Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       A MAN believed to be a debt collector working for a loan shark in Skudai, Johor is being sought by the police after a video of him setting fire to a house went viral, reports China Press.

       The 30-second video showed a man clad in black tossing two petrol bombs into the front porch of a terrace house on Aug 2.

       Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay released a statement that the 36-year-old victim made a police report and provided the video of the incident to the police.

       According to the victim, the family was sound asleep when the incident happened and had not realised that someone had attempted to set their house on fire.

       “Before the arson incident, the victim had once received a threatening message claiming that his brother refused to acknowledge that he borrowed money,” Comm Ayob Khan added.

       According to him, the victim suffered damages to his property amounting to about RM300.

       > A crematorium in Sungai Petani received the bodies of 76 non-Muslim victims of Covid-19 in July alone, marking a four-fold increase from the previous month, reports China Press.

       According to the Persatuan Orang-Orang Cina Sg Petani crematorium, they saw a sharp rise in demand in July after having cremated 15 and 16 Covid-19 victims in May and June, respectively.

       The demand is expected to rise even further as they had cremated a total of 16 people who died from Covid-19 in the first three days of August, said association general manager Han Bing Sen.

       Most of the Covid-19 victims whose bodies were sent to the crematorium were originally from the Kuala Muda District.

       > With the surge in Covid-19 cases, a shop owner in Malaysia had to put up a sign saying that he was still alive to prevent the rumours of his demise spreading, China Press also reported.

       “This shop will be closed for one day on (Aug) 3. I have not died, just taking a break,” the sign which was hung outside the shop read.

       Photos of the sign went viral online, sparking a discussion among business owners on how harmful rumours could be.

       Many commented saying that they were afraid to go on leave, fearing that it would spark rumours that they had either contracted Covid-19 or had died due to the virus.

       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.