Compiled by C. ARUNO, R. ARAVINTHAN and MARTIN CARVALHO

       TAMIL actor Vijay (pic) was strongly rebuked by a judge and fined 100,000 rupees (RM5,626) for trying to get import tax exemption for a Rolls Royce car, reported Makkal Osai.

       Vijay, who is one of the highest-grossing movie stars in Tamil Nadu and has credits in at least 81 films, apparently bought and imported the British-made luxury car to India in 2012.

       Madras High Court Judge S.M. Subramaniam, who rejected the application, noted that Vijay often portrayed characters who fight for social justice. This contrasted starkly with his attempt to evade paying the tax in real life, chided the judge.

       “Artistes who are looked up to by the people must not be fake heroes in real life,” he said.

       Noting the import tax was not a donation but an obligation, he ordered the additional fine to be paid to the state’s special Covid-19 relief fund within two weeks.

       > An Indian family living in a wooden hut in Ipoh is worried that their home will get demolished any day by developers keen to chase them out, the same daily reported.

       Rajeswari Purushotthaman said her family had been living in the area known as Kg Hock Aun, off Jalan Kuala Kangsar, for four generations.

       The families in the area were ordered to move out last month to make way for redevelopment and most have left, leaving only three families behind.

       Rajeswari’s husband has been unemployed because of the pandemic and they are surviving on her meagre income as a dishwasher in a restaurant.

       “We have nowhere to go if our house gets demolished and we certainly can’t afford to rent a place.

       “It is unfair to evacuate the families without helping them find other accommodation or giving some compensation so they could find a place to stay,” she said.

       Malaysia India Ilaignar Mandram’s Tambun branch chairman Dinesh Kannaiappan met the family after hearing of their plight and helped them apply for a low-cost home under the Ipoh City Council.

       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.