By NG CHENG YEE, ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN AND A .RAMAN

NASYID singer Akhil Hayy has not come home since media reports surfaced that he was "close" to fellow artiste Waheeda, his wife claimed.

Harian Metro reported his wife Maizawati Zainal as saying that she had heard gossip about her husband and Waheeda, which was reported widely in the media, but chose to ignore them.

However, her patience wore thin after Akhil did not return home and had refused to say where he was. Maizawati said it was then that she decided to file for divorce and build a new life.

Attempts by the tabloid to contact both Akhil and Waheeda for comments were unsuccessful. Waheeda had earlier repeatedly denied gossip linking her to Akhil, saying that they were merely good friends.