Siti Ramlah Wok.

Wanita terperangkap kira-kira dua jam, tidak cedera

MACHANG: Seorang wanita nekad terjun ke dalam perigi rumah jirannya, selepas mendakwa terdengar suara ghaib menyuruhnya berbuat demikian dalam kejadian dekat Pulai Chondong di sini, pagi semalam.

Dalam kejadian yang menggemparkan penduduk Kampung Laha, Pulai Chondong kira-kira jam 10 pagi itu, Siti Ramlah Wok, 52, bernasib baik apabila tidak mengalami sebarang kecederaan walaupun terjun dari ketinggian kira-kira tujuh meter.

Akibat tindakan itu, mangsa terperangkap dalam perigi terbabit selama kira-kira dua jam ketika kedalaman air mencapai paras pinggangnya, sebelum dikeluarkan sepasukan lima anggota Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat Machang diketuai Ketua Operasi, Mohamad Sulaiman, dengan mengguna tali, kira-kira jam 12 tengah hari.

Sejurus diselamatkan dari perigi yang terletak kira-kira 150 meter dari rumahnya, ibu kepada 11 anak itu mendakwa, tindakannya terjun ke dalam perigi terbabit adalah sesuatu yang tidak pernah terlintas dalam fikirannya selama ini.

"Ketika itu, makcik mahu pergi melihat suami yang sedang bertukang tidak jauh daripada rumah kami. Bagaimanapun ketika lalu dekat rumah jiran, saya dengar ada suara menyuruh terjun ke dalam perigi berdekatan.

"Entah macam mana, saya hanya mengikut arahan suara itu dan terus terjun ke dalam perigi. Selama ini, saya pernah juga melalui kawasan sama tetapi tidak pernah pula ada suara menyuruh berbuat demikian.
"Sejurus terjun, saya sedar sudah berada dalam perigi, nasib baik airnya cuma paras pinggang. Dalam takut itu, saya hanya mampu membaca surah Al-Fatihah dan mendoakan keselamatan diri," katanya ketika ditemui di rumahnya, semalam.

Siti Ramlah bernasib baik kerana seorang penoreh getah yang secara kebetulan lalu di situ terdengar suaranya sebelum bergegas meninjau dan memaklumkan penduduk sejurus mendapati mangsa terperangkap dalam perigi terbabit.

Suami Siti Ramlah, Hussin Mat Ali, 63, yang mengambil upah bertukang, berkata sebelum kejadian isterinya berada di rumah bersama anak mereka, Siti Zalia, 19.

"Saya bergegas balik sejurus dimaklumkan penduduk kampung mengenai kejadian menimpanya dan bergegas menuju perigi tempat dia terjun itu. Mulanya saya bersama penduduk kampung berusaha mengeluarkan sendiri isteri daripada dalam perigi itu, tetapi tidak berjaya sehingga bantuan bomba tiba.

"Saya bersyukur kerana air dalam perigi itu sekitar separas pinggang berikutan kemarau, jika tidak, tak tahulah apa yang akan berlaku kepadanya," katanya

BH14/04/10

Is there such a thing as a weeping pangolin?

TOUCHING SIGHT: The mother pangolin and offspring before being placed in a cage.



SIBU: Residents at Punai Road were shocked when they saw a mother anteater weeping after it and its baby were caught last week.

The incident occurred before Chap Goh Meh when the mother and offspring were crossing the road.

A group of people were chatting at a roadside shed when they saw the anteaters (pangolin).

The baby was clinging to its mother’s tail as they moved slowly across the road.

“Would a mother anteater weep when it fears for the safety of her offspring?” asked a resident when he saw the reptile’s teary eyes.

According to witnesses, one of the residents was very excited upon seeing the animals.

“He quickly jumped on them and put them in a wire cage.”

He said the animals attracted quite a crowd.

“Three car passengers who interrupted their journey were the first to notice the tears of the mother pangolin.”

Touched by the unusual happening, several children pleaded with the excited catcher to release the animals.

The man, however, seemed to have a heart of stone.

It was only when a few persons suggested giving him money that the man agreed to let the animals go.

The man offered them for RM100.

A woman reporter who was called to the place confirmed that she saw the mother’s teary eyes when she struggled inside the cage.

“The baby pangolin was naturally fearful, and it clung tightly to the tail of its mother,” she said.

She accepted the catcher’s offer, paid him and took the animals away.

“I passed them to snake-catcher Lai Lee Siew for I know he always releases wild animals after catching them in residential areas,” she said.

She actually followed Lai into a jungle the next day to release the pangolins, but declined to give the exact location for fear that poachers might take advantage of the situation.

She recalled that the mother pangolin held tightly to the cage when Lai tried to release her while her offspring won’t let go her tail.

She said when Lai failed to loosen the mother’s grip his niece, who followed them into the jungle, took the baby and put it outside the cage.

“It was only then that the mother went out of the cage and together they made their way into the bush.”

Lai’s niece said it was her first time that she went into a jungle to do such a thing.

“I was touched by what I saw,” she said, adding that when the animals were free, she felt joy in her heart.

“I have learnt from being kind to the animals. They were born free. Humans must ensure that they are free to roam in the forest. They are not meant for the cooking pot.”

To the natives, pangolins are called ‘tenggiling’.

The scaly reptile has a prehensile tail and no teeth.

The offspring travels by sitting on the base of the mother’s tail.

The animal is usually nocturnal, sleeping during the day in underground burrows. Its food consists exclusively of ants and termites.

Pangolins are found in the lowlands and on hills.

Strange happenings force family to live in small hut

Unexplained phenomenon: Mohamad Sidek showing his family’s charred clothes after yet another mysterious fire that happened in his house in Kampung Charok Meranti, Bandar Baru near Kulim Tuesday. — Bernama


KULIM: A family in Kampung Charok Meranti, Bandar Baru here has been forced to live in a small hut for the past two years due to “strange happenings” in their home.

They claim certain parts of their house would suddenly be engulfed in flames.

Mohamad Sidek Hamid, 49; wife Fauziah Ishak, 48, and their six children are too traumatised to continue living in the house.

Mohamad Sidek said they were forced to vacate their brick house due to the mysterious fires which break out ever so often. A recent fire happened in the master bedroom.

“The fires normally happen when my family and I are out,” Mohamad Sidek said yesterday.

He added that a Fire and Rescue team from Serdang had gone to the house to investigate and a police report was lodged.

Mohamad Sidek said the fires started after the family moved into the house which he bought for RM40,000 in 2007.

He said his family was traumatised by the incidents because besides the fire, money had also gone missing.

“I have called more than 100 bomoh from Sabah, Sarawak, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar, and spent more than RM50,000, but the mysterious fires still happen,” he added. — Bernama

04112009

Eerie screams spook villagers

House of the dead: Nasrul looking at the house where the man allegedly killed his mother at Kampung MIC in Johor Baru


The well where the skeletal remains were found.
This could easily be a Halloween movie but the murder of a woman, eerie screams, and the discovery of skeletal remains in a well are not spooking moviegoers in cinemas but the residents of Kampung MIC here.

All was well in the village until Oct 6 when a woman was found murdered in her house; her 22-year-old son who is the prime suspect had allegedly put her body in a travelling bag and left it under the kitchen sink.

That was enough to put the village residents in a state of heebie-jeebies.

Their anxiety deepened last Wednesday when the suspect led the police to the skeletal remains of a woman in a well. Since then, several residents have claimed that they are hearing eerie screams.

Cleaner Rokiah Sarumin, 60, said she had been living in the area for 30 years but the noises only started after the skeletal remains were discovered in the well.

“Initially my neighbour asked me whether I heard screams at night but I just dismissed it as a joke.

“However, at about 3am on Friday, I, too, heard screams,” she said, adding that she immediately recited prayers.

Rokiah said the screaming continued for several minutes and then died off.
Of the woman who had been murdered, Rokiah refuted media reports that she was deaf and mute, saying they had spoken to each other everyday.

Housewife Salmah Hanim, 45, said the eerie noise came from the well.

“My house is near the well where the skeletal remains were found and the first time I heard the voice was on Thursday morning at around 3am.

“I was terrified and told my husband but he dismissed it,” she said, adding that she planned to talk to her husband about moving out of the area.

Rokiah’s grandson Nasrul Amrani, 19, who works in a petrol station, said the suspect hardly spoke to his neighbours.

Nasrul said he had only seen the son raising his voice after he had consumed alcohol.

Yesterday, Johor CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Amer Awal said police were still trying to identify the skeleton remains in the well.

For now, he said all they knew was that the remains were those of a woman aged between 20 and 30 years.

He said the police were investigating whether the woman was either a family member or the suspect’s lover.

“We are looking through our missing persons record. We also urge members of the public who have someone missing over the last six months to lodge a police report,” he said.

He said the suspect was at Hospital Permai for psychiatric evaluation.

Gambier Street holds pre-World War II relics

UNDERGROUND CHAMBER?: A photograph taken by Ng of the arch which looks like a doorway into an underground chamber.

Padungan assemblyman Dominique Ng yesterday claimed to have discovered a pre-World War II underground chamber and a possible system of tunnels under Gambier Street.

This followed his investigation on information he received on Sunday night that beneath the podium supporting the demolished garment store, which was once the Government Information Service building, there were potential archeological relics.

Therefore, he appealed to the state government to halt the demolition work at the site as there could be historical and archeological structures that could be preserved.

“I appeal to the state government to immediately stop demolishing the site at the Gambier Street Market.

“This is to prevent the destruction of the historical structures,” he told reporters after he investigated the place the night before.

He said he found two small openings at two diametrically opposing corners of the podium.
He also said the openings led to what appeared to be underground cellars or chambers neatly lined by bricks and possible brick archways.

Ng also claimed that there could be other assets hidden there which warranted investigation.
He added that the place was very safe and the structure of the building still solid and hence the demolition of the place should be reviewed.

“The structure of the old Information building which was situated there is very strong and the main pillar is still very straight and safe.

“I’m very sad to see that the place which could be of historical value and could be a potential tourist destination and attraction destroyed just like that.

“I believe the place is of historical and archeological importance, so I lodged a report at the police headquarters this (yesterday) morning around 7.29am,” he said.

He hoped the police could protect the site and the Museum Department could carry out the preservation work and protect the place from vanishing from the eyes of the public.

An official of the Museum Department, when contacted yesterday, said they would investigate Ng’s claims.

La Toya percaya Michael Jackson kena bunuh

Michael Jackson

Kakak Michael Jackson, La Toya percaya adiknya dibunuh dan ia adalah sebahagian daripada pakatan untuk mencuri harta kekayaan raja pop itu. La Toya dilaporkan oleh akhbar tabloid Britain sebagai berkata, aset Michael bernilai lebih AS$1 bilion (RM3.6 bilion), menjadikannya sasaran mereka yang tamak.

Beliau berkata wang tunai dan barang kemas bernilai kira-kira AS$2 juta (RM7.2 juta) dicuri dari rumah penyanyi itu selepas kematiannya.

"Sejak dari awal lagi, saya sudah berasa bahawa Michael dibunuh, bukan oleh hanya seorang tetapi satu konspirasi," katanya yang dipetik akhbar Daily Mail.

La Toya, 53, berkata Michael hidup di kalangan orang yang mendapat faedah daripada kerjaya beliau dan mereka sengaja mendesaknya mengambil pelbagai jenis ubat bagi memudahkan mereka 'mengatur' emosinya dan menjadikan penyanyi itu mudah 'diurus' termasuk kedudukan kewangannya.

Akhbar News of the World turut melaporkan bahawa La Toya berkata beliau mengetahui siapa yang patut disalahkan berikutan kematian adiknya dan berazam mengheret mereka ke muka pengadilan. La Toya juga mendakwa, Michael tidak mahu membuat 50 persembahan di London tetapi didesak berbuat demikian.

Bapa Michael, Joe sebelum ini juga berkata, beliau mengesyaki anaknya menjadi mangsa perbuatan khianat sehingga menyebabkan kematiannya.

– Agensi

Wanita terkejut sejadah 'berdiri' di Masjid Kristal

KUALA TERENGGANU 3 Julai - Seorang wanita yang singgah di Taman Tamadun Islam di sini sebelum menunaikan solat di Masjid Kristal dikejutkan dengan pengalaman aneh apabila mendapati dua helai sejadah tiba-tiba bercantum sebelum 'bangkit berdiri' di sisinya.

Kakitangan kerajaan berasal dari Dungun berusia 35 tahun itu menyangka objek tersebut hanya bayang jemaah lain yang mendirikan solat di sebelah kirinya.

Namun setelah selesai solat, wanita itu terkejut apabila melihat dua helai sejadah bercantum dalam keadaan menegak seolah-olah berdiri.

"Masa itu saya beristighfar beberapa kali dan terus mengambil telefon bimbit lalu merakamkan gambar sejadah berkenaan," katanya yang enggan dikenali ketika ditemui dekat sini.

Menurutnya, pengalaman pelik kira-kira pukul 11 pagi beberapa hari lalu amat luar biasa dan bersyukur kerana 'terpilih' menyaksikannya.

"Pengalaman ini tidak menyebabkan saya takut untuk datang ke sini kerana saya percaya ia bukan benda yang tidak baik," katanya.

Sementara itu, seorang pengawal keselamatan di taman tema tersebut yang juga enggan dikenali mengakui dia seringkali terserempak dengan pelbagai kejadian aneh di situ.

"Malah ada penduduk sekitar kawasan ini bercerita, pulau ini memang agak 'keras' dan menjadi kawasan tempat orang membuang benda-benda tak elok sebelum ia dibangunkan," katanya.
Dalam pada itu, seorang petugas di Masjid Kristal pula menjelaskan, kejadian tersebut mungkin ada kaitan dengan jin Islam kerana sebelum ini seorang wanita mengadu mengenai kejadian yang hampir sama.

"Waktu itu dia baru selesai solat asar berseorangan sebelum tiba-tiba melihat kejadian serupa," katanya yang enggan namanya disiarkan.

Beliau juga berharap umat Islam yang singgah untuk mendirikan solat di masjid itu tidak bimbang dan takut sebaliknya menganggap kejadian aneh itu sebagai satu petunjuk kebesaran Allah SWT.

Utusan Malaysia 4/7/2009