Hot mess as 23 relatives crash on blind date

Compiled by CHOW HOW BAN, JUSTIN ZACK and R. ARAVINTHAN

A BLIND date turned into a legal dispute in China’s Zhejiang province when a woman invited 23 relatives to join the outing.

Sin Chew Daily reported that the man, identified as Liu, wanted to impress the woman by asking her out for a lavish meal together with some of her family members.

Liu promised to pay for the meal at a restaurant that he frequented.

However, to his surprise, the woman surnamed Zhang invited 23 relatives for the free meal, and when Liu enquired at the restaurant’s reception, he was told that the total payment for the meal would be about 20,000 yuan (RM12,900).

Liu and Zhang were even seated at two different tables to entertain their own relatives.

During a toilet break, Liu fled the restaurant, leaving Zhang to pay for the entire meal.

Zhang subsequently suggested to Liu that they split the bill, but he agreed to pay only 4,000 yuan (RM2,580).

Zhang then took Liu to court, which ruled that he pay only 1,400 yuan (RM903) for his and Zhang’s share only.

> China Press reported that Hong Kong actress Gillian Chung rejected gifts from her fans at an airport in China, drawing criticism from netizens.

The report said a video circulated on social media showed the 42-year-old and her entourage being surrounded by several fans.

Sporting a black top, denim jeans and cap, Chung appeared to be reluctant to accept gifts given by the fans.

“Just give me the greeting card. Don’t give me dolls anymore; I’m not a child,” she said.

Some netizens said Chung looked “arrogant” and should have treated her fans well.

However, some fans defended Chung, saying that she simply hoped her fans would not spend too much on her.

They claimed that Chung actually accepted all the gifts from her fans and even signed autographs for them on that day.

The above articles are 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.