This happened to a group of police officers in August 1993.
It had started off as an unplanned trip for my late husband and his colleagues, who worked in the Crime and Criminal division of the police force in Kuala Lumpur. They had all decided to go down to Penang for a short break after working on a gruesome murder case in early July 1993.
All four of them had discussed the journey with his superior, whose family was already spending the school holidays on the island at a seaside resort.
The day started off very excitedly, with all four leaving early to reach their destination. However, once they reached Cangkat Jering, it began to rain heavily.
Having worked together as officers in the same division, the rain did not dampen their spirits. They intended to head down to Penang Road, to have a delicious Nasi Kandar lunch, and thereafter meet with their seniors.
The road was quite wet and traffic continued to move slowly with many vehicles flashing their hazard lights on the highway because of blinding rain accompanied by flashing lightning and thunder.
To ensure that no one felt bored and sleepy, they reminisced about the crime scene on their latest case. The victim had been chopped into several pieces and buried in a cement grave.
The forensic crew team however managed to lift off the fingerprints of the suspect, who was shortly nabbed in a nearby village. However, the individual and her accomplice – a bomoh – surrendered without a fight.
As she was handcuffed and escorted to the police car, she acted strangely and started cursing at the officers for disturbing the soul of her protector.
Her voice even changed to that of a man threatening to get revenge and harm anyone who dared to assert their authority. She was truly possessed with spirits from an evil realm and had to be restrained with full force by at least five strong officers of the law.
While in the patrol car, the woman had to be blind-folded by his superior who repeated some holy words to calm the suspect.
The rain continued to pour heavily and, as the car driven by his superior moved to the slow lane, his handphone started ringing. Taking the call, he was informed by his distraught wife that his daughter had drowned in a swimming pool at the resort.
Overcome with shock, the car made an unscheduled stop in the emergency lane located on a steep part of the highway which did not have a road barrier.
My husband and his colleagues tried to comfort their superior who was beyond consolation. However, no one realised that the driver had forgotten to pull up the hand-brakes and just stepped out the car to calm himself down.
The car and its passengers gradually moved forward because of the strong winds, and plunged into the ravine in a matter of seconds. My husband who sat in the front, fractured his nose and suffered extensive damage to his face. Three other colleagues in the backseat were seriously injured. One suffered a crushed toe, the other fractured his ribs, and a woman officer later suffered a miscarriage.
That evening, having not heard from my husband, I assumed he was having too much of a good time. But the authorities in Penang called me and assured me that everyone including my husband were hospitalised for trauma and injury as the result of a accident. They blamed it on the rain and slippery highway.I immediately booked a flight to Penang.
Upon arrival, I observed how badly shaken my husband and his colleagues were. It was an extremely sad and horrifying journey for all concerned and there were no words of comfort that I could offer.
All I knew from my husband was that the bomoh had placed a curse on all of them, and also took away a young life.
After the funeral of this young child, most of the officers were allowed to take leave to recover from their ordeal.
This highly publicised trial and execution of the suspect ended in November of the same year. There was wide local and even international media coverage and plenty of public interest.
Who doesn't love spine-tingling tales? Do you have any stories of the supernatural to share? Write to us in 700 to 800 words (in Word or Text format). There is no payment for submissions, and we reserve the right to edit all submissions. Email lifestyle@thestar.com.my with the subject "Ghost story".
