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Canadian True Crime Narrator (21:14)

Thanks for supporting Canadian True Crime by listening to these messages from our sponsors. We appreciate it. The gamer who went by Menhaz was actually using his real first name. His full name was Menhaz Zaman and he was 23 years old at the time. His parents were originally from Bangladesh. After they married in the late 1980s, they immigrated to Canada in search of a better life for themselves and the future children they planned to have. Moni Ru Zaman was the quiet and reserved one, known as a man of few words but strong principles. He was also deeply devoted to his Muslim faith. According to a 2020 feature in Toronto Life by Katherine Laidlaw, Moni Ruz preferred to dress in traditional Bengali attire, which included long loose fitting shirts often made of cotton or silk, called Punjabis. His wife, Mummitaz Begum, was nine years younger, only about 20 years old when they arrived in Toronto, she was the friendly, outgoing one. Mummitas had a warm and generous nature that came in very handy as the couple settled into their new country. At first they lived in Scarborough, an area east of Toronto that had become a hub for newcomers with established immigrant communities and more affordable housing. As Mumataz focused on making a home and integrating them socially into the community, Monirooz was the breadwinner, focused on earning money for them to save, to set themselves up for the future. It wasn't easy. Canada was heading into a recession when they arrived. But by the mid-1990s, Toronto had rebounded and transformed itself into a bustling, multicultural city with many opportunities on offer. Mani Roos had found steady work as a taxi driver and developed a reputation for reliability and a strong work ethic. He worked so much that he was awarded Driver of the Month many times. He also managed to save a lot of money. Through that and careful budgeting, the Zamans had enough money in the bank for their first home in Scarborough. Then they were able to purchase two investment properties which they rented out. While Mani Roos continued to drive a taxi and save money, Mummitaz took care of the property management. After about eight years in Canada, it was time to start a family. Their first child, Menhas, was born in 1996, followed by a daughter named Melesa two years later. With Mani Roos continuing to work long hours as a cab driver and Mumitaz managing the kids, the household and the rental properties, they realised they needed some help. So Mumitaz convinced her mother, Firose to move over from Bangladesh to help with the children. They continued saving money and by 2006 the family had upgraded to a spacious four bedroom detached home in Markham. They rented out the basement suite to tenants, another sacrifice they made on their journey towards long term financial security, because soon they would be paying for university. Mani Roos and Mummitaz Zaman were ambitious and driven, immensely proud of the life they'd built so far. And they were especially proud of their eldest child, Manhaas, who was described as a dutiful kid with a boyish, bespeckled face. At school, he was a solid student, someone who showed up, listened and did what he was supposed to. Manhaas spoke quietly and often avoided eye contact. And socially, he kept a low profile. He was shy, reserved and introverted like his father. A massive homebody, he never went out with friends and was never seen dating anyone. His mother doted on him. Mumitaz often went out of her way to care for her eldest child reportedly picking him up for lunch each day and making sure she was at his beck and call. Manhaas never caused trouble for his parents and lived up to every expectation. The Zamaans were deeply invested in their children's future and had high expectations for them. They believed in hard work, discipline, and the power of education to secure a stable career and happy life. It's a common focus in immigrant households. When parents effectively leave everything behind to start over in a new country, often with a new culture, the stakes feel impossibly high. As a taxi driver, Moni Roos was part of a workforce made up largely of overworked immigrants doing the jobs that others thought were undesirable. It's a necessary sacrifice they hope will pay off in the future. But with that, there is often some pressure, the weight of unfulfilled dreams projected onto the next generation. For many families, that pressure often helps fuel success, but it can also create quiet strains that build up at home. Father Moniruz had high hopes for his son to become an engineer. So when Menhaz was accepted into York University's Lassonde School of Engineering, he was thrilled. His wife, Mumataz, proudly regaled everyone she knew with stories of her son's good grades and future plans. Friends would say they started feeling inadequate about their own children. But while Menhaz was the golden child, his younger sister, Melissa, rebelled. She was bright and ambitious, but also headstrong and far less willing to conform than her brother. Melessa often found herself caught between her family's traditional cultural values, while also trying to navigate the realities of teenage life in a more modern Western country. Her antics sparked regular tension at home. She was once suspended from high school for flipping off a teacher. She was caught drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis as a minor, before cannabis was even legal. She also dated people her parents wouldn't approve of. Behind their back, Melissa fought with her mother about the clothes she wore and her curfew. If she came home late, her father, Moni Ru, sometimes hit her, according to Toronto Life. On a couple of occasions, he actually locked her out of the house to teach her a lesson. Occasionally, older brother Menhaz would step in to try and defuse fights with their mother. But if their father was involved, Menhaz stayed right out of it, retreating to his room and disappearing into his computer. Then Melesa started going out with another boyfriend that Moni Roos and Mumitaz didn't approve of. And they certainly didn't approve when she moved out to live with him. But it was Temporary Melissa was soon back under the family roof. Her grades had been excellent all along and the family celebrated once again when she was accepted into a science program at York University. She dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon. Moni, Roos and Mummitas were so proud of their children. Melessa had a part time job at a grocery store and was going to become a doctor. And Manhaas was getting excellent grades in his engineering program. All their efforts and hard work were surely paying off. The summer of 2019 was a season of celebration for the Zamaan family. In late June, Moniroos and Mumitaz marked their 25th wedding anniversary and hosted two events to celebrate. A casual backyard party and a larger, more formal reception at a local convention centre. They beamed as their eldest child, Manha's, gave a speech to commemorate the occasion. As a slideshow of family photos played on a screen, Manhaz told the crowd that he was lucky to have been raised by such kind and wonderful parents. It was a symbol of all the Zaman family had accomplished, proof that they had made the right decision in moving to Canada. But perhaps the biggest celebration was coming up next. Menhaz was preparing to graduate from York University's Lassonde School of Engineering with his degree, and he'd even been talking about returning to school to get his master's degree after that. Moniroos and Mummitaz were of course thrilled, but they weren't looking that far ahead. There was one specific moment they were greatly anticipating. Seeing their eldest child cross across the stage wearing his academic regalia to receive his diploma. It was something they'd always dreamed about. They had noticed Menhaz had become a bit more withdrawn in recent months. He didn't have a part time job or a bustling social life like his younger sister Melesa. It was totally normal for him to be at home when he wasn't on campus. But Manhaas had gradually stopped eating meals with his family as well. He no longer joined them when they hosted social events. He preferred to stay in his bedroom all the time with his computer and his video games. It's just how he liked to relax. Menhaz's grandmother, Firose, shook her head when family friends asked what was going on with him, according to Toronto Life. But Moniruz and Mumitaz gave their son some grace. He still attended the mosque with his father, and he was in the very final stages of an engineering degree after all. They could see light at the end of the tunnel. Menhaz's official graduation ceremony was scheduled for Sunday, July 28th of 2019. While Manha Zaman appeared to be an introverted homebody devoted to his university studies, he actually did have an active social life and a whole personality. It was just online where his family couldn't see. Over the years, Manhaas had become especially active in a 3D multiplayer role playing game called Perfect World that had built up a cult following online. Players from all over the globe gathered together, and when they weren't playing the game, they were hanging out on the game's discussion forums and discord groups. That's where all Menhazza's friends were. His in game character was an elf priest and he had a decent reputation as a player. But in chat he was quite divisive, often dropping hot takes and inappropriate comments to get a rise out of people. It wasn't uncommon in that crowd. The discord group Manhaas was part of reflected a certain kind of online culture. Mostly young men, often anonymous, often pushing boundaries. Dark jokes, edgy memes and offensive language were part of the environment. Menhaz fit right in. In his forum bio, he described himself as the most famous autist in the game, autist being a niche term for a person with autism. There's no evidence he was ever formally diagnosed, but obviously thought it was an appropriate label for himself. Menhas had been a member of the Perfect World online community since before he finished high school, and for the most part, his trolling had been playful, mostly harmless, more annoying than actually offensive. But in 2019, during his final year of university, his online friends had noticed that his jokes became darker. He suddenly announced that he was no longer a practicing Muslim and declared himself to be an atheist. He changed his screen name to Allah, another trolling move. He started ranting about his former religion, complaining that it was not modern enough, and arguing with fellow players about it. Eventually, he was told to stop with a disparaging religious talk. He was offending too many people. That spring, Menhas messaged one friend to say he was thinking. Thinking about leaving the game. Perfect World. His friend was surprised. Menhas was the one who gamed the most. He was always online. Where would he go instead? Menhaz told him, Perfect World Jail. Gonna kill my parents and go to jail, y'. All. It seemed like just another weird dark joke. The 23 year old started to mention suicide as well, but always in a slightly humorous way. As his personality continued to take a darker turn, his online friends were unsure whether to laugh or be concerned. Manhaas changed his online handle from Allah to Sub human and then he changed it again. His latest handle was Don't Deserve Life. More gallows humour. His friends decided clearly he was just putting more effort into finding more and more shocking things to say to troll them. But when Minha started to throw around racial and homophobic slurs, the Discord mods put their foot down. He was temporarily suspended from Discord for violating the platform's content policy. His account went quiet for longer than it should have, and a fellow Perfect World player Jack noticed. So the Evening of Saturday, July 27th of 2019, Jack sent Menhaas that message to check in. Then the reply came that he'd just slaughtered his family. Followed by the graphic photos as Jack, Maroon, Bianca and the others and the smaller group tried to track down Menhas IP address. The larger Discord group kept him talking so he wouldn't hurt anyone else. They asked him questions about why he did it, why he didn't confide in anyone, why he felt like murder was the only way out. The reply was so casual, Manhaz said he'd been planning to kill his family for three years. He couldn't have delayed it any longer because Manhaz Zaman had been living a double life and his lies were about to be exposed. The Zaman family believed Manha's was to close close to graduating from York University with his engineering degree. But he'd been living a lie. He never attended York, he never studied engineering. He'd been accepted to a much less prestigious career college to study electronics, and he couldn't cope with that. By the end of his first semester, Menhaas had started skipping classes. By second semester, he was spiralling. As Manhaas explained to his online friends that night, it is here in the second semester. I started getting depressed, became an atheist and ultimately created this plan. He dropped out of college before he finished the first year. Now he had nothing going on in his life. No education, no job, no future prospects, and the weight of his family's expectations for him. Manhaas had no idea what to do. But he knew he couldn't face his family's disappointment. So he just decided not to tell them. Every morning, he would leave the house like any other university student, boarding the bus to campus. But once he arrived at York, he didn't attend lectures like the others. He wasn't an enrolled student. So he would wander around campus aimlessly for hours. And in the afternoons he would head to a nearby gym before catching the bus home again. He allowed his parents to believe he was one day closer to getting his engineering degree. Menhazar's family also had no idea that his core beliefs had shifted. While he continued to attend the mosque with his father, he had been questioning his faith for quite a while. During this time, he told his friends that he'd started dating someone and he longed for a more independent life. But he couldn't bring himself to tell his parents that not only was he not going to university, but he'd now wasted extra time lying to them about it. They would never forgive him. As time went on, Menhaz's daily routine shifted. He stopped catching the bus all the way to campus. What was the point? The bus route also went past the mall, so he got off there instead. He would sit in the food court or on a bench, open his laptop and log on to the perfect world universe. That night in July of 2019, he explained to his online gamer friends, so for three years I've been telling my parents I go to university when I was actually hanging out at the mall four days a week. But there was a problem approaching, a big one. The lies Manhaas had told his family about earning an engineering degree had bought his him three years. But his story came with an expiration date. There was no avoiding the high profile graduation ceremony scheduled for July 28. Manhaz told his family he was thriving at York, earning top marks at engineering school on a full scholarship. And because he'd always met his parents expectations and had never caused them any problems, they believed him without question. But the approaching graduation ceremony marked a hard deadline. The day when Menhazz's entire web of lies and deception would come crashing down. And the fact that his parents were so looking forward to it as a symbol of everything they'd worked and sacrificed for, made it exponentially worse. Menhaz knew the truth. There would be no degree, no stage, no future. What was supposed to be a joyful day of celebration his parents had been dreaming about for years would certainly unravel into a nightmare of shame and humiliation for him and them. And he couldn't let that happen. Manhaes explained that he didn't want his parents to feel the shame of having a son like him and coming clean was not an option. So he began to fantasise about how he would eliminate the problem. As Manhaas continued to speak to his gamer friends, he had no idea that a small group of them had been communicating separately, tracking his IP address by going through all his various accounts. When they found what they believed to be his physical address, they contacted the Toronto police. It was around sunrise and they'd been up all night by this point. As they waited and hoped for the police to take action, they continued to keep Manhaas engaged in conversation so that he couldn't leave, asking him questions about his family and why he did what he did. He told them, quote, I chose to kill them instead out of cowardice. I believe this is the only life we get. I'm sorry if this makes you upset. Please try to remember the good times. To another friend, he admitted, I'm a pathetic coward and a sub human. I was scared to die and I wanted them to die so that they didn't suffer knowing how much of a pathetic subhuman I was. It's all very selfish. I'm just patient. Pathetic. As the hours passed and Sunday morning became Sunday lunchtime, the tired gamers started to wonder if anything was going to happen. Was what they reported even taken seriously? Would the police do anything about it? Menhas was still active online, talking occasionally. At one point, he spoke about taking one last group picture of his family. Manhaz mentioned moving the dead bodies of his family members around the house so he could take better photos of them. According to later reporting by Mac Lamoureaux for Vice, the whole conversation was disturbing. Then he sent a final message, Police are here. Goodbye. The small Discord group had tracked down what they believed was Manhas's address through his past PayPal transactions. The Toronto police had certainly taken the call seriously, but they had to try and independently verify the information before they showed up at the house. The Toronto cybercrime unit swiftly linked the IP address to Manhas's Internet service provider, who confirmed his physical address. The gamers had gotten it right because Markham is in the York region. The Toronto police contacted the York police, telling them they had received credible information that someone at that address claimed to have been killed. Their family that Sunday, July 28, York police arrived at the Zaman home at around 3pm Ironically, at almost the exact same time a short drive away, York University's graduation ceremony for engineering students was about to begin. The same ceremony Manhaz had told his family he'd be part of, but he wouldn't be crossing the stage. He was upstairs in his bedroom, watching out the window as police officers approached the house. And they saw him too. Manhaz came down and opened the front door and was immediately detained. While police conducted an initial search of the house, they found a disturbing scene. Inside the house were the bloodied bodies of two older females, one younger female and one older male. Everything Manhaz had told his online friends was true. Later that day, the news broke that four people had been found dead in a home in Markham and that a 23 year old had been arrested at the scene and charged with four counts of of first degree murder. Bianca, the Toronto gamer who had the idea to check the PayPal transactions, caught the news and felt relieved. A few days later, the Discord Group would send screenshots of all the messages they'd received from Menhaz that night to Vice magazine. But those who knew the Zamaan family personally felt anything but relief. As headlines and information spread quickly and photos flashed across TV screens, they tried desperately to reach the family. Calls to Moniroos and Mummitas went unanswered, so concerned relatives and family friends began to arrive in Markham, some driving from locations over an hour away to check in for themselves. They found the home surrounded by yellow police tape and police combing the scene for evidence. They gathered outside the house. It was only a matter of time before they would learn the true horror of what happened inside it. Foreign.

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Canadian True Crime Narrator (49:30)

Almost a year later, In September of 2020, Manha Zaman pleaded guilty to murdering his parents, sister and grandmother in their home. On July 27, 2019, the court heard that Manhaas had no prior criminal record and according to an agreed statement of facts, he began Thinking about killing his family three years before, he followed through. The reason was simple. The graduation ceremony was going to expose his double life. On July 28th of 2019, his family would discover there was no engineering degree and no university. Just lies and wasted years. And Manhaas couldn't bear the thought of his parents discovering that they'd raised a failure. The court heard that on Saturday, July 27, Manhaas was at home in his bedroom as usual. His father Moniruz and sister Melessa were both working that day and wouldn't be home until much later that night. His mother Mummetaz was at home and grandmother Firosa was there as well. By this point, Firosa had long since moved into her own apartment in Toronto, but she was visiting the family that weekend. After all, it was supposed to be her grandson's graduation on Sunday. When the two women decided to take a nap that Saturday afternoon, Manhaas waited for them to fall asleep and then grabbed a crowbar. It was time to put the plan he'd been thinking about for three years into action. At about 3pm he attacked his mother Momotaz, first by striking her on the head with a crowbar. When the 50 year old fell to the floor, he slit her throat. He then waited for an hour before returning to his 70 year old grandmother Forosa. He killed her in the exact same way. It was now about 4pm and Manhaz knew he had a long stretch of time before his father and sister arrived home. Melissa would be finishing her shift at the grocery store at 11pm and Maniruz was driving his taxi on a long shift that wasn't scheduled to finish until about midnight. So Menhaz spent all those hours playing video games and napping with the bodies of his mother and grandmother lying in the house. That evening he received the private discord message from his gamer friend Jack. Checking in, Manhaz replied that he killed his mother and grandmother, then showed a photo of their bodies lying on the floor covered in blood. A photo that couldn't be found anywhere else on the Internet. Shortly after that, menhaz ambushed his 21 year old sister Melissa as she arrived arrived home from work shortly after 11pm he also hit her with a crowbar and then slit her throat. He returned to his laptop and posted a new photo showing Melesa's lifeless body followed by the happy family photo from his parents 25th wedding anniversary celebration. As panic ensued among his online gamer friends, Manhaas waited for the final member of his family to return home. His father, Moni Ruz, the one who held high hopes for his eldest child to become an engineer to get the education he never got. When Moni Ruz arrived home, Manhaz attacked him with the same crowbar and slit his throat in the same way he did to his other family members. Then he returned to his computer and posted a final photo into the Discord chat of his father's dead body. I just slaughtered my entire family. In the aftermath of the murders of the Zaman family, Weiss reported that some of the people who had tried to alert police were still reeling in shock days after the murders, unable to eat and having trouble sleeping. Even those who had only exchanged messages with Manhaz during the night and saw the photos he posted were haunted by what they'd seen and by the thought that maybe they could have done more. Members of the Perfect World Discord group rarely spoke about what had happened after that. The server administrator, Maroon, told the Toronto Star that they only wanted Manhaz captured so he couldn't hurt anyone else. And that's what happened. Maroon added, quote, let's not forget that Manhaz truly believed that his family dying is better than them meeting his reality, which only existed in his head. At sentencing, Justice Michelle Furest said that the word slaughter was accurate and noted the betrayal ran deep. These were people who trusted Manhaz, loved him and supported him. The murders had left a deep scar on everyone who knew the Zaman family as well as the wider community. Words like brutal, cruel and callous don't even begin to convey the enormity of his violence, the judge said. It wasn't just that Manhaas had killed four members of his family. It was also how he did it methodically, over a span of nine hours, slitting each of their throats in turn, and how while his mother and grandmother lay dead upstairs, Menhaz spent hours playing video games and napping, apparently untroubled, the judge noted, as he waited for his sister and father to return home from work. Then he killed them in the same way. Because Manhaas pleaded guilty, he wasn't required to provide detailed information about what he did or why he did it, why he chose to kill his grandmother and sister as well, or what he planned to do afterwards. The judge cited a victim impact statement submitted by members of the extended Zaman family, who described the murdered family members as loving, vibrant and ambitious. They spoke with admiration about how Mani, Roos and Mumitaz came from Bangladesh and endured many hardships to build a new life in Canada for themselves and a good future for their children, how Firouza moved over to help out and did whatever she could to keep her grandchildren happy. And how Melessa, at just 21 years old, was a shooting star with high aspirations to become a neurosurgeon. The family member spoke of being traumatised, betrayed and haunted by what had happened. Before sentencing, the judge asked Menhaz Zaman, by this point, 24 years old, if he had anything to say. He did. I would like to just apologize to anyone I have impacted negatively with my actions and especially to the people who knew my family and friends and loved ones who I know could never have seen something like this happening. I'm sorry. In sentencing, Justice Michelle Furest rejected the idea that Menhas's fear of his lies being exposed could ever explain why he chose to kill his parents, sister and grandmother. There was no justification, no explanation that made sense. And the fact that he saw murder as a reasonable solution in the first place and then acted on it was described as cold, calculating and deeply disturbing. It seemed Manhaz agreed. He had instructed his defence lawyer to agree with the Crown's suggestion that he be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years. And that's exactly what he got. Menhaz Zaman was originally charged with four counts of fear first degree murder. But as part of his guilty plea, one of those charges was reduced to second degree murder, which means it was intentional murder, but not necessarily planned in advance. That was the charge related to his mother, Mamataz, the first person he killed that day. The Crown explained that if the case had gone to trial, there would have been a legitimate legal question about whether the first murder met the threshold of being deliberate or and planned. But there was no question after that. For killing his mother, Mumataz Manhaas was sentenced to life in prison with no chancer parole for 15 years. This would be served consecutively with his sentence of life in prison with no chancer parole for 25 years for the first degree murder of his grandmother, Feroza. With those two sentences and added together, Manhaas would serve life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years. He also received life sentences for the first degree murders of his sister Melesa and father, Moni Ruz, but they would be served concurrently or at the same time as the first two sentences. Manha Zaman won't be eligible for parole until the year, the year 2059. He will be 64 years old. Two years later, in 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark decision that consecutive parole ineligibility periods were a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canada's top court found that life sentences without a realistic possibility of parole leaves offenders with no incentive to rehabilitate themselves. Since this decision, several convicted murderers have appealed their sentences and had their parole and eligibility periods reduced, including the Quebec mosque shooter, the perpetrator of the Toronto van attack, and Jason Clouse and Joshua Frank in Alberta. There has been no announcement about whether Manha Zaman will appeal his own sentence. The case of Manha Zaman was eerily similar to another Canadian tragedy that happened in the exact same suburb of Markham, but nine years earlier. It's the Jennifer Pan case. Like Manha's, Jennifer Pan grew up in an immigrant family. Under the weight of intense expectations. She lied to her parents about school, about her future, about who she really was. And when the truth threatened to come out, she turned on the very people who had sacrificed everything for her future. A final, irreversible act of violence carried out within the walls of her family home. If you're not familiar with the case, there's a link in the show Notes to listen to Case File Training True Crime's excellent episode Sorry about the spoilers. While Jennifer Pan tried to cover her tracks and hide her involvement, Menhaz Zaman confessed almost immediately. To some, that's evidence that he wanted to be caught, that he couldn't bear the shame of being exposed, but also could not live with what he'd done. But the end result was the same. Two families who believed they were on the brink of celebrating their children's success were instead blindsided by lies that had been quietly building for years. Two families left in ruins because their children believed murdering them was a better option than facing their disappointment. But if there's any small piece of meaning to be salvaged in these cases, cases is that they might serve as a wake up call. As parents, we try our best to raise confident, independent kids while carrying the financial and mental load of setting them up for the future. Most of us are juggling full time work, paying the bills, managing a household, and doing it all while trying to be present and emotionally available. There's no clear rulebook. We're just expected to get parenting right in a world that's quick to point fingers but slow to offer real support. And sometimes, without realising it, our expectations can turn into a monster for our children, a standard so high it leaves little room for mistakes or for a young person to admit they're struggling. And in that daily struggle, we can miss what they actually need most connection, understanding and the space to be honest. Cases like these are a reminder to stay truly connected, to ask questions, to check in about how the kids are really doing. What Menhas Zaman did to his family was on his shoulders alone, but it didn't come out of nowhere. It was years and months, the making quietly growing in the cracks that no one wanted to look at too closely. And maybe if someone had known what Menhaz was really going through, things might have been different. Thanks for listening and once again, thank you so much for your support and for your kind messages and comments. I read them all and wish I could reply to more. Please send any feedback you have about which case this year has stuck with you the most to canadiantruecrime, CA or via Facebook or Instagram. We'll be slowing down for the summer, but look out for case updates, episodes and some other projects I have in the works. If you found this episode compelling, we'd love for you to tell a friend, post on social media, or leave a review. Wherever you listen to podcasts, word of mouth really helps. For the full list of resources and anything else you want to know about the podcast, visit canadiantruecrime CA Canadian True Crime donates monthly to those facing injustice. This month we have donated to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime. Learn more at crcvc CA Audio editing was by Crosby Audio and Eric Crosby voiced the disclaimer. Our senior producer is Lindsay Eldridge and Carol Weinberg is our script consultant. Research writing, narration and sound design was by me and the theme songs were composed by We Talk of Dreams. I'll be back later with another Canadian True Crime story. See you then.

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