The document describes a young girl named Koh Fang Yee who began exhibiting bizarre snake-like behaviors such as hissing, darting her tongue, and crawling on the ground. Her parents brought her to doctors, counselors, and spiritual mediums but no one could explain or cure her condition. An Australian monk, Reverend Abhinyana, visited and said a prayer ceremony for Fang Yee during which her strange behavior occurred again. Mysteriously, her condition then disappeared as suddenly as it had come on, and she fully recovered to continue her education.

1. A Most
Bizarre
Thing
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2. 5 A Most
Bizarre Thing
I first came to know the schoolgirl Koh Fang Yee (not her
actual name) when she was in Form 2 in the mid 1990s. She
had her primary education in one of the vernacular schools
and later on continued her secondary education at a quite
established secondary school in town. She enrolled in our
community motivational and self-development class which
was held every Saturday night from 8 pm till 10 pm.
I remember Fang Yee as a small-sized, thin and rather shy
girl. She would come regularly for classes and she would sit
quietly somewhere in the middle of the classroom paying
good attention to all the lessons. It was sometime in July that
year when she stopped coming to attend classes. After a few
weeks of absence, I telephoned her mother to find out what
had happened. Her mother told me that Fang Yee had not
been well for more than a month already. She said that she
would like to see me at our Buddhist Association.
On an appointed day, Fang Yee’s parents came to see me in
the afternoon. Her mother told me about a most bizarre thing
that was happening to her daughter. She spoke in Mandarin
and a local dialect. This was her account:
‘One evening as usual, I went to fetch Fang Yee back from
her afternoon school session. She was waiting for me sitting
on the ground of a small field located not far from her
school. She was clutching very tightly to her school bag, a
sort of small backpack red in color. When she got into the
car, I noticed that she was not her usual self. She was quiet
and would not speak any word at all. To all my questions she
remained silent. She was sitting beside me in the front seat of
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3. the car. On the way home, I noticed that she would sway her
head from left to right periodically and stick out her tongue.
Upon reaching home, her father and I again started to ask
her what had happened to her. Did she fall down? Was she
sick? Did anyone beat her? Did she see something that
shocked her? To all the questions she just kept silent. We
knew something was not right. The following day, we took
her to see a doctor but the doctor said there was nothing
wrong with her medically. He just prescribed some vitamins
and mineral supplements.
Over the days Fang Yee’s condition deteriorated. She
seemed to grow weaker and would remain still for hours
with that very strange long lost look in her face. In this state,
she had to stop schooling. From time to time, she would
undergo a transformation that scared the wits out of us. Her
behavior and movements resembled those of a snake. She
would go on to the ground and start to wriggle and crawl
just like a snake. Her facial features were distorted and her
tongue would dart in and out and she would make hissing
sounds. She would then glide or wriggle into her room,
grabbed her schoolbag and then try to get out of the house.
We had to catch hold of her and bring her back into the
house before locking all doors. Such ‘attacks’ or episodes
would last some minutes before Fang Yee calmed down and
remained still.
We really could not understand the bizarre thing that was
happening to our daughter. We brought her to consult a few
psychologists and psychiatrists but all the counseling and
psychotic drugs given did not seem to work. Her condition
persisted. Days went by; it was really hell for the whole
family. Out of desperation we even brought her to get help
from some bomohs and mediums in a few temples. Some
mediums told us that Fang Yee was possessed by a snake
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4. spirit. According to one temple medium, the unfortunate
incident happened on that day in the evening when Fang Yee
was waiting for me after school. Around the field she was
sitting in was a snake lair and as the ‘spiritual level’ of my
daughter was very low, the spirit of a snake had ‘entered’
Fang Yee. We did not know whether to believe the medium
or not. We just followed what the medium asked us to do …
some prayers to the ‘snake spirit’, burning of some paper
paraphernalia and some talismans and amulets for wearing
and placing in the bedroom of the victim of possession.
Despite doing all these things, there wasn’t any significant
change in Fang Yee till now.’
After I had heard all that Fang Yee’s mother had to say, I
could only tell her that my friends and I will pray and chant
for her daughter’s speedy recovery. They thanked us and left.
A few days later, an Australian monk, Reverend Abhinyana
visited our Buddhist Association to give some talks. The
Reverand, a monk in his early fifties was quite well-known.
He had traveled the world over in his spiritual quest and
practices, had written many books and had lots of
experiences on spiritual matters. He was a most
compassionate monk always ready to counsel and help.
( He passed away in April 2008. May he rest in peace. )
When Fang Yee’s mother heard that Reverend was staying at
our Association, she came to ask me to help her request for
the Reverend to visit her home to pray and do blessings for
her sick daughter. Reverend Abhinyana was only too willing
and he asked me to go along with him to visit the home the
following day.
When we arrived at the home of Fang Yee, her parents paid
their respects to the Reverend and we then sat on the sofa
seats in the hall. Fang Yee’s parents brought her out from her
room and she sat on the floor near Reverend Abhinyana. The
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5. Reverend started to talk kindly to Fang Yee but she remained
silent with her eyes cast down on the floor. She looked really
weak and sick. Her facial features were quite unearthly, so
different from the time when she was a healthy schoolgirl.
The Reverend started his prayers and chanting for the poor
girl who just sat there virtually motionless. I joined in the
prayers and chanting in the best way I could. Fang Yee’s
parents just sat nearby and watched in silence.
Half-way through the chanting, a most bizarre thing
happened to Fang Yee. She started to sway her head from
left to right and lay flat on the floor in a lengthwise way. She
then started to wriggle like a snake and hissing sounds were
coming out from her throat. Fang Yee’s parents panicked
and her mother said loudly, “It’s here, it’s here again.” She
asked her husband to quickly bring out Fang Yee’s
schoolbag from the room. ( I learnt later that this was what
they would do every time there was an ‘attack’. Sometimes
Fang Yee would calm down upon clutching her school bag. )
By then Fang Yee, behaving like a snake, had started to
crawl and heading towards the main door to get out of the
house. The parents followed behind very nervously and at
the porch area of the house, the parents caught hold of Fang
Yee and forced her into their car parked outside. The father
passed the school bag to Fang Yee and drove the car away.
Meanwhile Reverend Abhinyana still continued on with the
chanting. I was still a bit shocked at what I had just seen but
I tried to chant along with the Reverend. We then got up
from our seats and I followed behind Reverend Abhinyana as
he walked all over the house chanting and sprinkling some
water from a bowl using a stalk of flowers. We soon
finished the chanting ceremony and went back to sit in the
hall in silent prayer. It was about 25 minutes or so later when
Fang Yee and her parents returned in their car. By then Fang
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6. Yee had calmed down as if she had been sedated. We learnt
from the mother that they had brought Fang Yee to the
nearest temple to prostrate before the temple deities. Before
long, Fang Yee returned to her quiet and helpless state. She
just followed what her parents asked her to do. Most of the
time, her eyes remained closed.
After the family members had offered lunch to the Reverend
and me, we got ready to leave. The Reverend gave some
kind parting words of advice as to what they should do in the
event of ‘attacks’ arising again.
At the Association, I asked, “Reverend, what actually is
happening? It’s really bizarre and shocking.”
The Reverend replied, “To be honest, I don’t really know. It
is very mysterious indeed. Let us pray and hope that the
strange behavior will go off soon. Nothing is permanent.”
A couple of days later after Reverend Abhinyana had
delivered all his talks, he said goodbye to all of us and
continued on his travel to another part of the world.
Very mysteriously, not long later, I got to know that the
bizarre thing left Fang Yee so suddenly just as it had come
upon her so unexpectedly. She made a full recovery and
went back to her schooling. What had cured her and how?
Well, the honest thing is to say, “I don’t know.” She
continued her education right up to university. At the sixth
form level she followed my community guidance class.
Today, Fang Yee is a successful professional. We have not
met for years.
Reflection
* At times we can meet with strange experiences and we can
only do our best to cope with them and stay positive.
* Nothing is permanent. Everything will come to pass.
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7. Yee had calmed down as if she had been sedated. We learnt
from the mother that they had brought Fang Yee to the
nearest temple to prostrate before the temple deities. Before
long, Fang Yee returned to her quiet and helpless state. She
just followed what her parents asked her to do. Most of the
time, her eyes remained closed.
After the family members had offered lunch to the Reverend
and me, we got ready to leave. The Reverend gave some
kind parting words of advice as to what they should do in the
event of ‘attacks’ arising again.
At the Association, I asked, “Reverend, what actually is
happening? It’s really bizarre and shocking.”
The Reverend replied, “To be honest, I don’t really know. It
is very mysterious indeed. Let us pray and hope that the
strange behavior will go off soon. Nothing is permanent.”
A couple of days later after Reverend Abhinyana had
delivered all his talks, he said goodbye to all of us and
continued on his travel to another part of the world.
Very mysteriously, not long later, I got to know that the
bizarre thing left Fang Yee so suddenly just as it had come
upon her so unexpectedly. She made a full recovery and
went back to her schooling. What had cured her and how?
Well, the honest thing is to say, “I don’t know.” She
continued her education right up to university. At the sixth
form level she followed my community guidance class.
Today, Fang Yee is a successful professional. We have not
met for years.
Reflection
* At times we can meet with strange experiences and we can
only do our best to cope with them and stay positive.
* Nothing is permanent. Everything will come to pass.
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