S’porean ‘selective mute’ now helps others with same condition

SINGAPOREAN Nigel Ng Chin Wei, who used to have selective mutism after being reprimanded for being noisy in class, is now helping others with the same condition, Oriental Daily reported.

He did not speak a word to his classmates in school for eight years after he was scolded and punished by his teachers for talking too much or too loudly.

Talking became an unforgivable offence to him and he later lost his ability to speak.

He would also try not to cough, sneeze or blow his nose in order not to draw attention to himself.

He also had frequent breakdowns and would hit his head against walls and tables.

Ng, however, has since rediscovered his voice through therapy and support from family and wrote about his life journey in a book, Silence Is Not Golden, two years ago.

He said he will be sharing his experiences with people with a similar condition and their caregivers in Singapore to mark World Mental Health Day.

> A security guard was sentenced to three months’ jail for making illegal earnings by transporting female escorts to their clients in Tainan city at night, China Press reported.

Lin made NTW240,000 ( RM32,000) between June last year and February before he was caught.

He then filed an appeal, arguing that he made much less after factoring in his petrol costs and car maintenance, and that the court should not have considered his entire savings in his bank account as illegal earnings because salary from his job as a security guard was also banked into the same account.

But the court threw out his appeals for lack of a detailed record.

> The daily also reported that the head of a man was missing from a 30-year-old grave at a Chinese cemetery in Chuah, Negri Sembilan.

A grass cutter discovered it when he saw a big hole at the grave, exposing the body of a man that was still not fully decomposed.

Several cemetery administrators inspected the site and their records showed the deceased ran a bicycle shop in Kampung Baru Sungai Nipah. He died 30 years ago.

His family members in Johor could not be reached at press time.

The administrators pointed out irregularities in the way the remains were placed in the grave – his feet were nearer to the peak and his head nearer to the foothill, which is against feng shui.