ASIAN ODDITIES
HUSBAND RETURNS AS CALF
Cambodia’s latest social media sensation is a five-month-old calf believed by a villager to be the reincarnation of her dead husband. Khim Hang, 74, said up to 100 people a day were visiting her home in northeast Kratie province to see the calf she said behaves in very similar ways to her husband, Tol Khut, who died more than a year ago. “I believe that the calf is my husband because whatever he does... is in exactly the same way as my husband did when he was alive,” she said. “I will keep him and take care of him for my entire life.”
The young cow was born in March and attracted a strong following on social media. “I thought it was quite unusual to see a cow go up to the house like this,” said ThachVin, 32, referring to a video she saw on Facebook in which the calf walked upstairs into the family’s one-storey home. “So I came here to see it with my own eyes.” When it is inside the wooden house, the calf is fed, washed and put to bed with a fluffy pillow once used by Tol Khut. [R] 20 July 2017.
CONTAGIOUS BEHAVIOUR
Around 35 workers fainted at the New Orient Garment Company in Canadia Industrial Park, Cambodia, on 7 August. “There was news spreading amongst the workers that one of them was possessed by a ghost spirit and was yelling for chicken to eat,” said garment union leader Bun Van. “This information scared the other workers and they started to faint one by one. All of them were sent for treatment at a private clinic near the garment factory.” MrVan said it was not the first time such fears had spread amongst workers at the industrial park. “At some garment factories in Canadia Industrial Park it happened more than 10 times already,” he said. “Some workers were brought to Takeo province to see Khmer magic sorcerers. In a few cases, owners of factories bought chickens to sacrifice at pagodas.”
More than 1,000 workers are employed at the factory, which produces jacket, pants, dresses, skirts and polo shirts. Kim Ly, 35, one of those who fainted, said some workers fainted in the morning and others in the afternoon. “I felt panicked and suddenly I fainted, but I still do not clearly know the reason why,” said Ms Ly. “Now, another worker who was brought for treatment at the clinic is still yelling like she is possessed.” A month earlier, Cheav Bunrith, director at the Ministry of Labour’s National Social Security Fund, said incidents of fainting in factories had decreased, from 1,800 in 2015 to 1,160 last year, thanks to education programmes on nutrition. Khmer Times, 8 Aug 2017. •
Meanwhile in Thailand, 16 schoolgirls experienced chest tightness, palpitations and fainting while being vaccinated against human papilloma virus (HPV) at Ban Krang School in Phitsanulok’s Muang district. Nurse Jarunee Nasorn said 11 of the 16 students affected had yet to receive the vaccine. Her team had earlier vaccinated other students without any side effects or problems. Most of the students recovered after receiving first aid, but three were taken to hospital. One of the three was said to have suffered an asthma attack.
The government HPV vaccination project covers about 400,000 schoolgirls nationwide. The project is intended to prevent cervical cancer, the second most common cause of death by illness in Thai women. Thailand has about 6,000 new cases of cervical cancer reported each year and the death rate is about 3,000 a year. The Nation (Thailand), 9 Aug 2017.