Friday, December 21, 2007

Ladies, Be Careful & Stay Alert...

I am used to going home late. Or rather -- early. In the wee hours of the morning.
When I was at the NST, the news editors would take turns to do late OC (officer-in-charge) duty. I don't know whether the shifts have changed. But when I was there, the late duty was 4pm to midnight. You did not usually get to go home at midnight, though. This, that and the other and you'd only be able to leave just before 1am. Sometimes later.

Of course, these days, it's not work that keeps me back late. Usually it's dinner or khenduri at Bapak's or any of my sibling's home that's to be blamed. Or some celebration with friends.
So, I am very used to being on the road in the wee small hours.

This morning was one of those times.
Yesterday, Dino Herrerra decided to invite a few friends to the Commonwealth Club at Damansara Heights for drinks to celebrate Rocky's birthday (which happened to fall on Hari Raya Aidil Adha).
He told us to be at the club by 8.30pm.
I managed to be be there about 9pm. Stephen and his wife, Anna and birthday boy Rocky were already there. Then, Bernard and Tony came.

They played pool and snooker. Had a bit of makan. Chat and chat. And it was already midnight.
By the time we got to leave it was almost 1am.
Bernard and Tony who always go for a good supper suggested we head for Penang Nasi Kandar in Taman Tun Dr Ismail for nasi lemak.
Now, if it was anywhere else, I'd take a rain check but it was in my neighbourhood. So, no problem.

I was the last to reach there. But something happened on my way to supper.

In all those early morning drives home, I had never experienced any trouble. I am always alert and very careful.
My antennas are up. I always check out any vehicle near me. Always exercise caution at traffic lights. Have got my cellphone ready, just in case. I know where the nearest police station is....

At about 1am, I was at the Pizza Hut traffic lights at the entrance of TTDI.
Mine was the only car there but I did notice a lone motorcyclist behind my car.
In fact, I noticed the motorcyclist when I passed the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery. But I did not suspect anything.

I turned into the road infront of Penang Nasi Kandar and drove not too slowly, keeping to the left and then turned on the left-turn signal light. Just before turning, I noticed the motorcyclist who was at first behind on the left and then on my right.
He overtook me, came close and kept giving a thumbs-up sign for which I had no idea what it was. He passed me but when I turned a sharp left into the lane to get to the restaurant, he U-turned from where he was and followed me.
I had no idea why.
I was alone, he must have thought.
What he did not know was that Rocky, Bernard, Tony, Stephen and Anna were waiting for me.
As I past them, I wound down my window and told them that the guy behind me was following me.
And as I turned into an available parking bay, the motorcyclist went past me and stopped his motorbike in front. By then, Rocky and Stephen were already making their way towards me, and him

I think the guy must have been shocked to see a 6-footer (Rocky) and a ....er er okay-lah macho-looking Stephen going straight to him.

I got out and asked him why he was following me. Anyway...he had to deal with Rocky and Stephen who asked him the same.
He said I was not driving properly.
That was impossible. I was driving okay. I was not speeding. I was not mabuk or anything like that. (Coke lights surely could not have dulled my senses). In fact, my senses were sharp.
Well.... he was wrong. Very wrong.
He told Rocky and Stephen it was not their business and his "problem" was with me because I was the one who was driving.
I said okay, talk to me but what was the problem. I was driving okay. I did not knock into him or his machine and he did not knock into my car.
So what was the problem.
Rocky told him that if there was nothing else, he should leave.
He was ranting away...So, Stephen broke into Tamil. The ranting continued.
It was pretty heated. In a bit, a younger man on motorcycle appeared.
Apparently, he was the other guy's son.
Stephen spoke to the younger man, also in Tamil. Rocky spoke ..in English and Malay.

Some heated 10 minutes later, the "son" apologised. So did he.

We all sat for supper. I had teh tarik kurang manis. Pinched a bit of Rocky's roti canai.
Tony and Bernard were tucking into nasi lemak and sop kambing. Tony had sotong and fried chicken to go with his nasi lemak. Bernard also had three "telor tiga-suku masak" . Stephen had a tiga-suku masak boiled egg. Anna was enjoying the sop kambing.

Back to the earlier episode with that motorcyclist.
I told the guys I was not at all afraid. Not because they were all there. But I was very prepared.

That guy was following me. He thought I was heading straight. As he was overtaking me, he did not see my left-hand signal. So he had to turn back when I turned into the lane.

If I had no supper plans and was heading home, would he have followed me?
Could it have been worse?
Well, I know that I'd speed off and head for the police station near my house.

Rocky said a relative of his was extorted by a group of men some time ago. A motorcyclist fell in front of her car as she was driving.
Although she did not knock him down, she stopped to ask how he was. Then, a few men appeared and suggested quite threateningly that she pay him.
She had her grandchildren in the car and feared for their safety as well.
She had no time to think about anything else. She had RM200 on her and gave it to the guy.
That's extortion.

I don't want to impute motive but, could it have been worse for me if I had gone straight home?
I know one thing, I won't be taking chances.,

40 comments:

zaitgha said...

yes Nuraina, we ladies have to be extra careful when driving no matter what time of the day it is...and of course more extra careful and alert at night...i had similar experience when i used to commute Bkt Jalil - Seremban but mine was on the highway. One dark grey Wira was following me so close no matter which lane i took...i think what they were trying to do was to bump my car but lucky me though it was way after 10 pm but the highwas way never really deserted....

thank God nothing bad happened to you too....take care

Hi&Lo said...

Nuraina,

The youth very fishy. Next time take down the vehicle number and lodge a report for stalking.

Keep a club in your car. However innocuous, be prepared for the worst and don't hesitate to whack hard if the occasion demands.

Anonymous said...

That was a close call, Kak Aina.

I too faced something like that last night. I was at my friend's in USJ, and we were talking beside my car, which I earlier parked by the roadside, besides her house. The road was dark, only dimly lit by some of the houses nearby.

As I was talking to my friend, a Produa Kenari drove by and slowed down as it neared us. Then the driver shoot up again, only to brake the second time, towards the end of the second block.

When the car went past us, I saw about 4 guys in the car, but cannot make out their faces.

Then I saw it reversed and get onto the other lane.

I sensed something amiss, because that lane the car went into is not end of the road, and they can actually make a u-turn to get into the very lane, near where we were standing.

I rushed my friend in before making an exit.

Well, you never know these days...

Unknown said...

Kak ena...Fuh! Thank God you are okay...Thank God you have some heroes around you that time... Can't imagine what could happen should not with them or should you head home straight...

Take care akak.

Rita Ho said...

Hi Nuraina ... Thank God the episode ended with you arriving safely at the restaurant for a hearty meal. That guy certainly sound suspicious and how was it that his son suddenly showed up?

I used to work late back in KL and was followed twice. Both times I drove into a police station, and was escorted home. Later, I worked with some PDRM officers and they gave me this tip - always wear a phone headset when driving. It gives the impression that we are talking to someone and makes the criminals think twice before attacking us. It also sets us up to make an SOS call when needed.

Stay safe!

Maverick SM said...

Nuraina,

I believed it would had been worse off if you had gone straight home. When someone had "Intention", he will act, and I believed that man had the motive.

It's not you are a lady; even I am a man, and I had problems with some drivers on the road who tried to "Cari pasal". I had learnt to stay cool, and don't give these rascal a chance to communicate unless we had some friends around.

Anyway, please take care, and if you find people following your car, don't go into lanes but drive to police station.

Syaliza Abdul Rahman said...

Kak Nuraina,

I had the chills reading this. You were so lucky to be meeting friends & they were there to help you. I'm always alone but I make sure I don't go out alone at night & definitely drive carefully during the day. You can never know what might happen.

I'm just upset that it isn't safe any where now.

Take care.

Anonymous said...

ask the unholy trinity of AG, IGP and ACA what they are going to do about crime prevention. instead, you will find them really hard at work including getting informants to change their statements ( and also have cops charged for fabricating evidence) so as to get a known underworld kingpin out of restricted residence.
i will be real surprise if crime rate does nto soar higher in the coming years. thats sad, isnt it?

Anonymous said...

I don't know if you guys know about this...but there is a syndicate of guys on the road who cohoot with the workshops and the tow trucks. The modus operandi is they will purposely hit your cars. You think it was an accident. Within seconds, you will see these tow trucks at the incident place and a whole load of recommendations to go to these car workshops.

So, ya...be careful when ladies drive alone, day or night. Stay alert.

Anonymous said...

My god, that is so effing creepy. I hope it won't happen to you again. Or to anyone else for that matter. What was his deal, anyway? Was the young man really his son?

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

whoaa..that freaks me out as me and my girlfriend uses that stretch of road regularly. maybe getting the OKU sticker down when not looking for a parking is a good idea after all. obviously these jerks prefer going for easy prey.

i'm curious to know what his 'problem' was with you. what was the conversation about between him & son and stephen.

now, over to you, stephen!

Nora aka Anon Fm Miri said...

Thanks God you are safe kak.

Rockybru said...

Ladies,
My advice is simple: don't hope for 6-footers and macho Fishes to be around when you get into a sticky situation like the one that Ena found herself in. Drive straight to the nearest police station.

Glad we were there, Ena.

Salt N Turmeric said...

oh Kak Ena. tht sounds scary. im sure it has nothing to do w ur 'driving' but like most of ur commenters said, a trap. yelah i pun pelik how come the 'son' suddenly appreared. suspicious tu.
take care Kak Ena.

Anonymous said...

Carry pepper spray with you.

david santos said...

Hello, Nuraina,

I wish you a good end of 2007 and a good year of 2008.

BaitiBadarudin said...

selamat hari raya aidiladha to u and yours; salam to kak ton, missed her mi rebus!

Anonymous said...

Agree with the commenter who said about road-bully syndicate.

I believe there is one. And I think it should be made the cops' priority to get these scammers.

They prey on lone lady drivers and old women. I believe they may even be behind some of the abduction and gang-rape cases in the Klang Valley.

Driving straight to the police station is the best. If they block your way, don't hesitate to run them down - and over. They deserve it.

- Sick and Tired of Road Bullies

Mr. Smith said...

Ladies or men, all of us need be careful these days. I think every single lady, man and their parents live in fear.
PDRM is there to ensure UMNO's survival not the rakyat safety. Even Hanif Omar, the former IGP lives in fear but fortunately he carries a gun.
The ordinary rakyat are mere sitting ducks to these criminals on the prowl.

Mr. Smith said...

Perhaps someone kind soul here could give the locations of some police stations and phone numbers in times like this.
No, I am not in KL but my daughter is. So I have reasons to worry as well.

Anonymous said...

nice angle,with the tamil bit....so everyone should be afraid of malaysian tamil indians from now on.real nice....

Anonymous said...

What a coincidence, his "son" happened to be there at the time when his "father" was being confronted by a 6footer and a "machoman".

Nuraina, you should've jotted down his motorbike number, and, better still if you had taken a photo profile of that father stalker. Who knows, some lone lady may not be so lucky tomorrow and your info may just come in useful.

Rox said...

yeah, keep a pepper spray in your handbag. you can be sure they're up to no good those two - he claimed he's the son but i think not. they usually work in pairs when they really want to hurt you bad - it's good to hear you are okay ...

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

anon@10:09PM: really? nice angle? that tamil bit so that everyone will be afraid of malaysian indians?

pity you think that way.

Rockybru said...

Anon 10.O9pm,

Mmm, actually it is a nice angle. Shows that we have a great Indian friend like Stephen, no? There were also 3 Chinese friends in our group and they were oblivious to the whole thing. Hey, that's another angle! India dengan Melayu gaduh, Cina buat bodoh saje!!

Heh. For every angle you thought was there, there is a real angle that you didn't see or couldn't see. That happens to people with severe inferiority complex, Anon.

There's more to life than feeling sorry for yourself and trying to bring other people down.

So I suggest that you do the world a favour and go out there and get one.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

AYE to mr Smith. them jerks can rob, kidnap and whack me real good for all i care but with my gf driving alone most times, its a real cause for concern.

hey anon 1009, what the hell was that, bro?

Anonymous said...

Glad you're ok. Look after yourself. Take care

Pak Zawi said...

Nuraini,
Lucky thing you were heading towards a place where some friends were waiting for you. They were waiting for an opportune time to have an accident with you and later the 'son' will appear to intimidate you into paying some compensation. The idea was to blame you for bad driving. That was what the 'father' said of your driving except that Rocky, Stephen and Zorro didn't buy it.
Race has nothing to do with it. Just that they happened to be Indians. When you need them most, the police are nowhere to be seen.
Such is the situation in KL. Danger seems to lurk in every corner.

Anonymous said...

What happened to your camera handphone?
I still think you should have reported it to the police and its up to them to put up discreet surveillance.
The question remains - will the next victim be so lucky?

Best advice is from bro. Rocky -
drive straight to the police station blaring your horns all the way.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Kak Ena, I read this rather late. Was busy doing nothing in particular! Duh

Damn right fishy that boy! Thank god Rocky and macho Fish were there.

Shanghai Fish said...

Hey anon of 1009,
nice angle this tamil bit huh ? of course I was glad to be there for my friends but if you or your lady friend/family members are in a similiar spot...you better pray I am around, boy !
It just so happens that I speak good tamil and that damn old-man was drunk and behaving like a piece of shit ! Would you rather have 6.2 ft. giant Rocky bashing the shit out of him and his "son" ? Or would you rather have someone speaking "tamil sense" into his little head and calming the situation and telling him to vamoose in one piece, with his bruised pride (if any!)!
Listen, my obviously "Malaysian of Indian origin" friend...preying on any lone lady driver is the work of a opportunistic coward and I'd still step in, to at least comfront these balls-less morons, be they any race so, you my friend better look at the big "Malaysian" picture and stop playing the race card with sacarsm here ! kapish ? There...and I have spoken...and Merry Christmas ! Cheers !

Anonymous said...

Ena, syukur alhamdullillah you were not harmed. These crooks prey on not just ladies but also men driving alone! An ex-colleague had a black Perdana bang the bumper of his H.Accord under the pintu gerbang of the Federal Highway. Of course he stopped his car, jumped out to look at the damage and found himself confronted by FIVE guys who jumped out of the Perdana. They sprayed his eyes with alkali and he was hospitalised for a week! Glad his eyesight was fine after that. That was at 7 pm on the first of Ramadan this year!
One can never be too careful. And us ladies, we have to take extra care. Take care ya, pooh kanan pooh kiri sikit bila nak keluar rumah...

Anonymous said...

Brother Zawi ... it is Nur-ain-a. Bukan Nur-ain-i.

To Anon 10:09, please get rid of your Hindraf mentality. Nur-ain-a was NOT profiling the Indians or Tamil-speaking people but she was profiling the TWO GOONS.

If you can't understand simple English, I can translate it into Irish for you.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

IBU said...

Kak Ena,

Syukur nothing worse happened. From a different angle, must be your completely gorgeous Malay women look that attracted another Malaysian man despite the wee hours. errr.. but did i read somewhere he was drunk? Aisey.... blurry vision then. Hehehehhh! Jgn mare.. saje gurau.

Glad you are safe & thanks for the reminder.

Pak Zawi said...

Nuraina,
A thousand apologies to you sis for misspelling your name. The mind thought it right but the fingers didn't seem to follow.
Thanks to you Irish Coffee Lover for pointing it out.
Have a nice holiday tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

To Anon 10:09, what's wrong with you? Just because Kak Aina said the guy who tried to extort her is Indian, it doesn't mean that she's being racist la.

Just because people mention India, doesn't mean people is being racist. Grow up will ya. Because of people like you who like to jump on the mention of race that make things goes from bad to worst. Shame la

Anonymous said...

That guy was lucky I was not present. (And he dared stick around when there's a 6-foot giant and a barking bouncer around? He should thank his lucky star.

I would not have wasted my breadth and energy before hand. I would have removed his bike's key first so he cannot 'escape' and then walk towards him with a smile and WHAM! the crap out of him. Then i will talk. He will then have to beg or 'pay' to get his bike back or it goes into the longkang. (Such always asks for forgiveness soon after.)

I have had 3 similar experiences in my life in the wee hours of the morning. And I don't think those idiots would dare pull another stunt like that ever again. I do this so other seeming easy-targets will not fall victim to such scums.

Nuraina, may I suggest that you always have company when driving late at night. Or at least have a car accompany you to your destination.

Anonymous said...

Lady,young girl,yound boy or man
Everyone should be alert and wise while on the road.
If people trailing you or
you sense something amiss.
Call up a friend, relative even police if you can.
Go to the nearest police station or even petrol station.
Be safe there till help arrives.
At least, you won't be 6 foot under the ground.

Thambee.

Anonymous said...

NAS thank God you are alright & its great to have a wonderful bunch of supportive friends.

These guys work in cahoots...had you been alone they'd have extorted $$ from you.

As for Anon 10:09 crooks come in all colors...

Thanks to for all who are commneting as it has given me precautions my daughter, niece and I can take - appreciate the experiences shared.

PDRM useless .....more interested in charging people under their nose...while they let the real crooks roam the streets ...BTW how come Tourism Ministry silent..they should be up in arms about declining tourist arrivals!

2 demos and tourism is declining!!!! The rapid rate of rising crime no impact on tourists???

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

everyone,

thank you for your comments, and your expression of concern. i do appreciate that.

and also to those who have offered suggestions on safety.

take care, God bless and have a happy new year!