Compiled by SALMA FAIRUS, C.ARUNO AND R.ARAVINTAN
A WOMAN in China has drawn public attention after she was seen walking a penguin at a park, sparking questions about the legality of keeping the animal as a pet, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Footage of the incident showed a woman, believed to have been taken on Nov 7 in Harbin city’s Daoli district, holding a leash attached to a penguin as they were taking a stroll in the park.
Many local residents stopped to take photos with the flightless bird.
However, a member of staff from the local property management office said the woman was unable to provide legal documentation for owning the penguin.
Citing potential safety risks, the employee reported the woman to the police.
The woman reportedly claimed that the penguin was her pet, but she left the area before authorities arrived.
Video of the incident quickly went viral online and sparked a debate among Internet users.
While some thought having penguins as pets was cute, others slammed the woman for illegally keeping wild animals.
It is understood that authorities are investigating the matter.
According to animal welfare experts, penguins need to live in temperatures between -2°C and 8°C and have a special diet, without which their health could be jeopardised.
> A mother in Malaysia got an unexpected windfall when she found a stack of banknotes worth RM767 in her son’s backpack, reported China Press.
The surprise came when the family decided it was time to replace the boy’s old, tattered bag.
In a video shared online, the mother can be seen unzipping one of the side compartments to find it stuffed with RM1, RM5 and RM10 notes amounting to RM767.
“My son is given a daily RM15 allowance. I did not expect him to have saved this much in a year.”
When the mother asked what he would have done if the money he was carrying to school had been stolen, the boy sheepishly replied he would ask for it back.
The clip quickly drew praise from netizens, who lauded the boy’s saving habits and encouraged their own children to follow his example.
In a follow-up comment, the mother said her son’s classmates were aware of his secret stash but had never taken any of it – a gesture she said reflected the honesty and good upbringing of the children.
(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.)
