Principal Without Principles

principal links to original article

(Takvim Newspaper,25 May 2013)

Inmates' handiwork diverted.

In Meram, Konya, Ali O., the principal at
Ibrahim Hakki Konyali Elementary School
requested tables,chairs, and blackboards for
the school from the National Education
Directorate. In response, the Directorate had
the inmates at a prison build 150 tables and
chairs, along with 15 blackboards. Ali O. was then
provided with an official document so he could
pick up the furniture.

Yesterday, Ali O. rented a truck and went to the
prison to take receipt of the 20,000 TL worth of
goods. But instead of taking the chairs, tables and
blackboards to the school, he took them to a
junkyard, where he sold them all to Sakman O.
for 900 TL.

Police noticed the goods at the junkyard and took
Ali O., Sakman O. and truck driver Sabit Y. into
custody.  The teachers at the school said they thought
that Ali O. had not been able to get the furniture when
they saw him return to the school empty handed.

In court, Ali O. stated that he had left the furniture
at the junkyard because some screws were loose but
Sakman O. said that the principal sold him the goods.
The police had the furniture loaded on to a truck and
taken to the school.

Meram just south of Konya city.

Bat-Groom Threatens Suicide

batgroom links to original article

(Internethaber, 23 May 2013)

Bat-groom's identity unknown

A couple who agreed to get married got quite
a shock at the Batman wedding bureau when the girl
decided to forego the marriage at the wedding
table. Hearing this, the groom headed for the
roof of the building in a suicide attempt.

The groom, a Batman resident, and the girl, from
Erzurum, met via social media and decided to
get married. The couple then applied to the Batman
Municipal Wedding Bureau for the nuptials to
be performed.

However, when the couple arrived at the bureau
for the ceremony the girl's family persuaded her
to abandon the idea. As the girl told the presiding
municipal official that she did not want to marry,
the groom went berserk. Failing to persuade
his intended, the unnamed young man headed for
the roof of the 5-story building, vowing to jump
off.

Because of the crowds in the corridors, municipal
workers were able to subdue the would-be groom.
Both the boy's and the girl's families were taken
to the police station to give statements and an
investigation into the incident has been begun.

Batman policemobile

Wrong Day for a Loan

coincidence links to original article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 23 May 2013)

Doesn't even look like A.B.!

In Besiktas, Istanbul, Ahmet Gokcay (58) went to a bank
in order to get a loan using the identity card of one A.B.
However, thanks to a big coincidence, Gokcay's plan met
with disappointment.

Gokcay had already 'borrowed' 10,000 TL from the bank
using the false identity card and had returned to make an
application for 90,000 TL more on 16 May. The documents
were prepared and sent up to the bank director for his signature.

This is where the fateful coincidence occurred because
when the documents arrived in the bank director's office,
sitting across from the him was his friend and bank
customer, the real A.B. The surprised director asked A.B.
if he had applied for a loan and the equally shocked A.B. said
no but confirmed that the information on the application
was his and was correct.

Meanwhile as Gokcay waited on the floor below for the
director's approval, the director called his staff and told
them to distract Gocay, saying that the police were on their
way.

Gokcay was taken into custody and A.B. filed a complaint
against him. In his statement at the police station, Gokcay
said that "I'm jobless, I'm not working. A friend of mine
told me 'since you're jobless let's make some money for
you.' I agreed and he gave me the ID, pasted my picture on
it and said 'go get some money' so I did. I don't know what
happened and I don't know where the guy who gave me the
ID card is."

The prosecutor had Gokcay taken to court, from where he
was transported to jail.

This Gentleman Prefers Ducks

duck links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 19 May 2013)

Father-in-law S.A. comforts  nameless victim.

The incident occurred in Fatih Sultan Mehmet neighborhood in Osmangazi district of
Bursa province. Son-in-law A.C. stands accused of raping the duck belonging to his
parents-in-law, D.A. and S.A., who say that when they saw feathers and blood on A.C.'s
bed they called police. The 50 year-old A.C., who has four children, was taken into custody.

The raped duck was brought to Uludag University Veternarian College, where its condition
is said to be serious. Father-in-law S.A. stated that "He came at night and insisted on sleeping
on the terrace so I left him there and went downstairs. In the morning there was blood and
feathers on the bed. When I opened the coop I saw that the duck was walking with difficulty.
I filed a complaint with the police, who took pictures of the coop and the duck."

After his statement was taken at the police station, A.C., who claimed he was the
victim of slander, was released.

Boxing Beauty Stays Single

boxer links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 17 May 2013)

'Black Angel' plays rough.

In Trabzon, Sabriye Şengül, whose nickname is 'Black Angel',
started boxing secretly so her family wouldn't know but now
she is winning championships in Turkey and internationally.
Her only problem is the marriage proposals coming to her from
near and far.

The 26 year-old Şengül's story is quite interesting. She played
on her high school handball team but the coach kept scolding
her for fouling too much. Ultimately, the coach threw her off
the team and told her 'forget about this and try boxing.' That
day changed the young girl's life. So far Şengül has won 3
Turkey championships, 1 international K1 championship,
and provincial and regional first places in the54 kilo division.

Şengül was last year's Turkey Champion at 54 kilos and 'Black
Angel' is now preparing for a tournament in Greece. But her
biggest problem is the marriage proposals, which come before
and after her matches. Şengül said about the her suitors, "they
send gifts and flowers. One time even a ring came."

Annoying Pizza Ads' Costly Backfire

hero links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 16 May 2013)

Vanquishes the relentless ad pests!

In Beşiktaş, Istanbul, a pizza victory for an Italian lawyer...
The interesting incident developed this way: the lawyer,
Dimitra Köknar, ordered a pizza from a famous pizza
restaurant near her office. The pizza firm records the cellphone
numbers of customers on its message system and shortly
afterwards it began sending advertisement messages to Köknar's
cellphone.

Köknar went so far as to go to the restaurant, saying that she did
not want to receive the ads and she asked the restaurant to be
understanding on this matter. When the ads didn't stop coming,
though, Köknar decided to file a complaint with the court,
asking that those responsible be dealt with. She did not give up
her quest, either.

The public prosecutor began an investigation and the restaurant's
Beşiktaş manager, Mahmut Arslan,was invited to the police
station to give a statement. Aslan said he wanted to reach an
agreement with Köknar and the two ultimately agreed to an
interesting settlement. Köknar's only condition was that the
restaurant had to send 60 mid-size pizzas to an orphanage.

The pizza firm sent the 60 pizzas to an orphanage in Istanbul
a few days ago, at a cost to the firm of about 1,000 TL. Köknar
was pleased with the outcome, noting how much kids love
pizza. The pizza restaurant firm's directors had no comment.

Suicide Isn't Painless

theend links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 15 May 2013)

Pain behind her smile.

In Istanbul, retiree Ali K. (51) and banker Oya
C. (40) married in 2006 and divorced last year.
The couple met last week at a house.

First Ali K. swallowed a number of pills and
then Oya C., seeing that her ex-husband had
passed out, took a bunch of pills herself in a
suicide attempt. Oya C. wrote on a photo of her
and Ali K. "you ended our marriage. Now bury
both of us."  A while later Oya C., bleeding from
her nose and mouth, died.

Vomiting, Ali K. woke up and saw Oya C.'s body
and the note she had written. A few hours later
he went to a metrobus bridge over the E-5 highway
and jumped. The seriously injured Ali K., lying on
the sidewalk, was taken to a hospital and, based on
the statement he gave there, police went to the house
and found Oya C.'s body.

The suicide note was examined and Oya C.'s body
was taken to the morgue to determine the precise
cause of her death. Meanwhile, the day before
yesterday Ali K. was moved to a nomal hospital
room where he found a fruit knife and stabbed
himself in the chest and heart.

A nurse entered the room and found Ali K.'s
body, which was taken to the morgue for an
autopsy. Police have begun an investigation
into the incident.

Fake Cops Meet Real Ones

trapped links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 14 May 2013)

Heading for real prison.

A 9-member gang that roamed the Istanbul-Edirne
highway wearing police uniforms and flashing
police lights as the members robbed truck drivers, has
been caught red-handed.

Based on descriptions from the victimized truck
drivers, the Gendarmerie began to track the suspects.
Then the real police donned civilian clothes and drove
trucks on the highway in hopes of having the gang
stop them.

The gang, in police uniforms, stopped a vechicle
driven by the plainclothes Gendarmerie officers and
told them "get out, you're carrying narcotics."  But
the real police sent a message to their back-up team,
which quickly arrived on the scene. Nevertheless, the
gang members tried to persuade their captors, saying
"there's a misunderstanding. We're narcotics police."

Other gang members were captured during raids on
their homes.  The gang has been responsible for more
than 30 robberies over the past six months. The alleged
gang leader, Soner Kaya, was one of four gang members
arrested.

Turks on Long Island "Take 5", and More

lotto links to original article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 12 May 2013)

Think about getting a second opinion...

Marvin Choy Nij, a Guatemalan living in the Long
Island region of the US state of New York, bought
a lottery ticket last month. Since his English was poor,
Nij sought help from gas station workers Yalcin Nergiz
(41) and Yunis Ozturk (33), both Turks.

When the Turks checked Nij's ticket on the computer
they told him he had won 774 USD and paid him that
amount in cash. In fact, the taxable value of the ticket
was 48,318.27 USD.  The two Turks and a relative,
Orhan Ozturk, are charged with having stolen the prize
money and sharing it among themselves.

The suspicious situation emerged when Nij told the
merchant who had sold him the ticket that he had won
774 USD. Winners of the "Take 5" lottery can only
be paid up to 600 USD by the merchant who sold them
the ticket.

The three Turks, charged with robbery, were to have
been tried on Wednesday but when a Turkish translator
couldn't be found the hearing was postponed to
Tuesday.

Istanbul Honeymoon...and Bachelor Party

honeymooners links to original article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 10 May 2013)

Don't wait up for me, honey...

Zakaria El Omari (23), a Belgian citizen of Moroccan
descent, married another Moroccan, Nawale Bagari
(22), last November. The newlyweds came to Istanbul
on 12 April for their honeymoon and settled into a hotel
in the Sirkeci section of the city. On 19 April, Omari,
who is a chauffeur  in Belgium, told his wife "I'm going
to evening prayers. I'll be back after a while." The
young husband, however, did not return.

When her husband did not come back in the ensuing
hours, Nawale Bagare called his family in Belgium.
The worried family appealed to the Belgian police
who then contacted the Belgian consulate in Istanbul,
saying that Omari had gone missing. The Istanbul police
got involved and the team that had sought Sarai Sierra,
the young American woman who was murdered after
disappearing in Istanbul, interviewed Omari's wife and
family members who came to Istanbul the next day.

MOBESE video images were examined and it was
determined that Omari had gone to the Hocapasa mosque
in Sirkeci on the evening of 19 April, left there at 2130
and was next seen withdrawing 100 Euros from an ATM
on Ankara Boulevard. Omari next boarded the tram
headed from Eminonu to Aksaray and he was seen speaking
with two males, Marmara University students who subsequently
told police that Omari had asked them how he could get to
the Bayrampasa bus station.

From other video records, police determined that Omari
checked into another Istanbul hotel but when they went
there Omari was not around. Finally, on 29 April, Omari
showed up at a police station asking "are you looking for
me?"  His response to further questions from police was
"I don't remember."

As the investigation intensified, it turned out that Omari
had been at nightclubs and bars cavorting with other women
for the 10 days he was missing. Omari, his wife and family
members have all returned to Belgium.

House on Fire! So What...

fire! links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 8 May 2013)

What fire? I was watching TV.

Everyone in the neighborhood except the
homeowner was out on the street when
a fire broke out in a single-family home,
number 19 on First Bican street, in the
Ismetpasa Caddesi Dere neighborhood of
Erzurum.

Firefighters suspected that the homeowner
may have passed out from the smoke and,
together with a health team, they climbed a
ladder up to the second-floor balcony, broke
a window and entered the house.

The surprised homeowner asked the firefighters
what was going on. In reply they told homeowner
Talat Bagirsakci that "your house is on fire and
we came to save you." Bagirsakci countered with
"Who started it? I don't know anything about a
fire. I was watching TV. I noticed some light smoke
but I figured the kids had lit a fire outside so I
didn't pay it any mind."

Bagirsakci didn't want to leave his burning house,
saying "Nothing will happen. Let the fire die out
and I'll go out the front door." He refused to climb
down the ladder and as he waited on the balcony,
the fire was put out in half an hour.

Erzurum

Tangled Tale of Red Mercury Fraud

redmercury links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 6 May 2013)

Promising youth and seeking cash.

Muammer E. has a scrap iron company in Istanbul
and expressed an interest in finding 'red mercury',
a substance believed to have beneficial uses ranging
from making one 20 years younger to finding buried
treasure. However, up to now its existence has not even
been proven.

Salih L. and Hasrettin S. learned of Muammer E.'s
interest and came up with a plan to hoodwink the
businessman. They told Muammer E. that "we can
make a lot of money from this.", luring him into their
trap. They then got 250,000 USD from Muammer E.
for 250 grams of the material in a glass container that
they said they got from the Russians.

However, thinking that when Muammer E. had the
substance analyzed their game would be up, Salih L.
and Hasrettin S. said that they would bring in an 'expert'
and if the expert confirmed that the substance was red
mercury they could sell it for even more money. Muammer
E. agreed and 'expert' Adnan E. came to Hasrettin S.'s
house in Gaziosmanpasa.

While Adnan E. 'examined' the liquid Muammer E.
had purchased, faux policeman Vehbi E.G. and two others
'raided' the house, handcuffed and blindfolded Muammer
E., taking 1,800 TL from him in the process, and took
homeowner Hasrettin S. into custody, on the pretext that
"he had a revolver on him."

The next day Muammer E. and his son met with Hasrettin
S. in the Fatih Sehremini neighborhood. Hasrettin S. said
that he had spent the night in jail, that red mercury is a major
crime, that the police wanted 250,000 USD to return the
sample, 50,000 USD to destroy the record of the raid,
and 1 million dollars to provide security against another
police raid during the future sale of the substance.

After this discussion Muammer E. and his son realized they
had been duped so they went to the police and filed a complaint.
The suspects met with Muammer E. and his son on 22 March,
thinking that they would get the money then. However, the
real police captured them and took them into custody.  Vehbi
E.G., Adnan E., Hasrettin S. and Salih L. were charged with
crimes that call for between 15 and 34 years in prison.

Red mercury has supposedly found buyers paying 1 million
USD per kilo and it is believed to make a person 20 years
younger. It is also used for warheads and in oil and gas
extraction. Despite all these claims, though, its existence has
thus far never been proven.

The Gentleman Prefers Cows

pasture-ized links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 4 May 2013)

Victim's identity being withheld.

F.K., who raises livestock in Yalıkavak township in Bodrum
district of Muğla province, put surveillance cameras in the stable
and the field where his animals graze, in response to incidents
of cow-rape over the past two years. Yesterday around noon,
F.K. was watching the security camera screen when he saw
construction worker E.A. (32) raping one of his cows. F.K.
informed the police, who took E.A. into custody along with
the video.

Suspect E.A. rejected the charge, saying in his statement to the
police "I didn't rape it. I was loving it. What am I, a pervert?"
It has been learned that E.A. was taken into custody one year
ago for the same crime and released.
  

                                                                                   Bodrum's night-life must be on the wane.

Forgetful Sarge Burned by Funny Money

funnymoney links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 3 May 2013)

Something fishy about that cash.

Sergeant  H.H.O. (39), who is stationed in Izmir, sold
a car that he had used for a year to an automobile dealer
in Buca, Izmir. Afterwards, the dealer inspected the car
and found a box in the trunk with 15,000 TL in it. Thinking
the money might be counterfeit, the dealer called the finance
police who confirmed that is was phony and had a chat with
the sergeant.

H.H.O. admitted that the money was counterfeit but explained
that he had lost his wife recently and had a 40,000 TL debt
on his home.  He confessed that he had bought the phony
money in exchange for a 10 percent commission. Police then
turned H.H.O. over to the military police who put him in a
military prison.

The counterfeiter sergeant used some of the phony money
to shop at the canteen at his base  and this money was
determined to have the same serial number as the discovered
loot. Police are looking into whether or not any more of the
counterfeit money has found its way to the market.

Funny money in Izmir.

Batman Sued by Batman

batman links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 2 May 2013)

Not the mayor of  Batman

Batman city has come onto the world's agenda
with an interesting lawsuit. The city of  Batman's
former mayor, Huseyin Kalkan, filed suit against
the Batman film series that has earned millions of
dollars at the box office.

(Former) Mayor Kalkan of Batman

Mayor Kalkan claimed in the suit that the filmmakers
were using his city's name to earn money.  His suit
aganst the film's producers, Christopher Nolan and
Warner Bros.,  earned a spot on the list of the world's
most interesting lawsuits.

Although everyone found the suit to be 'interesting',
it ensured that the province of Batman would become
famous around the world.

Batman, the province (not the superhero).