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C. Guan Soo

C. Guan Soo on Tai Chi Breathing, Tai Chi, Confucius Analects, health-related topcis, Buddhist teachings and activities; as well on Writing, Copywriting, Internet Marketing or Speeches and Presentations; and any current topics and issues, far and wide...

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Name: C. Guan Soo
Location: Simpang Ampat, Penang, Malaysia

A little guy with lots of interests... so don't be surprise if the list under Interests runs endlessly... :)

01 July 2006

A Perfect Betrayal From Within!

I have a story to share with you... a real one.

Early this year, sometime in March, I went to one massage therapy center here, to do a foot reflexology session.

Half way through the session, two fierce and tough looking guys barged in and shouted at the owner.

Two Gangster Started Making A Scene...

"Do you want us to SHATTER this place?" threatened one of the taller guy, waving his fist at Leong. "How could you create trouble for your own sister and brother-in-law, you heartless idiot?"

The other one was sneering, ready to spring into action...

Leong, the owner of the center, was speechless and dumbfounded!

I was equally surprised.

These 2 are gangsters from another state. They belong to one of the powerful 'association' there.

They were angry; full of fire 'fused' by Leong's very own brother-in-law next door...

A Nasty Fight Could Happen Anything!

I sat there; witnessing perhaps a scene which I can only get to watch in TV! Now, this is real thing, right in front of my very own eyes!

As I watched them, a nasty fight could explode anytime then, like a ignited dynamite.

Though I dislike fighting, at that moment, if Leong is threatened, I wouldn't hesitate to join in and fight off the duo.

Now, why would I stand up for Leong, even if I have to risk facing the powerful mobs?

Alright, I'll come back to the fighting scene shortly. Let us first hop onto a time machine and go back to early last year...

Leong's Brother-in-Law

Now, you know that the thugs were 'fired up' by Leong's brother-in-law, right?

Leong's brother-in-law, let's just call him, Mr. Cunning (You'll see shortly why I use that name!).

He was from another state, in which he had ran into many self-created troubles.

The mobs are looking for him because he laid one of the leader's mistress. He owed money to the loan shark. His Chinese medicine practice, which he inherited from his father was in bad shape because of malpractices...

Well, I confirmed these facts from another person, Jeff, who has links to the 'association' of that particular state. Or, just put it this way: Jeff is one of them.

A Banished Stray Dog...

So, because of those troubles, Mr. Cunning was sort of 'banished' from that state, and he came to Leong for help, like a poor stray dog...

He was penniless, and homeless as well.

Leong took pity of him; gave him a place to stay, and a space in his center for him to continue his Chinese medicine practice, hopefully that he'll learn from his mistakes.

Wrong move! Seriously wrong decision, which Leong regretted so much later!

Why?

Read on...

The Trouble Began...

Within a short span of few months, Mr. Cunning bought a new car, a new house and move out of Leong's decent abode. He could even lead a luxury life.

What do you think of that? Can Chinese medicine practice pull in so much profits in just a few month's time?

Well, Mr. Cunning's medicine was sold for a price range between $200-$500. And what was his cost?

Less than $20.00!

So, not a bad profit, isn't it?

But seriously, it's not about him making so much money. Remember what had happened to his practices in his home state?

Yes, it was in bad shape, due to... malpractices!

Using Banned Ingredients!

It was proven by some of his patients that he included some banned ingredients, which released pain almost instantly, giving people a false sense of recovery.

A few of them came back and complained... and guess how he put it?

"Leong asked me to do it this way!" he claimed. "And he took the bigger share because it was his center! I only took 20% of the profit from those medicine!"

A Deadly Dagger Stabbed At The Back!

A nice stab at the back. A perfect betrayal from within! And a face-saving escape for Mr. Cunning. (Now you know why I use that name, but there're more shrewdness coming...)

And oh, I almost forgot to tell you that he didn't pay a single cent for rental, utilities or any expenses, because Leong thought that he was poor and in bad shape. So, Leong just let him be until one fine day...

"This place is too ugly! I heard that in 2nd floor, there're bigger place, which has 2 units joining together. You take one, while I take the other one. Let's decorate it nicely, to show that we're more professional." suggested Mr. Cunning.

Well, been a nice person, and easy going, Leong agreed. After all, that way, he would have to pay for his own rental, utilities and expenses.

The Shift For The Worst...

Thus, August last year, they shifted to the 2nd floor, with each of them renting one unit each, which are next to each other.

There's a door between them, which they can access easily. The door was kept open initially...

Then, it was close most of the time...

A few months later, the door which linked their units... it was completed sealed! Cemented and painted! They were then out of each other's sight for good!

During this 'door' issue period, Mr. Cunning continue defending himself with the same claim he had made earlier, while Leong's reputation is dropping by the millions.

The Back-Stabbing Continues

"That's why I have to seperate from him. Otherwise, I have to continue putting that ingredient, and sell cheap materials at exorbitant price!" Mr. Cunning explained.

The fact was, Mr. Cunning still used the same ingredient, and same cheap materials, but repackaged it to sell at the same price range.

"Now, this are using expensive ingredients. Not the one that Leong asked me to do. And the price is very reasonable!" he claimed.

Why don't Leong do something about it? You may ask, right?

Or could it be true that Leong actually did ask him to mix poor materials and sell it with unreasonable pricing?

How I know Leong...

You see, I got to know Leong since last year.

He owns a massage therapy center, which I had dropped in casually one fine Saturday, to test out his foot reflexology session.

His massaging skills are exceptionally good. I mean, I have tested out many other massage system and masters, and I personally found his to be exceptionally effective.

He's sincere, friendly, approachable and acted very professional. You can feel his positive vibes if you're here, especially if you've been practicing a lot of Tai Chi, meditation or Qigong.

Basically, after that one session, I was stuck with him! I go for his services regularly since then. I took my mum and brothers there too.

You see, to be able to heal others, it's an exceptional gift. If he mis-use it, he wouldn't be able to gain such exceptional level of mastery and healing abilities, don't you think so?

What's more?

A Respected Master Revered By 200 Over Student!

More than 200 students came and studied under him before. With his guidance, many of them went out and opened such centers successfully, or as free-lance massauers.

They constantly call or visit him for guidance and advice, even though they have left. Leong was very respected by his students.

Now, can a lousy personality command such respect and reverence from others? You don't think so, right?

On The Contrary...

I got to know his brother-in-law around the same time. On the contrary, frankly, I don't like his brother-in-law at the very first instance.

The vibes. The body language. (I was trained in reading body language too) The way he talks, and been overly humble. Superficial, I would say.

And he doesn't look into your eyes when he talks to you. He is fidgetting in the same time, as if there's too many thinking in his mind...unfocused, a trait usually appear in people who lies too much, or have other agenda in their mind.

With this alone, you can be sure why I would stand for Leong, and believe in his innocence.

Well, since it's Mr. Cunning's problem, why not do something about it?

Good question!

Confrontations Vs Shrewd PR Skills

Leong had actually confronted him a few times. Most of the time, Mr. Cunning acted weak, humble and as if he's the victim, especialy if Leong's sister (Cunning's wife) was around.

Or otherwise, he would just avoid the confrontation, or walked far from Leong when he saw him around. (You probably would call him the same way we do here: He's a chicken - a way to describe a person without gut!)

This matter was actually brought back to their families, and their family verdict was: Leong's a trouble-maker! Well, Leong seldom goes home.

On the other hand, Mr. Cunning's strength was his PR skills, and he just know how to pull the strings of those who matters.

The First Fight Started And Ended!

There's once, Mr. Cunning managed to sweet talk one of the tenant in that same mall to confront Leong, which ended up with fists throwing and exchange. It was a police case, but Leong was cleared because he was merely self-defending.

That tenant was punched in the face a few times by Leong, and received a fine and warning from the police. (Hurray!)

And guess what Mr. Cunning said of the fight?

"Sigh! How many times did I told him to settle issues peacefully. Why would he engage in fighting? That's terrible! He shouldn't attack Mr. XXX (The Tenant)!"

Now, there's a lot more issues I can share, but to cut the story short, let's go back to the second fight...the two gangsters, where more of their gangs were coming...

Now, The Second One Was About To Explode...

Leong was trying his best to clearly explain the situation, but somehow the thugs wouldn't listen. Leong's sister stormed in too from the next door, and added more fire, in defending her husband.

Without choice left, Leong called Jeff, and get Jeff on the phone to talk to the taller guy.

"What do you mean not to play it BIG? Don't you ever think that we don't have people here! I don't like your voice, and I want you to come here right away. I'll get my people here and play it BIG today!" you can hear the tall guy spoke to Jeff, after a few minutes.

He passed the phone back to Leong, and marched outside, took out his cellphone and start calling. Obviously, he's getting MORE to the party!

A Potential Gang Fight Now!

Now, this is going to be even more thrilling! A gang fight is going to explode soon!

He came back and screamed at Leong, who was still talking to Jeff, "You tell him to get his a** here now. I want to see his face now!"

"Don't play it big..." you can hear him murmuring. "Who does he think he is?"

Leong hung up, and it was only 10 minutes before you can see a group of colored hair, punks, and tough youngster gathering outside Leong's center. There were easily 8-10 of them.

It's going to happen anytime now...

Leong's phone rang again. It's Jeff, and he requested to talk to the tall guy.

"Where are you now? Chicken? Dare not come and play?" sneered the tall guy.

Then, you hear him sneered again, "Who do you think you are? What qualification do you have to ask of my rank?"

It's About Ranking In The 'Association'

"Well since you've asked, I came with H*** (The short guy)"

It's like H***, the shorter guy was of higher ranking in their association...

"What? You know H***? WHO are you?"

"Oh! OK, I'll pass you now to H***" upon which, he passed Leong's cellphone to H***, who was sitting there staring at us.

"Yes, who are you?" H*** had finally spoken, after keeping quiet for the whole episode.

"What? Oh, I see!"

"So, M*** is your father. I see, own people!"

Jeff Was Higher In Rank!

"Oh, OK. It's their family matter. We wouldn't want to intervene too!" He winked to the taller guy and made an indication. The taller guy went out, talked to the gang he had gathered, and looked like the war is about to end.

At this point, if you're here, you would probably felt a bit relieve upon hearing this too, wouldn't you?

Obviously, Jeff's ranking was much higher than theirs. I only knew by then, although I've known Jeff for a while, and that he's linked to some associations too.

H*** hung up the phone and passed it back to Leong.

"You're one family, why don't you guys sit down and settle it yourself, OK? We are outsiders, and we won't get involved in your family matters."

The Fire Was Extingiushed, But The Conflict Continues...

Having said that, he nodded his head to the taller guy, and the whole gang left Leong's center untouched. It was peacefully resolved. The fire was peacefully extingiushed.

Phew! Now, that's just exciting!

The center was quiet after they've left. We sat there in silence for a while...

Leong looked at me, with a relieving sigh and a pair of grateful eyes under his simple, black plastic-rim spectacles, he said softly, "Thank you for staying with me! I thought I was going to had it today, and my center will be in pieces!"

I just smiled at him, without saying a word.

In my heart, I knew clearly that I've helped and supported the right person.

The center is his life. It was intact. By been with him, I gave him the support. (Although, frankly, I don't know if I can fight with 8-10 people at once at that time!)

He's business was quite affected by the rumors, and the visit from the gangsters.

He Has Plans Now...

Although his conflict with Mr. Cunning is temporary paused, after the gangster chapter was closed, he still have to find a more permanent solution.

Been a non-confrontational personal, he prefers to move out. In fact, he's planning to get a new place since his rental contract is expected to end in August this year.

He's now searching for a good location.

In the same time, he took my advice and created something for online, which he can share with more people about his unique Liang Shi Foot Reflexology and Body Massage. His website is going to be ready in the next few days.

I'm honored to share this story with you, and to help him rebuilding his life, away from his beloved, betraying, brother-in-law - Mr. Cunning, and from possible future fights and threats again.

I hope you enjoy reading my 'true' story. Till then, have a great weekend! :)

Cheers,
Guan
Tai Chi Breathing
Quick & Simple Tai Chi Chuan
Confucions Analects

P.S. - Once his website is ready, I'll send you another email and the link so that you can see his center and his face there! :)

4 Comments:

Blogger Richard Coldman said...

I thought things like this only happened in kung fu movies set in a bygone era. It's bad news that someone invoved in purely therapeutic work has to deal with such threats. Happily no-one came to harm.

19 March, 2009 02:54  
Blogger C. Guan Soo said...

Hi Richard,

Thank you for your comment. Yes, fortunately it ended up OK, otherwise, I can't imagine how both of us were going to be.

Guan

19 March, 2009 08:53  
Blogger Shivayogi said...

That was the right thing to do. But there is a proverb here in India that it is not enough if you are good, but must be aware of the bad guy too.
Any way try to keep off from that guy for ever and see that you begin in a new place far off from him. If there is any help that I can do for you from India pl ask.
If you are a Tai Chi Master we would like to learn. Try posting videos and instructions on line with visits to various countries.
masters are in great demand
hope you will not tire and your spirit keep up
Our prayers

19 March, 2009 15:27  
Anonymous Selene said...

Wow, this is really something! It's like the Chinese drama where you have betrayal, deceit, suspense, etc.
Happy to know that Leong is alright and hope he is cleared of any misunderstanding and for the truth to be exposed, asap.
May he be well and happy.
Guan Soo, Happy that you are safe as well :)

19 March, 2009 21:26  

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