Poverty tears family apart
From the Chinese PressA SINGLE mother with six children in Kota Baru was forced to give away three of her children because she was too poor to support them.
The 41-year-old said she gave away her children after divorcing her abusive husband.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the mother, who developed hearing problems as a result of her husband’s beatings, said she and her remaining three children managed to survive on the kindness of neighbours.
The three children still with her are two daughters, aged 15 and 12, and a seven-year-old son.
She is appealing to the public to help her daughters, who will be sitting for their PMR and UPSR examinations this year.
“I am afraid poverty may affect their performance,” she said.
Meanwhile, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting was quoted by the daily as saying that architects must ensure their project sites do not turn into mosquito breeding grounds because of poor upkeep.
He said the Malaysian Architect’s Association had given him its assurance that it would order its members to keep their respective sites mosquito-free.
The association said its members had the right to order contractors to ensure sites are kept clean and the architects should take action if they find dengue cases within 200m of the sites.
The daily also reported that five youths, runners of a loan shark, were arrested for trying to remove electrical items from a man’s house at USJ 8, Subang Jaya.
Police said the man had borrowed RM5,000 last year from the loan shark, who was charging RM50 in daily interest.
When the debtor failed to pay the loan, the loan shark ordered the youths, aged between 16 and 19, to seize his possessions.
The man is said to have paid over RM20,000 in interest to the loan shark.
China Press reported that restaurateurs expected business to drop by 30% during this festive season as most had decided to donate to the tsunami fund instead of splurging on annual dinners.
Restaurant operators contacted by the daily said business is slow although Chinese New Year is less than a month away.
In contrast, restaurants were fully booked for annual dinners during the same period last year, the daily quoted a restaurateur as saying.
Nanyang Siang Pau reported that flower farmers in Cameron Highlands were expecting brisk business this Chinese New Year.
The farmers said Singaporean florists had ordered flowers from them months ago while local florists only started recently.
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