Don't mess with women

Reference from The Straits Time (online) 17 Oct 2008

LUCKNOW (India) - A WOMAN chopped the head off a man who allegedly tried to attack her and then paraded the head through a market in northern India, police said Friday.

Police arrested the woman late on Thursday after receiving calls from frightened witnesses who reported a blood-soaked woman holding a severed head was walking through the village.

The woman, 35, told police she had gone to a nearby forest to cut grass for fodder for her cattle when a man attacked her from behind.

'In a bid to save her dignity she beheaded him with a sickle,' Officer Bharose said, adding that the woman had bite marks on her neck and cheek.

The woman also told police that the man had been harassing and stalking her for three months and she had no regrets about killing him, he said, adding that she would probably be charged with culpable homicide.

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Kermit: Don't mess with women.... (On a serious note, she was desperate and did it out of self defence. Sigh....)

Top model is 'raped after drink is spiked'

'Date rape': The incident allegedly occurred at Whisky Mist club at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane.

Police are investigating the alleged rape of a model who believes her drink was spiked at a Park Lane nightclub popular with young royals.

The 18-year-old says she felt dizzy and disorientated and was led down to the cellar area of the Whisky Mist club at the Hilton Hotel where the attack took place.

She claims a 23-year-old man she had met previously at the club gave her the Rohypnol-style 'date rape' drug before sexually assaulting her.

She went to the police the next day and the man was arrested later that day by officers. He was bailed to return later this month pending further enquiries.

The model, who is a regular at top designers' shows in London, New York, Milan and Paris, said the alleged rape happened when she went to the club last Wednesday evening.

A close friend said: 'She was having a drink at the bar and enjoying herself. She was also given a drink by the guy she says went on to rape her. Then she suddenly felt dizzy and disorientated.

'She has a hazy memory of what happened but is convinced she was spiked with some kind of drug.

'After that, she remembers coming upstairs in the club and realising something dreadful had
happened.'
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Kermit's Thoughts: For all those out there who claims that they can hold their drinks & won't get drunk.... Well think twice... TREASURE YOURSELF!
1) Clubbing is expensive. (buy drinks + cab fare home)
2) For the innocent young gals out there "HEY THERE IS DATE RAPE DRUG OUT THERE OK!"
3) Never go off to the washroom/turn your back to drink the same cup of drink! - Practical tip
4) Going with trusted frens is also not a foolproof plan. Simply because they may get themselves drunk silly & can't even take care of themselves....let alone another person.

Girls, beware of perverts on MRT

Reference from AsiaOne Digital 20 July 2008 (Kelvin Teh ) Click on link to see article

The next time you take public transport, be suspicious if you find any handphone that seems to be mysteriously trained on you. Someone can very well be filming or taking pictures of you.

A few mornings ago, as I was taking the MRT to work in an irritatingly-packed train, I glanced up from the magazine I was reading and noticed the man standing in front of me.

Dressed in nondescript T-shirt and jeans, he was holding up his handphone as one would when messaging - except that he was not busy pressing away on his phone.

Instead, he was holding it there in his raised hand while occasionally shifting his hand position slightly. To most people around him, it seemed like he was looking at text messages.

I next trained my sight on where his handphone was pointing to and, immediately, my suspicion was aroused.She was a pretty young lady, conservatively dressed in office wear. She was also dozing, unaware of the scene unfolding before her.

My curiousity aroused, I leaned forward and, true enough, the man was secretly filming the woman with his handphone.

My first instinct was to glance around to see if anyone else had noticed, but everyone was oblivious. I waited a while more, just to ascertain that the pervert was filming her.

And then, I felt rage.

I gave the man a hard shove in the back, pushing the shocked fellow aside. Next, I woke the woman up gently and whispered to her that she was being filmed.

She was stunned and her first reaction was to look up at the fellow, who immediately exclaimed in Mandarin: "I don't have hor. I was just playing with my handphone ok!"

Yeah, right.

At this, the woman folded her arms protectively around her chest but refrained from saying anything.

To avoid embarrassing the girl further, I did not confront the man. In the meantime, the bewilderment on everyone's faces was palpable.

Although I have heard and read accounts of cameras hidden in changing rooms and perverts secretly filming under the skirts of ladies, to witness this personally is shocking.

That person being filmed could very well be my sister or one of my female friends. That a perverted stranger is storing pictures of someone you know - that is a disgusting thing.

But, then again, I guess I am not surprised. Too many such stories have surfaced all too often.So girls, just look out for yourself.

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Kermit's thought: Girls out there, two things from ms cyber wellness

1) DO SOMETHING & dun be afraid to speak up. Don't suffer in silence should u be in a similar situation. The pervert is more scared & more to lose if he is caught. Suffering in silence will only encourage he to target more gals in future!!!!! *JUST SCREAM FOR HELP*! Or ask the person beside you for help.

2) Can we just give the skimpy FBT shorts & short mini skirts a miss. Exposing so much flesh will turn other men on unnecessarily & u might find yourself in DEEP S***!

What it means to be trapped in bankruptcy

I was prompted to write this article after being "poke" a few times by a persistent fan of mine. Oh I feel so honoured. Anyways thks Prissy :) I felt this is the topic to talk about today because this topic of $$$ & overuse of $$$ (leading to bankruptcy) has popped up to me a few times this past week.

Reference from The Straits Times 24 June 2008 (Teo Cheng Wee)
Click on link to see article
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They are below 30, employed and mired in debt. This is the fastest-growing age group of debtors, say credit counsellors. On average, they owe $55,000 to about seven creditors, according to new data from Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS), a non-profit group which advises debtors.

Under-30s made up 9 per cent of all cases handled by it in 2006, and 13 per cent last year. In the first three months of this year, it went up to 15 per cent. CCS told The Sunday Times that most of these young adults are snared by materialism and a desire for the high life.

They splash money on cars, branded goods, overseas holidays, clubbing and gadgets. Several also gamble their money away.

Last year, people aged 30 and below made up 7 per cent of all bankrupts. In the first four months of this year, that has increased to 12 per cent. He puts it down to them succumbing to the temptations of consumerism, while knowing little about financial and credit management.

She borrowed $50,000 from parents to fund her shopping
If money had not been so easily earned for Joyce (not her real name), 27, she feels she would not have chalked up her $200,000 debt over four years of wild spending.

But it all seemed so rosy when the business graduate started promoting credit cards fresh out of university in 2003. The job, which also pays her commission, allowed her to take home $20,000 to $30,000 a month.
'There I was, not even 25 and drawing a salary that not many people earned. I thought making money was so easy,' she says.

She spent her money lavishly. When she went clubbing with friends, she would pay for the drinks. She also chalked up some $8,000 worth of monthly spending on luxury goods. Bags were her weakness. She remembers strutting into Louis Vuitton or Gucci outlets every month to buy a new bag costing a few thousand dollars.

Spurred on by colleagues with similar spending habits, Joyce felt that image was of utmost importance. 'People who shop at boutiques will know how much those bags cost. I wanted people to know how much I earned,' she recalls.

Her problems started when she switched jobs in 2005, jumping ship to another bank to sell investment products. She thought she could continue her stellar sales record, but she found the going much tougher. Joyce never did well enough to earn commission, even till today. Her monthly salary dipped drastically to $2,500.

But she continued her wild spending habits, applying for more credit cards when she maxed out her current ones. Her lack of income stressed her out - and ironically resulted in her shopping more to relieve the stress.

She also borrowed $50,000 from her parents on the pretext of investment but used it to fund her shopping instead. More expenses piled up when she got married and bought a flat that same year. Her financial troubles peaked early last year when she realised she could not even pay her credit cards' minimum payments.

She had to sell her 60 luxury bags online - many at huge discounts.

But the interest on the outstanding sums was so high by then that she would 'pay and pay, but the money owed never came down'.

'But I told myself: 'Can't pay, can't pay lor. At the most, I have to declare myself bankrupt',' she recalls.

It was only when a close friend explained to her the consequences of bankruptcy - that it would not discharge her from her financial liabilities - that reality finally hit home.

At that point, Joyce also realised how much her work suffered because she was fretting over her bills and trying to hide her financial troubles from colleagues.

Her relationship with her husband soured as they quarrelled frequently about work. Her family shunned her too. She realised that she was often the last to know about any news at home. Till this day, only Joyce's family and a few close friends know of her troubled past.

With the help of Credit Counselling Singapore, she is slowly but surely paying back her debts - about half of her $3,000 salary goes to this. The new Joyce is a much happier person who still has credit cards but has little wish to use them. Asked if she has any advice for other young people, however, and she is skeptical.

She says a friend - who does not know about her financial past - appears to be falling into similar problems but ignored her advice to watch her spending.

'I feel that if someone has a 'heck-care' attitude towards spending, no amount of advice will stop them,' she says. 'My mother used to tell me: 'With young people, you can tell them there is a wall ahead and not to walk into it. But they won't listen until they actually hit the wall.' 'By then, it's too late. You will already have a bruise.'

Do you know that
Upon declaring bankruptcy:
1) Your property can be seized by your creditors to offest your debt
2) You need to declare your pay & pay back your creditors leaving only a sufficient amount to support himself and your family
3) Your bankruptcy will be advertised, so future employers or third parties could find out from reading the newspapers. In some jobs your might be required to inform your employer.
4) You must seek permission to reveal who is paying for your holiday expenses else you cannot take a holiday overseas
5) Your bankruptcy records will be kept for six years and given to banks. You could find it hard to get a credit card or housing and car loans.
Reference from The Straits Times 29 June 2008 (Lorna Tan)

Internet rape - are you safe?

Reference from Digital Life Oct 22, 2007

16-year-old Amanda (not her real name) is your typical teenager who enjoys hanging out with her friends and surfing the Internet.

There was something irresistible and liberating about the way she could just come home from school, throw her real identity out the window and take up whatever persona she liked online. With her cute nicknames, Amanda never fell short of online friends who enjoyed chatting with her. Her favourite friend, though, was 29-year-old 'bikerboy2000', who was always sweet, considerate and knew exactly what to say. Both exchanged personal information and she soon found out his real name (for this purpose, let's call him John).

In return, Amanda revealed her own name, school and contact number without any qualms as she trusted him and wanted to meet him.

John finally asked her out for lunch three days later and Amanda agreed, albeit reluctantly at first. Her first impression of him was that John was shy and boyish. But his constant praise of her beauty had Amanda hooked - she felt like a princess in his company.

On their second date, John said he liked her a lot and asked Amanda to be his girlfriend. She was elated and couldn't believe her luck. She was so smitten that when John invited her to his place on their third date, she hurried over brimming with anticipation.

That was when Amanda's luck ran out. John started to get physically close to her, and when she pulled away and asked what he was up to, John attacked her. Dazed and confused, realisation slowly sank in. Amanda had been raped.

Time stood still - five, ten, even 20 minutes could have passed - she wasn't sure but after the ordeal ended, Amanda dashed out of John's house and ran straight home.

Her grades plummeted as Amanda battled with feelings of worthlessness, shame as well as the fear of pregnancy and parental rejection. She withdrew from her friends and family until she one day, she couldn't hold it back no longer.

She told her close friends about the awful experience and received intensive counselling. She made a police report and identified John, who's currently being investigated.

Amanda soon learnt that she wasn't the first girl that John had raped. Despite feeling angry at her own stupidity, she also learnt a valuable lesson from her experience. She's now a more Internet savvy user and understands what to do to avoid becoming a victim.

Her advice - NEVER reveal your identity or address online, as well as your school, mobile number or online profile (such as Friendster or Facebook) as your identity can be easily traced.

Be careful of people with seemingly innocent nicknames and dispositions online.

Ultimately, do not meet up with strangers you meet while chatting, even if they insist on doing so.

After all, prevention is always better than cure.
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Kermit: How true. Some scars stay with you for the rest of your life. Is it worth taking the risk then????

Sexual Grooming (Getting Sex Via Sweet Talk)

The Sunday Times, September 23rd 2007

One girl tells Nur Dianah Suhaimi how she was taken in when an online 'friend' turned on his charm offensive.

When I met Jetson , I was 15 and was looking for a boyfriend online. At school, almost all my female lassmates had boyfriends. I had never even been on a date. I never had a guy come up to me asking for my number. But on the Internet, things are different. Guys come up to me because they cannot judge my looks. That was how it started with Jetson. He was 25 when we met yet we connected so well. He didn't treat me like a kid the way my parents and teachers do. When I told him my age, he asked about school. He was concerned that I was failing half my subjects and advised me to work hard. I was touched. My parents rarely paid attention to my grades.They were more concerned about my elder sister who is a straight A student.
That first time, we chatted for five hours - from 10pm until 3am. He was smart, funny and kind. He gave me a cute pet name. Before we ended the chat, he said to me: 'I think you're a very interesting girl. You must be beautiful too. The boys in your school must be stupid not to be your boyfriend. 'I was flattered. Nobody had called me beautiful before. Then he asked me out.'I must see what you look like,' he said.
Two days later, on a Saturday afternoon, we met outside Orchard MRT station. I was a little disappointed when I saw him. He was short, skinny and had many pimples. He wore jeans with a white polo tee. But he was as nice to me as he was online. We had lunch at Burger King which he paid for. We then went window shopping and he held my hand. I felt happy and proud. Proud because a 25-year-old guy who was mature and nice was holding my hand.
He was very gentlemanly. He kept asking if I felt tired and if I needed a drink.When I spoke, he'd put his face close to mine and listen intently. Before we parted at the train station, he gave me a long kiss on the lips. My heartwas beating so fast. It was my first kiss. We went out again the next week. Again, he kissed me.
On the third date, Jetson suggested we go to his flat in Bukit Batok. He lived with his parents but they were at work. (Kermit - this guy could be a bum living off his parents! No wonder so much free time!) At his place, he kissed me many times as we watched TV in the living room. There was heavy petting. After that date, Jetson asked me to be his girlfriend. I was already falling in love with him so I agreed. All our dates after that were spent at his flat. Without fail, there'd be heavy petting. I'd go to his place as often as three times a week, mostly after school becausethat was when his parents were not home.
Each time, Jetson would ask me for sex but I said no. I was afraid of getting pregnant. He'd get upset and tell me he was so close to his ex-girlfriend becausethey had sex. This would make me angry and jealous.
About two months later, I revisited the chatroom where I had met Jetson andfound out that he was still chatting. I became suspicious and decided to chat withhim using a different nickname.
I was shocked. He used the same tricks that he had earlier used on me. He gave me a pet name and said I was beautiful. He also asked me out. I realised that I had been used by this pervert. I called him on the phone and broke up with him. He didn't even explain himself; he just kept quiet.I never saw Jetson again. I also stopped chatting. I'm now 17 and still do not have a boyfriend but that's okay. I don't want to risk being used as a sex object again.

Child Sex Tourism

I just attended a conference about "Helping the Poor". Speaker Jackie Pullinger mentioned that more than a million children are drawn into prostitution each year. One million is alot.

"On this trip, I've had sex with a 14 year-old girl in Mexico and a 15 year-old in Colombia. I'm helping them financially. If they don't have sex with me, they may not have enough food. If someone has a problem with me doing this, let UNICEF feed them."
-Retired U.S. Schoolteacher

"Maria is . . . prostituted by her aunt. Maria is obliged to sell her body exclusively to foreign tourists in Costa Rica, she only works mornings as she has to attend school in the afternoon. Maria is in fifth grade." (Fifth graders are about 10-12yrs old)

Child sex tourists are individuals that travel to foreign countries to engage in sexual activity with children. The non-profit organization End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and the Trafficking of Children (ECPAT) estimates that more than one million children worldwide are drawn into the sex trade each year.

Poverty is the main reason that pushes children into prostitution. Many nations with thriving sex tourism industries are nations that suffer from widespread poverty resulting from turbulent politics and unstable economies. Young children are lured away from broken homes by "recruiters" who promise them jobs in a city and then force the children into prostitution. Some poor families themselves prostitute their children or sell their children into the sex trade to obtain desperately needed money.

The Internet has also facilitated the recent rise in child sex tourism by providing a convenient marketing channel. Websites detail sexual exploits with children and supply information on prices in various destinations etc.The easy availability of this information on the Internet generates interest in child sex tourism and facilitates child sex abusers in making their travel plans.

Information taken from the U.S. Department of State
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/sextour.html
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/fs/2005/51351.htm

There's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life -- an underground of brutality and lonely fear. —President George W. Bush before the UN General Assembly, September 2003

Who will help these children?

We are in the News!!!

Jan 17, 2007 - The Straits Times
By Tan Hui Yee & Chua Hian Hou
IS THERE A GAMING ADDICT IN YOUR HOME?

IT MAY start out looking like a harmless hobby, but for more and more Singaporean youths, video and computer games are becoming a serious obsession.

Five or six years ago, about one patient under the age of 19 admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in a year would have problems associated with gaming or Internet addiction. Now, about 12 of the roughly 200 new young in-patients the institute sees every year need treatment for such problems, said Dr Daniel Fung, a senior consultant psychiatrist at the IMH's child guidance clinic.

The warning signs are varied, but not difficult to spot: withdrawal from social activity, worsening grades, restlessness when away from the computer and even outbursts of anger if prevented from playing games. The problem is significant enough that a new centre was opened in August last year to help young people truggling with game addictions. So far it has handled more than 40 cases. Touch Community Services, which runs this 'cyberwellness' centre in Bukit Merah, provides mentoring and counselling for young people and also works with their parents on the problem.

The rising number of cases comes as online video games like World Of Warcraft and MapleStory become more popular. A 2004 report by research firm IDC put the number of gamers here at more than one million.

In one case the centre saw last year, a secondary school boy had lost touch with many of his friends after moving to a new estate and resorted to online gaming to get to know people. According to Touch's cyberwellness and sports manager, Mr Poh Yeang Cherng, the boy eventually became hooked, spending more than 12 hours a day playing the game MapleStory. Once an extrovert, the boy turned moody, his grades slipped and he began playing truant. After the boy went for counselling, he made friends with the staff and mentors at the centre. Meanwhile, his mother attended workshops to understand the difficulty her son
was going through and joined a support group for parents having similar problems with their children.
Today, the boy spends only about two to three hours gaming every day and has found a new group of friends.

Mr Poh said it is important to understand the child's motivation. In some cases, he may want to feel the sense of achievement, or like the competition or immersing himself in another world. By identifying the motivation, it is easier to address the problem.

Experts said that parents can prevent their children from becoming video game addicts by keeping a look-out
for the warning signs and engaging their kids in meaningful activities. They also said that some parents who notice signs of addiction do not react until their children begin failing exams or throwing temper tantrums.

Delaying action can allow the obsession to get out of hand, making it harder in the long run to help the child get back on track.

The Days are Evil (3)

I couldn't sleep after I saw the papers. It's about ten plus years since I was still in secondary school. Back then life was so peaceful, innocent. I wonder if one of the reasons was that I couldn't be bothered to read the newspapers then - the busyness of exams and school was my entire world then. (A pretty small world ya. Hahas)

And I couldn't find the answer which I've been asking myself in the recent years (since I've started working) why things have became so warped so ugly in such a short span of time.

Anyway I saw something which helped a little...

Quoted by Mr Huang Sabin:
* People are never our enemy - evil is. We must love people and fight evil
* We must fight evil using God's power, not our own

The Days are Evil (2)

The Straits Times (Thursday, October 26, 2006 )

'It's a horrible thing that's happened to my daughter':
* Youth gang in Australia films sexual assault on girl, 17
* Outcry after video is put on Net and shown on TV

A wave of disgust has swept Australia following revelations that a gang of youths not only sexually assaulted a teenage girl but also filmed their acts for distribution on DVDs.

In what began as a meeting arranged through an Internet chat room, the teenager agreed to see two boys at a shopping centre in the Melbourne suburb of Werribee. But when she got there, she was surrounded by about a dozen youths and forced to a nearby river bank where the attack took place.

Note: Full article coming soon, stay tuned.

The Days are Evil (1)

The Straits Times (Thursday, October 26, 2006 )

From star student to fraudster:
Two National University of Singapore undergraduates - both star students and one of them an accomplished young entrepreneur with an IQ of 160 - went astray when one of them chanced upon a website that detailed how credit cards could be cloned using stolen data cheating local banks out of $80,000 in just two months before they were apprehended by the police.

Note: Full article coming soon, stay tuned.

Police raid homes of 7 music downloaders

The Straits Times (Tuesday, October 10, 2006 )

Internet is here to stay. What's your next step?

Saw this article on TODAY recently. If you read carefully most of these rich guys who made it to the list are people linked to technology or the Net. E.g. Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Apple Computer, Dreamworks. Their total wealth combined is approximately US$134 billion.

The world is changing & the Internet is here to stay. It's not possible to avoid it or work it out of our lives. Truth is, the longer you avoid, the harder it is to catch up.

A personal joke... I studied computing back in the university. There wasn't a formal lesson that teach us how to fix a computer. But today I can fix my own computer because I was forced to do it when my computer broke down at various occasions at the worst of time (when I need to submit crucial projects or major exams). The only part left is the motherboard now. Big joke :)

Well better to pick it up early at your own pace than come a time when you're forced into doing it. Nah. Don't remind me of the nightmares ._.'

Want to be my friend?

You might have the innocent intention of making friends. But do be aware of the perverts hidden amongst the other users in the various social networking sites.

Not sure if you came across the fake Osama & some other famous personality on Friendster. Obviously it's not the real Osama my students would say. The real one is too busy running away from the police. Hahah! Well think a bit deeper. If there can be "fake famous people" why can't there be "fake average guy/gal"?


Summarised version (by kermit for easy reading):
Warnings over social site 'abuse'
Social networking sites like MySpace, Bebo have been gaining great popularity among the teenagers.
A study of the sites by the consumer watchdog unearthed pornographic images, evidence of bullying and inappropriate adverts. It also proved easy to pose as a child as the sites did no age or ID checks. "Teenage users need to be aware that there is no way of knowing who is behind the face of a 'friend'," said Jessica Ross, Computing Which? editor.
One researcher was able to pose as a 14-year-old on MySpace as the site did not require identification or carry out an age check.
Ms Ross said: "Networking sites, such as myspace.com and bebo.com, need to do more to protect their millions of trusting members."

Full version
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5344722.stm

Posting personal photos on blog has consequences too...

BEAUTY QUEEN WAS UNWITTING PAWN IN ONLINE SCAM

Summarised version (by kermit for easy reading): Singpore beauty queen cum part time model owns a blog, post photos on blog. One day a man went up to her and asked if she was his online friend. And to her greatest horrors!!!!!!!! Found out that someone has been using her photos pretending to be her & cheating money out of men.

Full version (as reported on Newpaper on 14th Aug 2006): As a beauty queen and part-time model, she's used to having her photos circulated widely. Like many people, she has also posted personal photos on her blog. But Miss Amanda Low, 26, had no idea that someone would use her pictures to seduce men in an online scam.

These pictures were sent by "Kalene" to Mr Michael Poh, supposedly of herself. They are really of Miss Amanda Low.

Once the men become smitten with the attractive girl in the pictures, the impostor would 'sweet-talk' them into giving her money. She would tell a sob story and ask for a loan, with the money to be transferred to her bank account. When the men ask to meet her, she would make excuses not to do so. If they insisted, she would then stop all contact, leaving them with no way of recovering their money.
Miss Low, who was Miss Chinese World in the Miss Singapore-Chinatown 2005 pageant, believes that at least five men have fallen victim to the cyber cheat.
She also won the Miss Friendship title in the Miss Asia-Pacific 2006 pageant.
It was purely by chance that she found out what her photos were being used for.
One man who almost got conned by the impostor had spotted Miss Low at an exhibition in Singapore Expo last month. Miss Low, who has been modelling part-time for seven years, told The New Paper on Sunday: 'I was giving out brochures when I noticed a man staring at me strangely. 'He came up to me after 15 minutes and asked if I knew him.'
She was taken aback by Mr Michael Poh's direct manner. Mr Poh, 26, who runs a food stall in Toa Payoh, told her that she looked exactly like the pictures of a woman he knew as 'Kalene'.

WANTED CASH

He said 'Kalene', whom he had met on the Internet, had tried to borrow $3,000 from him.
Miss Low said: 'I was shocked that my photographs were being used to cheat men. I would not have found out if not for the chance meeting with Michael.'
She was in for another shock.
After she and Mr Poh exchanged more details about 'Kalene', Miss Low found out that she was the same woman who had impersonated her in 2001.
The two women were friends then.
'Kalene' had sent out Miss Low's photos in Internet chatrooms, claiming to be the woman in the pictures.
Miss Low recalled: 'I found out about it when my friend happened to get the photos.
'I also learnt that her online 'boyfriend' would transfer money to her, thinking she was me.'
When confronted, 'Kalene' apologised profusely.

FELT INFERIOR
Miss Low said: 'She told me she did it because she felt inferior to me. I let her off with a warning after she promised never to do it again.' Twice bitten, Miss Low decided to make a police report this time as she is worried that 'Kalene' might have conned other men.
She showed us a copy of the report dated 6 Aug.
Through her own investigations, Miss Low said 'Kalene' could have cheated at least five men.
She said: 'If she's been cheating men like this since 2001, who knows how many more victims are out there? 'What if one of her victims sees me on the streets and beats me up because he thinks I ran away with his money?'
Now, whenever she stays out late, she always makes sure she is not alone.
'I hope the men who have been conned can contact me so I can press charges against her. Now it's just my and Michael's words against her,' said Miss Low. The police have confirmed that they are investigating the case. Miss Low gave us 'Kalene's' contact number and real name.
We called the number a few times over three days.
Each time, a woman answered to the name given by Miss Low, but when asked about this case, she said she was too busy to talk.

BLOG INTEREST
Mr Poh related how he got to know 'Kalene' in January last year when he chanced upon her blog. He has a blog too.
He said: 'It's my hobby to browse through blogs. This blog was different because there were photos of her manicured and pedicured nails, handbag, laptop - everything but a photo of her face.
'This made me even more curious to see what she looks like. So I e-mailed her and asked for her MSN Messenger address.' He has e-mailed female strangers before in the hope of befriending them and has dated one of them. Mr Poh, who did not have a girlfriend then, was elated when 'Kalene' replied soon after. They started chatting every day on MSN.
'We talked about all sorts of things like our hobbies. After a week, I asked for her photo and phone number.' She then e-mailed three photographs to Mr Poh. They showed an attractive woman striking different poses.
Mr Poh was immediately attracted to the woman in the pictures.
'She was so pretty. And from the way she wrote in her blog, I could tell she had brains too,' he said. 'I was interested in her and wanted to ask her out.'
He got her number and they chatted over the phone every day.
'You could say we had a relationship going. We would say quite mushy things to each other,' he said. 'Kalene' said she was an accounts assistant.
Soon after they met online, she told Mr Poh that she was having problems at work.
He said: 'She wanted to quit and asked for my opinion. I told her if she doesn't like the job, she should quit.'
But 'Kalene' claimed she had to pay two months' salary totalling $5,000 if she quit without giving notice.
Mr Poh said: 'She told me she had $2,000 in savings and asked to borrow $3,000 from me.
'I agreed to lend it to her, but told her she would have to meet me.'
But 'Kalene' claimed she was not free and asked him to transfer the money to her bank account.
That was when Mr Poh began to smell a rat.
He said: 'She just refused to meet me and gave all kinds of excuses.
'Once, I tried to meet her after her dance practice, but she didn't turn up. Her handphone was off.'
After 'Kalene' stood him up, she did not contact him for a few months.
'Maybe she was mad at me for not lending her the money. I no longer saw her on MSN, probably because she blocked me,' he said.
Mr Poh started going out with another girl, but the relationship ended after a few months.
Feeling depressed, he wrote about the break-up in his blog.
Around that time, 'Kalene' got in touch with him again.
He said: 'I was feeling down. We started talking again. I don't know if she contacted me again because she wanted money from me.'
He admitted he was still interested in 'Kalene'. But although he wanted to date her, he was confused.
A friend had told him she saw her pictures on someone else's blog on Friendster, a social networking website.
When Mr Poh asked 'Kalene' about it, she brushed it off, saying the blogger was probably using her pictures to pretend to be her.
'I didn't know who to believe,' he said.
That is, until he saw Miss Low at Singapore Expo.

SAME GIRL
'I stared at her for 15 minutes to make sure she was the same girl in the pictures,' he said. 'I then called Kalene's handphone.
'She answered and said she was at home sleeping. It was then that I knew she had used the photos to trick me.'
This experience has taught him a lesson he will always remember.
'Never ever believe what you read and see on the Internet.'