Latest news with #MeiLin
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Terrifying method scammer used to make Aussie WILLINGLY hand over their possessions after being approached on the street: '$200,000 gone'
A Sydneysider has lost $200,000 in a terrifying 'Chinese blessing scam', with loved ones convinced she was given a drug to comply with their demands. Mei Lin*, 85, was conned into handing over a haul of valuable jewellery and cash in a sophisticated street fraud, in Homebush West, when scammers told her the belongings needed to be 'blessed' to prevent harm to her family, on January 11, 2018. Close relative and barrister Laina Chan has claimed the fraud involved the scammers drugging Ms Lin by blowing scopolamine, also known as 'devil's breath', onto her. She said the police were 'very sceptical' when she said the fraud was part of a worldwide scam and didn't feel she was believed when she said 'they were using this drug'. Ms Lin feels embarrassed about falling victim to the scam and has never told her family what she was thinking when she handed over her prized possessions. The scam is believed to have originated in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s, and it has spread worldwide, with victims in the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Elderly Chinese women are generally targeted with scammers exploiting cultural fears in the cruel con. Women are convinced their families are at risk from spirits and need to have their wealth blessed to protect them from curses or illness. Victims are tricked into handing over their prized belongings to be blessed, but once scammers are in possession of their money and valuables, the items are swapped with objects of no value. Scammers encourage the women not to open their bags for an extended time following the 'blessing'. Ms Lin was approached at a post box by a middle-aged Asian woman who claimed she was looking for a special herb needed to cure her injured daughter. A second woman pretended to overhear and said she knew a healer, before guiding Ms Lin away to a man who claimed to know the healer. The man shared his concern Ms Lin's daughter would fall ill if her belongings weren't blessed, and she was then escorted to her house where she filled a bag with $196,000 worth of jewellery. She then withdrew $5,000 and added the cash to her bag. Ms Chan said her relative doesn't believe in 'spiritual blessings' and said the idea Ms Lin handed over money without being under the influence is 'nonsense'. 'There's no way this would have happened but for the fact that they had used the drug and made her comply,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald. 'They come next to you, and they just blow a little bit at you, and you don't even realise they've blown a little bit of a drug at you, and just enough to make you really compliant, so you're hypnotised.' Scopolamine can be used in some medications to treat motion sickness, but the potent drug can also disorient and incapacitate users. Ms Lin has no recollection of when she handed over her bag, but she began to feel suspicious when she was told to keep the bag next to her bed for three months after it was returned to her. When she got home, Ms Lin opened the bag to find a bottle of water and two candles. She reported the scam to the police, but CCTV was never recovered and no arrests were made. The North West Metropolitan Region established Strike Force Sentinel to investigate these scams across Sydney from July 2023. Police have received reports for over 80 incidents across Sydney, including including Ryde, Burwood, Parramatta and Hornsby areas. More than $3million in cash and valuables has been stolen by scammers. NSW Police have said 'there is no evidence or inquiries being made into the use of drugs to facilitate the scams'. In July, NSW Police charged two Chinese nationals and issued arrest warrants for seven others in connection with 85 reported scams over two years, which resulted in more than $3million being stolen. They say at least 50 scammers, 25 of whom have been identified, have been counted since the investigation began in 2023. *Mei Lin is not the victim's real name.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
This Sydney woman lost $200K to a notorious street scam. Her family blames a ‘zombie drug'
Mei Lin, 85, still feels embarrassed about falling victim to the scam, given that she lives independently and doesn't have any major health concerns. She doesn't like to talk about it, and has never revealed to her family what was going through her mind when she handed over about $200,000 in cash and jewellery. But the statement she gave to police describes a textbook example of how the theatrical fraud unfolds. On January 11, 2018, Mei Lin was mailing documents at a post box on Henley Road in Homebush West when she was approached by a middle-aged Asian woman in a panic, who said she was looking for a special herb that she needed to save her injured daughter, who wouldn't stop bleeding. A second woman, pretending to overhear, joined the conversation to say that she knew a healer who could help. Engaging in small talk, she told Mei Lin she was also Chinese Malaysian. The two women then placed their hands on Mei Lin's shoulders and guided her down a quieter street, where a man they said knew the healer joined the group. After sending the first woman away to retrieve her money for a blessing, the man turned his attention to Mei Lin, sharing his concern that her daughter would succumb to a mysterious illness if her belongings weren't blessed. Mei Lin was curious because the man seemed to know details about his daughter's life. The second woman escorted Mei Lin to her house and waited outside while she filled a bag with $196,000 worth of sentimental jewellery, including her most prized possession – a 1.87-carat diamond ring she bought back home in Malaysia in the 1970s. The pair then travelled to Strathfield Plaza, where Mei Lin withdrew $5000, her daily cash limit, from the Commonwealth Bank branch inside and added it to her bag. What happens next still confuses Mei Lin. Having returned to the man at Henley Road, she can't recall at what point she handed over her bag, but suddenly, it was being returned to her with the instruction to 'take this home and put it next to your bed for three months'. 'Don't touch it,' she was told. Mei Lin began to feel suspicious as she drove away. As soon as she arrived home, she opened the bag and found a bottle of water and two candles. After confiding in her brother-in-law, Mei Lin reported the scam to the police, but the investigation didn't progress very far. CCTV was never recovered, and no arrests were made. Frustrated by the lack of action and in disbelief that Mei Lin could have been scammed so easily, Chan decided to advocate to the police on her behalf. Chan says Mei Lin doesn't believe in 'spiritual blessings', and while she is generous with her family, she is otherwise conservative with her money. 'There's no way this would have happened but for the fact that they had used the drug and made her comply. It's just all nonsense,' she says. After asking her law enforcement contacts about scopolamine, Chan became convinced it explained Mei Lin's scam. Loading 'They come next to you, and they just blow a little bit at you, and you don't even realise they've blown a little bit of a drug at you, and just enough to make you really compliant, so you're hypnotised.' Chan's not alone in believing a loved one was drugged using scopolamine during the scam. Tuyet van Huynh, the daughter of a UK victim, told the BBC in 2024 that CCTV from her mother's London scam showed she 'followed every instruction to the point where she was like a zombie'. Van Huynh believes a drug like scopolamine must have been used because, like Mei Lin, her mother is not superstitious or spiritual and she complied unquestioningly. Scopolamine, sometimes called 'devil's breath' in criminal contexts, is a highly potent tropane alkaloid in the nightshade family. Derived from nature, the drug can be easily extracted from Brugmansia flowers, also known as angel's trumpets, that grow in temperate climates around the world. Highly biologically active, scopolamine is best known for its use in common medications to prevent motion sickness, such as Kwells and TravaCalm, but its psychoactive properties have also seen it taken recreationally. The use of scopolamine in crime, particularly thefts, has been well documented in Latin America, particularly Colombia, while reports are increasing in Europe. 'It causes a drug-induced delirium, but it also causes amnesia,' explains ANU Associate Professor David Caldicott, an emergency medicine clinician who also researches drug-facilitated crime. Loading 'If you were to somehow get that inside an elderly individual, who knows what you could suggest in terms of making them part ways with their valuables. These are incredibly potent drugs.' Powdered scopolamine is tasteless and odourless and, according to a 2013 study, can be absorbed via inhalation and place a victim under the drug's effects within minutes. Detection by authorities is made more difficult by the rapid elimination of scopolamine from the body. It can only be detected within 24 hours of its ingestion. Caldicott says that only a very small dose would be needed to affect an elderly woman. The use of scopolamine in Chinese blessing scams hasn't been established by law enforcement in any jurisdiction. In a statement, NSW Police said that while investigations continue, 'there is no evidence or inquiries being made into the use of drugs to facilitate the scams'. In April this year, NSW Police's North West Metropolitan Region launched Strike Force Sentinel to co-ordinate its response after a surge in reported blessing scams around the city, including in the Ryde, Burwood, Parramatta and Hornsby areas. In July, NSW Police charged two Chinese nationals and issued arrest warrants for seven others in connection with 85 reported scams over two years that resulted in more than $3 million stolen. They said they had counted at least 50 alleged scammers, 25 of whom had been identified. The ongoing probe is limited to cases from July 2023 onwards. Cases reported before 2023, such as Mei Lin's, as well as the many that have gone unreported, undoubtedly place the true number of Sydney victims in the hundreds. Chan questions why there hasn't been a more organised effort sooner, given the global nature of the fraud and that victims such as Mei Lin were being targeted long before 2023. It's not clear if the same syndicate is responsible for Mei Lin's scam. Mei Lin's scam was investigated by the Auburn Police Area Command, but Chan believes local police aren't equipped to tackle a sophisticated international scam. 'The way our police system works, with a lack of co-ordination, means even if we've captured this bunch of people, another bunch of people might be operating in the very next area,' she says. Law enforcement around the world has struggled to apprehend the scammers, who frequently fly in and out of the country, usually on tourist visas. In a July press conference, Detective Superintendent Guy Magee described the scammers as 'FIFO criminals'. 'They're organised criminals that fly in for short periods of time, on up to 20 occasions over two years, and fly out,' he said. Magee also commented on the low reporting rates associated with scam victims, as well as the Chinese community. 'Anecdotally, I think the offending is probably at least double what we think,' he said.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
This Sydney woman lost $200K to a notorious street scam. Her family blames a ‘zombie drug'
Mei Lin, 85, still feels embarrassed about falling victim to the scam, given that she lives independently and doesn't have any major health concerns. She doesn't like to talk about it, and has never revealed to her family what was going through her mind when she handed over about $200,000 in cash and jewellery. But the statement she gave to police describes a textbook example of how the theatrical fraud unfolds. On January 11, 2018, Mei Lin was mailing documents at a post box on Henley Road in Homebush West when she was approached by a middle-aged Asian woman in a panic, who said she was looking for a special herb that she needed to save her injured daughter, who wouldn't stop bleeding. A second woman, pretending to overhear, joined the conversation to say that she knew a healer who could help. Engaging in small talk, she told Mei Lin she was also Chinese Malaysian. The two women then placed their hands on Mei Lin's shoulders and guided her down a quieter street, where a man they said knew the healer joined the group. After sending the first woman away to retrieve her money for a blessing, the man turned his attention to Mei Lin, sharing his concern that her daughter would succumb to a mysterious illness if her belongings weren't blessed. Mei Lin was curious because the man seemed to know details about his daughter's life. The second woman escorted Mei Lin to her house and waited outside while she filled a bag with $196,000 worth of sentimental jewellery, including her most prized possession – a 1.87-carat diamond ring she bought back home in Malaysia in the 1970s. The pair then travelled to Strathfield Plaza, where Mei Lin withdrew $5000, her daily cash limit, from the Commonwealth Bank branch inside and added it to her bag. What happens next still confuses Mei Lin. Having returned to the man at Henley Road, she can't recall at what point she handed over her bag, but suddenly, it was being returned to her with the instruction to 'take this home and put it next to your bed for three months'. 'Don't touch it,' she was told. Mei Lin began to feel suspicious as she drove away. As soon as she arrived home, she opened the bag and found a bottle of water and two candles. After confiding in her brother-in-law, Mei Lin reported the scam to the police, but the investigation didn't progress very far. CCTV was never recovered, and no arrests were made. Frustrated by the lack of action and in disbelief that Mei Lin could have been scammed so easily, Chan decided to advocate to the police on her behalf. Chan says Mei Lin doesn't believe in 'spiritual blessings', and while she is generous with her family, she is otherwise conservative with her money. 'There's no way this would have happened but for the fact that they had used the drug and made her comply. It's just all nonsense,' she says. After asking her law enforcement contacts about scopolamine, Chan became convinced it explained Mei Lin's scam. Loading 'They come next to you, and they just blow a little bit at you, and you don't even realise they've blown a little bit of a drug at you, and just enough to make you really compliant, so you're hypnotised.' Chan's not alone in believing a loved one was drugged using scopolamine during the scam. Tuyet van Huynh, the daughter of a UK victim, told the BBC in 2024 that CCTV from her mother's London scam showed she 'followed every instruction to the point where she was like a zombie'. Van Huynh believes a drug like scopolamine must have been used because, like Mei Lin, her mother is not superstitious or spiritual and she complied unquestioningly. Scopolamine, sometimes called 'devil's breath' in criminal contexts, is a highly potent tropane alkaloid in the nightshade family. Derived from nature, the drug can be easily extracted from Brugmansia flowers, also known as angel's trumpets, that grow in temperate climates around the world. Highly biologically active, scopolamine is best known for its use in common medications to prevent motion sickness, such as Kwells and TravaCalm, but its psychoactive properties have also seen it taken recreationally. The use of scopolamine in crime, particularly thefts, has been well documented in Latin America, particularly Colombia, while reports are increasing in Europe. 'It causes a drug-induced delirium, but it also causes amnesia,' explains ANU Associate Professor David Caldicott, an emergency medicine clinician who also researches drug-facilitated crime. Loading 'If you were to somehow get that inside an elderly individual, who knows what you could suggest in terms of making them part ways with their valuables. These are incredibly potent drugs.' Powdered scopolamine is tasteless and odourless and, according to a 2013 study, can be absorbed via inhalation and place a victim under the drug's effects within minutes. Detection by authorities is made more difficult by the rapid elimination of scopolamine from the body. It can only be detected within 24 hours of its ingestion. Caldicott says that only a very small dose would be needed to affect an elderly woman. The use of scopolamine in Chinese blessing scams hasn't been established by law enforcement in any jurisdiction. In a statement, NSW Police said that while investigations continue, 'there is no evidence or inquiries being made into the use of drugs to facilitate the scams'. In April this year, NSW Police's North West Metropolitan Region launched Strike Force Sentinel to co-ordinate its response after a surge in reported blessing scams around the city, including in the Ryde, Burwood, Parramatta and Hornsby areas. In July, NSW Police charged two Chinese nationals and issued arrest warrants for seven others in connection with 85 reported scams over two years that resulted in more than $3 million stolen. They said they had counted at least 50 alleged scammers, 25 of whom had been identified. The ongoing probe is limited to cases from July 2023 onwards. Cases reported before 2023, such as Mei Lin's, as well as the many that have gone unreported, undoubtedly place the true number of Sydney victims in the hundreds. Chan questions why there hasn't been a more organised effort sooner, given the global nature of the fraud and that victims such as Mei Lin were being targeted long before 2023. It's not clear if the same syndicate is responsible for Mei Lin's scam. Mei Lin's scam was investigated by the Auburn Police Area Command, but Chan believes local police aren't equipped to tackle a sophisticated international scam. 'The way our police system works, with a lack of co-ordination, means even if we've captured this bunch of people, another bunch of people might be operating in the very next area,' she says. Law enforcement around the world has struggled to apprehend the scammers, who frequently fly in and out of the country, usually on tourist visas. In a July press conference, Detective Superintendent Guy Magee described the scammers as 'FIFO criminals'. 'They're organised criminals that fly in for short periods of time, on up to 20 occasions over two years, and fly out,' he said. Magee also commented on the low reporting rates associated with scam victims, as well as the Chinese community. 'Anecdotally, I think the offending is probably at least double what we think,' he said.
Eater
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
An Inaugural Festival Celebrates Northern Michigan's Burgeoning Food Scene
is an award-winning writer and journalist who covers the local food scene from her home base in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This month, one of Michigan's most beloved destinations will debut what organizers hope will be a new tradition. At the inaugural Traverse City Food & Wine festival, Wednesday, August 20, through Sunday, August 24, attendees will explore the region's rich culinary landscape through five days of experiences hosted by high-profile, award-winning chefs and media personalities. More than 70 events will take place — from farm dinners and lakeside brunches, to wine pairing classes and tastings aboard a historic schooner on Grand Traverse Bay. The goal? To offer a deeper, more delicious taste of what makes the region so special. Chef Mei Lin is a part of the lineup at Traverse City Food & Wine. She grew up in Dearborn. Traverse City Tourism With Northern Michigan's cerulean lakes, 50-plus wineries, a palpable farm-to-table energy, and a diverse agricultural bounty, it's actually surprising this sort of event hasn't happened sooner. (Traverse City is best known for its annual, family oriented Cherry Festival in early summer.) Unlike massive food festivals where you're lost in the crowd, organizers designed Traverse City Food & Wine to be more intimate, says Whitney Waara, COO at Traverse City Tourism. The Grand Tasting on Saturday, August 23, in Open Space Park — the largest event of the week — offers a chance to interact with the chefs, farmers, and winemakers behind the flavors. Tickets range from $125 to $225 per person, plus tax. Festivalgoers will roam among tents to snag bites from local restaurants, plus wines, ciders, beers, mocktails, and also pairings, such as a crisp Black Star Farms pinot blanc with a rich, nutty raclette from Leelanau Cheese Company. 'We didn't want to replicate another city's food and wine festival — we wanted to highlight what's uniquely Traverse City,' Waara tells Eater. The line-up of award-winning chefs is impressive for an inaugural festival, and most have connections to Traverse City or broader Michigan. Celebrity chef Tyler Florence spent the early part of his career in Traverse City. Miller & Lux Additional talent includes Top Chef finalist and James Beard nominee Sarah Welch, who left her executive chef job at award-winning Marrow in Detroit to develop a Traverse City fine dining restaurant with husband Cameron Rolka, the executive chef at Detroit's Mink. Their new restaurant and oyster bar, Umbo (referring to the highest point of a bivalve shell), at 430 E. Front Street, is scheduled for a 2026 opening and is on the bites roster for the Grand Tasting event. Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson, co-chefs at the Cook's House in Traverse City and the only two Michigan chefs named finalists in this year's James Beard awards, will take attendees on a farmer's market shopping trip, followed by a cooking demo at their restaurant. Ji Hye Kim, a five-time James Beard semifinalist and owner at Miss Kim and the recently opened Little Kim in Ann Arbor, will host a luncheon on the patio at Artisan. 'We're bringing in chefs who know and love this area, alongside our local talent,' Waara tells Eater. 'It's a creative space where they can collaborate and maybe even invent something new.' The region around Traverse City is home to more than 50 wineries. Traverse City Tourism Mario Batali, who has a home in Northport on the Leelanau Peninsula, has kept a low national profile in recent years outside of virtual events and an investment in Common Good Bakery, a local business with two locations, following sexual misconduct allegations and several related lawsuits (all since settled). He'll host a Tuscano Lunch at Bonobo Winery on the Old Mission Peninsula. Waara declined to comment when asked about Batali's participation in the event. Most of the region's wineries snake up two scenic peninsulas, sandwiched between Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan, just north of the city's center. With its glacial soils, well-drained slopes, and lake-effect climate, the region works very well for varietals like riesling, pinot noir, cabernet franc, gruner veltliner, and even chardonnay, merlot, and sauvignon blanc. Traverse City Food & Wine will feature a variety of events, including vineyard tours and tastings. Grace Photography You're less likely to see cabernet sauvignon grapes, which need more time to grow than Michigan's short summers can deliver. That said, discussions with winemakers reveal that Michigan has gained growing days in recent years with a documented rise in the state's average temperatures. Some are experimenting with techniques to support more types of varietals: Mari Vineyards grows about six acres of heat-loving red grapes in its 'hoop houses,' which allows an additional four to six weeks of maturation. With 20-plus direct flights into Traverse City during the summer, and a registered festivalgoers hailing from Michigan and Illinois to New York, according to Waara, the event is drawing at least some national buzz. 'We're seeing strong interest from locals and visitors alike,' Waara says. 'This is going to be something special for everyone who comes, whether you live down the road or you're flying in from the East Coast.' Traverse City Food & Wine takes place from Wednesday, August 20, through Sunday, August 24; events range from small-group tastings to curated dining experiences and are individually ticketed — many have or are expected to sell out. Eater Detroit All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Los Angeles Times
26-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Los Angeles Times
Mei Lin's Spicy Mung Bean Noodles
This refreshing cold noodle dish is a signature from chef Mei Lin at 88 Club in Beverly Hills. It's everything you want in a summer noodle dish. Made from easy-to-prepare mung bean jelly, the slippery noodles are served with a dressing of seasoned soy sauce and black vinegar tinged with chili crisp. They're garnished with cucumber, scallions, cilantro and crunchy peanuts. You can make the mung bean jelly a day in advance, but don't keep it around for much longer than that because it will lose moisture. Note: Mung bean starch is available at Chinese markets and online. Cilantro blossoms, if using, are available seasonally at some farmers markets. This recipe makes more dressing than you will need for the noodles. Save it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
