The latest news accumulated throughout the weekend is that a total of nine (9) arrests have been made so far. Furthermore, it was reported today in the nation's leading English newspaper, The Star, that the two trucks which were involved in the heist was found yesterday without the cargo.
Here are the scans (click the images for an enlarged view):
Foreign film aficionados beware! Your wallets have been forewarned! In two days' time, Penang's Golden Screen Cinemas in Gurney Plaza kicks off its 7th EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL boasting several critically-acclaimed films such as 'Bast i Sverige! (We Can Be Heroes!)', 'Soldados de Salamina', 'De Gronne Slagtere (The Green Butchers)', 'Grabben i graven bredvid (The Guy in the Grave Next Door)' and 'Millions'.
The festival will be commencing as the second leg - the first was held in Kuala Lumpur). Films will be screened in GSC Gurney Plaza from November 23-29, 2006. All films with the exception of Spanish movies will be at RM5. Spanish movies are FOC. View the film schedule here.
Further excerpts taken from GSC's official website:
The best of European cinema will be showcased in Malaysia during the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) which takes place this year from 9 to 29 November in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
The annual event is organized by EU Embassies in Malaysia and Delegation of the European Commission, and jointly presented by GSC. This year's film festival will be spearheaded by Finland, in conjunction with their presidency of the EU for the second half of 2006.
At a press conference held today, Dr. Jaakko Lehtovirta, Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland, said: "This annual event provides, this year again, the European Union member states with an unique opportunity to showcase their film industries that don't usually get much visibility in Malaysia. Through our partner, Golden Screen Cinemas, we can reach the widest audience in Klang Valley and Penang."
"The films selected this year represent European cinema in all its colours and styles." He added: "European films are typically seen as very artistic, and this is perhaps true, but the stories are often realistic, and so are the main characters. In Europe, we seldom refer to a "hero" of the film, as the characters are much more multidimensional. There are seldom clearly "bad guys" or "good guys". No doubt this makes the films more challenging for the viewer, but also more rewarding."
Ms. Tan Gaik Lian, Marketing Manager of Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd said: "We are proud and delighted to be the official venue of the European Union Film Festival once again. It is through lasting partnerships with the likes of the 2006 European Film Festival which offers the discerning Malaysian movie buffs a wider selection of non-mainstream, art house and foreign language movies that GSC has maintained its position as the leading cinema chain." She added "Thanks to this festival, Malaysian viewers can take this golden opportunity to catch multi- award winning films."
From award winners in major festivals all over the world to critics and audience recognition in their own countries, from romantic dramas to comedies, all movies will bring you a different taste of cinema, an original facet of Europe and its incredibly diversity. Among them are Finland's Mother of Mine, winner of the Golden Pyramid award for best film at the Cairo International Film Festival as well as the Audience Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2006 ; Germany's The Edukators, selected in the official competition at the 2004 Cannes Festival and winner of 2nd Prize in Seville (2004), the Bavarian Film Award (2004), and the German Film Award (2005); Romania's Occident, selected at the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Festival and winner of several awards in several festivals (Mons, Sofia International Film Festivals...) and many more...
A total of 22 films from 14 countries will be shown over the span of two weeks. The dates and venues for the festival are as follows:
Dates: 9 - 18 November 2006
Venue: GSC Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur
GSC 1 Utama (New Wing), Petaling Jaya
Date: 23 - 29 November 2006
Venue: GSC Gurney Plaza, Penang
Tickets for the films in the festival are priced at RM5 each, with the exception of the two Spanish movies 'Saldados de Salmina' and 'El perro des Hortelano', which can be seen for free. Tickets can be purchased at GSC Box Offices of participating cinemas. Tickets can also be booked online at www.gsc.com.my or by calling the GSC ticketing hotlines in Kuala Lumpur at 03 8312 3456 or Penang at 04 222 3456. For show times, check GSC cinema listings in the local dailies, call the ticketing hotline or visit www.gsc.com.my.
Official media partners for the 7th European Union Film Festival are KLUE Magazine and Light & Easy. The main sponsor of the festival is FINNAIR, our co-sponsors are the Regent Hotel, Klue Magazine, Melia Hotel and Light & Easy and the participating sponsor is Robert Bosch (Penang) Sdn Bhd.
Click on the image for a larger view.
Taken from The Star, 21 Nov 2006. Additional news can be read directly from the source. More scans and image updates shortly.
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More newspaper scans...
Click on the image for a larger view.
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UPDATES as of 21/11 at 2200 hrs: Police have apprehended four suspects that are linked to the robbery.
UPDATES as of 23/11 at 1300 hrs: The Royal Malaysian Police Force was quoted by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, as confident to be able to recover all of the stolen goods in due time. More arrests will be made to assist investigations on the heist.
UPDATES as of 23/11 @ 1830 hrs: Mohd Yusof Abu Bakar's 'Mamak Gang' is believed to be involved in the MYR 50 million robbery. Although he has been arrested along with several key members of the gang in December 2004, new recruits are believed to have facilitated this new heist. More details as they are published.
UPDATES as of 25/11 @ 2200 hrs: A total of eight people have been detained following the investigation of the Bax Global microchip heist. Apologies for the scare updates but I will be posting scans early in the morning tomorrow.
An internal circular from my company this morning when I waltzed into work at 11:00 am. The victims were located a mere stone's throw away from where my company is so I felt saddened by this invasion of property and traumatic human casualties.
-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 10:32 AM
To: (undisclosed recipients)
Cc: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Hijack - Robbery
Hi All,
Today (20/11/06) at about 2.00am the BAX Global Penang airfreight gateway at KLAS-Penang was robbed by a gang that was dressed neatly with a black suited armed with parang machetes. They also have covered their faces with a full-faced mask.
The Black suited gang (about more then 30 of them) entered KLAS Cargo Terminal hiding inside trucks, two 40' footer trucks. Once this truck arrived at BAX Global's gateway warehouse, one of the gang members, pretending to be the driver opened up the truck door. Immediately the rest of the gang members who were hiding inside the truck sprung out with parangs and started to slash some of the Bax workers and the Cargo Connection (cargo build-up vendors) workers who were busy performing their task at that point of time.
All the Bax workers & Cargo Connection workers were forced to drink a kind of liquid that is suspected to be a kind of chemical that is similar to sleeping pills. They victims) were also given chloroform to make them sleep deeply. Once this is complete some of the gang members went around this victims and started to kick them to acknowledge whether they are still alert or have already slept. Then a few of the gang members started to tie all this victims with an insulating tape (used to insulate wires) to ensure they do not react in case they are alert.
Once all the victims were taken care of, the gang members immediately started to load the 39 pallets of Intel goods to both the trucks and also damaged the phone wires and took the CCTV DVR's and left the premises. Once the truck arrived at the KLAS-MAS check post, immediately a group of the gang members jumped down from the truck and attacked the MAS Security Officers who were on duty and injured them, including breaking the guard post glass and left the area.
It was expected the gang members left the area somewhere 3.45 am. There were nobody to help the situation and one of the BAX workers who got back the conscious at about 5.00am called the police and the police came to the spot at about 5.15am and rescued the victims. Out of 11 victims (at the point of receiving feedback from BAX personals) two of the BAX workers are very serious in hospital resulting from the parang slashes.
The Robbery Gang is believed to be Malays from the victims' statements to the police. Also the victims informed that there were two SUV's (believed to be Toyota-made) were going up and down the exterior road for a couple of times. This was noted by the 'Freight Watch Security' personnel (xxxxxx). Also he added that the gang members were communicating by walkie-talkie to their other members on the progress of the robbery activities.
The police are still in the midst of investigating this case.
Aside to Mr. XXXXXX:
Sir looking at this situation, we need to have tighter security, as this is very serious. We are also catering INTEL shipments and we need more Security forces to be assigned with armed in the CARGO Security Check Post, terminals and at the airfreight surroundings. Including performing frequent security rounds by MAS Security. Appreciate if we can have a meeting with MAS Security on this matter to raise our concern.
Thx & Rgds
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Executive - Security, Safety & Risk Management
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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intel, bax, klas, robbery, heist, hijacking, batu maung, bax global penang.
This email is intended only for the use by the party to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this email or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer.
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Well, this heist is professionally done. I'm expecting the dailies tonight and tomorrow morning to feature a more detailed piece about this incident. The street value should be estimated at MYR 13,000,000.00 (47 million ringgit) although that may be marked up to cover insurance claims and what not. Updates to be posted as they are flashed out in the papers.
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UPDATES (as of 20/11 @ 2021 hours):
- Word of mouth claims that the Police Department has already detained three suspects; one from Balik Pulau, one from Sungai Pinang and the third yet to be identified.
- Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Director of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee; who coincidentally said exactly 1 month ago in October that he is focused on bring organised crime down, visited the premises at approximately 1700 hours today. After a rather lengthy discussion and conversation with the owners of the warehouse and police department, the crowd and media crew dispersed at about 1910 hours.
- Here are some quick snaps:
- Click to enlarge these two shots (800x600 pixels):
Music: Joanna Newsom - Only Skin (click to download)
CANAL, France's subscription-based tv never ceases to amaze me. Premiering their new television programme this year, 'Les Nuz' (a conceptual derivative of Canada's 'Naked News'), the show is borderline 'soft-porn' and tastefully done.
These screenshots are NOT SAFE FOR WORK:
Now if I knew what they were blabbering about on film. Where's my cool Vietnamese friend when you need him?
KFC (who no longer calls themselves Kentucky Fried Chicken) begins the roll-out of their new revamped corporate image. The well-known Colonel Sanders' image gets a major face lift; sporting a contemporary hairstyle and apron, possibly depicting home-cooked American chicken meals that may be enjoyed across the globe. We're expecting all KFC restaurants in South East Asia to comply within the next few months.
Lookie me, lookie at my new hair stylie!
Visible from outer space. images courtesy of Gecko & Fly.
A friend of mine nicknamed 'NITS' quoted that an image revamp (corporate logo, stationery, insignia on products, website design) for a large IT company would cost a billion dollars. One wonders how much has it cost KFC?
Music: Pete Yorn - Ice Age
I think by now you would have noticed that I have a soft spot for Pete Yorn's work. I'm glad; borderline orgasmic that he's released a brand new album out. Turns out to be a grower, just as I've expected from him.
Turning a year older; being in my late 20s, there certainly wasn't any sort of expectations being laid out for a grand celebration. So I decided to do things a little low-key. This year alone, I think I must've gone through the biggest shock and the most gargantuan challenge in my whole life. Some quietness for my birthday celebration would certainly be a welcome novelty indeed.
My girlfriend gave me the most wonderful birthday surprise. She dropped by at exactly midnight and presented me with a champagne, cake and a brand new touch-sensitive lamp for my room. You know why it's wonderfully profound today is for me though? We're entering our 3rd year anniversary and since we've both been through so much together in 2006, it's worth shouting out about!
"Happy birthday to me and thanks for being forever around Momo!"
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