Malaysian family decimated by Bangkok bomb

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Neoh Hock Guan was just about to pray at Bangkok's Erawan shrine on Monday when he dropped the candle he wanted to light.

"When I bent to pick it up, I heard the explosion," he told the Malay Mail. "The next thing I knew, none of my family members were in sight."

Neoh's wife, son, son-in-law, and four-year-old granddaughter were all killed as the blast ripped through the shrine, twisting metal and shredding bodies in an unprecedented attack in the Thai capital.

It would be several grim hours before their remains were found, the 55-year-old told media. Of the seven family members in the shrine on Monday evening, only he and his pregnant daughter survived.

The remains of a fifth family victim, his sister-in-law, still have not been identified.

"This incident is a black mark in our lives," Neoh told the Malay Mail in Bangkok.

The bombing killed at least 20 people -- including 11 foreigners, Neoh's family among them -- early Monday evening and wounded more than 100 others.

Bodies were peppered with ball bearings and motorcycles incinerated in the blast at one of Bangkok's busiest intersections. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.

A photograph taken earlier in the holiday and published in Malaysian media shows Neoh, a cake seller from the Malaysian state of Penang, and his family posing happily at a restaurant in Bangkok, their table laden with Thai dishes and glasses of beer.

Their smiling Thai driver is pictured in the same photo making the two-fingered "peace" sign.

The ethnic Chinese family had reportedly left Penang by train on Saturday, travelling north through Thailand on a trip that was to culminate in a few days in the capital.

Neoh's 20-year-old son Neoh Jai Jun, a student at university in Taiwan, had returned home to join them on the holiday, The Star reported.

He died in the explosion, along with Neoh's wife Lim Saw Gek, his son-in-law Lee Tze Siang, and granddaughter Lee Jing Xuan.

Pictured in pink in the family photograph, the four-year-old is the youngest confirmed victim of the explosion so far.

The body of Neoh's sister-in-law Lim Soo See is yet to be identified, reports said.

Thai authorities have said they are hunting a man shown on security footage strolling into the packed shrine and leaving a backpack before the explosion occurred.

The shrine reopened on Wednesday with Buddhist monks leading prayers. An unidentified member of Neoh's family laid bundles of clothes at the shrine to represent their loved ones, a monk said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday condemned the attack as a "heinous act", and said Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had assured him the perpetrators would be punished.

Neoh, however, told the Malay Mail he is still in a state of disbelief.

"I can't believe our holiday would end like this," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Man nabbed over nude photo on Mount Kinabalu

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian authorities on Monday arrested a European man for allegedly stripping naked and urinating on Mount Kinabalu, reports said, an act that some in the country say angered tribal spirits and caused a deadly earthquake.

The 38-year-old was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, capital of the state of Sabah on Borneo island, on charges of causing a public nuisance, The Star newspaper reported on its website. It cited Sabah's state criminal investigation chief Sallehuddin Abdul Rahman.

According to Malaysian law, the punishment for such an offence is a fine of 400 ringgit ($106).

The report said the man, arrested at the city's airport as he sought to fly to the Philippines, is believed to have been among a group of 10 foreign tourists who had stripped naked and posed for photos on the summit of the peak on May 30.

The pictures were later posted on the Internet.

Mount Kinabalu, a World Heritage Site and popular climbing destination, is considered sacred by Sabah's Kadazan Dusun tribal group, who believe it is a resting place for spirits. The pictures infuriated many in Malaysia.

On Friday a 6.0-magnitude quake struck near the mountain, sending landslides crashing down from its summit just as more than 150 hikers were at the peak enjoying sunrise views.

Sixteen people have been confirmed killed on the mountain and two remain missing.

In the wake of the disaster, Malaysian social media users and some Sabah officials have focused on the nudists, suggesting that their actions angered the spirits and led to the earthquake.

"This will certainly bring misfortune... we can't play with the spirit of the sacred mountain," deputy state chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan had told reporters on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear where the other nine summit nudists were.

Malaysian police spokespersons did not answer calls by AFP seeking details.

Canadian media, citing the country's foreign ministry, had earlier reported that two siblings had been barred from leaving Sabah over the affair.

But Malaysian immigration and police officials have not confirmed this. Officials at the Canadian embassy could not be reached for comment.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Arum sees no mismatch in Pac-Algieri tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Over the past few weeks, Bob Arum had known Chris Algieri well for him to say that people who are predicting a mismatch in Macau on Nov. 23 are wrong.

Arum said they’re terribly wrong.

“These people don’t know what they’re talking about,” Arum told The STAR as the anticipated fight between Algieri and Manny Pacquiao moved closer and closer.

The fight is scheduled in three weeks at the Cotai Arena of The Venetian Hotel in Macau. Oddsmakers have placed Algieri as the heavy underdog.

They pick Pacquiao, 2-2 in his last four fights and 56-5-2 overall, as the clear favorite at -1400, meaning you need to put $1400 on him just to win $100.

In contrast, Algieri, undefeated in 20 fights, is at +800, meaning $100 on him wins $800. The odds are a tad closer in some betting stations at -1300 and +700.

Algieri is also younger and bigger.

Arum had seen how hard Algieri is training for this fight, which comes just five months after he stunned the Russian beast, Ruslan Provodnikov.

Algieri is so used to being the underdog.

“Algieri is a very dangerous opponent as he shows fight after fight after fight and when he goes in as an underdog and pulls off a victory,” Arum told The STAR.

“You have to remember that he hasn’t lost a fight yet. He’s determined to win this fight. And he has the style that could give Manny trouble,” he added.

In fact, Arum made sure that there was a rematch clause in the fight contract but would only be in effect if Algieri wins.

“I put a rematch clause that if Algieri wins I could force a rematch. That’s if Manny is willing to do it,” he added.

“You never know boxing,” Arum said.

Read more on The Philippine Star.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com