Kuala Lumpur - Rumours of gold lying buried beneath a Malaysian beach have sent scores of villagers digging in the sand in hopes of striking it rich.
People have flocked to a beach in the Mersing district of southern Johor state since residents reported finding gold deposits there last week. Police say the prospectors, including housewives and children, are combing the beach with flashlights at night.
District police chief Harun Idris told The Associated Press "people are really excited."
Harun said natural gold deposits have been found in Mersing in recent years.
But another police officer, who didn`t want to be identified, said people were exaggerating the size and value of gold discoveries. He said "it`s gold dust actually," and not worth the time and trouble to search for.
Source: canadianpress.google.com (23 November 2007)
