Can we legislate against black magic?

| New Straits Times, Jan 17, 2010 | by Tan Choe Choe

RECENTLY, there was a call for laws to outlaw ancient mythical practices, or black magic. But what is black magic? And how do you make it a
crime? How do you prove it in a court of law? And more importantly, does it exist? TAN CHOE CHOE, CHAI MEI LING and ANIZA DAMIS
find out.

HOW would you govern the practice of black magic?

In mid December, Selangor mufti Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid called for laws to be enacted to govern black magic. His concern was that
black magic was being used by people to control their spouses, for criminal activities, as well as for other evil purposes.

Yet, they were getting away with this because there were no laws against it.

Tamyes suggested the law could be included in the Syariah Criminal Enactment for offences committed by Muslims, while a new act would need
to be created for non-Muslims.

But how would these laws be enforced? And if someone were thought to have transgressed them, could they be charged? How would the case be
proven in court?

"Black magic is difficult to prove in court as the practice is abstract and cannot be proven by the five senses. Therefore, legal practitioners and
the authorities must think of a suitable form of law to charge black magic practitioners in court," Tamyes had said.

But black magic has been around for a long time. Why the need to regulate it now?

"Black magic seems to be becoming widespread. Previously, there were few people who practiced it, and they passed it on to their disciples. But
nowadays, the business is spread through the Internet, newspapers, and advertisements!" says Mat Jais, the head of the Istinbat division in the
Selangor Mufti's Department.
The division is responsible for researching into issues and coming out with guidelines for decisions based on the Quran or hadith.

Rev Dr Thomas Philips feels legislation to punish practitioners of black magic is impractical.

"Defining and interpreting black magic is impossible because it dwells in the realm of the individual ... of how one perceives or conceives the
concept of black magic. How can it be legislated if the boundaries are not clear?

"However, any practice that may cause hurt, pain, or loss of life should be addressed in court. But we have enough laws covering them," says the
president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

The Academy of Malay Studies, Universiti Malaya director Datuk Zainal Borhan says if there is to be legislation, black magic must be properly
defined.

He explains that magic is the manipulation of supernatural beings to assist man to evade crises in life.

"With that definition, it goes to follow that black magic is the use of such means to hurt or harm others for personal reasons or gains.

"Some categories of black magic that anthropologists have identified are contagious magic, which is to control the actions or thoughts of others
through the consumption of bits of our body parts like skin, hair or excrement; the other is imitative magic, which aims to destroy or physically
harm another person through the use of an object with human-like features, like in voodoo."

He is certain black magic is deeply rooted across all ethnic groups in the country.

"It is an area where empirical evidence and rationality never really took hold."

Zainal says the popularity of Hollywood movies on the supernatural - like Harry Potter and Twilight - shows how equally engrossed the West are
with magic.

Even if a law is enacted, the biggest challenge, says Taoist master Go Bai Lin, is to come up with the empirical evidence needed to prove a case.

"A person doesn't need to be at the scene to carry out a crime involving black magic."
Go says even if a witness is called to testify against a practitioner, the witness' account can be doubtful.

"You could be a witness to a ritual, but even after having seen the whole process, there's still no way for you to know who the intended victim is
or how the person will be affected."

Courts depend on evidence - proof that must be seen, says Mat Jais.

"Depending on just the claims of a witness would be a dangerous thing because it would lead to victimisation of innocent people.

"Lawyers have told us this is difficult to charge," he adds.

Just how difficult is it to charge?

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail declines to say whether it is possible to charge a person for black magic.

"A murder is murder by whatever means. The point is you have to prove that the means must be the cause of death.

"There must be a direct correlation between the cause and the effect.

"In proving guilt, there must be mens rea (the intention) and actus reus (the action). A person might say that he is going to use black magic to kill
someone. But what kills the victim is a bus.

"In this instance, intention is not sufficient to prove guilt. Just mere intention is not an offence," says Gani.

The police, too, feel it is difficult to take action against black magic.

"How does one investigate? How do you prove it? The most we can do is take the victim to the hospital for a check-up. But how do you prove
that the illness is caused by black magic?" asks Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar.

"We can only take action if we find related evidence, like the use of drugs or poison, coupled with clear motives."

However, it's a different scenario when there is an element of cheating involved.

In 2008, Selangor received 15 reports of victims claiming they were cheated by black magic practitioners. Last year, there were 20.

"We will open the case under Section 402 of the Penal Code for cheating. If it was proven that the victim was also raped, physically harmed or
more, we will add the charges accordingly."

But does black magic really exist? And does it work on people who don't believe in it?

Khalid does not believe in it.

"Once, when my eldest child had high fever, everyone told me to consult a bomoh as they say he's been sempuk (possessed) or something. I
didn't believe and just took him to a doctor and he recovered."

Mat Jais, however, insists: "We cannot disbelieve it because it exists; even though we can't see it."

However, he says black magic is just a short term solution.

"Wives will employ black magic to 'lock' their husbands' wandering eye.

"There is no insaf (repentance) from the husband. If the magic were taken away, he would go back to his philandering ways.

"What is needed instead is a visit to the religious department, or marriage counselling," says Mat Jais.

Anti-witchcraft laws around the globe

ENGLAND has the first recorded law on witchcraft.

King Henry VIII's Witchcraft Act of 1542 made witchcraft a crime punishable by death.

Under the act, it was forbidden "to use, devise, practise or exercise, or cause to be devised, practised or exercised any invocations of sprites,
witchcraft, enchantments or sorcery to the intent to find money or treasure or to waste, consume or destroy any person in his body members, or to
provoke any person to unlawful love, or for any other unlawful intent or purpose..."
Scotland passed its own Witchcraft Act of 1563, which stipulated that witchcraft was a capital offence. Those consulting with witches faced the
death penalty.

By the end of the 17th century, witch-hunting gradually died down as the influences of the Age of Reason began to take hold.

The Age of Reason refers to a movement in Europe from about 1650 until 1800 that advocated the use of reason and individualism instead of
tradition and established doctrine.

In 1735, the earlier law was replaced with King George II's Witchcraft Act 1735. Under this, people were no longer hanged for consorting with
evil spirits. Rather, a person who "pretended to have the power to call up spirits, or foretell the future, or cast spells, or discover the whereabouts
of stolen goods" was to be punished as a vagrant and a con-artist. Offenders were fined and imprisoned.

The last person who was convicted under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 was Jane Rebecca Yorke in 1944, an English medium who lived in East
London.

In 1951, the Witchcraft Act was repealed with the enactment of the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951.

INDIA has long viewed the practice of witchcraft as a social menace.

The first draft of an anti-superstition bill, the Jadu Tona Andhshradha Virodhi (Anti-Superstition) Bill, was tabled in the Indian state of
Maharashtra in 2003.

However, the bill was met with strong opposition from the public as the definition of superstition was considered too vast.

Although the bill was eventually passed that year, it was never enforced, as a change in government was imminent at the time.

Two years later, a new bill that is essentially similar to the first, was again tabled in Maharashtra.

But as of June last year, it was reported in the Times of India that the 2005 bill - dubbed the Maharashtra Black Magic, Evil and Aghori Practices
Bill 2005 - had yet to be passed.

How a spell gets to you

HOW does one get hexed by black magic, and how is the victim affected?

Spells are cast through four methods, says Pak Atan (not his real name), a spiritual practitioner.

"You can get it through fire, water, wind or earth. For example, if it's water, you can get it if someone puts a spell into your drink," he claims.

When one is subjected to a spell, depending on its severity and purpose, the person will suffer body aches, become moody and have difficulties in
engaging with others, he says.

He says if the spell is intended to embarrass the victim, the bomoh performing it can make the victim engage in all sorts of strange behaviour like
taking off his clothes or laughing for no reason.

"Bomoh can use black magic to control people's actions. If the bomoh ronggeng (dances) at his place, the person under the spell will also do the
same.

"Bomoh usually use holy words too but read them in reverse. That is a grave sin in Islam," says Pak Atan, 70.

Practised since ancient times, black magic has evolved into different forms today, says Taoist master Go Bai Lin.

"It can be used for good and bad intentions. Some restaurateurs swear by it to increase patrons and sales, guest relations officers turn to love
potions to attract clients, and some use susuk to become beautiful."

He claims that if used for sinister purposes, black magic can drive one to the brink of insanity, despair or even death.

"To conjure such a spell, the victim's belongings - clothes, hair, photo, name, and birth date especially - is usually needed."

For this reason, Go advises against making the time and date of one's birth widely known.

A person can also be an unintended victim, he adds.

"A black magic practitioner who is practising conjuring spells sometimes releases them out in the open. If you hang your clothes out at night,
these spells can attach themselves onto your clothing, and you'll be affected when you wear them."
In order to undo a spell, Pak Atan explains that one has to know how it is sent.

"This is so that the right treatment can be given. If it's sent through fire, the spell must also leave through fire," says Pak Atan, who says he has
been helping victims for the last 50 years.

"If the person drank something cursed by a spell, blessed water would be sprinkled onto the person's face or drunk. The victim might also have to
take a saffron bath as a cleansing ritual.

"The most difficult part is confronting the evil spirit in the victim. Their strength is unbelievable. Even two to three grown men can't pin a
possessed person down," says Pak Atan, who says he has has had patients brought to him in chains.

As part of his treatment, Pak Atan presses an object against the soles of a person's feet.

"I then ask the spirit who has sent it. The spirit will leave when the pain becomes unbearable."

He says people of all ages, races and backgrounds - including the rich and famous, and professionals like lawyers and doctors - have turned up at
his doorstep.

"I have been to France, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and Pakistan to help people."

Pak Atan does not accept payment and turns those with ill intentions away.

"Those who perform black magic for money, that's very bad. They don't even know the victims, and have nothing to do with them, but can carry
out such acts to harm them.

"There's real reason to fear people who resort to black magic for evil motives because they are wicked.

"People who do not believe in black magic are just as susceptible as those who do," says Pak Atan, who runs a restaurant in Kepong.

Two black magic victims speak

RINA, 34, claims she was ravaged by black magic 20 years ago.
She says when she was in secondary school, she started having sleep and appetite problems

"Meat left an aftertaste and smelled bad, vegetables tasted stale. Soon, I couldn't eat anything."

She says her weight plummeted from 50kg to 35kg.

"I was constantly worried and depressed. Multiple check-ups in hospitals yielded no answers. I soon started to see apparitions. When I was alone
at the house I rented with a few friends in Selangor, I felt I was being watched.

"I kept it to myself for the longest time. I did not dare tell my friends or family. I did not want them to think I've gone crazy.

"The last straw was when I sometimes became invisible to my housemates. Sometimes, I looked like an old woman to them."

Rina sought the help of several bomoh.

"They said I was a victim of santau, and that my ex-boyfriend was responsible for it."

She was told that the boy had engaged a bomoh and sprinkled powder consisting ground bones and soil on her house porch.

"I refused to believe it but one day, he let it slip that he had done it because he wanted me back. I did not think it could happen to me as I do not
believe in black magic."

To get well, Rina underwent all sorts of "treatment", from mandi air bunga or taking floral bath - a cleansing ritual believed to be able to ward off
spirits - to burning kemenyan or incense.

"It only worked temporarily. I eventually sought the help of religious groups like Rufaqa and Darusshifa.

"The sessions did not go well at first. Sometimes the car would break down. I would also feel uncomfortable,"

In time, however, Rina got better

Misunderstanding led to downward spiral

SANDY, an educated professional from Kuala Lumpur says she did not believe in black magic and the supernatural until something happened to
her.

"Recently, my life took a downward spiral. My good friends distanced themselves, I became agitated over the slightest things, and my pets died. I
also had a few car accidents."

The former lecturer says her students dwindled from over 200 to merely 20 during that period.

"When I drive alone at night, forked roads would appear out of nowhere. Once, the road I turned into disappeared completely and I ended up
plunging into a gully."

She escaped with minor injuries.

"It became so bad that friends recommended that I seek advice from Chinese temples. One visit led to another. I was told that two acquaintances
were the culprits.

"I also sought out shamans, mediums, bomoh and tarot card readers to confirm the identity of the two people. I learnt that they wanted to take
revenge against me over some misunderstanding. I was told that they had used Orang Asli, Siamese and Indonesian black magic.

"I was offered a chance to unleash their black magic spell back unto them but I did not want to do so. I just wanted to know who was harming me
and to stay away from them."

Sandy says she finds it difficult to trust anyone these days.

She says while legislation to protect people from becoming the victims of black magic is good, it will be impossible to enforce.

"It is very difficult to prove. Even though a few people have confirmed the identity of the two people who did this to me, I have no real, hard
evidence. Nothing much can be done."

Magic for a `sincere' price

IS your husband straying? Is your business suffering? Or do you think you are being pestered by a jinn?
There are many "experts" who can help, with some even offering a money-back guarantee.

Flip through any local tabloid and you're bound to find some of their advertisements. Most claim that they can help solve any problem - be it a
mysterious illness, a curse, marriage breakdown, business failure, or indisciplined children.

Looking to make yourself invincible, retain your youthfulness, or to reign in your spouse? No problem.

Multi-purpose love potions and invisible guardians are also on offer.

These advertisements are often spiced up with testimonies from supposedly appreciative clients.

"I used to have a loving wife but she suddenly changed one day and she no longer respected me. She even slept with her back to me and asked
for a divorce. But after I consulted this spiritual healer, my wife is loving again," wrote one "customer".

Some even offer susuk (supernatural implants) using holy verses.

Some advertorials were cleverly disguised as a news piece, explaining what a particular "treatment" entails.

For example, in the case of a straying husband, a spiritual healer said he needed only a taro stalk and a coconut.

After reading a mantra, the spiritual healer would cut the coconut in half. The wife was then required to dispose of both halves of the coconut
into "two different rivers that don't flow to the same sea".

Most of the advertisements do not specify a price for the treatments offered, only that "payment should be made sincerely".

Some of these spiritual healers also advertise that they travel around the country to offer their services.

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