Compiled by YIMIE YONG, JULIANNE DE SOUZA and R. ARAVINTHAN

ABOUT 300 people, all of them Christians from churches in Sarawak, claimed to have lost RM60mil in total from a scam run by a couple, Oriental Daily reported.

The married couple also claimed to be permanent residents of Singapore.

The paper said the couple allegedly lured the victims to invest in a nipah palm project with promises of high returns.

The couple claimed to own 20,000ha of plantation land in Papua province in Indonesia and promised to pay investors 1% interest each month on their investments over a span of three years.

One victim, who wanted to be known only as Wong, said the couple set up a company in Miri in 2008 and early investors received returns without pro­blems.

About 300 people, mostly church followers, priests and local residents then joined the scheme between 2008 and 2013.

Suspicion arose when the investors checked the company’s financial statements.

Wong said this during a press conference held by Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng.

> Taiwanese singer Wang Leehom (pic) could not play his violin du­­ring an outdoor concert in Jinhua, China, after he suffered frostbite, Sin Chew Daily reported.

The weather in the city got colde­­r in the past few days and it began to snow when he performed the first song.

Wang was about to play violin during one of the songs when he realised his hands were numb. He replaced his violin solo by whistling the tune.

About 30,000 fans, who watched the concert, applauded him for his perseverance and showmanship.

> Tycoon Robert Kuok attended the funeral of billionaire Hui Sai-fun, who was the chairman of Hong Kong-based Central Develop­ment Ltd, reported Nanyang Siang Pau.

Hui was 97.

The paper said Kuok was a close friend to Hui, who was ranked 47th on Forbes Hong Kong’s 50 richest list in 2015.

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.

