Towards Lesser Crime In JB (9)

Robbery

Suspected Robber Dies In Car Chase

TANGKAK: A suspected robber was killed after his car skidded into a canal during a high-speed chase of his intended victim in Kampung Parit Keliling near Kesang here.
A man had just left his workplace near Bakri and was driving home when he spotted a Proton Waja trailing him at about 3.30am yesterday.
He sped away after he crossed the Muar River, but the Proton followed him into Kampung Parit Keliling in Kesang.
The man managed to lose the Proton after a sharp bend, but was shocked when his father told him later in the morning that there was a car in the canal.
He rushed to the spot and saw the car was the Proton Waja that had trailed him earlier, with the driver dead.
The man and his father then informed police about the car and the dead man in the canal.
Ledang police chief Supt. Harun Idris confirmed the incident, and said the police were investigating the case.

Source: The Star - Wednesday, May 4, 2011

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Beware Of JB 'Syringe Robber': He Threatens To Jab You With 'AIDS-Tainted Blood'

A man approached STOMPer Tommi with a syringe and demanded money from him at a Johor Bahru petrol kiosk today (May 2).

The man claimed that he was infected with AIDS, and the syringe was filled with his blood.

STOMPer Tommi relates the harrowing incident:

"Drivers to JB beware! The old AIDS stunt is back.

"Last week my friend met an approximately 40-year-old small-built Chinese man at the Shell petrol kiosk beside the customs.

"He claimed that he had AIDS and held a syringe with some blood in it.

"He would demand that you handed over your cash.

"My friend handed over 100 plus ringgit to him.

"Today I personally met a man at the same petrol kiosk trying to pull the same stunt.

"He waited for me to get into my car and before I could close the door he approached me.

"He said the same things but before he could react I slammed my door against his head and gave him a kick. I then slammed my door shut.

"I sounded my horn to attract attention.

"He calmly stood up and walked off.

"I wanted to get down to alert other fellow Singaporeans there and the kiosk attendant but my wife saw him signalling to some people across the road.

"Worried for our own safety, we decided to drove off.

"Drivers please beware."

STOMP understands that there were similar robberies in the past that involved syringe-wielding men targeting Singaporeans visiting Johor Baru.

Source: Singapore Seen. Stomp - Tuesday, May 2, 2011

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'Eggstra' Careful

Johor police chief DCP Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said end of last month, a chain of text message about eggs thrown at windscreens in Johor Bahru so motorists could be robbed when they stop is untrue.

This particular SMS has been circulating for several months and has resurfaced. 

Police officers had not received a single report lodged on such an incident.

They had not received any report of people falling victim to a text message that had been circulating in Johor Bahru.

The message, widely circulated through SMS and also by email, says:   

“Message from PDRM — 

cautioned motorists about robbers who divert their attention with an “egg attack”. 

It says:  

“If you are driving at night and are attacked with eggs, 

do not operate the wiper or spray any water. 

You can drive until you reach a safer place because eggs, 

when mixed with water, 

become milky and block your vision up to 92.5 per cent. 

Then you are forced to stop at the road side and become a victim of robbers.”

"This is a new technique used by robbers in Johor Baru. 

Please inform your friends and relatives.” 

Police said it was probably the work of a mischievous individual among the public.

The SMS was an irresponsible act who wanted to create confusion and fear.

However, people must always be careful and alert of their surroundings.

The people could check with the police if they came across such SMSes to ascertain the truth.

****** 

A Close Shave For A Librarian In Permas Jaya 
by Goh Siew Mei

Two robbers drove away in silver Honda City, which belongs to a high school library supervisor at Permas Jaya yesterday.
The incident took place around 6.25am at Jalan Permas 12/21, while Chai was reversing his car out his porch to pick up his neighbours son before sending him to school.
Chai, who works at the Foon Yew High school said he saw a car approaching very fast from the side as he was reversing his car. As soon he saw two person in the car wielding parang, he ran out of the car and asked his neighbour’s son to run inside the house.
“I was lucky as the robbers only managed to take the car and not hurting us,” said a shaken Chai.
According to him, he lost his briefcase, some documents, a cheque book and some of his student’s record books.
The car was later recovered at 10.00 am, when it was spotted by a parent, who is on the way to send his child to school. The car’s drivers side door and passengers door was slightly dented and the documents were intact.
Chai later lodged a police report at both Johor Jaya and Permas Jaya police station.

Source: Komuniti Kini - April 4, 2011

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Two men, who are part of a gang involved in attempting to break-in into a factory at the Plentong Industrial Area factory, were detained during an operation in Plentong industrial area.

Johor police received information about the suspicious behaviour of 10 men in the area at 4.14am on Monday, April 11.

When the men saw the police, two of them who were in a car tried to reverse into the officers, who then, had to shoot at the tyres before arresting the two who were in the said getaway car.

One of the suspects had a previous conviction for dishonestly receiving stolen property in a gang robbery.

A third suspect fled in a Perodua Kancil with the registration number JGK 468. 

The fleeing car rammed into three police motorcycles before fleeing the scene.  

Eight others managed to escape into the darkness.

Police seized a Yamaha motorcycle and a Proton Waja belonging to the robbers, along with a paper cutter, a bunch of Allen keys, watches and screwdrivers. 

In another case on Saturday, police arrested a man, in his 40s, who was involved in stealing and dismantling of lorries at Bandar Seri Alam. 

He had seven previous police records, which included theft and drugs abuse.

Police seized a Suzuki lorry, a Honda motorcycle and a host of spare parts.

In yet another case on the same day, police arrested three men, one of them had three previous police records, aged between 20 and 47 at the Perling- Pasir Gudang Highway for possession of a fake pistol. 

They were in a Proton Waja, which the chassis number and engine of the Proton car was found to have been altered.

The Last Man's Way Of Gaining His Entry To Paradise

The Last Man To Enter Jannah

Abu Hurayra once said that people asked the Messenger of GOD,  
“Will we see our Lord on the Day of Judgment?" 

To which Prophet Muhammad replied, 
“Do you find any difficulty seeing a full-moon on a cloud-less night?” 
They said, “No, Messenger of GOD”. 

He said, 
“How about the sun, 
do you find any difficulty seeing it on a cloud-less day?” 
They said, “No”.
  
The Prophet said,  
“That’s how it will be. 
People will be resurrected on the day of Judgment and it will be said, 
‘Follow whatever you used to worship!’ 
So some people will follow the sun, 
and others will follow the moon, 
and others will follow tyrants.

However, this Ummah, along with its hypocrites, will stay put, 
and GOD will come and say ‘I am your LORD’. 
[Not having seen GOD before, and confused by the whole experience] 
They will say ‘We’re not going anywhere until our LORD comes, 
and when HE comes, we will recognize HIM’. 

Then GOD will come to them and say ‘I am your LORD’. 
Then they will [realize and] say ‘[Wow!!!] YOU are our LORD!’, 
and they will follow HIM.
  
[The Messenger of GOD then continued] 
“Then the Sirat (Path) will be cast across Jahannam (Hell),
and I and My Ummah will be the first to cross it. 
No one on that day will speak except the Messengers [of GOD], 
and all what they will say on that day will be 
‘Please GOD, get us out of this safely!’ (Allahumma Sallim Sallim).

Jahannam will be full of hooks and thorns that snatch people, 
all according to their deeds. 
Some will fall in because of their deeds, 
and others will be cut and shredded until they cross to the other side.

Then when GOD would want to have Mercy over the people in the Fire,
HE will command the Angels to take out everyone who used to worship GOD, 
and they will do so.

The Angels will recognize them by their prostration marks, 
as GOD has prohibited the fire from burning them 
and the son of Adam will be consumed by the Fire 
except for his prostration marks. 
They will come out charred 
and the Water of Life will be poured on them 
after which they will rise again 
the way a seed germinates after rain."

[Continuing]  
“Then, after GOD judges between everyone, 
a man will remain between the Fire and Paradise*.

He will be removed from the Fire 
but his face will be fixed towards it,
so he will cry: ‘Please GOD, let me face elsewhere! 
Its heat has dried me and its wind has burnt me!’ 

GOD will say:  
‘If you are granted this wish, will you ask for anything else?’ 
He will cry: ‘No!! I swear by your Greatness I will not!’  

And he will continue to promise and pledge not to ask anything else, 
until his face will be directed away from the Fire and towards Paradise.
He will see its beauty…
but [remembering his promise] will remain silent.

He will stay silent for a long, long, time, 
then eventually [unable to bear any longer] will cry: 
‘Please LORD, please bring me forward…
just to the Gate of Paradise!! …’ 

GOD will say: 
‘Didn’t you promise that you wouldn’t ask for anything else?’ 
The man will cry:  
‘But LORD, 
please don’t make me the most miserable of Your creation!’ 

GOD will say:  
‘If I grant you your wish then do not ask for anything else?!’ 
He will cry:  
‘I won’t!!! I promise, I swear by you Greatness I will not!’ 

And he will continue to promise and pledge not to ask for anything else, 
until he is brought to the Gate of Paradise. 
When he reaches it, 
he will look inside and see its vigor, charm and pleasure… 
but [remembering his promise] will remain silent.

He will stay silent for a long, long time, 
then eventually [unable to bear any longer] will cry: 
‘O LORD… please… please let me enter Paradise!!’ 

GOD will say: ‘You’re unbelievable! 
How treacherous can you get Son of Adam?! 
Didn’t you make all those promises and pledges not to ask for anything else?’ 
But the man will cry:  
‘But LORD,
please don’t make me the most miserable of your creation!’ 

So GOD, the Exalted, will Laugh, and allow the man to enter Paradise. 

Then GOD will tell him, ‘Make a wish!’ 
And the man will keep on wishing and wishing 
and asking for so many things 
until he can’t find anything else to ask for.

Then GOD will help him out and remind him saying,  
‘How about this… and how about that?’ 
And then, when the man is completely satisfied, 
GOD will say, ‘All your wishes will be granted… and doubled!’  

When Abu Hurayra finished narrating this prophetic saying,
Abu Saeed interjected: 
“But Abu Hurayra! The Messenger of God said, 
‘All your wishes will be granted… 
and multiplied by ten!’ 

Abu Hurayra: “I only remember that they will be doubled.” 
Abu Saeed: “No, no… [trust me]… they will be multiplied by ten!” 
(Sahih al-Bukhari).

Source: Masjidma - Islamic Society Of Western Massachusetts

Prophet Yunus (Jonah) a.s. And A Mother In Labour

... I knew the man was lonely and depressed and needed someone in his life. So, I began to 'witness' to him about the Lord. I read to him out of the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. I shared the story of the prophet Jonah who had been sent by the Lord to call his people to the correct way. Jonah had left his people and escaped by boat to leave his city and head out to sea. A storm came up and the ship almost capsized and the people on board threw Jonah over the side of the ship. A whale came up to the surface and grabbed Jonah, swallowed him and then went down to the bottom of the sea, where he stayed for 3 days and 3 nights. Yet because of God's Mercy, He caused the whale to rise to the surface and then spit Jonah out to return back home safely to his city of Nineveh. And the idea was that we can't really run away from our problems because we always know what we have done. And what is more, God also always knows what we have done...

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That is what was read in the previous post two days ago, of preacher Yusuf Estes, who was preaching Christianity to a Catholic Priest.

Prophet Yunus (Jonah) alaihis salam, also known as Dhan-Nun, was sent to Nineveh, in the region of Mosul, who were idolaters.
He was to teach them the worship of ALLAH.
The people disliked His interference in their way of worship, and they rejected Him.
They argued, "We and our forefathers have worshipped these gods for many years and no harm has come to us."
He tried hard to convince His people of their foolishness in idol worship and of the Goodness of ALLAH's laws, but they ignored Him.
He warned them that if they kept on with their foolishness, ALLAH's punishment would soon follow.
He reminded them that tormenting punishment would dawn on them in three days if they did not repent.

Instead of fearing ALLAH, they told Yunus a.s. that they were not afraid of His threats,
"Let it happen," they told Him.
Disheartened, Yunus a.s. said, "In that case, I will leave you to your misery!"
So saying, He left Nineveh, fearing that ALLAH's anger would soon follow.

Hardly had Yunus a.s. left the city, the skies began to change its colour.
The skies were overcast with black cloud, strong dark smoke smoking, and it was descending, until their city was covered in it, making their roofs black.
The punishment was right above their heads- when they saw that they knew for sure that the promised destruction was true.
The people of Nineveh were filled with fear by the sight that looked as if they were set to be on fire.
They recalled the destruction of the people of 'Ad, Thamud and Noah a.s.
Was theirs to be a similar fate?

They looked for their Prophet Yunus a.s., but failed to find Him.
Slowly faith seeped into their hearts.

With wives, children, livestock, and dressed in sackcloth, they all gathered on the mountain and started to beseech ALLAH for HIS Mercy and Forgiveness.
The mountains echoed with their cries.
It was a momentous hour, filled with sincere repentance.
They set apart each mother from her son, humans and animals too, so that each one longed for the other.
They humbled themselves towards GOD.
They said they believe in what the message their Prophet a.s. had brought to them. 

"Why was there not a single township (among those We warned), which believed,- so its faith should have profited it,- except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the penalty of ignominy in the life of the present, and permitted them to enjoy (their life) for a while." - Surah Yunus 98

So Their LORD had Mercy on them, and Answered their call, and Lifted from them the punishment, after they humbled themselves.
ALLAH removed His wrath and Showered HIS Blessings upon them once again.
When the threatening storm was lifted, they prayed for the return of their Prophet Yunus a.s. so that he could guide them.

******

Meanwhile, Yunus a.s. had boarded a small ship in the company of other passengers.
When night came, the sea suddenly changed.
A horrible storm blew, wild waves tossed the ship and sweeping over the deck, as if it were going to split the ship into pieces.
The chief crewman asked the crew to lighten the ship's heavy load.
They threw their baggage overboard, but this was not enough.

Their safety lay in reducing the weight further, so they decided among themselves to lighten their load by removing at least one person.
They will make lots with all travellers' names.
The one whose name is drawn, will be thrown into the sea.

The lot was drawn and "Yunus a.s." appeared.
The people on board the ship knew Him as the most honourable among them.
Therefore, they decided to draw a second and third lot.
Still, His name was drawn.

Prophet Yunus a.s. realised that ALLAH's Hand was in all this, for He had abandoned His mission without HIS consent.
Yunus a.s was then thrown into the dark, furious sea.
He kept mentioning ALLAH's name as He went into the raging sea and disappeared beneath the huge waves, and was swallowed by a whale (?), into its stomach.

He was in three kinds of darkness, the darkness of the animal's stomach, the night, and of the bottom of the sea.
Prophet Yunus a.s. was alert when He found He could move.
He knew that he was alive but imprisoned.

"And [remember] Him of the great fish – when He went off in wrath, thinking that WE had no power over Him! But then He cried out in the deep darkness [of His distress]: “none has the right to be worshipped but YOU (O ALLAH), Glorified (and Exalted) be YOU (above all that evil they associate with YOU), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers.”

And so WE responded unto Him and delivered Him from [His] distress: for thus do WE deliver all who have faith." - Surah Anbiya' 87 - 88

Prophet Yunus a.s.'s heart was moved by remembering ALLAH.
He continuously saying:

لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
 
“None has the right to be worshipped but YOU (O ALLAH), Glorified (and Exalted) be YOU (above all that evil they associate with YOU), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers.”

All the creatures that lived in the sea, animals and plants, heard the voice of Yunus a.s. praying, heard the celebration of ALLAH's Praises.
All these creatures began to celebrate the Praises of ALLAH in their turn, each in its own way and in its own language.

******

Prophet Yunus a.s. continued praying to ALLAH, repeating this invocation.
ALLAH Almighty Knew His sincere repentance and Heard His invocation, and the whale was commanded to surface and eject the Prophet onto an island.
His body was inflamed because of the acids inside the animal's stomach.
He was ill, but endured all pain and continued to repeat his invocation to ALLAH.




لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“None has the right to be worshipped but YOU (O ALLAH), Glorified (and Exalted) be YOU (above all that evil they associate with YOU), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers.”

Almighty ALLAH caused a vine to grow to considerable length over Him for protection.
Then HE Exalted, caused the Prophet to recover and Forgave Him.
ALLAH told Yunus a.s. that if it had not been for His praying to HIM, the Prophet would have stayed in the whale's stomach till the Day of Judgment. 

"And, verily, Jonah was one of the Messengers. When he ran to the laden ship, he agreed to cast lots and he was among the losers, Then a big fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame. Had he not been of them who glorify ALLAH, he would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick and We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him. And We sent him to a hundred thousand people or even more, and they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while." - Surah As Saffaat 39-148

Gradually Yunus a.s. regained His strength and found His way to His hometown, Nineveh.
He was pleasantly surprised to notice the entire population welcome Him.
The change was there in His people.
They had believe in ALLAH.
Together they pray, thanking their Merciful LORD.

******

It was in the 80s, 7.35pm, Maghrib time.
After a brief check, I was asked to move to the labour ward.
Then a nurse entered the room I was in.
Then, I was all alone, by myself, in the delivery room.

She asked, "Pernah dengar do'a Nabi Yunus?"
"Pernah," I said.
"Tau do'anya?" She asked again.
"Tau." I said.
She asked me to recite, and said, "Amalkan do'a tu. Jangan berenti. Terus baca."

"InsyaALLAH."

A short while later, doctor with his team were made busy.
I delivered a Baby Girl at 7.55pm.

Other mothers in the checking room were full of surprise...
I was already home by 9.30am the next day.

******

After many years passed, My Late Father, who was visiting me then, said,

"Engkau tinggal tempat orang. Bapak nak pesan engkau satu barang. Pernah dengar do'a Nabi Yunus. Tau do'anya?"

"Tau." I said.
"Jangan berenti. Terus amalkan." He advised.

"Dulu pun pernah ada orang pesan."

"Sapa?" He was surprised.

"Nurse kat hospital." 

Then He was silent, and I did not probe further.

******

لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“None has the right to be worshipped but YOU (O ALLAH), Glorified (and Exalted) be YOU (above all that evil they associate with YOU), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers.” 

******

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. had said that if one recites the prayer, GOD would definitely respond to him or her. 

The prayer in the Holy Qur'an is well known, and is often invoked in time of distress.

Prophet Yunus a.s. found himself in a difficult situation; and our existence on earth is not any better

His dark night is of no different to our unknown future,

His stormy sea akin to the instability in our lives, and 

The huge whale that swallowed Him is the vast lowly desires of our souls.

We are in deep darkness, often feeling insecure.

More often, we can make no sense of what is going on around us, yet we often forget THE CREATOR of heavens and earth.

Our lowly soul can, at any time, engulf us in danger. 

The deep anxieties, the yearnings in us, of our inner self, Only THE CREATOR and the Sustainer of All Things is able to answer them.

HE is our Source of hope, the refuge of us, human beings.

Set the right of mind for effective prayer, like Prophet Yunus a.s. realised, only the Disposer of All Things could be His rescuer.
HE is the ONE and ONLY who has Power over or souls and our future.
Every thing is under HIS Control.

لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“None has the right to be worshipped but You (O ALLAH), Glorified (and Exalted) be YOU (above all that evil they associate with YOU), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers.”

       

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

Going Through These Miners' Diaries

The 924-pound rescue capsule that will eventally be lowered into the San Jose mine to rescue the trapped miners Photo: REX

A view of the centre of rescue operations at the San Jose mine Photo: AP

A group of trapped miners waving to a video camera at mine San Jose, near of Copiapo, Chile Photo: EPA 

******

 

A poignant moment watching people who had been camping at the desert near the northern Chilean town of Copiapo, cried tears of joy on BBC. 

Not only the miners' family, so are the engineers and all the rescue team are rejoicing, knowing that their efforts paid off. 

These miners will soon rejoin their family. 

The global focus now is in Chile as celebration is on the way as the rescuers reached the 33 trapped miners. 

In what has become the world’s longest-ever mine rescue, engineers will decide when evacuation will begin when the operation to bring to the surface, 33 Chile's San Jose miners trapped almost a half-mile underground for 65 days with an escape shaft.

The miners were trapped after an access tunnel caved in at Cia. Minera San Esteban Primera SA’s San Jose copper and gold mine in Chile’s northern Atacama.
However, the rescue team works work much faster than earlier expected.

The miners knew they were in a risky situation for their own escape, for the drill finally breaks through into the tunnels where they are trapped.

The rescue mission, upon reaching its most sensitive stage, slowed down the final stage of drilling in an effort to ensure that the hammer did not jam or punch through the rock that it became stuck.

Rescuers send a video camera down through the shaft to prevent rockfalls.

For the specially-designed rescue cage can reach these trapped miners, dynamite was used to clear a rock.

The actual rescue risk is with a disastrous setback and is expected to take more than 35 hours when the miners will eventually be pulled out one by one.

As engineers cut a path to the miners, workers on the surface were rehearsing plans to extract the miners from underground and to quickly transport them to a nearby hospital. Medical facilities will be ready by Monday evening.

The miners only contact with the outside world has been through tiny drill holes into which people on the surface send down food, water, medicine and games such as dominoes.

The rescue team has drawn up a provisional list of the order of the miners' rescue, based on daily examinations of the men's physical and mental health.

The 33 miners have been split into three groups.

The strongest will come out first in case they are needed to go back down to assist others with the rescue. One miner has been running six miles a day for this D-day, or, the four judged capable of handling a frightening setback as the cage is pulled through the narrow black shaft and describing the issuers to the others.

The next phase would be the rescue of those with illnesses, the weaker and older.

And coming up last will be another group who are physically and mentally strong enough to wait their moment.

One of these miners has acted as the mens' medic, and another, has been leading twice-daily prayer sessions.

“We’ve waited for two months, we can wait another two days,” said Norma Laques, in an interview at the mine site. Her son, Jimmy Suarez, 19, is the youngest trapped miner.

Many believe that the last man up will Luis Urzua, the shift supervisor and leader of Los 33 who is credited with keeping the men alive by eking out food rations during the first lost 17 days.

"It could be Urzua, but it's still not confirmed. The concept of a captain being the last one to abandon ship could be applied," said Commander Renato Navarro, the navy official running the rescue.

However, these miners will be assessed and the final order will be decided by the three navy paramedics and 13 rescue experts who will be lowered down into the mine to run the operation from below ground.

At the surface, excitement mixed with anxiety as the miners' families have maintained their vigil since the Aug 5 rockfall.

They maintained an overnight vigil by camp-fires at Camp Hope, the tent settlement they set up at the minehead in the desert near the northern Chilean town of Copiapo.

******

Read on, of this miner's diary for the love of his family.

If one of these men happened to be the person closest to us?  

Or whom we know?

A Miner's Diary

Wang Gang, 24, has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather  to become a miner in Huairen, a county with dozens of coal mines in coal- rich Shanxi province. Yin Zhiyong / for China Daily 

Despite increasing mechanisation, life in the cold, dank, dark interiors of a coal mine remains as tough as ever. Lan Tian and Sun Ruisheng report

Growing up in the rural coal-mining community of Northern Shanxi province, Wang Gang knew just how tough and risky a miner's life can be. And he swore to himself that he would never follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

But destiny had other plans.

Wang, 24, eventually returned to the community he once spurned, despite graduating from Shanxi Drama Vocational College in the provincial capital, Taiyuan.

"Given a choice, I would never work in a mine," says Wang dressed in a pair of old jeans, white tennis shoes and a brown artificial leather jacket, dirt clogging his long fingernails.

He has traveled a long way from the halcyon days of 2002, when the drama college student, a fan of Guns N' Roses, formed a four-member rock band, BY.

After class, the band would do the rounds of the nightclubs of Taiyuan, with Wang its lead singer/guitarist.

But BY did not get progress past being a warm-up band and soon broke up.

Wang then worked as a DJ, and sound and lighting engineer in bars, where he fell in love with a dancer, Zhang Yue.

When Zhang became pregnant, Wang asked her to marry him. Their daughter was born soon after.

He was making a modest 5,000 yuan ($740) a month at that time, which was just enough to get by.

But Wang felt working at nightclubs was full of temptations, and not conducive to a stable family life. So, despite the prospects of becoming a partner at the bar where he had worked for years, he quit.

"I like rock music, but I'm also a very conservative man," Wang says.

The couple soon spent all their savings as he could not find another job with a salary decent enough to pay for baby milk and diapers.

Wang returned to his hometown, Huairen, a county dotted with dozens of coal mines like countless others in the coal-rich province.

In March 2009, he began life as a miner in Wangping Mine Company, a State-owned mine where his father had once worked.

He clearly remembers how frightened he felt the first time he went down the maze of mine tunnels.

"It felt like hell," Wang says.

Typically, a miner works 21 shifts every month to make the maximum he can - 4,000 yuan. Each shift lasts 12 hours and starts at 5 am, 1 pm and 9 pm.

Wang works the 1 pm shift. After a pre-shift meeting and an oath ceremony where the 10-member squad of miners vow to ensure safety, he changes into his work overalls.

Carrying his gear and equipment weighing some 100 kg, he boards a mini-train to descend the mine.

The train comes to a halt half an hour later. He gets off and walks another 20 minutes before reaching his work area.

There is darkness everywhere.

Besides the miners' headlights, there is just one light for every 100 meters along the tunnel.

The ground is cold and moist, with the chill factor amplified by ventilation fans used to blow fresh air into the mine, and the sprinkler that keep the coal dust down.

Wang has to wear three layers of cotton-padded clothes and trousers to protect himself from the cold and dampness.

In the past, miners used picks and shovels to dig the coal and load them on to small carts. Then mules would pull the carts to the entrance.

Nowadays, with mechanisation, machines are replacing miners to dig the coal.

But Wang, a newbie, is unfamiliar with these machines. His main tasks are to assist senior miners, carry equipment and prop up the mine roof with support materials.

His shift ends at 10:30 pm, by which time his clothes are soaked in sweat and his face covered with black dust.

Taking the same mini-train back to the entrance, he cleans up in the miners' bathroom, and arrives home around midnight.

His wife always stays up until he gets home safe and sound.

All the miners' families are aware of the risks the miners face and live with them. In compensation, they enjoy the highest monthly salaries in the area, which is almost equivalent to the annual income of local farmers.

As the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, the country's annual output of coal tripled from 1 billion tons in 1999 to 3 billion tons in 2009, to fuel the fast-growing economy.

Its coal mining industry remains one of the world's deadliest, although the situation has been improving, with the mortality rate per million tons declining from 5.71 in 2000 to 0.892 in 2009.

Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners in 2009. That was down from 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record.

Having worked underground for 18 months, Wang says the worst thing about being a miner is not the danger but the "darkness".

In the winter, he often goes without seeing the sun for weeks, if the shift starts at 5 am and ends at 5 pm.

"Mechanisation and stricter supervision have greatly improved mine safety.

"As long as you pay 120 percent attention and follow safety instructions, you will be OK," he says.

Although Wangping, a medium-scale mine with an annual production of 1.5 million tons, has not seen a severe accident in years, Wang says this does not mean no blood has been shed.

Failure to follow instructions can result in ghastly wounds such as multiple compound fractures.

Wang recalls the utter shock he felt when he chanced upon several fingers of a young co-worker, which were accidentally severed.

Wang's experiences have transformed him, body and mind.

While the day-to-day physical work has bulked him up, he also suffers from joint pains and a cough, owing to the cold, damp and dusty environment underground.

"It is one of the hardest, dirtiest and most dangerous professions in the world," Wang says.

While miners are often thought of as victims of disasters, he is at pains to point out that "we miners are very brave, industrious, are able to work under great pressure, and pay constant attention to detail".

And it is a man's world - State labour laws prohibit the employment of women to work underground.

During breaks and meal times, the hottest topic is women. Who is the best looking girl in the community? Or, who is cheating on whom?

"It is the only entertainment we have underground," Wang says.

The trading of profanities and crude insults is common, and helps ease the stress of mine work, he says.

But as a post-80s college graduate, Wang senses a distance between him and older miners.

Of the mine's 6,000 employees, about 1,000 are miners, of which 30 percent belong to the post-80s generation, holding at least a senior high school diploma.

Most of the older miners have just a primary school education and some are illiterate. The oldest miner in Wang's team is 44.

"We younger miners have interests the older miners don't have. They don't care who (US President) Barack Obama is or what is the breaking news of the moment. They just care about how much money they can earn, or which grocery store has the cheaper eggs."

Few of the educated older miners surf the Internet, while Wang spends almost all his spare time online, teaching himself computer programming.

"Mining has isolated them from the outside world, and made them numb."

Wang says he has to constantly remind himself not to succumb to such numbness.

"It is just a job. I won't dig coal forever. I still have dreams," Wang says.

He says he will leave the mine if there are better job opportunities. Older miners tell him he's being impractical, but his family supports him.

For the time being, Wang is focused on a singing contest his company is organising.

He will sing his favorite song - Chinese singer Wang Feng's Life in Full Blossom:

I have lost my dreams many times;

I want to go beyond the common life;

I want life in full blossom;

Just like flying in the vast sky.

The Awakened Sinabung

As the number of people seeking shelter almost 20,000, a number also reported that they were suffering from stress amid concerns about their property and crops and the possibility of further eruptions of Mount Sinabung.

Residents in three districts in a 6-kilometer radius danger zone of the volcanic Mount Sinabung have been evacuated to Kabanjahe and Brastagi prior to the eruption in trucks and ambulances.
Many had left their homes even before they were evacuated.
They have been placed in eight shelters, including the regency administration building and other public places.
Evacuees are from 18 affected villages.

The number of people living in temporary shelters had since swelled by 3,000 to 21,000.
Sixteen shelters have been set up to accommodate people who evacuated their villagers as ash and stones fell around the area early on Sunday.

“We were shocked because the local administration had previously informed us that the volcano was stable. We panicked and fled our homes,” Sukanalu subdistrict head Paten Sitepu said.

Lulled into a sense of calm by news of the stable condition, some residents who had fled their houses two days ago when the volcano first started spewing thick smoke decided to return home only to leave their houses again a few hours later when the volcano erupted.
 

The Sinabung in Karo district in N Sumatra. Photo: AFP (above) and The Jakarta Post (map)

Evacuees saw the volcano was spewing  hot lava from its crater and send smoke and dust 1,500 meters into the air.

The area was blanketed with thick black smoke, small stones and there's a strong smell of sulphur.
Authorities had anticipated them to have respiratory problems from inhaling dust.

“I have a constant headache and stomachache,” Maranata, an internally displaced person, told Metro TV.

Local media reported that a man had died after experiencing breathing difficulty while fleeing from his village, but Karo district official Andes Mbaga told AFP, N. Surbakti of Cinta Rakyat subdistrict reportedly had died from heart failure.

'He had a history of heart problems. He was having breathing problems which could have been worsened by the ash and dust floating around,' he said.

Reuters reported another death from a heart attack.

As of Sunday afternoon, 50 tons of rice and 12,000 face masks have been supplied to temporary shelters.

******

After no volcanic activity for more than four centuries, Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, erupted early Sunday morning, 2 minutes past midnight with three explosions followed by a lava flow down the slope of the volcano, which is 2,460 meters above sea level.

Sinabung had shown 'some volcanic activity' since Friday. The ash has spread to a distance of 30 kilometres from the volcano prior to the eruption. Many of the villagers evacuated were farmers and they said the ash had settled on their vegetable farms.

Volcano spewed a vast cloud of smoke and ash high into the air on Monday, disrupting flights and sending thousands more people into temporary shelters, officials said.
This was the first eruption at Mt. Sinabung since 1600.

And it erupted again for the second day after springing to life for the first time in four centuries on Sunday.

'It erupted again at 6.30am (2330 GMT, 7.30am Singapore time) and lasted about 15 minutes. The smoke and ash reached at least 2,000 metres,' government volcanologist Agus Budianto said.
The eruption was bigger than on Sunday when Sinabung rumbled into action for the first time since 1600, adding its name to the list of 69 active volcanoes in the massive South-east Asian archipelago.

“For almost 410 years the volcano showed no dangerous volcanic activity, which was why it was categorized as a dormant or type B volcano,” Kaban told The Jakarta Post.
The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) announced that the eruption set a historical precedent.

“This is the first time in our history that a type B volcano suddenly turned into a dangerous one, or a type A volcano,” PVMBG head Surono said after meeting with provincial officials Sunday.
The center classifies type A volcanoes as having erupted at least once since 1600, type B as never having erupted since 1600, but showing signs of volcanic activity, and type C as never having erupted in recorded history.
Surono said the PVMBG was studying why Sinabung erupted.

“We never monitored the development of Mt. Sinabung because it was considered extinct,” Surono said.
He added he would increase the monitoring activities on the volcano.

AFP reported Indonesia sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
It has more active volcanoes than any other country.

******

The eruption also led to the delay of several flights at Medan’s Polonia airport as airlines were warned to avoid remote Mount Sinabung in northern Sumatra.

Transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said. 'It may affect flight traffic to and from the province. It all depends on the direction of the wind,' he told AFP.

Several domestic flights had to be cancelled on Sunday due to the smoke.