Blog | Cop performed ‘exorcism’ on girlfriend in China; man robs Surfside Beach store because it was ‘God’s will’
We think the use of religion can get pretty interesting here, from a judge in Alabama defying a federal court over same-sex marriage and the placement of the Ten Commandments, to the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, to debates and lawsuits about where the proper line between religion and government should be placed, and arguments between conservatives and liberals and atheists about the existence and nature of God.
I’m not quite sure we’ve had a story like this one out of China:
Lau was convicted of common assault and was fined HK$5,000 in Fanling Court in May last year. The magistrate found his explanation that his girlfriend was possessed to be an "invention" and refused to accept the phone messages as evidence.
But in yesterday's judgment Mr Justice Frank Stock wrote: "[Lau]'s story about belief in ghosts and about attempts to assist Ms Yau when apparently possessed by them would be considered by many to be inherently incredible.
"But in that setting, the account gains credence."
He found old WhatsApp messages, dating back to May 2011 supported the claim. Yau once wrote: "When you push her, pay attention to me."
Lau claimed he helped her to exorcise the ghost by treating her with a "mixed soft and hard approach" and she would become herself again.
Yau did not testify in the trial, and the judgment said she could therefore not be questioned about the meaning of her text messages.
The court heard Lau was a married man and was breaking up with Yau at that time.
The written judgment states that Lau claimed Yau would become irascible and threatening and then speak to him as if she were another person.
It’s good to know these kinds of things are exclusive to us.
(Thanks to Colin Burch - @cfburch4 - for the tip.)
Closer to home, it seems as though a mixture of mental illness, sadness and “God” led a local man to rob a store - without a weapon:
The woman told police the man said to her, “I need all of your money. It’s God’s will that I take all your money,” according to the report.
The woman said she thought the man was joking, but he continued to repeat that he needed all the money because it was God’s will, according to the report.
The clerk told police the suspect did not have a weapon, but his demeanor and tone were threatening, and she complied with his request and gave him a $50 bill and three $20 bills. The man went outside, and the woman then locked the door and called the police, according to the report.
When police arrived the man was waiting outside the store. A woman also arrived to the scene and told police she was the man’s caregiver.
This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 9:28 AM with the headline "Blog | Cop performed ‘exorcism’ on girlfriend in China; man robs Surfside Beach store because it was ‘God’s will’."