Compiled by C. ARUNO,NAN HIDAYAT NAN AZMIE and R. ARAVINTHAN
A MAN visiting Mount Emei in China sparked outrage online after shoving a monkey, causing it to nearly fall off a cliff, Sin Chew Daily reported.
Video footage of the May 5 incident shows a monkey sitting on a cliffside railing at the mountain’s scenic area while peeling and eating an orange.
A man dressed in black then approaches the animal and suddenly pushes it with both hands, causing the monkey to nearly lose its balance and fall off the cliff.
The man is seen grinning as he walks away.
His behaviour drew heavy criticism online, with many netizens calling on the authorities to take action.
“This isn’t a joke. It is a complete disregard for life,” one netizen wrote.
On May 6, the Mount Emei Scenic area management committee confirmed the incident but said the man had since left the area.
Local police and forest authorities have launched an investigation into the matter.
When interviewed, a lawyer said the man could have been charged in court if his actions resulted in the injury or death of a protected wild animal.
> A father in Buriram province, Thailand, who had taken on a new job to buy new school uniforms for his daughter, died after being struck by lightning while at work, Sin Chew Daily reported.
Sunthorn Kaennin, 45, was hired to clear weeds in a sugarcane plantation when a thunderstorm struck the village at around 2pm on Thursday.
He was apparently running towards a large tree to retrieve his tools when he was fatally struck by lightning.
A witness said Sunthorn’s nine-year-old daughter would soon be entering Year Four and had asked for a new set of uniforms and a pair of new shoes.
Wanting to fulfil his daughter’s wishes, Sunthorn took on the job at the plantation, which paid around 300 baht (RM36) a day.
Another villager said Sunthorn had been living in the village for the past eight years and was known as a hardworking man who was willing to take on any job to support his family.
Local district chief Seksan Chanwongsa attended the wake and donated 5,000 baht (RM610) to help ease the family’s financial burden.
(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.)
