HK actress ‘falls out of grace’

A HONG KONG actress, better known for her x-rated movies, incurred the wrath of Malaysian netizens, particularly those from Bentong, for faking a snatch-theft in the small Pahang town on Saturday, the Chinese press reported yesterday.

A three-minute Facebook Live video of Bentong’s street scene by Grace Lam Nga-Si ( pix) that went viral on social media, apparently showed the 38-year-old actress as a victim of a street crime as her handbag was snatched by a passer-by.

“Thankfully my manager and local friends managed to help me catch the thief and I recovered my belongings,” Lam was quoted as saying in the Chinese press on Sunday.

She said she had taken precaution and checked that the surroundings were safe before starting her live stream.

But Malaysians’ sympathy for her soon turned to anger when she admitted on Facebook a day later that the episode was staged.

“Thank you, everyone, for your concern. What happened in Malaysia yesterday was a misunderstanding. I’m sorry for the incident. If there is anything I’ve done wrong, I apologise,” she said in her post.

She deactivated her Facebook account on Sunday afternoon when she came under heavy fire from netizens for pulling a stunt on Malaysians. “Sorry Grace, this is not funny at all,” said a comment.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was also not amused.

He was quoted in the Chinese press yesterday as saying that although the police are not going to open a file on the case for now, the government should list the actress as an unwelcome individual.

Echoing Khalid’s sentiment, Bentong MP Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said “blacklisting her would be the right thing to do”.

“We take creating fake news seriously,” he said, adding that what Lam did has created an impression that Malaysia is not safe and that would turn tourists away.