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What's New - New Look & Changes
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NEW LOOK & CHANGES
2008
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More clinics to offer anonymous HIV testing |
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The Ministry of Health will increase the
number of anonymous HIV test sites in Singapore from the current three -
Anteh Dispensary, Cambridge Clinic, and the Action for AIDS Anonymous
HIV Testing and Counseling Clinic - to seven, with
effect from 1 November 2008... |
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More..... |
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MOE appoints 50 principals in 2008 |
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The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be
appointing 50 Principals at the 11th Appointment
Ceremony for Principals to be held on 30 Dec 2008.
They comprise 27 newly-appointed Principals and 23
serving Principals/HQ officers who will take up
appointments in other schools... |
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More..... |
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MOH to recognise more foreign dental degrees |
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From 1 January 2008, all dental schools
accredited by the American Dental Association and the Canadian Dental
Association will be added to the Schedule of the Dental Registration
Act. |
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The addition of 48 American dental schools
and 7 Canadian dental schools will increase the number of recognised
foreign dental schools in the Schedule from the current 34 to 89. The
list of new and current dental schools can be found in Annex A... |
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More..... |
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2007
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New pay and career package for teachers |
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MOE will be introducing a new Education
Scheme of Service (2008) from 1 April 2008 to better recognise and
reward good teachers. The new scheme will be more market responsive and
there will be a stronger link between pay and performance. |
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Officers will be placed on a salary range
system with merit increments that are based on one’s performance,
potential and market wage movements. This will replace the current
salary scale system with fixed annual increments. With the revision to
the salary ranges, a one-off salary increment of up to 4% will be made
to the salaries of eligible officers on the new scheme... |
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More..... |
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Comfort and CityCab taxi fares to go up on 17 Dec 2007 |
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Basic Fare |
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Current |
Revised |
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Flag Down: $2.50 for 1st km
1km to 10km: $0.10 for every 210m
Above 10km: $0.10 for every 175m
Waiting time: $0.10 for every 25sec |
Flag Down: $2.80 for 1st km
1km to 10km: $0.20 for every 385m
Above 10km: $0.20 for every 330m
Waiting time: $0.20 for every 45sec |
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More..... |
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Reduced hospital subsidies for non-citizens |
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From January 1, 2008, non-PR foreigners will
not receive any healthcare subsidy. PRs will continue to be subsidised
for hospital services, but at 5 percentage points less than citizens. |
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From July 1, 2008, another 5
percentage-point reduction will be applied... |
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More..... |
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New foreign workforce measures to meet strong market
demand |
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With effect from 1 January 2008, the S Pass
quota for all sectors will be increased from 15% to 25%. The new S Pass
quota will come entirely from companies' Work Permit quota which will be
increased for all sectors. Companies can therefore employ more S Pass
holders, in lieu of Work Permit holders, hence improving the quality of
their foreign workforce... |
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To strengthen our
global talent attraction and retention efforts, refinements will be made
to the PEP scheme. Foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed monthly
salary overseas was at least S$7,000 will be eligible for a PEP. The PEP
will also be granted to former P1 Employment Pass holders upon
application. |
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These changes
will take effect from 1 March 2008. Existing and new P1 pass holders
working in Singapore that apply for the PEP ahead of the 2-year
requirement will be accorded in-principle approval. They can apply to
take up the PEP at the end of 2 years on their current P1 pass... |
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More..... |
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Electronic Medical Records Exchange extended to
community hospitals |
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By the first quarter of 2008, over 4000
patients yearly at the community hospitals will be able to enjoy better
patient care, improved drug safety, fewer repeat tests and hence lower
costs with the extension of the Electronic Medical Records Exchange (EMRX)... |
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The extension marks the first step in the
Ministry of Health's plans to extend the EMRX beyond the public
sector... |
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More..... |
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Lower season parking charges for commercial vehicles
weighing up to 1800kg |
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From 1 Dec 2007, owners of commercial
vehicles such as vans and mini-buses with unladen weight not exceeding
1,800 kg will enjoy lower season parking charges if their vehicles can
fit into a car lot... |
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About 900 season parking ticket holders are
expected to benefit from the revision. Instead of paying the higher
season parking charge of between $120 and $185 per month for heavy
vehicles, they will now pay the lower season parking charge of $65 for
surface car parks and $90 for multi-storey car parks in residential
estates, and between $80 and $180 in commercial areas... |
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More..... |
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Cosmetic products to be regulated from 1 Jan 2008 |
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Effective from 1 January 2008, all new
products must comply with the ACD requirements and notify HSA prior to
sale. |
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All existing products that are currently
sold in the local market will be given 12 months to notify HSA and to
fully comply with the requirements by 1 Jan 2011... |
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More..... |
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National Registry Of Diseases Bill passed |
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Part II of the Bill establishes the
National Registry of Diseases and sets out its functions. These
include the collection of information on reportable diseases,
establishment of registers, compilation and publication of
statistics, and the provision of information for supporting health
services and national public health policies... |
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Clause 6, in Part III of the Bill,
makes the notification of reportable diseases mandatory for
managers of all healthcare institutions. The burden is placed on
the manager as he has the management and control of the
institution. Very limited data will be required to make a
notification... |
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More..... |
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Stiffer measures to deter errant taxi drivers |
- Stiffer penalties for errant
taxi drivers
- Taxi advisories for the public
- More taxi stands within the
Central Business District (CBD) / Street hail of taxis on CBD
roads disallowed from 1 March 2008
- Enhanced taxi QoS requirements
fully phased in from 1 January 2008
- Taxi Mystery Customer Audit
kicked off
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More..... |
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Changes to SingPass system |
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Come 25 November 2007, Singaporeans who have
forgotten their Singapore Personal Access (or SingPass) password will be
able to get it reset almost immediately... |
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The new hotline, SingPass website and system
administration will be managed by CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd, who was
appointed by the Government through a competitive tender to develop,
operate and maintain SingPass in April 2006. SingPass was previously
managed by the Central Provident Fund Board... |
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More..... |
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S$40 million infrastructure upgrade for Orchard Road |
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With the planned landscape and
infrastructural enhancements, Singapore’s premier shopping street will
have state of the art lighting highlighting its lush tree-lined
boulevard, new creative spaces for staging events and a more integrated
and engaging pedestrian mall... |
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Orchard Road's infrastructure works will be
carried out in phases to minimise disruption to businesses and the public, while
access points to buildings will be maintained at all times... |
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Works are expected to be completed by April
2009. |
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More..... |
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Singapore population in 1990, 2000 and 2006 |
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Total Population by
Residential Status for 1990, 2000 and 2006 (Mid-Year Estimates)[1]
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Year
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1990
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2000
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2006
|
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Total Population
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3,047,100
(100.0%)
|
4,027,900
(100.0%)
|
4,483,900
(100.0%)
|
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Singapore Citizens
|
2,623,700 (86.1%)
|
2,985,900 (74.1%)
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3,145,800 (70.2%)
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Permanent Residents
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112,100 (3.7%)
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287,500 (7.1%)
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462,700 (10.3%)
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Non-Residents[2]
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311,300 (10.2%)
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754,500 (18.7%)
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875,500 (19.5%)
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More..... |
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Travellers to declare currency or bearer negotiable
instruments over S$30,000 |
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From 1 November 2007 onwards, persons who
move into or out of Singapore physical currency1 or bearer
negotiable instruments2 (CBNI) the total value of which
exceeds SGD 30,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) will be
required to give a report by filling up a form and submitting it to the
authorities. |
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The form is available at all checkpoints,
police establishments, Singapore Visitors Centres and branches of
Singapore Post... |
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More..... |
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New governance structure for NUH and NUS School of
Medicine |
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MOE and MOH have jointly agreed for NUS and
NHG to establish a new governance structure for the NUS School of
Medicine (NUS-SoM) and the National University Hospital (NUH)... |
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Under the new governance structure, NUH and
NUS-SoM will be repositioned as a joint operating entity. This new
NUH-SoM entity will be governed by one Governing Board which will
include senior members from NHG, NUS, MOH and MOE... |
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More..... |
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New applied subjects at 'O' Level from 2008 |
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From Jan 2008, eight secondary schools will partner the polytechnics to
offer to their Express and Normal (Academic) students, three new ‘O’
level subjects in applied disciplines: Creative 3D Animation,
Fundamentals of Electronics and Introduction to Enterprise Development. |
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These new Applied Subjects will be reflected in the students’ GCE ‘O’
level Examination Certificates and be recognised for admission into
Junior Colleges and Polytechnics... |
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More..... |
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The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill passed |
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The new section 376C (Commercial sex
with minor under 18 outside Singapore) will have extra-territorial
effect so that it would be an offence for Singapore citizens and
Permanent Residents to solicit or engage in commercial sex with
minors under 18 in other countries...
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Feedback received highlighted concerns over
female sexual abuse of male minors. On further consideration, we accept
that these younger male children could be exploited by older women.
Consequently, we have decided to make it an offence for a woman to
engage in penile penetrative sexual acts with a male minor under 16 and
to have commercial sex with a male minor under 18... |
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Whilst prostitution per se is not an
offence, new section 376B (Commercial sex with minor under 18)
will make it an offence for a person to solicit, communicate or
obtain sexual services from a minor under 18 years of age... |
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More..... |
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Secondhand Goods Dealers Act effective from 1 Dec 2007 |
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Under the new Act, only dealers who deal in
secondhand goods that are listed in the Schedule will be regulated. This
will be regardless of whether such dealings take place at a shopfront,
via a makeshift stall or over the Internet. |
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The list of items was drawn up based on
crime data of commonly stolen items. While the existing Act has a wider
list of items, the new regulatory regime has a reduced list which
comprises commonly stolen items. This allows a sharper regulatory focus
in preventing fencing1. |
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Dealers who deal in items which are not in
the new list will not be regulated. The list of items may also be
revised according to crime trends... |
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More..... |
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MOE appoints 65 principals in 2007 |
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This year, 23 of the 36 newly-appointed
Principals are aged 40 and below, which is the largest number of young
newly-appointed Principals in the last ten years. |
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Among them, the youngest are Mdm Eugenia Tan
and Mrs Clara Lim-Tan at age 35. They will be heading Crescent Girls'
School and CHIJ (Kellock) respectively... |
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More..... |
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Proposed exemption from maximum credit card limit |
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
has issued a consultation paper proposing to exempt card issuers from
complying with the maximum credit limit when issuing credit or charge
cards to individuals with an annual income of at least $120,000 or net
personal assets exceeding $2 million[1]. |
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With the proposed exemption, card issuers
may determine the appropriate credit limits for this higher income group
in line with their assessment of the credit worthiness of these
individuals... |
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More..... |
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Proposed amendments to the Infectious Diseases Act |
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Therefore, we propose to amend the IDA to
empower the Director of Medical Services (DMS) to obtain left-over
samples, and send them for the tests and examinations for the purpose of
monitoring the infectious disease situation in Singapore... |
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The Ministry proposes to expand the IDA to
empower DMS to close any premises as non-food establishments may also be
the source of an outbreak... |
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We propose to amend the IDA so that when
required, the DMS may require medical practitioners as well as other
categories of health care workers (e.g. TCM practitioners, dentists,
pharmacists, etc.) to obtain disease related information from their
patients... |
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MOH proposes to expand the IDA to
address the situation where an individual who, although unaware
that he is HIV-positive, has reason to believe that he has been
exposed to the risk of contracting HIV or AIDS (e.g. by having
unprotected casual sex with multiple partners)... |
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More..... |
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159 Foreign Medical Schools recognised in Singapore |
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The Ministry of Health and the Singapore
Medical Council (SMC) will be including an additional 19 leading
international medical schools to the Schedule of the Medical
Registration Act with effect from 1st October 2007... |
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Included are 6 medical schools from China, 4
from India, 4 from Japan, 2 from Taiwan and 1 from South Korea. 2 more
medical schools from Europe have also been added... |
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Singaporeans graduating from any of the 159
international medical schools can also come back to Singapore, to
supplement the number graduating from our own medical schools... |
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More..... |
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New initiatives for Normal (Academic) Course |
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Currently, the criteria for promoting the
N(A) students to Sec 5N comprise a pass in English Language (EL)
and the aggregate score of their best 3 subjects at the
‘N’ level examinations. MOE will introduce the following refinements: |
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(a) Include both EL and
Mathematics as compulsory subjects for computation in the aggregate
score; and
(b) Increase the number of
subjects to be included in the aggregate score to 5... |
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The refined promotion criteria will
apply to the 2009 Sec 4N(A) cohort onwards... |
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More..... |
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MAS issues revised property fund guidelines |
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The revised Guidelines are intended to
improve safeguards for investors and to provide greater clarity and
flexibility for commercial transactions... |
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MAS will amend the Securities and Futures
Act (SFA) to include REIT management as a regulated activity... |
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More..... |
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Summary of key amendments to the Penal Code |
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It will
be made an offence to engage in penetrative acts
such as oral and anal sex with a minor under the age
of 16, with or without the consent of the minor; |
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It will
be made an offence to obtain commercial sex from a
minor under the age of 18, or communicate with any
person for such a purpose; and |
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A new
offence of sexual grooming of minors under the age
of 16 will be introduced... |
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More..... |
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Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes
(Confiscation of Benefits) Act passed |
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Clause 11
of the Bill makes it mandatory for anyone physically
carrying currency and bearer negotiable instruments or
CBNI, above S$30,000, into or out of Singapore, to
declare this to the authorities at the checkpoints... |
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The threshold amount of
S$30,000 is based on the recommendation by the FATF,
and includes not only currency in circulation, but
also bearer negotiable instruments such as travellers
cheques, money orders, cheques, bonds and promissory
notes... |
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Hence, for clarity, a crossed cheque
made payable to a specific person with the word “bearer” deleted
is not considered a bearer negotiable instrument because only the
person named on the cheque can receive the amount stated on it. |
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The new measure would be
non-discriminatory and will be imposed on all travellers,
including citizens, residents and foreigners, entering and exiting
the country. |
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The penalties for non-declaration and false
declaration are a maximum fine of S$50,000 or a term of imprisonment of
up to 3 years or both... |
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More..... |
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Eight schools to be upgraded from 2009 to 2011 |
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As part of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE)
continuing efforts to renew and support our schools, eight more schools
will be upgraded from 2009 to 2011 under the tenth phase of the
Programme for Rebuilding and IMproving Existing Schools (PRIME)... |
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Schools undergoing PRIME will also benefit
from the Flexible School Infrastructure (FlexSI) framework and the
provision of an indoor sports hall as part of the upgrading plan. |
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More..... |
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1 to 2 cents increase in bus fares and no increase in
rail fares |
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The PTC approved a 1 to 2 cent increase in
adult EZ-Link fares for buses. Senior citizen concessionary EZ-Link bus
fares, which are flat fares pegged to the lowest adult EZ-Link fare band
will also increase by 2 cents... |
|
There will be no increase to all rail
fares, some EZLink adult bus fares, as well as cash fares for
buses, child/student fares and the prices of monthly student/NS
men concession passes... |
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More..... |
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Changi Airport to be corporatised |
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"After careful consideration, the government
believes that it is necessary to corporatise Changi Airport and to
re-structure CAAS’ existing regulatory and strategic functions under a
new regulatory body... |
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"Corporatisation will enhance Changi
Airport’s ability to compete in this changed landscape. In being more
nimble the new entity will further strengthen Changi’s position as a
premier air hub... |
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"Corporatisation is a complex process. We
will plan carefully and explore all possible options. The entire process
is expected to take 18 to 24 months..." |
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More..... |
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Proposed amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act |
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"Following the recent ruling by the Fatwa
Committee of MUIS that Muslims can be included under the Human Organ
Transplant Act (HOTA), the Ministry of Health intends to amend HOTA to
improve the access of Muslim patients to donated organs... |
|
"MOH proposes to amend the HOTA to include,
upon death, Muslims who are Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents
(PR) between the ages of 21 and 60 years, who are of sound mind, and who
have not opted out... |
|
"The inclusion of Muslims under HOTA is
expected to provide up to five additional organ donors per year
(yielding up to 10 kidneys, 10 corneas, 5 livers and 5 hearts)..." |
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More..... |
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Significant changes to the CPF system |
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"By 2012, we will require employers to offer re-employment to workers
reaching 62, up to age 65, and eventually to 67. This change will
precede the raising of the Draw Down Age (DDA). By 2012, employers
will be required to offer re-employment up to age 65 but the DDA to
65 will only be effected in 2018 – a significant time lag to help
workers and employers adjust... |
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"1% additional bonus interest will be
paid on the first $60,000 in a CPF member's combined accounts, with not more than
$20,000 from the OA accounts. This will enhance CPF's existing
risk-free framework... |
|
"While our employment rates are among the highest in the world, our
residents are also among the longest living. The present DDA of 62
years is hence too early and results in the majority of members
prematurely depleting their savings. Thus, we will do the following: a.
progressively raise draw down age.. |
|
"Even after changes to DDA, there will be those who live longer than
85. We want to ensure that they have a stream of income for life. The Government will therefore be looking at making annuities
compulsory for members to protect them against outliving their
retirement savings... |
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More..... |
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New dog licensing rules from 1 Sep 2007 |
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"All licensed dogs must be
microchipped with an ISO compliant microchip. |
|
"Dogs that were licensed before 1 Sep
07 will be exempted from the requirement. However, owners of such
dogs are strongly encouraged to have their dogs microchipped for
better traceability... |
|
"Under the new Rules1, the
annual licence fee for all unsterilised dogs (both male and
female) is $70 while the licence fee for sterilised dogs is
$14..." |
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More..... |
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Special and Express courses at secondary schools to
merge |
|
"Starting from the Secondary One students in
2008, the Special and Express Courses will be merged into the "Express
Course"... |
|
"For the 2007 Secondary 1 cohort, there are
4,466 Express Course students and 4,410 Special Course students offering
HMTL. |
|
"In addition, some schools have placed
Special and Express Course students in the same classes. Thus, there is
now little distinction between Special and Express students in secondary
schools..." |
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More..... |
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Online submission of school choices for Sec 1 posting |
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"Parents of Primary 6 pupils will have an
additional channel of submitting their child’s school choices for the
Secondary One posting exercise at the end of this year. |
|
"The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be
introducing a new Internet System to make it more convenient for parents
to be able to submit their child’s Secondary One school choices online. |
|
"The new Internet System will also give
parents the option of checking their child’s Secondary One posting
results online... |
|
"Parents who wish to use hardcopy forms
to submit their child’s school options to the primary school can
still do so. The Secondary One posting exercise procedures remains
unchanged..." |
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More..... |
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Rehabilitation regime for first and second-time
abusers of cannabis and cocaine |
|
"The aim
of the treatment and rehabilitation regime is to give
first and second time abusers a chance at
rehabilitation without the stigmatisation of a
criminal record... |
|
"Recalcitrant abusers with two previous records for
consumption of cannabis or cocaine or that of opiates,
synthetic drugs or buprenorphine who are arrested
again for the consumption of any of these drugs would
be liable for long term imprisonment under the Long
Term (LT) Imprisonment Regime, if convicted..." |
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More..... |
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|
Revision of Development Charge (DC) |
|
"The DC was lowered from 70% to 50% in
1985 to avoid eroding the share of value enhancement
that accrued to developers in a declining market. |
|
"With the current buoyant property
market, the converse is true. Thus, the Government has
decided to reinstate the DC to its original rate at
70%..." |
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More..... |
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Passports (Amendment) Bill passed |
|
"Thus, this Bill repeals the existing Act, and
re-enacts a new Passports Act which introduces measures against
the abuse and misuse of Singapore passports and travel documents,
as well as foreign travel documents... |
|
"Clause 45 of the Bill makes it compulsory for
Singaporeans, or a person who has parental responsibility for a
Singaporean aged 16 and below, to report the loss or theft of a
passport within 14 days when he first knows of the fact... |
|
"Clause 23 of the Bill allows the Controller to refuse passports to
persons for law enforcement reasons, such as to persons who have
been placed under supervision under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This
will ensure that they do not indulge in drug-related activities
overseas. Others who may be refused passports include those who
are the subject of warrants of arrest issued for seizeable
offences... |
|
"A person who is found guilty of giving away his Singapore
passport or travel document and is reckless as to whether it will
be misused by another person for travel or for identification
purposes will face a fine of up to $5,000, a jail term of up to
three years, or both..." |
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More..... |
|
-
Licence needed for 15 chemicals (explosive precursors) in
Singapore
|
Phasing out of temporary registered doctors for
service provision |
|
"Only temporary medical registration for service provision is being
phased out by 31 Dec 2007. |
|
"Existing temporary registered doctors brought in as service providers
before 1 Jan 2008 can still continue to work here until they either
become conditionally registered (acquired recognized postgraduate
qualifications) or they have completed their 4-6 years of service in
Singapore..." |
|
More..... |
|
|
Tightening of security of Non-Biometric Passports |
|
"ICA will be
tightening the security of non-biometric passports by adopting the same
security measures as those implemented on the Singapore biometric
passport (BioPass). |
|
"Hence, with effect from 1 September 2007
(Saturday), photo update services for non-biometric passports will no
longer be available. Non-biometric passport holders who no longer
resemble their passport photo are advised to update their photos before
1 September 2007... |
|
More..... |
|
|
MAS and SGX to oversee corporate governance for listed companies |
|
Oversight of corporate governance of listed
companies will be transferred from the Council of Corporate Disclosure
and Governance (CCDG)[1] to the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) with effect from 1
September 2007... |
|
The Code of Corporate Governance will
continue to be implemented through the SGX Listing Rules via the “comply
or explain” approach[2], as is currently the practice... |
|
More..... |
|
|
MOE Selects First Five FutureSchools@Singapore |
|
From 2008, students at Canberra Primary
School, Crescent Girls’ School, Jurong Secondary and Hwa Chong
Institution can look forward to even more innovative teaching methods
and engaging lessons – made possible through more widespread use of
Information and Communications Technology (ICT). |
|
"These four schools will join a new primary
school, Beacon Primary School, as the pioneer FutureSchools@Singapore..." |
|
More..... |
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