by D. G. Lum
All Rights Reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and the copyright holder.
The stories in this book are works of fiction. All characters, names, businesses and events are used in a fictitious manner. These stories were inspired by personal experiences and information from others.
Published by
STAR Publishing Pty Ltd
ACN 149 598 489
Printed in January, 2012
Copyright © D.G. Lum 2012
Prologue
Gambling is a big business in Asia. Macao, the only Chinese city with a legalized casino gambling industry, has, in recent years, surpassed Las Vegas as the world’s biggest gambling market. While Malaysia has one legalized casino, Singapore now has two integrated resorts with significant casino gambling component. Today, different forms of lottery games, sports and race track betting are readily available to residents living in numerous cities across Asia.
However, increasing exposure to gambling activities may inevitably create more problem gamblers. In light of the rapid development of Asia’s gambling market, this book takes a supernatural approach to understanding this issue.
Gambling should be done in moderation. For centuries, it is a leisure activity enjoyed by many – the rich and the poor. We should just keep it that way.
There are twelve ghost stories in this book - Chapter 1: Pontianak in Tekong; Chapter 2: The White Ghosts of Sentosa; Chapter 3: Don’t ‘Pray Pray’; Chapter 4: Trapped in a Lift Full of Ghosts; Chapter 5: Mahjong Ghosts in Telok Blangah; Chapter 6: Want to Improve Your Luck with a Baby Ghost?; Chapter 7: Ghosts for VIPs Only; Chapter 8: This is My Room. Get Out!; Chapter 9: A Frightening Experience in a Hotel Room; Chapter 10: A Family of Ghosts in Macao; Chapter 11: Fishing for a Ghost?; Chapter 12: An Encounter with a Ghost Prostitute. Simple facts about gambling in Singapore, Malaysia and Macao are included towards the end of book, along with a problem gambling screening questionnaire and some useful references.
Enjoy reading!
D.G. Lum
Chapter 1: Pontianak in Tekong
Many Singaporeans have heard stories about the Pontianak (or Kuntilanak): according to Malay folklore, the Pontianak are women who died during childbirth and subsequently became a sort of vampire. Often, the babies died along with their mothers while still inside the womb. Malays believe the Pontianak spirits reside in banana trees. No one dares to mess around with the Pontianak as they are known to be frightening, vengeful, and vicious.
The following is a Pontianak story I heard from a fellow army instructor at a training camp located in the western part of Singapore. Every three to four months or so, the school took in young recruits who had just completed their basic military training. In 1989, I joined the Bravo Company as an instructor. Our job was to train the recruits to become section leaders. It was easier said than done and, very often, it was a lot of hard work, even for the instructors.
Staff Pandan, my friend and assistant platoon commander, was a helpful but stern instructor. He was the one who told me this story.
The incident happened during a five-day field training exercise conducted in 1990 on Pulau Tekong, Singapore’s largest outlying island and a training base for several Singapore army units. Even during those days, Pulau Tekong was considered an awfully haunted place. It was the setting of many Singapore Army ghost stories.
Everyone in Bravo Company Platoon One went along for this exercise, including Staff Pandan, our fellow instructors, and me. For the instructors, it seemed like the trip would be another fun getaway. Staff Pandan had prepared a stove for cooking, and brought along an ample amount of food for all the platoon instructors. For leisure, he brought along a mini compo, portable television, and some poker cards.
For the trainees, however, it would end up being five days of mental and physical hell.
The first day was easy and basically administrative; it included maneuvering the whole platoon to the designated location on the island, setting up the gentries and the platoon headquarters (HQ), and preparing the platoon for section exercises on day two and beyond.
By nightfall, all the trainees belonging to Bravo Company Platoon One had found a spot in the jungle where they would be staying for the night. Staff Pandan had instructed some trainees to clear an area about 50 meters away from where Platoon One was. This was to be the resting and sleeping area for the platoon instructors.
The first night went smoothly. We had a night drill at 11:30 p.m. and Staff Pandan harassed the trainees at around 3:15 a.m. They performed pretty well under pressure and our platoon commander (PC) was pleased.
On the second night, which was cold and damp, many exercises were cancelled because of thunderstorms. We had a few drills in the morning and that was it. The trainees, however, were not that pleased since they basically had to eat in the heavy rain. By 10:00 p.m., the trainees were given the instruction of ‘lights off,’ which meant they could go to sleep.
At 10:25 p.m., our company HQ sent a radio message to ask for help with some paperwork and I volunteered to go over; our platoon worked well together and we tried to help each other out with or without any direct order. That night turned out to be my lucky night!
Later, Staff Pandan told me that, almost immediately after I left, the other instructors gathered to play poker. PC, Raja, Lee, and Kumur prepared a table beside the tent and started to play cards. Staff Pandan was just a few meters away. He was preparing his favorite roti prata in his makeshift kitchen. The radio was on, playing Madonna’s song, ‘Like a Prayer.’
Three lamps lit up the resting area: one in the tent, another in the kitchen, and one more on the table. Everywhere else was basically pitch-black. The rain had stopped but clouds blocked the moonlight. There was the occasional sound of crickets.
The guys had a good time initially. Then Raja placed two dollars on the table. “Let’s do the real thing,” he said, as he shuffled two decks of cards together.
“Money!” shouted Staff Pandan from the kitchen. He added, “Gambling is not allowed, remember?”
The other guys were very keen. PC nodded silently, then looked at Staff Pandan and said, “Just a few rounds. No one will know. It’s just for the fun of it.” PC was the highest-ranking officer in the platoon, and Lee and Kumur were also game for it, so Staff Pandan’s concerns were ignored.
The guys had a few rounds of betting and continued. It was addictive. The bet rose from S$2 to S$4 and then to S$8. Raja, who had started it all, made a few bad calls and became agitated. He had lost more than a hundred bucks.
“Full house!” PC called out excitedly. At that point, the game was just between him and Raja. Raja did not expect the play and was caught by surprise. He was angry with himself for failing to see through PC’s cards. He had fallen into a trap that PC set up for him.
Raja stood up. “I need to take a leak,” he said with frustration.
“A leak may be good for you,” Staff Pandan smiled and continued. “Remember, it’s just a game!”
Raja obviously did not think so. After all, he was supposed to be good at this. He made his way into the dark, just far away enough to make sure the other guys could not see him. Under the faint light that shone from the tent, he found a tree and unbuckled his belt.
“Don’t forget to say, ‘excuse me’,” shouted Lee from the tent.
Raja could hear the others giggle and was mad. He tried to ignore them and went on with his business.
“No gambling,” whispered a female voice softly somewhere behind him.
Raja replied spontaneously, “Stop playing, Pandan! Don’t be a pussy or else I’ll be mad!”
There was silence for a short moment and then he heard it again: “No gambling.” This time, the voice came from the dark forest right in front of him.
Raja was stunned and took two quick steps backward. He looked around carefully. “Who’s that?” he asked fearfully.
“What did you say?” Staff Pandan called out to Raja, unaware of what was happening in the dark bushes.
“No gambling!” the dark whispered back again. It was a soft and fragile female voice. It seemed to be nearer this time but Raja could not see anything. His feet were rooted to the ground and he was too afraid to run.
“Raja?” Staff Pandan called out once more as he looked towards Raja’s direction.
The others stopped talking and looked into the woods along the same direction. They could hear some whispering.
“Raja?” PC called out.
The guys sensed something was not right. Lee and Kumur stood up and walked towards the direction Raja had gone. Lee found him lying on the ground, just a few feet away. Raja was beside a tall banana tree; he lay there motionless, with his eyes and mouth wide open.
“He’s here!” shouted Lee as he picked up Raja’s left arm. Kumur came over and they carried Raja into the tent.
“Raja!” shouted PC, thinking he might have had a seizure.
“Wake up!” said Staff Pandan, as he rubbed his hands on Raja’s face.
The guys all gathered around Raja’s motionless body, each trying to help in their own way.
Suddenly, Raja yelled “Ahh….!”
Lee took one of Raja’s hands and tried to comfort him immediately.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kumur nervously. He was worried Raja might have had a heart attack.
Just then, Staff Pandan looked up, back along the direction where Raja was found. To his horror, in the dark he caught a glimpse of a ghostly figure. Standing there was a petite woman with long hair and some blood in her eyes. He swore he could see someone standing there. He kept his cool and looked away immediately, knowing from experience that one should not glare into the eyes of a spirit. When Staff Pandan looked up again, the spirit was gone. He was the only one who had seen it.
Raja blinked for a second and then lost consciousness. PC quickly radioed for the platoon medic, who was at HQ at that time.
Over at HQ, I was working alongside the company staff sergeant, Wong, when we received a SOS radio call from PC. Without hesitation, several of us headed back towards Platoon One with the medic: Raja was in trouble and he was well liked by all.
Wong took his dog along. As we drew near to Platoon One campsite, Wong’s dog stopped and started to howl. The howls became whines as we approached the campsite. Wong sensed something unnatural and asked us to stick close to each other in the dark. As we walked through the jungle, he murmured, “Please excuse us, excuse us!” He chanted the line multiple times as we walked. With more than ten years in service, Wong had seen and heard it all. It was creepy but I kept mum.
After a quick diagnosis by the medic, we carried Raja out of the tent and drove him to the nearest medical facility. He woke up the next day and was unable to recall what happened to him. The last event he remembered was that he was urinating. The doctors said he might have fainted because of heat exhaustion and would recover soon.
Back in Platoon One, Staff Pandan did not say a single word about what he saw to anyone. He asked some trainees to shift the tent to another location, stating that the ground was too muddy and uncomfortable for all of us.
The rest of the training exercises went smoothly and according to plan. The guys did not gamble any more for the rest of the days in Tekong. Raja came back to join us on the last day. We joked that he must have lost so much money that night and got so terribly mad that he freaked out. No one took the event seriously.
However, during the weekly platoon meeting back in our camp, Staff Pandan told everyone about what he saw. He told everyone that he checked the area near our initial campsite in Tekong and found many banana trees. Below one of the trees, he had found an old urn.
Raja could not recall seeing any ghosts before he blacked out, and no one else saw anything that night. However, I contributed to the story by telling the guys about the behavior of Wong’s dog as we approached the initial campsite.
Kumur thought the Pontianak was attracted to them because they were too noisy during gambling. “Maybe they don’t like people to gamble,” he supposed.
Lee thought Raja should have said ‘Excuse me’ before he urinated and could have picked a better spot.
Raja himself wondered if he was just unlucky that night.
Staff Pandan told us that after he moved the tent, he and Wong returned to the spot where Raja was found. Wong burned some joss sticks and offered some fruits as well as chicken blood, while he, Pandan, recited some prayers in Indian and Malay. He told us not to tell the trainees about it. It was to be our platoon’s little secret.
PC gave the order that there would be no more gambling during future field training exercises, and Raja was all too happy to hear that. He said he would take it easy when he gambled in the future.
This story was written in memory of Staff Pandan.
Chapter 2: The White Ghosts of Sentosa
Once known as Pulau Blakang Mati, Sentosa is now a popular tourist attraction south of Singapore. In 2006, Sentosa welcomed more than five million visitors. More recently, Singapore’s first casino, at The Resort World Sentosa, opened its doors to tens of thousands of eager local and foreign gamblers.
Few of these visitors know who gave Sentosa its old name, though. In Malay, ‘Pulau Blakang Mati’ means ‘The Island (Pulau) of Death (Mati) from Behind (Blakang).’ Some said the name could be traced back to the sixteenth century. Others said ‘Blakang Mati’ actually referred to a hill on the island. There are many stories of the outbreak of disease, piracy, and murders on the island. Many, supposedly, died on Pulau Blakang Mati.
After the Japanese invaded Singapore in February 1942, many civilians were executed. People say the Japanese transported hundreds of civilians by boats out to the open sea from a site at Tanjong Pagar. Their hands and feet tied together, they were hurled into the waters, and fired upon. Strong currents swept many of the dead bodies away. A few hundred bodies were eventually washed ashore Pulau Blakang Mati, now known as Sentosa.
Soon after, some people claimed they could see the spirits of these dead people on the tiny island. People still see these spirits today. For example, at a construction site, a young foreign worker with whom I spoke claimed he sometimes heard strange noises at night. He was convinced that the noises were made by ghosts from the past, who have come back to haunt the island and its visitors. He said the ghosts were territorial and that people were disturbing their peace in Sentosa with the new casino and other property developments.
I did not pay much attention to him initially. After all, I thought he could be suffering from homesickness, loneliness, or perhaps some hallucinations as well.
However, one day I met one of my sister’s good friends and, after our conversation, began to rethink my opinion of the man who heard ghosts. Mary used to work in the reservations department of a resort hotel in Sentosa. She told me there were some things that could not be said or done on the island. At the hotel, she and many of her staff had encountered things that led them to believe that Sentosa was indeed haunted. As she told me:
I was a reservations manager at the hotel for a couple of years. I can assure you that what I told you is true, and many of my ex-colleagues can be my witnesses.
During my time there, the female staff changing room was in a separate building a short distance (less than fifteen minutes’ walk) away from the main hotel. This building also housed the staff canteen and rooms for other departments, like security and purchasing. We would usually change into
our uniforms in the room and then make our way to the hotel’s front office, either by taking the free employee shuttle bus or walking. We had all heard that this building with the changing rooms used to be a British medical center or something similar during the war. But we never expected it to be haunted!
One night, one of my front office girls went to the changing room after work. She was washing her hands when the lights in the room suddenly went off. There was total darkness and she had to feel her way out of the building. At the door entrance, the lights unexpectedly came on again. She was frightened, ran off, and told everyone about the incident.
After much pleading from her, a male staff member decided to investigate the incident. Initially, he suspected foul play. On the way to the changing room, he saw the lights turning off and then on again several times. However, the lights stopped when he reached the room. He went into the changing room to investigate but found nothing unusual.
Over the next few months, I received several reports of faulty lights in the female staff changing room. Initially, after each report I called electricians to come and check the room, but each time they found nothing wrong. Gradually, we got used to it.
Then, one day, two of my girls were chatting in the room when the locker doors started slamming violently. Confused and frightened, they ran out of the room and reported the incident to me.
The next day, I secretly engaged a Taoist spiritual medium to help us. I did not tell my superior about it. My staffers were afraid to go into the changing room and I needed to do something to calm them down. Later, on a quiet Sunday, the medium and two of his disciples performed some rituals in the room. After two hours, they came out. The medium said everything would be all right and the ghosts would never come back again. I paid him handsomely from my own pocket.
Two months later, a new rumor began to spread. This time, it was about strange happenings at one of our signature restaurants. The restaurant, which was located in the west side of the hotel, overlooked the sea; it had a nice atmosphere and served great seafood. Apparently, two of its waitresses were cleaning up in the middle of the night when they saw a Japanese soldier walking around, carrying his own head. The next day, both waitresses resigned.
