Service Apartment 9-4-13

This is an old case happened when I was still attached to a MNC in Bayan Lepas.

A colleague from Hong Kong came to Penang for a 3-month assignment. I was tasked by my boss to 'see to it' that the gentleman was being well taken care of. I protested of no avail as this was the job for human resource staff.

Let us acknowledge this gentleman as Jason for simplicity. 

After gotten the key to a service apartment, I was dismissed early by my boss so that I could fetch Jason from Penang International Airport.

The plane arrival was delayed 2 hours. So, by the time I met Jason; it was already way past 8pm.

I brought Jason to a hawker center near the airport for supper. The gentleman was indeed a chatter box, he started to complain about almost everything from the airline services to the hot tropical Malaysia weather. What could I do? So I just lent all my ears to him.

Jason kept talking and complaining until I walked him to the front door of his service apartment... When I passed him the key and he looked at the key tag...

"Wah! Brother... Don't joke during this time of the day loh..." 

Jason's speech halted and he gazed on the key tag: It was Room 9-4-13!

The number 9413 has no significant to most of us except for Cantonese as the pronunciation for 9-4-13 in Cantonese means '9 deaths 1 lives'. No wonder Jason was feeling not so easy...

I shrugged and told him to bring the complaint to my boss and then tugged the key 9-4-13 into Jason's hand and bidden him good night.

The next afternoon half an hour before working time, my boss summoned me to his office again. He asked me to keep Jason entertained for a few days and my answer was a lowkey monotone 'yes sir'.

I arrived in front door at about 9pm readied to bring him to Penang town to a Karaoke lounge to spend a night...

When I was in front of apartment 9-4-13 door, I heard some strange noise came out from the apartment... I attached my ear on the door and the noise became clearer... It was the noise of people making love.

I was in a dilemma as to whether to knock the door or to wait until the anticlimax.So I just stood by the door and waited.

The commotion finally halted and I knocked on the door. The door opened and before Jason spoke, I gave him a naughty look and said: "Jason, if you already have a plan for tonight, just let me know... Let me see your lady partner!"

Jason gave me a blank stare and grumble: "What are you talking about? I was waiting for you in my couch and you are late!"

I shrugged and apologized to him with a absent-minded manner. And off we went to the Karaoke...

A few hours later I sent Jason back to his apartment and gave him a wink: "Don't enjoy too much as you still have an early meeting with my boss... Hahaha!"

I returned home, took a hot shower and it was already 2am. I couldn't sleep so I just sat in my armchair and took some shut eyes... And my phone rang:

"Help! Liew! There is something in my room!" The desperate voice of Jason came from the other end.

Half an hour later, I was at Jason's front door. Before I could knock on the door, the door was forced opened and there was Jason shivering.

"There is something in my room... When I was in my bed, the figure of a pretty lady suddenly came to me. She suddenly jumped into the bed and pressing on my chest. Her appearance also transformed into the grim face of an old hag... The thing kept strangling my neck with its icy cold hands and demanded my life..."

An security guard heard the commotion and came to investigate. According to the guard, the former owner of Apartment 9-4-13 was a lady working as a secretary. She had an affair with her boss but the boss jilted her. The desperate lady committed suicide and the apartment was emptied for a long time before it was sold again.

Jason wanted to put up a night at my place but I eventually sent him to my boss's house as I didn't want to get too close to a manager.

I took medical leave the next day and when I returned, Jason was not in the office. My colleague told me that he has returned to Hong Kong the morning before.

Perhaps I should thank the ghostly figure or whatever it might be for liberating me from entertaining my boss and Jason... Beware of 9-4-13 folks! Hahaha...