The Ugly Malaysian

[topdog]

If ever there's evidence that at least some Malaysians enjoy FIRST WORLD comforts with THIRD WORLD mentality, this is it.

From Jeff Ooi's Screenshots: Charge Employers for Attempted Murder (http://www.jeffooi.com/archives/002008.php)

Eastern values my ass.

I have the temptation to say in disgust that how a human being can do such a thing, but being knowledgeable about human behavior is really brings point to the saying "ignorance is bliss".

The fact is that people with power that is unchecked often abuse it, as the cliche 'power corrupts' (I think it's more accurate to say unchecked power corrupts).

I believe that most foreigns maids are abused to some degree, of course not to the degree of the picture showned in topdog's post.

One interesting note is that it is most maid abuses are committed by a female member of the family (based on the various media reports). Any theory on this?

[topdog]

I believe that most foreigns maids are abused to some degree, of course not to the degree of the picture showned in topdog's post.
the fact is, indonesian maids are treated like commodities, starting with teh maid agencies.

the lucky ones get employers with at least some form of a conscience, the unlucky ones get nasty employers, the really wretched ones find themselves abused by bastards such as these.

the problem with many malaysians is the mentality that just because they paid for something (in this case, a maid), they can do anything with it. notice how people brazenly smoke in restaurants with no-smoking signs right above their heads? "i paid to eat here, i can do whatever i want!"

for this particular case, i propose no less than 20 strokes of the cane for the employers, plus 10 years in prison.

for this particular case, i propose no less than 20 strokes of the cane for the employers, plus 10 years in prison.

Ah, too bad the woman cannot legally be caned, but it's highly likely that she'll be abused in prison (since nearly all inmates in the Malaysian prisons are abused anyways).

I believe it's a systematic failure of our government and society to ensure fair and humane treatment of foreign employees. A simple step to remedy this problem is to educate all foreign employees on how to seek help, and when to seek help. Most low-wage employees, being poorly-educated themselves, are often victims of abuse because they do not know how or are too afraid to seek help.

[Thirdshifter]

I wonder if any of the mainstream media is making a big deal out of this. Maybe the businessman is well connected? i won't be surprised if they got of easy.

[aquila]

i know what you mean... my maid ran away from her former employer... paid her RM300... expected her to do work worth RM 1000... couldnt touch the baby but expected to jaga the baby... what da heck??? employer said she smelled, dirty blabla...

so when my mom hired the maid... she's awesome btw... most diligent and had a lot of initiative... best thing about her was that she took care of my dog and loved him as I do, probably more... she was really grateful to my mom most of all i think.... because of her past experiences... also, my mom gave her a RM100 raise after a few years... we also sponsored her trip back home... alas, she got pregnant after going back to indonesia... we had to ship her back

[topdog]

I wonder if any of the mainstream media is making a big deal out of this.
utusan is (at least, the online version)
KUALA LUMPUR 19 Mei - Kisah penderaan ke atas seorang pembantu rumah rakyat Indonesia semalam yang dizalimi tanpa hati perut - dijirus air menggelegak, ditekap seterika panas, dipukul dengan besi berbara tiada bezanya dengan perbuatan tentera penceroboh di penjara Abu Gharib, Iraq.

Cuma yang membezakannya ialah ia berlaku di Malaysia - negara yang kononnya mempunyai rakyat bertimbang rasa dan penuh kasih sayang.

Tetapi melihatkan gambar yang tertera di akhbar ini, di manakah perginya semua sifat itu? Persoalannya, apa sudah jadi dengan masyarakat kita?

Mengapakah manusia yang lemah seorang pembantu rumah yang mencuci punggung anak kita dan bermanja dengan mereka sanggup diperlakukan seperti binatang?

Nirmala Bonat, 19, warga Indonesia yang tiba di negara ini dengan harapan mencari nafkah halal, akhirnya terpaksa melarikan diri meminta pertolongan.

Gadis berasal dari Nusa Tenggara Timur, Kupang, Indonesia itu dipercayai didera teruk oleh majikan wanitanya sejak lima bulan lalu semasa bekerja di sebuah kondominium di Jalan Sultan Ismail di sini.

Mangsa, antara lain, melecur pada kedua-dua buah dadanya akibat ditekap dengan seterika panas.

Bahagian belakang badan mangsa melecur teruk disiram air panas.

Begitu juga kedua-dua belah tangannya melecur akibat direndam dalam air panas.

``Saya terpaksa melarikan diri selepas tidak tahan dipukul setiap hari oleh majikan sejak lima bulan lalu,'' katanya kepada wartawan hari ini setelah menerima perlindungan di Kedutaan Indonesia di sini.

Menurutnya, dia mula didera selepas tiga bulan bekerja dengan pasangan suami isteri yang mempunyai empat orang anak itu.

``Kali pertama saya didera berpunca dari kesilapan kecil iaitu memecahkan sebiji cawan menyebabkan majikan saya berang lalu menyimbah air panas ke badan saya.

``Sejak itu sekurang-kurangnya sekali sehari saya dipukul walaupun ia hanya melibatkan kesalahan remeh-temeh,'' ceritanya.

Nirmala menambah, dia datang ke Malaysia melalui ejen pekerjaan yang sah untuk bekerja sebagai pembantu rumah pada September 2003.

Sebelum dihantar bekerja, katanya, dia terlebih dahulu dikehendaki menjalani latihan oleh ejen berkenaan selama dua minggu.

``Selesai latihan saya terus dihantar bekerja dan tidak menyangka akan dilayan dengan buruk oleh mereka,'' ujarnya.

Menurut Nirmala, perbuatan kejam seperti disiram dengan air panas, dipukul dengan benda keras atau menggunakan besi panas, hanya dilakukan oleh majikan wanita berkenaan yang tidak bekerja.

Majikan wanitanya itu juga didakwa telah memaksa Nirmala menandatangani sepucuk surat yang mengatakan Nirmala mencederakan dirinya sendiri bagi mengelakkan perbuatan itu terdedah.

Tambahnya, suami majikan wanita itu yang bekerja dengan sebuah syarikat perdagangan, tidak berbuat apa-apa walaupun dia mengetahui tindakan kejam isterinya.

Berikutan tidak tahan dengan penderaan yang dilakukan, Nirmala bertindak nekad melarikan diri apabila mendapat peluang berbuat demikian semalam.

``Pada pukul 3 petang semalam majikan saya sekali lagi mendera saya dengan memukul kepala saya menggunakan cawan besi sehingga bengkak kerana tidak puas hati dengan pakaian yang digosok.

``Dalam kekecohan itu saya berkesempatan melarikan diri keluar dari rumah itu dan bersembunyi di salah satu tingkat kondominium tersebut sebelum ditemui seorang pengawal keselamatan,'' katanya.

Pengawal keselamatan di kondominium itu menghubungi polis yang kemudian mengambil Nirmala untuk membuat laporan sebelum dihantar ke Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).

Selepas dirawat gadis itu diserahkan kepada Kedutaan Indonesia sementara menunggu siasatan polis.

Ketua Polis Daerah Dang Wangi, Asisten Komisioner Hadi Ho Abdullah mengesahkan polis telah menahan wanita majikan Nirmala berusia 34 tahun untuk membantu siasatan.

source:http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2004&dt=0520&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_01.htm(has images of abused maid).

[budakkerek]

and we say we are such a "masyarakat penyayang" :roll:

[tuinkle]

The Stanford Prisoner's experiment done in the early 70s by Dr. Zimbardo illustrates that "unchecked power corrupts" due to different set and setting conditions, but it doesn't give the abusers any right or reason to do so.

Quoting CyberJaya: "I think this is an isolated case. I would expect that this
kind of abuse happens everywhere and is not limited only to Malaysians."

Even if this were "an isolated case" of "unchecked power," and even if "this kind of abuse happens everywhere," we can't just let it slide. As I mentioned in my strayed new thread that I posted earlier, book smarts and monetary status has been a priority, but humaneness, imho, is under-emphasized/missing from the equation.

I've been taught since young, to not call these people, who cross the seas mostly with good intentions and high hopes, 'maids' but helpers. Words have power- they make a difference.

[The_Observer]

Man, when I saw the pictures...OMG...she looks no better than some of the cadavers in my uni's dissection room.

To think that a Malaysian did that...did she use a scalpel or something?

Bloody shocker...

Verdict: Guilty for assault, causing bodily harm, attempted murder.
Punishment: fine + rotan + jail (at least 5 years)

We must set an example for the nation. This case has wide publicity, should seize opportunity to send a 'message'.

[topdog]

so far, no report on the employers' arrest...what is going on?

i have never been more ashamed to be malaysian.

[yekban81]

The employer's wife had been detained since Tuesday 18th.

http://thestar.com.my/news/nastory.asp?file=/2004/5/20/nation/8016283&sec=nation

I couldn't imagine how a sane employer can do such inhuman acts on her maid unless the employer is really mentally ill.

[pandaboy]

The employer's wife had been detained since Tuesday 18th.

http://thestar.com.my/news/nastory.asp?file=/2004/5/20/nation/8016283&sec=nation

I couldn't imagine how a sane employer can do such inhuman acts on her maid unless the employer is really mentally ill.

she's really crazy..... how one earth a person will do such a thing? and in malaysia??? this kind of ppl around....damn scary...

[Randomphantom]

omg.. are these people even HUMAN? truly shocked...

Sad fact is, those agencies in charge of bringing these foreign maids are rarely scrutinised by the government (eg bringing in under/overaged maids) and they would (most of them) probably think last of looking after their welfare, preferring instead to ship as many maids possible to meet demands.

These incidences only goes unnoticed in our society unlike child abuse/1sexual assault because of their seemingly lower social standing. Worse is, they desperately need to stay on to be able to feed their poor families, having no reliable authority to turn to. Those that are less desperate, run away.

As for the employer being mentally ill, from what I observe from the 'abuse' cases around me(of course, with much less severity), senility sometimes play a part too :P[/quote]

[budakkerek]

when i saw the pics, i thought she was one of the Iraqi POWs (honestly, no joke!). cant imagine how come the husband didint say a thing..Like, what is he? a dummy (pun intended LOL)

Anyway, i hope the lady get max punishment (though it seems to be kinda impossible, her husband's one big shot). the husband should be charged w assisting to attempeted murder..Ppl like these, shouldnt be allowed to walk on the face of this earth again...

i mmg kesian the indon maid..like...sedihnya...Memalukan Msia only these 2 crazie ppl :evil:

[DecentMerson]

Man, when I saw the pictures...OMG...she looks no better than some of the cadavers in my uni's dissection room.

To think that a Malaysian did that...did she use a scalpel or something?

Bloody shocker...

Verdict: Guilty for assault, causing bodily harm, attempted murder.
Punishment: fine + rotan + jail (at least 5 years)

We must set an example for the nation. This case has wide publicity, should seize opportunity to send a 'message'.

can't agree more.... not only we must make sure that this case will send a message thru... and to make this to be even more effective, it should be fast.... real fast... i see a flaw in the judicial system in this country is that the process is too slow, the nation seems to forget about it and those insane freak will start to think that they can get away from those crazy stuff they did... just like the case of Canny Ong... how long does it take and where is it going???

there's a chinese saying which goes (Da Tie Chen Re) which means shape the iron when is hot... when the topic is hot and widely discussed, it is best to make a verdict and let everybody knows that nobody can flee from his or her crime....

and i would like to ask for the maid's forgiveness...and ppl with maids or helpers at home, pls treat them well... they are just like us...and they are much unfortunate than us...try to put urself in their shoes (to travel abroad at a young age, to work for long hours but treated badly, to face all the emotional distress)

employers abusing helpers is no new topic, just that this is tooo MUCH... WAY TOOO MUCH.... and it is the very extreme of all cases...

[budakkerek]

hmm..mebbe a public apology from the majikan to the maid..that'd really teach others n the majikans themselves not to do such a thing. EVER

[fish]

Very shocking!

Honestly, I am embarassed that Malaysia has such a person. Is the employer mentally ill or just plain evil? And the girl is just 19 years old. How can she live the rest of her life with all these scars and trauma? Mentally and physically?

The employer should be given the maximum penalty. This should serve as an example to others, not to even try abuse their maids.

[topdog]

remember, the biatch's husband is a well-to-do, ostensibly well-connected man. we must not let the outrage die down and allow this case to slip away unnoticed!

they can imprison a thousand irene fernandezes, but they cannot take away our eyes and our mind. keep our eyes open!

[gal_flower]

hmmm...tads the mentality some malaysians haf i guess...they think they can do anything to a human being coz they paid for her services...n coz she's a foreigner...wad if the maid is a msian too? would they still do that? sometimes it makes me wonder how corrupted our world n our nation has become...

[naturesimple]

i tried to see n comprehend everything on this issue from the angel of the employer's wife, n the result is .... physco.

[ElansarGelmir]

The employer should bear responsible on all the medical expenses on the maid, and on top of that, pay a heavy penalty to her.

#joking
Let's be a little cruel... Why don't we give the maid the chance to abuse her employer? Make the employer serve the maid for the rest of her life? Hehe... Ok, cut the crap!

[masterof_none]

Malaysians can send the cruel housewife to Indonesia to become a maid there, for at least ,15 years. (or more)

[topdog]

this is the suspected abuser:
http://www.utusan.com.my/pix/2004/0522/Utusan_Malaysia/Dalam_Negeri/dn_01_big.jpg

source: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2004&dt=0522&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Dalam_Negeri&pg=dn_01.htm[/img]

[Thirdshifter]

So here's a stupid question to those who wanted death penalty for rapers.

Does death penalty seems to be the right thing to do in this case? We can clearly see the impact of this abuse had done to this Maid mentally and psychically.

Or rape is worst then this?

[pandaboy]

take a look at this
http://202.186.86.35/special/abusefeedback/comments.asp?page=1

I believed she tortured herself to gain sympathy from the public to take revenge against her employer. Only by torturing herself, everyone will believe on what they see and not the reality. We may be blindfolded by her action. The true will prevail as her employer's children have testified that this maid had tortured herself. Children's testimonial are always correct and genuine. They can't tell lies when the police officers questioned them several times on a same question. If an employer has such a "time-bomb" maid with them, this can be a really nightmare for them. Some Indonesians are not educated. I'm not surprised if they come out and torture themself to enable their employer to be "ruined" and they can win the sympathised from the people. Then she can fly home with more money she earned in few months.[she is a millionaire in few months back in Indonesia] [5/21/04 1:35:08 AM]
JTC, Singapore

self-inflicted ??? what do u guys think?

[Randomphantom]

Well that doesn't explain why she doesn't show any compassion about the so called self-inflicted torture. A quick rush to the hospitals and therapist would do. Why would she torture herself in front of the children, duh. Oh, and she would gain million dollars of sympathy money right, all because of self torture.

PSYCHO!

er.. what does the death penalty do with this issue here? I do agree, strike while the irons hot. Yet it is so typical of people to focus on pertinent issues only when it is too late eg Canny Ong. At least she wasn't abused to death...shiver

[ElansarGelmir]

There's once this case in Singapore or KL, the maid injured her own hand severely with a knife. She then filed a report against her employers, because she wanted a lump sum of money from them. The employers were almost persecuted, until they found the video camera that recorded the maid's self injured action.

[pandaboy]

this is crazy!!!!
if the maid really did this to herself...she must be a really really crazy person.....to cause the injuries to herself ....and to frame her employer! her employer might get whipping and jail terms ler!!!

[ElansarGelmir]

this is crazy!!!!
if the maid really did this to herself...she must be a really really crazy person.....to cause the injuries to herself ....and to frame her employer! her employer might get whipping and jail terms ler!!!

For the love of money is the root of all evil....

[USSDefiantNX74205]

No offense guys, but the guy who wrote that piece pandaboy posted might have a point. What if the injuries WERE self inflicted? That's why I refrain from commenting or criticizing the employer until the court has given its verdict. The court may not be 100% right, but I guess it will do an investigation first. This reminds me of the anger Malaysians vented out against rapists earlier this year. The public (and media) even went as far as branding suspects in the cases as 'evil', 'monsters' and 'animals'. Then again what if they're (the suspects) innocent? They are just suspects and are innocent until proven guilty, right?

[topdog]

That's why I refrain from commenting or criticizing the employer until the court has given its verdict. The court may not be 100% right, but I guess it will do an investigation first.
this is true in theory; however, it is contingent on the guaranteed impartiality and transparency of the judiciary (not to mention the police force).

husband's a managing director, rich guy, presumably with connections. let's keep our eyes open.

[topdog]

another viewpoint. source: http://www.mggpillai.com/article.php3?sid=1935

Maid abuse and trial by hysteria


AN INDONESIAN MAID IS tortured and abused. This is not new. Abusing and torturing of foreign maids is taken for granted. No one cares. No one bothers. Apart from a few non-governmental organisations. The government keeps a stiff upper lip. says nothing. Then, last week it comes to light that a teen-aged Indonesian maid named Nirmala Bonat had been horribly tortured and disfigured. It hits the front pages of Malaysia's newspapers. And a hysteria is let loose. Government ministers and others outdid each other to express shock and concern; the NGOs ever shrill to make a point; the newspaper editorials and reports whip up a frenzy; the Attorney-General promises a swift trial and a prospect of 67 years in jail. This threat is part of the trial by hysteria. Law and order has all but broken down. The police cannot do what they must. It forms a 1,000 man force to protect the high and mighty, after a few embassies and residences were robbed. Hysteria led to its formation. But would this help? Not on your life. The police are nowhere to be seen. A mere police presence is enough to deter the wrong doer. The police have decided that the foreigner is more important than the local, his security more important than yours or mine.

Malaysia has long seized to believe in the sanctity of the law and of justice. The Anwar Ibrahim trials and high profile cases where the chief justice goes on holidays with the lawyer for a prominent business man but would not recuse when requested topped the public's contempt for justice in Malaysian courts. There are hundreds more. It is reflected in peculiar ways. Malaysian corporations, when signing contracts, insist on disputes adjudicated by foreign arbitration. The system has broken down. The blame for that must be laid on the former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, who did not have a sense of history, did not understand or care how the system worked, and cared not if it broke down the system. All that mattered to him was this his dictates were implicity obeyed. He did not understand government, nor its workings, nor its history. It is system that provides continuity. In any endeavour the individual should fit into the system, not the other way around. If the system must be changed, an alternative must be at hand. This is what the People's Action Party did in Singapore. This is what Malaysia did not do. This is what the United States did not in Iraq.

So when problems arise, attention is to resolve them at any cost, rather than address if the policy behind it was flawed. For a good reason. No one knows what the policy is. Ministers and civil servants have given up the ghost. When issues like messy traffic accidents, or abused Indonesian maids, or rapes in national service camps, the reaction is the same: engineered but controlled mass hysteria. It erupts as a teacup in a storm and as quickly disappears, usually with no solution. The case of Nirmala Bonat is no different. But the hysteria is sustained also for a cynical purpose: the coming UMNO elections. It allows the UMNO office seekers in the government to tell their voters that they care and they should not forget it when it is election time. The Prime Minister has shown his concern, so has every member of the cabinet. The rule of law is emphasised. The ministers threaten a review of the laws governing foreign maids. Once it was rape. In the ensuing hysteria, one or two arrested were made an example, sentenced to two or more life terms. No one talks of rape these days, although it continues as before. So in this case, though the promised minimum sentence is three life terms.

The book is thrown at the hapless woman who abused her. I do not for a moment excuse her conduct. What she did was wrong. She should be tried, and if convicted, given an exemplary sentence. But she should not be subjected to the mass hysteria that surrounds her. Justice is best served when it is an every day matter, dispensed calmly and void of histrionics or hysteria. The Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patel, had no right to comment on the case as he did yesterday (21 May 2004). "I want justice to be done. We will ask for the maximum sentence, and definitely for the sentence to run consecutively," he said. Bail will be opposed. A senior prosecutor is assigned to prosecute. If that is how the Attorney-General's Chambers want to handle it, that is fine. But when he says what he intends to do, he puts pressure on the sessions court judge trying her, a not-too-subtle warning that if he does not convict and impose the maximum sentence, then his future cannot be bright in the legal and judicial service. If justice was his aim, which clearly it is not, he should have done all this without cover of publicity and hysteria.

The system is so badly corrupted that silence, especially amongst the highest holders of any office, is not an option. If the political masters decide on a course of action, everyone in any authority must follow without question. The political decision is taken to destroy the then deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, politically and personally, at any cost. The judiciary agreed. The chief justice of the day decided that he cannot defy the political masters. Especially when he presided over the drumming out of his predecessor, and made justice beholden to the political executive. In the Anwar case, the judiciary had creative reasons why it could not be relied upon to judge the case on its merits. When the chief justice and the second highest political figure in the land could be subject to so much injustice, what hope is there for the common man? With this mass hysteria, the accused woman cannot hope for a fair trial. The retort that she does not deserve it is neither here nor there.

This mass hysteria is deliberately engineered, for political and other reasons, to which parties with a vested interest helped to embellish. In times past, the newspapers would have been hauled over the coals, by the Attorney-General no less, to cease and desist if they commented, as they have done, on this horrific case of abuse. Today, he joins the fray. It is a forgone conclusion that the abuser of Nirmala Bonat would be convicted and severely punished. Would it enhance justice? Hardly. Would it prevent other Nirmala Bonats from such abuse? Hardly. Would Malaysia be reputed for its judicial system? Hardly. When justice becomes a nine-day wonder, it reflects its non-existence, not that it flourishes. The chief justice should have stepped in to prevent this hysteria. He did not. The law minister should have stepped in. He did not. But when the Prime Minister himself gets into the act, what did you expect them to do?

[pandaboy]

wah..... that means this case will be very susah lor...
wonder if justice will be served or the truth will prevail or not...

[gunners]

What if the injuries WERE self inflicted?

LOL! let's see...
---
Menurut Augustin, kes ini merupakan kes pertama di Malaysia di mana seseorang didakwa mengikut Seksyen 326 Kanun Keseksaan yang melibatkan seorang mangsa yang sama.

Tambahnya, kecederaan yang dialami oleh Nirmala amat serius dan daripada laporan perubatan telah menunjukkan bahawa puting buah dadanya sudah tertanggal.

Augustin menyatakan bahawa puting buah dada mangsa tidak boleh dipulihkan lagi.

Utusan Online 23 Mei 2004
---

Well , dawg , will ya cut ya own penis for RM 1 million or something? Hurm.. intetesting eh?

[ElansarGelmir]

Hmmm... I dunno. I mean, those drug traffickers risked their lives for money too, right? We don't know the effect of money on some people... But judging from the press and the denial of her appeal to be bailed, i guess they already have the verdict. Strike the iron while it is hot, huh? It's more to act while everyone's still emotional about it.

[USSDefiantNX74205]

What I'm saying is that we should keep an open mind and wait for the court to deliver its verdict. The employer, like I said, is innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, public outcry and condemnation over this has effectively made the employer guilty even before the verdict has been announced. The court will be hard pressed not to sentence her guilty even if the evidence points to her innocence. By allowing the public's sentiments into the courtroom, it isn't a trial by law anymore. Its a trial by the public.

Assumptions that people won't mutilate themselves for money doesn't help either. We can never know what human beings might or might not do.

[topdog]

i understand what you're saying, uss.

but malaysia's courts don't use jury system right? so technically the media and the public should not have any effect on the court's proceedings.

[john_doe_85]

Thought this sort of thing only happens in Singapore... Hmmm...

Anyway, it's going to be one of those few test cases for Malaysia in the sense that this is the first time it's happened. Obviously, people would want to send a strong signal to deter other employers from doing it but you've got to admit, you can't condemn a person before the verdict is out.

It may be an outrage but you've perhaps got to review whether indeed the employee was intent on doing it... After all, it could have been out of rage of mistrust (The maid was accused of stealing 10k). It takes more than just the final product to determine if it was indeed a crime. You need the other ingredients like motive and intent.

Everyone has a right to their opinion but let's not condemn anyone just yet. Let the 'fair' courts decide for the public.

[budakkerek]

i tried to see n comprehend everything on this issue from the angel of the employer's wife, n the result is .... physco.

umm..sorry, just the english teacher in me...your post ade sket slh..hehe...it's angle, not angel. thanks :wink:

[iQing]

I think the Ugly Malaysia should be a general topic and if u have any news link on the misbehaviour of malaysians let?s share it here..



I have a news link for now..

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/7/3/nation/8357117&sec=nation

Lonely women hogging 991 to chat with staff


KUALA LUMPUR: Some 97% of calls to the Civil Defence Department's toll-free line 991 are prank calls ? many from lonely women looking for companionship.