Call it deja vu, but for the second time in three years, it literally rained on a WTA Finals match involving Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
In 2014, an afternoon downpour caused water to drip onto the court during their quarter-final defeat by Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova.
On Saturday, they were trailing by a set in the semi-final against Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza when water dripped from the roof, following heavy rain.
Undeterred, they bounced back to win and progressed to the final, which they won against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova yesterday.
The Singapore Sports Hub told The New Paper it would look into the matter to prevent a repeat incident.
Chin Sau Ho, Singapore Sports Hub senior director for corporate communications and stakeholder management, said: "Due to heavy rainfall, water found its way from the roof onto the field of play at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
"Measures taken since previous tournaments include resealing affected roof joints and adding additional membranes; reinforcement activity was also carried out prior to and during the current tournament.
"These have proven effective until we encountered the storm yesterday.
"We will be conducting a thorough investigation into the matter and working with the relevant parties to assess next steps in ensuring the viability and integrity of the roof at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which has been a national icon since 1989."
davidlee@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Oct 31, 2016.
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A Singapore artist who took a blood oath last Friday to express his disappointment at not being able to perform his work in the Singapore Biennale had originally been amenable to its presentation as a static display of an intended performance piece, says the biennale's organiser, the Singapore Art Museum.
The work, Unwalked Boundaries, by multidisciplinary artist S. Chandrasekaran is presented in the biennale, which opened last Thursday, as an installation of materials for a performance piece he had intended to carry out - a walk in the Bras Basah-Bugis area to remember the forgotten stories of Indian convicts who were transported to British colonial Singapore in the 1800s to serve their sentence as manual labourers, constructing, among other things, buildings in the Bras Basah area.
The 57-year-old artist had intended to walk with pieces of ice attached to his body using hooks and wearing a metal headband inscribed with his identity card number, to personify and pay homage to the 19th-century Indian convicts.
The installation exhibited at the Singapore Art Museum's annexe building in Queen Street includes the metal headband, a set of six hooks and a map of the walking route etched onto ceramic slabs.
Chandrasekaran was among a longlist of artists whom the biennale's curators had invited to submit a proposal for the exhibition because their artistic practice resonated with the biennale's explorations of the complex social, political, geographical and historical relationships shared by people and places in Asia.
The artist is known for performances that test the physical limits of the body to raise questions about an individual's ethnic, religious and national identity.
The museum's head of marketing communications and international relations, Ms Lynn Sim, told The Straits Times that the artist first sent in a proposal in March that later evolved into the intended performance, which was submitted in May.
The biennale's associate curator Michael Lee, who curated the artist's work, said: "During our conversations, we realised that his proposed performance may be perceived as resembling religious rituals such as the Thaipusam, so we gave the artist feedback that this might be taken as offensive by certain segments of the community."
Ms Sim said the biennale curatorial team had consulted the biennale's advisory committee, which includes eminent Singapore curators T.K. Sabapathy, June Yap and Ahmad Mashadi; and, separately, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, whose Hindu Advisory Board gave feedback about the religious sensitivities of the proposed artwork.
She said that when the feedback was shared with the artist at a meeting on July 4, as part of the curatorial process where the biennale's curators discuss with participating artists how best to present their works in the show, he "initially felt that he did not want to adapt the artwork any further" and said that he may consider withdrawing from the show.
However, after further discussions at the same meeting with the biennale's curators and creative director, Dr Susie Lingham, "the artist expressed that he was amenable to the development of an alternative artwork proposal for the biennale that would still address the original artwork's subject matter and also maintain the concept of the initial work", said Ms Sim.
He submitted the revised proposal for Unwalked Boundaries on July 7.
Mr Lee said: "My curatorial process with Chandra(sekaran) has been enriching and enjoyable as we worked together with the rest of the curatorial team to explore ways to present his idea with conceptual integrity."
However, at the biennale's opening weekend artist talks where artists share informally with visitors in the galleries about their works, Chandrasekaran took a blood oath.
A report by Today newspaper quoted the artist as saying: "I'm making a blood oath today, that I will never perform in Singapore until this is performed. And every day I will mark my skin, a scar, until I (get to) perform. This is my oath."
Ms Sim said the museum's staff offered the artist first aid to stop the bleeding, but he refused help.
When asked by The Straits Times if he has continued to abide by the oath he took, he declined to comment. He also did not respond to questions about the curatorial process or why he chose to take a blood oath at the artist talk.
Ms Sim said the biennale's curators reached out to the artist after his talk to have a discussion and a meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
This article was first published on Oct 31, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
<p>A Singapore artist who took a blood oath last Friday to express his disappointment at not being able to perform his work in the Singapore Biennale had originally been amenable to its presentation as a static display of an intended performance piece, says the biennale's organiser, the Singapore Art Museum.</p>
A fan of singer JJ Lin died in an apparent suicide following suspected cyber-bullying.
The 27-year-old Taiwanese fan, surnamed Wu, hanged herself in the bathroom of a Taipei hotel last Thursday. She was dressed in red.
Wu, from Kaoshiung, left a note written in blood, in which she told another fan of Lin's, "Go to hell Huang", giving the woman's full name.
She also posted the letter on Facebook, which led the police to trace her to the hotel and find her body. On Facebook, she told Huang that she "should always remember how you took away a life with several keystrokes".
JJ Lin 'marries' Ayumi Hamasaki in new music video
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JJ Lin rips pants while imitating Michael Jackson on stage
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Police said Wu had a tiff with Huang, who is also a JJ Lin fan and shared the dead woman's flat.
Reports said that, from Wu's Facebook posts, the two appeared to have had a tiff over someone surnamed Lin.
Wu was said to have been aggrieved that Huang had posted pixellated selfies which Wu had taken at Lin's house, threatening to unveil them.
Wu is said to be a constant supporter at JJ Lin's concerts and had even booked tickets to catch him in Shanghai next month and in Singapore in December.
Apple Daily said the singer, through his manager, expressed his "grief and pain" over Wu's death. The manager declined further comment, citing respect for Wu's family and her privacy.
JJ Lin, 35, was linked romantically last year to a woman dubbed "Kaohsiung girl". Wu was not that girl, Apple said, citing a record company source.
JJ Lin teams up with Apple's Tim Cook to promote GarageBand
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This article was first published on Oct 31, 2016.
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After a two year hiatus, cable-skiing has made a return to Singapore.
Under a new management, Singapore Wake Park - the only cable-wakeboarding park here - reopened at East Coast Park over last weekend, it said in a statement today.
Cable-wakeboarding is water skiing or wakeboarding using the pull of a cable system that runs continuously around the lagoon in the park.
The new facility features state-of-the-art cable systems designed for beginners as well as for experienced wakeboard enthusiasts.
It also has a cafe and a bar, from where you can watch the action.
Taking over from the previous management SKI360 is the Island Lifestyle Group Private Limited. The company has partnered up with Sesitec, a German company renowned for designing and building cable systems worldwide.
A two-tower system is designed with safety in mind for novices, including children as young as six years and seniors. Only one rider can participate each time, which allows the instructor to pay attention on the individual.
The speed can gather slowly from 0 km/h to 25 km/h, which helps the rider to anticipate the pull of the cable.
Experienced riders can enjoy more thrills with a new full-sized cable system with six towers and six carriers.
It uses advanced sensor technology to ensure reliable interaction among all components of the system. Floating walkways on the edges of the lagoon both serve as wave breakers for a smoother riding experience, as well as platforms for riders to climb on and walk safely back to the starting docks.
Riders can practise their tricks and hang-time in the air on the new obstacles designed by UNIT Parktech. Currently being built, they would be ready by the end of the year.
Riders can also kneeboard or try out different options depending on their skill level.
Floodlights will illuminate the area at night so that riders can enjoy themselves till 10pm daily.
For more information, visit: http://www.singaporewakepark.com
The still waters at East Coast Lagoon rippled to life again last Saturday evening, after close to two years of dormancy.
A new cable-ski operator, Singapore Wake Park, has taken over the 8,724 sq m space in East Coast Park. The Straits Times understands that the previous operator, SKI360 Degree, lost the tender to renew its lease to the new player, which is run by recreation and hospitality company Island Lifestyle Group.
The original SKI360 Degree first opened in 2006 and was Singapore's only cable-ski park. In such parks, wakeboarders or water-skiers are pulled by an electrically driven overhead cable system.
The other option is to go on the open waters and be pulled by a boat and there are a handful of such operators in Singapore.
The new player has made some big changes in rebuilding the cable-ski park, which is nestled between the East Coast Lagoon Food Village and East Coast Seafood Centre. There are now two beginner systems, apart from a full-sized cable system for experienced riders.
"The full-sized system can be scary for newbies as it is constantly running and doesn't slow down. They might watch the experts ride smoothly and feel intimidated," explains the company's director Ekanaga Hatta, better known as Long.
Mr Hatta, 43, runs the Batam Cable-Ski Park on the nearby island too.
The systems run at a maximum speed of 31kmh, but the beginner versions are operator-controlled, meaning that the speed of the cable is adjustable. Newbies will start with a comfortable speed of about 20kmh before progressing to the maximum once they learn to stand.
Only one rider can head into the waters at any one time compared with the full-sized system, which can take up to six. An instructor will be present to guide the watersport novices and there will be a briefing even before they step on the boards.
Mr Hatta reveals that $4.5 million was pumped into the establishment.
Patrons need to be six and above to hit the waters and beginners start by learning to stand on the wakeboard. Once they can, they learn to execute turns. Eventually, they can progress to the full-sized system and do a complete round of the lagoon.
Later this year, obstacles will be added to inject more thrills for riders.
At the park, patrons can wakeboard, kneeboard and wakeskate, where the rider is not bound to the board. They can also waterski.
Equipment as well as compulsory helmets and life vests are provided.
Rates start from $40 an hour on a weekday.
Within the premises, there is Coastal Rhythm, a cafe-bar serving hearty Western and local fare as well as booze.
Although Island Lifestyle Group was awarded the tender in late December 2014, it took some time to gain all the necessary approvals to meet guidelines from various authorities.
Before it opened, the company had been regularly updating its close to 3,000 followers on its Facebook page since October last year.
Ardent wakeboarder Joanne Yan, 29, is stoked about the much-awaited opening. "I have been looking forward to the park's opening as it's been closed for a while now and there isn't any other cable-ski place," she says. The civil servant used to frequent the park when it was run by the previous operator and regularly heads to the Batam Cable-Ski Park.
Ms Joyce Chin, a mother of two girls aged 10 and 12, is willing to allow her children to try wakeboarding, with the beginner systems in place.
"We used to walk past, but thought it looked very professional," says the 47-year-old head of supply chain at a furnishings company. "At this new park with the beginner systems, I feel more settled about letting my kids try the watersport."
VISIT IT / SINGAPORE WAKE PARK
WHERE: 1206A East Coast Parkway
OPEN: 10am to 10pm (weekdays); 9am to 10pm (weekends and public holidays)
ADMISSION: From $40 an hour on weekdays and $60 an hour on weekends
Much like most of Singapore's native wildlife, animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) is hard to spot but active, Acres founder and chief executive Louis Ng says.
My Paper speaks to the 38-year-old father of one about the country's native wildlife, the problem of animal smuggling and a possible coalition of animal groups here.
How has your move into politics (as MP for Nee Soon GRC) affected your time with Acres?
(My time) is split into four now. Politics, town council, Acres and my family.
The focus for Acres is to really groom the next generation of leaders. I've run it for 15 years now as CEO.
What does Acres do?
We're most popular now for our 24/7 rescue work.
But more importantly, we also focus on tackling wildlife crime through our wildlife investigation team. They do a lot of undercover work, a lot of inspections or undercover surveys of pet shops. We're out on our roadshows as well.
What is your stand on animals in zoos?
I think there is some use.
We're not against zoos or animals in captivity (for conservation) but we're against certain practices like elephant rides, photography sessions, dolphin contact sessions. But TripAdvisor taking that very strong stand and not selling tickets (to cruel wildlife attractions) now, that's going to be crucial.
There are good zoos and bad zoos.
What about the Singapore Zoo?
After all these years of campaigning, we are more towards a good zoo. We've stopped the elephant rides, the chimp photography, animal shows with circus-style tricks, they've agreed to phase out the keeping of Arctic animals.
How prevalent is the smuggling problem here?
It's statistically on the decline. When Acres started in 2001, you could go to the pet shop and buy star tortoises. And this is a jailable offence.
The first undercover we did for bear bile, we found 73.5 per cent of shops selling. We found tiger penis, tiger bone openly on sale. You will not find that now.
What's coming up in Acres?
We're focusing on two roadshows next year (for awareness): Firstly, animal sentience, showing that animals are like us - they have feelings, friends and families - and a whole roadshow in the second half of the year about our native wildlife.
What about NGOs like Voices for Animals which are worried about rising rental costs?
They will have to raise the funds. Ultimately, a charity has to raise its own dollars and cents. During a forum, somebody said the Government should just fund it. But you know we don't even build our own kidney dialysis centre.
If you want the Government to fund everything, that will never happen, because where will we draw the line?
Have you ever considered a coalition among animal groups in Singapore?
I think they submitted a proposal to the Ministry of National Development more than a year ago, all the animal groups coming together to request (unsuccessfully) for land. Part of the issue was that they requested for too much land.
Are you still working towards a shared space for animal groups?
Yes. It will take some time.
What is the status of the Yishun cat killings?
One guy was convicted. There have been other (suspects) but every lead has been investigated. It's hard to get evidence. If you know that area (has a) camera, (you won't) kill the cat there. We're going to put out more police cameras, not just to tackle cat killing, but it will also have that knock-on effect.
Getting around will now be much easier for Punggol residents.
The town's 8.8km bicycle network was unveiled yesterday after construction work started in June last year, making it the seventh town here to have its own cycling network.
The off-road cycling paths will give residents a seamless route from their homes to train stations, schools and other amenities. They also link up to Sengkang via the Punggol Park Connector Network.
Senior Minister of State for Transport Ng Chee Meng said at the unveiling ceremony at Punggol 21 Community Club that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has also been beefing up the availability of bicycle parking.
There are now about 325 parking lots at Punggol MRT for residents, and Mr Ng, who is also a Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP, has asked the LTA to look into providing bicycle racks at LRT stations.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MPs Janil Puthucheary and Sun Xueling were also present at the ceremony.
Mr Ng added that the Round Island Route, a 150km continuous green trail that links to Pasir Ris, Changi Bay and Gardens by the Bay East, will also pass through Punggol.
"With these improvements to cycling connectivity, Punggol residents will find it easier to get around without driving, and this is critical in supporting our vision of a car-lite Singapore," he said.
Jurong Lake will also get a bicycle network of its own next year.
Cycling path networks were completed in Yishun last year and Changi-Simei this year.
HONG KONG - Singapore companies, highly exposed to slowing global trade and a lacklustre commodity market, face a financing scramble in 2017, as more than US$12 billion of their bonds falls due and banks grow wary of lending to the resources sector.
That could trigger more blood-letting in a market that has already seen some high-profile corporate defaults, such as oil services firm Swiber Holdings, which hit the skids in July and went into judicial management this month.
It has also seen an increase in the number of bond issuers trying to renegotiate the terms of their credit to stay afloat, a disturbing signal in a market skewed to retail buyers and smaller issues subject to light scrutiny.
Corporate leverage has risen to increasingly risky levels, according to credit analysts and investors, while banks are becoming more circumspect about extending financing as the quality of their loan books causes concern.
Between now and the end of 2017, according to Reuters data, US$12.4 billion of bonds falls due, but corporate balance sheets in the city state are looking strained.
A Reuters study of 228 non-financial companies' half-year earnings shows that 74 had net debt more than five times their core profit, a level that usually prompts concern among credit analysts, and more than a third of that group were at least twice that level.
"We had not seen Singapore dollar corporate defaults since 2009, but suddenly we see a pick-up in defaults in 2015-2016. This is a warning sign about a refinancing confidence crisis across many sectors, not just commodity-related ones," said Raymond Chia, Head of Credit Research for Asia ex-Japan at Schroders Investment Management.
LIGHT SCRUTINY
The structure of Singapore's capital markets has left them particularly vulnerable as global trade cools and Chinese growth slows. Commodities have been a mainstay after a frothy 2013 and 2014, and private banking has loomed large, fuelling smaller bond deals.
In 2014, private banks accounted for almost half of investments into Singapore dollar corporate debt, a central bank report said last year.
Their participation has helped encourage smaller issues that are not assessed by credit rating agencies and yet are targeted at private wealth investors, analysts say.
"Their bond issues are also mostly unrated, so the layer of scrutiny provided by rating agencies is missing. Many of these deals were mispriced: they priced like investment grade even though they had high-yield profiles," said Harsh Agarwal, Head of Asia Credit Research at Deutsche Bank.
That is now changing - at considerable cost for firms.
Property firm Oxley Holdings, whose short-term debt dwarfs its cash balance, according to its latest accounts, saw yields on its bonds due 2019 jump 220 basis points to 7.5 per cent in the past quarter.
And banks, under pressure to increase provisions for bad loans, are pulling back from indebted sectors like real estate, commodities and oil and gas, which dominate Singapore's outstanding S$53 billion ($38 billion) of local currency corporate bonds.
Non-performing loans have risen at all Singapore's three banks in the latest quarterly results, reflecting a decline in loan quality across sectors.
"In the absence of further bank support, refinancing this debt may prove difficult, potentially leading to more defaults over the next year," said Devinda Paranathanthri at UBS Wealth Management, which estimates S$18 billion of local currency denominated bonds are coming due over the next 18 months. Over a quarter are from sectors facing structural headwinds.
The latest sign of strain has been an increase in borrowers asking bondholders to cut them some slack.
Ezra Holdings, Rickmers Maritime, Otto Marine and Marco Polo Marine are just some of the companies that sought bondholder consent this year to loosen the conditions, or covenants, attached to their loans.
"It will continue to be busy, but the question is whether loosening covenants will be adequate to give these companies the lifeline that they need," said Kevin Wong, Singapore-based partner with law firm Linklaters.
"There is a risk these consent solicitations may lead to full-blown debt restructurings."
Ang Mo Kio residents will welcome a familiar site back to their neighbourhood today when the market at Block 453A reopens after a six-month revamp. But it may not be a happy opening day for many stallholders.
Tenants of Chong Boon Market in Avenue 10 find their new stalls too narrow, with a fishmonger lamenting that she has to "do a crab-walk" to get behind the counter.
They also claim that the two weeks they were given to prepare for the reopening of the 37-year-old market was too short.
Mr Wee Lay Keong, 40, a second-generation chicken seller, said he found out how narrow his two stalls were only when he was handed the keys on Oct 15.
The distance from the storefront to the back is only about 1.5m, compared with 2.4m before the revamp, he said.
A chiller for his chickens takes up about 1.2m, leaving him with just about 30cm of space to move about behind it.
"I don't even have enough space to chop my chickens," added Mr Wee, pointing to a row of pipes at the back of the stall. "When I chop, my arm will hit the pipes."
Madam Linda Kwok, 56, a fishmonger of nearly 20 years at the market, had to shave off about 25cm of the table on which her fish are displayed, so that she can fit behind it.
"I have to walk sideways, like a crab, just to enter my stall," she said.
Stallholders noted that tenants of a nearby market at Block 409 which also underwent a revamp were given about a month to prepare for its reopening, compared with the two weeks for Chong Boon Market tenants.
"It's too little time. We need time to install shutters, put up tables and get permits for the electricity and water supply," said a fruit seller who declined to be named.
This could mean that not all the stalls will be open today, she added.
When asked about the issues raised by stallholders, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said it has received feedback from two stallholders about the size of their stalls. But both their stalls were actually bigger after the renovation.
NEA added that the size of the stalls prior to the revamp was 3 sq m. Now, they range between 4.5 sq m and 5.4 sq m.
While stallholders concur - they noted that the stalls are longer - they said the stalls are not deep enough for them to carry out their business properly.
Now, they are hoping the authorities will allow them to place goods outside their stalls, even though this may obstruct walkways.
Fruit sellers said they are not allowed to hang bunches of bananas outside their stalls, a rule that they hope will be relaxed.
Mr Wee, whose chiller juts out slightly from the edge of one of his stalls, said: "I hope the authorities will 'close one eye' and let it pass."
This article was first published on Nov 01, 2016.
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Bank robbery suspect David James Roach, 27, is still being held in Thailand, as efforts by the authorities to repatriate him to Singapore have been at a standstill for at least two months.
Roach, a Canadian national, is accused of robbing the Standard Chartered Bank in Holland Village on July 7.
He allegedly handed the teller a note with his demands, before fleeing to Bangkok on the same day with about $30,000 in cash.
In response to media queries, a police spokesman said Singapore remains in touch with the Thai government to repatriate Roach.
The spokesman said this includes the return of evidence that was seized from him.
The authorities declined to give details of ongoing negotiations between the two countries, which do not have an extradition treaty.
In August, the Attorney- General's Office in Bangkok reportedly rejected Singapore's request to extradite Roach, saying it was "not in the position to consider it".
Roach has been held at Bangkok's immigration detention centre since his arrest on July 10 at a backpackers' hostel.
He was found with 700,000 baht (S$28,000) in cash, as well as a notebook detailing his escape plan, which included stopovers in Chiang Mai and Dubai.
The Thai authorities cancelled his right of stay in the country after Singapore issued a warrant for his arrest.
But as an immigration offender, Roach would be deported back to Canada if he cannot be extradited.
Thai immigration police chief Nathathorn Prousoontorn had previously said the Canadian government was looking to have Roach deported back home.
Criminal lawyer Amolat Singh noted a possible complication could be that "Canada may want him handed over to them instead".
In addition, "Thailand may not consider the evidence (to extradite Roach) as convincing or compelling enough", he said.
Roach had left his home in eastern Canada to backpack across the world about a year ago, and was apparently on his first visit to Singapore when he allegedly carried out the first successful bank robbery here in more than a decade.
This article was first published on Nov 01, 2016.
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The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) yesterday announced that it will have two new schools - for humanities, and social sciences - next August.
Its current School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) will be split into two - the School of Humanities (SOH) and School of Social Sciences (SSS) - to accommodate more programmes and inter-disciplinary research.
They will occupy the same premises as the current school.
Existing programmes such as Chinese, English, history, linguistics and multilingual studies, and philosophy will come under the SOH, while the SSS will house economics, psychology, public policy and global affairs, and sociology.
Students can look forward to new programmes such as science, technology and society, and health and society, as well as the opportunity to read electives from other programmes and institutes within NTU, including the National Institute of Education (NIE) and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
While acknowledging NTU's reputation as a science and technology varsity, NTU president Bertil Andersson emphasised the importance of humanities and social sciences in developing "vibrant, creative societies".
"Creative thinking is also needed for truly excellent scientists, engineers, mathematicians and other professionals who can solve complex problems by looking beyond their own fields of expertise."
The new schools will offer the same admission and academic structure as HSS, with four-year direct honours bachelor's programmes.
There will also be new master's programmes and an expansion of inter-disciplinary research into areas such as gerontology, which involves social science, design, engineering and medicine.
A spokesman for NTU said it will release more information on the new programmes at a later date.
HSS was established in 2004 and has more than 3,700 students today. Professor Alan Chan, dean of NTU's College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, said the growth of HSS has "reached a point where it has outgrown its current structure" put in place more than a decade ago.
"The new schools will enable NTU to fulfil the evolving educational needs and aspirations of our students."
NIE don Jason Tan said: "The problems that modern societies face require inter-disciplinary approaches, so it's not enough to have just scientific and technical knowledge, but it's also important for people to understand how societies work, how human beings function."
Earlier this year, NTU expanded its double-major offerings which combine arts, social science subjects and business.
This article was first published on Nov 01, 2016.
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Madam Loh Ngiuk Lan and her family were going to lunch when they discovered that the lift to the second-floor restaurant was not working.
They were dismayed: Madam Loh's 85-year-old mother-in-law uses a wheelchair and would not be able to make it up the stairs.
Luckily, a squadron of soldiers saved the day.
About 40 soldiers from Squadron 706 of the Air Power Generation Command were gathered at Swatow Seafood Restaurant in Toa Payoh that day, on Oct 8, for their squadron anniversary.
Master Sergeant Johan Paramasivan, 30, told The Straits Times that the Loh family had first approached them to ask how to get up to the second floor, but they later found that the lift was not working.
MSG Johan said they heard Madam Loh's mother-in-law say she will wait downstairs while her family ate.
"We felt bad that grandma wanted to wait downstairs, so we offered to help," he said.
With two men in front, two by the side and two at the back, they turned the wheelchair into a sedan chair and hoisted the senior citizen up to the second floor.
The group of six included two regular servicemen - MSG Johan and Third Sergeant Sukhdial Singh - and four full-time national servicemen - lance corporals Wong Kai Xiong and Javier Teo, and privates Malcolm Ng and Ko Kai Sheng.
They provide ground logistics and medical operations in support of the air force.
After the Loh family had lunch, they called upon the six soldiers to help carry Madam Loh's mother-in-law downstairs.
"They thanked us and insisted on writing to Mindef," said MSG Johan. After some persuasion, the six provided Madam Loh with their names.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen shared the story on Facebook yesterday, with a photo of Madam Loh's letter dated Oct 14.
Said Dr Ng: "Earlier this month, six servicemen from the Republic of Singapore Air Force carried Madam Loh's 85-year-old mother-in-law up the stairs to Swatow Seafood Restaurant when the lift was not working. She later wrote in to commend them."
This article was first published on Nov 01, 2016.
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Singaporeans who had previously signed up for the Government's GST Voucher scheme will receive an extra one-off payout of up to $200 each by Nov 5.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement today (Nov 1) that a total of $280 million will be distributed to eligible recipients under the one-off GST Voucher-Cash Special Payment. The payout follows the regular GST Voucher of up to $300 cash given to about 1.3 million Singaporeans in August.
The additional $200 was announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in his Budget 2016 earlier this year.
The ministry also reminded Singaporeans who are eligible for the GST Voucher - Cash/Medisave but have yet to sign up to do so by Dec 31 this year.
They would have already received a letter in June, informing them of the benefits, MOF said. A reminder letter will be sent to them early this month.
Eligible recipients can sign up at the GST voucher website with their SingPass.
TNP observes e-bikers in Geylang: Many flout rules, some even ride against traffic.
Riding against traffic on one-way roads, weaving in between vehicles, riding on pedestrian crossings while honking at pedestrians, and riding mostly without helmets.
This was how more than 20 people behaved on their e-bikes in Geylang in the space of five hours yesterday.
The New Paper observed their reckless behaviour on Sims Avenue and Geylang Road between Guillemard Road and Aljunied Road from around noon to 5pm.
It did not take long for the first reckless e-biker to be seen. The bulk of e-bikers who flouted the rules appeared around lunchtime. Most of these riders were middle-aged men, and only a handful wore helmets.
Sims Avenue and Geylang Road were clogged with traffic, including heavy vehicles, but that did not deter some e-bikers from riding on the central lanes, behaving as if they were riding motorcycles.
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The more daring ones even rode against the flow of traffic on these two multi-lane thoroughfares. TNP saw more than five such bikers doing so, and even weaving in between vehicles.
One was seen riding against the flow of traffic along Sims Avenue, and then making a right turn into a small lane as a car was coming out.
Another e-biker even rode on a pedestrian crossing and honked at pedestrians as he sped up to them. They stepped aside to let him pass.
An e-biker cutting across lanes as he rides against traffic. Photo: The New Paper
CONCERN
Mr Ng Soo Hock, 69, who was in Geylang for a renovation job, told TNP: "These people (e-bikers who ride recklessly) are treating their lives as a joke."
He added that an e-biker once cut across the road diagonally in front of his car. He managed to avoid hitting the e-biker, but the incident caused him much concern.
E-bikers and users of personal mobility devices (PMD) have been in the news in recent months after some of them were involved in high-profile accidents.
In the latest accident at West Coast Highway last Thursday night, two e-bikers were killed after they were hit from behind by a trailer.
Their friend, who escaped with injuries, was discharged from hospital on Saturday.
While details of how the accident occurred are unclear, some netizens have been relating their experiences with reckless e-bikers on the roads.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) regulations, introduced last December, state that every e-biker must ride as close as possible to the left side of the road.
E-bikes, also known as power-assisted bikes (PAB), must also be no heavier than 20kg, and must have a maximum device speed of 25kmh.
Riding without a helmet on roads and against the flow of traffic are also disallowed.
Fines for first-time offenders were raised from $100 to $300.
Despite these rules, some e-bikes are illegally modified to make them faster than 25kmh. Modifying an e-bike to increase its maximum speed by installing more powerful engines or throttles is also illegal.
A sales assistant at an e-bike shop, who wanted to be known only as "Ah Gong", told TNP yesterday that he could modify e-bikes to be as fast as 40kmh, 15kmh above the speed limit set by the LTA.
He also said that most of the customers who asked him to modify their e-bikes were under the age of 20.
An e-biker in the bus lane. Photo: The New Paper
YOUNG RIDERS
Madam Ling Chwe Yeong, 63, who lives in Sims Drive in Geylang and works at a seafood stall in Lorong 17, told TNP that many young people ride their e-bikes in the area at night.
She said in Mandarin: "At about 3am, when I end my shift, there will be a whole group of young people playing around with their e-bikes.
"I don't dare to go near them as they ride very fast."
Two e-bike shops told TNP that buyers are required to verify their age because an e-bike rider has to be at least 16 years old.
Employees at another e-bike shop said the shop sells only LTA-approved e-bicycles.
An e-bike shop owner also told TNP that modifications to make e-bikes go faster are increasingly being done by third parties and not at e-bike shops.
leeganjp@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on November 1, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - Many people in Singapore would have taken part in at least one marathon but how about an online one?
For the first time ever, Singapore Press Holdings Magazines' Men's Health is organising an online ultra-running challenge that aims to clock 100,000 km in two months.
According to the magazine, participants need to clock in the distance for the Men's Health Virtual Run with their devices during their daily run routines or at running events.
If you're not psyched up to take part, how does $10,000 worth of lucky draw prizes sound?
Besides that, participants can redeem other prizes such as Asics vouchers, spa treatments and golf sessions after they hit certain distances and take part in various social media challenges.
Runners will receive rewards as they accrue mileage during the challenge. There are four key milestones - 5km, 21km, 42km and 100km - that each participant can reach.
Sign-up rewards worth $128 are also given to each participant and no registration fee is required.
Pang Lee Cheng, General Manager of SPH Magazines, said: "The Men's Health Virtual Run aims to add a refreshing and healthy aspect to a participant's lifestyle. It is also a product resulting from a shared belief with our sponsors, that in this social media age, technology is a core part of fitness."
Celebrities who will be participating include Allan Wu, Shan Wee, Cheryl Miles, Shaun Tupaz and Elliott Danker.
The run, which will take place from Nov 1 to Dec 1 this year, is themed "Run Your Own Race, At Your Own Pace, In Your Own Time" and is organised in collaboration with sports brand Asics and global running app RunKeeper.
For more information, visit http://www.menshealth.com.sg/vr.
The labour movement will launch a department next year to identify work opportunities of the future to help better match workers to up-and-coming jobs.
From Jan 1, it will open a Future Jobs, Skills and Training department to gather data on specific companies and industries where new investments and jobs will be over a three-year timeframe.
It will work with unions, professional associations, government agencies, consultancies and educational institutes to identify these opportunities, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay yesterday.
The research will then be disseminated to training providers and institutes of higher learning where it can be used to develop more relevant skills and training courses for Singaporeans.
The NTUC Education and Training Fund can be used to support training programmes if national funding is not available, said Mr Tay, who will head the new department.
The first five sectors the unit will start pilot projects in by 2019 are financial services, infocomm technology and media, precision engineering, healthcare and education, said Mr Tay, who also heads the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower.
He added that ongoing work in this area is mainly in matching people who are unemployed with available jobs, but the new department will be more forward-looking.
"Everybody is vulnerable because of the rate of job obsolescence," Mr Tay said at a media briefing about the initiative.
"We have lots of jobs but how we can minimise the mismatch of people to jobs will be a challenge for a long time to come."
Failures in governance at Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) exposed millions of dollars in public funds to improper use and application, and could amount to criminal conduct if deliberate, independent auditor KPMG said in a report on the town council's accounts released yesterday.
Payments with a value of at least $23 million were approved by town council members with a conflict of interest, raising questions on whether they were fully justified.
Improper payments totalling some $1.5 million were also identified, of which at least $600,000 ought to be recovered, KPMG added.
The 68-page report KPMG submitted to AHTC and the Housing Board on Monday detailed how the Workers' Party-run town council, formerly known as Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council was exposed to serious conflicts of interest.
The direct owners of two companies appointed as its managing agent, as well as providers of essential maintenance services, held key management and financial control positions in the town council at the same time.
The two companies are FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) and FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI).
For instance, six shareholders of FMSS, which from 2011 to 2015 was engaged by the town council to be its managing agent and provider of essential maintenance services, held various positions in the town council during that period, including the posts of secretary, general manager and finance manager.
This meant that FMSS shareholders working in the town council effectively approved and made payments to themselves when they paid FMSS, said KPMG. Payments totalling $23,299,483 were approved by people in conflicting positions, it added.
The KPMG report is part of its ongoing audit of AHTC following lapses in governance flagged by its own auditors as well as by the Auditor-General's Office in February last year, which was debated in Parliament.
The town council appointed KPMG to look into its books following an order by the Court of Appeal.
AHTC, in a statement yesterday evening, said it is studying the report in detail.
The new RM20 (S$6.60) levy on Singapore-registered cars entering Malaysia, which was rolled out yesterday, will be matched "in some form" by Singapore.
Labelling the road charge scheme "discriminatory",
the Republic's Ministry of Transport said it is biased against Singapore-registered vehicles, as the fee is applied only at Malaysia's checkpoints with the Republic.
"We will match it in some form," the ministry said in a statement issued yesterday evening.
It added that details will be announced in due course.
Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) acknowledged lapses in finance management, but denied there was a "significant lack of oversight" over its managing agent.
Responding to an earlier version of independent auditor KPMG's report, released yesterday, AHTC disagreed that its town councillors had "surrendered" responsibility to managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS).
KPMG had flagged conflicts of interest in how some FMSS shareholders also held management roles in AHTC with significant authority over financial affairs. There was "minimal oversight by the town councillors", added KPMG.
In a process known as Maxwellisation, AHTC had been given a chance to respond to a draft of the report to confirm its factual accuracy - and rebut any factual findings if it disagreed. This was to ensure that it was given the opportunity to respond to any criticism. AHTC's response was included as an annex to KPMG's report yesterday.
In its reply, AHTC said double-hatting was "not unusual".
It cited the secretary and general manager of former People's Action Party-run Aljunied Town Council, who was also managing director of its managing agent, CPG Facilities Management. He had played an active role in approving town council payments to CPG.
Responding to the report yesterday, AHTC noted that KPMG had deployed at least 72 personnel at its offices over eight months to thoroughly examine millions of accounting entries and documents.
It noted that KPMG had found no duplicate or fictitious payments.
About the issue
The latest KPMG report is part of its ongoing audit of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC), after lapses in governance were flagged by both its own auditors and the Auditor-General's Office (AGO).
In February last year, the AGO released a special report on major lapses at the then Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council.
The lapses date as far back as 2011, when the Workers' Party won Aljunied GRC and took over the town council.
They included inadequate management of conflicts of interest, and weaknesses in the approval of payments.
AHTC's external auditors had also issued "disclaimers of opinion" for each of its financial statements for FY2012 to 2015, indicating insufficient information.
The AGO report was debated in Parliament, and the Ministry of National Development and the Housing Board applied to the courts to appoint independent accountants to look into AHTC's books.
Last November, the Court of Appeal ordered AHTC to appoint accountants to establish whether any past payments made were improper and should thus be recovered.
But both sides could not agree on a firm. Eventually, in January this year, the court ordered AHTC to appoint one of the Big Four accounting firms.
In March, AHTC appointed KPMG. Since April, KPMG has provided monthly reports on AHTC's progress in rectifying issues.
But KPMG countered that FMSS' situation was different from that of the CPG employee.
"For other managing agents, those signing off payments for the town councils are not, as shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries of a fixed proportion of every payment to the managing agent that they approve," said KPMG.
As for the conflict of interest that arises when such persons have authority in financial transactions, AHTC said having co-signatories - the town council chairman or vice-chairman - is an effective control measure.
KPMG said co-signatories could potentially be influenced by the persons with a conflict of interest.
To this, AHTC replied: "To suggest that a co-signatory can be influenced easily casts aspersions on his/her integrity."
AHTC also disagreed that there was inadequate oversight over day-to-day management, citing meeting minutes that indicated checks and queries on FMSS' work.
"The town councillors were vigilant and did not merely accept FMSS' proposals and preferences," AHTC said. It cited how it instructed FMSS to prioritise the Auditor-General's Office audit despite FMSS' reservations about the impact on its functions.
AHTC further disagreed with KPMG's assessment of its managing agent's performance as "highly lacking". Though there were lapses in finance management, FMSS was performing satisfactorily in estate management, said AHTC.
Responding to the report yesterday, AHTC noted that KPMG had deployed at least 72 personnel at its offices over eight months to thoroughly examine millions of accounting entries and documents. It noted that KPMG had found no duplicate or fictitious payments.
AHTC added that it was still studying the report in detail.
Janice Heng
This article was first published on Nov 02, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
<p>Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) acknowledged lapses in finance management, but denied there was a "significant lack of oversight" over its managing agent.</p>
Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) could have avoided paying $2.8 million if it had worked with lower-priced consultants, instead of engaging the pricier option without any reasonable justification, auditor KPMG said in its latest report.
Such actions could be a breach of the Town Council Financial Rules, KPMG added.
Apart from making improper payments to two companies whose shareholders worked in the town council, AHTC, formerly Aljunied- Hougang-Punggol East Town Council, also made improper payments to third-party consultants, suppliers and contractors, it said.
KPMG worked out that these amounted to about $5.4 million in all, with $2.4 million in expenditures incurred without authority, in a breach of the rules and its own internal controls.
"Such improper payments stem from a lack of discipline in the town council's financial operations and record-keeping, reflecting the failed control environment," KPMG said.
It added that the town council should recover what it can of its losses from the recipients of these improper payments.
On the higher-priced consultant, KPMG said the town council had appointed two consultants, A and B, through a tender process and placed them on a panel to work on certain projects at a fixed rate.
From time to time, both were engaged to provide services.
KPMG looked at 10 of the projects that Consultant A did for the town council, and found that it charged a higher fee than Consultant B for seven of the projects.
Yet "reasons for appointing Consultant A and not Consultant B for these projects were not documented at the relevant time", it added.
KPMG noted the town council had informed it that Consultant B was working on two Neighbourhood Renewal Programme projects, and progress was deemed to be "slow-moving". But apart from the town council's meeting minutes in February 2013 stating that Consultant B was slightly behind schedule for a project at the pre-tender stage, there were no further discussions of its poor performance in later meetings, said KPMG.
AHTC also did not have documentation to support the view that Consultant B was less favourable. And there was "no meaningful panel" to choose the consultants from, as it had only two options, KPMG said.
But AHTC disagreed with the auditor's view that this constituted an improper payment, adding that it has sought legal advice. It said both consultants were appointed to its panel following an open tender.
The Town Council Financial Rules should not apply to such a situation, AHTC added, as it was not going out to buy new services, but was instructing work under contracts that had been entered into.
This article was first published on Nov 02, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
<p>Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) could have avoided paying $2.8 million if it had worked with lower-priced consultants, instead of engaging the pricier option without any reasonable justification, auditor KPMG said in its latest report.</p>
