31 Aralık 2010 Cuma

Stray Dad Pays With Head

(Sözcü Newspaper, 30 December 2010)

When Osman Bal (47), who is married and has six children in Samsun,
did not return home his family fıled a complaint with the police. A search
for Bal proved fruitless until his family suggested that the police check
with Kamile K., with whom Bal was having  an extramarital arrangement.
The police then took Kamile K. and her husband Osman K. into custody,
whereupon Kamile K. admitted her guilt with the following statement:
'I was having an affair with Osman Bal and my husband and children
found out about it. I wanted to be rid of Bal so I invited him to my house,
telling him that nobody was home. When he arrived by son S.K. cut
his head off and stabbed his body in various places. His father Osman
K. helped him.We put the head and the body in different bags and
threw them away outside of town.'  Police then went to the place
described and recovered the body.

All in the Family

Traffic police in Sivas were making a seat-belt check on a
car driven by Hüseyin Uçar when the car was struck from the
rear by another vehicle. Traffic policeman Emre Yılmaz was
shocked to see that the car that caused the accident bore the
license plate number 38 PA 190, his own, and that his wife
Gülşah Yılmaz was the driver. Yılmaz first tried to calm his
shaken wife before administering the mandatory alcohol breath
test to her.

Just Like in The Movies

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 30 December 2010)

Narcotics police in Ankara came up with a novel idea to break a drug gang
operating in the Çinçin and Hıdırlıktepe neighborhoods. They established
a film set under the guise of shooting a documentary in the Ankara Fortress,
which overlooks the troublesome neighborhoods.  A police official acted
as director and other officers filled the roles of the set crew as the police
filmed hundreds of drug deals in the area over three months. On 10 December
the police raided various addresses in Çinçin and Hıdırlıktepe, arresting
gang leader Kadır I. and 24 others, while seizing 21 kilograms of drugs.

29 Aralık 2010 Çarşamba

Dead Dog Day Aftermath

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 December 2010)

Mahoş Sontekin (52) and his son Mehmet Sontekin (29) went  to
a rural area to hunt with Cihan Sontekin (25), who runs a bakery,
in Alacakaya district of Elazığ Province on the morning of 26 December.
While hunting Cihan Sontekin shot and killed a dog that attacked him.
When the dog's owner, Sait Tokpınar, heard that his dog had been
killed he took along his son and went to the Sontekin's bakery. An
argument ensued and guns were drawn. As a result, Mahoş, Mehmet
and Cihan Sontekin were seriously wounded and Cihan Sontekin's
uncle, Hayrettin Sontekin (54), died. The Sontekins were taken to the
hospital, Tokpınar surrendered and his son, Arif Tokpınar, fled.

Pump Fiction (not!) - A Pump-Action Rifle in Every Guy's Wardrobe

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 December 2010)

Bekir Uçar (37), a temporary worker at the Ulukışla District Sports
Hall in Ulukışla, Niğde Province, went to see his wife Ayşe Uçar (32),
the mother of his two children who has filed for divorce from him,
at 23:30.  Ayşe was staying at the home of her mother Nazmiye
Dündar (52). According to the police this is what happened:

Bekir Uçar tried to persuade his wife, who had left him because they
just couldn't get along, to return. When Ayşe rejected his peace offering Uçar
took out the pump-action rifle he had brought with him and killed Ayşe
and Nazmiye before committing suicide. Because the home was far
from town it wasn't until curious neighbors happened by in the morning
that the bodies were found.

(Ed. comment: at least one and sometimes a few such pump-action stories
in each day's paper.)

28 Aralık 2010 Salı

Either Me or the Critters!

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 27 December 2010)

Animal-lover Bilge Contepe, the founder of the Turkey Green
Party and its former chief, has come to the brink of divorce
from her husband of 36 years, architect Kaynak Contepe,
because of the 10 dogs and 60 cats she is taking care of in
their triplex villa in Torba, Bodrum. Bilge Contepe has taken
in seven dogs and 57 cats over the past two years, in addition
to the two dogs and three cats she already had.

But the 61 year-old Bilge Contepe's love of animals has upset
her 66 year-old husband of 36 years, architect Kaynak
Contepe, who is also a serious animal-lover.  According to
claims, Kaynak Contepe rounded up the cats when his
wife was not home and deposited them in an forest area.
When Bilge Contepe realized what had happened she
tracked down as many of the cats as she could and brought
them back. After this incident two weeks ago, Kaynak
Contepe left home. Bilge Contepe has filed a complaint
about her husband with the Animal Rights Association and
the public prosecutor, claiming that he doesn't recognize
the animals' right to live. Meanwhile, Kaynak Contepe
said that because of the cats his wife has brought into the
house over the past two years the place in unliveable.

When Fate Strikes

(Sabah Newspaper, 24 December 2010)

An incredible accident not seen before in Istanbul...two workers
lost their lives when they fell from a trellis platform while they
were painting a building in Maltepe. Akif Dolu (45) and Ali Tezbaşaran
(47) were standing on a platform at the sixth floor when the rope used
to lift the platform up became entangled in the wheel of Arif Ikiz's
passing car. The trellis platform was pulled away from the building
and the workers fell to their deaths.

The car's driver Arif Ikiz was taken into custody by police at Küçükyalı.
He said in his statement to the police that he didn't notice the rope and
he heard the resulting commotion too late. Memduh Şahinkaya, who
who was working at the base of the trellis platform, said he tried to
warn the driver when the rope became entagled in the wheel but to
no avail. Şahinkaya added that 'Ali had told me in the morning 'you're
scared of the platform, don't go up. Go get some supplies.' Otherwise
I would have been up there with them.'

One Faithful Pooch

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 23 December 2010)

As a heard of animals was returning from pasture to Yeşilova town in Muş Province
on Monday a lamb was struck by an unidentified car and killed. The shepherd didn't
notice the accident but his dog went to the side of the dead lamb. When the dog
didn't return after four days, shepherd Emrah Yözgürlü went to find the dog and found
'Kahraman' (hero)  waiting at the side of the dead lamb. Emrah Yözgürlü said that
'Kahraman is the herd's leader. He has a wonderful relationship with them.' Yeşilova
Mayor Nasım Bakış stated that 'the loyalty and faithfulness the dog showed should
be an example for people.'

A Guy Just Can't Catch a Break

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 22 December 2010)

The life of Ünal Kel (37) of Çorum was turned upside down by grifters who used
his birth certificate information. Kel, who has two children from Münevver Kaya with
whom he has lived for eight years, decided to marry Kaya so he could legally register
his children in school. So, in September 2008 he applied to the municipality but officials
determined that Kel had married a Tunisian woman named Assia Aouissaouf in 2006.
When Kel found out that he was married to someone he had never met he filed a
complaint with the public prosecutor. It turned out that the photograph on the marriage
certificate belonged to someone else.

After this incident, in the course of two years Kel was taken into custody 62 times and
spent 38 night in lockup because of the theft and fraud crimes committed by the people
who stole his identity information.

Like a detective, Ünal Kel followed the trail through Bolu, Manısa and Istanbul when he
learned that someone had taken out residency permits in his name. Finally, he determined
that the person who had married Assia Aouissaouf  was a fellow with a long rap sheet
named Idris C. When he couldn't find Idris C. himself he shared his knowledge with the
public prosecutor.

Beginning in January 2009 Kel was summoned by the police to make a statement or
taken into custody every other day and 120,000 Turkish Lira in bills for credit cards,
electricity, water, appliances and bank credit came to his house. After a fruitless two-year
struggle, Kel decided to change his name. He applied to the Çorum Justice Office and
changed his name to Özügüzel.

But changing his name wasn't enough. About 15 days ago the Gendarmerie took Kel
into custody for not sending his daughter to school. Kel explained that he had two
children and both of  them were going to school. In response, the Gendarmerie stated
that 'you have a daughter named Miray Kel and you haven't been sending her to school.'
Thusly, Ünal Kel became the father of yet another child.

Ünal Kel had this to say about his ordeal: 'My psychology is all messed up because of
what I've been through in the past two years. The latest was a child being registered
under my name. When my children ask me whether they have another sibling I can't
give them an answer. Every month at least three or four times I get taken into custody
in the village square by the Gendarmerie or the police. I'm travelling from city to city to
the man who has blackened the lives of myself and my family - Idris C. I don't have
the material or the mental strength t

27 Aralık 2010 Pazartesi

giant courier's curious capsules

Cocain Emerges from Giant Courier’s Stomach
(Hürriyet Newspaper, 23 December 2010)

Salva F., a citizen of Guinea who arrived at Istanbul Atatürk Airport aboard a
flight from Brazil intending to go to Nigeria, was detained on suspicion.  Forty
cleaned capsules containing 800 grams of cocaine were then  found in the suspicious
person’s bag.  The police determined that the capsules had emerged  from his
intestinal tract and brought Salva F. to the hospital for a medical examination.
As the result of the examination of the 140 kilogram (ed. 300+ pounds) suspect,
another  1.298 kilograms in 66 capsules were removed from the suspect’s stomach.
It was then determined that the suspect had swallowed 106 capsules containing 2.98
kilograms of cocaine which he had obtained in Brazil. During the flight, however,
he became nauseous and evacuated 40 of the capsules (ed. in the aircraft’s bathroom
presumably), cleaned them and put them in his bag. Salva F. was  arrested.