June 6th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Drama Minggu Ini
* Updated
Just after I finished posting about hoax phone calls, today, another incident happened.
Immediately after the MD’s Secretary called me to ask if I would like to have tai pao and loh mai kai for breakfast tomorrow, an anonymous person called her and demanded for ransom of RM3 million. He claimed that he had gotten one of our senior management staff in their hands and threatened to kill him if we don’t pay RM3 million.
The phone call was made to her personal mobile number. We were wondering how he could get her number. No one else knows her number except some office colleagues and her family members. She does not socialize much as she is a busy mom with two boisterous kids. The person masked his caller ID, hence made it impossible to find the perpetrator.
The call started with the supposedly captured staff (let’s call him Asswipe) screaming on the phone – “HELP ME! They are hitting me! Please help me!”
The secretary swore that it’s Asswipe’s voice. Then, the perpetrator took over the phone and demanded for ransom of RM3 million and threaten to chop off his hand if she hangs up the phone.
This secretary was helpless. She called my boss to ask for RM3 million without explaining why. At the same time, I saw bewilderment in my boss’s face.
Then, MD’s other secretary, Ms Gas Stove, called me to tell my boss – it’s Asswipe’s case. RM3 million. I was so confused. What the f*ck??? I thought there was some prior discussion on a matter which I do not know of.
Not knowing anything, I went inside to inform my boss. My boss looked confused. I told him, “Ms Gas Stove said, it’s Asswipe. RM3 million.”
I searched his face to see if he understood what I’ve just said.
No. He didn’t. My boss looked as confused as I am. I felt like a fucking idiot. I asked my boss to call Gas Stove to check as she didn’t want to explain to me.
My boss called up Gas Stove. Since the perpetrator is still on the line, she couldn’t say much either as the Secretary signaled her to shut up. My boss then called Asswipe to check where he is. Asswipe is in his office! Alive and talking to my boss!
The perpetrator still refused to hang up the phone and the Secretary came running to see my boss. Upon seeing her, she gestured us to shut up as the person is still on hold on her mobile phone. My boss was still on the phone with Asswipe. I could hear my boss laughing like a hyena in his room.
Then, the Secretary broke down in uncontrollable sobs. As soon as she knew that Asswipe is safe, my boss told her to hang up her phone. The kidnapper called 5 to 6 times after that and my boss told her to off the phone.
Well, when the HR related this matter to me, and since I don’t particularly like Asswipe as he’s such an arrogant bastard, I told HR that if the kidnappers called me instead and threatened to chop off Asswipe’s hand, I would have said to them – please chop off his legs as well. Just kidding! Seriously, I just don’t like that guy, but not till the extent that I would pray some shit to happen to him.
I guess we just have to remain calm when such things happened and probably to hang up the phone if we ever received such phone calls. I guess they probably dialed the wrong number and the whole drama was merely a huge misunderstanding. I seriously hope that this is merely a prank call or perhaps, someone was merely trying to make some quick bucks and no one is hurt.
Anyway, the Secretary had recovered from shock and now, we were all laughing at her for crying like a baby when the incident happened. Seriously, anyone would have panicked if such event were to happen to him/her. So, our plans to have tai pao and loh mai kai tomorrow morning for breakfast would still go on as planned.
As if not enough excitement for the day, PM is getting married this weekend.
* Updates
There was a report in newspapers of the same incident. (Sorry! It’s in Chinese!) It was a scam to squeeze gullible people for money. They would call up and demanded for ransom and forced you not to hang up so that you would not be able to call your supposedly kidnapped next-of-kin to check. The authorities advised public not to answer phone calls without caller ID or numbers.