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APRIL 1978, KUALA-LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, PEOPLE:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

On April 29, 1978, a newspaper of Singapore and a newspaper in France reported a story claiming that in Kuala-Lumpur Malaysia, or somewhere in Java, 30, or 50 people, at an electronics factory became hysterical at the sight of a "headless phantom" the day before, apparently.

It seems that the French newspaper told that it started with a female employee of a factory of electronic components of the suburbs of Kuala-Lumpur, who allegeldy saw this "headless phantom" in her microscope and would have been taken of spasms during two hours, then 30 other employees allegdly were victims of a "crisis of mass hysteria" and finally a few hours later, another female employee allegedly observed the same phantom and "fell into a transe."

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. st1:] "STRAIT TIMES":

[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that in April 1978, in Malaysia, in Kuala-Lumpur, according to the daily newspaper Paris – Normandie for April 29, 1978, an employee of a factory of electronic components of the suburbs of Kuala-Lumpur allegedly saw a headless phantom in her microscope. This employee was seized by spasms during two hours and thirty other employees were then victims of a mass hysteria crisis. A few hours later, another employee observed the same phantom and fell in transe.

The source is indicated as "Christian DE ZAN: 'Guide du Chasseur de Phénomènes OVNI', De Vecchi publisher 1980, p 63".

The ufologist comments "that's a good one, isn't it?"

Points to consider:

Source [st1] this is an online preview of the beginning of the Strait Times newspaper article, probably the result of OCR operation on the original, hence at least two words that my have been incorrectely recognized. "PETALING JAVA" suggests that the case possibly occurred somewhere in Java, not Malaysia. "Fri." suggests it occurred on the Friday previous to the 29th of April 1978, i.e. the 28th, or that it was first reported on that Friday.

At least source [st1] proves that the story was published in at least two widely separated newspapers of the time; this suggests some News Agency spread it.

Of course the "headless phantom seen under the microscope" has very little chance to have been a UFO occupant, and one could wonder why this whimsical story entered at least a UFO book and a UFO cases catalogue.

And of course, it is possible that the entire story was some sensationalist press invention - no primary source is given and I found none. Or that details of the incident were poorly translated and that "something" was seen but not under a microscope, or that the so-called "mass hysteria" was exaggerated - one version says 30 people became hysterical, the other says they were 50.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Press invention or confusion, local superstition. Not a UFO occupants case.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [st1] ? Article in the newspaper The Straits Times, Singapore, April 29, 1978.
• [---] ? Article in the newspaper Paris – Normandie, France, April 29, 1978.
• [---] ? "Guide du Chasseur de Phénomènes OVNI", book by Christian de Zan, De Vecchi publisher, page 63, 1980.
• [go1] * "Chronologie OVNI", web page by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999, at users.skynet.be/sky84985/chron22.html
• [st1] * Article extract from the newspaper The Straits Times, Singapore, April 29, 1978, at the National Library website, Singapore, at newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/TOC.aspx?issueid=straitstimes19780429

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This page was last updated on December 6, 2009