Compiled by FATIMAH ZAINAL, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       MALAYSIAN author and poet Lu Zhi Jun passed away in Taiwan. This comes after the death of his father Lu Jing Hua, who was a renowned local calligrapher, Sin Chew Daily reported.

       According to Taiwanese media reports, Zhi Jun, 56, was found to not be breathing by family members on Tuesday morning. He had lost all signs of life when paramedics arrived and was pronounced dead later at the hospital.

       Family members said that apart from high blood pressure, Zhi Jun didn’t have any other comorbidities.A post-mortem is being conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

       According to Zhi Jun’s uncle Datuk Loke King Loong, who is a famous painter in Malaysia, Zhi Jun showed a deep interest in literature when he was a child and had naturally taken up writing as a career when he grew up.

       Zhi Jun worked as a columnist in Taiwan and made a name for himself publishing a collection of poems in a book called Bu Deng (Can’t Wait) as well as another book titled Lu Zhi Jun Yin Shi Sui Bi (Lu Zhi Jun’s Essays on Food).

       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.