Yes, there is something very wrong and very intriguing about that title. But you know we do this for you, dear reader. You work hard and you are disheartened by a constant barrage of bad news. You worry about your money and the economy. You’ve become weary of the ever more frequent reports of swan dives from Hong Kong high rises. You wonder when, if ever, China will get its shit together and simply allow democracy to flourish in Hong Kong. We get it.
As life is hard enough as it is, just sit back and enjoy this amazing trick by a girl who has undoubtedly trained years to master it. You’re worth it: (more…)
Wong, a 17-year old student, leaped to his death yesterday. Ten days ago he was punished for “disrupting” a school function, and it is believed the consequent bullying from his class mates resulted in his suicide in front of a crowd of approx. 600 students and teachers. According to a police source, Wong, who suffered from psychosis, left a note saying he would temporarily leave the world to prepare for his return to “hound” those who had wronged him. As a wolfman.
Wong is certainly not the first student to commit suicide this year in HK: he is number eight. Chinese University mood disorders center director Lee Sing said the school should have referred Wong to a school social worker or psychiatrist, instead of resorting to punitive measures. In addition, “students who have boycotted the boy may feel guilty and be emotionally disturbed by the death,” he was quoted saying. Sad. For a peek into the troubled mind of this boy, have a look at this poorly translated blog posting that was uploaded several days before his suicide. RIP.
Leading Hong Kong expatriate website Geoexpat.com is currently assisting police with an investigation into one of its classified listings, which is said to be soliciting offers for a set of twins. The since-removed submission, we were sad to learn, was a not a reference to the raunchy Canto-pop duo we’ve come to love, but rather a set of 8-month-old infants. While the exact origin of these bargain-bin tots remains a mystery, TDS, in yet another showing of world-class reportage, has managed to capture an exclusive snapshot of the toddlers in question.
Upon viewing the image, we must confess to have sympathised somewhat with the mother responsible for the listing, who, according to a report by the SCMP, referred to the pair only as being “playful” and in “excellent condition.”
When asked about the incident, GeoExpat chief operating officer Shriram Chaubal told TDS that the submission had likely come from an African source rather than anyone in Hong Kong. Having said that, we’re happy to reveal that listings of local origin are, by no means, any less bizarre. Here’s a short list of great deals to be found on our interwebs. Get ‘m now:
Morning! This just in from the Dark Side’s “Batshit Crazy” Department….
A woman visiting Hong Kong from mainland China recently got herself hauled off to what we can only assume was a rubber room after going on a delusory yet wildly entertaining rant for news cameras. Calling herself a reporter, she bragged about having spent HK$ 600,000 on designer goods here in HK, complainined about being treated less deferentially than she would have liked because she hailed from the mainland, declared that the world will end in 2012, and demanded $10 million in compensation for her troubles from the Hong Kong Government. And all this before sunset. That’s a busy day by anybody’s standards, and we say kudos to her for being so proactive.
Police suspect the woman was out getting liquored up all night before making a phone call and asking to be taken to hospital. When the ambulance arrived, our intrepid “reporter” promptly smashed its rearview mirror because, well, why the fuck not? After her protracted oratory on all things bizarre, police on the scene -at least 6 of them- subdued her, strapped her to a gurney, and put her in an ambulance. All this while she wailed as though she’d been set on fire.
One thing did occur to us as we watched this video in the Dark Side office though. While this woman is not the first self-important, designer goods loving lunatic to cause a scene here in Hong Kong, she may be in a little more trouble than some that have preceded her: diplomatic immunity appears to be unlikely in this case. Sit it out until 1:21 when the fun part really begins: (more…)
Automobile manufacturer Chrysler has recently filed a complaint with the US International Trade commission to stop imports of what looks like another beautiful example of Chinese creativity, the Jeepzter. The Jeepzter *cough* roughly resembles a concept car shown by Chrysler in 2005 named The Hurricane. According to Chrysler, the Jeepzter is regarded “the same or substantially the same to the eye of the ordinary observer as the ornamental design.” See for yourself:
In terms of specs, there is a slight difference however. The four-wheel drive Jeep has two (!) V8 engines, while the Jeepzter is basically a souped up lawn mover with an 800 cc engine. The Chinese copying cars is of course far from a new development. Here are a few more examples of our neighbors’ automotive design skills.
Today we do what we do best: take the moral high ground and address those who deserve it. Here is the case of poor expatriate banker Claire Buckley and her now dead dog, Jay. Claire adopted Jay from Hong Kong Dog Rescue 18 months ago and decided to take him with her when moving to London. The dog was entrusted to a sister organisation of Relocasia, ReloPet, a firm that -indeed- helps relocate pets. On April 1st, the scheduled departure date for Jay to London, he escaped when his cage was opened by a ReloPet employee. Jay was eventually found dead earlier this month after dozens of volunteers spent weeks searching for the animal around the hills of Lantau.
Devastated by the loss of this creature, ReloPet graciously offered Claire A PARTIAL REFUND of the original HK$ 28,530.00 bill. Appalled, Claire turned to the Small Claims Tribunal which yesterday ordered ReloPet, which was neither present nor represented at the hearing, to pay more than HK$ 47k in compensation instead.
ReloPet exec Matt Burden earlier claimed that that the loss of the animal in their care was partially due to Claire herself, as he was quoted saying: “Jay escaped because Claire asked us to put his favourite toy in the cage. On her instructions we opened the cage and Jay was a very big, very strong dog and he forced his way past two of my employees.” Right. Now look at poor Claire here (thanks SCMP) and decide for yourself who is the devil.
May a thousand mutts shit on your doorstep, ReloPet.
