Explosion at Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya

Four people were injured while more than 300 were rescued and evacuated after a suspected gas leak caused an explosion on the lower ground floor of the Empire Shopping Gallery here early Wednesday.

The 3.45am explosion damaged two other floors in the complex. It also caused damage to the adjoining office block and studio apartments.

The damage to the lower and ground floor of the mall was caused by the impact of the explosion rather than fire.

Police have ruled out sabotage or terrorism as the cause of the gas explosion. Meanwhile, Selangor Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who visited the scene, said the mall would be temporarily closed to the public, pending safety assurance by the authorities and building is deemed safe although no serious structural damage was detected at the location of the explosion. The temporary closure will affect 180 tenants.

Update: Sep 29
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The explosion caused extensive damage to this section of the mall.

Empire Shopping Gallery has been closed for the authorities to determine the cause of a gas explosion which rocked the building, injuring four people.

The closure, which covers the entire complex that houses a hotel, commercial and residential units, is effective until the structures are declared safe by the authorities.

Empire Shopping Gallery is a popular shopping mall attracting thousands of shoppers daily.

The management company that manages the mall confirmed that the building's main structure is still intact, noting that the damage is confined to glass panels, ceiling boards and several brick walls “mainly due to the rapid expansion of air during the explosion”.

About 300 people were rescued and evacuated, including some 170 hotel guests who were relocated to nearby hotels for safety reasons. Employees who turned up for work this morning were asked to go home as the mall is closed until further notice.

The effects of the explosion reached both ends of the mall, and all five levels recorded some form of damage.

Several windows as high up as the eighth floor of the 12-storey office tower were also shattered.

The public can get updates via various channels, including the mall's website (www.esg.com.my), Facebook (www.facebook/esg.com.my) and Twitter (Empire SHGallery.com). Alternatively, they can call 018-701 2880.

Related articles:
- Mall blast: Gas leak from restaurant was the source, Fire Dept confirms (Updated)
- Tenants a worried lot
- One to three months to know source of gas leak in Empire Gallery blast

Source: The Star

Happy 13th Birthday Google

Today is Google's 13th birthday. Happy Birthday Google!

Rolling In The Deep

Alright, you've heard Adele's "Rolling In The Deep". For another perspective, here's Linkin' Park's cover at the ITunes festival in London. Lyrics below to sing along.



Rolling In The Deep

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I'll leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch
And it's bringing me out the dark

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

Baby, I have no story to be told
But I've heard one of you
And I'm gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Making a home down there
As mine sure won't be shared

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it with a beating

Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in time and reap just what you sow

(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
We could have had it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
It all, it all, it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

You could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)

But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat.

Cyber-crimes on the rise

Every now and again, we hear or read in the papers about people being scammed either in person or online. Indeed, cybercrime is on the rise and according to the Norton Cybercrime Report 2011, cybercrime is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide with more than a million people becoming victims every single day.The victims of cybercrime also paid dearly with a total loss of US$388bil (RM1.21bil) to ­cybercriminals in 2010.

Below is an email, received a number of times, of someone who almost fell victim. The thing to remember is, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

Subject: New Cheating - you see RM200K in your bank account!

Beware times are bad!

Any cheque banked in into your account need a few days to transact. Although the amount appears in your account, but it's still pending for transaction, the person issuing the cheque can cancel the cheque at any time! A few days ago, one of my friends received a sms with the message: "You've strike 1st prize with a prize money of RM200,000 cash." The sms came with a contact no. My friend ignored it since he had heard of too many bogus scams using similar tactics. After a short while his handphone rang, a Miss Fang asked: "Sir have you received a sms telling you that you've strike 1st prize?" My friend answered: "Yes, I have"

Miss Fang: "Please let us have your bank account number so that we can deposit the money into your account." My friend thought, why not, let's see what you can do. My friend has a buddy who works in that bank. Hence, he gave her his account number. Ten minutes later, my friend's handphone started ringing again. Miss Fang said: "Sir, we have deposited your prize money into your account, please check and verify." My friend checked using his handphone and found that RM 200,000 was really deposited into his account. He was euphoric, just like that and he's RM 200,000 richer!

30 minutes later, Miss Fang called again. She was crying: "I'm sorry sir, I made a mistake, I forgot to deduct the tax before I deposited the prize money, 20% of RM 200,000 equals to RM40,000. Now the company wants me to reimburse the money. Can you please return the RM 40,000 tax? I beg you." My friend thought for a while and felt pity for the lady. Thinking of the money in his bank account, he went to the bank. Suddenly he thought of his buddy working in that bank and decided to ask his buddy to double check and confirm with him first. Upon checking, his buddy found out that the money was deposited using a cheque of a different bank.

Even though the cheque was deposited but the actual amount of money can't be transfered into his account on the same day. If the other party decided to cancel the cheque, then he'll not get this RM 200,000. My friend was shocked. He almost lost RM 40,000. Before my friend left for home on that day, the cheque was actually cancelled. If not for his buddy, if not for him being a professional, or if he was cared of letting others know of striking the prize then this bogus scam would be successful. This is a true story, please beware. Future scams could be even better planned. Please don't forget to forward to your friends and relatives to warn them from being cheated.

Kelantan government's push to implement Hudud law in the state

Sometime ago, there was an email circulating around which had a series of images of a boy lying down on the floor while a vehicle rolled over his arm. The boy was being punished for stealing. There was another email showing a video of a man whose seat of manhood was being cut of in plain sight of the public, including his wife. These two incidents took place in an islamic country where hudud law is being practised.

These scenes could be happening on our shores if the Kelantan government has its way as PAS Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat said the state government would go ahead and set up an Islamic state with or without the support of its Opposition coalition partners. (The Star)

DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who was taken aback by Anwar's stand to support hudud law said: “The punishments for these offences are flogging 100 times for intercourse between an unmarried couple, stoning to death for adultery, amputation of hand for theft, death for apostasy, flogging 40 times for alcohol consumption, flogging 80 times for false accusation of adultery and death by sword or crucifixion for highway robbery.”

However, The Government will not implement hudud law in Malaysia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Hudud law applies to Muslims.

Google doodle in honour of Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets

Google pays tribute today to Jim Henson. James Maury "Jim" Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. If you are not familiar with The Muppets, how about Sesame Street? There you go..

Friday Frolics - The Library Test and the Floating Book Fair on Logos Hope

This week's quiz has something to do with the Library. The Library is where some of us go to during the weekend. Talk about Library, a floating book fair is coming to town in the form of MV Logos Hope. The ship that is run as a non-profit organization will be docked at Port Klang from Sep 28 onwards until Oct 24. Currently, it is in Penang and will be there until Sep 27. So, if you are in Penang, you have just a few more days to make the visit. More info and itinerary of MV Logos Hope..

How to get there..

And now for The Library Test..

You Are a Concrete Thinker

When it comes down to it, you're a practical person. You're only concerned with what works in life. You like to build your skills and knowledge about the world. You like to know lots of things. You are career-focused. You get a lot of satisfaction from working hard. You are always looking for ways to improve yourself and strengthen your ambition in life. You study a lot.

The Library Test

More fun quizzes

Passes to Arthur's Day 2011 celebration at Speed City

Oh, did I mention I won four passes to the Black is Back with Arthur’s Day 2011 celebration with my blog entry? Received an email from Nuffnang on Monday and will be at their office to pick up the tickets tomorrow or maybe have someone pick them up on my behalf. I know, I'm late but I have until 6pm tomorrow to collect the passes/tickets.

The party will be at Speed City KL, Selangor Turf Club. I can imagine the traffic. Oh gosh! See you there?