Sunroof Exit From Squished Car

squished links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 Aprıl 2012)

In the Hızmalı neighborhood of Şanlıurfa yesterday around noon police
were making checks and stopped a suspicious-looking luxury automobile.
When the police asked the driver for his documents he took off. During
the 15-minute chase that ensued the car's driver hit a parked car and then
entered a narrow street where the car got stuck. With both sides of the
car squished against the walls the driver exited through the sunroof in
order not to be caught by the police. The car is registered to İ.Y. who has
a fraud record. Police are on his trail.

Ladies Day: One Wet, One Brave

drink links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 April 2012)

Yesterday in Istanbul, glassware salesman Orhan Akbulak parked his
car, sitting within which was his relative Nurcan Şentürk (23), next to
a restaurant on Kazıklı Road and went in to settle some accounts. At
this time, the young woman turned the car key and the car flew into
the water.

Nearby citizens rescued Şentürk, who said 'I wanted to smoke
a cigarette so I needed to open a window. When I turned the key the car
all of a sudden took off.' Restaurant owner Ali Alemdar, who saved the
young girl explained what happened thusly: 'I was checking on my
flowers in the garden. The car flew into the water. Myself and two
other friends dove into the water. It was difficult to open the door
because of the pressure but we got the young girl out.'

brave links to video and related story

(Sözcü Newspaper, 18 April 2012)

In Izmir Şirvan Turan (35) opened a grocery store after her divorce
in order to educate her daughter. The night before last a person with a
gun, wearing a ski mask and holding an unfurled umbrella to hide his
identity from the security camera, entered the store and demanded
money from the register. But the 1.58 meter tall Turan stood up to
the robber, grabbed an adze that she hides under the counter and hit
the man on his hand. Turan then chased after the fleeing robber.
She said 'I want that man captured.'

Like 'Batman', 'Veni, Vidi, Vici' Copywright Initiative

ceasar links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 15 April 2012)

//ed. note: The Mayor of Batman, Turkey, tried to get the copywright
for the Batman comic book/TV/movie character//

The mayor of Zile in Tokat province, Lütfi Vidinel, has obtained a
copywright from the Turkish Patent Institute for the words 'Veni, Vidi
Vici' ('I came, I saw, I conquered'), which were spoken by Roman Emperor
Julius Ceasar. Mayor Vidinel toiled for two and a half years to secure the
copywright for the words Ceasar said at the four thousand year old
fortress in Zile. He explained that 'we got the copywright in February.
The words belong to the Zile Municipality for ten years.'

Vidinel related that Ceasar had come from Rome to take Zile, adding
that 'Ceasar had a very bloody battle at the Zile Altıağaç location
with Basforos King Pharnake the Second of Pontus and came to
Zile with thousands of soldiers. After the battle with the army of
Pontus he took the Fortress of Zile.  He informed Rome of his success
by inscribing the stone here with the shortest statement in history -
'veni, vidi, vici'. It is a historical fact that Ceasar said these words.'

Vidinel stated that the municipality will use the 'veni, vidi, vici'
copywright for cultural and tourism purposes. He continued as
follows: 'a cigarette company that sells cigarettes everywhere in the
world uses the phrase that Ceasar spoke at Zile on its emblem. The
right to use this phrase on tobacco and tobacco products rests solely
with the Zile Municipality. We will talk with the firm and try to
have them write 'Zile' next to the phrase or at least try to get half
a penny for every cigarette they sell, as is our legal right.  The
money we get will be spent on restoring the health of our people
who have become ill from smoking cigarettes.'

 

Turkish Air Paying Price for No Nr. 13

13 links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 14 April 2012)

Turkish Airlines (THY)  has decided to add number 13 seats which it had
not been using in the course of the production of Airbus and Boeing
type aircraft because it was believed that the number was unlucky.
The company fell victim to questions raised in the Turkish Parliament
asking 'why is there no number 13 seat on THY passenger planes?' and
'is THY following Western superstitions?'. Consequently, THY recently
began the process of adding number 13 rows/seats to its planes.

THY officials stated that the first phase of refitting the 60 planes in its
Boeing 737-800 fleet has been completed but they added that it is a
complicated job. Nevertheless, they said they will try to make the change
in THY's other planes, as well.

In Christian beliefs, the 13th apostle, Judas, who sat with the other 12
apostles at the Last Supper, ratted Jesus out and Jesus was subsequently
crucified. That's why the number 13 is considered unlucky. The Jews,
though, believe that 13 is unlucky because in the Hebrew language the
13th letter 'm' is the first letter of the word 'mavet' (death). In many
hotels there is no 13th floor or number 13 room, based on the belief
that the number brings bad luck.

Strange Visitors from Other Planets

planetgermany links to related article

(Hürriyet and Sabah Newspapers, 12 April 2012)

In Kartal, Istanbul, people who saw a man wearing a wig and women's
clothes informed police, who went to the scene and told the man to
'freeze'. Instead, the suspect fled but was caught after a chase. When
he was brought to the Yakacık police station the suspect once again
escaped while getting out of the police car and entered one of the nearby
stores.

 Somehow, while being apprehended the suspect grabbed a blackjack
from a policman and attacked him. Police then shot the suspect
in the leg to bring him under control. The suspect was brought to the
hospital and said that his name was Robert Vittes. He claimed that he
was drugged, brought to Istanbul from Germany the night before last
and held against his will in a house in Kartal.

planetcolombia links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 12 April 2012)

Two Colombians who allegedly tried to rob drivers of cars whose tires
had gone flat, thanks to special nails the Columbians had layed on the
road, have been arrested. The two suspects were released by the court
but now face extradition after being brought to the Foreigners' Bureau
Directorate.  It turns out that the suspects were recorded by a police
camera en route to the crime scene.

When police got a tip that the culprits were foreigners they focused on
the Kumkapı area where there are lots of them. Suspicious foreign
persons were videoed and two, in particular, were seen in a rented car
with material in their hands that raised alarms. As the suspects moved
toward the driver of a car whose tires had gone flat in Silivri the police
operation was initiated.

Colombian nationals Ruben Dario Lorrento Quesada and Juan Carlos
Hinestroza Luga were caught and taken into custody. A search of the
rented car they were using turned up things that could be used for
robbery like a crowbar, screwdriver and the special nails, along with
three fake passports. It has been learned that the two suspects confessed
during their interrogation at the police station that they intended to
rob their victims. After being released by the court in Silivri the two
suspects were brought to the Foreigners' Bureau for extradition.

Selling Drugs is Illegal?

illegal? links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 11 April 2012)

Shoe worker Azat Gülen (20) was faced with a 4,000TL bill
as the result of an accident he had with a rented car in Diyarbakır.
When a friend told him 'you can sell drugs on Istiklal Caddesi
(Istanbul's '5th Avenue') and make that much money in an hour',
Gülen purchased 452 grams of marijuana for 700TL in Bağlar
district (Diyarbakır) and headed for Istanbul.

After getting off the bus in Harem, Istanbul, Gülen took the
ferry across to Karaköy where he asked a policeman about
an address. When the policeman asked Gülen what was in his
bag Gülen said 'drugs. I'm going to sell them on Istiklal Caddesi.'
The policeman thought Gülen was joking until he looked into
his bag.

Gülen was taken into custody and in his statement to the public
prosecutor he said 'I work at a shoe shop in Diyarbakır. I didn't
know that selling drugs was a crime. That's why I told the policeman
that I was going to sell drugs when he asked me what I was going
to do on Istiklal Caddesi.' Gülen was arrested and sent to jail. The
Istanbul Public Prosecutor's office has completed its investigation
about Gülen and has opened a court case againt him, asking for
a sentence of from 5 to 15 years for the crime of 'commercial use
of narcotics.'

Someone's Listening...

medium links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 10 April 2012)

In Ankara, the shocking telephone recordings of a gang that allegedly
defrauded businessmen and government officials with fortune telling,
blackmail and threats have come to light. The leader of the gang, nine
members of which, including two women, were taken into custody
after a police operation last week, turns out to be Havva K., who
works at the Military Accounting Office of the Ministry of Defense.

According to the conversations, businesswoman Aysel K. was one
of those who fell into the gang's trap. Aysel K. was introduced to
the gang's supposed medium, Perihan Ö., though Havva K. and
Perihan Ö. hoodwinked Aysel K. by 'loading' good fortune into her
through her wrist. Allegedly, gang member Perihan Ö. held on to
Aysel K.'s wrist and 'loaded' this internal peace. The gang told Aysel
K. that bad things would happen to her children, though, and they
blackmailed her in this regard for hundreds of thousands of lira.
The gang frightened its customers in this fashion to get large amounts
of money.

spy links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 10 April 2012)

Istanbul technology police have taken 13 people into custody in
an operation directed at a gang that eavesdropped through software
they loaded onto telephones. After technical and physical surveillance,
police determined that the firm CasusGSM (SpyGSM) was conducting
illegal surveillance.

 During the investigation it was determined that people who thought
they were being cheated on (by spouses or others) would ask
CasusGSM for help. The customers appealed to the firm's
programmer Tolga Korkmaz who then loaded the spyware onto the
telephones in question. The speech files were then sent by email
to the customers.

The police raid was conducted on the firm's offices in Beşiktaş and
Üsküdar. It has been learned that a lot of famous people, including
businessmen and models, will give statements in the case. The firm's
rates were 250TL for SMS messages, 600TL for conversations and
1,000TL for surveilling a particular milieu.

George Costanzaoğlu

seinfeldesque links to original article

//ed. note: only diehard fans of Seinfeld will get the headline//

(Sabah Newspaper, 9 April 2012)

In Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Aysel Toplar (22) jumped from the balcony of her
fifth story home because of family problems and landed on top of a parked
car. The owner of the car, the roof of which caved in, has filed a suit against
the young girl who barely escaped death.

Aysel Toplar lives with her married older brother. On 13 January 2012,
Aysel intervened in a fight between her brother and his wife who had
been beaten and locked herself in the bathroom. Aysel continued to argue
with her brother and then jumped off the balcony. She was seriously
injured after falling on the roof of a parked car and was taken to the
hospital.

The owner of the car, Derviş Temel (AKA George Costanza), saw the
damage to his car and went to the police to file a complaint about Aysel.
After completing an investigation the public prosecutor opened a case
against Aysel for 'causing damage to property' and asked the court for a
sentence of from 4 months to 3 years. Aysel will appear before a judge
in the Court of First Instance in the days ahead.

Real Estate Nightmares Come True

popular links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 8 April 2012)

The bewildering fraud story began a year ago when Nurettin Aktaş
opened the Aktaş Real Estate office in Avcılar, Istanbul. First, Aktaş
gained the trust of the neighborhood residents by promising to sell
homes at no interest and with extended partial payments. In this way
he collected 500,000 TL in cash from 20 people and had them sign
promisory notes. Some citizens gave him cars in lieu of cash.

Aktaş showed the homebuyers an apartment in the Cihanger
neighborhood, even giving each of them a photocopy of the deed. He
made arrangements to meet with those who had given him money last
monday morning to go to get the actual deed. Aktaş also asked them
all to bring a passport photograph when they met him in front of
his office. When the 20 people showed up at his office, each with a
photocopy of the same deed, they realized they had been defrauded
and filed a complaint against Aktaş.

It is understood that Nurettin Aktaş's identity is fake and that the
owner of the apartment he was selling is in Germany. It turns out
that Aktaş had a locksmith open the door to the apartment and he
got a copy of the deed from the directorate of deeds. He opened
his real estate office with phony documents, as well.

The victims said that 'he told us 'bring 50,000TL and get your
deed tomorrow.' We believed him when he told us 'no interest
and you'll pay it off over the long term with a promisory note.'
So we gave him cash and signed the promisory notes. He said
there was no problem with the deed and he gave us each a
photocopy. Apparently, he showed us someone else's flat. The
20 of us have dropped everything to find him. He has our
documents and promisory notes. We're not responsible for
anything he does in our names. The police have to find this guy.
He got his telephone numbers with a false identity, too.'


wrecker links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 6 April 2012)

A hard-to-believe story from Kuşadası, Aydın. The night before
last at the Sea of Women site in Kuşadası, Mahmut A. began
having a building with a restaurant on its ground floor and
residential flats on the second, demolished with bulldozers.
As a large portion of the building was being wrecked,
neighbors sent word to the owner, Murat Ergeç, who lives
in Izmir. Ergeç then called police and filed a complaint.

The police went to the scene and saw that much of the
building was in ruins. The police put a stop to the wrecking
and took former renter Mahmut A. and Taner D., the owner
of an excavation company, into custody. The two suspects
were brought to court and freed pending trial.

Murat Ergeç said that ten years ago he had rented the ground
floor store to Mahmut A. as a restaurant, saying 'I found out
that he didn't run it himself but sublet it to others at high cost.
Additionally, he hadn't paid electricity, water and occupancy
taxes for ten years. He was evicted with a court order a while
ago and I rented the store to someone else 20 days ago.'

Ergeç said that Mahmut A. had threatened him not to rent
the store to anyone else. He explained that 'while the new
tenant was getting ready and making renovations there
Mahmut A. called me and said 'how could you rent it without
asking me?' But I never thought he'd do something like this.
He made arrangements with a firm to wreck the building
and the neighbors called me after it started. I didn't believe it.
I called the police right away but by the time the police intervened
they had destroyed a large portion of the building.  If the police
hadn't come they would have torn the whole building down.
How can a construction firm wreck a building without any
documents, without a destruction order, while there are still
things inside? How bold can they get? I'm in shock. There's
major damage to the building. My renter has changed his
mind. Who's going to pay for this?'

10-Day Marriage Takes Toll on An Old Fellow

wedding links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 8 April 2012)

Halil Ibrahim Fidan (77), who lives in Karasu district of Sakarya province,
met Sevgi Y. on a TV marriage program and then married her. But Fidan
claims that his bride of 10 days took his car, his money and his gold and
ran off so he has filed a complaint with the police. Coming out of the
police station, Fidan told reporters that he had been hoodwinked,
explaining that the program's presenter had said ''if you get to know
each other in a week you'll marry' and so we were sent off.''

'We came to Karasu and toured around for a week. She kept telling me
that she wanted to get married. My daughters, though, were opposed
and said 'Daddy, you can't get married for the sake of  a TV show.'
Nevertheless, I married her. When we met she said she was 48 but
when we got married I saw that she was really 59.'

Fidan added that 'she didn't come near me during our 10 days of marriage.
We slept in separate beds. On the tenth day she took my car, money
and gold and left. She took 7,000 lira' so he filed the police complaint.

Blissful Drunk Sleeps Through Crash Aftermath

drunk links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 5 April 2012)

In Izmir, Caner Güngördü (44) had a few drinks, got into his car and
headed toward home. While driving, Güngördü contined to drink beer
and at about 0530 yesterday morning he lost control of the car and
slammed into an electrical pole near the Yenişehir Food Market. The
vehicle sustained substantial damage in the front and Güngördü was
slightly injured on his head. In any event, because of the effects of
alcohol, he fell asleep.

A citizen passing by noticed that there was a person lying motionless
inside the car, in which the windows were open and the radio was
playing, and informed the police. When they arrived at the scene the
police were surprised to find Güngördü asleep and after overcoming
their amazement the police woke him and told he'd been in an accident.
Güngördü claimed that he didn't have an accident but he replied 'yes'
when the police asked him 'have you been drinking?'

After getting out of the car Güngördü was shocked by what he saw,
asking the police 'how did this accident happen?' When told that it
was he who had had the accident, Güngördü struck the front hood
and said 'Wow! My car was brand new. Look at what's happened
to it. But if I didn't hit anyone then there's no problem.' Güngördü
had trouble standing up and his head was bleeding. He elicited a
chuckle from all around when he said politely to the police 'after
you' when they were putting him into the ambulance.

Excuses, Excuses - Get Out of Jail Free

excuse links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 4 April 2012)

When she was caught red-handed the woman said 'I stole
because I have five children in private schools.' Turns out
she has a record of 110 robbery arrests and each time she's
caught she comes up with a different excuse.

In Bağcılar, Istanbul, Cennet Yılmaz (37) was caught red-handed
stealing gold from a jewelry store the evening before last. It was
the 110th time she's been arrested for robbery. In her statement
Yılmaz said that 'I'm regret it. I have five children. My husband
abandoned us. My children go to private schools. My grandchild
is ill, as well. And I need medicine. Since I didn't have any money
I tried to get the gold from the jeweler. I want to be tried without
being jailed.' (Yılmaz will remain in custody during her trial).

It is understood that whenever Yılmaz gets caught stealing she invents
a new excuse. She was caught in 2008 in Izmir' and said at that
time 'my children are sick so I stole.' After being arrested in
Adapazarı in 2011 her excuse was 'my husband made me steal.
If I don't steal he beats me. He spends the money on other
women.'

According to Turkish law, the penalty for robbery is from one
to three years but even those who get the maximum sentence
are let out of jail at most after two years. There is a feature of
the law that thieves know well, one that allows them to avoid
a penalty - paragraph 147 stipulates that if there was a severe
or urgent need involved in the robbery then the sentence can
be reduced or voided. Lawyers say that thieves make various
excuses in their statements in order to avail themselves of
paragraph 147.


 

New ID Brings New Heartburn

whoops links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 3 April 2012)

Osman G. escaped from prison and started using a false identity he
had stolen. But when Osman G. was stopped by the police he
found out that Alper Ç., his new identity, was also being sought
by police so he revealed his true identity.

Osman G. (43) was in a half-way house in Edirne after being arrested
in Istanbul for fraud and bankruptcy but he left the half-way house
on leave and didn't return. In order not to be re-arrested Osman G.
decided to use a new identity so he went to the village chief's office
on a pretext and stole the credentials of one Alper Ç. (40).

Osman G. put his own picture on Alper Ç.'s ID card but while riding
in a car with a friend in Şişli (Istanbul) he was stopped by suspicious
police who checked 'Alper Ç.''s background and found that he is being
sought by the Beyoğlu Petty Court for passing bad checks. While en
route to the police station Osman G. revealed his true identity and
a finger-print check confirmed this. Police also learned that Osman G.
is wanted by the courts in Istanbul, Şişli and Üsküdar on five separate
charges of fraud and bankruptcy.

 The public prosecutor's office opened a case against Osman G. for
'counterfeitting an official document and using the identity information
of another', which carries a sentence of from 3 to 9 years in prison.
Osman G. will be tried in the Istanbul Court of First Instance.

Extreme Measures in Çanakkale

blind links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 2 April 2012)

In Çanakkale on the morning of 20 March the side mirror of a car
driven by Cenk Yılmaz on Asaf Paşa Boulevard hit the arm of
Ibrahim Batdal (35), the president of the Çanakkale branch of the
Turkey Sight-Impaired Association, who was walking on the
sidewalk close to the road so as not to impede the other pedestrians
on the sidewalk.  The collision of Batdal's arm and the mirror broke
the mirror.

Saying he had urgent business to attend to, Batdal wanted to leave
the scene but an argument with Yılmaz ensued. Yılmaz thought
that Batdal would hit him with the folding cane he was carrying so
he took out the pepper spray in his pocket and sprayed Batdal
in his eyes. A surprised Batdal had his eyes cleansed with serum
at the Çanakkale State Hospital emergency room. Statements from
both individuals were taken by police and neither one filed a
complaint about the other.

Batdal realized he had be pepper sprayed when shopkeepers
nearby told him so. According to Batdal 'the driver got out of his
car and said 'are you blind? Don't you see what you're doing?' I
told him that I was in fact blind but I couldn't convince him. At
that moment I felt very bitter. I couldn't understand why a blind
person would be sprayed with pepper spray. But the effect was
quite extensive. My eyes were watering for two days.'

Cenk Yılmaz was ashamed to learn that the person he had pepper
sprayed was blind, saying 'it was an unfortunate incident. I thought
I was going to be hit on the head with the cane. Thinking he could
see me I took out the pepper spray to protect myself. Later I
found out that he can't see. If I had known that I wouldn't have
sprayed him for sure.'


relief links to related article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 2 April 2012)

In Çanakkale, Atila K. (20) entered the YGS (university entrance
exam) for the third time. After a while he felt uncomfortable and
informed the proctor. However, Atila K. was told that because of
the rules if he left the room he could not return. Faced with this
situation, Atila K. used the plastic bottle he had with him to relieve
himself.

Atila K. said that it was the stress of the exam that brought on
this situation. He explained that 'I wasn't able to hold it because of
the stress. In order to resolve the problem I used the plastic
bottle because I didn't want my future to fall victim to this situation.
The proctor saw what I was doing but I didn't have any other
choice.'

Spring Makeover for Resplendent Birds

lovebirds links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 1 April 2012)

Samsun is known as 'pheasant world' and the birds are currently having
their long beaks and nails clipped so they don't injure their partners during
the upcoming mating season. The pheasants are raised at the Gelemen
Pheasant Production Station, which operates as part of the Samsun Office
Directorate of the Forestry and Water Works Ministry and which has the
status of being the most important place for this activity in Turkey. The
pheasants are dispatched to various provinces in the Black Sea region.