Like being taken in by strangers and helping to carry their bags.
And why shouldn't you? Because you maybe be helping them traffick illegal drugs.
We know of at least two cases of women who were caught and arrested in foreign countries for having in their possession illegal drugs.
One was in Australia a couple of years ago, and just recently a Mass Communication student now serving time in a Japanese prison.
Both claimed to have been duped by Iranian men.
The woman in Australia was later released. The Malay Mail (under Rocky) did an extensive coverage of the case.
Anyway, here's a Bernama story quoting Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar cautioning women travelling alone to not trust strange men they befriend.
KOTA TINGGI, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar advised Malaysians, especially women, who wish to travel abroad to be more careful and not to help carry bags or packages belonging to other people they do not know.
He gave the advice because many Malaysian women had been arrested and jailed overseas for carrying bags or packages containing drugs.
"When travelling, take extra care. Don't simply help people who ask for help. Don't simply carry their bags when we don't know what's in them," he told reporters after hosting a breaking of fast at his residence here yesterday.
He said that if one had been found guilty by a court overseas, it would be difficult for his ministry to get them released.
He was commenting on Raja Munira Raja Iskandar Shah, 22, who was sentenced to seven years and four months' jail by a Japanese court for attempting to smuggle several packets of syabu at the Narita International Airport in Tokyo on Dec 20 last year.
Raja Munira, a mass communication student of a private college in Kuala Lumpur, alleged that she had been duped by an Iranian man she had just known.
Syed Hamid said he had ordered the Malaysian Embassy in Japan to visit the woman and gather information pertaining to the case.
So, ladies (and gents too) -- you cannot be that trusting or naive or stupid.
20 comments:
Ena, my children now travel a lot on their own and with friends. I have always warned them NEVER to accept anything from strangers. Ignorance is no excuse. During our days covering court cases we heard too many mitigations that fell flat.
It's still happening! Despite the warnings and reminders, some Malaysians still fall for it.
We are so accommodating, so helpful, so trusting. We are gullible.
Raja Munira is a Mass Comm student. She is educated and she should know the consequences of helping someone (she hardly knew) carry his bag across the Immigration/Customs checkpoint.
Sometimes a momentary lapse could cost you 7 years in jail, as what happened to Munira. Corby, the Aussie woman who fell for the same trick, got 20 years jail sentence meted out to her by the Indonesian courts. That Malaysian girl who was arrested in Brisbane was plain lucky to have escaped jail sentence.
Helping someone carry his or her bag at the airport is plain stupid, and even Syed Hamid can see that.
Ah (Kak Teh),
i know, Ah. that was what we had to remember when we began travelling. even parcels from friends had to be opened, no offence to them, but better safe than sorry.
i just don't get it. i don;t know whether these women were really duped, realy that naive....or you know, knew what they were doing...
i doubt the men were just acquaintances...oh well...
hope our kids remember our advice NO MATTER how nice and honest their "friend" may seem.
rocky,
it shows that, doesn't it.
i really feel sorry for raja munira for trusting the man she claimed she hardly knew.
i think these b*****ds know who to pick. but i thought in munira's case, she knew the man pretty well. looks like she never really knew him.
Nuraina,
Frankly I dont believe these girls are carrying other people's bag for nothing. When you travel overseas you are already burdened with your own luggage. Do you seriously think that you have space for other people's luggage? The promise of monetary gain or love could be an inducement for you to carry that extra bag for others. Only for that two reasons would you carry that extra luggage for others that you 'hardly' know knowing the risks involved. It would be a different case if the illegal merchandise was planted in your bag without your knowledge.
Am I insinuating anything?
Well guys , maybe they arent as naive as one might think.I can name you places here where these pak'arabs hang out with these uitm,uia students and the showering of gifts to gold are a sight to behold.But then again , not the issue here kan.Lets wake up and smell the flowers,Money and love does strange things to people.
You've passed the quarter of a million mark! Congrats, Ena!
Syed Hamid, you are so decisive, I'm impressed. Ordering your folks in Japan to look into this case. What were they doing all this while? The moment a Malaysian has the potential of being a guest of a foreign country's penal system, shouldn't our representatives, i.e. the embassy staff swing into action and get to the bottom of it ASAP?
The US embassy maintains a list and contact numbers of all its nationals in any country, just in case.
Ordering people around may make him look like a no nonsense on-the-job type of man, but in reality it reflects poorly on his outfit and by extension, him. He should be held responsible for his staffs failings. As they say the buck stops at the top... but it looks like the time has long gone when our ministers' took that buck to mean responsibility and accountability, not the green stuff you stuff in your pockets.
There's a series on sky tv - Banged up Abroad. Most of those in foreign jails were caught carrying drugs and many, many are young girls.
It is scary. Once I was queueing up to check in - when someone asked me to check in a bag for him because I had only one piece of luggage and I was foolish enough to agree because he was just a few steps away from me. Throughout the flight i was so worried..but luckily he came to collect it when we arrived. But yes, i was very silly.
Nuraina,
Honestly speaking, it shouldnt happened at all. When I first traveled abroad, the first words i heard from a few officials were not to trust strangers if they asked to carry their bags, do not leave your own luggages unattended and all that jazz....
mcm2 ya, young kids mcm nih, org tua mcm tu....btw, Selamat Hari Raya
Mr.Bojangles ,pls dont confuse the father (SINGA MALAYA) and the toothless son(SINGA ZOO) Lain bro ... this seed fell far from the tree.
IMO,its greed rather than being stupid.
These drugs trafficker knows how to exploit their weakness and most of the times greed is our weakness.
Look at all the scandals and corrupt practice in our country.
GREED!!!
It doesn't pay to be too kind anymore.
I used to allow strangers to tumpang my baggage who had lots to carry on plane.
Thank God, i was lucky so far.
Nowadays, we all have to be careful and take extra precaution when travelling. Learn from our past and be safe.
Kevin
http://utusan-malaysia-berita.blogspot.com
Nuraina,
Another job not done/unfinished biz by Shahrizat. What has her ministry done for single parents? What choice does a struggling single mother have...going to work to feed her kids or staying home and letting them starve? What has been done about errants ex-husbands who refuse to pay support? JAIL THEM. Teach them a lesson.
We need more subsidized child care centre for lower income groups. High time too, that all major corporations are obligated by law to have in house child care centres in an effort maintain our already fragile family units. So much needs to be done Shahrizat....Roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty ...
Ibu hilang arah
Oleh Wan Noriza Meor Idris
KUALA LUMPUR: Hati ibu mana yang tidak sedih apabila terpaksa pulang berhari raya tanpa ditemani anak bongsunya iaitu Mas Sarimah Dzulkiflie, 18 bulan yang maut dalam kebakaran di kediamannya, di Jalan Gadek, Off Jalan San Peng, di sini, kelmarin.
Sumalia Embong, 30, berkata tiket bas sudah dibeli untuk dirinya bersama tiga anak pulang ke Kuala Terengganu, hari ini bagi menyambut Aidilfitri yang dijangka Sabtu ini, namun tiket arwah Samirah hanya akan disimpan.
"Saya tidak tahu arah tuju saya sekarang, buat masa ini saya menetap di rumah saudara di Cheras atau mungkin akan terus tinggal di kampung.
"Saya kini mengambil cuti tidak bergaji tetapi saya betul-betul tidak tahu arah tuju saya sekarang ini memandangkan rumah pun sudah terbakar serta kami tidak punya tempat tinggal," katanya ketika ditemui menuntut jenazah anaknya di rumah mayat Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), di sini, semalam.
Sumalia tiba di HKL bersama enam sanak-saudara dan dua anak lelakinya, Afiq Yasar, 5, dan Afiq Ashraf, 3, yang selamat dalam kebakaran pada kira-kira jam 12 tengah hari kelmarin. Dia bagaimanapun enggan mengulas lanjut berhubung kejadian berkenaan berikutan terlalu sedih serta bimbang dikecam sebagai ibu cuai.
"Saya tidak tahu nak buat apa, malang tidak berbau dan malapetaka dah terjadi, mungkin ada hikmah di sebalik kejadian ini.
"Saya berasa amat terkilan, namun perkara yang terjadi sudah dirancang Tuhan, saya reda dan Tuhan lebih sayangkannya," katanya sebelum mengusung dan memangku sendiri jenazah anaknya dan keluar menaiki Proton Saga putih.
Ketua Polis Daerah Dang Wangi, Asisten Komisioner Mohd Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman, ketika dihubungi, berkata pihaknya kini mengklasifikasikan kes berkenaan sebagai kematian mengejut namun siasatan masih lagi dijalankan.
"Setakat ini kami menyiasat kes ini seperti kes kebakaran biasa, namun masih menunggu laporan pihak bomba bagi menyiasat dengan lebih terperinci.
"Pihak kami turut mengambil keterangan ibu mangsa, kelmarin bagi membantu siasatan," katanya.
Penolong Pengarah (Operasi) Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Md Ali Ismail, berkata pihaknya masih lagi menjalankan siasatan terperinci mengenai punca kebakaran berkenaan.
"Kami masih lagi menjalankan siasatan bagaimanapun siasatan awal mendapati ia berpunca daripada percikan bunga api berdasarkan pengakuan jiran yang ternampak tiga beradik berkenaan bermain bunga api dalam rumah," katanya ketika dihubungi.
Kelmarin, akhbar melaporkan seorang kanak-kanak perempuan berusia 18 bulan ditemui rentung selepas terperangkap dalam bilik tidur ketika kebakaran yang dipercayai berpunca percikan bunga api.
Jenazah Mas Sarimah dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Jalan Kuari, Cheras, kira-kira jam 4.15 petang semalam selepas hujan lebat dengan disaksikan 10 ahli keluarga.
Kak Aina, I've read the Raja Munira's letter, and sad to say, I think she knew what was inside.
She even said, tht's probably drugs, when she was asked by the Japanese authorities on what was it that she was carrying.
Basically, I think she is lucky that when the luggage went through the scanner, someone must have let it slip, because if she were to be caught, her sentence would be her life!
Sad, even if she claimed that she just don't know what was it in the luggage, but this man promised her a holiday of sorts, doesn't it ring a bell? I mean who in a right mind to sponsor someone for an expensive holiday and the sponsor is not coming along?
I think this human mule issue has been discussed, reported and featured many times over the mass media such as newspapers, magazines and internet, yet many 'innocent' women fall into the same trap.
That's is why when we were asked to read, don't just read craps like which artist is snogging which artist's husband, or other nonsense.
It's better to think that things like that would happened to us, than have this mighty thoughts that we are invincible.
I think ini bimbo mentality punya pasal lah.
That's male bimbo and female bimbo, both.
From Dennis.
People, please don't be nieve.. Munira knew very well all along what she was doing.. And she went to Japan for the exact reason she was caught.. Nobody deserves to be put in jail, in a foreign country, but unfortunately for Munira, this is the only way for her to change.. People say things, but that doesnt necessarily mean its true. So anyway, what you need to teach your kids is manners and understanding life, and more importantly themselves. This definately has nothing to do with helping someone with their bags.....
All i can say is that Munira knew all along what she was getting herself into..And she went to Japan for the exact reason she was caught..I would never wish bad things for her, but its time for her to learn the lessons of life.. And to all you guys, dont be so nieve, do you really think people would help someone else travel with their luggage? Kids nowdays are smarter than you think, esp when they're street smart. But even that, they'll get caught eventually.
Our MRSM group has prepared this YouTube video to be circulated to any of your Japanese friends, to explain better what really happened to Raja Munirah. We intent to put the Japanese public pressure on the Courts for the injustice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z9WQolQVAI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSM7-Zn30Mk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbtrN1FCzHc
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