Chong sounds warning on crooked mediums

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: People who are ill should see a certified doctor first instead of seeking a supernatural cure, said MCA Public Services Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong.
He was appealing to the Chinese community in particular, saying that many chose to see mediums to heal them of their ailments, but later found themselves at the mercy of some “crooked mediums”.
“If you want to go see a medium, we cannot stop you. “But please go see a doctor first,” he told a press conference at his office here yesterday.
He told the story of a woman who had been suffering from breast cancer since August last year.
“The medium told her not to worry as he could cure her of her illness using magic, and she believed him.
“It was only recently that her family members finally managed to persuade her to go to a doctor, but the cancer has already spread to other parts of her body,” he said, adding that the woman had been seeing this medium for years, but had kept it a secret from her family.
The woman’s brother, who did not want to be named, said he found out about the medium a few weeks ago and how the quack healer would punish his sister by making her kneel under the hot sun for hours for failing to greet him properly.
“He would say that she has angered the spiritual grandmaster.
“This is an abuse of women and it is not acceptable,” he said.
Chong said he had received more than six cases of “crooked mediums” who took money from their victims and some who even demanded to have sex with their “patients”.
“When their victims declined to have sex with them, these mediums then threatened to hurt them and their family members.
“I want to urge victims not to be afraid. They should lodge a police report against these mediums. Please come forward, we will help you,” he said.