Compiled by ASHLEY TANG and C. ARUNO

       MALAYSIAN singer-songwriter Penny Tai has made a startling revelation that her erstwhile three-year hiatus from performing was due to her suffering from fainting spells, reported Sin Chew Daily.

       Speaking on the TV programme Singing with Legends on Shanghai-based Dragon TV, the 43-year-old said many were curious to know why she had ventured into photography, video editing and directing, rather than continuing with her singing career.

       Many misunderstood her, with some thinking that she had wanted to show that she was a multi-talented artiste, added Tai, who did not release any albums between 2017 and late 2019.

       “In actual fact, I was unable to sing on stage. As such, I learnt how to shoot music videos, take photographs and carry out video editing and post-processing.

       “I was deeply afraid that one day I would no longer be able to sing or even stand on stage,” she said with tears streaming down her face.

       Tai, who hails from Segamat, Johor, wrote the song Wild Briars based on this experience as a way to motivate herself.

       She said the song is also aimed at encouraging others who feel stuck or are unable to find a way out.

       “What I want to convey is that after so many years of feeling weak, even if the feeling returns, I will not just accept it and simply wither away,” she said.

       > His failure to coach his daughter in mathematics drove a man in China’s Jiangsu province to such despair that he lay in the middle of the road, reported China Press.

       Cars had to swerve to avoid hitting the black-clad dad last Friday.

       Later, he was heard sobbing and telling the police repeatedly that “she said 800 minus 700 equals to 900”.

       He said he wanted to be arrested as he did not want to go home.

       According to the Kunshan city police, they managed to advise him to stop blocking traffic before taking him home.

       > Caught by the Squid Game fever, Malaysian singer Fish Leong attempted the dalgona candy challenge on Instagram.

       The 43-year-old from Negri Sembilan posted her failed attempt at whittling out the embossed shape on her candy using a toothpick.

       “It was so close,” she wrote, as reported by Sin Chew Daily.

       Her candy had broken into several pieces before she could carve out the flower shape imprinted on it.

       Leong said she was so intrigued by the South Korean TV series that she decided to try one of the challenges that the characters undertook.

       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.