Compiled by ZAKIAH KOYA, TAN SIN CHOW and R. ARAVINTHAN
A VIDEO of a car engulfed in flames at a cemetery in China has gone viral, fuelling speculation that a real car was deliberately burnt as part of the ancestor worship ritual.
But that was not the case, according to Oriental Daily on the incident in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province in China.
The incident occurred during the Qing Ming festival (an occasion to venerate one’s ancestors or loved ones) when people were burning paper money and setting off firecrackers, but ended up accidentally igniting the car.
The person who filmed the incident said the car owner had attempted to drive the vehicle away but was unable to due to traffic congestion.
As the fire quickly spread, the car was reduced to a charred shell, with its interior and decorations destroyed.
Thankfully no one was injured, and the fire was put out by the fire and rescue department.
Such incidents are not uncommon in Asia.
Recently, a woman in Beijing, China, burnt paper money on the roadside, igniting nine parked cars.
Similarly, in South Korea, a man caused a forest fire while performing ancestor worship on a mountain, resulting in 35 deaths and 45 injuries.
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.
