Crime
I set up a backpacker hostel, at one point in my messy career, and ran it for a number of years. During that time, several of my female guests fell victim to spiked drinks. I can think of five cases. There could have been more. The so-called rape drug was used on each occasion.
When I say “rape drug”, I'm not talking about an aphrodisiac. The girls weren't plied with drinks to break down their inhibitions and make them feel sexy. They were given a drug that rendered them senseless. Worse still, they were so confused that it was impossible for them to work out exactly what had happened. All they knew was that they had been violated and could only guess who had done it. To avoid such a traumatic experience, remember the three golden rules:
And remember that you can be handed a spiked drink anywhere ... not just in bars. I know one young lady who fell victim to spiking at the office party of a leading international company. The incident occurred in Sydney but could have happened anywhere. Her drink was spiked by colleagues. They were out to humiliate her and succeeded. The problem was to discover exactly what had happened and gather proof. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence but nothing that couldn't be denied.
This brings me back to the point I made earlier. Victims are always befuddled. So, if you suspect someone is the victim of a spiked drink, take care of them and make sure the police are called. Bar staff are often reluctant to do this so you may have to do it yourself. Insist on a full medical examination and do your best to see that blood and urine samples are taken before any drugs are discharged from the body.
Girls are particularly vulnerable but guys are not immune. Shortly before we sold our hostel there was a strange incident that took several days to unravel. I was woken in the early hours of the morning by yelling and screaming from one of the private rooms. I pulled on a pair of shorts and went to see what was happening.
As I left my house, three figures emerged from the main hostel building and ran into the street. I figured they were part of the disturbance but had no time to investigate. The yelling was still going on and something had to be done about it.
I entered the hostel and was pleased to see my friend Sean in the corridor. He worked as a geologist's assistant and stayed with us when on leave. Sean was outside one of the rooms and a torrent of foul language was coming from inside. We banged on the door and told them to "Open Up". When nothing happened, I unlocked the door and threw it open.
We were confronted by a woman I recognised as a local prostitute. She pushed past us and fled, leaving a fully-dressed young man on the bed. He was making a heap of noise and appeared to be hopelessly drunk. We did our best to calm him but without success. In the end, I called the police and the guy was taken away.
I thought that was the end of the matter but it wasn't. The next day the young man reappeared claiming I had robbed him of hundreds of dollars. He was in a hysterical state and I had no doubt he believed what he was saying. Inevitably, the police were called again.
Days passed and the young man's mother became involved. With her help, we were able to piece together what had happened. It seems her son was a shy lad who had just finished work on a farming property. He arrived in town with his pockets bulging with money and went into a bar where he met some new chums. They spiked his drink and amused themselves at his expense. Their final act was to accompany him back to his hostel room, finding a prostitute on the way. When Sean disturbed them, they fled with the young man's money.
Some friends once invited me to become a partner in their nightclub. I had a good look at the proposal and decided it was not for me. In the process, I learned a lot about the nightclub scene.
In Chapter 3.1, I talk about the hazards faced by female patrons of nightclubs. The girls are not alone. Nasty things can happen guys.
As a customer, you meet your first hazard at the door. The posh term is security personnel. Most people know them as bouncers. Some are well-qualified. Others are not. I'm amazed the industry hasn't smartened up its act. We are still hearing stories of undue force and frightening injuries to patrons who refuse to take orders from overweight oafs who think they have a licence to punch and kick. Don't argue with the sods and don't think the problem is confined to any one country.
Incidentally, if you get a job as a bouncer and work in a garrison city, avoid fights with guys with short hair. There's a chance they're in the army and trained to kill. While I was researching my friends’ nightclub, a fight broke out and spilt onto the street. The bouncers fought the army and came off second best. The military police were called in to prevent serious injury and the club was declared off-limits to the troops. That was a disaster. The boys spent freely and without them the club went bust.
I return to my main topic: hazards faced by patrons.
Guys on holiday often get it into their heads to go out for a night on the town. They yearn for excitement and go in search of female company. Some strike it lucky and find some lonely ladies who share their desire for a harmless one-night-stand. Most don't. They return to their beds disappointed but unscathed. The unlucky ones fall victim to a sting ... and that's something to be avoided.
Three basic rules apply:
Imagine that you and your mates go off to explore the fleshpots of a new town. You fancy a bit of excitement and are drawn to the bright lights of a nightclub. You make your way past the bouncers and reach the reception desk. There's an entrance fee for men but women are let in free. That's encouraging. The club clearly wants to attract unaccompanied girls and you see a group at a table. You join them and soon get talking. Everything goes swimmingly. They're just the sort of chicks you've dreamt of ... no inhibitions and out for a bit of fun.
After a while, they invite you back to their place to watch porno videos and get to know one another better. It's too good a chance to miss and, half-sloshed, you and your mates pile into the girls’ cars. After a drive into the depths of suburbia you arrive at a small house. Videos go on and bras come off. The girls start to undress you. One of your mates is preparing for action when headlights appear in the driveway. Vehicles screech to a halt. The front door bursts open and a mob of men bursts in. They accuse you of raping their wives. Fists fly. The girls flee and you're beaten up.
I came across three incidents of this sort. The guys were usually in their mid-twenties. They were always robbed and their injuries were sometimes severe. I spoke to contacts in the local police and was told they knew what was going on but could do nothing until someone was prepared to lay complaints. As far as I know that never happened. The victims were too embarrassed to speak about what had happened.
3.3 Honey Trap (Chinese style)
In the last chapter I warned about the hazards faced by guys who go out for a night on the town in Australia. Visitors to China are not immune either … as I learned on a trip to Xian.
The ancient city is famous for its Terracotta Warriors. What is not so widely known is that Xian is a major industrial centre with some very rough districts.
As usual, my wife insisted that we stay in a hotel. Had I been by myself, I would have made for a backpacker hostel. I owned one at the time and liked to frequent the scene.
China has a lot of backpacker hostels and many are run by Westerners. I visited one for a chat with the owner. He came from Texas and most of his guests were American. We exchanged stories and he told me about a recent incident.
A group of young guys was staying with him. They had just finished college and were on a round-the-world trip to sample life beyond the confines of polite, middle-class America.
"Lambs to the slaughter."
That was how he described it.
There were five of them. Two had never been in a bar before. That was a new experience. What followed went far beyond anything they had imagined.
They bought beers and were sipping away when a young man approached their table. He was dressed in the latest fashionable gear and spoke English with an American accent. They got chatting and, after a few drinks, the young fellow produced some photographs of girls.
“What did they think of them?”
The boys said they looked pretty good. The young man said they could get to know them. The girls were keen to earn a bit of money. They charged for sex but at a very low price when expressed in American dollars.
"Only sixteen ... very clean."
Two of the boys had the good sense to leave at once and head back to the hostel. The others went off with their new friend. He found a taxi and they were taken to a small house in a run-down part of the city. A woman answered the door and they were shown into a poorly-lit room.
Five minutes passed and some girls arrived. They were not as good looking as those in the photographs but they were young and their price was even lower than the boys expected. They paid up. Their new friend vanished and the girls began to undress.
They knew no English but that didn’t matter. The young ladies knew about sex and were far more experienced than any of the boys. They formed pairs and were preparing for action when the police arrived.
Uniformed officers stormed into the room and issued dire warnings in English. Having sex with underage girls was a serious crime in China. They could go to jail for years.
The boys were shattered. Their parents would be told. Worse still, their folks would be obliged to pay a fortune in legal fees to get them off the charges. Not surprisingly, they were relieved to discover that there was a way out.
All they had to do was hand over every item of value in their possession, including credit cards. They agreed and were taken to cash machines. Their available funds were withdrawn, their shoes were taken from them and they were left beside the road, penniless and in bare feet.
There is a misconception about China. Some people think the country is ruled with an iron hand and there is no crime. Don't believe it. China has a law-and-order problem like everywhere else.
The men in police uniforms were perhaps police … perhaps not. The incident was never properly investigated. The boys were advised not to take it up with the Chinese authorities. They were too humiliated and embarrassed to report it to the American consulate.
3.4 Real Lesbian Vampire Killers
Okay. There's a movie with a similar name and you don't believe anything like it could happen in real life. So did a friend of mine and she has regretted it ever since.
She was working for a regional TV station and received a telephone call from a colleague. He had a bizarre story about a pack of lesbians who beheaded a man and drank his blood. Some women had been taken into police custody and were being questioned about a headless corpse in a riverside park. He couldn't vouch for anything but she would have a fantastic scoop if the story turned out to be true.
This was back in 1989. My friend knew I had contacts in the police. Could I make some enquiries and see what I could come up with?
I phoned around and failed to discover anything. My friend wasn't surprised. The story was too good to be true. It was the sort of false lead that media people give to others as a prank.
Two days later the story broke. It was true and very nasty. Five young women, embroiled in a lesbian relationship, had lured a forty-seven-year-old man to a park on the banks of the Brisbane River with promises of sex. Having got him there, they stabbed him 27 times. The attack was so brutal that he was almost decapitated. Uncorroborated testimony alleged that the ringleader of the group, Tracey Wiggington, drank the victim's blood.
The way in which the police solved the crime was as bizarre as the crime itself. The victim had undressed and a bankcard was found in his shoe ... but it was not his. The card belonged to one of his killers and that is how they were traced. It seems the man found the card lying on the ground while preparing for the sex romp that never came. Thinking it was his he placed it in his shoe.
I last heard of Ms Wigginton when she was released from custody after serving 23 years in prison.
If you don’t believe this story, do an internet search using tags: lesbian, vampire, killers, Brisbane, Tracey Wiggington, 1989.
Money laundering is what the bad guys do when they have dirty money from an illegal operation and want to wash it clean. This usually involves passing it off as the proceeds of a legitimate business.
Suppose you are a good guy, trying to make an honest living, and find yourself in competition with people who don’t care if they make a profit. If it suits their purpose, they will undercut you at every opportunity.
Some friends of mine found themselves in that position. Like me they had set up a backpacker hostel. I got into the industry through the diving industry. They were in banking in Melbourne and wanted to leave the cut-and-thrust life of the big city for a tranquil life in the tropical wonderland of North Queensland.
They bought their hostel with their savings and a bank loan. It was one of many in the tourist Mecca of the Whitsundays. Competition was fierce and they soon discovered that they had to take their hostel bus to the main bus station to pick up backpackers.
That was a revelation.
Hostels were competing to offer the lowest price. One was a huge resort and it was prepared to put people up for free. My friends didn’t lower their price and found there were people who associated dirt-cheap prices with dirt-cheap quality. They returned with a few customers but not as many as they had expected.
With their background, they were well-qualified to make enquiries. They soon discovered that the big resort's previous owners had gone bust. They'd spent a fortune setting up the place and had failed because there weren't enough up-market tourists to support their lavish project.
The new owners were running the establishment as a backpacker resort. They had taken out a huge bank loan. The interest payments were colossal. My friends decided there was no way they could service the debt from the resort’s takings. The logical conclusion was that they would soon go bust like the previous owners … but they didn’t.
Even with a ridiculously low bed price they stayed afloat. What about bar takings? Could they be sufficient? That seemed unlikely. If you want to make money from booze and food it doesn't make sense to put up your customers at a give-away price.
My friends went to have a look and discovered a lot of activity but not enough cash flow to satisfy the bank. Then their presence was noticed. While sipping drinks at the bar they were approached by one of the resort’s owners, told to stop snooping and clear off.
Months went by and the situation got worse. Fights were breaking out at the bus station and one driver had his leg broken when he was hit by a backpacker bus. The region's reputation, as a tourist destination, was under threat and the local authorities took steps to calm things down. They called a meeting of the warring parties and picked a hotel as a suitable venue.
The day of the meeting duly arrived and the participants turned up at the appointed hour. It wasn't difficult to tell them apart. The shire council people wore suits and the hostel owners were dressed in the smart casual attire that was fashionable in the tourist industry at the time.
They contrasted with the partners in the big resort who wore silk shirts, gold medallions and expensive watches that dangled ostentatiously from their ample wrists. The meeting got off to a bad start and ended abruptly when one of the hostel owners had a beer glass smashed in his face.
The attacker was a senior partner in the resort. A charge of assault was duly brought and he was summoned to appear in court. Before that could happen, the man fled the country to avoid arrest on drug-related charges. Interpol entered the act and he was extradited back to Australia.
As far as I can make out, he and his partners were working a scam that went something like this. The resort was purchased at a time of high inflation with money loaned from the bank. Black money from the sale of drugs was passed off as hostel takings and used to service the debt. Interest payments are tax deductible so nothing was lost to the tax office. If everything had gone according to plan, the black money would have reappeared as legitimate capital gain when the property was sold.
Our lives are becoming more complicated and this makes us vulnerable to predators and other dangers. Knowledge is the best defence. In short, we have to be streetwise. In this chapter, I highlight a few of the dangers facing us today.
Identity Theft
It is appallingly easy to have your identity stolen and that can cause serious problems. A friend of mine discovered this the hard way. She acquired a criminal record when the criminal who stole her identity went before the courts to answer charges of fraud committed in her name. The incident was traumatic and took months to resolve.
She advises:
1 Don’t put documents that can be used to establish identity in the recycle bin. Shred or otherwise destroy rate notices, bank statements, electricity bills etc.
2 Be exceedingly cautious when divulging sensitive information over the internet or telephone.
She is amazed that so much personal information is available through the social media. Amongst other things, people give birth dates and places of birth. These are the first things an identity thief will look for.
Assumed Identity
The world is full of John Does and Richard Roes. Some are very ordinary people. Others have special skills.
I recently learned of a medical centre who employed a doctor who lacked the necessary qualifications. He had the same name as a person whose name appeared on the graduation lists of an overseas university. Months went by before his deception was uncovered. His trick was to prescribe placebos to people with (seemingly) trivial complaints and refer the rest to specialists. Eventually, he sent too many people to the wrong specialist and was found out.
Phoney Qualifications
I worked as a journalist for several years, specialising in science and engineering. During that time, a leading newspaper decided to add a higher education supplement to its pages. They advertised for an editor and employed a fellow with a PhD in something or other. I met him. He was an entertaining guy and we got on well. But his newspaper job didn’t last. Someone took a look at his credentials and discovered that he was a graduate of a hitherto unknown American college. Further enquiries showed that he had set up the college and awarded himself its only degree. I found the incident amusing but hid my mirth. It was highly embarrassing to some very influential people and I didn’t want to ruffle their feathers.
Internet Fraud
1 By good luck, my wife was at hand to save me from disaster. Our email connection was giving trouble and she had been talking to Telstra (Australia's telecom) about the issue. So, when the phone rang and a man said he was from Telstra, I wasn't suspicious. He said he needed to connect to my computer and run some tests. I called my wife and she knew the routine. You must ask for the man's identification number then phone your telecom and check him out. The guy didn't check out. If he had got into to my computer, he could have gained access to banking and other sensitive information.
2 You pick up your phone and a man says your line is about to be disconnected because a bill has not been paid. You say you paid by internet transfer and are told that the funds were not received; if you don't pay immediately, the phone will be cut off and you will have to pay a hefty reconnection fee. However, this can be avoided by providing credit card details. You demand identification. The man says he can prove he is from telecom. "Please put down your phone and try to make a call. I will disconnect the line. When you find your phone is dead you will know I am genuine."
You do as you are told and find the line is dead. A minute later, he calls back. If you are taken in by the scam, you will believe that only a telecom employee can disconnect the line. This is not true. All your caller had to do was press his mute button and leave his phone turned on.
3 You are working with your computer and a message appears: Your Computer is Running Slow. Don’t be taken in by this sort of scam. The people posting the message want to sell you software. They don’t know if your computer is going slow or not What they do know is that all computers go slow if they get clogged with data. Computer operating systems have ways of dealing with the issue. Just go to your dashboard and follow the prompts. It won’t cost you anything.
Physical attack
1 Spiked drinks: Don't accept drinks from people you can't trust and don't leave your glass unattended in bars and at office parties, etc. Don't assume that the so-called "rape drug" is used exclusively for sex or that it is used exclusively against women. (Chapter 3.1)
2 Mugging: If a thief demands something, give it to him. Don't fight unless you are highly proficient in the martial arts. Even then, use caution. People have gone to jail for inflicting injuries on muggers. I'm personally aware of one case in which the legal fees far exceeded anything the mugger could have got from his victim. There are people who are paid to deal with muggers. They are called police and their advice is to throw the item (wallet etc.) in one direction and run in the other.
3. Fights: My karate instructor gave this advice: if attacked, fight your way out, run and make lots of noise ... elbows, knees and feet can deliver powerful blows ... biting and gouging are effective counter measures.
4 Vehicles (A): Don't leave your car unlocked. Women have returned to their cars and driven off only to find a man hiding on the back seat. Gangs are reported to have initiation ceremonies in which the initiate kidnaps a woman and takes her back to the clubhouse.
5 Vehicles (B): Don't leave children alone in cars. This is illegal in Australia where there is a serious risk of heat exhaustion. There is also a risk of kidnap. This poses problems for mothers with small children at filling stations. In a recent case (in the UK) a kidnap was averted when an observant staff member raised the alarm.
6. Vehicles (C): If you get in your car and see a piece of paper stuck to your rear window, be immediately suspicious. This technique is being used in the UK for carjacking. The aim is to get the driver out of the car with the keys still in the ignition. You can guess what happens next.
7. Vehicles (D): If you are driving along a remote country road and see a car pulled up with a forlorn looking woman and baby beside it, don't stop to offer assistance unless you are the sort of person who can handle a group of men with iron bars. I first learnt of this frightening scam from friends who had been holidaying in Spain. It has since spread to other countries. If you have the slightest doubts about the woman's predicament, drive on and use your phone to call the emergency services.
Rush of testosterone
In almost all societies, young males are far more likely to die violently than young females. Let's face it guys, we want a bit of excitement in our lives and sometimes get more than is good for us.
1 A night-on-the-town can be an attractive proposition, particularly when you are away from home and unlikely to encounter anyone you might know. The bright lights beckon and you meet an uninhibited bunch of girls who share your desire to know one another better. Beware, things aren't always what they seem (Chapter 3.2).
2 You want an enjoyable evening with friends. A nightclub beckons and all goes well until fights break out and one of your party falls victim to an unprovoked attack. An alarming number of young men have been seriously injured, even killed, in mindless violence. In many countries, the danger period is when the clubs close in the early hours of the morning. If such things don't happen where you live then you have nothing to worry about. Otherwise, heed the advice of the local authorities.
3 My karate instructor taught a way of dealing with attacks by a group intent on causing grievous bodily harm. He would pick one of us as the potential victim and get the rest of the class to mount an attack. If the victim got it right, he would identify a ringleader, grab him and use him as a human shield. His next trick was to tell the rest of the class that he would break the guy's arm if we didn’t clear off. I'm prepared to believe that such tactics work but prefer to stay out of situations where they might be needed.
Internet Dating
A recent enquiry in Australia was informed that, world-wide, more than 86 murders have been attributed to internet dating. The dating can be as innocent as through Facebook of as blatant as an on-line sex club. Motives are as varied as robbery to rape and murder.
Acting Superintendent Scott Manley gave the following advice:
“Responsible and respectful social networking, including meeting people online for dating is not discouraged by the police however caution is recommended when transitioning to the non-virtual world … Circumstances or people may not be as they appear online and criminals can use this to dupe unsuspecting people into parting with money or placing themselves in a vulnerable or unsafe position. … Make sure you advise others such as friends or family and take other measures to ensure that you are safe such as ensuring that you travel and meet in public and visible places.”
Bullying
Learn how to deal with bullying. It has become a serious problem on social media sites. If necessary, seek expert advice. Never forget that bullies are SICK, SICK, SICK individuals who crave power. Your best defence is to ignore them. Privacy settings often enable you to shut bullies out. If they don't work, click logoff and don't log back in. Find nicer people to mix with.
Note to Readers
If you have advice of your own, send it to me and I’ll post it on my blog. I can be contacted at: mikejkdixon@bigpond.com
The notorious criminal organisation arose in Sicily and spread throughout Italy. Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini put it down but it resurfaced after his death, in 1945, and steadily extended its reach. A sceptical Italian electorate was suspicious of Mafia involvement in the running of their country but hard evidence was difficult and dangerous to obtain.
That changed, in the early 1990s, when the Red Brigade came on the scene. The communist-inspired terrorist group kidnapped and murdered prominent politicians and others it regarded as “enemies of the people”. Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti established an elite force to hunt it down and its members went about their work with coolness and precision. They eliminated the Red Brigade then turned their attention to the Mafia.
That was a disaster for Andreotti. The Mafia bosses squealed when they were taken into custody and all sorts of information came out. Andreotti was implicated. Some even called him the “boss of bosses” … the greatest Mafia Godfather ever.
His ruling Christian Democratic Party disintegrated. And it didn’t end there. The opposition socialists were found to be similarly tainted. They fell apart and the resulting upheaval bro