Unlocked — couple’s secret behind motel’s closed doors

Compiled by WINNIE YEOH and HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM

A couple who tried to hide their tryst from the authorities by being in a “padlocked” room at a motel failed as they were eventually nabbed, reported Harian Metro.

The lovers, aged 22 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of committing khalwat (close proxi­mity) late Monday night in Alor Setar, Kedah.

Apart from placing the padlock, the couple also hid their motorcycle inside the room so that their whereabouts would not be known by anyone. The motel is in a housing area.

The couple told authorities that they were in the motel to discuss their wedding preparations.

Apparently, the motel is a port for many lo­vers to spend the night there. The owner had renovated each room by installing grille doors with padlocks outside to make it seem like there was no occupancy.

Kedah Islamic Religious Depart­ment (Jaik) assistant enforcement di­­rector Syeikh Mohd Rosyidi Mahmud said his officers knocked on the door several times before a man, clad only in shorts, opened the door.

Syeikh Mohd said the man insisted that he was the only one in the room but got caught when a woman was seen running into the bathroom.

“The man is married with a child and the woman is a young widow,” he said.

> Malaysian songbird Shila Amzah, who made a name for herself in China, recently criticised the Malay media for not supporting her career in the entertainment industry, re­­ported Kosmo!

Shila, through her Instagram ac­­count, alle­gedly wrote that the Malay media was not inte­rested in giving her coverage during her recent concert in Kuala Lumpur.

She claimed the Malay media was more inclined to write about gossips. Her post received many res­ponses from her followers, with many of them criticising the dailies.

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.