Karaoke Hijinks, Tragedy, Mansion House

A fifteen-year old girl who had modeled for a youth magazine gets drunk for the first time. She spends a night out with friends with her phone off, then comes home the next morning dizzy, with blurry vision, and vomiting.

Di [the girl] admitted to being offered drinks of the brand Mansion at a karaoke parlor in Central Bogor. Apparently, Friday afternoon Di and a schoolmate, Me, went there to meet a friend, Den, who works at the parlor. [Di's mother:] "According to Me, Den invited another friend, Dik. Di might have wanted to try drinking because she never had before. Then was forced to keep drinking, who knows why." The Mansion Di drank was mixed with a soft drink. After being forced to drink until four bottles [!] of Mansion were finished, Di said her chest hurt and she was dizzy. When she asked to be taken home, Dik prevented her and suggested they spend the night in a hotel.

By noon the next day, she dies at a hospital.

  Let me say, four (invariably pint) bottles of Mansion House, whether the vodka or whiskey version (both supposedly 80 proof), is a staggering amount in this context. I am a fairly large man by local standards, and at the time definitely not a lightweight drinkwise, yet one and a half of these bottles would usually put me to bed. Even shared with three or four other teen girls, the amount she drank was shocking.
  For a time, I was drinking this firewater quite regularly. I had discovered a local store -- a shack with the dimensions of a kid's treehouse -- that dispensed it. This is tax-free, unregulated, illegal stuff. Either the quality decreased over time or my body stopped being able to filter it, because I developed strange red lesions, no bigger than dimes, all over my body but especially my legs and upper arms. I had two separate biopsies, one here and one in the US, which were frustratingly inconclusive. Convinced a lifetime of psoriasis would be my fate, I recovered completely after I stopped drinking it.
  Incidentally, the Indonesia biopsy led to one of the more comical moments of my time here, as I had to wander around the hospital looking for the correct bank teller-windowed depository carrying a plastic bag of clear liquid with an M&M-size chunk of my flesh floating in it like a goldfish you win at a fair.

[Kompas 3 Mei 2012 p.27, "Minuman Keras Renggut Nyawa Siswi Itu"]

Wrong Line of Work - Pilih Pekerjaan Lain

Over the last week or two, it has come to light that Indonesian commercial aircraft crews include a number of meth users. The latest to be caught had an interesting excuse:

Early Saturday morning, police arrested SS, a Lion Air pilot, at the Garden Palace Hotel in Surabaya for using methamphetamine. At six o'clock that same morning, he was to pilot a flight from Surabaya to Makassar. Under BNN [=Indonesian DEA] interrogation, SS admitted that he used meth to overcome his fear of flying.

... and increase said fear for would-be passengers in Indonesia.

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Selama minggu-minggu terakhir, dibongkar konsumsi sabu di golongan awak pesawat terbang. Yang barusan ditangkap beralasan yang cukup menarik:

Polisi menangkap SS, pilot maskapai Lion Air di Garden Palace Hotel Surabaya, Sabtu (4/2) dini hari. SS ditangkap karena terbukti mengonsumpsi sabu. Padahal pada pukul 06.00 WIB, ia harus menerbangkan pesawat dari Surabaya menuju Makassar. Dari pemeriksaan Badan Narkotika Nasional (BNN), SS mengaku mengonsumsi sabu untuk mengatasi rasa takut terbang.

... dan meningkatkan rasa tersebut bagi penumpang maskapai-maskapai Indonesia.

[Republika 9 Feb 2012 p.1]

Locked Up Abroad: "Drug Party Raided" - Dipenjarakan di Negara Orang: "Pesta Ganja Digerebek"

Five kids are busted in North Kuta by Balinese cops for 820 grams of weed and 4.6 grams of hash. An American, 19, a Dutchman, 21, a German, 19, and two Indonesians, 19 and 20.

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Lima pemuda ditangkap di Kuta Utara oleh polisi Bali untuk kepemilikan 820 gram ganja dan 4.6 gram hash. Merupakan orang America, 19, orang Belanda, 21, orang Jerman, 19, dan dua orang Indonesia, 19 dan 20.

[Kompas 1 July p.22]

Grisly Scene - Gambar Seram

A male high school student's body has been discovered. The usual scene of crowding bystanders with nothing better to do cuts to the stretcher being carried by a medical team. The viewer can see clearly the hand of the corpse dangling stiffly.

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Seorang siswa SMA ditemukan tewas. Pemandangan biasa, ramai orang iseng. Lalu kamera pindah ke kurung batang, dari mana pemirsa dapat melihat tangan jenazah bergantung kaku.

["Patroli" 21 July 11:42]

AP: Chinese Official Dies In Drinking Binge - Pesta Miras, Pejabat Cina Tewas

Another is in a coma. AP report concludes:

Last year, a family planning official in central Hunan province died after drinking with fellow officials at a karaoke bar. He was posthumously awarded a merit award for dying "with honor."

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Satu orang lain dalam koma. Laporan AP berujung demikian:

Tahun lalu, seorang PNS KB di propinsi Hunan Tengah meninggal akibat minum dengan rekan-rekan kerja di bar karaoke. Kemudian almarhum diberikan gelar untuk "meninggal dengan hormat."