The Electric New Paper :
Search continues for missing boy, 12
'I can make killer croc surrender'
IT had been three days since the 12-year-old boy was snatched by a crocodile while he was swimming at a river just 200m away from his house in Kampung Bako Ulu, Sarawak.
09 September 2006
IT had been three days since the 12-year-old boy was snatched by a crocodile while he was swimming at a river just 200m away from his house in Kampung Bako Ulu, Sarawak.
Though hundreds of policemen, rescue personnel and volunteers alike have been scouring the area since Sunday, they have yet to find any trace of Mohd Azwam Hatta who was seen being dragged away by a crocodile 'as big as a boat'.
But Tuesday night, their morale got a major a boost when a frail 70-year-old man came into the picture, reported The New Straits Times.
'COMMUNICATES WITH CROCS'
Mr Cheek Inu, a renowned bomoh (medium) and crocodile hunter, is now on the hunt.
He is reputed to have an uncanny ability to 'communicate' with the reptiles and make them follow his orders, and has even made headlines in the UK.
Mr Cheek arrived at the scene of the attack late on Tuesday and has been 'in communication' with the reptile but has requested more time to enable him to 'persuade' the killer to surrender.
'Sarawakians know him as the No 1 bomoh buaya. He has done it before and we are relieved that he could make it here.
'You cannot simply discount his ability because he has proven himself before. We hope he can do it again,' a senior policeman, who wished not to be identified, said.
He is currently travelling around in a Fire and Rescue Department boat and is escorted by M16-armed policemen.
Kampung Bako Ulu headman Saili Othman, 63, said that Mr Cheek had made a few trips to the spot where the boy was snatched and had requested others to keep away from the area.
'We have cordoned the area and have barred the villagers from going there. No one is permitted to enter the area so that Haji Cheek can do his job without any disturbance.
'We hope that you guys (media) will be patient and not disturb him. He does not want to be interviewed yet,' Mr Saili told the reporters and TV crew who have camped at the jetty.
In one of the famous incidents six years ago, Mr Cheek and his disciples made headlines throughout the region when they coaxed a killer 5.5m crocodile to 'surrender' after the beast had attacked and killed a 10-year-old Iban girl in Gedong.
It later died on the spot the girl died.
The bomoh, who is the unofficial consultant for many VIPs in the state has only said: 'Be patient.'
Family members of the victim, Kampung Bako Ulu villagers and everybody who has been following the latest crocodile attack in the state are doing just that - patiently awaiting the fate of the boy who was supposed to have sat for his UPSR (PSLE equivalent) examinations on Monday.
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