Actor gets flak for ‘overboard’ rape scene

• Complied by NURBAITI HAMDAN, NG SI HOOI and R. ARAVINTHAN

A RAPE scene enacted by Amar Baharin (pic) for the drama series Akadku Yang Terakhir is drawing a lot of controversy for his “convincing” acting skills, Kosmo! reported.

Ironically, the scene had already been edited out by the production house.

The 31-year-old actor said director Amie Mazia had recorded his rape scene with actress Tizz Zaqyah on her phone and uploaded on her Instagram account to promote the drama. She did not anticipate the reaction as the video clip spread like wildfire and most fans criticised it as overboard, Amar added.

Amar, however, asked fans to have an open mind as it was merely acting.

“I am not affected by this issue because I feel that those who criticise it did not read the novel or watch the drama,” he said.

Amar said although he was heavily criticised, people were talking about the drama and this meant they were interested in it and were more likely to watch it.

> A sad tale on Facebook about a sick child prompted many good-hearted Malaysians to donate to the child’s welfare but to the horror of donors, it turned out to be a scam, Harian Metro reported.

Erma Harun, 34, said she sold off a watch that she had used only for two days because she sympathised with the child, who was purportedly suffering from liver cancer.

The child’s father, known as Harun, had written about his child vomiting blood.

“I wanted to help Harun by selling off my watch because I felt his child needed the money more. I shared the story on Facebook hoping to get RM160 from the sale so I could donate,” she said.

Emma said she did not suspect anything until a friend told her that “Harun” was an online scammer.

She later discovered that the child was from the Philippines.

“I am upset and angry. Although RM160 is not a big sum, I’m angry that someone could do such a thing,” she said.

The tabloid said it has become increasingly common for online scammers to post photos of sick-looking children online and claim to be parents of those children.

They prey on the sympathy of Facebook users for donations into their bank accounts, with account numbers often included in the post.

• 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.