Revisionist History: “johor hominid”
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 5th, 2006
The source of those sexy "Johor Hominid" eyes was actually a color photograph found in a book on a television documentary about Australopithecus. The discovery of this hoax was by Jean luc Drevillon, who lives on Lafayette in Toulon, France. He emailed his results concurrently to Vincent Chow and to me at 3:25 am, Friday, August 4th morning. Nevertheless, the revisionist history on the end of this melodrama began late on the 4th, in Malaysia. Read on….
The "Johor Hominid" website went down, and as of the morning of Saturday, August 5th, US time, it still is down. Here’s the site’s official statement:
Down but not out, the Search continues..
Dear Visitors,
First of all, johorhominid.org would like to thank all of you for assisting us in the identification of the hoax photograph. The respective winner of the Award will be contacted via email.
Given that the current evidence for the existence of a hominid is weaker, we are currently closing down this site temporarily pending the investigation of the alleged hominid/hominoid cave and skull. Initially the focus is on lobbying the JWPS on the release of the photograph.
Now that we have completed the mission, Vincent Chow will focus more on the fieldwork and exploration. Please email us if you wish to be updated about the expeditions via the SMS technology.
Email to [email protected]
Something is still out there..
The Founders johorhominid.org
Interestingly, on Saturday, August 5, there is an article published in the Malaysian Star, an outlet for the group, that seems to be giving a public front to the hoax drama but mixed with some new revisions to the developing and old news.
Bigfoot website closed after revelations
By MARSHA TAN
JOHOR BARU: The website set up for discussion on the local Bigfoot has been closed for “maintenance”, and two major players in the search for the creature are making conflicting statements about photos related to the phenomenon.
These dramatic developments came about after www.johorhominid.org released a photo yesterday that it claimed was an actual shot of a female Bigfoot’s eyes.
BIGFOOT’S EYES?: A photo of what the founders of www.johorhominid.org claimed were the eyes of a female Bigfoot. The photo was taken from the website after it was posted there yesterday.
The posting of the photo came days after the website had released a sketch of what it claimed were the eyes of a female Bigfoot.
According to the website, the photo had been provided by the Johor Wildlife Protection Association (JWPA).
It also threw a challenge to visitors, offering RM1,200 to anyone who could find a match of the photograph or prove beyond doubt that it was a hoax.
In addition, it said, the successful individual stood to receive free accommodation for two nights and three days at a five-star hotel, plus a guided tour to sites in Johor’s rainforest where the Bigfoot was likely to be seen.
According to the website, the photo had been posted to attract the attention of more serious researchers and to get them to provide views on the issue.
It said biodiversity researcher Vincent Chow, a co-founder of the website, had obtained the JWPA’s permission to use it.
“The photo is a big breakthrough,” it said.
However, at around 6pm, a visitor to the website posted a full-head shot of a creature in the comment page, which showed the same bloodshot eyes featured in the first photo.
“You have no credibility left! Habis! (Finished!),” the visitor wrote, adding that the full-head shot had been obtained from another website.
At close to 7pm, the once-active www.johorhominid.org site was closed, and there was a notice stating that it was down for maintenance.
Meanwhile, it is uncertain what the photo it had posted earlier actually showed.
When contacted, website co-founder Sean Ang said: “We have closed down the site to investigate the matter.”
JWPA secretary Tay Teng Hwa said the association had never released any photos to anyone.
“We will release photos of Bigfoot in a book that will be launched soon. Who said we gave them any photographs?” he said.
Meanwhile, Sean Ang was trying to do some damage control and revising of history to mention that he "exposed" this hoax. Here’s an email from him sent out on Friday at 5:18 PM:
We think it may be a Hoax because of the feedback from the online community after I posted of the eye sketch. That is why I persuaded Vincent to obtain the real eye photos. And we offer the cash prize. This step looks unusual, but the online member really save us alot of trouble.
As of 7am today, JWPS still do not know the truth about the photos. I think they will be upset. However, despite the photo Hoax, Vincent still think there is some truth on the bigfot situation.
By evening today, JWPS will an provide explanation to the press. As for me, at least I exposed 2 hoaxes in Malaysia, the Ustaz Safuan case and the JWPS case.
OK. I may be abit excited in the beginning.. but I am monitoring the comments of online members most of the time, thus this is how the truth can be revealed so fast.
Sean Ang
Now, Saturday, August 5, 2006, another Malaysian newspaper, The New Straits Times, has checked in about this:
Photo alleged to be of Bigfoot’s eyes proved to be a hoax 05
Aug 2006
R. Sittamparam
JOHOR BARU, SAT.:
Local Bigfoot website, johorhominid.org, today thanked a French hominologist who helped them prove that photographs of Bigfoot provided to them by a group was a hoax.
One of the website founders, Sean Ang, said Jean luc Drevillon had yesterday responded to the website’s posting of a clip of the eye from an alleged female Bigfoot picture and revealed the actual source of the photographs.
Ang said Drevillon had identified that the eye photograph was from Australopithecus images in a book on a French television documentary, "L `Odyssee de l’espece", released in 2001.
He added: "At first we thought the Bigfoot photographs were convincing. However, after we posted a sketch of the eye, we could smell something fishy. The online community was not convinced. This was worrying. So, we thought it was time to post the real photo to settle the issue once and for all."
Ang said the website’s co-founder, bio-diversity researcher Vincent Chow, managed to convince the group in possession of the hoax photographs to allow the posting of the eye photo.
"We also announced in our website cash prizes for anyone who could match the posted eye photograph. Our technique worked and in less than 12 hours, the verdict was out that the photograph was a hoax."
Ang thanked the online community including Jason Pritchett of the United States and Lorenzo Rossi from www.criptozoo.com among many others for providing help in proving the photograph a hoax.
Chow meanwhile said with the hoax photographs out of the way, the website will now concentrate on the many sightings and evidence compiled on the Johor Bigfoot so far.
To be continued, no doubt…for a complete rundown on all the August 4th breaking news on the &q
uot;Johor Hominid" hoax discovery, please see:
1) Johor Hominid Photos: Hoax!,
3) More Johor Fallout: Peter Loh Reacts, and
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Haha, oh this is great…..
Hmm so Sean Ang is trying to take credit for exposing a hoax that he played a key role in spreading to begin with. Next thing you know he’ll be claiming he invented the internet… 🙂
What was the bit about a supposed cave and skull? Where did that come from, and is that just to divert attention away from this scandal?
Mr. Ang can spin this as much as he likes, but record of who said what and when they said it is already online on sites like this.
Nice try though.
Next thing you know; O.J. will have caught the REAL killer….
Well, give them credit for trying some damage control, but like I said earlier their careers are over. They seen the pics said it was the real deal and then in less than 12 hours of posting a small portion of a picture and it is a hoax. My how will these 2 ever have any credit or trust from anyone? I am still not convinced they were not in on the whole hoax thing anyway.
And now the ducks aim for the hunter’s gun!
I’d like to know how Chow and Ang ever really believed those photos were real. I don’t know, for me, “Well, the search goes on,” isn’t enough. More needs to be said by them. Most importantly because with them doing the searching, I’ve got to wonder just what sort of ‘evidence’ they’ll find anew.
Slam the book on this ugly story. There is nothing more to discuss on this matter, all i know is that cryptozoology had been damaged and the only way to prove once and for all that these human like apes exist is that some scientist gets a body. Videos dont prove anything they only prove that people like to wear ape costumes.
No, it shouldn’t be shut, not until Ang and Chow fess up their mistakes and apologize for making such a mess of things. They want to try and take credit for having a hand in exposing the hoax and they want to walk away from this like nothing happened.
I think we deserve better than that.
I have to agree with crypto_randz… a body will need to be produced, be it from capturing a live specimen, finding an already dead one, or someone purposefully shooting/killing one. It is sad to think this way, but this is what we have come to (imho).
Unfortunately, the BF researchers toolkit will now need to contain a 30-06 rifle.
Hey, at least I got a name check in this latest article. 😉
WOW! I just finished reading up on all this from yesterday to this one. I figured that all this was too good to be true. I never would have fallen for that one, if I were chow. Those pics are horrible. They scream Planet of the Apes (latest movie) or Land of the Lost (where no one could act and the dinos were obviously added in later). I’m telling you, if I were one to do hoaxes, I do believe it would take ya’ll a little while to figure it out. The one thing that I don’t understand is, what are all these hoaxers achieving or getting out of this? We have seen some horrible tries with gorilla suits and these pics weren’t of the highest quality, though better than the peeking big foot or the dancing behind the john deere big foot in New York area. Are all these tries at making us believers look stupid mean we are on the right track? Glad this one is over.
1. I wonder how long it will be before the TRUE owners of the photos (the company that made the book and film) to take legal action. Those responsible for the hoax used copyrighted material to generate funding- money that the true owners may be entitled to. Add to that the fact that sketches of these photos exist with the artists’ copyright symbol on them… seems like an easy case, but I’m sure the fact this involves multiple countries will complicate things.
2. Did anyone important truly believe these photos? The fact that the nostrils are completely different didn’t raise any doubts? If that fooled Malaysia’s best and brightest, then hire me for something- I must be a genius- ha!
3. I was not surprised to see reference to dollar bills in their very first, short response (cartoon). That seems to say a lot.
Too bad.
jeff
Hi Loren,
As you already know, the hoax was exposed with help from our online community. My suspicions began with the movie clip discussions, and infact I took some time to view the movie lists. The suspicions started from a chat session with LeCope and Jason, who first hinted on the similarities with movies clips.
Little did I know it came from a French documentary. There is no way I am claiming all the credits or claim to invented the internet. If Vincent didnt persuade Wee for the release, our next step is to set up an investigation committee. I even asked Rick Noll from cryptomundo (who visited us) to assist in identifying 5-10 experts in US whereby we hope to show them the photos for authentication. If that was the case, then the costs will be even higher.
Behind the scene, the problem is getting more information about the photos and permission to publish them, hence the delay in revealing the hoax. This is an issue, most online community do not understand – we dont own the photos and the owners protect them like diamond.
It may be a blow to cryptozoology in general. However, since Vincent and JWSP is still gung ho in the field, the case is not over yet. There could be new twist to the story. I agree with you that we drop the term Johor Hominid at this moment. And I agree with you the wisdom of the online communities..
Although Vincent wanted the website to continue with discussion of the footprints and the eye witness, I dont think it is advisable until something more concrete crop-up.
The cave and skull is not a diversion, it is based on new information.
As I mentioned the Search Continues..
Sean Ang
Hopefully without you doing the searching.
Funny, but “gong ho” was how I’d wanted to describe Chow but left out in my previous post. With all due respect to Chow, anyone who would make such a bold claim based on those photos deserves to be called that.
Anyway, it’s really laughable that the “owners” of the photos protected them like “diamonds”…they must have had a hilarious time preying on the gullibility of the research team. It must be like snatching candy from a child. Like many of you have commented, I’m really puzzled as to how anyone, let alone prominent scientists, could even think that these photos were of real animals…(still scratching my head).
Jamie,
I was never at the field searching. My intention is always to share with all via the internet, in a transparent manner. Although your earlier posting seemed to blame Vincent and me, this is rather unfair as we have come out with our resources to investigate the matter.
As I mentioned in our blog, we never have the intention to con anyone including you. If you ever felt that way, I wish to apologize sincerely from my heart and also others who felt that way also..
Regards,
Sean Ang
Hi Peter Loh,
The problem is when they mentioned they know the photographer and have the film negatives. Now the whole story has totally changed in light of the hoax. Yesterday when I query Tay, he said: “If you still dont believe me, you can ask the communists, and go to the jungle and see them for yourself”.
Sean Ang
You know, the saddest part of all this is that Chow and Ang’s future takes on whatever evidence found will from now on be taken with a pinch of salt…no, all the salt in the shaker! Like it or not, their judgment will be questioned, and they can’t blame anyone for that. It’s not only a sad day for cryptozoology, but also one for these two men. I can understand why many of us are mad at them. I’m not saying there’s no reason to feel this way, but I also sympathize with them; they stuck their necks out to try to solve the JH mystery and got victimised instead. Having said that, I cannot find any excuse for their gullibility…unless, of course, both men had never watched a single Hollywood-made sci-fi movie in their lifetime. I said in earlier posts that I had the feeling both men were desperately trying to convince themselves of the photos’ veracity…from Ang’s comments above, it looks like they only started suspecting something was amiss during the “movie clip discussions”.
Hi Peter Loh,
If we did not take the case to the internet, we will never know the truth.
The website was set up basically for that purpose. Engagements with online communities, just like what I am doing now for clarifications, learning and understanding.
Someone from our online community suggested that we should not have post it up on the internet until the evidences are more concrete.
But I beg to differ from you (and those who think alike) on this matter. Behind the scene few authors are in the process of publishing books. I see that it is urgent to talk to the world via the internet.
Imagine the damage, if these books were really published, and they are hoaxed. So, “sacrifice a plum for peach” makes perfect sense.
Sean Ang
Hmmm…I’m still not sold on the idea that one has to be killed to prove it’s existence…would that mean that one of everything we know to exist has been killed in the name of science; some of which are obviously endangered as it is? This thought frightens me…if I ever see one myself it will be good enough for me…no one else has to know as far as I care…the more people that know the more endangered these creatures will become. People have a way of spoiling everything. So as long as I can be sure they are there that would be all I need. If they are out there and you have seen one…cherish the moment and keep quiet…we don’t need anymore Biscardi’s running around or any more of the insane hoax videos of late…it’s just garbage.
Later,
D
Who are the GAURDIANS mentioned in a previous post, and what influence do they have on this whole thing?
Hi Sean,
I have some questions which I hope you could kindly help answer:
1. Are the authorities taking any action against these hoaxers?
2.Does the Sultan of Johor have anything to say about this since he was also a victim?
3. Could it be that the communists are sick of hiding in the jungle and are trying to use this bigfoot scam to ease themselves back into society without facing heavy punishment?
And, thanks, Sean.
Hi Peter Loh,
1. The hoaxer could be traced back to someone who gave/sell the photos to Wee. One possible candidate could be Michael Yap, according to Lee from Sin Chew. I wont investigate this further as it will be a waste of my time.
2. The Sultan? ehem.. check out the press tomorrow. Not only the Sultan, the MB, Politicians etc were shown the photos.
3. The Communist? According to Tay, he still believes the communists have seen them. This is different issue altogether.
Anything is possible, though..
Cheers..
Sean Ang
Thanks for your prompt response, Sean. Let’s see what the press has to say about all this.
My sincere hope for you and your research team is that time will repair the damage done as I still believe that this is not the last we’ll hear of the Malaysian Bigfoot and there’s still much work to be done.
Cheers and all the best! My regards to Vincent too 🙂
Hi Guys,
If you have any further questions, please post it up here. Will come back here tomorrow to check your messages.
Thanks Loren, for lending your platform.
Sean Ang
Sean, it is nice that Loren has given you a place to ‘speak out’.
Having said that, I would bet that tracing the hoaxers back would be quite a short journey… are you getting my drift?
I had been following your site from the beginning, and there has been a constant trail of broken promises and re-invented stories.
Plese tell us, Sean… why should ANYONE believe what you are saying now?
Do I sound angry? Darn right I am! You two, through outright lies, or utter incompetence have delt a significant blow to research in this area in general. A blow that may take years to recover from.
If you and Vincent ever get funding again (for anything), then there are more foolish people in Malaysia than I could have imagined.
A cave and a skull? Here we go again…
“At first we thought the Bigfoot photographs were convincing. However, after we posted a sketch of the eye, we could smell something fishy. The online community was not convinced. This was worrying. So, we thought it was time to post the real photo to settle the issue once and for all.”
IOW, the had the entire photo all along, but instead elected to just send a teaser! What PERIDY!
The look on that female Austraolopithecus – boy have I seen THAT before! Just let a hunky man walk into a party peopled by soused women of the redneck persuasion – you’ll see a whole ROOMFULL of that look!!
“This is an issue, most online community do not understand – we dont own the photos and the owners protect them like diamond.” – Ang
Turns out the “owners” were not the real owners, eh Sean? What they were “protecting like diamond” was PURLOINED COPYWRITED MATERIAL! When he was shown the photos, DIDN’T HE HAVE SENSE ENOUGH TO LOOK FOR HALFTONES?
And the greywolf asks………..has any one seen Tom B?
Sean, you didn’t expose this hoax. You were exposed.
You’ve written of your new investigation (“cave and skull”) that you will be “lobbying the JWPS on the release of the photograph”. I think you would benefit from reflecting on why you want to dive back into the same sort of situation as the one that has just collapsed around you. Especially now that you’ve alienated your potential audience almost entirely.
I imagine that those visitors to the JH website who believed you and defended you – e.g. tcsee – would have suffered rather a shock with the current revelations. Would you reopen the JH website so that your visitors could make sense there of what has happened?
wow this is fascinating stuff (quite the crypto drama). I do applaud Mr. Ang for, at the very least, facing the firing squad head on…
Ang please stop spinning. This has gone from hoax to embarrassment and your just digging yourself in deeper.
I do not believe the hunt for the Maylay “Bigfoot” has ended just Ang and Chows part in it. I can’t believe that anyone would give any creditability to anything they ever report. The world is not interested anymore because they have heard the punch line.
So please Ang just stop, lick your wounds and by the way good luck on your new career.
This is yet another red flag:
“I wont investigate this further as it will be a waste of my time.”
A waste of time? lol
That is weak and those of you that really hold there’s a “mystery hominid” stalking the woods/jungle should be warming up the tar and busting open a few pillows.
Ang, if a source lies to you,
A) you no longer have a responsibility to protect their anonymity and
B) you should want — you should be DRIVEN — to expose such people lest they cheat someone else.
And, Ang, buddy, if you REALLY believed those laughable photos were legit, they fooled you and Chow but good.
Please, folks, use this location to record your anger, by all means…but posts that are racist, demeaning to others or their thoughts, profane, and are just straight yelling about people “stealing” something (when that has not been proven) will be deleted. This is a kid-friendly site.