Poor family living in darkness for a year

A FAMILY has been living in darkness for more than a year because they cannot afford to pay the electricity bill.

The couple’s five school-going children are forced to do their homework by candlelight.

Guang Ming Daily reported that the family of seven lives in a low-cost flat in Bukit Panchor, Nibong Tebal.

The 45-year-old father, Vincent, and his wife Visarani, 47, have five children aged between seven and 15. Two study at SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman in Nibong Tebal while the rest are in SJK (T) Sungai Jawi.

It was reported that Vincent is a deliveryman who earns between RM500 and RM600 a month.

Their electricity supply was cut off early last year after they failed to pay the bill.

Since then, they light up two candles each night in the living room where the children did their school work. Vincent said he needed to pay RM250 for the rent and about RM500 for the household expenses.

The family receives RM400 aid from the Welfare Department each month.

> A man was shocked to find that his car, which was supposed to be in a workshop, was involved in an accident on the Penang Bridge on Wednesday.

Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported that the man, known as Goh, handed the car to a mechanic who offered to help after it broke down on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway on May 7.

“I followed the mechanic to his workshop in Penang where my car was towed to. I then asked him to estimate the cost of repairs. He called me later and told me that the repairs would cost RM1,200.

“As I am a low income earner, I could not afford it and suggested that I pay by instalments. I made the first payment of RM600 on June 23 and I received a call on July 31 asking me to pay the remaining amount.

“However, I was shocked when my wife received a call telling her that my car was involved in an accident on Wednesday. I am curious who drove my car which was supposed to be in the workshop,” he said, adding that he was informed that the driver of the car fled after the accident.

He said his car had been towed to another workshop in Butterworth, and he had lodged a police report.

> 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.