Security guard Robert Nababan encountered the snake on a palm oil plantation road in Sumatra’s Batang Gansal district on Saturday.

Mr Nababan tried to catch the python, reports say, which was 7.8m (26ft) long.

It attacked him, and man and reptile fought until Mr Nababan killed it with the help of some villagers.

The guard survived with serious injuries.

The python was not as lucky as Mr Nababan – its body was strung up for display at a village, before it was chopped up, fried and eaten.

Mr Nababan told Indonesian news outlet Detik: “I tried to catch it, my hand was bitten, and I managed to wrestle it.”

The 37-year-old did not give an exact reason for why he tried to catch the python, but said there were villagers who could not cross the road because of the snake.

Varying reports say he was either trying to keep scared villagers safe or that he wanted to clear the road.

Local police told AFP news agency that the python had sunk its fangs into the guard’s left arm and nearly severed it.

He was taken to a hospital in Pekanbaru city, where he is still recovering, said Elinaryon, head of the Batang Gansal district government.

The official, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told the BBC that Mr Nababan’s hand was badly injured and that doctors “might have to cut it off”.

‘Really tasty’

He said giant pythons were common in his area, a remote district of Sumatra. “[There are] at least 10 sightings of them a year. In the dry season they come out looking for a drink, in the wet they come out to take a bath in the rain.”

“There are usually lots of mice in the palm oil plantations and that’s what they are hunting.”

Mr Elinaryon said it was inadvisable for people to tackle the giant reptiles. “You really shouldn’t try to do that… of course the snake, if you try and kill it, is going to get really angry and that’s when it fights back!”

He was not surprised that the python was eaten. “I have heard from friends that they are really tasty. I mean it’s a 7m snake – that’s a lot of meat!”

“The blood, some people believe, has healing qualities and can be used in medicine.”

In March another encounter with a giant snake turned out differently, when an Indonesian villager was found dead in the belly of a python.

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He was “frantic” when he found it in the bathroom at home in Southend, Essex, his mother Laura Cowell said.

Specialists from pet shop Scales and Fangs came to the rescue, removing the harmless 3ft (91cm) baby royal python.

“It smelt of bleach and a bit toilet-y,” Ethan Pinion from the store said. The snake “most likely came up the u-bend” and is expected to recover fully.

Mrs Cowell said the toilet had been “blocked for several days and the water wasn’t draining well”, but at the time, she did not know why.

Her son discovered the unwelcome visitor when he went to use the toilet on Wednesday.

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“He was frantic, and shaking, and I could tell something was wrong, but that was not what I expected,” she said.

“I had to use a broom handle to lift the lid, then out popped its head and its tongue came out as well.”

After phoning several potential rescuers, Rob Yeldham, who owns the Leigh-on-Sea store, came to help.

“I’ve done many snake rescues in my 10 years, but I’ve never had one in a toilet before. It’s definitely a first for us,” he said.

Mr Yeldham said some neighbours of Mrs Cowell had recently moved and old vivariums were left outside with the rubbish.

“I think the snake probably escaped and went down their toilet, and ended up in this one, as all the sewers are connected,” he said.

It was unlikely it had been there long as it was healthy and not underweight, although it is suffering from scale rot, “probably from the bleach”.

The snake is being treated at the store and once “in perfect health” will be “rehomed with someone reputable so he won’t end up in a toilet again”.

Mrs Cowell said she was “petrified” and put weights on the toilet lid for several days after the experience.

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Source: BBC

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Akbar Salubiro, 25, went missing on Sunday night after setting off to harvest palm oil in a remote village on the island of west Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Concerned friends and relatives found a giant python sprawled out in Akbar’s own back garden the next evening – and feared he had been suffocated and swallowed.

Akbar’s lifeless body was found inside the serpent after horrified locals sliced open its belly using a 18-inch long hunting knife.

Horrifying footage shows the corpse being slowly removed from the killer reptile as the leathery skin is peeled away.

‘Initially Akbar set out from his home to go to harvest palm. After not returning to his home, people looked for him.’

Akbar’s wife, Munu, was away at the time and only found out when pictures and video emerged in the news, local media reported.

Village secretary Salubiro Junaidi said: ‘People had heard cries from the palm grove the night before Akbar was found in the snake’s stomach.

‘When the snake was captured, the boots Akbar was wearing were clearly visible in the stomach of the snake.

‘Resident cut open the belly of the snake and Akbar was lifeless.’

Reticulated pythons are boa constrictors that suffocate their victims before swallowing them whole.

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Source: Mail Online

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The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has cautioned the public to beware of the distribution and sale of unwholesome sachet water in Accra.

According to the FDA, a new brand of sachet water, “Special Basin” which was currently being distributed and sold on the market has not been registered by the Authority.

A statement signed by the Deputy Chief Executive (Food Safety Division), Mr John Odame-Darkwah said investigations by the FDA have established that “Special Basin” water was being produced by Special Basin Company at Tema, Community 2.

According to Mr Odame, the product is an imitation of Special Ice Mineral Water produced by Special Ice Company Limited in Accra.

He said investigations have established that Special Basin company has been operating illegally for quite a while and has been supplying the unwholesome sachet water to some shops located around Ashaiman, Tema and its environs.

It said the FDA has since locked up the production facility of Special Basin while investigation continues and was therefore advising the public to beware.

Mr Odame asked distributors and retailers of sachet water, to beware of where they source their supplies since they are equally culpable if they sell or distribute unwholesome/unregistered products to consumers.

He reminded all producers of FDA regulated products, which include sachet water, to note that it is a criminal offence to offer for sale products that have not been given approval by the FDA.

Source: Graphic Online

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The price of a bag of water which used to be sold at GHC 1.5pesewas now sells at GHC 3, with a sachet of water which used to be sold at 10 pesewas now selling at 20 pesewas, representing an increment of 100%.

According to the people, despite the fact that cost of production has increased over time thereby putting a lot of pressure on the producers of sachet water, it is unacceptable to increase the price of water; an essential commodity that should not be treated like any other commodity.

The producers of sachet water in Takyiman who have the majority of producers in the Brong Ahafo region sell a bag of water between GHC 1 and GHC to consumers outside Takyiman.

This is contrary to the price of the same product within the municipality; a situation the residents have described as discriminatory.

They are therefore calling on producers of the product to revert to the old price .

Although the secretary of the Sachet Water Producers Association Osei Effah had earlier denied the reports, Citi News checks revealed that the product was selling at the old price in the region apart from Takyiman and Sunyani.

By: Kwadwo Brefo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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