Compiled by ARFA YUNUS, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
AN undergraduate who scammed the public of RM100,000 to fuel his gambling addiction has apologised for his actions, reported China Press.
Admitting that his actions were caused by his addiction, the undergraduate, whose surname is Lin, said he regrets his actions.
“I wish to make a public apology. I swear on my life that I will repent!” he said at a press conference in Alor Setar, Kedah, recently.
Lin’s scam involved sending out WhatsApp messages in September last year, claiming that he faced expulsion from university due to his inability to pay fees.
He added that his father was disabled and that his mother worked as a hawker, and asked the public for donations.
Several charitable organisations, teachers, school heads, and school board members donated upwards of RM100,000 to his cause.
However, it was later revealed that Lin had been lying and the donations were used to fund his gambling habit. Despite his initial apology and the forgiveness of his donors, Lin resumed his fraudulent activities, soliciting donations once again.
His victims decided to expose his actions to the press earlier this week.
Shocked and frightened, Lin, 23, held a press conference to apologise for his actions.
He said his actions have caused irreparable damage to his reputation and that he has lost the trust of his family and his partner, and promised to repay his victims once he starts working in two years’ time after graduation.
> A woman from China nearly lost her vision in her right eye after being struck by a high-pressure water jet during the Water-Splashing Festival, reported Sin Chew Daily.
The incident happened on April 14 at Xishuangbanna, a prefecture in China bordering Myanmar and Laos.
The force of the water jet caused the woman’s vision to immediately blur, and she was unable to identify the perpetrator.
Rushed to the hospital, doctors discovered that she had only 25% of her vision remaining in her right eye, while her left eye maintained perfect vision.
Police have begun an investigation by reviewing CCTV footage of the incident as well as checking the records of people who had brought high-pressure water jets to the area.
The Water-Splashing Festival is a traditional festival celebrated by the ethnic Dai minority in China who primarily live in southern Yunnan.
It shares similar roots with the Songkran celebration in Thailand.
● The above article 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 this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
