Tue, Sep 08, 2009
AsiaOne
[Photo: Ku Witaya (right), 16, told the group of
friends, which includes Sia Chan Hong (right), that they had to die
to become 'slayers' to kill demons threatening the world; The boys
wrote words like 'goodbye' and 'last day on earth' in their
diaries.]
A 16-YEAR-OLD self-professed Taoist medium, Thai-Chinese Ku
Witaya, convinced his friends as well as his younger brother to
enter into a suicide pact, based on his theory that the world was
ending.
Of all his six friends whom Witaya had spoken to, only one - Sia
Chan Hong - carried out the suicide act with him by jumping off the
ninth floor of Block 667, Jalan Damai in the Bedok Reservoir
area.
The other five friends backed out when they saw Chan Hong, 16,
moaning at the foot of the block. He died three hours later in the
hospital.
This incident occurred last year Aug 23 at around 5.20am in the
morning.
In Lianhe Wanbao's report, it was revealed on Monday morning at a
joint coroner's inquiry into the deaths of the two Tampines
Secondary School students, that Witaya carried out Taoist rituals
at home every Friday while his friends, including Chan Hong, would
visit him at his house.
Witaya also believed that he could speak to deities.
One week
before the joint suicide, Witaya spoke to his friends about a
"Third World War" and preached about sacrificing themselves in
order to "rid the world of demons".
According to the Chinese evening dailies report, the eight boys met
at around 2am that fateful night and agreed on the suicide pact.
One of them backed out.
After which, seven of them headed to Witaya's home and agreed to
jump from the 13th floor but seeing that the entrance to the
rooftop was locked, they decided to jump from his bedroom
window.
The Straits Times reported that Chan Hong was "a little afraid" and
Witaya had to calm him down before the two went back to the ledge.
Moments later, they jumped from the window holding
hands.
State Counsel Ang Feng Qian asked what the group thought of the
joint suicide idea. A witness, aged 16, testified that they were
"passionate" about it. He also revealed that Chang Hong had been
the most passionate and Witaya was unwavering.
The witness mentioned that they had diaries belonging to the teens
hidden in a riser outside Witaya's flat and that another witness, a
17-year-old boy, and Witaya's brother had penned farewell letters,
wrote The Straits Times.
Shin Min Daily reported that Witaya was introduced to Taoism by his
grandmother, Madam Goh Lim Choo, 62, who was formerly a
medium.
He had wanted to quit school but was advised by his father to
complete his O levels first.
A representative from the Taoist Federation told the media that
Taoism valued life and that Taoists would not engage in such
activities that would harm themselves or others.
The spokesperson also revealed that Witaya nor his "group" was
registered with the federation and that they did not know about his
activities.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne
Well, last August there were talk of WWIII by some political
analysts.
Let's talk about World War III
By Nikolai Sokov
It is time to seriously contemplate World War III. The most
important elements are already in place. Just as so many experts on
the Caucasus have predicted, the region has become a power keg and
the main source of great-power rivalry...
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JH26Ag03.html