Vinegar can save anyone during cramp attacks

 

Hiking is fun and healthful, but it can be ruined by an unexpected cramp attack.

By Vir B. Lumicao

Going outdoors during the coming holiday break? Take heed. It may be good for you to bring along a small amount of vinegar, especially if you are prone to cramps or sensitive to insect bites or plant stings.

Vinegar is the most effective first-aid remedy to cramps, I can say from my own experience. I discovered it only a few years back when lingering pain from a leg cramp attack while hiking prompted me to search the Internet for the best remedy.

Vinegar also stops itching caused by allergens, insect bites and larval or leaf stings.

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Cramps, a sudden tightening of the muscles when they are overworked or exposed to the cold, can lead to serious and even fatal accidents if the attack occurs while a person is biking, swimming, hiking or performing a hazardous outdoor activity.

Sporting experts say cramp is common among athletes who do not warm up before they start a strenuous activity. They say cramp is generally temporary and non-damaging, but it can cause significant pain and paralysis-like immobility of the affected muscle.

Cramp is common among athletes who don't warm up going into action.

My most painful cramp attack happened about three years ago while I was doing a loop hike up Mt Butler and Mt Parker then down to Tai Tam Reservoir and back to the starting point at North Point MTR station.

I began the hike at midday and aimed to finish the roughly 10 km loop by 5pm at a brisk pace. That would leave me time to buy some foodstuff at the North Point market. That didn’t happen.

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My mistake was I overexerted myself. From the start at MTR station, I did a nonstop lung-busting climb about a kilometer long on steep concrete stairways and inclined sidewalks until I reached the beginning of the trail on Braemar Hill.

In less than three hours, I was on the Tai Tam Upper Dam. I had my quick lunch on a picnic site along the trail then made my way back up towards the Mt Parker Pavilion.

I was just about 80 meters away from the pavilion when my legs cramped. The pain was severe and I felt my strength drained by the attack, so I supported myself on a roadside rail and shook my ankles up and down, left and right, until the pain eased.

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From there, I limped my way down Mt Parker Road and took the tram to North Point.

The post-cramp pain in my calves didn’t go away for two days, leading me to do some internet research on how to prevent cramps. Medical sites offered various forms of advice and advertisers recommended an array of food supplements or endorsed the services of some clinics that specialized on sporting pains.

Tai Tam Reservoir and the South China Sea as seen from Mt Butler.

Then I came across a conversation thread about cramps and its folk remedies. They offered a number of quick fixes such as fruit juice and pickle juice. Then I read an advice from a US Navy Seal. He said keep a bottle of vinegar always ready.

He explained that divers like the Seals are prone to cramps due to the hours they spend in cold waters. A gulp of vinegar would stop the cramp in two to five minutes, he said.

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There’s nothing to lose taking his advice so, since then, I’ve made it a point to bring a small bottle of vinegar each time I go hiking. On four occasions that I suffered a cramp on the trails, I drank about a mouthful of the liquid and it kept me going again.

The last time I had cramps was three weekends ago, just as I and my hiking buddy Golda Pay-ong began descending the summit of Lantau Peak, at 950 meters the second-highest in Hong Kong.

First, I felt my thighs tighten and shake. I made a few belabored steps down the steep and narrow trail then stopped on a ridge wide enough for me to take out the vinegar from my backpack. I told Golda to carry on, but she waited.

My thighs were so taut I could not even bend them. I took two swigs and waited for about three minutes, then we resumed our descent.

About 100 meters down the slope, we came upon three Indonesian women sitting on one side of the trail. One of them was in pain as her friends massaged her legs. Cramps, they replied when I asked them what happened. I offered the afflicted woman my remedy.

“Here, take a mouthful. It’s vinegar. I also had cramps about 5 minutes ago,” I told her.

She did and soon she and her friends continued their trek, not far behind me and my buddy.

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Pinay who fought with employer freed on police bail

By Daisy CL Mandap 

S.L. was released on bail after an interview at North Point Police Station (Foursquare photo)

The Filipina who was arrested on Wednesday night after a fierce fight with her employer in North Point was freed on police bail late yesterday, Oct 29.

The Consulate who had been helping S.L. throughout provided her bail money and later took her to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office’s shelter.

But a pro bono private solicitor assisted S.L. during her interview at the North Point police station, during which she chose to remain silent after being advised of her rights.

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No charges have been filed against her.

S. L. was taken to the North Point Police station after being discharged from the Pamela Youde Nethersole (Eastern Hospital) where she was taken after complaining of dizziness.

Her employer was also taken to the hospital for an unknown complaint but was discharged earlier.

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Police told The SUN earlier that S.L. was booked on charges of possessing an offensive weapon and assault occasioning bodily harm.

They were reportedly called to the scene at Island Place Three in North Point at 6:30pm on Wednesday by an unnamed resident.

“The police received information that the accused had pointed a knife and had bitten her employer,” said a police spokeswoman.

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“Both the domestic helper and her employer were admitted to the PYNEH and right now the domestic helper is still in the hospital.”

The spokeswoman said no complaints were recorded against the employer, and she was not arrested.

S.L. being interviewed by police at the lobby of her employer's residential building

A video of the encounter between the two where the Filipina could be heard shouting "ate, ate" - apparently asking for help from a friend who lives in the same block - went viral even before the police took S.L. away.

Social media posts by her friends and relatives said S.L. was ordered to leave by her employer that same night, but should first sign a blank document, so she resisted. Her employer reportedly got angry when S.L. started recording their conversation using her telephone. 

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S.L.’s sister who managed to see the accused in hospital Thursday morning said she was told that it was the employer who had taken out the knife along with a pair of scissors during their argument. The employer reportedly told her sister to choose which of the two she wanted to be assaulted with. 

Before this, the employer reportedly told the helper that she should leave their house on the spot and not wait until her one-month notice of termination had lapsed early next month.

S.L., who had worked for the employer for only three months, reportedly complained of being made to sleep in the living room and not being given any space to store her personal stuff. 

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Police warn vs. scams amid surge in cases

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Police data show deception cases more than doubled in the first half of the year

While Hong Kong grappled with pro-democracy protests and the coronavirus epidemic in the first half of this year, scammers had been busy plying their trade, prompting police to renew their warning to the public to be wary.

Crime statistics collated by the Hong Kong Police Department showed that from January to June this year, deception cases shot up to 8,129, almost equal to the full-year total of 8,216 cases last year.

The first-half figure this year was 113% more than the 3,855 deception cases reported in the same period last year.

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Filipina migrant workers were not spared by the con men, who in at least two recent cases, became unsuspecting conduits for money laundering by men who wooed them online.

In the first of these cases, some of the money transferred to the Filipina was squeezed from other unsuspecting female victims.

The police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre said scammers trawl the internet for possible victims.   

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“Once they have gained the latter’s trust, they will ask to borrow the victims’ accounts for allegedly lawful purposes using various pretexts,” the ADCC said.

In fact, they use the accounts to collect illicit money and lure the victims to withdraw the cash for them.

“The act of lending one’s account to others for unlawful purposes might have constituted the offense of ‘Dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence’ [money laundering], which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $5 million,” the ADCC said.

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An unfortunate example was E. Gumabay, a 44-year-old helper who was jailed for 12 months in late June after her bank account was found to have been used to launder nearly $1.6 million.

Gumatay denied any involvement, saying she just lent her two ATM cards to an online friend she knew only as Williams.

The crime was uncovered after police traced to her bank accounts cash deposited separately by two female love scam victims for their online boyfriend, Dennis Leung.

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Another Filipina helper fell into a similar trap in April. An African man she met online convinced her to lend him her ATM card, then proceeded to use it for laundering $1.62 million in just two months.

The Filipina's bank statement shows $1.62 million passed through her account in 2 months

Warned about the consequences, the woman helper reported the case to the police and the bank.

The police appealed to the public not to open bank accounts for friends or lend their own accounts to them lest they would breach the law on money laundering.

“Don’t lend your bank accounts to others. Don’t disclose details of your bank accounts to others. Remind your relatives and friends the risk of scams,” the ADCC said.

Another trick the police warn against is scammers befriending their victims via social networking platforms, dating apps or instant messaging and then sweet-talking them into undressing or performing indecent acts in front of a webcam.

“They’d also entice the latter to download malicious apps or disclose verification codes of instant messaging software with the intention of stealing their contact details,” the ADCC said.

The victims are then told they had been filmed naked and ordered to transfer money to a designated overseas bank account, settle the sum in bitcoins or buy virtual point cards, or else the footage would be circulated to their friends and families, the ADCC said.

The council advised the public not to trust newly met strangers on the internet.

“Be vigilant. Don’t engage in naked chat, especially in the online virtual world. Reject scammers’ unreasonable requests such as remittance, purchase of virtual money or point cards,” the ADCC said, advising people to call the anti-scam helpline 18222 if in doubt.

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No super typhoon, but T4 may be raised when ‘Rolly’ moves across PHL

By The SUN 

PAGASA's 5pm weather bulletin today, Oct 30

Typhoon Rolly (International name, Goni) continues to intensify as it moves toward the Philippines ahead of its expected landfall in Aurora province on Sunday evening or early Monday morning.

At 5pm today, Oct 30, Rolly was forecast to move west-southwest until tomorrow morning, with winds of 165 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 205 kph.

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It will then turn west-northwest as it moves over the sea off the coast of the Bicol Region, towards the eastern coast of Aurora-Quezon area.

PAGASA says the typhoon will continue to intensify prior to landfall, when its winds are expected to peak at between 175-195 kph. This could lead to the hoisting of  Signal No 3 or 4 (second highest) as the typhoon passes through the country.

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But the state weather bureau discounted a forecast from the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast earlier today that Rolly will pick up strength on Saturday, with winds of 240.76 kph, thereby reaching super typhoon category.

The USN said this will occur briefly over open water as Rolly moves nearer to the eastern part of Luzon. It will then weaken into a typhoon with winds of 212 kph before touching land.

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In the Philippines, Signal No 4 is hoisted when a typhoon packs winds of between 171-220 kph while the highest, Signal No 5, is raised when the winds are greater than 220kph.

PAGASA said the trough of the typhoon will bring light to moderate, sometimes heavy rains over Bicol region, Visayas, Caraga, northern Mindanao, and Zamboanga peninsula.

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The rains could intensify beginning Saturday or Sunday over northern and central Luzon and Bicol region, especially those along its track.

Storm surge of up to 2 meters may also be experienced over the coastal areas of Aurora, Quezon, Marinduque, Bicol Region, and Northern Samar.

PAGASA is also monitoring another tropical storm that appears headed toward the country, but is not expected to bring severe weather within its territory in the next three days.

Tropical Storm “Atsani” is expected to enter Philippine jurisdiction on Sunday or Monday, during which it will be given the local name “Siony.”

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Filipina DH among 7 new Covid-19 cases, 1 with unknown source

By The SUN

The Filipina was about to get out of quarantine from Charter House hotel when she tested positive

A Filipina domestic worker who tested positive on her second test for Covid-19 while in quarantine, was among six imported cases reported today, Oct 30. She is the first newly arrived Filipino to test positive for the virus in five days.

The Centre for Health Protection said the 27-year-old Filipina was staying at Charter House hotel in Causeway Bay when she was found infected yesterday. She arrived on Oct 16 via Philippine Airlines Flight PR 300.

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The other imported cases involved three returnees from India and two from Pakistan.

There was only one local case, a 44-year-old office worker whose source of infection was unknown. His was the first untraceable case uncovered in nearly a week.

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He was found infected after undergoing tests arranged by his company on Wednesday.

The man lives in North Point and works at Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan. He didn’t show any symptoms, but reported feeling tired for a few days.

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CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said about 40 of his co-workers had tested negative for the coronavirus, but 11 of them who are deemed close contacts will be put under quarantine.

The man’s friends who went hiking with him on Mt Beacon and with whom he had lunch will also be sent to a quarantine center.

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During the incubation period, he also played badminton at the Harbour Road Sports Centre in Wan Chai, and CHP is investigating whether there he had close contacts there who should be isolated.

The city’s total Covid-19 tally is now 5,321 with 105 deaths. A total of 97 patients are still being treated in 18 public hospitals, of whom nine are in critical condition, four are serious, and 84 are stable.

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Overstaying Filipina tourist loses final bid to fight off deportation

 By The SUN 

The High Court may have put an end to the Filipina's 8-year-old battle to remain in HK

A Filipina tourist who has been fighting to stay on in Hong Kong after overstaying her visa since 2012, saying her husband wanted to hurt or kill her, lost a bid to take her fight against deportation to the Court of Appeal.

In a decision on Oct 28, the CA dismissed Michelle Estrada’s appeal against a ruling by the Court of First Instance denying her second application for a judicial review of her failed attempt to stop her being sent back home.

The appeal court decision was written by Vice President MH Lam and concurred in by Justices Aarif Barma and Thomas Au.

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Estrada filed her second appeal on Sept 1 after Lam and Au threw out her appeal against Judge Bruno Chan’s dismissal of her second motion to review the Torture Claims Appeal Board’s refusal of her appeal against Immigration’s move to deport her.

In her application to appeal to the CFA, she said she did not understand the system, she did not know she needed to tell the court of her previous application, and that she really is in trouble in the Philippines but the TCAB did not properly assess her case.

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Estrada filed her written submissions on Sept 15 stating she did not intentionally abuse the court’s process, that she thought she needed to submit a new judicial review application after the first one was refused.

She also claimed it is not safe for her to return home due to a pattern of extrajudicial killings by the police with the blessings of President Rodrigo Duterte.

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“As stated in the judgment of 21 August 2020, it is well established that re-litigation by a second judicial review application in respect of the same decision is an abuse of process.  The applicant’s ignorance of the law cannot give rise to a reasonably arguable ground of appeal on the merit of her claim,” Lam, Barma and Au said.

The appeal court officials noted that Estrada’s Form 86 and affirmation dated April 3, 2018 lodged in the second judicial review that she was assisted by someone familiar with judicial review concerning TCAB decisions.

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They said she did not appeal Deputy High Court Judge Amanda Woodcock’s dismissal of her challenge to the TCAB’s decision in her first judicial review on Mar 13, 2018.

“In any event, we do not consider that there is any question of great general or public importance or which otherwise ought to be submitted to the CFA for determination in the present case,” Lam, Barma and Au said.

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Estrada last arrived in Hong Kong on Jun 13, 2012 and overstayed after her visitor visa expired 14 days later.  She surrendered to police on May 15, 2014 then lodged a non-refoulement claim (or against being sent back home) a week later, claiming her husband would harm or kill her. 

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