Dogs, Blame And Consequences

Romanian Witches Use Spells To Protest New Taxes

Romanian witch Mihaela Minca, (right), speaks during an interview with The Associated Press as her daughter and apprentice Cassandra looks on in Mogosoaia, Romania. -- PHOTO: AP

MOGOSOIA (Romania) - SOLACE for world leaders trying to enforce painful austerity measures: At least you're not running Romania. 

Angry witches are using cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the president and government who are forcing them to pay taxes. Also in the eye of the taxman are fortune tellers, who should have seen it coming. 

And President Traian Basescu isn't laughing it off. In a country where superstition is mainstream, the president and his aides wear purple on Thursdays, allegedly to ward off evil spirits. 

Witches from Romania's eastern and western regions will descend to the southern plains and the Danube River on Thursday to threaten the government with spells and spirits. Mauve has a high vibration, it makes the wearer superior and wards off evil attacks, according to the esoteric group Violet Flame - which practices on Thursdays. 

A dozen witches will head to the Danube to put a hex on the government and hurl mandrake into the river 'so evil will befall them,' said a witch named Alisia. She identified herself with one name, as is customary among witches. 

'This law is foolish. What is there to tax, when we hardly earn anything?' she said by telephone on Wednesday. 'The lawmakers don't look at themselves, at how much they make, their tricks; they steal and they come to us asking us to put spells on their enemies.' -- AP 

Source: The Straits Times, January 6, 2011

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I read this with great pressure pressing the centre of my head.

Just last night I watched the news. Because of cholera, at least 45 voodoo priests in Haiti were hacked to death.
The traditional priests were accused of using their powers to spread the infection.
They were stoned or hacked with machetes before being burned in the streets.
Since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in January 2010 that had taken of at least 250,000 lives, traditional priests had been blamed too, to cast spells and did evil things which brought the earthquake as a punishment.

Cholera outbreak had taken of least 3,650 lives, 121,000 been treated for symptoms and at least 63,500 were admitted to hospital.
Politicians were accused too.
So are United Nations' Nepalese peacekeepers who had been suspected of introducing cholera to Haiti.

Many Haitians still practise voodoo or use aspects of voodoo in their religious worship.
Voodoo arts are deeply ingrained in the superstitious Haitians but the blame game refused to bow down to awareness that cholera is a water-borne disease.
Poor sanitation contributed to the rapid spread of cholera - diarrhoea and vomiting.

******

This is the first time I came across cat excrement but I knew of dead dogs, black dogs to be precise.

It was the first time I went to Kak G's house after about almost six months she looked after my daughter.

I was surprised to see her changing the nappy of an invalid boy of primary school years of age.

Kak G looked after another person's child?
No. He's hers.
Her only son, beside her other very beautiful three daughters.

Her baby son was still lying on his back, unable to turn himself when he was a year old.
The only son was sent for therapy for a few years before they turn to traditional practitioner.
By then, it was a bit too late.

The practitioner told Kak G's husband, he had ran over a black dog while driving and was asked to find the dog to say sorry to the animal.
With sharpened memory, he slowly recalled the incident that had happened many years back.
He felt guilty pang piercing his heart.
He wanted to scream, voicing his guilt, but it was impossible.

So he became a silent man, paid close attention to every voices he heard in his head.
He felt chill and goosebumps.
The voices scared the living soul out of him.

His irresponsible action had made a devil out of him, and the result of his action is permanently paralysing his only son.
Muting the boy's speech and heart whispers.
Muting him too.

But now, his guilt made him see glowing red eyes of a dog, circling him, disappeared and reappeared.
The injured? dead? black dog is now haunting him.
He never thought it would happen to him but it did.
Every time he went to work, the black dog reminded him of frightening moments, of him paralysing his son, of him wretching his son's future, that he tendered his resignation.

******

He heard of cracking noise as he drove downhill.
When he looked back from the mirror, he could see a black hump covered in blood in the middle of the road.

In a blink of an eye, a black dog was injured.
Or dead maybe?
He was shocked realising the pain, the injury or maybe the death that he had cause, although he had seen no dogs before he drove off.
He saw no dog, or even its shadow, blocking his path.
Occasionally there were dogs weave in and out of stationed cars and loitering at Bukit Timbalan, JB, as there were many Chinese staying at the nearby shop-houses in the 80s.

He could not believe his eyes.
His whole body was trembling and his legs shaking.
He felt like he was being suspended in the air.
He could not feel the car under him.
It was almost dark, so he did not turn back to nurse his victim.
Officer workers had all left and nearby folks were not out anymore.
Even though it was not weekend, Bukit Timbalan seemed like haunted every time darkness set in.

He thought nothing about consequences.
Still, he dare not look back fearing of seeing the dog wriggling in pain.
He rushed home, looked straight ahead without looking at the sides of the deserted downhill lane, fearing of seeing any witness...

****** 

Although Patrick Swayze of 1998 Black Dog is no more around since September 14, 2009, the blog here is a good read.

Spirits Having Their Fun Time

Paranormal Experts Fail To Get Rid Of ‘Ghosts’ At Grandma’s House
KOTA BARU: There seems to be no end to Zainab Sulaiman’s woes despite several attempts by paranormal experts to rid her of spirits believed to be behind over 200 mysterious fires which have broken out in her home.
On Wednesday night, a group of local Muslim ghostbusters called Darul Shifaq spent half the night in her house at Kampung Penam­bang Bunga Emas here chanting Quranic verses.
They also used blessed water to cleanse her ancient collection of keris, swords, and brasswares where the spirits are believed to be staying.

What the blazes?: Zainab showing a piece of cloth that had caught fire at her house in Kampung Penambang Bunga Emas. – SAZUKI EMBONG / The Star
 

Darul Shifaq leader Zakaria Ya said djinn or spirits rarely possess human beings.
“We have come across this sort of paranormal activity before, and her an­cient belongings may be the cause of the fires.
“Zainab could have inherited ancient keris or swords from her forefathers who could have practised black magic,” he said.
Zainab says that the number of fires have increased.
“I counted at least 46 new fires appearing on anything made from cloth at all corners of the house since Wednesday.
“Despite the attempts of Darul Shifaq, the spirits are still here,’’ she said.
Zainab, 73, who lives in the wooden house with her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, said an American couple visited her recently and offered to help rid the house of the spirits.
“They came here with tour guides at about 7pm, but I politely turned them down because of language problems.
“Furthermore, I am afraid anything I do now may anger the spirits further,” she said.
Earlier, a Siamese medium had attempted to chase away the spirits but was unsuccessful.
The fires have destroyed 200 items of clothing as well as prayer mats and two mattresses.

Source: The Star, Jan 8, 2011

******

It was in the 90s.
I was in a friend's house when in a room with ajar door was the first time I saw the ritual of keris 'bathing' by her brother-in-law.
The object was rubbed with lime on burning incense with smoke engulfing the room and I could see flower petals being used too.

It was said to be done yearly as the weapon is considered to be 'magical metal' endowed with spiritual power.
Thus the ceremony is to appease the spirit in it, inherited by their father from his forefathers.

******

I was in another friend's house when she pointed to me the two kerisses placed above the window had turned by itself.
Can it?

But I had heard of some that are able to stand vertically upright and there is rattling keris while in its sheath to warn the owner of potential danger.

My friend said it was high time for the two to be cleansed but her father who usually attended to the weapon had just recently passed away.
Yearly cleansing is required as part of preserving the spirituality surrounding the weapon and they were looking for a suitable person then.
I did not probe further as it reminded me the ritual I saw with burning incense.

To me, when there is burning and smoke lingers, unseen creatures, good or bad, are likely to lurk around.
What's more when spirit appeasing is involved!

Amazing to note, some kerisses are known to possessing their very own souls.
The belief in the mystical power is still alive even among the educated and the upper class society.
Keris has been used for medicinal purposes too, and some had verses from The Holy Quran inscriptions on the blades.

Some keris has the ability to fly out of its sheath, into the air, kill targeted victim and return to its original place, inside the sheath.

Some has the ability to eliminate enemy from the distance, either by pointing the keris towards the victim, or just by striking into the enemy's footprints.

Then there was a legend when someone used a magic keris producing a swarm of hornets from the tip of the blade directed towards the enemies.

Transferring blazing fire could simply be done by pointing the tip of the keris to an alternative site and makan api or fire prevention is done with pointing the keris at the flame to reduce the intensity of the raging fire.

******

No one is to unsheathe ancestral keris before permission is granted by its rightful owner.
There was a story that a keris owner was silently annoyed at his friend for unsheathing his family's keris without his consent.
The next day, the friend came back to the keris owner, apologising for his ill manner while holding his right arm which was experiencing excruciating pain.

The friend had dream of an angry old man who scolded him for unsheathing his keris.
The friend was asked to go back to the old man's grandson for apology, and asking him water to cure his pain which he had experienced since nightfall before he went to sleep.
His right hand was cured three days later.

Some keris could only be handled by its rightful owner for its spiritual power to be retained.
Ancient proper etiquette is still followed till today by experts.

Unsheathing the keris is best not done after sunset and stiff blade within the sheath should not be forced.

Once the blade is unsheathe, it should not be brought close to the face nor touch it, fearing it is poisoned.

It should be slowly brought to the forehead as a sign of respect to the soul of the keris.

****** 

My Late Father, from Central Java, used to relate many interesting Javanese fairy tales, folklore, legends and myths.
But He had never told me that keris or kris in the Malay archipelago originated from Java.
Further to it, keris is also part of Indonesian culture. 
I knew nothing about it, until I watch a documentary about keris making in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The Empu or Padai Besi, the kris-makers had to select an auspicious date for the spiritual preparation of keris making: fasting, meditation and prayers and a ritual ceremony to keep away bad spirit.

They did more than just making a weapon.
They carried out ritual ceremony to keep away bad spirit and infusing the blade with mystical powers.
For this reason, kerisses are considered alive.

Kerisses have its own lives that need respect.
Harmony between the weapon and its owner is very critical as keris is considered sacred.
Some of it is known to possess magical powers.
Specific rites needed to be completed to avoid evil fates.

Kerisses are not only believe to help prevent agricultural failure, death and fire, but they are known too, to bring fortune and bountiful harvests.

Keris Sajen is still used nowadays in Java on the occasion before planting rice.
The small keris is not for  fighting, although it still possess its assumed magical powers.

Every keris has its own unique story tagged to it.
It has its tradition, nobility and tales of adventure to be told, but who are we to know all?

Designer's Motherhood, Custom-Made Babies

An Australian couple, whose daughter died shortly after birth, are desperate for a baby girl.

The woman, in her 30s, is consumed by grief over the death.
She admits she has become obsessed with having a daughter.
It has now becomes vital to her psychological health.

So determined are the couple to have a girl that they recently terminated twin boys conceived through IVF.
The couple said it had been a traumatic decision to make but they could not continue to have unlimited numbers of children because they already have three sons who were conceived naturally.
The woman loves her sons but would do anything to have a daughter.

Under state law, sex selection using IVF is banned unless it is done to avoid the risk of the baby's inheriting a genetic abnormality or disease.
They have gone to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which is due to hear the couple's case in March, in a bid to have the decision overturned.to win the right to select sex by IVF treatment.

They say they will go to the US to conceive a girl if their test case fails.

*** Floodgate Likely To Be Open?

******      ******      ******

The world's oldest new mother never regretted motherhood and that she was pleased to hear her daughter call her “Ma”.

By becoming a mother, 72-year old Rajo Devi Lohan, from a village in Haryana, north Delhi, fulfilled her life-long dream, and brought honour back to her family after having struggled with infertility for many decades.

But after giving birth just 25 months ago, November 2008, Rajo is dying.
She is now bedridden and doesn't have the strength to lift 2-year old Raveen.
Too weak to recover from the pregnancy.

The doctor never warned her of the danger and they have no understanding of risks of giving birth so late in life.

She suffered internal bleeding and her womb ruptured after the cesarean birth.
Poverty stricken, she ignored doctor's advise to rest in bed.
Instead, she squat down everyday milking the family buffalo.

To top the pain further, she needed difficult surgery to remove an ovarian cyst.
Her body could not bear the pain of the two surgery that she has to take daily painkiller.
Her 60-year old sister has to move in with her to help look after Naveen.

****** 

After 54-years of marriage, 70-year old Rajo Devi Lohan and her 71-year old farmer husband Balla, took out almost US$3000 in loans for IVF treatments in Baddhu Patti, India, to conceive Naveen.
Rajo and her husband were said to have taken out loans their IVF daughter will never be able to pay back in her life time.

*** Are Customers King Or Technology To Be Blame?

Towards Lesser Crime In JB

Crime in Johor Bahru have reach new highs in my personal view.Especially house break ins, snatch thieves and robberies. They, the criminals are now very bold and very well equipped. They commit crimes even at broad daylight!It is one thing to lose valuables but the emotional trauma? Wouldn't one fear for one's belongings, love ones or one's own well being?  I have known cases around me and myself included have fall victims of these crimes.But where does one go to next? How does one help to inform the right people to take steps to help prevent crime and not wait till its too late. People seem to turn away or brush off matters like these until it happens to someone close or some important person. It is truly very very sad.. Crime prevention is not political, its not racial. There is no monetary gains nor is it meant to gain popularity it is about (a)the community's welfare.There are poorly or not lighted back lanes, deserted or abandon houses there must be steps taken to monitor these areas or upgrade them.Patrols during the day, patrols into back lanes whether they are pitch dark or lighted. There is no blaming of anybody or departments or what have you. Its just making/taking steps to prevent crime. A very simple issue.I personally don't even know if writing in this blog will help me establish or get the message out to the right people but least I have tried.

This is a blog written by Rencetan on May 1 2009, in The Star daily.
 

The recent parang incident in Johor prompted me to blog again about crime in JB.
A gang of three armed robbers chopped off the left arm of 28-year old Wang Kai Yin, a car repairman in Kulai, Johor Bahru because they only managed to get RM300 cash and a mobile phone from the victim.
Out of anger, one of the three men on two motorcycles cut off his arm when told he had no more money after surrendering his wallet.

****** 

Earlier, I had blogged about robbers in Taman Majidee using 19-year old Cheng Jun Wei as human shield when pursued by a security guard.
She suffered head injuries and subsequently passed away two days later.

A month later, a man allegedly lost more than RM5,000 to a snatch thief at a money changer shop in Taman Majidee.
To aggravate matter, he was shot twice at his waist during an argument with a security guard.

******

In January last year, at The Store in Taman Sentosa JB, 31-year old Singaporean Ms Joanne Tan, was dragged about 10 metre for refusing to let go her handbag.
She was slashed on the left arm.
After two snatch thieves gave up on her, a car ran over her feet.

For readers information, all these place are less than ten-minute ride from where I stay.

****** 

Last May, the police target to reduce Johor crime index by at least 30% in 2010, especially in the Iskandar area, JB South.
And in the first nine months of 2010, police crime index was down by 24.17% or 5,369 cases.

A year earlier, there were 22,211 cases which included property and violent crimes.
I sincerely hope that the 30% target had thus been achieved.

Two weeks before the announcement was made, even JB South OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Yaakob, home alone, had a dawn shock when he was tied up and robbed at knife point in his own house a year earlier.
The suspects, all believed to be Indonesians ransacked his home before fleeing.

Two weeks later, Huzaimah Yahya, wife of Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin political secretary,
Syahrin Md Jamaluddin, was tied up during robbery, car stolen, house ransacked, fridge, pots and pans raided in Kampung Sinaran Baru, Skudai around 2am.
This is the second break-in for them after two years.

******

Then in September 2009, a 29-year old SBS 160 bus captain was robbed and slashed with a parang on his upper hands when 2 men in their 30s, posed as passengers, demanded his wallet containing RM260 and S$40 before fleeing.
He was treated in a hospital in JB and later transferred to National University Hospital in Singapore to undergo surgery and receiving treatment for the deep gash on his left wrist that cause bone fracture.

The men had initially wielded their weapon on a middle aged Chinese woman trying to rob her.
She then shouted for help which drew the bus captain's attention and stopped the bus while on its way to Malaysia Customs Checkpoint.
When the bus captain requested the two men to stop their doings, that was when the incident started.
The three passengers, however, were not injured.

******

Although this parang incident on a Singapore boy happened way back in 2005, but the scar will be visible for a very long time.
The trauma and memory will stay for a very much longer time.

But I feel and sympathise greatly for this Kangkar Pulai family:

Burglars broke into a house in Kangkar Pulai here early Sunday and gang-raped a housewife after tying up her family.

The incident occurred at about 6am when the husband, who woke up to perform his prayers, discovered at least eight men inside his double-storey house.

The intruders, who had entered through an unlocked window at the back of the house, grabbed some knives from the kitchen and threatened the husband before waking up his wife and baby.

While the husband, in his 20s, was being bound, at least six of the robbers took the wife upstairs .

The woman, who is also in her 20s and studying at a local university, pleaded to them to release her. But they started beating her and threatened to kill. The robbers took turns to rape her.

The husband, who tried to put up a fight, was beaten up.

The robbers fled with some cash and electrical items while the husband rushed his wife to the hospital where a police report was lodged.

They not only had their house broken into, but the wife was gang raped too.

Can the traumatic experience be easily forgotten?
Their nerves be calmed?
How courageous may the couple be to overcome their trauma and fear?
How determined they may be, can they just move on with life?
Adjusting themselves, blending normally with society?
It's unnerving even to read the dreaded news...

******

    
Today, glad to say, situation has indeed improve.

Prior to this, I am not exaggerating things up, but I had seen a person being kidnapped along Jalan Tebrau, house break-in in Kampung Melayu and several cases of pickpocketing at the old immigration and the current Kotaraya Bus Terminal.
Except for snatch theft at Taman Suria, all incidents happened in crowded areas in broad daylight.

Burglary, house-breaking and illegal trespassing used to be a common occurrence in my neighbourhood too.
When a house was entered into illegally and properties looted, it's no more a surprise news.

******

My heavily pregnant neighbour on motorbike had her bag with RM800 and important documents inside, taken by biker next to her at a busy morning traffic stop at Tampoi. 
The husband was visibly shaken as he related his wife's nightmare.

She was to submit all documents relating to her maternity leave before being warded.
Still, they said, luck was with them as the incident happened when the traffic light was red.
If not, things can happen as that splashed aplenty in papers and prints.

****** 

A friend in Kempas saw a lorry parked in-front of her Singaporean neighbour's house, unlock the gate, and never seen before men loading all furnitures onto the big vehicle.

Everything happened under her nose, she was watching them a along, knew no familiar faces.
Only after the lorry left, then she realised that her neighbour's house had been trespassed, looted off of all belongings.

******

A friend who was shopping at Holiday Plaza with her family had their car driven away.
When CCTV was shown, they were surprised to see that barrier was lifted when it was supposed to be lifted with the ticket which they had in hand.

A senior parking attendant friend can just look when her boys go around with bottles and steel petrol from unsuspecting motorbikes they are supposed to look after at big shopping centres.
Although she pity the bike owners, what can she, alone, do against the boys.

****** 

Two home alone grandmothers I used to visit in Kampung Melayu and Tiram were asked to open their gates.
The one in Kampung Melayu in her 80s, was twice had her house swiped out of handphones, laptops and other electronic valuables.

Luckily the one in Tiram, in her late 50s, asked the 'aggressive delivery man' to leave 'whatever parcel' he was to deliver, outside the gate as she had seen him riding his motorbike around the new housing estate few days earlier before the delivery incident.

****** 

I was at a local hospital waiting for someone for his physiotherapy session when a man in his early 30s share his story.
He accidentally knocked at a closely parked car while reversing his, at a carpark in Pandan Wholesale Market.
He waited for the owner, apologising for the deed, but the owner brushed the incident off.

It was not far from the market when he was signalled to move aside.

Then, the car owner with his friend attacked him with parang at the busy roadside with workers returning home in early evening. 
He shielded his face with his arms and later found himself landed in hospital.

Beside both arms with deep wounds, all fingers on his left arm are very badly fractured fingers and needed support.
Hence, his daily therapy session.

******

None of what I saw above, I read in prints and none of the heinous acts befell on others that were told by the victims themselves were ever reported.
Maybe, it will make the perpetrators become more braver and bolder?

There are many other incidents too, retold by relatives, neighbours and friends but it's not first hand experience for me to share.
Many online forumers share their bad experiences too.

******

With very big money going to be spent and things are now looking promising, as what I saw and heard was all before 2010, I hope Syfc, A True Johorean, who poured his / her  heart in the Citizen Blog has finally decided to return home.

Though working and residing in singapore, my heart is still very much in JB as a true born johorean hailing from JB. In fact, i kept most of my savings in ringgit instead of singapore dollar for I aimed to returned to JB for good one day.

However, with the current crime rate in JB, it is astounding that much talk had been said but "visible" actions were as good as none. Though directive from PM is clear Ie. corruption free and serve the public, the "ground" level public servants aren't acting exactly as directed.

It is true that we see more police on bikes and cars patrolling the road but 99% of the time they are looking out for petty traffic offences or checking out individuals in decent family sedans instead of stopping over those illegally modified, darkly tinted cars with extremely loud and huge exhaust.

In that we do see police responding to directive from above to patrol the streets but the actions per se are not addressing the issue. It is like a child staring at a book for hours without reading and said he/she had studied. It serves no purpose.

I return to JB every weekend and I have defended JB very strongly infront of my singaporeans colleagues or friends that questioned the safety issues in JB. I often told them that if it is that unsafe, how come we Johoreans are still very much alive and kicking. But with the current crime rate, I do not think I am able to stay by JB defence anymore.

Lets face it, there are "industries" in JB that attracts the wrong people from elsewhere of the country relocating to JB. These "industries" are open secret to all, from selling of pirated dvds/vcds to ktvs to the flesh trade. These are illegal by law and also i believe illegal by islamic laws. So why are they flourishing in JB?

In KL, you see successful individuals either businessmen, professionals or corporate workers driving luxury cars like BMW etc. In JB, take a look around you and you will often notice a young man in early twenties, skinny with blonde streaks of hair, heavily tattooed, driving and owning a new BMW 5 series and suprisingly smoking in it with the cigarrette ash being thrown onto the floor board of the new BMW 5 series. Ever question how can these young man in their twenties afford such luxury? And the successful JB businessmen, professionals and/or corporate workers will most likely be spotted in a humble Japanese made cars for they fear being robbed (and sometimes life threatening) if they were to own and drive a BMW or Mercedez Benz.

What has become of JB? Is this current situation in JB congruent to the Southern Economic Region plan?

As a true Johorean at heart, I really wish JB will take off from the SER and be a worthy competitor to our neighbours who often have laughed off our "Malaysia Boleh" motto. I, for one, truely believes that "Kita memang Boleh"!

By syfc, 11-May-2007

5 Hrs In Malaysia, 30 Hrs In UK

A Man Sits In His For 5 Hours To Prevent It From Being Taken Away

NO WAY! Saravanan's colleagues taking turns to sit in the car while negotiations were ongoing at the police station. They were afraid it would have been towed away — Pic: Gan Jin Liang

PETALING JAYA: A man whose car was about to be towed away by Petaling Jaya City Council officers for parking on a yellow line created a ruckus when he refused to get out of his vehicle.
"You can't tow my car with me in it. I won't get out," he insisted during the five-hour standoff.
The fiasco began about 12.30pm yesterday when credit services assistant manager Saravanan Abbu, 35, was having lunch at a restaurant in Section 8 when he saw council officers attempting to tow away his illegally-parked Honda City.
He rushed to his car and apologised to the council officers who were hooking up his car to a tow truck.
He pleaded with them to issue him a summons instead.
When they ignored his plea, and knowing a car cannot be towed with a passenger inside, he got into the driver's seat.
"I wouldn't have done so if the car was already hooked up to the truck and moving.
"I would have gladly acknowledged my fault and followed procedures," said Saravanan, adding the officers were only in the midst of hooking up the car to the truck and they could have considered his plea.
"They hadn't towed it yet, but still they wouldn't accept my plea for a straightforward summons, which is why I decided to sit in the car."
To break the impasse, police were called in.
"We were informed this standoff was causing traffic congestion. So, we urged both parties to go to the PJ police headquarters instead to settle the matter," said one of the police officers called to the scene.
He said police could not interfere in such a case as all they could do was provide security if things went out of control.
"The council has its own guidelines and rules. We can't interfere."
At the PJ police headquarters, both parties lodged separate reports on the incident.
The council officers alleged Saravanan was obstructing when they were carrying out their duties while Saravanan's complaint was against them attempting to tow away his car despite his early presence at the scene.
After an hour of discussion mediated by an inspector at the police headquarters, the matter was eventually settled with Saravanan paying a RM270 fine, after negotiating it down from RM310.
While these negotiations took place, Saravanan's colleagues took turns to sit in the car as he was afraid it would be towed while he was away.
Saravanan remains unhappy with the council and plans to take the case further.
"All I care now is I've got back my car and I need to get back to work."
Said council spokesperson: "We were only carrying out our duties following the rules. He was obstructing our duties and wasting our time.
"We had to call the police as Saravanan was adamant on staying in his car despite numerous attempts by our officers to explain our regulations to him."

******

Similar Cases In UK Too

Reported on Aug 17, 2010
HAROON ZAFARYAB was returning from Ramadan prayers last August when he found his car clamped for being parked illegally on private property.
The Daily Mail had then reported Haroon was met by an official who demanded £100 (RM477) for the clamping fine and an extra £265 for a tow truck which had been called to haul his Toyota Prius away even though the car was clearly still there.
While admitting he had failed to see a small notice saying he had parked on private property, Haroon said he knew the officials were trying to rip him off.
Furious at the cost and knowing a car cannot be towed with a passenger inside, he decided to get into the driver's seat in protest.
So he sat inside for 30 hours to prevent it from being towed away. Two tow trucks turned up for an around-the-clock watch on Haroon.
Residents in the local area cheered Haroon on and provided him with refreshments and treats to keep his energy up. Some of his friends also arrived to show their support.
As he was planted inside the vehicle, police clamped all four wheels and stuck about 40 more tickets onto the windshield, amounting to £3,565 in fines.
Haroon even called lawyers, who said the police were just trying to scare him. They advised him to stick it out.
Finally, after 30 hours, his car was finally released after he paid a £100 ($156) fine for parking on private land without a permit.

******

Reported on Sept 23, 2008
ANOTHER British driver had also managed to escape paying a parking fine of £250 in September 2008 by refusing to leave his car for almost three hours.
Tow truck workers, who had loaded his BMW 5 Series onto their truck, gave in and lowered it back down after the man claimed to have been asleep in the back seat.
Known as Mr Shah , the 29-year-old personal trainer later admitted he had actually hopped onto the tow truck and got into the driver's seat as the attendants looked the other way.
Alerted by his neighbours of his car being loaded onto the truck, he later described the feat as a victory escaping the fine. It would have cost him £250 if they had taken it to the pound.
He admitted he was in the wrong but said he had not understood the parking signs near his West London house when he parked on a single yellow line in Beaconsfield Terrace Road, West Kensington.
Not only refusing to get out, he also sat in the car reading the papers, listening to music and even ordered a sandwich from the cafe nearby.
The police came around and the owner of the tow company arrived but Shah was still adamant, and in the end, they got frustrated and released the car.

Legal Witchcraft

My mind boggles to read as from Saturday, Romania has officially recognise witchcraft as a profession, part of the government's drive to crack down on widespread tax evasion in recession time.

Witchcraft is popular in Romania, the homeland of Dracula, as many local folks believe in the occult.




A month ago, the above Mircea Geoana, a top contender for the Romanian presidency was said to be zapped out by a shadowy parapsychologist enlisted by his rival.
He asserted that he had been targeted by waves of negative energy during a key debate just before the run-off and a "negative energy attack" led to his narrow loss to re-elected President Traian Basescu.
Mihaela, his wife claimed he "was very badly attacked, he couldn't concentrate", and Romanians mocked the former foreign minister, saying he was a bad loser.

But the recent publication of photos showing well-known parapsychologist Aliodor Manolea - his specialities include deep mind control, clairvoyance and hypnotic trance, was close to the President during his re-election campaign has caused Romanians to wonder whether he really did put a hex on his rival.

It has since been the talk of the nation when the daily Evenimentul Zilei wrote in an editorial, "The Evil Witch defeated Geoana."

Romania's former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu abolished psychology departments across the country as he was said to be terrified of even traditional psychologists.
He feared the threat to communism that he even banned the word from the official dictionary.
Then in 1982, he staged a crackdown against people, and dismissing scores of officials who were allegedly practicing transcendental meditation.

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In 2007, Judge Elena Simionescu was relieved of her position as court president and salary reduced for three months, of not only "misplaced" an important court document, but was accused of being a witch - alleged by court staff, judges and prosecutors, to perform rituals of splashing water, mud and "other liquids", as well as salt and pepper, on fellow judges' desks.
The practice was said as an attempt to bewitch and tried to cast spells on them, creating a conflicting atmosphere during her term as a president of the court in Vatra Dornei, in eastern Romania.

She denied the accusations, telling investigators, "I splash my colleagues' desks with holy water every day, in the spirit of good Christians' rituals."
But a local lawyer claimed she had many quarrels with people working in the court, and they were all convinced that she was casting spells.
Inspectors investigating the complaint concluded that Judge Simionescu used "unorthodox methods with her court colleagues and maintained a constant tension by using occult practices and witchcraft".

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31-year-old Gabriela Ciucur is Romania's first legal witch, after she registered a company dealing with "astrology and contacts with the spiritual world" after months of negotiations with the government that finally introduced witchcraft as a legal occupation.
Gabriela attends up to seven people each day and charges her clients about US$13 to see into their future lives, to unravel what's in the stars and to get them in touch with the spirits of loved ones. Superstitious it may seemed, but belief in the paranormal spawned some unusual practices up to recent times.

A witch called Bratara had, on Saturday, planned to cast a spell using black pepper and yeast to create discord in the government over the recent tax implementation.

The Children - First Day Crossing To School

Beautiful pictures New Straits Times photographer share with its readers. 

Children from Kampung Bongkud in Menggatal, Kota Kinabalu walked eight kilometres, two-hour journey to attend the first day of school at SK Tombongon through muddy tracks, jungle trails and three rivers.

Thank you, Datu Ruslan Sulai