Spot on, spot off

A mother-and-daughter team carries on the business of a mole removal centre that has been in operation since 1941.

WITH a beatific smile, Fong Kim Far, 65, looks into a client’s face and inspects a mole beside her left nostril. The fortune teller’s voice is soft, soothing and honey-coated with a melodious lilt.

“There are more bad moles than good ones,” she informs her young client who seems to be hanging on to her every word.

Giving pointers: Janet using the head of a mannequin to show the relation of moles to one’s fortune.

That mole in particular, explains Kim Far carefully, might bring misfortune in the form of a watery accident. The best recourse is to remove it. And even if one does not believe in things like luck and fate, perhaps she may consider its removal as a beautifying measure? After all, a spotless face is always prettier, reasons Kim Far.

At last vanity triumphs and the owner of the inauspicious mole agrees to get rid of the troubled spot. She seats herself on a barber’s chair and one of Kim Far’s assistants proceeds to nudge the mole with a thin stick which is coated with a poultice at its sharpened tip.

Kim Far and her daughter, Janet Lee, 37, are the owners of Lee Sin Sang. The mole removal centre is a 67-year-old business passed down by Kim Far’s late husband, Lee Zhao Yang, who started the concern from a small stall in the Petaling Street area in 1941.

As proof, Kim Far asks her daughter to bring out an old tatty signboard with crude, handwritten Chinese characters and English wordings. There is a deep gash in the middle, no thanks to a vandal’s handiwork.

But unlike the tatty signboard, the mole removing techniques of Lee Sin Sang have survived six generations.

Long practised: Kim Far showing the traditional method of mole removal on a model.

According to Kim Far, mole removals date back 2000 years in Chinese history where face fortune tellers have studied the positions of moles in relation to the an individual’s destiny.

To them, these are an indication of ill health, weakness in character and future mishaps.

“In general, the Chinese have an aversion to anything that is black and for them ridding a mole is likened to avoiding or lightening the impact of whatever bad luck that may come their way,” she explains.

On the topic of fortune-telling related to moles on the face, Kim Far says that good moles are the ones in between the eyebrows, above it and inside the ear. The first and second positions represent good luck and wealth, while the third is a sign of wisdom.

Bad moles such as one above the eyelid represents family conflict and loss of possessions.

Moles on and at the edge of the nose are also regarded as indications of financial difficulties and ill health.

Having a dark spot beside the mouth is also a bad sign as it is a forewarning of food-linked ailments.

The most dreaded moles are the ones located below the eye, as they bear a resemblance to teardrops.

These moles are believed to cause its owner much anxiety and sorrow. Generally, women with teardrop moles will bring their husbands bad luck. Men who have these moles fare no better as they will be prone to disasters.

So would it be right to say that mole removal is the answer to one’s problems?

“It doesn’t mean that once a bad mole is removed, one will not get sick or be spared of life’s trials and tribulations. There is still the need to exercise caution and be mindful of one’s health,” affirms Kim Far, laughing softly.

Janet, who had grown up with the business, recalls that her late father, a learned man who was well-versed in Chinese texts and a keen artist whose favourite subjects were flowers, had been a respected figure in the community because of his position.

Still, Kim Far maintains that if there were no basis whatsoever to the study of moles and what they represent, her late husband’s business would not have survived till the present day.

In addition to being known in the Klang Valley, some of Lee Sin Sang’s customers come from as far as India, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Holland, Singapore, Thailand and Australia.

As for the mole removing procedures practised at Lee Sin Sang, Kim Far describes the procedure as painless, and one which only affects the epidermis without harming the dermis. As such, there is no shedding of blood.

“When removing a mole, care is taken to ensure that the roots are also extracted. If not they will re-grow. Here, all the moles are removed by hand because we believe that lasers leave the skin vulnerable to scarring,” maintains Kim Far.

The ointments used in the procedures are also homebrewed from Chinese herbs, secret recipes passed down from Kim Far’s mother.

Lee Sin Sang is at 63B, 2nd Floor, Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. 03-20318868.

Published in The Star, Sunday. Jan 6, 2008.