Compiled by CHARLES RAMENDRAN, TAN SIN CHOW and R. ARAVINTHAN

A FORMER teacher landed himself in trouble with the authorities for hoarding rubbish at his house in Taman Sentosa in Johor Baru, Harian Metro reported.

The hoarder had filled his two-storey house with more than 32 tonnes of rubbish over the course of three decades, which posed a health hazard to himself and his neighbours.

Following neighbours’ complaints of a bad stench emanating from the house, the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) issued a notice to the man and carried out a massive clean up with the help of 35 volunteers.

Workers also found the place infested with termites, snakes, rats and cockroaches.

MBJB councillor Sally Ng said the man claimed the items he had stored were worth RM8,000.

To make the man happy, she said, the volunteers gathered recyclable items found in the house but learnt that it could only fetch less than RM1,000.

Ng said she will persuade the man to seek help for his mental health.

“He had previously turned down an offer to be placed at a home run by the Welfare Department,” she said.

> The burden of caring for sick family members often takes a toll on the emotional and physical wellbeing of caregivers.

Local actress Diana Danielle Danny Beeson, also known as Diana Danielle, shared her experience.

She said having mixed feelings and facing a myriad of situations can test the patience of caregivers.

Although the 33-year-old American-born actress did not divulge details, it is understood that she was referring to her experience of caring for her cancer-­stricken mother, Utusan Malaysia reported.

She had to skip school for a year to do so when she was just 13 years old.

“It really tests one’s patience and can sometimes cause siblings to fight.

“We are also burdened with the fear of losing the family member, especially when the ­person is the backbone of the family.

“Everyone has different experiences caring for the sick. For me, the biggest challenge was the financial aspect of it,” Diana recalled.

Since her mother Norsiah Ramli could not work at the time due to her illness, life was tough for Diana, who ended up living with family and friends and surviving on small portions of sliced bread and instant noodles.

She said as a caregiver, she could not break down and be emotional as she had to show strength to comfort her mother.

Diana advised those visiting the sick to also take time to show concern for the emotional wellbeing of caregivers.

“Caregivers also need space to express their feelings, especially when they are fatigued,” she said.

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.