Image via WikipediaJust how easily can many be swayed... by fraudsters!
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1 May 2011
Taken from bbc.co.uk; source article is below:
Taiwan doomsday prophet's blog sparks panic
2 days ago
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Police in Taiwan are investigating a self-proclaimed prophet whose doomsday warnings on a blog have caused panic.
The man, identifying himself as Teacher Wang, said Taiwan would be struck by a magnitude-14 earthquake and 170m (560ft) high tsunami on 11 May.
More than 100 cargo containers have been bought and set up in a mountainous area of central Taiwan.
Police said they were investigating if the blogger had conspired with a container business to defraud people.
"Teacher Wang" suggested people live in such containers to survive the disaster, which he said would kill millions of people and split the island in half.
'Hide my face'Taiwan's famous Taipei 101 skyscraper and the Presidential Office building would be toppled, he warned.
More than 100 cargo containers have been discovered in the town of Puli, Nantou county.
Workers had been hired to fit them with doors, windows and air conditioning, says the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei.
The containers cost about $5,500 (£3,300) each, once water and electricity are included, our correspondent adds.
Taiwan is in a quake zone. In 1999 a 7.6-magnitude tremor killed more than 2,400 people and damaged 50,000 buildings.
But Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau says there is no basis for the doomsday prediction, since a magnitude-14 tremor is unheard of, and quakes cannot be reliably predicted.
Officials say Japan's recent devastating quake and tsunami may have led fraudsters to exploit people's fears.
The police have not been able to trace "Teacher Wang", who had touted his theory to TV reporters but insisted his face not be shown.
The authorities have removed his doomsday warnings from the internet.
Fraud convictions carry a maximum five-year jail term while breaking the law on social order is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, said Taiwanese police.
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Image via Wikipedia
KUALA LUMPUR - Close to a quarter, or 22 per cent, of urban Malaysians say they have broken up with someone via Short Message Service (SMS) while 20 per cent say they were dumped by their partners via SMS.
In a recent survey by research company Synovate, 39 per cent said that they had flirted with their partners through SMS while 49 per cent admitted to lying about their location or being late through SMS.
Over 8,000 people from 11 countries including Malaysia, Russia, France, Taiwan, the Philippines, United Kingdom and Singapore took part in the survey, which explored the attitudes of men and women toward mobile phones and factors surrounding their choices.
"It's clear that urban Malaysians opt for a non-confrontational approach when it comes to dealing with difficult and sometimes touchy situations," said Mr Steve Murphy, managing director of Synovate Malaysia.
"They find it easier to express themselves through a text message as oppose to face-to-face communication."
Close to half, or 49 per cent, of urban Malaysians also found it easier to say "no" to something they did not want to do via SMS.
The survey revealed that urban Malaysians preferred using a keypad instead of a touch screen-based phone.
About 61 per cent of respondents rated taking pictures as the most popular mobile phone related leisure activity, followed by 43 per cent who said they played games and 38 per cent who downloaded or listened to music.
Urban Malaysians were also found to have a strong attachment to their mobile phones, with 66 per cent admitting that they never leave home without it while 62 per cent said that they sleep with their mobile phones close by.
"We compared views of urban Malaysian mobile phone owners against other nationalities and found similarities across different nations," said Mr Murphy.
"With the exception of urban Taiwanese, all other urban mobile phone owners said that they never leave home without their mobiles.
"Urban Filipinos found it the hardest to turn off their mobiles while urban English (47 per cent) and Russian (40 per cent) mobile phone owners flirted with their partners the most through text messaging or SMS. Interestingly enough, over a quarter (26 per cent) of urban Singaporeans (the highest across all markets) were found to have flirted with someone who was not their partner via SMS." THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
From TODAY, World – Wednesday, 16-Sep-2009
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Channel NewsAsia - Friday, May 15
SINGAPORE: Three quarters of Singaporeans said they will not cut back on their mobile phone use during the downturn. That’s because, going by a survey result, the mobile phone is quite an indispensable social tool.
Half of those surveyed in India and China will propose to their partner over the phone. But it’s a no—no for nine in 10 Singaporeans, according to a survey by Microsoft Windows Mobile.
However, when it comes to break—ups one in 10 thinks it’s okay to do it via phone messaging.
The survey also found that most people use their phones everywhere. 65 per cent of Singaporeans use it even when they’re in the toilet. Meanwhile, nine in 10 will answer calls when having a meal with someone.
But one instance where Singaporeans prefer not to be disturbed is in bed during intimate moments. 93 per cent will not take that call. That’s the highest across six Asian cities. For example, one in five Taiwanese will answer the phonecall.
One in 10 respondents has also shot a voyeuristic picture or video with their phones.
The survey also found that about half of all respondents used their phones to flirt with someone who is not their partner nor their spouse. That’s the highest percentage compared to similar surveys done in India, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. —CNA/vm
From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.
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