|
|
|
Under a new Land Transport Authority (LTA) ruling which comes into
effect tomorrow, people who do not own a business cannot buy a
light-goods vehicle or a small bus. The rule covers both new
and second-hand vehicles. A third of the 83,500 light-goods
vehicles on the road are registered by individuals. (Straits
Times 30 Jun 2002) (23)
|
|
Police
have identified a 30-year-old Chinese national as the culprit
behind the unauthorised transfer of money from 21 DBS and POSB
online accounts. It is believed that the man has skipped town. (Straits
Times 30 Jun 2002) (1)
|
|
From
tomorrow, the new National Environment Agency (NEA) will take over
almost all of the operations of the Environment Ministry (ENV),
except setting national policies. The new agency will manage
pollution, noise and recycling. It will also take charge of waste
management, public cleaning and the upgrading of hawker centres
and public toilets. (Straits
Times 30 Jun 2002) (1)
|
|
Senior
citizens can purchase an Interim Senior Citizen ez-link card for
use on buses and train from Monday 1 Jul 2002, when fares go up. The
interim card, costing S$13 (including a S$3 refundable deposit),
can be bought at all all ticket offices in MRT stations and bus
interchanges, said TransitLink on Thursday. With the card, they
will pay up to two cents less for a journey during non-peak hours,
compared to those using the existing magnetic cards. (Straits
Times 29 Jun 2002) (H6)
|
|
From
Monday 1 Jul 2002, the Environment Ministry's (ENV) food control
department will come under the purview of the Agri-Food and
veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA). This means AVA will
regulate the safety of primary and processed food. It will also
set and enforce food safety standards and oversee food labelling,
while ENV will regulate food safety at the retail end. (Straits
Times 29 Jun 2002) (H1)
|
|
Singnet
has been slapped with a S$2,000 fine by the Infocomm Authority of
Singapore (IDA) for an advertisement that was likely to
"confuse or mislead" customers. It is believed to be the
first penalty imposed by the IDA on an Internet service provider
for a misleading ad. (Straits
Times 29 Jun 2002) (3)
|
|
Japanese
retailer Daimaru is closing all its three stores here by March
2003. Daimaru Singapore, which has been in Singapore for the
past 19 years, turned in a profit of S$500,000 after a decade of
losses. It said that 320 employees from its stores in Plaza
Singapura in Orchard Road, Junction 8 in Bishan and Liang Court in
River Valley, will be laid off. Daimaru is the fourth Japanese
retailer to bow out of Singapore, after Sogo in 2000, Yaohan and
Tokyu in 1998. Once it has gone, Singapore will have only three
Japanese giants on the retail scene - Seiyu, Takashimaya and
Isetan. (Straits
Times 29 Jun 2002) (3)
|
|
DBS
Bank, stumped by three cases of online theft on Wednesday last
week, yesterday admitted to another 18 similar cases taking place
on the same day. A hacker with a DBS account broke into 21
online accounts, which included some POSB ones, and transferred
amounts ranging from S$200 to S$4,999 to his own account. DBS Bank
has made good the money missing from all 21 accounts. It said
there had been no more similar incidents. The police, who are
investigating, declined to say if anyone had been arrested. The
bank has three million customers and 370,000 of them have online
accounts. (Straits
Times 29 Jun 2002) (1)
|
|
United
Overseas Bank (UOB) yesterday laid off a further 270 staff as
part of the ongoing fallout from its integration with Overseas
Union Bank (OUB). In April, UOB laid off around 100 people from
mainly support groups. (Straits
Times 28 Jun 2002) (A17)
|
|
An
overseas student was found motionless in the deep end of the pool
at Parkview Condominium on 26 Jun 2002. Chinese national ZHANG
Yuhua, 22, was pronounced dead at the National University
Hospital. (Straits
Times 28 Jun 2002) (H2)
|
|
Ideal
Home Living Center, a major furniture retailer at Suntec City, has
been the target of consumer complaints over the past six months.
Fifteen customers have complained to the Consumers Association of
Singapore (Case) about non-delivery, late delivery and defective
items. At least three had taken their case to the Small Claims
tribunal. (Straits
Times 28 Jun 2002)
|
|
From
Monday, Housing Board flat owners who are in financial difficulty
can apply to pay as little as half their normal monthly home-loan
instalments for two years. For those who need help beyond the
two years, the HDB will consider extensions on a case-by-case
basis. As of March this year, 19,400 mortgagors were at least
three months in arrears, compared to 14,400 in March 2001. (Straits
Times 28 Jun 2002) (1)
|
|
OCBC Bank yesterday retrenched another 97 staff, bringing to
400 the total number of workers to lose their jobs as a result of
the bank's integration with Keppel Capital Holdings. (Straits
Times 27 Jun 2002 (A16)
|
|
A
15-member group comprising people from all walks of life, such as
taxi driver and former principal, will discuss the Urban
Redevlopment Authority's (URA) heritage proposals and suggest
which old buildings should stay. The panel's formation was
announced in April 2002. The URA has already gazetted 5,600
pre-war buildings for conservation, of which two-thirds have so
far been restored. It is also looking at post-World War II
structures, such as the Beach Road Central Police Station. (Straits
Times 27 Jun 2002) (H6)
|
|
British
businessman Michael McCrae, 44, who was arrested in Melbourne over
the Orchard Towers double murder here, is known in the expatriate
community by another name - Mike Townsend. As Mike Townsend,
he regularly advertised his services as an investment adviser in
The Expat magazine for nearly three years. He offered to help
expatriates avoid paying taxes by saving in offshore financial
institutions. (Straits
Times 27 Jun 2002) (4)
|
|
The
former principal of Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) will have
to answer 10 charges at a school board inquiry next month. Mr
NG Eng Chin, 43, left his post on May 13, after nine years at the
helm. The mother of a former student alleged that he hugged and
kissed her son during counselling sessions. (Straits
Times 27 Jun 2002) (H2)
|
|
The
locations of this year's National Day Parade ticket distribution
centres will be known only on the day the tickets are given out.
This is to stop people from queueing overnight for the tickets.
Details of the locations will be published in newspapers and
broadcast on radio and television from 6am on July 7. (Straits
Times 27 Jun 2002) (4)
|
|
A
lawyer who told a female airport officer that he had a gun at his
groin area and behaved in a disorderly manner at the Changi
Airport on Sept 18, 2001 was fined S$3,000 yesterday. Though
Peter PANG Xiang Zhong, 55, could have been jailed, he was fined
the maximum amount for the two charges he faced. (Straits
Times 26 Jun 2002) (H7)
|
|
The
banking industry yesterday announced plans to set up a new body -
Consumer Mediation Unit - which can order banks to pay
compensation of up to S$50,000 to wronged customers. From
January 2003, disgruntled customers can turn to the unit, which
will mediate if an initial customer complaint to a bank is not
resolved. The unit's decision is binding only on the bank. The
customer can turn to the courts if he disagrees with the panel's
final ruling. (Straits Times 26 Jun 2002)
(3)
|
|
At
DBS Bank, which has a 70-per-cent share of the online banking
market, the number of Internet users has grown about 45 times in
just over four years - from 8,000 in 1998 to more than 370,000
now. In terms of volume, online transactions totalled S$6 billion
last year, and in just the first three months of this year, the
figure has exceeded S$2 billion, the bank said. Last year, around
18 per cent of all its banking transactions were done online. An
OCBC spokesman who declined to reveal exact figures said that the
number of its Internet users had grown more than 10 times in the
last three years. About 20 per cent of its banking transactions
are done online, compared to a mere 1.2 per cent just two years
ago.(Straits
Times 25 Jun 2002) (H3)
|
|
The
Manpower Ministry has reversed an earlier ruling and awarded
widowed mother of two Jenny KOH S$185,600 in mortgage insurance.
The Ministry yesterday said its decision was based on a review of
"the circumstances and the law". Madam KOH's husband, Mr
YEE Poh Keen, 25, had died in a motorcycle accident last August -
just three days before the couple could take legal possession of
their four-room resale flat in Hougang. Shortly before his death,
they took out a Central Provident Fund (CPF) Home Protection
Scheme insurance policy to ensure they would be covered in the
event of a tragedy. (Straits Times 25 Jun
2002) (1)
|
|
Parking
charges at carparks in various shopping centres and office
buildings are likely to go up by as much as 20 cents per hour by
early next year. Three of the four big private carpark
operators here have said charges may have to go up when the Goods
and Services Tax is increased by two percentage points in January
2003. Together, these four private operators - Wilson Parking,
Premas International, Elite Parking and Top Parking - manage
29,000 lots in over 150 carparks around the island. (Straits
Times 24 Jun 2002) (H1)
|
|
SingTel
Mobile is expected to offer subscribers a specified number of free
multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages each month when
MMS is introduced in a few months. But once they had used up the
quota, subscribers would have to pay. Currently, the daily SMS
traffic in Singapore is about 15 million messages. (Straits
Times 24 Jun 2002) (6)
|
|
Registration
for primary school starts next month. Singaporean children who
are eligible to start school next year are those born between Jan
2, 1996 and Jan 1 , 1997. They must first be registered in the
Primary One registration exercise which runs from July 2 to Aug
28. The upcoming registration exercise will be held at all primary
schools and full schools, from 8am to 11am and from 2.30pm to
4.30pm. (Straits
Times 23 Jun 2002) (21)
|
|
Power
prices are going up by an average of 7 per cent next month, due to
a rise in oil prices. The increase in tariffs will range from 6.6
to 10.6 per cent, Power Supply said in a statement. (Straits
Times 23 Jun 2002) (4)
|
|
One in
three Singaporeans does not have a life insurance policy, and in
this group, almost half said it is because they have "no
money", a new survey by OCBC Bank shows. Another 44 per cent
in this group said they do not find insurance important or are not
sure. OCBC's survey, conducted in April 2002, polled 518
respondents, which were representative of the 2.35 million people
here aged above 20. 76 per cent of the policy owners polled bought
policies for protection, 51 per cent for retirement, 24 per cent
to save for their children's education and 23 per cent for
investment. (Straits
Times 20 Jun 2002) (A17) |
|
An
unemployed man was yesterday sentenced to 2½ years' jail for
instigating an 18-year-old polytechnic student to steal from her
parents, and for receiving stolen goods. TAY Wee Kiat, 24, had
served nine months behind bars three years ago for outraging a
woman's modesty. The girl, TEO Chu Ling, plunged from her family's
ninth-storey HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio on Dec 11 last year after TAY
dumped her. (Straits
Times 20 Jun 2002) (5) |
|
A
special parliamentary select committee has picked the
constitutional maximum of nine Nominated Members of Parliament,
including six new faces, the Clerk of Parliament announced
yesterday. The new NMPs are Mrs FANG Ai Lian, 52, Dr GAN See Khem,
56, Ms Olivia LUM, 41, Mr NG Ser Miang, 53, Associate Prof. NGIAM
Tee Liang, 53, Mr A. Nithiah Nandan, 52, Ms Braema Mathi, 44, Dr
Jennifer LEE, 49, and Mr Chandra Mohan, 52. (Straits
Times 20 Jun 2002) (3) |
|
For
50 cents a call, SingTel cell-phone users can now book a Comfort
cab through an automated system that can detect the caller's
location. Callers do not need to speak to an operator. To make
a booking, the user dials *654 on his cell phone. SingTel sends
him an SMS message listing up to 10 pick-up points and upon his
confirmation of choice of pickup point, the system will send him
an SMS detailing the cab's number and estimated arrival time.
The usual booking fee of S$3.20 also applies. (Straits
Times 20 Jun 2002) (3) |
|
Civil
servants here will get in their pay next month a mid-year bonus of
half-month's pay this year. It is less than the three-quarter
month's bonus they received in July 2001. There will be no
adjustment to monthly salaries, the Public Service Division (PSD)
of the Prime Minister's Office announced yesterday. Last year, the
60,000 civil servants did not get any bonus in December apart from
their usual 13th month pay. (Straits Times
20 Jun 2002) (1) |
| From
2003, the Scholastic Assessment Test 1 (SAT 1) will make up 25 per
cent fo the scores for A-level students seeking admission to the
National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological
University (NTU). The Singapore Management University (SMU)
already requires applicants to take it. The College Board is the
American agency that administers the test. This year, up to 20,000
students here will sit for the SAT. (Straits
Times 17 Jun 2002) (H10) |
|
The
Ministry of Education (MOE) said that about 7,100 out of the
500,000 students in primary and secondary schools and junior
colleges have not paid their monthly fees for at least six months.
This works out to about 1.5 per cent of the student population
or an average of 20 students in every school. The figures are
comparable to the last two years, said the ministry. Since the
start of the year, 6,886 students have been receving aid from the
ministry's Financial Assistance Scheme to pay their fees and
textbooks. This is a rise from 5,332 last year and 3,714 two years
ago. (Straits
Times 17 Jun 2002) (H2) |
|
According
to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), some 42,464 jobs,
many from the disk drive, home electronic appliance and computer
sectors, have vanished from the Singapore job market over the
past five years, and they will not return. It cited China as the
top destination, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. (Straits
Times 17 Jun 2002) (3) |
|
Singaporeans
aged between 40 and 69 who do not have a Central Provident Fund
(CPF) account have been given until 15 Aug 2002 to open one if
they want to buy a low-cost national insurance plan for the
disabled. The account is for them to make contributions to the
ElderShield insurance scheme which will be officially launched on
Sept 30. The contributions end at age 65 but the coverage is for
life. (Straits
Times 17 Jun 2002) (1) |
|
Prime
Minister GOH Chok Tong yesterday reiterated Singapore's position
that the current water agreements with Malaysia stay as they are
and that any formula proposed by Malaysia would apply only to
future agreements. In the current two agreements, signed in 1961
and 1962, Singapore can buy raw water from Johor at three sen per
1,000 gallons. They will expire in 2011 and 2061. (Straits
Times 17 Jun 20020 (1) |
|
An
off-duty policeman at the Tuas Checkpoint died after he shot
himself in the head yesterday morning. Sergeant CHAN Kong Wah, 25,
was found inside a locked office within the Tuas Checkpoint
complex at 9.15am. His service revolver, which had fired a single
round, was found in his hand. Sgt CHAN was the third person this
year to have shot himself using his service revolver. (Straits
Times 16 Jun 2002) (23) |
|
In
Guangzhou, employees of the producer of weight-loss drug Slim 10
were seen clearing out their office here last week. Calls to
the office two days ago went unanswered. A local media source said
earlier attempts to speak to the management drew a blank. (Straits
Times 16 Jun 2002) (4) |
|
Malaysia
will present a formula to fix the price of water it supplies to
Singapore, when the foreign ministers of both countries meet in
Kuala Lumpur early July 2002. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid Albar said yesterday that if Singapore agreed to the
proposed formula, it would resolve the question of fixing the
price of water, whether raw or treated, supplied by Johor to the
Republic in the future. (Straits
Times 16 Jun 2002) (1) |
|
A
new 1-km-long road linking Hougang to Sengkang opens today.
Sengkang Central Road, which has two lanes on both sides, joins
Buangkok Drive and Compassvale Drive in Sengkang New Town. (Straits
Times 15 Jun 2002) (H11) |
|
In
the first three months of this year, 4,857 workers were axed compared
to 8,591 and 8,368 respectively in the previous two quarters. Only
half of the Singaporeans and permanent residents laid off in the
fourth quarter of 2001 were back working by March 2002, according
to the Manpower Ministry's latest quarterly labour Market report. (Straits
Times 15 Jun 2002) (H8) |
|
The
importer of weight-loss pill Slim 10 broke his silence yesterday
and said he had no idea how the pills, which he himself took for
about two years, were adulterated. Semon LIU, 32, Health Biz's
president and director, said the Chinese manufacturer, Yue Zhi
Tang Health Manufacturing, denied any knowledge of how
flenfluramine got into the pills, which are still on sale in
China. (Straits Times 15 Jun 2002) (1) |
|
Software
pirates made off with only US$41 million (S$73 million) last year
compared to US$61 million three years ago. Figures from the
computer watchdog industry showed that fakes formed 51 per cent of
the software sold here last year against almost 60 per cent in
1996. This penetration rate is better than that in Hongkong (53
per cent) and Malaysia (70 per cent) (Straits
Times 12 Jun 2002) (H3) |
|
Indonesian
maid Sulika Admobadi, 27, was yesterday jailed for two years and
six weeks for threatening to jump from the 15th floor of a
building with her employer's two-year-old daughter because he did
not grant her a transfer. Her employer, British national Mr
Hughes, 38, managed to grab her to stop her from jumping off. (Straits
Times 12 Jun 2002) (H2) |
|
A
JC student died in his sleep on Monday. NG Shao Hao, 18, had
celebrated his 18th birthday last Wednesday. Shao Hao's father
said he had no known medical problems. The police has classified
the case as unnatural death.
(Straits Times 12 Jun 2002) |
|
Indonesian
maid Sundarti Supriyanto, 22, was charged in court yesterday with
the murder of her employer and her employer's young daughter.
Madam Angie NG Wee Peng, 34, and POH Shiqi, 3, were found dead
with stab wounds in a blaze at Madam POH's office in Block 165
Bukit Merah Central on May 28. (Straits
Times 12 Jun 2002 (3) |
|
Bus
and MRT fares will go up by between three cents and 10 cents from
July 2002. Public Transport Council (PTC) chairman Eric GWEE
said that the council had satisfied itself that operating costs
have increased significantly due to inflation and investments in
service improvements, despite efforts by the operators to contain
costs and improve productivity. For bus rides, adults will pay
three cents more using EZ-Link card, five cents more using
magnetic card and 10 cents more using cash. For MRT/LRT rides,
they pay four cents more using Ez-Link card and five cents more
using magnetic card. Monthly concessions for students and NSmen
will go up by 50 cents for primary and secondary students, S$2 for
tertiary students and S$3 for NSmen. (Straits
Times 12 Jun 2002) (1) |
|
A
21-year-old NUS undergraduate collapsed during her jog and died an
hour later from a rare heart disorder on Friday. Lyn LOW Li
Eng had left her flat to jog at the nearby Bukit Panjang
Neighourhood Park at about 7pm that day.(Straits
Times 10 Jun 2002) (3) |
|
The
people behind NeoPets - a new genre of cyber Tamagotchi that has
captured the imagination of youngsters worldwide - are considering
making Singapore its headquarters in Asia. Its president,
Billy SHUM, 37, said if talks with the Infocomm Authority of
Singapore (IDA) go well, NeoPets Asia expects to spend over S$3
million over the next two years to expand its temporary
two-employee office in Raffles Place into a permanent outfit wth
70 staff. Singapore Technologies has a US$5-million (S$9-million)
stake in the Los Angeles-based firm which makes money by selling
advertisements on the website. (Straits
Times 8 Jun 2002) (H1) |
|
A
Health Sciences Authority (HSA) spokesman said it has started
analysing 45 Chinese proprietary medicines, sold here as slimming
products, to see if they were adulterated with synthetic
chemicals. (4) The HSA said there had been no cases of people
suffering adverse reactions to Slim 10 for at least two weeks. (Straits
Times 8 Jun 2002) (4) |
| The HDB said
yesterday that 649 five-room flats and 698 executive flats in
Sembawang will be offered at the latest walk-in selection exercise
on Monday. No four-room flats will be offered in Sembawang as they
have all been snapped up. The detailed list of the units on sale
is available from today, 8am to 5pm, at the on-site sales office
set up at the open space behind Sembawang MRT station. (Straits
Times 8 Jun 2002) (4) |
|
From Monday,
the Housing Board's head office will be at the new HDB Hub in
Toa Payoh Central. Its main telephone number will be changed to
6490 1111 from Monday. (Straits Times 6 Jun
2002) (H6) |
|
A
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts spokesman has
said that while the idea of setting up a special arts school in
Singapore has merit, it would depend on whether parents see the
arts as a worthwhile career choice for their children. It will
consult arts groups and work with the Education Ministry in the
initial phase. "We are hopeful that the demand for such a
school will increase as we further develop our cultural
industry," he said. Last month, Education Minister TEO Chee
Hean said this school would take off only if the arts community
first feels the necessity for it. They must also be willing to put
their resources behind it before the ministry considers
establishing one, Mr TEO said. (Straits
Times 5 Jun 2002) (H2) |
|
The
resale market for three-room HDB flats is hotting up, with buyers
willing to pay as much as S$30,000 above the HDB's valuation,
especially for flats in places like Ghim Moh, Commonwealth Avenue
and Holland Village, which are prime spots for singles. This is
despite the current property slump sending the prices of bigger
flats sliding. There are more than 223,000 three-room HDB flats
islandwide. Supply on the open resale market is limited as the
board does not build such flats anymore. (Straits
Times 5 Jun 2002) (H1) |
|
Traces
of morphine were found in poppyseed cakes sold by Polar Puffs and
Cakes, and Delifrance last year. The two sellers had bought
the mix used to make their cakes from Bakels Singapore which had
imported it illegally. Yesterday, Bakels pleaded guilty to
importing the mix without a licence from the International
Enterprise Singapore and was fined S$60,000. (Straits
Times 5 Jun 2002) (3) |
|
Health
authorities here have filed charges against the importer of the
Slim 10 weight loss pill that has killed one woman, required a
liver transplant in another and left at least 14 others ill. Both
the company, Health Biz Pte Ltd, and its president and director,
Mr Sermon LIU, face eight counts of contravening the Poisons Act. (Straits
Times 5 Jun 2002) (1) |
|
A
man who forced his 13-year-old daughter to masturbate him and
succumb to him sexually at knifepoint will be sentenced on June
24. The man, who cannot be named because it would reveal his
daughter's identity, molested the girl, now 14, seven times in
their Sengkang flat during the first three months of this year
while his wife was working on the night shift. (Straits
Times 4 Jun 2002) (3) |
|
A man
has been slashed to death outside the MG Music Lounge in Tanjong
Katong. Ian LOW Yam Heng, 21, a former sales executive, died in
Changi General Hospital. Police have classified his death as
murder. (Straits
Times 4 Jun 2002) (4) |
|
Mandarin
radio station UFM 1003, owned by Union Works, has been fined
S$15,000 for breaching a censorship code. One of its
newsreaders, LIN Bao Bao, injected "personal remarks and
observations" into news bulletins in the evening programme,
None Of My Business, from March 14 to April 29 this year.
Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA), the broadcast industry
regulator, said it had cautioned UFM on three previous occasions
against the injection of personal remarks into news bulletins, but
the advice went unheeded. (Straits Times 4
Jun 2002) (3) |
|
A
S$40-million sports complex, one of only three such top-dollar
facilities here, will be built in Jurong West Street 93 to serve
at least 40,000 residents. It will have resort-styled pools, an
Olympic-sized pool built under a four-storey sports hall, and a
glass-panelled gymnasium that overlooks the pools. (Straits
Times 3 Jun 2002) (5) |
|
Bankruptcy
orders reached a record high of 3,237 in 2001, surpassing the
previous record of 3,054 in 1999. In the first four months of
2002, 1,123 people were made bankrupts. (Straits
Times 2 Jun 2002) (20) |
|
Singapore
Youth Tobacco Survey 2000, the first survey of 13,111 Secondary 1
to 4 students to find out the prevalence of underage smoking, has
found that one in four still managed to sneak a puff at least
once. Of those who took a puff, 11.1 per cent are considered
smokers as they lit up at least once in the past month before the
survey. This includes 2.4 per cent who smoke daily. More girls are
picking up smoking: 13.4 per cent are boys and 8.8 per cent are
girls. The survey also found that smokers are more likely to
belong to families with at least one parent or elder sibling who
smokes, or have close friends who smoke. The main reasons given
for smoking are: curiosity or for fun, to follow the example of
friends, or to relax and relieve stress. (Straits
Times 2 Jun 200) (19) |
|
TheatreWorks'
artistic director ONG Keng Sen has become the first Singaporean
and Asian to curate the Berlin international arts festival
which kicked off on Friday in the House of World Cultures, a top
cultural venue in the German capital. Mr ONG will also curate next
year's festival. The festival showcases 52 performances by
150 artistes from 22 countries. (Straits
Times 2 Jun 2002) (6) |
|
Slim
10 has claimed its first life. Miss Rani Raja, 43, died at 2.45pm
yesterday, 23 days after she was first admitted to hospital for
jaundice. She took Slim 10 between January and March. Over 20,000
bottles of Slim 10 were sold before the Health Sciences Authority
(HSA) pulled the product off the shelves on April 15. (Straits
Times 2 Jun 2002) (1) |
|
The
growing popularity of club drugs among youths is a worrying
problem that must not be left unchecked, said Chief Justice YONG
Pung How last month when he upheld an 18-month jail term for
Johnson Cheng Siah, 28, who was caught taking ketamine at a club.
Ketamine offences have risen by 24 per cent and the number of
people caught possessing or trafficking the drug increased to 207
in 2001 from 167 in 2000. More than 70 per cent of those arrested
were new abusers. More than half, or 55 per cent, were younger
than 25. And more than a third were aged between 20 and 24. (Straits
Times 31 May 2002) (H3) |
|
A
review board headed by a High Court judge has concluded that the
Internal Security Department's detention of 13 Muslim men for
terrorism-related activities was justified because they posed an
active threat to Singapore. The recommendation means that the 13
members of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) will remain in detention at
least until January 2004. (Straits
Times 31 May 2002) (6) |
|
SingTel
may raise phone rates in Singapore for the first time since 1991.
It has applied to the regulator, Infocomm Development Authority of
Singapore, for permission to do this. Local call rates are now
charged at 1.4 cents per minute during peak hours and 0.7 cents
per minute during off-peak hours. (Straits
Times 31 May 2002) (3) |
|
A
petrol station's videotape shows a woman buying a can of petrol
just a few hours before Tuesday's blaze at Bukit Merah Central,
which led to the discovery of the double murder of a mother and
child. The woman is the dead woman's maid. The station's manager
said police took away one of the surveillance videotapes. (Straits
Times 31 May 2002) (1) |
|
High
Court Judge Justice LAI Chew Chai yesterday threw out a
S$388-million suit brought by the Singapore Government against
SingTel. The sum was part of the S$1.5 billion awarded to
SingTel in 1996 as compensation for giving up its monopoly early.
SingTel chief Executive LEE Hsien Yang said in a statement that
his company was "pleased" with the ruling that it was
entitled to keep the full compensation amount. But the matter may
not end there as the Government could appeal against the ruling.
Any appeal must be lodged within the next 30 days. (Straits
Times 31 May 2002) (1) |
|
Almost
1,700 teenage girls here had abortions last year, said Mr CHAN
Soo Sen, Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office and MCDS), on
Tuesday. He told about 400 youth workers that they, parents, and
teachers here will be guiding teens on making informed choices
about sex. (Straits
Times 30 May 2002) (H4) |
|
Homegrown
furniture giant Actus, snowed under S$2 million in debts, was
wound up last week. Actus began as a furniture store in Bukit
Timah's Sixth Avenue 17 years ago. It then moved to Sunset
Way in Clementi and later to Havelock Road. It went under as a
result of increasing competition and the recession. (Straits
Times 30 May 2002) (H3) |
|
The
leader of an opposition party, CHEE Soon Juan, and the former
chief of the Fateha Muslim group, Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, both
pleaded not guilty yesterday to four charges against them. CHEE,
39, held an illegal Labour Day rally at the Istana grounds on May
1 and is accused of tresspassing and preparing to speak at the
event without a licence. If found guilty and fined S$2,000 or more
for a single offence, he would be barred, under Singapore law,
from contesting elections for five years. Zulfikar, 30, is facing
one charge of tresspassing at Tanglin police station on May 1,
after CHEE was arrested earlier in the day. (Straits
Times 30 May 2002) (H2) |
|
The
man who brought Slim 10 to Singapore is helping the authorities
here with investigations to find out how the banned substance
fenfluramine ended up in the weightloss pill. The slimming
pills, launched here last November, are linked to what is possibly
the worst case of drug poisoning here, with at least 16 people
seriously affected. Two of them suffered liver failure. The
Straits Times understands that Mr Semon LIU, 32, president of the
company Health Biz, has met Health Sciences Authority (HSA)
officials several times. No charges have been brought against
Health Biz as the HSA is still investigating how the product was
adulterated after earlier tests had cleared HSA tests. (Straits
Times 30 May 2002) (6) |
|
Police
and firefighters found a woman, dead from a stab in the neck, and
a three-year-old girl, who had been stabbed in the chest, when
they responded to a call at 10.40pm on Tuesday about a fire that
had broken out on the sixth floor of Block 165, Bukit Merah
Central. Madam Angie NG Wee Peng, 34, and her daughter, POH Si Qi,
were lying on the floor in a passageway from the office to a
makeshift kitchen. Si Qi was taken to Alexandra Hospital where she
died shortly after midnight. The family's Indonesian maid and
Madam NG's 18-month-old son, Yue Seng, escaped from the burning
office with slight burns on their faces. Both are in safe
condition and under police protection. (Straits
Times 30 May 2002) (1) |
|
In
the first four months of this year, 53 bank customers lost their
valuables while on their way to a bank, or just after leaving
one. There were 68 such victims for the whole of 2001. (Straits
Times 29 May 2002) (4) |
|
From
July, members of the Social Development Unit's (SDU) Choice Match
dating service will be able to surf a special website for their
perfect partner and meet them for a S$10 fee. The new website,
LoveByte.org.sg,
will have brief
details of men and women on the market for a spouse. There is no
limit to how many people they can choose, but the other party must
consent before they meet. In the last 10 years, the SDU's dating
service has notched up 117 weddings. (Straits
Times 28 May 2002) (H4) |
|
Maid
agencies' accreditation with the Consumers Association of
Singapore (Case) will eventually become mandatory, Manpower
Minister LEE Boon Yang announced in Parliament on May 18. The law
will make it compulsory for maid agencies, which now bring in more
than 80 per cent of the 140,000 maids here, to be accredited in
order to have their licences renewed. This will ensure that the
agencies maintain acceptable professional and acceptable ethical
standards, and do not follow dubious practices. (Straits
Times 28 May 2002) (H3) |
|
More
than 73,000 visitors who came here in 2000 engaged in arts and
entertainment, almost double the 41,000 who did so in 1999. (Straits
Times 28 May 2002) (4) |
|
A
second woman whose liver failed after she took a slimming drug
needs a liver transplant soon or she may not live out the week,
her doctors at the National University Hospital say. Miss Raja,
43, a logistics executive fell ill after taking Slim 10, the same
China-made drug linked to MediaCorp artiste Andrea De Cruz's liver
failure. In Singapore, more than 50 per cent of patients with
liver failure die while waiting for a transplant. (Straits
Times 28 May 2002) (1) |
|
The
British Council will open a training centre at the new Fuchun
Community Club in Woodlands next month. It will run English
enrichment and other courses there. The council has plans to open
more such centres at other new community centres or clubs. The
British Council started English-language training here in 1979,
and today, at least 15,000 people a year attend courses it runs at
four centres in Napier Road, Cecil Street, Holland Village and
Tampines Point. (Straits
Times 27 May 2002) (H3) |
|
Five
birds have been shortlisted by the Nature Society of Singapore's
bird group in its hunt to find a national bird for Singapore. They
are: crimson sunbird, olive-backed sunbird, greater racket-tailed
drongo, black-naped oriole and the white-bellied fish eagle. The
quest is part of the society's fourth annual nature day event
being
held over the weekend and today to showcase its work. (Straits
Times 27 May 2002) (H1) |
|
Taipei:
Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) Boeing 747-200 with 225 people on
board, including one Singaporean, crashed into the sea off Taiwan on
what was to be its last flight before being sold to a Thai
carrier. An airline official identified the Singaporean on the
Hongkong-bound Flight CI 611 as Mr SIM Yong Joo. (Straits
Times 26 May 2002) (1) |
|
An
off-duty narcotics officer driving a Daewoo car knocked down a
woman and her four-year-old son as they were crossing the road
outside Plaza Hotel on Beach Road last Friday morning. The
27-year-old officer, who has served with the Central Narcotics
Bureau for about two years, was unhurt. He was arrested at the
scene and is now out on S$10,000 bail. The woman, Madam TAN Cheng
Kim, 37, is now at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Her son, Darryl GOH,
whose neck had been broken, died at KK Women's and Children's
Hospital on the day of the accident. (Straits
Times 26 May 2002) (H32) |
|
An
explosion rocked Bukit Merah Central yesterday evening, spewing
stones and sand and leaving a gaping hole that was 2 m deep and 5
m wide. The explosion, which happened just outside the community
library, occurred while Power Gas' sub-contractors were pumping
air into a disused pipeline to test its strength, according to Mr
LEE Kee Hoe, Power Gas' senior manager for distribution. (Straits
Times 26 May 20020 (6) |
|
Ten
students from China were made to move out yesterday from the
Spottiswoode Park flat they had rented because the woman they said
they had paid rent to had not paid the landlord. The Chinese
Embassy has hired a lawyer to help them get back their money from
Madam LIM Moi Lee, a student-care centre owner, who is being
investigated by the police for cheating. (Straits
Times 26 May 2002) (1) |
|
About
110 housewives and retirees have already undergone training to
play the role of nannies looking after children of people in
their neighbourhoods in a pilot scheme run by the South-east and
South-west community development councils (CDCs). (Straits
Times 24 May 2002) (8) |
|
An
11-month-old baby girl plunged 12 storeys to her death after
apparently climbing to an open grilleless bedroom window and
wandering onto the ledge outside it. The police found Preethi
Udaysankar's footprints on the ledge outside the flat at Block
652A in Jurong West Street 61. (Straits
Times 24 May 2002) (3) |
|
An
off-duty police staff sergeant died after he shot himself during a
heated quarrel with his wife at the Central Manpower Base (CMPB)
in Depot Road yesterday. CHAN Chung Hwa, 28, had served 10 years
with the force. His wife, 26, worked there. (Straits
Times 24 May 2002) (3) |
|
The
case of former remittance agent LAM Chen Fong has been moved from
the District Court to the High Court, which has greater sentencing
powers, including meting out life-imprisonment terms. (Straits
Times 24 May 2002) (3) |
|
A
grand 23-day festival of the arts will mark the opening of The
Esplanade - Singapore's newest and biggest arts landmark -
starting from 12 Oct 2002. Some 20 major arts events, including
performances by American opera diva Jessye Norman, the London
Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra,
will light up the arts scene. Also, no fewer than 600 free acts,
from street theatre to tightrope walkers and acrobats, have been
lined up to bring the crowds to the waterfront venue. (Straits
Times 24 May 2002) (1) |
|
A
30-year-old Malaysian worker died yesterday when a pressurised
nitrogen tank he was working on exploded in an Ang Mo Kio flatted
factory. KOH Seng Heng had been working for Speed Freeze
Technology since the early 1990s. (Straits
Times 23 May 2002) (3) |
|
From
June 2002, patients in higher-class wards in public hospitals with
bills of S$15,000 can ask to downgrade - no questions asked. They
can also change wards if their income is below a certain level.
Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang announced this policy change
yesterday when he intervened in a case involving a baby whose
medical bill came up to S$209,000 when she was transferred to KK
Women's and Children's Hospital from Mount Alvernia Hospital
recently. Her parents, who cannot pay the bill, will now pay B1
rates for the first S$15,000 and B2 rates, which enjoy a
65-per-cent subsidy, for the rest. (Straits
Times 23 May 2002) (3) |
|
Singapore
will get water from "four big national taps" by 2011.
The two new "taps" will be desalination plants and
NEWater or water-reclamation plants here, said Environment
Minister LIM Swee Say in Parliament yesterday. He said that
increasing water supply from domestic sources would provide
Singapore with enough water for its needs even if the 1961 water
agreement with Malaysia is not renewed when it expires in 2011. (Straits
Times 23 May 2002) (1) |
|
The
Government is studying how much mobile-phone users will benefit by
changing the way in-coming and out-going calls are charged. It
will look at what impact the Calling Party Pays (CPP) method would
have on the rates consumers have to pay before reaching a decision
by the fourth quarter. (Straits
Times 22 May 2002) (H4) |
|
A prisons officer who forged O and A-level result slips to get
into the prisons service and also faked medical certificates three
times to absent herself from work was yesterday jailed for
nine months for forgery. Agnes Jael ANG Yam Nee, 21, was caught
using a forged medical certificate on the third occasion when a
senior officer spotted the photocopied certificate and called the
clinic to check. (Straits
Times 22 May 20020 (4) |
|
In
two to five years' time, students entering secondary school may be
able to choose from privately run specialised arts, sports or
science schools, or even one that offers a through-train
scheme that takes them right to the second year of junior college.
They may go for a school that offers the Swiss-based International
Baccalaureate programme instead of A levels. By 2010, one in four
students will be university bound, compared with one in five now.
And their choices will include specialised research, multi-campus,
and private universities. (Straits
Times 22 May 2002) (3) |
|
Small
scale businesses can be conducted in HDB flats and there is no
need for residents to register with the board. Residents can
make satay, or tarts, bake cakes, run music and tuition
classes, as long as these activities do not change the fundamental
nature of the flats, which is residential, said Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan, Minister of State for National Development, in
Parliament yesterday. (Straits
Times 21 May 2002) (H4) |
|
There
was one doctor to every 700 people here last year, an improvement
over the one to 720 ratio in 2000, said Health Minister LIM
Hng Kiang in Parliament yesterday. He said the shortfall came
about because the intake of medical students had not kept pace
with the population increase since 1993. There is also a shortage
of doctors in the public sector, with a shortfall of 12 per cent.
Mr LIM noted that the Government was looking at training 230 to
250 doctors here a year, with another 50 to 80 foreigners and
Singaporeans graduating from overseas universities. He also said
the shortage of nurses here had also improved a little, with the
number of nurses increasing by 3.3 per cent last year over the
figure for 2000. There is one nurse for every 300 people here. (Straits
Times 21 May 2002) (H3) |
|
Rules
and guidelines on slimming products will be reviewed and tightened
up following the withdrawal of Slim 10 from the market last
month. Slim 10 is thought to be linked to the liver failure of
television artiste Andrea De Cruz. The Health Ministry is now
considering accrediting laboratories which will be recognised for
testing such products, as not all laboratories are reliable. (Straits
Times 21 May 2002) (3) |
|
From
October 2002, CPF members will be able to draw on their Medisave
account to pay for several types of outpatient treatment. By
next year, MediShield will also cover these outpatient claims.
Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang told Parliament yesterday that the
changes will reduce hospitalisation and save costs. To encourage
people to receive treatment away from hospital, the Medisave
withdrawal limit for community hospitals will go up from S$3,000
to S$3,500 a year, and the daily limit for hospices will rise from
S$125 to S$160 from July 1. (Straits Times
21 May 2002) (1) |
|
The
Health Promotion Board (HPB) approached 15 sauce companies earlier
this year to get them to reduce the amount of sodium in their
products. Sodium is a major cause of stroke, which accounts
for one in 10 deaths and more than 10,000 hospitalisations a year.
The recommended daily intake is 2,000 mg of sodium. In Singapore,
women take more than 3,000 mg while men eat more than 3,500 mg a
day. The Chinese take about 3,725 mg a day, a lot more salt than
either the Malays (2,572 mg) or Indians (2,688 mg). (Straits
Times 20 May 2002) (H2) |
|
DBS
Bank makes a net loss of S$44 million per year from servicing more
than 3 million POSB accounts, says the bank's consumer-banking
head, Mr Edmund KOH. But, despite this loss, he says the bank will
not deny its POSB depositors good service. Last month, the bank
reported a 13-fold increase in the number of cash deposits made
via machines per month, from 76,000 in January 2001 to 1.1 million
in January 2002. (Straits
Times 20 May 2002) (5) |
|
In a
landmark ruling, Chief Justice YONG Pung How said those who use
violence to terrorise their wives and children can expect to
receive very stiff jail sentences, to stop the "deplorable
increase" in the number of such cases. In a recent case
involving a man who had beaten and threatened to kill his wife, CJ
YONG upped the jail term from four months to three years. (Straits
Times 20 May 2002) (4) |
|
Washington:
Five research teams are in the worldwide race to produce the first
cloned human baby, who could be born in 2003, Dr Panos Zavos,
a Kentucky-based fertility specialist, has told the United States
Congress. (Straits
Times 17 May 2002) (10) |
|
A
national serviceman who collapsed on Tuesday after completing a
2.4km run he had to do as part of his fitness test has died.
Lcp (NS) Mohamed Shahlan Abdul Rahim, 32, had reported to Clementi
Camp for a week-long training stint the day before his collapse. (Straits
Times 17 May 2002) (H13) |
|
A
35-year-old part-time clerk who poked her Indonesian maid on the
head with a wooden chopstick and pinched her all over the body was
sentenced to three months' jail on Wednesday. TAN Kim Boey pleaded
guilty to assaulting the maid, Miss Siti Solikhatun Nasirun, 22,
on Dec 27, 2000. (Straits
Times 17 May 2002) (H7) |
|
Defence
Minister Dr Tony TAN noted in Parliament yesterday that Singapore
had been at the receiving end of hostile remarks in recent weeks.
"Sometimes, there is even talk of war." "Singapore
needs a credible defence force to ensure that talk of war remains
just talk, mere rhetoric. He added that the ups and downs in ties
with Malaysia were not of Singapore's choosing. Singapore would
prefer to focus on co-operation with Malaysia in all sectors -
economic, cultural, education and even security matters. But, from
time to time, the mood in bilateral ties turned nasty and
Singapore must have the "confidence to ride out the storm,
not to react hastily, and not knuckle under the pressure.
"The Singapore Armed Forces gives us that confidence." (Straits
Times 17 May 2002) (3) |
|
Defence
Minister Dr Tony TAN noted in Parliament yesterday that Singapore
had been at the receiving end of hostile remarks in recent weeks.
"Sometimes, there is even talk of war." "Singapore
needs a credible defence force to ensure that talk of war remains
just talk, mere rhetoric. He added that the ups and downs in ties
with Malaysia were not of Singapore's choosing. Singapore would
prefer to focus on co-operation with Malaysia in all sectors -
economic, cultural, education and even security matters. But, from
time to time, the mood in bilateral ties turned nasty and
Singapore must have the "confidence to ride out the storm,
not to react hastily, and not knuckle under the pressure.
"The Singapore Armed Forces gives us that confidence." (Straits
Times 17 May 2002) (3) |
|
Across-the-board
hikes in monthly allowances for national servicemen will take
effect from 1 July 2002 to mark the 35th anniversary of
National Service. A recruit will take home S$350 instead of S$240,
and a corporal in a combat job will get S$520 instead of S$330. A
third sergeant will get S$660 instead of S$420 and a second
lieutenant S$970 instead of S$650. The increases will benefit all
full-time national servicemen (NSFs) and operationally-ready
national servicemen (NSmen) in the Singapore Armed Forces,
Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force. (Straits
Times 17 May 2002) (1) |
|
The
economy is likely to grow in the "upper half of our revised 2
to 4 per cent projection", said Trade and Industry
Minister George in Parliament yesterday. Singapore is also on
track to garnering S$9.2 billion in foreign investments this year.
(Straits Times 17 May 2002) (1) |
|
The
Court of Appeal has thrown out the suit of the families of six
people who perished in the SilkAir crash in Palembang in 1997. It
said there was nothing suspicious about the background or
behaviour of the pilots of MI 185 that suggested they may have
crashed the plane intentionally. (Straits
Times 16 May 2002) (H6) |
|
A
73-year-old Chinese man was killed in his two-room HDB flat at
Block 31, Bukit Ho Swee yesterday afternoon. A police statement
said that his 38-year-old son had been arrested in connection with
the case. (Straits
Times 16 May 2002) (H5) |
|
Credit
card billings in 2001 totalled S$11.1 billion, up 5 per cent from
2000, and S$79.5 million of bad debts were written off in 2001,
up 28 per cent from 2000, said Mr YEO Guat Kwang, president of
Consumers Association of Singapore. (Straits
Times 16 May 2002) (H3) |
|
Singaporeans
are crossing the Causeway in droves to beat today's deadline to
settle traffic fines or face paying the maximum M$300 (S$146)
penalty per offence. A spokesman from the Johor Traffic Police
advised Singaporeans to settle their summonses at the main Jalan
Tebrau office as the computer records there are updated.
Singaporeans can also log on to www.sgbikers.com
to check, at no cost, whether they have outstanding traffic
summonses. (Straits
Times 16 May 2002) (1) |
|
The
HDB received 18,200 applications from homeowners seeking help with
loan payments, between January 2001 and March 2002. As most of
these were genuine hardship cases, it turned down only 14. Last
year, HDB handled 14,200 new cases, 42 per cent more than in 2000,
when there were 10,000 new cases. (Straits
Times 15 May 2002) (H5) |
|
Heartland Mall Kovan shopping centre and the surrounding 120
neighbourhood retailers woven around a hawker centre and a bus
interchange will be managed as one big "complex"
called Kovan City under the Government's first experiment at
making mom-and-pop shops collaborate with trendy suburban malls. (Straits
Times 15 May 2002) (H1) |
|
The
principal of Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), Mr NG Eng Chin,
has left abruptly after nine years at the job. The Straits
Times learnt that Mr NG was accused of molest. The ACS Board of
Governors issued a statement to parents, mentioning that the
mother of a former ACS student had made a police report against
him. The police confirmed that a report was made on Oct 3
but said there was "no substantive evidence to establish a
criminal offence". Mr NG, 43, who is an old ACS boy, is
married and has two grown-up children. (Straits
Times 15 May 2002) (3) |
|
Between
1997 and last year, HDB approved an average of 1,300 new
applications annually from HDB shopowners to lease out part of
their retail space to other retailers. Figures show only about
100 new HDB shops are constructed every year. There are about
14,000 HDB shops now occupying 1.1 million sq m in retail space,
forming more than a third of all retail space in Singapore. (Straits
Times 14 May 2002) (A20) |
|
DBS
Bank has become the first bank here to offer ATM cardholders cash
rebates of up to 20 per cent on purchases made at 50 to 60 shops
and restaurants. About S$2.5 million is being invested to
promote the new DBS Rewards scheme which will be launched on
Thursday. (Straits
Times 14 May 2002) (A22) |
|
A Chinese physician has been charged with outraging the modesty of
a woman patient. CHONG Kek Seh, 54, who owns the Chong Shaw
Fong Chinese Physician and Medical Hall at Upper Cross Street,
allegedly reached under the 35-year-old woman's T-shirt to
unbuckle her bra. The woman claimed that after he had examined her
breasts, he said that her breasts were very beautiful, before
squeezing and kissing her right breast. The trial will continue on
a date to be set. (Straits
Times 14 May 2002) (H5) |
|
People
who are convicted of minor offences may have their criminal
records sealed or deleted after a certain number of years, provided
they do not commit offences again. This will make it easier for
them to get work. Senior Minister for Law and Home Affairs
Associate Professor HO Peng Kee said that the Home Affairs
Ministry was studying the issue and would come up with firm plans
within a month or two. (Straits
Times 14 May 2002) (H4) |
|
The
Court of Appeal has upheld the principle that a judge cannot find
a doctor negligent if what the doctor did is supported by his
peers. Chief Justice YONG Pung How said that the court should
have no business vindicating or vilifying the actions of medical
practitioners. "We often enough tell doctors not to play God;
it seems only fair that, similarly, lawyers should not play at
being doctors," he said. CJ YONG added, "A judge,
unschooled and unskilled in the art of medicine, has no business
adjudicating matters over which medical experts themselves cannot
come to agreement." (Straits
Times 14 May 2002) (6) |
|
According
to the Environment Ministry, there are now 568 cases of hand, foot
and mouth disease (HFMD) a week - more than double the number of
cases in mid-February but there is no need for parents to panic.
This figure is still much lower than the more than 1,000 cases a
week during a major outbreak in October 2000, when all 557
childcare centres and 440 kindergartens were closed to stop the
disease from spreading. (Straits
Times 13 May 2002) (H4) |
|
In the
12 months since the Legal Aid Bureau relaxed its qualifying
criteria, it has handled more 8,089 new cases, or about 1,000 more
than the 7,028 new cases for the financial year 2000 - from April
1 2000 to March 31 2001. Of these, one in two needed help on
family matters, such as divorce, maintenance and custody of
children. And 28 per cent approached the bureau to help sort out
the paper work on accidents and bankruptcies. To qualify for legal
aid, the applicant's disposable household income should not be
more than S$10,000 a year, up from its previous ceiling of
S$7,000, among other changes. (Straits
Times 13 May 2002) (H3) |
|
A
skull, believed to be that of a boy, was found off the coast at
Pulau Buloh, some 1.5 nautical miles from the spot where a mother
and her two children drowned almost a month ago. The Health
Sciences Authority will conduct a DNA test to determine whether
the skull is part of the remains of LING Ming Jie, 5. (Straits
Times 13 May 2002) (H2) |
|
A new
Straits Times survey of 500 people between the ages of 20 and 49
has found that two out of three Singaporeans think they are
investing too much money in housing. They also want the Central
Provident Fund (CPF) scheme to be changed to ensure they have more
cash when they retire. (Straits Times 13 May
2002) (4) |
|
The
Singapore Sports Council is beefing up its National Survival
Swimming Awards with a theory test on practical water-survival
skills. The awards, which are open to the public, consist of
four categories - bronze, silver, gold and gold star. Last year,
drowning cases went down to 38, compared to 60 in 2000. (Straits
Times 11 May 2002) (H6) |
|
Spa
Association of Singapore (SAS) president Peter SNG has said a law
barring under-18s from spas is expected to be lifted by next May.
Spas are still regulated by the police under the Massage Parlour
Act, although regulators created a new classification last year
that distinguishes spas from massage parlours. SAS, which has 26
members currently, has been lobbying for self-regulation. (Straits
Times 11 May 2002) (H1) |
|
A
bank officer at the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's
(HSBC) Tanglin Branch was yesterday jailed for 12 years for
cheating the bank of a total of US7.2 million (S$12.6 million)
over a period of five years from 1997 to Jan 18 this year. David
CHONG Seah Wee, 39, yesterday pleaded guilty to 19 charges of
cheating the bank. Two court interpreters took slightly more than
two hours to read out the remaining 1,396 charges against CHONG. (Straits
Times 11 May 2002) (3) |
|
The
National Parks Board allows families to pitch tents for overnight
camping at five of its coastal parks - the ones at Changi beach,
East Coast, Pasir Ris, Sembawang and West Coast. Last year,
10,305 camping permits were issued, compared to 7,589 in 2000 and
6,442 in 1999. It was only five years ago that NParks relaxed its
rules about overnight camping and made it legal. Each camping
permit is good for up to three nights, the most popular days being
weekends and school holidays. (Straits
Times 10 May 2002) (H12) |
|
TV
Media, the company that marketed the now banned weight-loss
capsules, Slim 10, is giving full refunds to customers. The
product from China was pulled out of the market on April 15 by the
Health Sciences Authority (HSA) because it contains fenfluramine,
which is banned here. Slim 10 is strongly suspected to have caused
television artiste Andrea De Cruz's hepatitis and liver failure.
In Singapore, at least 13 people who have been on the drug have
come down with hepatitis, hypertyroidism, hypertension and heart
palpitations. (Straits
Times 10 May 2002) (H8) |
|
The
Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has denied Malaysian
reports that Singapore barred Malaysian lorries carrying
vegetables from entering Singapore. This year, nearly 14,800
tonnes of vegetables a month were imported between January and
April, it said. Last year, less than 0.02 per cent of the 188,793
tonnes of vegetables imported from Malaysia were destroyed because
they had unacceptable levels of pesticide residue. (Straits
Times 10 May 2002) (H7) |
|
Hours
before the Housing Board (HDB) announced the next batch of flats
for sale, a queue had started forming at the queue site at Choa
Chu Kang Avenue 4, opposite Lot 1 Shoppers Mall. By 7.30pm, about
150 people had turned up at the sales office there. The white tent
in the open field was a giveaway, said contractor CHONG Seik Keong,
50, who was first in the line there at 10am on Wednesday. Some
1,900 new flats, including 380 four-room units, are available in
the HDB's latest walk-in selection exercise. (Straits
Times 10 May 2002)
(H1) |
|
A
total of 47 people were booked yesterday, the first day of the
Traffic Police campaign to enforce strictly the 10-year-old
safety-belt rule. Twenty drivers were fined S$120 each because
their passengers had failed to belt up, or because children had
not been secured in child seats. The other 27 booked were
passengers who were also fined S$120 each. (Straits
Times 9 May 2002) (H2) |
|
A
Singaporean was among the 112 people who died in a Chinese
jetliner crash in the sea off China's northeastern coast on
Tuesday night. Kelvin CHONG Yew Keong, 28, a senior accountant
with PSA Corporation, was sent just over a year ago to Dalian,
where PSA runs a container terminal. He was married to accountant
Yuen Tian, 27. (Straits Times 9 May 2002) (3) |
|
A total
of 57 Internet fraud cases were reported in 2001. This was
more than twice the number reported in 2000. In the first three
months of this year, there were 15 cases. (Straits
Times 8 May 2002) (H7) |
|
Drivers
who do not belt up will be fined S$120 and given three demerit
points from today. Passengers who fail to do so will be fined
S$120. The tough stand comes after ten years of relying on
education, rather than enforcement, to get people to comply with
the law. The Traffic police will be on the lookout for such
offenders. Traffic Police chief, Assistant Commissioner Rajoo
Gopal said yesterday, "There will be no more warnings and no
escapes." (Straits
Times 8 May 2002) (5) |
|
A
teacher from Gan Eng Seng Primary School is being investigated for
hurting a pupil in her Primary 1 class after the pupil's
mother made a police report on 25 April 2002. The seven-year-old
boy's forehead was grazed when she tossed a small whiteboard at
him during an English lesson two weeks ago. (Straits
Times 7 May 2002) (H3) |
|
Adventurer
KHOO Swee Chiow yesterday became the first Asian and the fourth
person in the world to complete the Adventure Grand Slam, making
it to both poles and the highest peak on each of the seven
continents. (Straits
Times 7 May 2002) (H3) |
|
The
three pilots of Singapore Airlines SQ006 have agreed to return to
Taipei to attend a hearing tomorrow that could decide if they
will be prosecuted for their part in the crash that killed 83
people 18 months ago. Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council pinned the
blame for the crash mainly on the pilots - Captain FOONG Chee
Kong, 43, and first officers Latiff Cyrano, 38, and NG Kheng Leng,
40. (Straits Times 7 May 2002) (1) |
|
In
Singapore, only about 40,000 people, or 1 per cent of the
population, give blood regularly. Students from schools,
colleges and tertiary institutions donate 12 per cent of the blood
through on-campus blood-donation drives. Hospitals here use about
200 units of blood daily. Although current donations are nearly
enough to meet the requirement, more donors would help to regulate
supplies. (Straits
Times 6 May 2002) (H8) |
|
Singapore's
first garden spa will open on Sentosa island in November 2002.
Spa Botanica, a S$10 million facility on a site the size of a
football field, will be located next to the Beaufort Hotel. It
will have 14 indoor treatment rooms and six outdoor pavilions. Spa
fans in Singapore spent S$120 million in treatments in 2001.
(Straits Times 6 May 2002) |
|
There are no plans to introduce means testing at government
hospitals and polyclinics, said Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang
yesterday. Means testing involves pegging the amount of subsidies
a patients receives to his income so, the poorer the patient, the
higher the subsidy. Yesterday, Mr LIM noted that means testing has
been used for nursing-home residents since July 2000, and for
hospice patients since October 2001. From July 1, it will be
extended to patients at community hospitals, he said. (Straits
Times 6 May 2002) (3) |
|
NTUC
Fairprice's 66 stores will absorb, for one year, the extra 2
percentage points for GST for 400 staple items, including rice,
oil and sugar, said NTUC secretary-general LIM Boon Heng
yesterday. This will cost the supermarket chain up to S$6 million
in foregone revenue. NTUC Unity, which operates 30 pharmacies
here, will absorb, also for one year, the extra GST on
prescription and over-the-counter medicines. The other NTUC
co-operative that will absorb the increase is NTUC Foodfare. (Straits
Times 6 May 2002) (1) |
|
Some
20,000 copies of the Social Development Unit's (SDU) dating guide,
When Boys Meets Girl - The Chemistry Guide, have been printed and
distributed to its members and also to singles working in the
public sector. If offers practical tips and ideas on how to plan
the perfect outing. (Sunday
Times 5 May 2002) (23) |
|
Ballot
slips and election documents from the 2001 General Election went
up in smoke yesterday at the Tuas South Incineration Plant, six
months after Singaporeans cast their votes for a new government. (Sunday
Times 5 May 2002) (22) |
|
There
are about 15,000 deaths here every year, and the coroner
investigates about 3,300 of them. Of the 2,000 autopsies done
annually, about half are due to unnatural deaths. These include
about 400 suicides, 300 from road accidents and 30 to 40
homicides. The others are done on patients who die unexpectedly or
suddenly on the way to, or in hospital. (Straits
Times 4 May 2002) (H3) |
|
An
ex-Malay-language teacher is on trial for allegedly tricking two
of his Primary six students to pose topless. Syed Zainuddin
Syed Salim, 33, a father of four, allegedly cheated the two girls
last July by letting them believe he had modelling work for them
when he did not, and getting them to remove their tops to pose.
The trial continues. (Straits
Times 4 May 2002) (H2) |
|
From
Sept 2002, hourly parking charges for cars will be increased from
90 cents to S$1 per half- hour in the Restricted Zone and from 45
cents to 50 cents per half-hour outside the Restricted Zone.
Residential season parking charges for cars will rise from S$75 to
S$90 for sheltered lots, from S$55 to S$65 for surface lots and
from S$65 to S$75 for lots in upgraded and selected precincts.
Commercial season parking fees will be increased to S$140-S$180 in
the Restricted Zone and S$80-S$140 outside the Restricted Zone. (Straits
Times 4 May 2002) (Budget 2002 - 4) |
|
The 28-year-old Adam Food Centre, formerly known as Adam Road
Hawker Centre, which has been upgraded at a cost of S$1.73
million, will reopen for business in two weeks. The
Government's aim is to upgrade all of the island's 135 food and
market centres over the next ten years at a cost of S$420 million.
(Straits Times
3 May 2002) (H1) |
|
Singapore
citizens can apply for or renew their passports on the Internet
through the Application for Passport Online Electronic System which also allows them to make payment online via credit
card. The online registration fee for renewing or applying for a
passport is S$60, S$10 cheaper than for applications made over the
counter at the SIR. They can also attach a digital photograph to
the online application form. But they must turn up in person to
collect their new passport after three working days. (Straits
Times 3 May 2002) (3) |
|
Nearly
half of over 1,000 China workers allegedly fleeced by their
remittance agent, the now-defunct Wen Long Moneychanger, have won
court orders to get S$4.7 million out of its partners, LAM Chen
Fong, 29, and Madam HO Sook Tin, 75. The amount represents more
than half the S$8.8 million which LAM Chen Fong allegedly pocketed
from the workers in December 2001 and January 2002. (Straits
Times 3 May 2002) (3) |
|
Singapore
Democratic Party (SDP) chief CHEE Soon Juan was yesterday placed
under police arrest after he ignored warnings to stop holding a
public rally illegally outside the Istana's entrance. SDP member
Gandhi Ambalam and former chief of the Fateha Muslim Group Mohamad
Shariff were also arrested for obstructing the police and creating
a scene there respectively. CHEE's application for a permit to
speak outside the Istana was rejected earlier because the venue
was not deemed suitable for holding such events. He chose to break
the law by proceeding with his rally outside the Istana. (Straits
Times 2 May 2002) (4) |
|
Deputy
Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong yesterday promised a comprehensive
package of measures to cushion the impact of an increase in the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) as proposed by the Economic Review
Committee. The package will be enough to cover the extra tax that
lower-income households have to pay for at least five years. He
noted that GST was introduced successfully in 1994, with
relatively little pain for ordinary people. Then, every
lower-income Singaporean got back in rebates what he or she would
have paid in GST for at least five years. (Straits
Times 2 May 2002) (1) |
|
Seven
slim HDB towers, each 48-storeys tall, will be ready in Duxton
Plain in Tanjong Pagar in 2007. Occupying a site only sightly
bigger than two football fields, the buildings will house some
1,800 families. This is part of a plan to quadruple the number of
households living in the city from 30,000 to 120,000. Construction
is expected to commence in September 2003 and HDB will invite
people to book the flats in 2004. (Straits
Times 1 May 2002) (1) |
|
For
the first three months of this year, an estimated 4,300 people
were laid off. This cuts nearly in half the number retrenched
in each of the previous two quarters. However, unemployment
continues to rise, with the rate hitting 4.5 per cent in March
this year, the highest in 15 years. It was 2.4 per cent in March
2001. In all. about 85,000 people were jobless in March, according
to early estimates by the Manpower Ministry. The total number of
workers employed also fell by 16,100, the third straight quarter
of declines. (Straits
Times 1 May 2002) (1) |
|
Two
policemen from the Intellectual Properties Branch of the Criminal
Investigations Department (CID) were jailed for accepting
kickbacks from software pirates in return for tip-offs. A third,
an ex-CPIB officer, who received S$1,500 corruptly for giving
inside information on investigations carried out by the Corrupt
Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on the two officers was also
jailed. Sergeant Anthony KOH Chin Kee, 29, was jailed a total of
four years and fined S$36,000. Sergeant Clarence TAY Liang
Piaw, 28, was jailed for 64 months and fined S$34,000. Ex-CPIB
officer Desmond LEE Lian Heng, 32, was jailed for 30 months and
fined S$1,850. (Straits
Times 1 May 2002) (3) |
|
Of the
more than 3,520 practising lawyers, only 3,200 have renewed their
practising certificates for the next year by the deadline
yesterday. Some 320 lawyers have dropped out and only about 200
new lawyers are expected to enter the market this year. Anecdotal
evidence has shown that many of the lawyers exiting the profession
are under 30. Last year was the first time in five years that the
legal profession here had shrunk. Law Society figures show a
0.4-per-cent drop in the number of practising lawyers compared
with a year earlier. A record 335 lawyers had not renewed their
practising certificates, compared with 141 lawyers in 2000 and 114
in 1999. (Straits
Times 1 May 2002) (H4) |
Community News