Sky lanterns almost set wooden house ablaze

Compiled by ROYCE TAN, NG SI HOOI and R. ARAVINTHAN

A WOODEN house in Bukit Baru, Malacca almost caught fire when three traditional Chinese sky lantern fell on its rooftop, China Press reported.

The residents, who were gathering outside their houses to celebrate Chap Goh Meh, were shocked to see flames coming out from the lanterns, which are also known as kungming lanterns.

Several of them quickly took down the lanterns and put out the flames.

It was believed that the lanterns were put up by three families as their family names and wishes were on the lanterns.

Some people believe their dreams come true when they release their lanterns into the sky.

A resident slammed their actions, saying it would cause fires if the lanterns accidently dropped on flammable objects.

> Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported that Carol Choo, the wife of Cantopop superstar Andy Lau, and their four-year-old daughter Hanna, were back in Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Choo and Hanna only spent four days in Kuala Lumpur as Hanna had to go back to school.

However, Lau was not with them as he did not want the media to focus on his family members in case they were spotted at the airports with him.

Lau will come to Malaysia on his own early next month to offer prayers to his parents-in-law.

The 54-year-old artiste offers prayers to his parents-in-law every year, the paper reported.

> Guang Ming Daily reported Hong Kong actress Linda Chung Ka-yan plans to retire from the entertainment industry soon.

The 31-year-old artiste is said to be five-months pregnant, but she neither confirms nor denies it.

On Wednesday, the 31-year-old artiste announced she had married a doctor from Vancouver, Canada, end of last year.

The news had surprised many of her friends as well as her fans, as she had never before disclosed her relationship with 43-year-old Dr Jeremy Leung.

A wedding banquet would be held tomorrow in Vancouver, the daily reported.

Found in translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.