Press Digest - And pow giving event for elderly turns sour

WOULD you allow your elderly parents to queue for nine hours for a RM20 ang pow?
According to a report in Nanyang Siang Pau today, an ang pow-giving event organised for senior citizens by Kong Hock Keong Temple's board of trustees at the Penang Chinese Town Hall on Saturday attracted more than 1,000 old folks.
According to the report, although the ang pows were distributed at 9.30am, many arrived at the venue in the wee hours to ensure they were not left out as the ang pows were limited to the first 1,000 participants.
Some of them were sent there by their children.
It is learnt that the temple's annual event had also seen many senior citizens queuing up early for registration in the past to avoid disappointment.
A Nanyang reporter who approached the "early birds" this year found that many joined the queue around 5am but the queue could have started as early as midnight.
A granny identified only as Madam Lee, 75, in the report said she arrived at the Chinese town hall at 12.30am and there were already about 30 people in the queue outside building.
There were no chairs provided but Lee brought along some newspaper to sit on for the long wait ahead.
She said she needed to be there hours ahead of registration to ensure she get the any pow but because her children would be fast asleep around daybreak, she asked one of her sons to take her to the venue at 12.30am after he finished work.
The registration counters opened at 8am and those who have registered themselves were given food and drinks and arranged to wait in the air-conditioned hall.
But not everyone who turned up were lucky. The number of registrants had reached the maximum 1,000 by 9am.
Many of the more than 100 old folks turned away were seen uttering profanities for having to leave emptied-handed after waiting for hours and not being told much earlier of the "bad news".