poor act With yellow cardboard, a touching story and a light performance, you too could earn up to $1,900 an hour. Apple Daily uncovered the alarming story of a 13-year-old girl called Lee, who told passers-by that she had been forced into begging in Mongkok and Wan Chai to support her family. It was not until she was arrested and her perfectly healthy mother showed up to bail her out that she admitted she was begging for fun. 'Who's going to pay to go to karaoke bars, nightclubs and the movies otherwise?' she said. 'My mother only gives me $100 a day and I wanted her to know that she couldn't meet my needs.' Lee had been begging for 45 minutes a day, earning $500-$1,900.
water wrestling Two middle-aged women were arrested after their usual morning dip in the sea turned into a no-holds-barred wrestling match, Apple Daily reports. The two were swimming next to each other when Cheung, 49, accidentally kicked 63-year-old Tsang, knocking her off track. Enraged, Tsang tried to grab Cheung's feet and the ensuing argument turned into a full-on fight, with the two women tearing off each other's swimming suits. Cheung screamed for help until the lifeguard called the police. Cheung insisted on pressing charges and both were released on $500 bail.
family drama 'Half-Catty Gold', an actor who usually plays the buffoon in local films and famous for his chunky gold accessories, has been engulfed in his own woes of late. His wife, known as 'Half-Catty Vegetable', ran off with their leather mattress, a cabinet and gold accessories worth thousands of dollars, leaving her husband with a $5 million debt, Oriental Daily reports. Gold discussed the affair on Dodo Cheng's radio talk show, but when Dodo phoned Veggie the audience changed allegiance and accused Gold of being selfish and inconsiderate. He rushed out of the studio and burst into tears in front of reporters. Eventually, he returned to the studio and asked his wife to come home, winning applause from journalists and spectators.
crying over spilt milk A nutritionist in Wan Chai stocked a brand of milk powder with three different price tags: a 'fresh' tin for $350, 'nearly outdated' for $210, and 'outdated' for $140. According to the Sun, the shop claimed its outdated milk powder was not harmful, and the Health Department said the sale of outdated products might not be illegal, providing the label on the tin read 'best before' rather than 'use before'. The story came to light when a shopkeeper mistakenly gave Mr Leung a fresh tin for the price of a nearly outdated tin; but on his second visit he paid for - and got - an nearly overdue tin. Angry that he had to pay more for the fresh product, Leung reported the incident to police.
bus fare blues An 18-year-old male jumped from his aunt's fifth-floor apartment in Hunghom after his father refused to give him $10, Apple Daily reports. Lee Juen-fung, who was serious injured in the fall, had recently arrived from Fujian province to stay with his father and wanted the $10 bus fare to visit an old schoolfriend in Mongkok. But his father refused his request and called him 'useless'. 'I only wanted $10, not $100. I don't believe he's as poor as that!' the young man cried in hospital. But his unemployed father disagreed. 'I've been without work for a year and carry my mattress around, struggling to find a new place to sleep every night,' he said.