelancong asing

KUALA LUMPUR: Polis sedang memburu seorang peragut yang menggunakan motosikal jenis Yahama RXZ dengan menjadikan pelancong asing sebagai mangsanya di kawasan segi tiga emas di ibu kota.

Peragut itu disyaki terbabit dalam sekurang-kurangnya empat kes ragut di kawasan berkenaan, semuanya membabitkan pelancong asing, sejak beberapa hari lalu. Malah, dalam tempoh 24 jam kelmarin, dia dipercayai terbabit dalam dua kes ragut.

Dalam kes terbaru, seorang guru warga British menjadi mangsanya ketika bersiar-siar berhampiran Jalan Berangan off Jalan Nagasari, kelmarin.

Sumber polis berkata, dalam kejadian kira-kira jam 11.15 malam itu, mangsa yang berjalan kaki bersama suaminya diragut dari belakang oleh seorang penunggang motosikal.

Katanya, mangsa yang berusia 31 tahun kehilangan kamera digital dan wang tunai berjumlah RM2,200.

Dalam kejadian lain, seorang pelancong warga Singapura berusia 34 tahun diragut sewaktu bersiar-siar di Persiaran KLCC pada jam 2.45 petang, pada hari sama.

“Mangsa yang bekerja sebagai pakar kecantikan diragut oleh lelaki yang menaiki motosikal ketika berjalan untuk pulang ke hotel penginapannya.

“Warga Singapura berkenaan kehilangan dua telefon bimbit selain pelbagai jenis mata mata wang bernilai lebih RM5,000,” katanya.

Sumber itu berkata, dalam kes berasingan, seorang ahli perniagaan wanita dipercayai warga Indonesia turut diragut lelaki sama ketika berjalan kaki berhampiran Kampung Baru.

Katanya, dalam kejadian jam 7 pagi, mangsa yang berusia 28 tahun mendakwa beg tangan miliknya diragut dua lelaki yang menaiki motosikal Yamaha RXZ.

“Mangsa mendakwa kehilangan pasport, telefon bimbit dan wang tunai berjumlah RM200,” katanya.

---

Orang awam tangkap peragut

IPOH: Seorang lelaki yang cuba melarikan diri selepas meragut dompet seorang wanita ditangkap orang ramai selepas mengejarnya kira-kira satu kilometer di Jalan Mustafa Al Bakri di sini, petang semalam.

Dalam kejadian jam 4.15 petang, peragut berusia dalam lingkungan 30-an itu dikatakan melarikan dompet milik mangsa di kompleks beli-belah Ipoh Parade di sini.

Seorang saksi, Farid Azhar, 20, berkata sekumpulan orang awam yang melihat kejadian itu cuba mengejar lelaki itu bagaimanapun gagal kerana terpaksa melalui jalan yang sibuk.

Farid yang sedang menunggang motosikal ketika itu cuba membantu mengejar peragut itu bersama seorang lelaki lain dengan mencarinya di kawasan berhampiran.

“Kami menemui lelaki yang disyaki ketika dia sedang berjalan kaki di Jalan Mustafa Al Bakri di sini sebelum bertindak menahannya,” katanya ketika ditemui di tempat kejadian, semalam.

---

Penganggur mengaku salah tuduhan ragut beg tangan wanita

KUALA LUMPUR 18 Nov. - Seorang penganggur berusia 24 tahun mengaku bersalah di Mahkamah Majistret di sini hari ini atas tuduhan mencuri dengan cara meragut beg tangan milik seorang wanita.

James Arokian mengaku meragut beg tangan berwarna kuning milik Hui Choi Lian @ Joan Hee, 22, yang mengandungi wang tunai RM17 dan telefon bimbit Nokia 2100 serta kad pengenalan.

Tertuduh juga mengaku bersalah atas tuduhan gagal menunjukkan kad pengenalannya ketika diminta oleh polis.

Dia mengaku melakukan perbuatan itu pada pukul 8.50 malam, 9 November lalu di Block 27, Bandar Baru Sentul di sini.

Majistret Mohd. Khairi Haron akan menjatuhkan hukuman terhadap tertuduh pada 28 Disember depan.

Di mahkamah yang sama, seorang pekerja hotel mengaku bersalah atas tuduhan mencuri pelbagai barangan makanan dan penjagaan rambut milik pasar raya Giant di Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).

Muhamad Norapizan Abd. Manaf, 29, mengaku mencuri satu tin milo, horlick, Gardenia Twiggies Cream Dream, empat botol syampu Pantene dan perapi rambut jenama Rejoice dan Sunsilk yang kesemuanya bernilai RM67.50.

Tertuduh didakwa melakukan perbuatan itu pada pukul 1.15 tengah hari, 17 November lalu di pasar raya tersebut di Jalan Ampang di sini.

Mohd. Khairi menetapkan 6 Januari tahun depan untuk menjatuhkan hukuman terhadap tertuduh.

9T9: Kepada yang berhasrat nak meragut tu... just watch out, beware kalau tak teruk le kena belasah. Kepada penangkap peragut tu pula... Syabas! Anda memang warga yang berani... namun harus terus berhati-hati bertindak terhadap penjenayah bacul tu.

Kuching outcry over attacks at library compound

[Crimes]

BY JACK WONG

KUCHING: The senseless attacks on two young couples at the state library compound in Petra Jaya here in one week have caused a public outrage.

Several parents are worried about the safety of their children who go to the library at night following the latest incident.

In Tuesday night’s incident, part-time college student Mazlan Sapiee, 22, was killed and his girlfriend beaten unconscious by a lone assailant.

One parent, C.K. Lim, said he now insisted that his fifth form daughter be accompanied every time she went to the library at night.

“This is to ensure her safety as the roads leading to the library and its compound are poorly lit,” he said yesterday.

Housewife Noresa Ali said she would not send her teenage son to the library at night until security at the library compound was beefed up and lights installed.

“I do not want to take chances and gamble with his safety,” she said.

In the first incident last Thursday night, another couple, also in their 20s, were beaten unconsciousness in the compound by two assailants.

They were found at about 11am the next day by passers-by and sent to the Sarawak General Hospital for treatment.

The RM50mil ultra-modern library complex on a 2ha site was opened during the millennium celebrations.

Equipped with the latest electronic multimedia communication systems, the library is popular and widely used by school children and adults. It is open until 9pm daily.

Sarawak Deputy Police Commissioner SAC (I) Abang Wahap Abang Julai said police had recovered a blood-stained wood believed to be the weapon used by Mazlan's assailant.

He said the piece had been sent to the Chemistry Department.

SAC I Abang Wahap said no suspects had been detained over the killing yet.

He urged the City Hall and relevant government agencies to light up public places at night to enhance safety.

“Couples should refrain from going to dark places,” he told reporters yesterday.

Padungan assemblyman Lily Yong Lee Lee, who co-chairs the newly set up Citizens Against Crime action committee, said she was alarmed by the two incidents as Kuching was a relatively safe city.

Yong urged the authorities to ensure that public areas such as gardens, parks and back lanes of shophouses are well lit at night and police patrols are stepped up.

Student dies, girl hurt in attack

[Crimes]

KUCHING: A part-time college student was killed and his girlfriend assaulted in the state library compound in Petra Jaya here on Tuesday night.

It is believed that Mazlan Sapiee, 22, from Kampung Bintawa Tengah here, died of head injuries.

Sarawak CID chief SAC (II) Karn Kam Peng said Mazlan – the youngest of five siblings – was believed to have been beaten unconscious by an unknown assailant.

“Initial investigation showed that there was an attempt to rape the woman, identified only as Dayang, a 21-year-old college student,” he told reporters here yesterday.

According to Bernama, SAC Kam said based on the medical report, Dayang, who was admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital here and received seven stitches on her ear, was not raped as reported in the local newspapers yesterday.

The case, he added, had been classified as murder although the motive was robbery.

City police had recovered a 2m-long piece of wood, believed to be the murder weapon, from the scene, he said.

Mazlan's body, clad in his Hari Raya baju Melayu, was found under a tree by his father and a group of villagers after Dayang had informed his parents of the incident at 10pm.

The girl, also beaten unconscious during the attack, called his family from the hospital, where she had been sent by passing motorists whom she approached for help upon regaining consciousness.

Police sources said the assailant accosted the young couple around 8pm and asked if they had jewellery on them.

The assailant was believed to have approached the couple, whose wallets and handphones were taken in the incident, after alighting from his motorcycle.

This is the second such incident at the library compound in less than a week. Two men attacked another couple there last Thursday night.

In the earlier incident, it was believed that the couple, also in their 20s, were also beaten unconscious. They were found at around 11am on Friday and taken to the hospital, where they regained consciousness.

The motive for the attack was believed to be robbery.

9T9: Now even that quite and peacefull place, are not too safe anymore.

Couple adopt miracle baby

[Crimes]

BY R.S.N. MURALI

KUALA PILAH: Miracle baby Amirul Naim Azhar will now be showered with the love from his uncle and aunt, who have adopted him as their own son.

Amirul was brought into the world on Oct 20 by doctors at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru, who had operated on his snatch theft victim mother Sanorfizah Saleh while she was in a coma.

The baby's adoption by Mohd Nasir Mohd Ali, 45, and his 39-year-old wife Siti Nurbayah Abdul Kadir was with the blessing of his father Azhar Mohd Ali. Mohd Nasir is Azhar's elder brother.

Sanorfizah, 31, died at noon on Nov 10 – 22 days after going into a coma as a result of a fall from her motorcycle when two men on another motorcycle snatched her handbag.

The nine-month pregnant mother was then on her way from Masai to Pasir Gudang to pick up some goods from a direct-selling stockist.

Siti Nurbayah, who works with a television station in Kuala Lumpur, said she was elated to be granted custody of Amirul.

“I have always longed for a son and am grateful that the Almighty has answered my prayers,” said the mother of two daughters while cuddling Amirul at her husband's family home in Kampung Pulai Pandan Seberang near here yesterday.

Sanorfizah left behind five other sons – Mohd Norhuzaifah, 12, Mohd Iskandar, 11, Mohamad, seven; Firdaus, six and Asyif, two.

Siti Nurbayah said she and her husband had intended to adopt Amirul, when they discovered that Sanorfizah was expecting a baby boy.

“I am unable to conceive anymore children as my two daughters were delivered via Caesarean section.

“We approached Sanorfizah during the second week of her pregnancy and expressed our hope of adopting her baby. She only nodded her head.

“Surprisingly, my sister-in-law contacted me a few weeks before the snatch theft incident and told me that I should take good care of the baby if something happened to her,'' Siti Nurbayah added.

Siti Nurbayah said her daughters – Nuratikah, 12, and Nuramirah, eight, – were excited to have a baby brother.

The Story of My Life

[Books]



The god of love plays on THOR KAH HOONG’s mind as he ruminates over Casanova’s colourful memoirs.

In my usual fashion while writing this column, I allow thoughts to build to a critical mass, this process being subtext to reading this and that through long days, and then there is a breach in the dam of words.

There is a skeletal map, but who knows where the flow goes? This is my way of explaining why I still haven’t gone through memoirs of Giacomo Casanova, heralded in the past few weeks.

Firstly, quite chuffed to receive an e-mail to last week’s piece which, among other things, recommended a read of Mark Childress’ novel Tender – from Mark Childress. He was equally chuffed to find his book being mentioned in Malaysia. (Mark, my shop also carries a copy of Crazy in Alabama.)

The unexpected mention must have felt like a ridiculously slow after-shock tremor that wobbled his step and world briefly because as he noted, it’s way back in his past. Published in 1990. A long time ago, many more words since then for a working writer; those emotions then, deeply buried by succeeding layers of experienced and discarded emotions; only current feelings and coming words count.

I thought of having another contest this week – then remembered I had one weeks ago about a memory palace. That elicited one response. One – either my readership runs to a single-digit, or I should have paid attention to Casanova’s wisdom:

“Any author who means to provoke thought in all those who read only and exclusively to deliver themselves from the temptation to think is presumptuous.”

Okay, how about a laugh? A chuckle? Work yourself up to a fleeting smile. This thought was prompted by a chapter in Giles Smith’s Lost in Music.

Smith is off to university. In a momentary fit, he decides to purge his 150 albums, cull music that would shout out “Hopeless Nerd”, Thirteen albums were buried deep in a cupboard. Smith is funny in explaining the rash juvenile enthusiasm for albums by Wild Cherry, Status Quo, Genesis.

For shock value there’s John Lennon’s Imagine in the neglected, but not forgotten, pile – “The rush of otherwise intelligent people determined to account for him, in death, as not just a surly rocker with a lippy wit, but as a philosopher and sage?.”

I do that all the time with my books and music – not to avoid cringing embarrassment, too hide-bound and past the age of blushing for that; my motivation – storage space at home is finite, my interests infinite. And at times some of the interests fade or die.

Looking through my music collection, , I was shocked at the sight of a Kim Carnes album. Vague memory of Betty Davis Eyes. Temporary insanity. I must give it away as a Christmas present.

Here’s where I part ways with Smith. His purge ended with: “? there is, in the end, a limit to the extent to which you can rewrite your past, unless you are a Stalin or trying to get into politics. It’s like trying to claim you are the sum of your edited highlights.”

Well, in the Penguin Classics edition of Casanova’s The Story of My Life, the reader also gets edited highlights – all of 500 pages. Sufficient for this reader, because I do not think I’ll have the interest to read the full 3,600 pages.

What a man. What a life. Born in Venice. Yet the memoirs were written in French. Born to actors who wanted him to be a priest.

He studied law and became an abbe? and a writer, soldier, con man, gambler, violinist, spy, director of a lottery, librarian, translator of Homer’s Iliad into Italian, contributor to the libretto for Mozart’s Don Giovanni ? and still found time for so many women.

It would be perverse to ignore Casanova’s loves and passions. There is nothing salacious in his recounting of his varied amatory adventures. One senses a joyous steeping in the senses.

Until 1993, the many editions of Casanova’s memoirs were based on a couple of early editions that freely cut and adapted the memoirs. The omission of much that was explicit about sex is understandable considering the times. Now the passages in the manuscript are just innocent pleasures compared to the domestic relations we read in the newspapers daily.

I cannot disapprove of someone who is so disarming, tongue in cheek, about his behaviour. In his preface, Casanova writes: “Despite an excellent moral foundation, the inevitable fruit of the divine principles rooted in my heart, I was prey to my senses throughout my life. I took pleasure in straying, and I lived perpetually in error, with no other consolation than an awareness of doing so?.

“As for my deceptions of women, these are not the sort to be tallied, since when love has a hand in things, each party usually dupes the other.” Hear! Hear!

The memoirs are not the tall tales of a boastful stud. The fact that Casanova started these memoirs in the last years of his life probably gave it the ironic distance and unashamed regard that are its features.

Here is another example of his humour with a subtle bite:

“One consolatory philosophy claims, in accordance with religion, that the soul’s dependence on the senses and organs is purely fortuitous and transitory, and that it will be free and happy when the death of the body liberates it from their tyrannical power. That’s all very beautiful but, religion aside, it is hardly certain. As I therefore could never be absolutely sure of my immortality before ceasing to exist, you will forgive me if I was in no hurry to discover this truth. A knowledge paid for with life is paid too dearly. While waiting, I shall worship God, avoiding all unjust action and shunning unjust men, without, however, doing them harm. It is enough that I abstain from doing them good. One must not feed snakes.”

Fans of National Geographic and Animal Planet notwithstanding, I love that last line. Just as I love the last half of this sentence (in italics): “Feeling as though I was born for the fair sex, I have always loved it and let it love me as much as I could.”

Alright, if humour and thought doesn’t ring your bell, read Casanova’s memoirs for the naughty bits. Just read him.

Before I start vegetating for the rest of the long holiday weekend, a note to those who contacted me about Elizabeth Wurtzel’s Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women. My shop now has stock of this book.

Thor Kah Hoong is a lecturer, playwright, actor, theatre director and bookstore owner (Skoob Books in Old Town Petaling Jaya; 03-7770 2500; e-mail: skoobkl@pd.jaring.my).

A Cold Heart

[Books]

Review by ELIZABETH TAI



Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Publisher: Headline, 576 pages

IT STARTED with the murder of Juliet Kipper, a promising young artist. How the body was posed and the careful staging of the murder scene alerts psychologist Alex Delaware to the possibility of a serial killer.

Meanwhile, Hollywood cops Petra Connor (introduced in another Jonathan Kellerman novel, Billy Straight) and Eric Stahl investigate the death of Baby Boy Lee, a popular Blues guitarist about to get his big break, who was stabbed to death in an alley. Delaware believes that the two murders could be related.

Now, if one wants to start reading prolific mystery writer Kellerman, A Cold Heart would be a difficult one to start with. For one, Kellerman culls characters used in other books to take a big part in solving the mystery. Second, Delaware (Kellerman’s psychologist detective) is at a difficult juncture of his life – the former love of his life, Robin, is with another man, and Delaware, although also with a new beau, has not gotten over her.

Basically, Kellerman writes with the assumption that the reader has some knowledge about his most popular creation, psychologist and unofficial detective Delaware. Therefore, the reader has to deal with Delaware’s baggage without having any idea what it is all about. The author does not explain how or why Delaware and Robin are not together anymore. Nor does he explain the special relationship between Milo and Delaware. A Cold Heart is not exactly beginner-friendly.

However, for regular Kellarman readers, it would be a treat to see detectives Petra Connor, Milo Sturgis and Delaware come together to investigate the murders of artistic people who are about to make a breakthrough in their careers.

Being a newbie to Kellerman’s books, I found the first few chapters of A Cold Heart tough-going. I spent half the time trying to make sense of Delaware’s relationship problems. I wanted to get down to the mystery instead of dealing with Delaware’s woe-is-me love life. While authors like Michael Connelly keep readers hooked with his characters’ troubled lives, Kellerman’s morose Delaware just irritates you with his inability to get on with his life. Kellerman also teases the reader with the troubled life of Eric Stahl, a new character. He would have been really interesting if more was revealed of him. Instead we just know that he has a phobia that gets in the way of his job. Perhaps Kellerman is hoping to milk more out of Stahl in the future?

A Cold Heart didn’t grip my attention evenly as well. There were times when I would plod through the pages mildly interested, while other times I would read feverishly, trying to get to the next plot twist.

In the end, the revelation of the killer’s identity didn’t leave me going “Ah!”. If anything, we know who the killer is quite a while before the ending, and you did hope that it was someone else instead. The mystery closes in a very anti-climactic way, almost with a whimper. No guns a-blazing, or sudden revelations involved. A little disappointing, that.

Having later read Bad Love, Kellerman’s earlier effort, this novel is certainly not his best work.

On the whole, a so-so mystery, but not one of Kellerman’s best.

Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia 1941 - 1945

[Books]

Authors: Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper

Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane

THE vast crescent of British-ruled territories from India to Singapore appeared in the early stages of the World War II. These territories were a massive asset in the war with Germany, providing huge quantities of soldiers and raw materials, and they were a key part of an impregnable global network denied to the Nazis.

Within a few weeks of 1941 to 1942, a Japanese invasion had destroyed all this, almost effortlessly taking the impregnable fortress of Singapore with its 80,000 strong garrison, sweeping through South and South-East Asia right up to the frontier of India.

Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia 1941 – 1945 brings to life the entire experience of South and South-East Asia in this extraordinary period, telling the story from an Indian, Burmese, Chinese and Malay perspective.

Effectively, it is the story of the birth of modern South and South-East Asia, and the hopes and fears of the dozens of forgotten armies marching through the jungle battlefields, so many dying for causes swept away by the reality that emerged in 1945.

Task Force Dagger

[Books]

Author: Robin Moore

Publisher: Pan Books

Task Force Dagger is an account of America’s War on Terror, from the first top-secret meetings of Task Force Dagger in Tampa on the afternoon of Sept 11, 2001, until the liberation of Kabul 62 days later, and the tragedies of Operation Anaconda.

With narrative seen through the eyes of the Green Berets on the ground, this is the story of how only a few hundred men, operating from a secret Special Forces base, changed the course of history in Central Asia and destroyed a hundred-thousand-man terrorist army in fewer than 90 days.

The book also abounds with revelations and inside information: the truth about John Walker Lindh and Mike Spann; the failure of the “conventional” generals; the courage of the Northern Alliance; the wounding and murder of journalists; and the flaws and frustrations of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, who is still being hunted today.

Man of secrets

[Books]

Compiled by SHARIL DEWA

The Cryptographer

Author: Tobias Hill

Publisher: Faber and Faber

JOHN Law is a man full of secrets. People call him the Cryptographer or the Code Maker.

Law is mysterious and charming. He is the world’s first quadrillionaire, and the inventor of an unbreakable code of a new form of electronic money. As a man, he is admired – and distrusted – more than most.

Tax inspector Anna Moore’s talent is for getting clients to talk, and in the Inland Revenue, she’s one of the best.

So when the Revenue assigns John Law as Anna’s new client, her first task is to discover just what it is he’s trying to hide.

However, it is not long before client and inspector get to know each other on a more intimate plateau.

Tobias Hill is the author of two highly acclaimed novels, Love of Stones and Underground, and three poetry collections including Zoo, Midnight In The City of the Clocks and Year of the Dog.

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The Whole Story and Other Stories

Author: Ali Smith

Publisher: Penguin

THIS book is a collection of 12 drolly-written tales that reflect the everyday.

It starts with The Universal Story, a story about a man who buys up used copies of The Great Gatsby for his sister who plans to use them to build a paper boat.

In May, a woman falls in love with a tree on a neighbour’s property that becomes a rival for her husband’s affection, while in Gothic, a bookstore clerk has to deal with a series of odd and occasionally threatening customers.

Elsewhere, in Being Quick, Death, dressed in a business suit, mingles with the rush hour crowd on a station platform and is recognised by the homeward-bound narrator whose cell phone goes dead: her commute becomes a strangely sinister odyssey while her anxious lover waits for her.

Ali Smith is the author of three collections of short stories, Free Love, Like, and Other Stories and Other Stories, and a novel Hotel World.

---

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia

Author: John Dickie

Publisher: Coronet

THIS book vividly reconstructs the stories of the men and women who have lived and died in the Mafia’s shadow.

It explains how the Sicilian Mafia began in the 1860s, how it responds to threats and challenges, and how it maintains its grip on the society where it was born.

The book explores the thought processes of the Mafia’s leaders and foot soldiers, its friends and its foes.

Its cast of characters includes Antonino Giammona, the first man with a claim to the title “boss of bosses”; Emanuele Notarbartolo, the honest and courageous banker who in 1893 became the Mafia’s first “eminent corpse”; New York policeman Joe Petrosino who underestimated the Sicilian Mafia and paid dearly with his life for this; and Bernardo “The Tractor” Provenzano, the current boss of bosses who has been in hiding in Sicily since 1963.

---

The Science of Cold Case Files

Author: Katherine Ramsland

Publisher: Penguin

THE files reveal the absorbing true stories behind the pioneering A&E television series, and the intrepid detectives whose investigations resulted in the resolution of the most baffling crimes, sometimes decades after they were committed.

From handwriting analysis, facial reconstruction, fingerprints and K-9 detectives, state-of-the-art DNA technology, and old-fashioned perseverance and police work, The Science of Cold Case Files presents a detailed look at the methods used in forensic detection.

Featuring the most fascinating crimes on record, some of these cases have never been seen on television and the book offers an inside look at the intriguing clues found in cases that have remained unsolved for decades.

Katherine Ramsland is the author of The Forensic Science of CSI and has written biographies of authors Anne Rice and Dean Koontz.

Avenger

[Books]

Review by MARC LOURDES

Author: Frederick Forsyth

Publisher: Bantam Press, 347 pgs

ALMOST every person who has read a spy caper will tell you that the basic premise of a hero whose job is to slay the villain is neither new nor extraordinary.

But consider how the scenario is altered if the mandate is not to slay, but to apprehend the bad guy unscathed right from under the noses of the best security that money can buy. And to do it alone, without any form of backup or help from anybody.

Curiosity piqued? Well, then drop by the nearest bookstore and pick up Frederick Forsyth’s Avenger. Or, actually, don’t buy it if you have a major event coming up, because once you start reading Avenger, you will not be able to put it down, just as this reviewer was unable to, at the cost of messing up his final exams.

A young American aid volunteer, Ricky Colenso, is brutally murdered in what was once Yugoslavia and his grandfather, Canadian billionaire and mining magnate Steven Edmond, is hell-bent on vengeance.

His thirst for revenge leads him to engage the services of Cal Dexter, a Vietnam Special Forces veteran and member of an elite fighting unit, the Tunnel Rats. Dexter could possibly be the one person capable of bringing the murderer, Zoran Zilic, to justice.

However, what starts out as a manhunt to satiate a personal vendetta and appease a personal, domestic tragedy soon explodes into a terrifying drama on the centre stage of world terrorism, bringing into play a host of uncomfortable questions like, is it worth sacrificing one life if it could probably save a hundred or a thousand others?

Avenger takes the reader on a breathtaking ride to all the global hotspots in the past 30 or 40 years, and the reader is subjected to a painful close-up view of the battlefields of Vietnam, war-torn Serbia and the deadly jungles of South America.

Forsyth manages to meld riveting detail, breathtaking action and political intrigue along with richly fleshed-out characters into a tour de force of literary suspense.

At the end, the blurring of the lines between fact and fiction was so successful that this reviewer was left wondering what was true and what wasn’t. Forsyth creates a virtual potpourri of characters with real-life figures like Osama bin Laden and Slobodan Milosevic placed right alongside the fictitious (or are they?) personalities in his book.

Forsyth’s graphic description of Colenso’s death sears itself onto the reader’s memory and is made all the more painful when it is recalled that it is just one of many such atrocities that has taken place in the many wars before, and no doubt will continue to take place in many wars to come.

Also, keep a close watch on the timeline. At first, it would appear that it is pretty pointless but as the story progresses, it will become more and more relevant, building up to the most infamous date in recent history.

All in all, Avenger has all the necessary ingredients needed for a satisfying suspense thriller, plus a little bit more. Besides the book title and author’s name, the front cover of Frederick Forsyth’s Avenger has another caption on it which reads: The Master Storyteller.

Judging by the evidence of Forsyth’s offering in Avenger, that statement would be hard to refute, and if his other books are of a similar high quality, then this reviewer will be hitting the bookstores very, very soon.

Snatch theft victim Sanorfizah dies

[Crimes]

BY SIMON KHOO

TAMPIN: Miracle baby Amirul Naim Azhar, who was brought into the world by doctors who operated on his mother while she was in a coma on Oct 20, will never feel her warmth and tender kisses.

The infant's mother, snatch theft victim Sanorfizah Saleh, 31, died at noon on Wednesday without regaining consciousness for 22 days.

Doctors at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru had fought to keep her alive after they saved the baby soon after she was admitted in a state of coma after a snatch theft incident.

Sanorfizah, who was nine months pregnant, was on her way from her home in Masai to Pasir Gudang to pick up some goods from a direct-selling stockist when two men on another motorcycle snatched her handbag.


One of them also kicked her motorcycle, causing her to fall.

Besides the surgery to save the baby, doctors performed at least two operations to remove blood clots in her head and another surgery to correct a dislocated jaw.

After 22 days of attempts to revive her, the doctors finally had to pull the plug of her respiratory machine.

The sad news was then conveyed to her husband Azhar Mohd Ali, 31.

Sanorfizah’s remains were brought to the Kampung Pondoi Muslim cemetery near here and she was buried later the same day.

Sanorfizah and Azhar had five other sons – Mohd Norhuzaifah, 12, Mohd Iskandar, 11, Mohamad, seven, Firdaus, six, and Asyif, two.

Azhar said he would leave Amirul Naim in the care of his brother and sister-in-law in Kuala Lumpur until he reached his early teens.

“I don't have the heart to see the baby without the loving care of his mother,” he said in a voice choked with emotion.

“Let him stay with them until the time is right for him to know the truth,” he said.

Azhar, who worked in an electronics factory in Pasir Gudang, said he planned to stay at Kampung Pondoi with his children and look for a new job in Negri Sembilan.

Related post:

I Love you, but Im hate LIAR more

[My Malaysiana]

There's something wrong here... I know it and I can feel it. If you want to continue pretending like that... make a fooled story around me (likes i didnt know anything... Just remember, im still in this world OK. Not at the moon, or stranded at such the remote island. Information are everywhere right?) Just carry on. Im so tired with liars.

`Setiap kali raya, mak paling sibuk siapkan kami'

[Crimes]

Oleh: AZRAN FITRI RAHIM

TAMPIN 11 Nov. - ``Setiap kali Hari Raya, mak merupakan orang paling sibuk menyiapkan kami adik-beradik.

``Kami akan beraya di kampung dan ibu akan memakaikan kami dengan baju baru.

``Mak juga akan cium pipi kami adik-beradik dan kami juga dapat cium tangan dan pipi mak. Tapi itu semua tinggal kenangan.

``Selepas ini, saya dan adik-adik kena buat sendiri kerana mak dah tiada.''

Itulah luahan rasa Mohd. Norhuzaifah, 12, anak sulung mangsa ragut, Sanorfizah Salleh, 31, yang meninggal dunia di Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) Johor Bahru kira-kira pukul 12 tengah hari semalam.

Ibu kepada enam anak itu meninggal dunia setelah koma selama tiga minggu akibat diragut dan ditendang oleh dua peragut bermotosikal di Kampung Cahaya Baru, Masai pada 20 Oktober lalu.

Allahyarham meninggalkan enam orang anak iaitu Mohd. Norhuzaifah; Mohd. Iskandar, 11; Mohamad, 7; Firdaus, 6; Asyif, 2 dan Amirul Naim berusia 21 hari.

Amirul Naim dilahirkan melalui pembedahan ketika Sanorfizah masih koma.

Walaupun Mohd. Norhuzaifah sudah memahami mengenai kematian ibunya, namun adik-adiknya yang lain seperti Firdaus dan Asyif masih kurang mengerti.

Bagi Firdaus dan Asyif mereka kelihatan berlari riang ke sana ke mari kerana tidak memahami apa erti pemergian ibu mereka.

Mohd. Norhuzaifah berkata, setiap kali menjelang Hari Raya, mereka sekeluarga akan sibuk membuat persiapan.

``Tapi kali ini saya merasakan Hari Raya tidak membawa sebarang erti kerana mak dah tak ada... tak ada guna lagi nak pakai baju raya,'' katanya ketika ditemui pemberita selepas pengkebumian ibunya di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Kampung Pondoi di sini malam tadi.

Mohd. Norhuzaifah kelihatan masih terkejut berikutan kematian ibunya itu.

Kanak-kanak itu juga banyak mendiamkan diri dan kerap menitiskan air mata setiap kali terkenangkan ibunya.

Jenazah Allahyarham Sanorfizah selamat dikebumikan kira-kira pukul 11 malam tadi di Kampung Pondoi di sini.

Dalam kejadian 20 Oktober lalu, Sanorfizah yang sarat mengandung menjadi mangsa ragut ketika menunggang bersendirian apabila motosikalnya ditendang dua penjenayah.

Ketika itu mangsa dalam perjalanan dari rumahnya di Kampung Cahaya Baru, Masai menuju ke bandar Pasir Gudang.

Dalam kejadian pukul 10.10 pagi itu, mangsa telah terjatuh dan kepalanya terhantuk pada benda keras menyebabkan dia tidak sedarkan diri akibat kecederaan serius di kepala.

Namun hingga kini, nasib mangsa tidak terbela kerana dua penjenayah terbabit belum dapat diberkas.

Anak bongsu Allahyarham, Amirul Naim, kini dijaga oleh kakak ipar bapanya, Siti Norbaya Abdul Kadir, 39, di Gombak, Selangor.

Sementara itu suami Allahyarham, Azhar Mohd. Ali, 33, berkata, buat masa ini dia akan menguruskan pertukaran anaknya untuk bersekolah di Kampung Pondoi.

"Saya merancang untuk balik tinggal di kampung, buat masa sekarang saya dalam proses menukarkan sekolah anak-anak saya dan menjual rumah di Johor Bahru.

"Selepas itu saya akan bina rumah baru di kampung ini untuk kami sekeluarga dan mencari kerja baru di sini," katanya.

Mengenai anak bongsunya, Azhar berkata, beliau tidak berhasrat mengambil semula anaknya itu daripada kakak iparnya.

"Biarlah kakak dan abang saya terus menjaga Amirul kerana saya tidak sampai hati melihat anak yang masih kecil membesar tanpa kasih sayang seorang ibu," katanya sayu.

Mangsa ragut meninggal dunia selepas tiga minggu koma

[Crimes]

JOHOR BAHRU 10 Nov. - Mangsa ragut, Sanorfizah Salleh, 31, meninggal dunia di Unit Rawatan Rapi, Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) pada 12 tengah hari ini setelah koma selama tiga minggu.

Suami mangsa, Azhar Ali, 33, yang berada di sisi isterinya sebelum allahyarham menghembuskan nafas terakhir berkata, beliau berpeluang menatap wajah isterinya itu sebelum kematian Sanorfizah.

"Saya tiba di hospital lebih kurang 12 tengah hari, saya hanya berkesempatan untuk melihat isteri saya sekejap sahaja sebelum dimaklumkan kemudian oleh kakitangan hospital bahawa isteri saya sudah tiada lagi (meninggal dunia)," katanya ketika ditemui di HSA di sini hari ini.

Menurut Azhar, jenazah allahyarham isterinya akan dikebumikan di kampung beliau iaitu Kampung Pondoi Tampin, Negeri Sembilan.

Sanorfizah dimasukkan ke HSA pada 20 Okt. lalu setelah menjadi mangsa kejadian ragut di Kampung Jaya Baru Masai, Pasir Gudang dan telah menjalani tiga pembedahan sepanjang berada di hospital itu.

Azhar dan allahyarham isterinya mempunyai enam orang cahayamata hasil perkongsian hidup mereka iaitu Norhudzaifah, 12, Mohd Iskandar, 11, Mohamad, 7, Firdaus, 6, dan Asyif, 2.

Ketika kejadian ragut itu, Sanorfizah sedang mengandungkan anak bongsu mereka dan bayi itu yang berjaya diselamatkan menerusi pembedahan pada hari pertama mangsa dimasukkan ke hospital dinamakan Amirul Naim.

Sementara itu, bapa allahyarham, Salleh Terang, 59, ketika ditemui di rumah mayat HSA berkata, anak perempuannya itu ketika kecil sentiasa membantu adik-adiknya dan disifatkan sebagai seorang anak yang bertanggungjawab.

"Dia seorang anak yang bertanggungjawab dan amat rapat dengan ibunya, kematiannya satu kehilangan yang besar bagi kami terutamanya adik-adiknya seramai 14 orang ini," katanya.

Turut berada di rumah mayat ialah ibu mangsa, Jamilah Atan, 51, serta sanak saudaranya yang lain. - Bernama

Mangsa ragut koma tiga minggu meninggal

[Crimes]

Oleh: WAN RAHIMAH DRAMAN

JOHOR BAHRU 10 Nov. - Setelah tiga minggu bertarung untuk hidup, mangsa ragut, Sanorfizah Saleh, 31, yang koma sejak 20 Oktober lalu, akhirnya terpaksa akur pada takdir apabila dia meninggal dunia di Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) di sini hari ini.

Ibu kepada enam orang anak itu meninggal dunia tanpa sempat melihat anak bongsunya, Amirul Najm yang kini berusia 21 hari dan dilahirkan melalui pembedahan ketika Sanorfizah masih koma.

Pemergian Sanorfizah berlaku di saat-saat suami dan anak-anaknya menaruh harapan tinggi untuk mereka sekeluarga menyambut ketibaan 1 Syawal yang kian menjelma.

Walaupun Sanorfizah meninggal dunia, ibu malang itu sempat memberi satu `nyawa' melalui ahli keluarga barunya iaitu anaknya, Amirul Najm.

Namun, pemergian Sanorfizah masih belum terbela kerana dua penjenayah yang menyebabkan mangsa koma, masih belum diberkas sehingga kini.

Suami mangsa, Azhar Md. Ali, 33, ketika ditemui di rumah mayat HSA memberitahu, isterinya meninggal kira-kira pukul 12 tengah hari ini.

Kata Azhar, dia berada di sisi isterinya di saat-saat akhir sebelum Sanorfizah menghembuskan nafas terakhir.

``Saya tiba di hospital kira-kira pukul 12 tengah hari dan hanya berkesempatan menatap wajah isteri saya sekejap saja sebelum kakitangan hospital memberitahu isteri saya sudah meninggal dunia,'' katanya sayu.

Kata Azhar, Sanorfizah sebelum ini telah memberikan beberapa tindak balas positif.

``Saya diberitahu oleh kakitangan hospital, isteri saya buat pertama kali membuka mata lewat tengah malam tadi. Malangnya saya tidak berada di sisinya ketika itu,'' katanya hiba.

Dalam kejadian 20 Oktober lalu, Sanorfizah yang sarat mengandung menjadi mangsa ragut ketika menunggang bersendirian apabila motosikalnya ditendang dua penjenayah.

Ketika itu mangsa dalam perjalanan dari rumahnya di Kampung Cahaya Baru, Masai menuju ke bandar Pasir Gudang.

Dalam kejadian pukul 10.10 pagi itu, mangsa telah terjatuh dan kepalanya terhantuk pada benda keras menyebabkan dia tidak sedarkan diri akibat kecederaan serius di kepala.

Anak bongsu pasangan suami isteri itu, Amirul Najm, kini dijaga oleh kakak ipar Azhar di Gombak, Selangor.

Lima lagi anak mangsa ialah Norhuzaifah, 12; Mohd. Iskandar, 11; Mohamad, 7; Firdaus, 6, dan Asyif, 2.

Menurut Azhar, tiga daripada anaknya itu masih bersekolah dan mereka dijaga oleh ibu dan ayahnya di Kampung Pondoi, Tampin.

Azhar yang bekerja di syarikat Panasonic Pasir Gudang berkata, dia telah mengambil cuti sejak lebih dua minggu lalu untuk menemani isterinya.

``Selain menjaga isteri, saya juga berulang-alik melihat anak-anak yang kini dijaga kedua-dua ibu bapa saya di Tampin, Negeri Sembilan,'' katanya.

Azhar berkata, amat sukar baginya untuk menjelaskan kematian isterinya itu kepada anak-anak.

``Saya tidak tahu sama ada anak-anak faham pemergian ibu mereka itu,'' katanya.

Azhar tidak membawa anak-anak ke HSA sepanjang isterinya terlantar di hospital itu kerana tidak sanggup membiarkan mereka melihat keadaan ibu mereka dalam keadaan koma.

Beliau berkata, kematian isterinya itu telah dimaklumkan kepada anak-anaknya sebaik sahaja doktor mengesahkan kematian Sanorfizah tengah hari ini.

``Jenazah arwah akan dibawa balik ke Kampung Pondoi bagi membolehkan anak-anak menatap wajah ibu mereka untuk kali terakhir,'' katanya.

Turut berada di rumah mayat HSA ialah ibu mangsa, Jamilah Atan, 51; ayahnya, Saleh Terang, 59, serta adik-beradik dan saudara-mara lain.

Mayat Sanorfizah dibawa keluar dari rumah mayat HSA kira-kira pukul 4.30 petang untuk dikebumikan di Kampung Pondoi, Tampin Negeri Sembilan, malam ini.

Al-Fatihah

Dengan ketentuan dan takdir Allah Azzawajalla, tuhan yang berkuasa untuk menentukan segalanya; adalah dengan ini dimaklumkan bahawa Ayahanda Saudara iaitu,

Dato' Hj. Muhamad Saleh @ Ibrahim Bin Hj Ujang PJK, DSNS

telah kembali ke Rahmatullah pada 10 November 2004 bersamaan 27 Ramadhan 1425 jam 6.50 petang di Institut Jantung Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Seluruh ahli keluarga dan sanak saudara mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih di atas bantuan serta khidmat terhadap Allahyarham terutama buat kakitangan, jururawat dan para doktor bertugas semasa beliau dirawat di hospital Daerah Tampin, Hospital Besar Seremban dan Institut Jantung Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Tidak lupa juga buat semua sahabat handai, sanak saudara dan semua individu yang mengunjungi dan mendoakan Allahyarham disepanjang hayatnya tidak kira di mana jua.

Dikesempatan ini juga, kami ingin mengucapkan ucapan terima kasih buat semua tetamu terhormat serta individu-individu yang sempat hadir dalam upacara pengkebumian Allahyarham pada hari ini. Hanya Allah sahaja yang mampu membalas jasa baik saudara-saudara sekalian ini Insya Allah.

Bersamalah kita doakan semoga roh Allahyarham ditempatkan bersama-sama roh para Aulia dan Ambia, dan keluarga tersayang yang ditinggalkan beroleh kesabaran dan keredhaanNya diatas segala ujian ini.

Amin ya Rabbal Alamin.

Email from Africa V - Already tired of it

[Crimes]

Another form of SCAM nowadays... just be carefull.

Sub:From: The Desk Of Hon,Dr Usman Bello

From: The Desk Of Hon,Dr Usman Bello
Bill And Exchange Manager
African Development Bank Benin Annex
Cotonou Benin Republic.
Email bellousman123@fastermail.com
Tel/fax 00229-90-93-58

Dear Friend,

I am Hon,Dr,Usman Bello,from African Develoment Bank Benin Rep.During the
course of our auditing we discovered the sum of twelve million five hundred
thousand united states dollars (USD$12.500.000.00) floating in an account
opened in this Bank since 1997 and as from 2001nobody has operated on this
account again, and after going through someold files in the records I discovered
that the owner of the account died without a [HEIR]sept 11th2001 by plane
crash, hence the money is floating.

After due verification I noticed that no other person knows about this account
except his wife who was also invovled in the crash, and the account has
no other beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well that until
his death he was the Director GOLD ARK [SARL]Since our bank, (African Development
bank) Benin Rep. got information about his death, we have been expecting
his next of kin to come forward and claim his money because we cannot release
it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased
as indicated in our banking guidelines and policies but up to date nobody
came up to this bank as his next of kin or relative.

It is therefore uponthis discovery that I andother officials in my department
now decided to make this businness proposal to you and release the money
to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent
disbursement since nobody is coming forth and we don't want this money to
go into the Bank treasury as unclaimed Bill.

On this note, I decided to seek for whom his name shall be used as the next
of kin as no one has come up as his relation. And the country law here does
not allow such money to stay more than Five years, for the money will be
recalled to the government treasury as unclaimed after this period.Upon
the receipt of your response, I will send to you the application form, bank's
contact and the next step to take. I will not fail to bring to your notice
that this business ishitch free and that you should not entertain any fear
as all modalities for fund transfer can be finalized within fourteen banking
days, after you apply to the bank as a relation to the deceased.

It has been resolved that 20% will be for you while 10% has been maped out
to defray any expences that might be incured during the process of the transaction.Then
70% will be for me which shall be release after the funds must have been
remitted into your bank account. When you receive this letter, kindly send
me an e-mail signifying your decision.Including your private Tel/Faxnumbers
for quick communication.

I will be very happy if you can treat this business with the utmost secrecy
it demands because of my position in this bank.Hoping for a very successful
business relationship with you.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr Usman Bello
Tel:00229-90-93-58
Private Email -Undisclosed-

---

Crea la tshirt con il tuo nick! http://www.mediasetshop.it/JumpyChat/

9T9: Get noticed that this SCAM originated from Latina... which part, im still locate it.

Another SPAM

[Crimes]

Sub:AWARD NOTIFICATION

REGIONAL E-MAIL LOTTERY SWEEPSTAKES
(ACCREDITED LICENSED AGENT INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY)
Ref. Number:7683408058/09
Batch Number:57/8703/3PD
Credited file Number:EGS56/50071245/25
ATTENTION.
Sir/Mrs,
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners
International programs held on the 11th november 2004. Your e-mail address
attached to ticket number 738--134655507--798 with serial number 8052-79
drew lucky numbers 8-10-25-30-32-49 which consequently won in the 1st
category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay of
1.000.000(one million EUROS) in cash credited to file . This is from a total
cash prize of (thirty million Euro) shared among the thirty international
winners in this category. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Due to mix up of some numbers
and names we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until
your claims has been processed and your money Remitted to you.This is part
of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program by some participants. All participants were selected through a
computer ballot system drawn from over 50,000 company and 70,000,000
individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This
promotional program takes place every three years,the lottery was promoted
and sponsored by the President of the World Largest software,B.Gates. We
hope with part of your winning you will take part in our next year
50.000.000 (fifty million EUROS) international lottery. Your fund is now
deposited with in a bank under a fixed deposit bond policy insured to you by
our financial agent. To file for your claim please contact our financial
agent,( E.U) Foriegn operations manager,MR MOORE BRUCE.
Email:goldminltt@netscape.net+32484927947 Remember all winning must be
claimed not later than 21th of november 2004. After this date all unclaimed
funds will be included in the next stake. Please note in order to avoid
unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference
number and batch numbers in all correspondence.Please attach your phone and
fax number.Furthermore,should there be any change of address do inform our
agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more from our members of
staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program. Sincerely
yours, Lotto Co-ordinator.
MRS. VOLT COLLINS.

9T9: ATTENTION pls, must anybody else receive this same email with the same reference number.

Why Kitty didn't getting sahur?

[My Malaysiana]

Because she so sleepy.

Email from Africa IV - Festive season promotion

[Crimes]

My Gmail spam folder receiving this since last week. So tired to pusblish it one by one... so i'll compile it like this for another post title - Email from Africa series.

Email 1:

Sub:PLEASE ASSIST!

Dear friend,
How are you?
I have a profiling amount in an excess of
US$423M, which I seek your
partnership in accommodating for me. You will be
rewarded with 4% of the total sum for your partnership. Can you be
my partner on this?
INTRODUCTION OF MY SELF:
I am .Mr Farsan Haddad from Lebanon,THE
personal secretary to Mikhail Khodorkovsky the
richest man in Russia and owner of the following
companies:
Chairman CEO: YUKOS OIL (Russian Most Largest
Oil Company)
Chairman CEO: Menatep SBP Bank (A well reputable
financial institution with its branches all over the
world)
SOURCE OF FUNDS:
The documents of the above funds in question was
handed over to me to be used in payment of an American oil
merchant for his last oil deal with my boss M! ikhail Khodorkovsky. Already the
funds have been deposited with Bank Menatep Russia where the
final crediting is expected to be carried out. While I was on the
process, My Boss got arrested for his involvement on politics in
financing the leading and opposing political parties (the Union of Right
Forces, led by Boris Nemtsov, and Yabloko, a liberal/social
democratic party led by Gregor Yavlinsky) which poses treat to President
Vladimir Putin second tenure as Russian president. You can catch more of the
story on this news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3213505.stm - 37k -
21 Sep 2004
YOUR ROLE:
All I need from you is to stand as the beneficiary of the above quoted
sum and I will arrange for the documentation
which will enable Bank Menatep Russia transfer
the sum to you. I have decided to use this sum
to relocate to American continent and never to
be connected to any of Mikhail Khodorkovsky
conglomerates. The transac! tion has to be
concluded in 2 weeks before Mikhail Khodorkovsky is out on bail.
Thank you very much.Please futher corespondence to me,should be sent to my
private and confidential Email id, -undisclosed-. i await your reply soonest.
Regards
Mr Farsan Haddad

====================
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9T9: Made in Germany SCAM with very funny intro.

Email 2:

Sub:URGENT PLEASE

From: Fredrick Khumalo
Johannesburg, South Africa.
TLE:2773-3266156
Eamil:fred.khumalo@caramail.com

Dear ,

I know that this message may come to you as a surprise since we do not

know each other before, but for purpose of introduction, I am MR. FREDRICK
KHUMALO, an Auditor in ABSA BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA. During my auditing work
in the bank, I found out about an account opened in this bank in 1982 and
since 1997 nobody has operated on this account. After going through some
old files in the record,

I discovered that the owner of this account is Mr. Smith B. Andreas, a
foreigner, and a miner at Kruger Gold Co., who died since 1997. No other
person knows about this account or any thing concerning it, the account
has no other beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well that
his Company does not know anything about this account and the amount involved
is Six Million Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (USD$6.3M).
I am only contacting you as a foreignerbecause this money cannot be approved
to a local bank here, but can only be approved to any foreign account because
the money is in US dollars and the former owner of the account Mr. Smith
B. Andreas is a foreigner too.

I need your full co-operation to make this work, because the management
is ready to approve the transfer of this money to any foreigner who has
correct information of this account, which I will give to you later. If
you are able and willing to handle such amount in strict confidence and
according to my instructions and advice for our mutual benefit because
this is a lifetime opportunity. With my position now in the office I can
lobby for the transfer this money to your account, which you will provide
with the assurance that the money will be intact pending my physical arrival
in your country for sharing. I will destroy all documents of transaction
immediately this money is transferred, leaving no trace to any place. I
will apply for my annual leave to get visa immediately I hear from you
that you are ready to act and receive this fund in your account.
I will use my position and influence to effect legal approvals and onward
transfer of this money to your account with appropriate clearance forms
of the ministries and foreign exchange departments. Please reply urgently
so that I will inform you the next step to take immediately. Send also
your private telephone and fax numbers including the full details of the
account to be used for the deposit. At the conclusion of this business,
you will get 20% of the total amount, 75% will be for me, while 5% will
be for expenses both parties might incur during the transfer process.
I look forward to your earliest reply.

Yours faithfully.

Mr. Fredrick Khumalo.

9T9: This man need that money for his English-Afrikaan dictionary.

Email 3:

Sub:RAPID RESPONSE NEEDED

Dear Friend,

You may be surprised to receive this letter from me, Since you do not know
me personally .

My Name is Ighene Peter" The purpose of my introduction is that" Before
the death of my father, he had taken me to Johannesburg to deposit the sum
of US8.7 million (Eight Million Seven Hundred Thousand United States dollars),in
one of the
private security company, as he fore saw the looming danger in Zimbabwe
this money was deposited in Two boxes as gem stones to avoid much demurrage
from security company.

This amount was meant for the purchase of new machines and chemicals for
the Farms and establishment of new farms in Swaziland.

This land problem came when Zimbabwean President Mr Robert Mugabe introduced
a new Land Act Reform wholly affecting the rich white farmers and some few
black Farmers and this resulted to the killing and mob action by Zimbabwean
war veterans and some lunatics in the society.

In fact a lot of people were killed Because of this Land reform Act for
which my father Mr"Ighene was one of the victims.

It is against this background that, I and my family fled Zimbabwe for fear
of our lives and I currently staying in the Lome Togo, where my family
are seeking political asylum and more also I have decided to transfer my
father's money to a more reliable foreign account.

As the eldest son of my father, I am saddled with the responsibility of
seeking a genuine foreign account where this money could be transferred
without the knowledge of my government who are bent on taking everything
we have got.

The South African government seems to be playing along with them. I am faced
with the dilemma of moving this amount of money out of South Africa for
fear of going through the same experience in future, both countries have
similar political history.

As a business man, I am seeking for a partner who I have to entrust my
future
and that of my family in his hands, I must let you know that this
transaction
is risk free.

If you accept to assist me and my family, all I want you to do for me, is
to make an arrangements with the security company to clear the
consignment(funds)
from their affiliate in United Kingdom as I have already given
directives for the consignment to be brought to United Kingdom from South
Africa .

But before then all modalities will have to be put in place like change
of ownership to the consignment and more importantly this money I intend
to use for investment.

I have two options for you. Firstly you can choose to have certain
percentage
of the money for nominating your account for this transaction.

Or you can go into Partnership with me for the proper profitable investment
of the money in your country. Whichever the option you want, feel free to
notify me.

If you do not prefer a partnership I am willing to give you 25% of the money
while 5% will be set aside to incure any expencies used during this
transaction
and the remaining 70% will be for my investment in your country.

Contact me with the above via e-mai -undisclosed- while I
implore you to maintain the absolute secrecy required in this transaction.

Thanks,

And God Bless

Ighene Peter.

9T9: Im so suprised mate to receive this impressive email... in my SPAM folder.