The MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau received five complaints today that cheques issued by Lebanese businessman Elie Youssef Najem had bounced.

Revealing this at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur today, bureau head Michael Chong said he felt he has "an obligation to inform the public about this man".

Among the complainants was locksmith Eddie Chan who had phoned Chong and told him that Elie paid him RM10,000 by cheque for keys and locks he had ordered, but that the cheque had bounced.

Another was licensed money lender John Sing, who had claimed that he had lent Elie RM176,000 and was given five cheques, all of which bounced.

According to a Bernama report, Chong also said the media should be more cautious when writing stories that could have an adverse impact on the country's image.

He said newspapers should have avoided stories like the one on Elie, who claimed to be the third richest person in the world and to be worth US$46 billion.

"I was shocked and surprised when I read the newspapers yesterday; it was super-big," he said of news reports on Elie who had announced that he was making a US$275 million (RM1.04 billion) donation to the National Cancer Council (Makna) for a cancer hospital and research.

Chong added that the media reports could have misled the public, while allowing Elie to profit from the publicity.

Makna president Mohd Farid Ariffin had held a press conference last Saturday to announce the donation.