Buried Secrets

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Oops! you just killed someone. Whats next? When someone killed another person (whether deliberately or accidentally), the person has three options – to immediately come clean and go to the police, leave the crime scene and figure out an alibi or to hide the murder by getting rid of the dead body. Well, theres a fourth option actually – to make it look like a suicide. If the killer chooses the third option, then there are many options on how to get rid of the body, depending on how resourceful the person is.

I’ve watched a Forensic Files episode where a man put his dead wife’s body through a wood chipper. In Canada, a man purchased an animal incinerator for $15,000 which he later used to incinerate the bodies of his victims. In the famous murder case of Laci Peterson, her husband weighted her dead body down with 4 concrete anchors and threw her body in the San Francisco Bay. There were also killers who used acid or lye to dispose of their victims bodies. The body of the murdered journalist, Jamal Kashoggi was believed to be dissolved in acid.

We all know that the mentioned implements – wood chipper, incinerator, concrete anchors, acid and lye are not the typical items one would conveniently find in the home’s garage or toolshed, at least not in Brunei. But, one item, well two actually, I can confidently say, can be found in every household – a shovel and a torch light, hence why burial is the most convenient option for killers to hide their crimes. Body concealment by burying is very unforgiving given that unless the killer finally confessed and revealed the location or somebody stumbled upon the shallow grave, then the victims will remain missing without anyone knowing whatever happened to them (except the killer, of course).

So, are there any bodies of murdered victims secretly buried by their killers here in Brunei? We cannot be 100% sure to say that there isn’t any. Brunei has vast swatches of forest even near the capital. The building where I stay is right in the middle of Bandar and it is overlooking a large forested hill. One night, close to 1am, I saw lights from torches, like 3 of them, flickering through the trees high on that hill. My imagination went wild and imagined that those were people out burying a dead body there. While there are not many (known) cases of missing locals in the country, there have been a significant number of missing foreign workers. These missing foreign workers were recorded to have entered Brunei but no record of them leaving after their work visas expired. They remained unaccounted for, later presumed to have illegally crossed the border to Malaysia. For all we know, they could be murdered and buried under the ground somewhere.

So, have there ever been any buried dead body uncovered in Brunei? The answer is Yes and this has already been checked off the list of Bizarre Firsts. On 30 July 2000, some children chasing a kite saw a hand protruding from the ground (yikes!) and discovered a decomposing body of a female buried in a shallow grave in a jungle area in Tungku, not far from JIS and DST Complex. The police quickly checked their missing persons file and informed that they have not received any missing person report of late and that many of those who have been reported missing have been found.

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Like other bizarre cases in the country, the public was not informed about any updates to the investigations and would only hear about the cases again when they were solved, when arrests were made. My gut feeling tells me that they never really get to identify who jane doe was. RIP shallow grave girl.

Weekly Local Unhappenings

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Excellent Civil Servants

Aspired: Speaking at the closing ceremony of new officers induction programme on 7 Nov 2019, the Acting Director of Administration and Finance at the Ministry of Health urged officers to forge networks regardless of whether they are new or old officers and reminded them to nurture a positive attitude, build high commitment to shoulder responsibility with other public servants. She advised them to execute tasks as best as they could and adhere to the regulations and discipline. “I hope that the participants can adapt to the work culture at the ministry,” she added.

Actual: Urging, reminding, advising and hoping. Good luck with that. Just saying…

Culture of Preparedness

Aspired: On 5 Nov 2019, the Chairman of the National Disaster Council stated that the dissemination of information on weather conditions and disaster management procedures will support the community in getting prepared for the upcoming monsoon season. A culture of preparedness is the most effective component of disaster management, he added.

Actual: The “culture of preparedness” that exists among the population is that of preparedness in snapping photos and taking videos of flooded roads, blown-off roofs, and other monsoon-induced mayhems, posting them on IG and FB, passing them around on whatsapp. Just saying…

Youth Engagement

Aspired: In an speech on 05 Nov 2019, the Minister of Development highlighted the importance of youth engagement in the formulation of policies. “Latest technological breakthroughs brought on by Industrial Revolution 4.0 like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, quantum computing and others are among the areas that need to be ventured into by the youth.”

Actual: For the over 40s, the use of big scientific and tech words is the in thing today in discourses. For the youths, they would say “cool, where do we sign up?” Just saying…

Brunei Girl in New York

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Back in 2005, my boss was kind enough to include me in his delegation for his official visit to the US. Well, actually, he needed me to write the visit report. But if it had not for that, I may not even had touched foot on the New York city’s soil, or pavement, rather.

New York was the last stop of the US visit which also brought us to Washington and Boston. But I was most excited to see the Big Apple. I was a big fan of CSI New York, (although not all scenes were shot in New York). I wanted to see with my own eyes if New York was really a city that never sleeps as it is known for. I also wanted to set foot on the iconic Central Park and of course the Statue of Liberty, although I knew all along that the latter one was a bit far fetched given that we only had 24 hours to spend in New York.

We arrived in New York in the afternoon via a chartered luxury bus. It was a 6 hours road trip from Boston. We had some unpleasant experience at US domestic airports (long story – regarding security checks), so my boss opted to take the road instead. Upon arrival in New York, we checked into Ritz Carlton Hotel. We only had time to put away our bags and short toilet break as we had to leave right away for the hosted high tea.

As I entered my room, there she was, Lady Liberty, visible from my room’s window. By the window was a telescope. (I later found out that all the hotels overlooking Manhattan provide telescopes in their rooms). Cool. But we had to rush, so the telescope has got to wait.

The high tea was hosted by Brunei’s Permanent Mission in New York. There I met Miss S, a Bruneian girl, in her 20s, who worked at the Permanent Mission as a locally engaged staff. She told me quite an interesting story. She said she wanted a change, and one day she just packed her bags and decided to go to New York to seek for new adventures. I was amazed by how bold she was, leaving her family behind, and travelling that far away to live in New York, (of all places!). I didn’t ask how she got the money to fund her trip though. She told me that she knows New York like the back of her hand. I asked her if the city really never sleeps. She said yes indeed. She offered to show me why in the evening after our hosted dinner.  Oh goodie!

After high tea we went back to the hotel. We had just a few hours before we had to leave for dinner. I used the time to catch a nap, played with the telescope, washed up and got myself ready for the dinner. I went down early just to check out the hotel’s facade and its surrounding area. I chose not to venture out further in the short hours as I was looking forward to the planned excursion with Miss S later that evening.

Our dinner was short as my boss decided right there and then to go watch a broadway musical show – the Mamma Mia! I didn’t know what to expect and whether I would enjoy it, but we had to tag along. It was an order. I remember quite distinctively that the ticket was $65 or so and we had to pay using our own money. But, we didn’t mind. We were in New York! so why not. Since it was unplanned, we had to settle with sitting separately. Only my boss got a good seat overlooking the stage, while the rest of us were scattered at random available seats at the sides. Despite just getting the side view of the show, I kinda enjoyed it. Who doesn’t love ABBA songs anyway.

It was around 10pm that the show finally ended and my boss decided to call it a day. We went back to the hotel, say our goodnights and went to our rooms to retire for the night. Or did we? I waited 5 minutes before I snuck out to meet Miss S who was waiting for me at the lobby. So we went out.

Even though it was well after 10pm, the city was still bustling with life, people and taxis moving about, shops and eateries still open. Still not believing that I was actually in New York, I entered the first souvenir shop I saw and like a kid in a candy store I bought souvenirs like there was no tomorrow. Then we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and I went crazy buying the t-shirts. Next was the Warner Brothers store where I bought my CSI New York t-shirt (which I still wear today), among others. By the end of it, I was one happy girl. Miss S was patiently waiting outside the stores while I did my shopping. I even picked up two Hard Rock t-shirts for her as tokens of appreciation.

We sat down for coffee to allow me to catch my breath and soak up the atmosphere. It was after midnight but the sights and environment felt like it was still 8pm. New York is indeed a city that never sleeps. “I want your life” I jokingly said to Miss S. “No you don’t” she replied. It was not easy and still isn’t, she said. Why so? I asked. She said when she first arrived in New York she bunked at a friend’s apartment. The friend is not really a close friend, but just a lady who she knows who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and posted at the Brunei Permanent Mission in New York. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement until she could get a job and then get her own place. But getting a job was not as quick as she expected and she ended up overstaying her welcome at the lady’s place. Things started to get awkward then onwards as the lady stopped being friendly to her, gave her the fed up look, and dropped hints about wanting Miss S out of her apartment.

Luckily for Miss S, there was an opening at the Permanent Mission office for locally engaged staff and being Bruneian, she easily beat the other applicants and got the job. But she continued on staying at the lady’s apartment until she is stable financially to afford her own place. At least that was the plan even though she knew that would mean she has to endure the lady’s shitty treatment a little big longer. But, one day, the lady told her that she received complaints from the other Bruneian tenants of the building about letting a non-foreign affairs official staying with her there. The lady also said that she’s been told that letting Miss S bunk in her place is against the rule, so Miss S has to hit the road immediately. Savage. But you’re fine now rite? I asked. Yes, she said with a small smile.

It was time to go back to the hotel as I needed to pack my stuff for our early morning flight back the next day. At the hotel lobby, before we part ways, I gave Miss S the t-shirts that I bought for her and some cash. I assured her that she’ll be fine.

In the morning I woke up early to take a walk at the Central Park just to tick that off from my to do list in our super short stay in New York. I was looking forward to go home actually. I was home sick and I really missed my cat. I didn’t want Miss S life after all, being far away from family and no one to turn to.

So, what have become of Miss S? Well…five years later, Ive been told that upon finishing his tour, a certain staff at the Permanent Mission in New York returned to Brunei with a young new wife, and the young wife is non other than Miss S, the Brunei girl in New York. Ba Dum Tss! (punchline drum sound).

Lest Not Forget

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The year 1999 was a big year for Brunei as it became host to a big multinational sporting event for the first time, the SEA Games. Despite its limited manpower and facilities, the country gave its 110% and delivered a successful and memorable event, true to its mantra “Brunei Yakin”. The year ended with a bang with an elevated sense of confidence among the country’s population that Brunei can take on anything despite its size. With a spirit at level high, the country didnt let the Y2K scare hamper its preparation to successfully host yet another major multinational event, the APEC 2000 Leaders’ Summit which saw the country’s first US Presidential visit. 2001 was announced as the Visit Brunei Year as the country was working at full steam to showcase to the world what it has to offer and boost its international standing.

What an eventful three years it was. In all the excitement, the population was all the time oblivious of the fire that burned a large hole in the country’s wallet, the moles that burrowed an enormous tunnel through the country’s money vault. $15B of the country’s money vanished like a fart in the wind, even a million tourists coming to Brunei could not come close to replenishing 1% of that amount. Even with the legal action taken against the Chairman of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) responsible for emptying the country’s coffers, life for most Bruneians seemed to still be business as usual. This was simply because what $15 billions mean did not register in the minds of most Bruneians, who have never even handled hundreds of thousands, millions, let alone, billions. As long as no money was missing from their personal wallets and bank accounts, the scandal has no impact on them, so they thought. Besides, the Chairman of BIA in question, after a lengthy and costly trial, agreed to return all his assets to the state. As far as the public was concerned, everything was water under the bridge, and life went on as usual.

19 years on, my niece, who was born in 2000, showed me her selfie with the individual. She, and perhaps pretty much most of the generation Z’ers, have no idea about the backstory. Even if they stumbled upon the story on the net, they could not relate much to it. Their parents and grandparents have moved on, have not talked about it, so why should they dwell on it.

It is really not uncommon for white-collar crimes to be forgiven and forgotten, for the lack of violence and bloodshed involved. Murders and gruesome crime scenes will stick more in people’s minds, but siphoning money..not so much. You also won’t see white-collar criminals sobbing or looking remorseful during trial. They are only sorry for being caught. Just look at Ramzidah, who is currently on trial, she still held her head up high, even smirking at times. I don’t think there is an iota of regret in her. Since its a “victimless crime”, there are no victims’ faces to haunt their days and nights. Well, there are victims actually, their image. Sure, Ramzidah and her sidekick may be able to wiggle their way out from lengthy prison terms, but having to part with her hundreds of Chanel and Dior handbags should be punishment enough for her. Just saying…

For those who are currently following the trial of Ramzidah and are appalled by what she had done, what if I say that there was a local thief who stole 6 times the amount that Ramzidah took, like 15m x 6 = 90 millions and made a run for it by leaving the country. Yes, I am talking about Haji Awang bin Kassim. Haji Awang was BIA Deputy Managing Director, as well as the Private Secretary and right hand man of the BIA Chairman. Before he got such cool sounding posts, Haji Awang, hailing from Kg Ayer and the son of a kacang kuda (chickpeas) vendor, was just a clerk at the Ministry of Finance. To think that his humble beginnings will shine through and make him a modest person, one couldn’t be more wrong.

Then 51 year old Haji Awang had been on the run since 1998 and remained at large for quite sometime until he was nabbed by the Philippines police in October 2000 and got his ass sent back to Brunei. In the midnight operation, Haji Awang was driving home after having dinner at a Manila restaurant when his car was stopped gangster style. He was grabbed out of his car, got blindfolded and taken to a police facility, before being put on a plane back to Brunei 3 days later. He didnt get to pack his toothbrush. After arriving in Brunei he was produced before the court the next day. I wonder if they let him shower. Back in the Philippines, his Filipino wife was wondering what took him so long to get home and later thought that something bad had happened to him. Yes lady, bad things happen to bad people too.

At the Jerudong Prison, donning prison clothes and sleeping on a rock-hard pillow, no ladies, no sports cars, no bling-bling, Haji Awang was undeterred, still maintaining his “millionaire” persona. Perhaps he was confident that, regardless of a potential jail time, he would eventually walk out of prison still a millionaire, with the many millions waiting for him, in some suitcases somewhere. In prison, the government, who he stole the millions from, still provided him with meals and medication (he was suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure). How ironic….

In November 2000, Haji Awang was released from remand on his own bond for a staggering sum of $50m. One of the bail conditions was for him to report to the Anti Corruption Bureau main office twice a week (which his lawyer later negotiated down to just once a week). Obviously the money he used to pay out the bail was the BIA missing money. Knowing how arrogant Haji Awang was, he wanted to show that $50m was nothing to him. But in doing so, he actually took the money out of hiding.

Haji Awang kept a larger chunk of the misappropriated money, so he got the most media coverage. But, lest not forget, there were other BIA officers who, like Haji Awang, became instant millionaires. They made themselves believe that they can keep the money because the millions were given to them as gifts. So they too lived like kings, built large mansions, without any sense of guilt at all.  Had it not been for the government’s campaign writing to each one of them urging them to return the money, they perhaps couldn’t have been bothered to come forward.

 

 

 

 

Elephant in the Room

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Last Saturday, the news about a Bangladeshi man being attacked by a crocodile went viral on Whatsapp. He was not anywhere near a river, but was just cutting the grass near a storm drain at Kampong Pandan in Kuala Belait. The man survived with just same lacerations on his thigh. Crocodile attacks are not rare in Brunei, so I will not talk about crocodiles here.

In September this year, a Bangladeshi construction worker in Brunei fell to his death. This is also not rare. According to the Minister of Development, the two highest types of job-related accidents recorded in the country are ‘fall from height’ and ‘struck by falling object’. A few years ago, a Bangladeshi man sued his employer when his head was struck by falling object at the construction site. So, I will not talk about job-related accidents here.

In July this year, a Bangladeshi man died of electrocution when working at a construction site in Kg Lamunin, Tutong. This was, however, not the first time a Bangladeshi in Brunei died of electrocution. Back in 2016, another Bangladeshi man was electrocuted to death when he was doing some electrical work at an electrical pole in Kg Tungku. So, I will not talk about deaths by electrocution here.

So, what is the elephant in the room this is about? Just in case no one realised this yet, of recent, there has been a flood of Bangladeshis coming into the country. If you don’t notice them being everywhere you turn, then you better wake up and smell the paratha. Look at the mosques during Friday prayers, you will see lots of them. Drive along the road and look to the left and right, you will see them. When the shops are all closed (try Sengkurong or Serusop), scan around, in the darkness you will see them, under the trees, in the middle of the grass, talking on or playing with their phones. Another observation which is hard to miss is that they made it to the headlines of local news more often now than before. Previously, news about Bangladeshis only popped up once in a while, mostly being caught overstaying or running away from their employers. Now, it seems like we hear about them in the news every other day – getting electrocuted, being attacked by crocodile and other misadventures. All these pointed to the fact that there are too many of them here, enough to change the landscape of foreign presence in the country.

In the past, when talking about foreign workers in Brunei, one would picture Indonesians or Filipinos. But now, the picture morphed into Bangladeshis. According to publicised figure from the Bangladesh side, there are now about 30k Bangladeshis in the country. The actual number could be more than that. Although Bangladesh has been one of the longstanding sources of foreign workers in Brunei, one thing for sure is that their number here has been increasing drastically particularly over the past 3 years. Currently, their numbers have already bypassed the 28k or so Indonesians and the 20k or so Filipinos in the country. Before the Bangladeshis came in droves, there were already some foreign workers from their fellow region-mate India here amounting now to around 11k. Its really not hard to tell them apart, if that is what you’re thinking (google it).

Despite their big presence, however, the Bangladeshis have kept a low profile and stayed away from crime. Part of the reason could be that they are in a tiny country with a majority Malay population, thus it would be hard for them to blend in or evade dragnets should they be involved in crime, unlike the foreign workers from Indonesia and Philippines, who can easily pass off as locals. Furthermore, the Bangladeshis are far from home, they have to go through a lot of illegal border crossings in order to get back to their country should they become fugitives.

Well actually, they did commit crime here, but interestingly, the crimes so far were on their fellow Bangladeshis. Early this year, for example, 5 Bangladeshis were arrested for involvement in a gang robbery and assault on a fellow Bangladeshi man in Kampong Tanjung Maya, Tutong. Earlier in 2016, a Bangladeshi man was charged with murdering a fellow Bangladeshi man at Kampong Sungai Teraban. In 2017, a Bangladeshi man teamed up with a Malaysian accomplice to commit human smuggling, the humans in question were of course Bangladeshis. They were busted when at the Sungai Tujoh Border Post, Customs officials asked to inspect the boot of their car when, lo and behold, two Bangladeshis were “just chillin’ inside the boot.

So, how did it come to this? Why is there a drastic increase in Bangladeshis here? Well, to put it simply, they are here because of two things. Firstly, there is an increasing demand of low-cost labourers, especially in the construction sector owing to the many mega projects that are currently going on in the country, and boy does Bangladesh have lots to supply. Secondly, as has been uncovered recently, they have been duped to believe that these jobs await them. Brunei being a peaceful country with no income tax provides an excellent pull factor for the unsuspected Bangladeshis to take the bait laid out by the “brokers” who offered (with some cost) to lay the yellow brick road to the job opportunities in Brunei. So leaving their families behind with the promise of $300+ remittences per month, off they went to Brunei, only to be welcomed by disappointment when the jobs didn’t exist, like oasis in the desert.

The “brokers” in question are, again, of course their fellow Bangladeshis who (allegedly) have teamed up with some locals in the employment scam. After the discovery of the racket, these brokers got the beating from the Bangladeshi High Commission here in Brunei, yaha literally and figuratively. In August this year, a video went viral on social media which showed a Bangladeshi man being roughed up by 8 other Bangladeshi men in the Bangladesh High Commission here. It was later revealed that the assaulted man is a minion of one of those unscrupulous brokers and the 8 men who beat the crap out of him are the victims of the scam. Boy, were they pissed, and they got the right to be.

Shockingly, not only that these thousands of Bangladesh migrants have been scammed off their money coming here for work, they are then asked to look out for jobs on their own while continued to be bullied and intimidated by rogue “recruitment brokers” also Bangladeshis who have creepingly established their footings as gangster bosses in the country. So…wake up Bruneians! We have a serious issue here. Yes, the country is new to such menace, but there is no time to “let the issue sink in first” and a reaction is needed now as the issue is already on the verge of getting out of control.

Bangladesh was right to call for the arrest of the “gangster bosses” or without such stern action, the activity will continue to thrive in the country or mutated to become other unthinkable menaces. Take Kuwait, for example. It has last month handed down life sentences to 2 persons (a Kuwaiti and an Egyptian) who were involved in visa trading, a crime of the same kind. How about that.

Early this month, Bangladesh took action and cancelled the passports of 5 Bangladeshis in Brunei who they refer to as “human traffickers” and requested for Brunei to cancel their visas and immediately repatriate them for legal action – specifically for human trafficking, visa trading and exploitation. It is not known (at least not publicised) if the 5 men have been located and deported. At least the floodgate of surplus Bangladeshis is now shut.

So, what to happen to the thousands of duped Bangladeshis who are already here. They have work visas but are jobless and still need to send some money home to support their families. They’ll do fine, until their employment passes expired then they’ll be illegal migrants, try to hide or take the car boot express across the border, or get arrested, do some jail term then sent home. Sounds like a good plan.

My Top 5

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Top 5 things people say or do that don’t make sense (bordering nuisance).

5. When the cashier handed back your change with the coins on top and the sales receipt sandwiched between the dollar notes and the coins. Like, cant they just give me the coins first so that I can put them away in the coins pouch or pocket before giving me the notes.

4. When you pay at the cashier some x dollar and x cents amount with dollar notes and the cashier asked you if you have the specific amount of coins. Like, if I have coins, I would use the coins to pay, or even if I have the coins, I have my own reasons not to use them (lazy or no time to look for them). So, if I give you notes, just take the notes and get on with it, don’t ask for coins from me.

3. When you order food at a fast food restaurant and they told you that there will be a 10 minute wait. Like, whats the point of calling yourselves “fast food” restaurants??

2. When restaurants said that their operating hours are up to 10pm but when you come at 9pm they said that their kitchens are already closed. Like, just put 9pm then on the sign.

1. When people posted on social media photos of their laptops and some paperworks with the caption “busy day”, “overworked” or “I need a vacation”, but they have time to update their status. Like, what even??

Tick in “The Box”

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Last week, I went to check out “The Box” to see what the fuss was all about. The Box which was officially “unboxed” on 07 September 2019, is the country’s biggest container-styled commercial establishment, boasting 19,800 square feet of retail across 61 containers, across two floors with over 300 seats and a central patio area that serves as a mini amphitheater (I copied this word by word from the press text on its launching). I saw the photo of it and it definitely looks so cool and modern. The design is so outside the box (the box, get it?). I could definitely see it becoming a landmark and a must-see destination for tourists.

The Box is located in Telanai, not far from where I live, about less than 10 minutes drive away. Unlike other newly opened commercial establishments, such as the Aman Hills Shopping Centre, the OneCity Shopping Centre and One Riverside, The Box just sits by itself out there, along a quiet road, not near any hotel or AirBnB, a stone’s throw away from pretty much nothing. Its not a place that tourists can just walk to from their accommodation or stumble upon while exploring on foot. Locals would be just fine as they own cars, but tourists would have to take a taxi or the bus to get there.

Look-wise, The Box scored high. It is like the more good looking and well-built sibling of the Container Park and the BIBD Connects. Its stunning look certainly makes a perfect backdrop for vacation photos and selfies, of course. But the establishment has to offer more pull factors than its looks in order to get good reviews from tourists and for locals to keep on coming back.

Stepping my foot into The Box for the first time, the first thing that came to my mind was pandemonium. A combination of feeling like I was in a subway station (where you have to manoeuvre through people blocking your ways and walking across your path); a night club (where the music is blasting so loud that you have to practically scream to be heard when speaking) and a night market (where the hawkers are calling out at the top of their lungs telling you that your order is ready for pick up). Definitely not an environment for peace and quiet loving people like me, let alone elderly people like my 80-year old mom. There goes 10% of Brunei population. It was obvious at the get go that this place is meant for the youths.

Despite being suffocated by the crowd and loud music, I was still willing to give the place a chance. So I turned to checking out the food that they have to offer there. I was up for trying everything (except seafood) to see if there would be something delicious and memorable, that one can only get from The Box and no where else. That would definitely be one pull factor to make people like me (who hate crowd and loud noise) to come back there, regardless.

Granted that the place just opened, not all of the “boxes” were rented yet at that time, but I would say the number of F&B vendors already occupying the spaces were quite decent to offer a variety of choices. We did a “browse through” and I was excited to see that they had almost every type of food – pizza, pasta, burger, seafood (no thanks), soto, nasi lemak, lok lok, fried chicken, tortilla wrap, ice-cream (is this food or drink?), donuts and other pastries. I said almost because there was no sushi vendor (yet). As for drinks, there were a lot of them – coffee, bubble tea, Thai tea, fresh juice, teh tarik, you name it – to the extent that I felt like the drink vendors were in my face.

So we had to climb the stairs to get to the first floor. There is also a ramp (for wheelchairs?). I saw 3 elderly people climbing the ramp. They looked tortured. That could be the most exercise they had in years. To get down there are also two other options – a tunnel slide and a drop pole (firemen pole-ish). The elderly trio would still have to take the ramp down I suppose.

It was 8.15pm and I was starving. Food tasting time. My first stop was Dapur Ayam Gepuk which is supposedly popular with its outrageously spicy crispy chicken dishes. Oh bring it oon! I was just about to order but before any word came out of my mouth, the guy said “Sorry, we ran out of chicken” Say whaat?? Ok, never mind. Its your loss! (sour grapes).

So, to nurse my disappointment, I went to get some drinks at Chill Chill. I love Chill Chill drinks. When they said Chill, they really delivered because their drinks are heavenly cold. I was just about to order but again, before any word came out of my mouth, the lady said “Sorry, we ran out of ice” Say whaaat??? At this point, my disappointment has transitioned into irritation. Fine!

So, to simmer my irritation, I went to the 8 Bytes cafe. It looked chaos in the tiny container unit (6 people running around like headless chicken) but at least their food have not ran out yet. Despite the chaos, the lady manning the cashier asked me, with a smile, “What do you like to order ma’am?” Oooh finally, I said to myself. I ordered 7 dishes from there – 2 x Salted Egg Yolk Wings, 1 x Sriracha Wings, 1 x Honey Garlic Wings, 2 x Aglio Olio Pasta, 1 x Shrimp Aglio Pasta. She then gave me a tiny number card – 15 and still smiling (despite her unkempt hair), said to me that the order will be ready in 20 minutes. Ok. Fair enough. I left them to it and got on to buy some drinks.

I headed on to Energy Juice at the first floor. Something caught my attention. A green coloured drink called Greenery – pineapple, spinach, cucumber, green apple, honey in one drink. I nervously asked while pointing at the picture “Do you have this?” Yes, we do, the lady said. Oh! Thank god! Finally, I got something.

I joined my family at a big table on the first floor. As I was sitting down enjoying my Greenery, it dawn on me….hmm…is it me or is it hot in here? I asked the rest. Everyone was breaking in sweat as each confirmed that it was really hot in there. I looked around, the building has a large fan right in the middle of the ceiling, and some air coolers here and there, but they are not enough to cover the whole building. Oh my….

The Box

Half an hour had passed and it was time to get the food from 8 Bytes. It had then became more chaotic in their “box”. I didn’t see any food ready for pick up. It seemed like they had not gotten to do my order yet. I tried to stay calm, despite being all sweaty, and stood there and wait. Standing there, I watched in horror their faces drenched in sweat. I could only hope and pray that those sweat didn’t drip onto the food they were preparing. I showed the lady my number and she said…oh they are coming up. I asked with a forced polite tone…how long? She said 20 minutes. Say whaaaat?? It was close to 9pm and I was swungry (sweaty and hungry).

I came to realise that this is not a place for people to go to have a quiet meal, to wind down and relax after a busy day at work, to enjoy the food and have chit chats (free therapy) with close friends and family about life and other stuff, to get your order taken from the comfort of your seats, no long waits for food, no climbing up and down the stairs, no sweat involved. The heat was a major turn off. At least for me, it is definitely not a “cool” place to “chill” out (get it?).

So, will I come back to The Box? Yes. But maybe not anytime soon.

 

 

 

Caught Off Gut

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As insane is it may sound, back in 1999, a 32 year old mother killed her 3 children and only got 4 years jail sentence. Yes, just 4 years! It is really disgusting to think that the lives of the 3 innocent and helpless children, ages 4, 2 and 9 months old were given almost zero value at all. Her lawyer used the defence of “diminished responsibility” to lessen the punishment for her crime. It turned out that two, not one, but two psychiatrists evaluated her and confirmed that she was suffering from “major depressive syndrome with borderline abnormality” hence was mentally impaired when she stabbed her children in their sleep. They even went on to say that she will be no danger to society once she goes out of prison. Why? Because she just killed her own kids, and since she already killed all her kids, she has no more kids to kill, thus she is now harmless (say whaaat?).

I am not going to dispute the “diminished responsibility” defence, perhaps she is really clinically insane. But 4 years? Seriously? And can insanity be selective? Like she was only insane in the presence of her husband and kids and not around other people? Am I the only one here who thinks that this is outrageous?

So, what had actually driven her insane? Hailing from Sarawak, Miss S is a Muslim convert who, in 1994, married a Brunei fireman and settled with her husband at the fire brigade barrack in Seria. Three years into their marriage, her husband had taken a fancy to alcohol and meth, thus began her hell on earth. Her husband started to become violent on her and their children, punching, slapping, strangling them as he pleased. In early 1999, the husband hit and smashed a liquor bottle on her head (Ouch!). There was another time when the husband sent a knife flying which landed on her foot (Ouuccch!).

These are part of the sappy story about her life told to the judge at her trial in building the diminished responsibility defence. She never made any police report about these attacks, neither did she ever immediately gone to the hospital to get medical attention after each claimed attack (to get stitches perhaps?). Since all her children are dead (she killed them, remember?), no one can verify if the attacks had really happened. It was pretty much her words against her husband. Whether the allegations were true or not, the defence used that as the basis for the “severe stress” that she was suffering which eventually triggered her murderous rampage on the midnight of 28 July 1999.

The origins – Part 1

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An old friend from Indonesia once commented many places in Brunei end with ‘ng’. Tutong, Temburong, Sengkurong, Jerudong, Maraburong are just a few.

This post will not offer an answer. I guess there were people in the times past who thought of or saw something and came up with those names. One floating story though is that Jerudong originates from ‘jauh dong’, commonly used by Indonesians in describing distances. This falls into place with the story of an early settlement of Javanese in Brunei in Jerudong from which people remark as the origin of the name Kampung Jawa.

I am sure the subject on the names of places has been explored before but the substance is not openly available.

This begs for a more in-depth insight into the origin of (the names of) places in Brunei.

Part 2 will follow