She was supposed to get married on Oct 1, but tragically, Taiwanese bride-to-be Ren An Ni was killed in a traffic accident just five days before her wedding.

She would have turned 32 the next day.

Ren was crossing a traffic junction in Taoyuan city on the night of Sept 26 when she was struck by a hospital shuttle bus.

She had just left the hospital after a medical appointment when the reversing bus reportedly ran over her. Ren was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ren and her fiance, Lu Chun Hsien, had been together for 13 years before deciding to tie the knot this year.

According to media reports, a grieving Lu wrote a message on his Facebook page on the day of her funeral:

“It’s the 19th day I’ve not talked to you. I finally put a ring on your finger today. We’re married! Sorry you had to wait for another two weeks. Even though you still can’t help me wear my ring, and you couldn’t see me in my wedding suit.”

In another post today (Oct 17), Lu expressed his gratitude and love for Ren:

“Even though I’m alone now, I will move forward bravely. It’s just a little tough now and I need more time. So please allow me to miss you a little longer, and remember how good you were to me, your affection, and all the things that we never got to do, so that I can continue to complete our life. In our next life, I hope you will marry me again.”

Ren’s ‘farewell’ service, which was held on Oct 16, was beautifully decorated in the style of a wedding celebration – although the mood was decidedly sombre.

Apple Daily Taiwan reported that Lu took pains to adorn the venue with bouquets of flowers, as well as pictures taken from their pre-wedding photoshoot.

Blank cards were also placed on a reception table for about 400 friends and family who attended the Christian service to pen their wishes.

A grief-stricken Lu, who was dressed in a suit, was unable to speak during the ceremony, breaking down in tears on stage.

Also present at the service were the driver of the bus and a representative of the hospital, who presented the family with wreaths.

According to reports, Ren’s family is seeking legal recourse regarding the accident and will be resuming talks with the hospital.

candicec@sph.com.sg

SAN PEDRO CITY – Police arrested a woman in Calamba City in Laguna province, when she tried to pay for her meal with a sachet of illegal drugs.

The Calamba police, in a report, withheld the 22-year-old woman’s name but said she was from San Pablo City, also in Laguna.

Police also said that she appeared to be more than two months pregnant.

Supt. Sancho Celedio, the city police chief, said that the incident happened on Saturday noon in an eatery in Barangay Banlic.

The woman ordered a meal of beef tapa, sinangag (fried rice) and egg for around P100.

“It turned out she didn’t have any money so she instead offered [a sachet of] ‘shabu’ (crystal meth) as payment,” Celedio said on Monday.

The woman told police she bought the drugs, worth P200, for her consumption.

The eatery owner sought the help of village officials, who turned over the woman to the police.

Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, who’s in town to take part in the judging panel of the 2017 Miss Earth pageant and do postproduction work for his coming TV series “General Commander,” said the country’s current peace and order situation did not deter him from coming over.

“To be honest with you, I’m a big fan of the Philippine government. I think (President Rodrigo) Duterte is a good president and that he has been instrumental in making this country a safer place. What he has done is very good, in terms of trying to get the control back for the people. I don’t feel like this is a dangerous place at all, but a place that’s up-and-coming with the new leadership.”

Seagal paid a courtesy call on Duterte in Malacañang on Thursday.

Fancy a cup of Joe – except it’s completely made of garlic?

A Japanese man was inspired to create “garlic coffee” following a cooking blunder some 30 years ago and it’s now ready to tantalise our tastebuds.

The drink apparently looks and tastes just like your regular cup of brew, but made from locally grown garlic, said its inventor who hails from northeastern Japan.

Yokitomo Shimotai, 74, told Kyodo News: “My drink is probably the first of its kind in the world.”

“It contains no caffeine so it’s good for those who would like to drink coffee at night or pregnant women.”

Therefore, if you’re not into caffeinated drinks – a cup of garlic coffee would be perfect (or not) for you.

Shimotai, who used to be a coffee shop owner in Aomori Prefecture, launched the drink early this year in January.

The cooking mistake happened when he burnt a piece of steak with some garlic while cooking and serving customers at the same time, Kyodo News reported.

He proceeded to mash the burnt garlic with a spoon and mixed it with hot water. When he downed the mixture, he was surprised at its bitter “coffee-like taste”, the report continued.

After retirement, Shimotai started researching the drink – determined to find a recipe to success.

It took him about five years of trial and error, before he finally settled on a brew he was satisfied with.

His method was to use an electric furnace to roast the garlic, cool it and mash up the garlic for dripping, said Kyodo News.

He later acquired a patent on this method in 2015 and started a workshop in Iwate Prefecture.

Kyodo News reported that a packet containing a cup of garlic drip coffee will set you back at least 324 yen (S$3.90) and is currently on sale at only two souvenir shops in Aomori Prefecture or via phone orders.

Now, the question on everyone’s mind is – will the drink cause bad breath?

Apparently not. Shimotai said this won’t be the case because the drink merely has an aroma of roasted garlic but it is thoroughly grilled.

Looks like it can’t be used to scare vampires away this Halloween.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

The police fact-finding committee against Pol Colonel Chairit Anurit of the Metropolitan Police, who allegedly drove former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to Sa Kaew province during her flight on August 23, has ruled that the officer severely breached the police code of ethical conduct for doing so.

He also committed a lesser breach of the ethics code for illegal use of a vehicle during the flight, ruled the committee.

The committee will submit the finding to a disciplinary panel for further consideration of actions against Chairit, said its head, Pol Maj-General Panurat Lakboon.

Immigration, narcotics and 191 police jointly searched 10 locations in Bangkok early on Monday and arrested 52 Nigerians, Tanzanians and Uzbekistanis son various charges.

The operation was led by Pol Maj-General Surachat Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau.

The searches were jointly launched by over 200 policemen from the Immigration Bureau, the Patrol and Special Operation (191) Division and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.

Two of those arrested were charged with unlawful entry to the kingdom, 11 with overstaying their visas and 27 with suspicion of being involved in drugs trafficking, Surachet said.

One of the suspects was charged with deceiving Thai women in a romance scam and another with smuggling a banned good.

Surachet said police were keeping an eye on groups of black migrants and tourist because, he alleged, many of them had carried out various crimes in the kingdom, including using skimmer device to clone ATM cards, money laundering and involvement in human and drugs trafficking.

Surachet said one of the arrested had been previously jailed and released for being in possession of cocaine. He would investigate why the suspect had not been deported, said Surachet.