Johor Baru Before & After Dark

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Friday 23 March 2007 :-

Disc pirates put out contract on dogs

KUALA LUMPUR : The two sniffer dogs instrumental in the seizure of fake optical discs worth RM10 million now carry a price on their heads.

It is learnt that an undisclosed bounty has been put up by syndicate bosses.

"Following the successful raid at a shopping complex in Johor Baru on Tuesday, sources informed the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs that syndicate members are looking for the dogs," the ministry’s enforcement assistant director, Firdaus Zakaria, said yesterday.

"The dogs are a genuine threat to the pirated disc syndicates, thus the instruction to eliminate them."

The ministry has stepped up security for the canines, Lucky and Flo. They have also been moved to different safe houses.

The raid by the ministry’s officers netted more than one million fake discs, 20 computers, 12 CD burners and fax machines. The discs were intended for Singapore, Britain, Hong Kong and Japan.

The dogs, trained to sniff out optical discs, were taken to a car park of a building which had been under surveillance for two months.

Shortly after, one of them started chasing a car being driven out, and thousands of pirated DVDs and VCDs were found in the boot of the vehicle.

The driver and passenger of the car led the raiding party to the shopping complex on the third floor.

Lucky and Flo, both Labrador Retrievers, were brought into the country by the ministry with the assistance of the Motion Picture Association of Malaysia.

They are the first dogs to be trained to sniff out optical discs as their noses are sensitive to polycarbonate, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of the discs.

This was the pair’s first major assignment in the country.

Lucky and Flo are not the first dogs to have attracted a bounty.

In 2004, a drug cartel in Colombia placed a US$10,000 (RM35,000) price on the head of a golden Labrador Retriever named Agata, one of Colombia’s best drug-sniffing dogs.

She began her career in 2003 and has since helped track down 300kg of cocaine and 20kg of heroin.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Friday 23 March 2007 :-

Disc pirates put out contract on dogs

KUALA LUMPUR : The two sniffer dogs instrumental in the seizure of fake optical discs worth RM10 million now carry a price on their heads.

It is learnt that an undisclosed bounty has been put up by syndicate bosses.

"Following the successful raid at a shopping complex in Johor Baru on Tuesday, sources informed the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs that syndicate members are looking for the dogs," the ministry’s enforcement assistant director, Firdaus Zakaria, said yesterday.

"The dogs are a genuine threat to the pirated disc syndicates, thus the instruction to eliminate them."

The ministry has stepped up security for the canines, Lucky and Flo. They have also been moved to different safe houses.

The raid by the ministry’s officers netted more than one million fake discs, 20 computers, 12 CD burners and fax machines. The discs were intended for Singapore, Britain, Hong Kong and Japan.

The dogs, trained to sniff out optical discs, were taken to a car park of a building which had been under surveillance for two months.

Shortly after, one of them started chasing a car being driven out, and thousands of pirated DVDs and VCDs were found in the boot of the vehicle.

The driver and passenger of the car led the raiding party to the shopping complex on the third floor.

Lucky and Flo, both Labrador Retrievers, were brought into the country by the ministry with the assistance of the Motion Picture Association of Malaysia.

They are the first dogs to be trained to sniff out optical discs as their noses are sensitive to polycarbonate, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of the discs.

This was the pair’s first major assignment in the country.

Lucky and Flo are not the first dogs to have attracted a bounty.

In 2004, a drug cartel in Colombia placed a US$10,000 (RM35,000) price on the head of a golden Labrador Retriever named Agata, one of Colombia’s best drug-sniffing dogs.

She began her career in 2003 and has since helped track down 300kg of cocaine and 20kg of heroin.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The STAR dated Monday 26 March 2007:-

CD pirates back with a vengeance

JOHOR BARU : Last Tuesday’s RM10mil seizure of fake optical discs has failed to stop the syndicates.

Within 24 hours, they were back in business with their 20-odd stalls at a shopping complex here. ( Holiday Plaza )

In fact, the syndicates are believed to have even invested in a “special chemical spray” to confuse the dogs which sniffed a cache of one million fake optical discs stored in an office tower block at the complex.

In the raid, Labrador Retrievers Lucky and Flo were instrumental in leading enforcement officers to the discs.

It is learnt that the syndicates have also changed their tactics by using pushcarts and trolleys for easy escape.

Besides that, they have carried out extensions to the stalls by setting up secret rooms, installing remote-controlled doors and additional closed-circuit television cameras.

This is an act of defiance, said state Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Department enforcement chief Fahmi Kassim of the syndicates’ ability to operate a day after the “massive seizure.”

“We will wage an all-out war against piracy all over the state, especially in Jalan Wong Ah Fook and the complex,” he said.

State Unity, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs chairman Datuk K.S Balakrishnan expressed shock when told that the outlets were back in business.

“Unlike other shopping outlets in the state where we can direct the management to prevent such businesses, the outlets at this complex have been sold to individual owners,” he said.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The STAR dated Monday 9 April 2007:-

Skudai traffic at a crawl

JOHOR BARU : Thousands of commuters presently using Jalan Skudai to get to town will have to endure massive traffic crawls near the Perling Bridge as the project is only expected to be completed in 17 months.

State Public Works and Housing Committee chairman Datuk Baderi Dasuki appealed to the public to be patient as the project, which started in February last year, was progressing on schedule.

He said traffic police had been directed to be stationed at the location between 6.45am and 8.30am to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

Works are underway at the location to build a RM174.4mil three-tier interchange to ease congestion at the Taman Perling flyover, which connects motorists coming from the city, the north and Pasir Gudang to the Second Link.

Besides the flyover, there will be a giant U-turn just before the Perling Toll for those coming from Pasir Gudang.

In addition, a special access road leading to Pekan Rabu will be constructed for travellers to stopover to do shopping.

However, the project has caused a lot of unhappiness among motorists as they are forced to endure daily traffic jams which stretch for kilometres especially during rush hour.

Some frustrated commuters have voiced their dissatisfaction and unhappiness through SMSes and letters in the newspapers.

A school van driver, Chok Chee Keong, 47, said that sometimes it takes up to an hour to get from the Perling Mall intersection to the Jalan Skudai road towards Johor Baru (which is approximately 1.3 km).

“It is getting increasingly difficult to get my passengers to school on time as there may be obstacles on the roads causing bottlenecks at certain points,” he said with frustration.

Chok hoped the construction of the interchange would be done as soon as possible to ease the traffic condition.

Bus driver Tan Teng Lai, 52, expressed his concerns over the horrible traffic condition and said he was worried the traffic congestion would worsen after Sept 1 when heavy vehicles start using the Second Link.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from TheNew Straits Timesdated Monday 9 April 2007:-

Pirates going to the dogs

JOHOR BARU : Digital versatile disc pirates here are running scared. They have lost millions to crippling raids and Lucky and Flo, two Labrador retrievers trained to sniff out optical discs.

Operators at the Holiday Plaza shopping mall, a notorious haven for the trade in illegal discs, are selling pirated DVDs for as low as RM2 per disc to clear them before they get confiscated.

During a raid on March 20 Lucky and Flo sniffed out RM10 million worth of discs in a hidden storeroom in one of the mall's shops. Fifteen of the 30-odd vendors in the mall had to close down.

The remaining dealers are only displaying a few legal titles on their shelves. Gone are the catalogues of pirated titles, and the shop assistants idle their time away watching television.

But when the New Straits Times asked if any pirated DVDs were available, we were told to come back in half-an-hour. A shop assistant made a call, and shortly a young man with a wheeled suitcase arrived.
The shutters of the shop were pulled down, and we could choose from a selection of pirated DVDs in the bag.

Holiday Plaza Owners' Association adviser Richard Ng said that only 10 per cent of the 400 shoplots in the mall had sold pirated DVDs but the raids and bad press had affected everyone's business, from parking services to food and beverage outlets.

The association represents 160 retailers in the mall.

State Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Department enforcement chief Fahmi Kassim said they were only doing their job, and were not targeting legitimate businesses.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Saturday 14 April 2007:-

Another score, and up goes the bounty

JOHOR BARU : It was called Ops "Double Trouble" simply because it was the second time in less than a month that optical disc pirates here were sniffed out by two dogs.

Lucky and Flo found more than RM1 million of pirated discs hidden in secret compartments at the Holiday Plaza.

In a 3pm raid yesterday by about 30 Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs officers, the two Irish Labrador Retrievers uncovered caches of about 100,000DVDs in 11 shops at the shopping mall, notorious for being a pirates’ haven.

The discs were hidden behind shuttered shoplots after a crippling raid on March 20, in which the dogs traced over RM10 million worth in fake discs in the mall.
To hide from the prying eyes of the authorities stationed at the mall, signs saying that the shops were empty and were for rent had been pasted on the shutters. But the dogs’ sense of smell did not let the authorities down.

Johor Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs enforcement director Fahmi Kassim said the lower haul this time around was a sign that the raids were affecting the syndicates.

"We will continue to go after these people as they have tarnished the country’s name. Most of the buyers are Singaporeans," he said, adding that more shopping complexes here would be raided.

As a consequence of the two dogs’ effectiveness, Fahmi said the word was that syndicates had upped the bounty on the two dogs from RM10,000 to RM50,000. --- KatoeyNewsNetwork

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Report from The STAR dated Saturday 14 April 2007:-

Lucky, Flo sniff out RM1m goods

JOHOR BARU : Lucky and Flo have done it again – this time, the dogs sniffed out pirated goods worth more than RM1mil in an office tower and shopping complex here ( Holiday Plaza ).

The seizure included more than 100,000 pirated DVDs, software and PlayStation games and 526 counterfeit designer bags.

Pornographic material featuring underage girls were also seized in the four-hour raid.

However, the dogs' success came with a price. Over the last few days, several enforcement officers involved in the crackdown on piracy have had to face attacks from vengeful syndicates, furious that their businesses were now under threat.

State Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry chief enforcement officer Fahmi Kassim said that three weeks ago, two of his men were kicked and one had a pepper spray used on him while they were leaving a shopping complex well-known for selling pirated goods.

“My men had just finished work for the day when the attack occurred,” he said.

Other incidents included a Molotov cocktail being flung into the house compound of another enforcement officer last December and a ministry vehicle being rammed from behind after a successful raid in January.

Fahmi said he and his team refused to bow to increasing pressure and vowed that he would continue the fight against piracy.

“If they retaliate because we raid their premises, we will just reinforce our team even more,” he added.

He also said that “special” weekend operations included getting extra enforcement officers from all the districts in Johor, as weekends were the time when local and Singaporean customers came in droves.

Fahmi revealed that some officers were also armed with guns while every one of them had undergone self-defence training.

Fahmi said he had heard that the reward money for destroying Lucky and Flo had gone up from RM10,000 to RM50,000 each.

Motion Picture Association (MPA) Asia-Pacific senior director (Operations) Neil Gane said the MPA took the threats against Lucky and Flo very seriously.

“We always factor that into the operational plan to ensure the safety of the dogs as well as the safety of all our other investigators, whether two-legged or four-legged,” he said.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Sunday 15 April 2007:-

Lucky, Flo sniff through charcoal to a RM1m haul

KUALA LUMPUR : They thought bags of charcoal would throw Lucky and Flo off the scent.

The syndicate involved in optical discs piracy was sure it would work.

They had tried chemical sprays, plastic sheets and even soap, and all failed.

And, yesterday, even the charcoal did not work.

The two black Labrador Retrievers sniffed out yet another substantial cache of pirated discs worth about RM1 million.

The charcoal had been placed behind the closed shutters of shoplots at the Holiday Plaza in Johor Baru on Friday.

"The syndicate thought that the charcoal would absorb the scent of polycarbonate (the scent which the dogs are trained to sniff out in the discs)," a Motion Picture Association spokesman said.

"Obviously, that did not work."

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry enforcement officers, who conducted the raid at 3pm on Friday, also discovered about 5,000 child pornographic DVDs at one of the shoplots.

"It is understood that the child pornographic DVDs were mainly sold to Singaporeans although a portion of them was reserved for the local market," Johor enforcement director Fahmi Kassim said.

Checks revealed the "actresses" in the pornographic DVDs were mainly from Korea, Japan and Europe.

Following the raid yesterday, it is learnt that the syndicate bosses had ordered all their runners to spread around Johor Baru and locate the dogs.

The syndicates also increased the bounty on the canines to RM100,000.

Police, who have not been taking any chance since the syndicates first offered a bounty on the dogs, are keeping their kennels in a safe location.

Following the Friday raid, Fahmi personally escorted Lucky and Flo back to their kennel.

"We are happy with the successes against the syndicates, especially following several raids last month where RM10 million worth of pirated discs were seized," he said.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Tuesday 17 April 2007:-

Hawker centre’s ‘sexy’ menu

KLUANG : A hawker centre here had been attracting the crowd of late, but it wasn’t the food that was packing them in.

Instead, the house specialty was something decidedly spicier — scantily-clad women dancing sexily on table tops.

The bikini-clad women had doubled business at the hawker centre ever since word got around about their free show.

It is learnt that a beer company was sponsoring the show, which had been going on for more than two months.

A video clip of the show is being widely circulated on mobile phones in the district.

In the five-minute video segment, a songstress wearing a black bra and short pants is shown singing and dancing in front of a group of men.

The singer, in her late 20s, later climbs on top of a table and starts shaking her head and body, attracting men to join her.

It is learnt that the performance was held from 10pm to midnight every Tuesday and Thursday.

A housewife, Mrs Chia, who recently visited the hawker centre with her husband and young children, aged between 8 and 12, said she was shocked to see such a show in a public place.

"It was all right in the beginning as the performers only sang. I started to feel uneasy when they came to the tables and started flirting with some of the male customers.

"My jaw dropped when they climbed onto the tables and started dancing.

"That’s when I left the place with my husband and children."

Following complaints from the public, police raided the hawker centre last Thursday.

Kluang district police chief ACP Mohamed Fawzi Arshad said a female performer was arrested during the raid.

More than 100 people had gathered at the hawker centre to watch the show when police arrived about 11pm.

Fawzi said police were investigating if the owner had applied for an entertainment permit from the district office.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Tuesday 17 April 2007:-

Negative reports or not, S’poreans still to JB

JOHOR BARU : Singaporeans continue to flock to Malaysia to dine, shop and tour despite the grim picture of crimes here painted by the island republic’s media.

Tour buses continue to choke the Causeway during school and public holidays as Singaporeans brave traffic congestion to enter the country for package tours ranging from two to three days.

Statistics culled by the Malaysia Tourist Guides Council (MTGC) reveal up to 120 tour buses with 40 passengers each enter Johor via the Causeway and Second Link during the holidays.

Even during low season, there are at least 12 tour buses during the weekends.

MTGC president Jimmy Leong said the exodus of Singaporeans from the island during holidays showed they were not deterred by negative media reports about the country.
"It is common for them to ask us about certain criminal cases during tea break.

"However, all tourist guides have been trained to do damage control and explain to them that crimes occur everywhere and that the Malaysian police have stepped up patrols in tourist areas.

"They accept our explanation that Malaysia is still among the safest countries in Southeast Asia to travel."

Leong said those who joined package tours were safe as they were under the care of their tourist guides.

And those who did not take tour packages usually travelled in groups.

Singaporean clerk Cindy Lim, 25, said she came to Johor every fortnight to watch movies, eat seafood and shop at hypermarkets.

"I always come with my friends. It is relatively safe in Johor Baru as we only visit crowded places. Moreover, we save a lot by spending our money here."

Margaret Tan said she crossed the Causeway on public buses two times a week to shop for groceries.

She said that crime was never a worry in Johor Baru, which has more police than in city outskirts.

"If I am to worry about this and that, I might as well lock myself at home and starve to death."

A retired civil servant, who only wanted to be identified as Steven, said he always took extra precautions whenever he travelled to Johor.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Tuesday 17 April 2007:-

Table-top dancers to be charged for indecency

JOHOR BARU : They were paid well for doing sexy numbers on table tops.

Each bikini-clad girl received RM100 to RM300 an hour for dancing and entertaining the audience at a hawker centre in Kluang, sources said.

A spokesman for the district office said the hawker centre did not have a licence to stage any shows.

Kluang district police chief ACP Mohamed Fawzi Arshad said the girls would be charged with indecent behaviour.

"We will continue to monitor all entertainment outlets and hawker centres to ensure they adhere to regulations set by the licensing authorities," he said.
It is learnt that the operators of the hawker centre were willing to risk breaking the law to attract customers.

"The effect is obvious. Customers want to have some entertainment when they are having a beer," said a food court owner here.

"When you have nothing, the night will be quiet and your business will suffer."

However, he said sexy dancing by bikini-clad women was rare in the country, especially in an open-air eatery.

A hawker centre owner and a songstress in Kluang were detained last week. The singer, in her late 20s, was dancing on a table top wearing only a black bra and short pants when police arrived.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The STAR dated Saturday 21 April 2007:-

Couple caught having sex crash car

A COUPLE caught having sex in a car tried to escape from the police but ended up being involved in a road accident in Johor, reported China Press.

The male driver, in his haste to outrun a police patrol car, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the back of a bus at 10pm on Tuesday.

The man, who is said to be married, suffered head injuries.

The woman, in her 20s, was found squatting in the front passenger's seat after the accident.

The naked duo refused to budge until policemen threw them their clothes which had been placed in the back seat.

They were later escorted by two police patrol cars to the hospital where the man, from Malacca, sought treatment.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Thursday 26 April 2007:-

Levy on foreign cars put on hold

PUTRAJAYA : The proposal to impose a RM20 levy on foreign cars entering the country will not be implemented anytime soon.

This is despite the installation of special gantries and electronic equipment at the Causeway and Second Link.

The cabinet decided to defer the implementation of the levy in view of Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, who announced this yesterday, did not say how long the postponement would be.

He said tourism was one of the factors which led to the decision to delay the levy.
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[babamama]

Yesterday i went to Skudai Parade,saw a thailand massage center at the basement floor,anyone tried it before?I read the price is 1 hr=RM45++.It is cheap if compare with the "Oddysy thailand massage center" with in City Square & Tebrau City(Jaya jusgo).But the day is too rush,i don't have time to try it.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The STAR dated Friday 11 May 2007:-

New JB CIQ complex to open in October 2007

JOHOR BARU : The new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in Bukit Chagar will open its doors to the public in October 2007 after 18 government agencies move in.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the complex would be handed over to the Government in July 2007.

“The agencies will then have four months to move into the complex from the old CIQ at the Causeway.

“This will be about the same time needed for a temporary access from the CIQ to the Causeway to be completed,” he said after a visit to the CIQ project here yesterday.

Samy Vellu added that the Government had appointed AMPM Sdn Bhd to manage the complex.

He said this company would also assist in the government agencies' move into the complex.

Samy Vellu said the RM1.26bil project was completed on time but additional funds were needed for the building of an eight-lane permanent link between the CIQ and the Causeway.

The link is expected to take 18 months to complete.

“The only delay involved was to the bridge project which has since been cancelled.

“The Government has paid compensation to the company concerned,” he said.

Asked if the cancelled bridge project would now go ahead as the Government had reversed its decisions on the railway double tracking project and the West Coast Highway which will both now be built, Samy Vellu said:

“The Government has decided that there will be no bridge but only a link to the Causeway.

“I cannot dream of such a bengkok (crooked) bridge.”
--- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Saturday 12 May 2007:-

Broadcast journalist in popular TV series held for drugs in JB

JOHOR BARU : A broadcast journalist in a popular police investigation television series was arrested in a nightclub at Jalan Abdullah Tahir here yesterday after he was tested positive for drugs.

He was in the company of his friends when he was picked up by police who raided the nightclub at about 3.30am.

The journalist was here for the shooting of a programme for a private television station, said his friend when met at the Johor Baru (South) police station today.

The journalist was released on police bail at noon.

Johor Police chief Datuk Hussin Ismail confirmed the arrest--- KatoeyNewsNetwork