Compiled by ALLISON LAI, FATIMAH ZAINAL and R. ARAVINTHAN

       POLICE in Perak have arrested a self-proclaimed priest who beat three people with a cane in a supposed religious ceremony, Makkal Osai reported.

       The 39-year-old man was apparently living with a family in Bagan Datuk.

       The man recently conducted a prayer session at a hut temple behind their house during which he beat a 54-year-old man, his 48-year-old wife, and one of their four children.

       The three victims sustained injuries including bruising and lacerations.

       The incident was apparently witnessed and recorded by the 54-year-old man’s incensed elder brother who immediately lodged a police report.

       Hilir Perak district police chief Asst Comm Ahmad Adnan Basri confirmed that the suspect had been arrested based on the police report and a cane similar to the one used in the video had been seized from the suspect.

       The man had apparently been working for the 54-year-old victim as a lorry driver before being “adopted” by him.

       He then began controlling the family and victimised them, according to the elder brother who lodged the report.

       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.