The managing agent of Aljunied- Hougang Town Council (AHTC) was paid more than $600,000 in project management fees for services that should have been covered by its managing agent fees, said independent auditor KPMG in a report yesterday.

These were among several improper payments that the town council made to managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) and service provider FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI), said KPMG.

Such improper payments were made in a situation where there were "control failures" and conflicts of interest, as the shareholders of the two companies were holding key management positions in the town council.

In all, KPMG identified improper payments amounting to more than $1.5 million to FMSS and FMSI, of which at least $624,621 should be recovered.

But in a written response to KPMG before the report was released, AHTC disagreed that most of the payments were improper.

The payments in question are: Project management fees In 99 invoices totalling $608,911, a 3.5 per cent project management fee was wrongly paid to FMSS for repairs and redecoration works.

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.

The amount should be recovered, said KPMG. It is more appropriate to classify the payments as managing agent services and these would be covered by FMSS's managing agent fees.

FLAWS IN GOVERNANCE

The failed control environment ought not to have been permitted by the town councillors, pointing to a flawed system of governance overall. On the basis that such individuals hold fiduciary duties and responsibilities in respect of public funds entrusted to the town council, the town councillors bear a personal and collective responsibility for improper payments enabled or permitted by such a flawed system.

KPMG REPORT

IMPLICATIONS OF SHORTCOMINGS

While our work was not focused on identifying potential criminal acts arising from the issues we observed, we are advised that, had the shortcomings in Section 5 of this report been committed deliberately, they could amount to criminal conduct, the implications of which the town council should consider.

KPMG REPORT

KPMG also noted that on 83 occasions, project management fees totalling $611,786 were charged for what were really "a combination of project management services as well as managing agent services".

AHTC disagreed in both instances. Advice from its lawyers said it is contractually allowed to appoint the managing agent to provide project management services for cyclical works.

It noted that when Aljunied GRC was run by the People's Action Party (PAP), the then managing agent CPG had claimed project management fees for cyclical work, including repainting. Unsupported payments KPMG found $194,759 worth of payments to FMSS or FMSI that were not supported by certifications of services received, or by contracts. AHTC disagreed, providing evidence like a complaint log to show services were delivered.

But KPMG said this was not evidence that the work was satisfactorily delivered.

Payments in breach of financial authority KPMG found that $80,990 in cheque and bank transfers were made to FMSS even though the required co-signature of the AHTC chairman or vice-chairman was not obtained.

AHTC said this was a "technicality issue".

Overpayment to FMSS KPMG found that AHTC had overpaid FMSS by $8,990 for overtime claims and Central Provident Fund contributions, and by $3,720 for electrical parts.

Besides the specific improper payments found, KPMG took issue with the broader context of AHTC's "pervasive" control failures in areas such as governance, financial reporting and procurement.

These include a failure to address serious conflicts of interest and a lack of meaningful oversight by town councillors, it added.

There might be other improper payments which went undetected, it noted: "The same pervasive control failures that allowed improper payments would tend to conceal instances of improper payment."

KPMG identified six FMSS shareholders who held key management posts in AHTC, such as secretary, general manager, and finance manager - creating a conflict of interest.

There were 748 transactions, totalling more than $23 million, where these persons "effectively certified or approved payments to themselves", said KPMG.

KPMG further described the tender processes by which FMSS and FMSI were appointed as "inadequate and unsatisfactory".

The first managing agent contract worth $5.4 million, from July 15, 2011, to July 14, 2012, was awarded to FMSS without a tender, and the circumstances did not justify this, said KPMG.

The second contract worth $23.2 million was awarded by tender, but AHTC "failed to secure competitive rates or sufficiently address FMSS's serious conflicts of interest".

KPMG estimated that AHTC paid $1.26 million more than if CPG had been retained.

AHTC's "flawed governance... exposed public funds to the risk of improper use and application", concluded KPMG.

This article was first published on Nov 02, 2016.
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The town councillors of Aljunied- Hougang Town Council (AHTC) may be liable for serious offences under the Penal Code, such as criminal breach of trust and abetment, independent auditor KPMG said in a report released yesterday .

The reason is that, as custodians of public funds entrusted to the town council, they have a fiduciary duty that entails "personal and collective responsibility''.

So, KPMG said, if the improper payments had been made deliberately, "they could amount to criminal conduct".

The town councillors named in the report include Workers' Party MPs Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim, Pritam Singh and Png Eng Huat.

All four sit on the WP's executive council: Mr Low is secretary-general; Ms Lim, the chairman; Mr Singh, the assistant secretary-general; and Mr Png, the organising secretary.

The report said payments totalling at least $23 million were approved by town council members with a conflict of interest. This raised questions about whether the payments were fully justified.

The auditors also identified improper payments totalling about $1.5 million, of which at least $624,000 ought to be recovered.

The report then went on to explain the duties and responsibilities of town councillors under the law.

Under the Town Council Financial Rules, an officer who makes a payment without proper authority or who incorrectly certifies a voucher shall be responsible for the amount. But such personal liability applies only when the officer did not act in good faith.

Town councillors, like public officers, have a fiduciary duty to two bodies: the Government and the public. The reason is that they are entrusted with the control and management of public funds.

Under the Town Council Act, members of a town council, like directors of a company, must declare their interests in transactions in which they are directly or indirectly interested. "This duty, to avoid a conflict of interest, goes to the heart of a fiduciary's duty to his principal," said KPMG.

It noted, among other lapses, the way AHTC governed matters related to its then managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) was seriously flawed. "An unacceptably high degree of financial responsibility was relinquished by the town councillors to the conflicted persons, in a control environment in which meaningful oversight by the town councillors was absent," the report said.

AHTC also had a "failed control environment", which showed in the lack of discipline in its financial operations and record-keeping.

"This exposed public funds to risks of erroneous payments, overpayments, payments for which services had not been sufficiently verified and payments without proper authority, as well as the potential for actual misappropriation or civil or criminal breach of trust," it said.

A public servant or agent guilty of criminal breach of trust can be jailed for life, or jailed up to 20 years and fined. Abetment of the offence carries the same punishment.

The report concluded that its findings "may give rise to personal claims against the town councillors, or disclose the finding of criminality". But KPMG stressed its findings are not meant to "conclusively" decide if the town councillors had broken the law.

"This report does not seek to make a finding on whether these circumstances, individually or collectively, demonstrate a deliberate course of action taken by the town councillors to benefit FMSS and (service provider FM Solutions and Integrated Services) FMSI," it said.

But should such conduct have taken place intentionally, it would potentially amount to an offence under the Penal Code, it said.

This article was first published on Nov 02, 2016.
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Stallholders at the revamped Chong Boon Market in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 will be given more space to hawk their wares following feedback that their new stalls were too narrow, said Mr Kwar Ser Seng, chairman of the market's hawker association.

The market at Block 453A was reopened yesterday following a six-month renovation.

The Straits Times understands that the Ang Mo Kio town council is allowing stallholders to take up to 30cm of space on the walkways so they can place goods outside their stalls.

Chicken seller Wee Lay Keong, 40, whose chiller currently juts out from the edge of his stall by about 30cm, said he welcomed the news. "We were wishing for an additional 45 or 50cm. But 30cm is better than nothing," he said.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) had engaged the hawkers' association and stallholders on plans for the centre, and had also shared the preliminary design proposal with them since May last year, the agency said yesterday.

However, stallholders were upset after collecting the keys to their stalls two weeks ago. Though longer, the new stalls were less deep than before.

NEA said that before the renovation, the size of the stalls was 3 sq m. Now, they range between 4.5 sq m and 5.4 sq m.

After collecting their keys, the stallholders appealed to the authorities to allow them to place goods outside their stalls.

Mr Kwar said stallholders may have been initially unhappy because they were not used to the newly constructed walls that limited their movements.

Prior to the revamp, the market had an open concept, with no walls separating the stalls.

The revamped stalls have low partition walls, which the NEA yesterday said "provide proper segregation of stalls, prevent stallholder disputes and ensure accountability of public hygiene within each stall".

To free up space in stalls, hawkers can place their freezers in a common freezer area instead of within their individual stalls, said NEA.

Mr Ng Siow Hee, 63, a vegetable seller, said the space was enough for him. "It depends on how you arrange the tables in the stall," he said, adding that business was good yesterday, with many of his regular customers returning.

This article was first published on Nov 02, 2016.
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An 85-year-old engineer is believed to have drowned after falling into the sea off Pandan River while at work.

Mr Lim Meng Hoe was to have done maintenance work at a shipyard in Pandan Road, off the West Coast Highway, on Monday morning, according to Chinese daily Shin Min.

However, when workers did not see him, they looked and found his body floating in the waters at around noon. They immediately secured his body with a rope so it would not drift away.

He had been crossing from one tugboat to another when he fell, the Ministry of Manpower said yesterday. The police said they were investigating the unnatural death.

Mr Lim was working for Pan-United Shipping as an independent contractor, a spokesman for the company said. He was under a two-year contract slated to expire in 2017.

"We're very saddened by what has happened. Our thoughts are with his family, and we have reached out to them to offer assistance during this difficult time," she said.

Mr Lim was estranged from his wife and lived in Bukit Merah View with his younger brother, retiree Lim Meng Piew, 79.

The younger Mr Lim told The Straits Times his brother wanted to work through his golden years because he loved his job. "He didn't want to be cooped up at home, he'd have been bored," he said.

Despite his age, his brother was also fit, Mr Lim said. The nature of his job required him to "run around and climb".

The senior Mr Lim and his wife had parted ways about 50 years ago. He leaves behind two children, a son aged 48 and a daughter aged 56, who are both engineers.

The last time Mr Lim saw his brother was at 6.30am on Monday.

"He was leaving for work. He told me he bought food, and that I should help myself. He was always very caring," he said.

This article was first published on Nov 02, 2016.
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Singapore's economy is running slow, but the country is not in a crisis, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday night.

And what is needed now is not an emergency package, but a longer-term strategy for growth, he told 300 labour movement leaders in a closed-door dialogue held in the NTUC Centre in Marina Boulevard.

He said that the 2009 financial crisis called for a big rescue package to cut business costs and protect jobs, but this time around, the problem is structural: "It's not an infection that can be cured with one course of antibiotics, but something that we have to work at over the long term."

He likened this to taking vitamins every day and following a rigorous exercise programme to gradually build up strength and new capabilities; to continue growing and creating good jobs, he said, Singapore must upgrade and restructure its economy.

He said the slowdown, which has also hit other countries, is due partly to slower global trade and lower oil prices, which have hit the oil and gas and offshore and marine industries hard.

Slower growth is also a new normal, now that Singapore is a more developed economy.

He expressed confidence that when global demand recovers, Singapore can aim for 2 to 3 per cent growth on average - faster than similar developed economies.

Bright spots remain even now in information and communications technology (ICT), education, health and social services, he said - and Singapore is still drawing investments and creating jobs. The investors include Glaxosmithkline in biomedical sciences, Kuehne+Nagel in logistics, Evonik in energy and chemicals, Google in ICT and Applied Materials in precision engineering.

Mr Lee said the government is helping businesses to transform and find opportunities overseas. It is drawing up 23 individual Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs), which cover 80 per cent of the economy. These will help entire industries, including individual small and medium-sized enterprises, to upgrade and restructure.

Three ITMs - for the precision engineering, food services and retail sectors - are in place. The ITM for precision engineering is nudging businesses in that sector to go digital in manufacturing, so as to be able to offer tailor-made solutions, open up new markets and compete globally.

Mr Lee noted that the government has helped local companies to expand overseas; the list of homegrown food enterprises which have received support from International Enterprise Singapore, the trade-promotion agency, includes Bee Cheng Hiang, Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice, Mr Bean, Ya Kun Kaya Toast and Janice Wong Desserts.

Mr Lee said the government is also helping current workers to upgrade through the SkillsFuture programme, which offers subsidised training in areas where there are jobs and growth prospects. He said the government will spend more than S$1 billion a year on SkillsFuture and related initiatives by 2020.

Meanwhile, the government, along with NTUC, will help displaced workers by ensuring they are treated fairly by employers; they will also be helped with training, job search and financial aid during the transition.

The government is also preparing future workers by equipping them with workplace-ready skills, and by growing the economy to create new jobs, said Mr Lee.

The government will have a comprehensive strategy in place, and scale up its programmes and schemes to do more.

"We will increase funding up to 50 per cent for some programmes in the next two years. Our strategies will work. If any country can succeed, Singapore can. Because we have the resources, we have the wherewithal and we work together."

He called on the labour movement leaders to back the government in these efforts: "Your support is the secret to our success."

This article was first published on Nov 2, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - A group of over 50 volunteers recently spent an afternoon bringing joy to the elderly residents of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home. 

The volunteers engaged the elderly folk with games such as bingo, and a sing-along session which saw some of the residents gamely taking the stage.

Volunteers also made their rounds to the wards, spending quality time by getting to know the residents and listening to them reminisce about the past.

The group consists of employees from Kingsmen Creatives, a communication design and production group, and students of Students Care Service (SCS). 

Mr Andrew Cheng, Group Chief Executive Officer of Kingsmen, said: "We believe in making a difference to the lives of people around us, and in helping to meet the needs of the community. I am heartened by the enthusiasm displayed by our staff and SCS as we rallied together to bring smiles to the residents of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home."

Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home was established in the mid-1960s and it seeks to provide eldercare services for the sick and needy in Singapore.

Student Care Service is an adopted charity of AsiaOne. 

Amazon has plans to expand to South-east Asia, and there are signs the online retail giant is doing so through Singapore, Techcrunch reported yesterday.

Amazon is acquiring assets and hiring new employees in Singapore, the tech news website said, citing two sources close to the company.

There has been no official announcement by Amazon.

The report said Amazon may debut its Prime delivery service and its AmazonFresh grocery service, perhaps as soon as early 2017.

Amazon's possible foray into South-east Asia comes soon after aggressive moves to enter India and China.

It started offering its Prime free-shipping service in China last month.

Prime gives members in the United States perks like free delivery and access to a growing library of videos and music.

The US company has also pumped US$3 billion (S$4.2 billion) more into its Indian e-commerce operation.

Amazon's entry to the region, if it materialises, may heat up competition in the online retail market.

Yesterday, Singapore-based e-commerce company Lazada announced that it will acquire Redmart, an online grocery retailer.

Sometimes called South-east Asia's Amazon, Lazada was started by Rocket Internet.

Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Lazada in April this year in a US$1 billion deal.

chuimin@sph.com.sg

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Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei was so paranoid about secrecy he urged his former supervisor to get a "Bangla" phone so they could hold untraceable conversations, a court heard yesterday.

"Bangla" phones belonged to construction workers who had left Singapore and so would not be traceable.

Kevin Swampillai, Yeo's supervisor at BSI, told the court: "In fact, I asked him if he could get me one, to which he replied it would be difficult and he suggested that I get my own", to keep his communications with Yeo secret.

The pair also used encrypted texts on the online messaging service Telegram to avoid detection after investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department into their dealings with scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) intensified in October last year.

Details on how they tried to avoid detection arose on day three of Yeo's trial on four charges of perverting the course of justice by allegedly urging witnesses to lie to police and destroy evidence.

Counts of money laundering, cheating and forgery will be dealt with in a separate trial next year.

BSI Bank caught in 1MDB scandal

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Mr Swampillai also testified that Yeo, 33, left Swiss private bank BSI to join infamous Malaysian tycoon Jho Low after getting a salary offer of $500,000 a year.

The testimony contradicted claims by Yeo's lawyer that his client did not get a job offer from Mr Low.

Mr Swampillai, 52, was head of BSI's wealth management services before being suspended. He is now unemployed.

He told the court that he devised a plan to leave BSI and make "big management fees" from setting up a fund company that would manage the proceeds from a deal with Brazen Sky, a wholly-owned unit of 1MDB.

"The idea may have come from me but Yeo was (an) enthusiastic supporter of the idea and had participated actively with me in that discussion," said Mr Swampillai.

Yeo's lawyer, Philip Fong, asked Mr Swampillai if he had put the idea in Yeo's head for the fund management business.

"The fund company would be managing a portfolio value of more than US$2.3 billion (S$3.2 billion). Did you tell Yeo this?" Mr Fong asked.

Mr Swampillai denied it, saying Yeo "recognised the potential of that business" without him having to say so.

Mr Swampillai said he and Yeo made millions in "secret profits" from their 1MDB dealings. The pair set up shell companies to receive the profits, which were then channelled to companies they controlled.

In September 2012, 1MDB sold its shares in a venture for US$2.32 billion and received units in a shell company called Bridge Partners International Management (BPIM).

1MDB earlier said the units were owned by Brazen Sky and held through BSI in Singapore as custodian.

The "referral fees" arrangement involved a portion of the management fees paid by Brazen Sky to BPIM going to firms controlled by Mr Swampillai and Yeo.

gleong@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - Rigbuilder Keppel Corp on Thursday said it will subscribe to a bond offer by KrisEnergy Ltd, potentially increasing its majority holding and throwing a lifeline to the debt-laden oil and gas explorer.

Keppel said it could raise its stake to as much as 67.33 per cent from 40 per cent via an up to S$140 million ($101 million) preferential offering of zero-coupon secured notes coupled with warrants that KrisEnergy announced earlier on Thursday.

Shares of KrisEnergy rose as much as 9 per cent in morning trade. Keppel was up 0.4 per cent whereas the benchmark Straits Times Index was down by an equal amount.

KrisEnergy is among a growing list of Singaporean firms struggling to meet debt commitments due to tumbling global oil prices.

On Thursday, it also said it would seek to extend the maturities of its S$130 million bond due in 2017 and S$200 million bond due in 2018 by five years. It proposed reducing the bonds' coupons to 4 per cent from 6.25 per cent and 5.75 per cent respectively.

KrisEnergy also said it had agreed with DBS Bank Ltd to amend terms and covenants of its revolving credit facility, including extending the maturity to June 2018.

The proposed restructuring, if successful, would yield "a stable and sustainable capital structure, reduced short-term cash debt service obligations and greater liquidity," KrisEnergy said.

The firm reported a net loss for the third quarter, compared with a profit a year earlier.

Productivity will be one of the key considerations in deciding whether or not to extend a farm's lease, said Ms Tan Poh Hong, chief executive of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) yesterday.

"Our premise has always been (that) if the land is meant for agricultural use, you use it productively, it is likely that you could get an extension either on your own land, or even replacement land," she said.

She was responding to a question on land security in Singapore from an audience member at the 27th Commonwealth Agriculture Conference yesterday after a presentation on national food security.

Uncertainty remains for the future of 62 farms in Lim Chu Kang, with the Government announcing in June that they would have to move out by the end of 2019 to make way for the Defence Ministry's new training grounds. To give farms more time, the AVA had pushed back the original deadline of 2017.

Affected farmers will be able to bid for new farmland early next year, but exact details of the location and new plot sizes have yet to be announced. The first tranche of land sales will be launched in 2017, AVA said yesterday.

Ms Chelsea Wan, whose Jurong Frog Farm is among those affected, said the Government's stand that farms have to be productive has never changed, but other factors should be considered, such as farming's role in Singapore's history.

Farmers have also pointed out a move could cost them millions to build new infrastructure, and move animals and farm equipment.

Farmland currently takes up about 1 per cent of Singapore's land. Close to 600ha has been allocated to over 200 farms for the production of food and non-food items.

AVA told The Straits Times yesterday that it has been engaging the farmers to better understand the challenges they are facing and gathering their thoughts and feedback. For instance, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry, visited 22 of the farms in September to hear their concerns.

"The Government is also supporting these farms with funding for technology adoption and research and development," said AVA.

"While we may be small in size, we believe that we can be a useful living lab for urban farming solutions and new technologies, and at the same time transform the local agricultural sector."

Speaking yesterday, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong urged farmers to embrace technology.

This article was first published on Nov 03, 2016.
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After stopping at the non-signalled junction, Pow Teck Keng kept a lookout for oncoming traffic before moving off again.

But the 59-year-old bus driver looked only to his right side and did not see Mr Artie Tan, 87, cycling across from the front left side of bus service 196, a court heard.

Pow drove straight into Mr Tan at the junction of Marine Crescent and Marine Parade Road on Sept 27 last year, pinning him under the bus. Mr Tan had to be extricated by firemen, but died later that day.

Yesterday, Pow, a driver of 35 years, was jailed for 15 days and banned from driving for five years.

He pleaded guilty to causing Mr Tan's death by a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide.

A district court heard that Pow started his shift for the 196 bus route at 7.10am that day at Bedok Bus Interchange. He drove to Clementi Bus Interchange before heading back to Bedok.

At 11.10am, he started his second trip from Bedok Bus Interchange to Clementi.

91-year-old man trapped under bus after getting knocked down

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Shortly after, at 11.35am, Pow approached the junction of Marine Crescent and Marine Parade Road.

He stopped his bus on the left lane of Marine Crescent, a two-lane road. The bus was the first vehicle in the lane.

At about the same time, Mr Tan was cycling on the pavement along Marine Parade Road.

Pow's bus was still stationary when Mr Tan cycled, at a slow pace, from the pavement to cross the road in front of the bus.

Pow turned left into Marine Parade Road and crashed into Mr Tan.

Closed-circuit television footage from inside the bus showed Pow had turned his head to the right as the bus was coming to a stop. He kept his head to the right for about 14 seconds, until the bus moved off again.

"If Pow had looked in front or to the left before moving the bus, he would have seen Mr Tan," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim.

"Pow has also been driving the said route for about 10 years and was familiar with the roads on the route," added the DPP.

Mr Tan was taken to hospital with multiple fractures to the skull, trunk and pelvis. He died just after 6pm. Pow lost his job with SBS Transit and is now working as a night watchman, earning an hourly-rated salary.

The maximum penalty for causing the death of a person by doing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide is up to two years' jail and a fine.

This article was first published on Nov 03, 2016.
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At the corner of Block 201D, there is Ali's Hairdressing & Beauty Salon. Looking for O Smile Shoe? Turn right and it is round the corner.

Visitors trying to navigate the maze of shops at the foot of HDB blocks often get lost. But now, shoppers in Tampines Street 21 can refer to large, luminous digital signboards along the walkways.

Similar to shopping mall directories, these screens display maps of HDB shops in the neighbourhood, and point out the nearby ATMs, AXS and SAM machines.

Going digital has taken the heartland quite a while. But Tampines Merchant Association has taken the plunge in the hopes that it can help the heartland shops in its neighbourhood resist stiff competition from suburban malls and online retailers. Shops in other parts of Singapore said they may follow in its footsteps.

"It's like a giant iPad," joked Mr Andy Ang, 45, who owns electronics store Music Point Entertainment at Block 201D. "We rely mostly on regular customers, but maybe these (digital displays) can lead more people from elsewhere to us."

Prior to the initiative's launch in August last year, there were only signs which indicated shop names and their unit numbers.

A total of 18 digital signboards have popped up in four of the blocks in Tampines Street 21.

These are no ordinary directories either - they come with in-built closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to help reduce crime.

They can also intermittently flash announcements about neighbourhood events and shop promotions.

Tampines Merchant Association, which oversees about 200 shops in the area, hopes it will help more people locate shops easily.

"The digital displays are visually clearer and more appealing," its chairman Kwek Hong Lim, 40, told The Straits Times, comparing them to traditional noticeboards. "We also save some time in updating the content."

Funds for the installation and maintenance of these directories were pooled by some of the shop owners. And while the idea to include cameras first came about to deter vandalism of the new gadgets, it soon evolved into a greater crime surveillance effort.

The police gave their input on the possible locations, camera angles and CCTV specifications for these directories.The footage, which covers some blind spots of existing police cameras, is streamed to the merchant association's office and can be retrieved when necessary.

Shop owners described the directories as helpful. Fruit shop owner Teng Teck Chung, 58, said: "Some new customers said they found us because of the signboards."

K&K Aquarium & Bird Centre's manager Low Chia Siong, 44, suggested that the monolingual directories should consider displaying information in other local languages.

"Some of the older folk may not understand English," he said.

Office cleaner Subbulakshmi Nadeson, 67, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said the surveillance cameras on the directories make her feel safer. "It's good to have extra eyes watching. If anything happens, the police can have evidence and track the culprit."

In a bid to draw more footfall to the shops, Mr Kwek's association has plans to take its digital revolution further. Next month, it will launch a free Wi-Fi network for customers and shopkeepers to use.

This could inspire shops in other estates to do the same. Clementi Town Shop Owners' Association chairman Lim Hai Teck, 57, said of the digital displays and Wi-Fi: "These are good ideas that make things more convenient for everybody.

"Cost might be a problem, but it's definitely something we can explore."

This article was first published on Nov 03, 2016.
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When she was six years old, Ms Bianca Tan had a secret even she was unaware of. She could not read.

Words move. "B" becomes "d", "u" becomes "n". She skips words and lines. She cannot track and focus on what is written. Sentences do not read like they make sense.

Her pre-school drama teacher thought she was talented because she could recite tales from storybooks. The teacher soon discovered that she merely regurgitated content from memory.

But Ms Tan's mother, Mrs Zita Tan, a former social worker who co-founded the pre-school Pebble Place Development Centre, recognised the symptoms.

She asked for a psychological assessment for Ms Tan at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS).

In 1999, Ms Tan was diagnosed with dyslexia. Despite being of normal intelligence, the difficulty she faces in reading and writing means she has a learning disability.

During literature lessons in secondary school, she would be five pages behind everyone else. Even now, at 23, she reads more slowly than her university classmates.

The learning disorder affected her emotionally.

"Because I didn't do well in school, I regressed," she said. Learning to read was an excruciating process, and her self-esteem took a huge beating.

"If you can't read, you can't do anything."

But she learnt how to compensate. For instance, she learns more readily by watching videos and documentaries than by reading. She also loves to do anything that is hands-on, be it cooking, baking, painting or art and craft.

She is a firm believer in the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child". She considers herself fortunate to have had patient early childhood educators and mentors who worked hand-in-hand with her parents.

That support network helped her overcome her feelings of insecurity. She also acknowledges the amount of effort and money that her parents put in to help her to thrive.

There were her teachers at Pebble Place when she was seven to eight years old.

There was "Uncle Kel", her former sailing coach Kelvin Tan, who went out of his way to make sure she understood his briefings, patiently repeating his explanations until she got the colours of the buoys and knew left from right.

There was Mrs Thng Siok Keng, her speech and language therapist for six years.

And then there were the staff from DAS, who helped her with special classes and educational therapy from Primary 2 to Secondary 3.

Inspired, Ms Tan decided at a young age to become an early childhood educator.

The pre-school sector in Singapore has faced a manpower shortage in recent years and about 4,000 more pre-school educators are needed by 2020.

Pre-school teachers earn an average of $2,200 to $3,000, based on data gathered by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) last year.

The median salary for university graduates last year was $3,300.

Outspoken and extroverted, Ms Tan graduated from Temasek Polytechnic in 2014 with a diploma in early childhood studies. She also has a specialist diploma in learning differences from DAS.

A recipient of the ECDA scholarship award, she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in early childhood education, which is offered by Wheelock College in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

Since she was 14, the middle child has helped out at Pebble Place Development Centre in Paya Lebar. At the centre, she is Ms Bianca to her mother, whom she addresses as Mrs Zita.

She has an older brother, 25, who has Asperger's syndrome, and a younger sister, 21, who is also dyslexic. Their father is a businessman.

Like her mother, whose life and work is in early childhood education, Ms Tan believes in creating an inclusive environment for children with and without special needs.

They believe in a child's holistic development: from a curious and creative mind towards learning, to gross and fine motor skills, strong moral values, and confidence.

They maintain that through experiential learning, children can develop leadership qualities, know how to solve problems, appreciate teamwork, learn respect and how to be verbally expressive.

They also highlight the importance of collaborating with parents.

Mrs Tan's classroom has no erasers because, as she said: "If you don't make mistakes, how do you learn?" To her, "mistakes have to be accepted and not erased".

Echoing her mother's philosophy, Ms Tan feels that "your experiences in life are what shape you".

Next year, she will head to Myanmar with her schoolmates from SIT to help set up a pre-school in Yangon.

They are part of a 12-member group involved in Project Myanmar, an overseas service learning project that will help to set up classrooms and work on interior environment and design.

Dyslexia led her onto the path of early childhood education, and she hopes to apply "everything learnt in polytechnic and university" to help others.

This article was first published on Nov 03, 2016.
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Driving on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) yesterday morning, he saw a damaged black car in the middle of the four-lane road.

Then he was shocked by the sight of a severed left arm on the road beside the car and a piece of railing piercing the vehicle.

When Mr Muhammad Azhari approached the car, the driver was motionless.

Paramedics later pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Mr Azhari, 32, a businessman, told The New Paper that he was travelling home at about 1.50am yesterday when he came across the vehicle near the Safti Military Institute bridge on the PIE, in the direction of Changi Airport.

After he stopped his car by the side of the expressway, he saw a severed arm near the car.

A piece of the railing, about 5m long, had pierced the car from the front bumper through to the rear - impaling the driver, he said.

He also noticed the left side of the car was badly damaged.

"It was at a right-hand bend. Instead of cornering right, the car must have gone straight and hit the railing, which then pierced through the car," he said.

Mr Azhari said only one other driver had stopped to help. "According to the other car driver, who arrived about a minute before me, all the cars who were ahead of him just drove past," he said.

The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident at about 1.50am yesterday.

The SCDF sent two fire engines and an ambulance to the scene, where paramedics pronounced the driver dead.

The New Paper understands the driver was identified as Mr Tan Hock Hai, who was in his 40s.

Mr Azhari was so affected by the accident he posted about it on his Facebook page, as well as the JB Traffic, Road Block & Portholes Report Facebook page, to warn road users to be careful when driving along that stretch.

He wrote: "Please slow down when travelling along PIE towards Changi, at the dangerous bend under the Safti bridge. Especially those travelling on PIE from Tuas Checkpoint."

3 HURT IN CTE CRASH

In another accident yesterday, three people were hurt in a collision between two motorcycles and a car on the Central Expressway (CTE), near Cairnhill Road, at about 8am.

The police said the three victims, aged between 32 and 46, were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

An SCDF spokesman said two of the injured were a man and a woman in their 30s, while the third victim had minor injuries.

All three are believed to have been on the motorcycles, reported The Straits Times Online.

The accident caused congestion on the expressway all the way to the Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 exit - about 9km away - according to an update on Twitter by the Land Transport Authority.

The police are investigating both accidents.

rloh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on November 3, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - Facing existential threats from poachers and deforestation, some hornbill species are critically endangered. And it is for this reason that the bird has been unveiled as the new animal icon of the Jurong Bird Park.

Taking a departure from its sister attractions - the Singapore Zoo and River Safari - in having a single mascot, the entire hornbill species was chosen by Jurong Bird Park to raise awareness of all threatened bird species.

"The hornbill can only be found in Africa and Asia. Of the 54 species globally, more than half of the hornbill family is actually found in this part of the world," said Dr Jessica Lee, Manager of Conservation and Research at Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS).

"The hornbill was chosen because it is an icon that represented conservation for Southeast Asia."

The icon will be called Sunny, Jurong Bird Park said.

7 things every visitor must see in Jurong Bird Park

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Jurong Bird Park, which is managed by WRS, is home to Southeast Asia's largest collection of hornbills in the world with 18 hornbill species. The Oriental Pied hornbill is native to Singapore.

Besides being actively involved in hornbill conservation effort, WRS also successfully lobbied to the International Union for Conservation of Nature for the Helmeted hornbill species to be listed as 'critically endangered'.

Hornbills are mainly threatened by hunting and habitat loss from deforestation. They are hunted for their casques - the horns above the beaks - also know as hornbill ivory.

"We have chosen the hornbill as Jurong Bird Park's animal icon as we think this striking bird will be a relatable ambassador for all threatened bird species that need our help and protection," said Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, Deputy CEO and Chief Life Sciences Officer at WRS.

"We have great success in Singapore where we have helped to reintroduce the oriental pied hornbill.

"There are other species such as the Helmeted hornbill that are being hunted relentlessly and urgently need our help."

From Nov 19 to Dec 11, guests at the park will be able to participate in several hornbill-focused activities such as feeding and photography sessions.

grongloh@sph.com.sg

Waterfall Aviary at Jurong Bird Park re-opens

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Updated at 10.30pm, Nov 3:

Telco signals have resumed after testings were completed, said SMRT in a Twitter update.

Several local telcos have said that they have been instructed to power down its mobile services along the Circle Line following intermittent signal glitches on the line for the second day running. 

M1 said on its Facebook page that the suspension will last until 10pm tonight (Nov 3), and during this time network users will not be able to "make calls, send messages or access the internet". 

Starhub released a similar announcement at 8.46pm, saying that it had been "instructed to turn off mobile services in the Circle Line".

Earlier, SMRT tweeted at 6.07pm that CCL trains may experience delays due to "intermittent signal interference".

"For safety, CCL trains are manned this evening. We are sorry," SMRT said. 

At 8.58pm, the transport operator said that it is "conducting ongoing tests" as such commuters will experience temporary suspension of telco signals.

This comes a day after a signal fault caused a 3-hour disruption to service lines on the CCL on Wednesday (Nov 2). 

The signal interference first occured in late August and caused service disruptions to the CCL for a week. As it went away after a while, SMRT engineers were not able to trace the source of the interference.

maryanns@sph.com.sg

As more sectors transform themselves and seek workers with relevant skills, the training and adult education sector here - which plays a crucial role in building up a skilled workforce - has to upgrade itself too.

The sector "has to continue to be responsive to the changing needs of the economy and industries", Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said.

Therefore, a five-year transformation plan was unveiled yesterday to refresh and possibly raise the continuing education and training system in Singapore.

Also known as the Training and Adult Education Sector Transformation Plan, it is made in line with the national SkillsFuture movement to keep pace with the changing skills needs of the fast-evolving economy.

Today, there are about 6,000 adult educators and curriculum developers in the diverse training and adult education sector.

The plan, developed by the Training and Adult Education Skills Council in consultation with more than 150 professionals, was announced by Mr Ong at the Adult Learning Symposium at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre yesterday.

He said: "Training is not just delivering a lecture and showing slides but you (also) dive into the dreams, hopes and fears of your trainees, and help them develop.

"You hone their skills and raise their game to a higher level. But more importantly, if you are really good at what you are doing, you uncover their passions, you help them discover their direction in life and their aspirations, and activate their inner motivations."

Under the plan, seven key recommendations were identified under three areas - repositioning the sector for growth, strengthening the systems and processes for training providers, and addressing manpower and skills needs.

The recommendations include measuring if training meets workplace performance outcomes, refreshing the learning infrastructure to support innovation, and upgrading the educators' skills.

A range of initiatives have since been rolled out, and more are in the works.

For instance, a greater emphasis will be placed on blended learning, which may include online lectures as well as discussions in class.

Also, a national training management system, now in its pilot phase and expected to be ready in 2018, will help streamline training administration tasks, such as enrolment management and course payment.

It will be available to interested training providers.

The SkillsFuture Study Awards will also be made available to professionals in the sector. Early- to mid-career Singaporeans can tap on the awards for fee subsidies for courses to develop skills needed.

SkillsFuture Singapore chief executive Ng Cher Pong said the plan is a "pivotal road map".

"As the SkillsFuture movement gathers momentum, a high-quality training and adult education sector is critical in providing Singaporeans with a wide range of opportunities to effectively reskill and upskill themselves," he added.

calyang@sph.com.sg

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The full moon on Nov 14 will be the biggest since 1948, say scientists.

It will also be the closest and brightest supermoon in 2016, astronomy professor Robert Berman told Space.com.

The Nov 14 moon is the closest full moon to Earth to date in the 21st century, said United States space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), making it a "supermoon".

A supermoon refers broadly to when the full moon is closer to the planet than average as it orbits Earth.

The full moon will not come this close to Earth again for almost another 20 years - until Nov 25, 2034.

A supermoon can be as much as 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a full moon at its furthest from Earth on its orbit.

The Nov 14 supermoon comes in the middle of three supermoons occurring towards the end of 2016.

Rare 'supermoon' eclipse unfolds on Sunday night

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AFP, Reuters

The first was on Oct 16 and the other will be on Dec 14.

The difference in appearance between a supermoon and a regular full moon depends largely on where a person is looking at it from.

If the moon is high above the horizon from one's perspective and there are no buildings to compare it to, it may not appear larger than usual.

On the other hand, the moon can look unnaturally large and closer to the horizon when viewed through trees, buildings or other foreground objects.

While this is an optical illusion, Nasa states that it does not take away from the experience.

The Nov 14 moon is expected to be at its absolute biggest at 1.52pm GMT (9.52pm, Singapore time).

wderek@sph.com.sg

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More cases of disguised retrenchments - workers getting laid off without their employers treating it as a retrenchment to avoid paying a fair package - are surfacing.

There has been an increase in disguised retrenchment cases, said NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay, who is also the director of NTUC Legal Services and its PME (professionals, managers, executives) unit.

About 15 to 20 people have approached the NTUC's U PME Centre for help, compared to fewer than 10 in 2015.

In disguised retrenchment, a company avoids treating the layoff as a retrenchment so as not to pay fair benefits.

Mr Tay told The New Paper on Wednesday that cases of irresponsible retrenchments are not rampant. But they remain a concern because companies are carrying out such practices without breaking the law. 

For example, some workers are terminated with a month's notice - allowed under provisions in employment contracts - and do not get retrenchment benefits.

He said: "The employee might be working for them for 15, 20 years, then they are told, 'You don't have to come back any more.'"Legally, the employer may have the right to do that because the employment contract doesn't have any severance package but this is not progressive."

Nine in 10 companies paid retrenchment benefits, according to the last survey in 2013 on retrenchment carried out in the previous year.

It showed that the prevailing norm was to pay a retrenchment benefit of between two weeks' and one month's salary per year of service, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say told Parliament in September.

In May, tripartite guidelines on managing excess manpower and responsible retrenchment were issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Singapore National Employers Federation and NTUC. They highlighted the measures that companies are supposed to take during a retrenchment exercise, such as giving ample notice to affected employees and paying them benefits.

Mr Tay thinks irresponsible retrenchments could happen to employees across all industries and age groups.

He said: "It affects firms that are facing challenges and need to fire people. If (disguised retrenchments) are legal, it doesn't matter if you are old or young."

There are tell-tale signs when a company is trying to get rid of employees to reduce costs, Mr Tay added.

For instance, workers who have been doing the same job are suddenly given poor performance ratings when they had previously received consistently good ratings. Another sign is when a company's order books are empty.

Mr Tay urged companies to inform MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practice of any impending retrenchment exercise so that affected employees can get help finding another job.

According to the tripartite guidelines on retrenchment, the relevant union is supposed to be consulted as early as possible if the company is unionised.

Where it is provided in the collective agreement, the norm is one month before notifying the employee.

Mr Tay said: "We want to know early so that we can help workers who are affected as best as we can. We want to help them with a seamless transition to another employer.

"We can also negotiate the retrenchment payout which might not be prescribed in the collective agreement."

In September, Labour NMP K. Thanaletchimi asked in Parliament whether it could be made compulsory for companies to notify MOM about any retrenchment exercise.

Mr Tay said the matter is currently being discussed with MOM and there will be an announcement in the coming months.

Asked if compulsory notifications could lead to more disguised retrenchments, he thinks that would be unlikely but he called on companies to conduct retrenchment exercises in a "fair, responsible and progressive" manner.

"There is more to lose for the employer if word goes around and employees still with the company will give them a dirty look. It affects morale and productivity."

He added that the employer's reputation could suffer, especially if the "retrenched" employees go to the media or use social media to reveal how the employer had treated them.

BY THE NUMBERS

4,100 The number of workers who lost their jobs in the third quarter of this year.

13,610 Redundancies (consisting of retrenchments and workers under contracts) so far this year.

15,580 Redundancies last year.

Firms carry out disguised retrenchment to avoid payout

Disguised retrenchments happen when companies seek to avoid paying retrenchment benefits or have reputational concerns, said lawyer Ian Lim.

Mr Lim, who heads TSMP Law's employment and labour team, said employees in industries more affected by the economic slowdown, such as oil and gas, could be more prone to disguised retrenchments.

"Employees could also be more susceptible to disguised retrenchments when they have individual contractual entitlements to retrenchment benefits, but are not from a unionised company and are not union members," he said.

Nonetheless, employers would seek to comply with the tripartite guidelines when it comes to retrenchments, said lawyer Jenny Tsin, joint head of employment practice at Wong Partnership.

"On the whole, companies do their best to be good corporate citizens," she said.

"As long as the termination is done in accordance with the provisions of the contract, it would on balance be difficult for any employee to successfully bring a claim in respect of the termination unless there are other factors in play, for instance a breach of some implied term of mutual trust and confidence."

Singapore Human Resources Institute president Erman Tan thinks disguised retrenchments are rare because of tripartite agreements.

But if it happens, there are options for employees to seek recourse, such as the Employment Claims Tribunal, which will start hearing salary-related disputes next April, he said.

It will cover all workers including those who do not come under the Employment Act - professionals, managers and executives earning more than $4,500 a month, who would otherwise have to file claims with the civil courts.

RESPECT

Mr Tan also called for retrenchments to be carried out with empathy and respect.

"I have heard of employees being escorted out by a security guard or workers who were logged out of their e-mail accounts," he said.

Mr Tan added that given the current economic situation, retrenchments may be unavoidable, but should be used as a last resort.

"It is important to prioritise the welfare of the staff. This means making them feel appreciated and giving them a fair compensation."

Retrenchment notice and benefits

Under the Employment Act, employers are supposed to inform their workers before they are retrenched.

There is minimum requirement, ranging from one day's notice for employees who have worked less than 26 weeks to four weeks' notice for those who have worked for at least five years.

Employees who have worked for at least two years are also eligible for retrenchment benefits.

It depends on the collective agreement or contract of service, but the prevailing norm is a payout of between two weeks' to one month's salary per year of service.

In unionised companies, where the quantum of retrenchment benefit is in the collective agreement, the norm is one month's salary for each year of service.

Disguised retrenchments mean companies terminate employees without taking the necessary responsibilities.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay outlined more scenarios:

Workers axed by firms and given a one-off or ex-gratia payment, some of which are below industry norms.

Contract workers terminated due to loss of business contracts.

Contract workers have their contracts discontinued after their firms fail to retain business deals or have to shed staff on account of a slowdown. While legally permissible, this could be considered a layoff.

Workers asked to resign voluntarily. The companies tell them that being terminated "doesn't look good " on their resumes

HELPLINES

For assistance on employment facilitation, companies can contact:

Singapore Workforce Development Agency

URL: www.wda.gov.sg Tel: 6883 5885 Feedback: portal.wda.gov.sg/feedback

Employment and Employability Institute

URL: www.e2i.com.sg Tel: 6474 0606 E-mail: followup@e2i.com.sg

Employees who encounter irresponsible retrenchment practices not in compliance with the Employment Act can approach the Ministry Of Manpower for help.

Those not covered by the Act can approach their unions.

Non-union members whose contract stipulates a notice period or the retrenchment benefits quantum can seek recourse through the Civil Courts.

linheng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on November 4, 2016.
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Another car parallel importer has failed to deliver vehicles on which deposits have been paid - the second such case in less than a month.

TLC Cars Singapore, one of several small motor firms in Turf City, off Bukit Timah Road, has closed its doors, leaving customers in the lurch.

The development comes barely a month after Exodus Global, a parallel importer in Ubi Avenue 3, did the same thing.

Like those affected by Exodus' move, customers of TLC have lodged police reports. Police said they are looking into the matter.

Logistics manager W.Y. So, 33, said he chanced upon TLC Cars in July, and decided to buy a brand new Toyota Harrier sport utility vehicle from it for $137,800. Since then, he has paid up just over $55,000 in deposits, but has yet to secure delivery of the car. After repeated assurances by the company and as many postponements, he filed a police report on Oct 27.

Asked why he decided to buy a car from a relatively unknown firm, Mr So said it was a "random" choice. "Its price seemed all right," he said. "And it had newspaper clippings on its wall." Asked how he felt about the prospect of not getting the car or his money back, Mr So said: "I'll have to suck it up. There's nothing much I can do."

The Straits Times understands that at least 10 customers are affected by the TLC episode, while more than 20 have been affected by the Exodus Global case.

Individual consumers are not the only ones facing losses. Fellow motor company Auto Lease has also made a police report against TLC.

TLC, it said, bought a Honda Vezel from it for about $36,000 (before COE). TLC paid about $6,000, took delivery of the car, but has made no further payment.

Mr Anthony Lim, a partner in Auto Lease, added that his firm had also secured several certificates of entitlement (COEs) on TLC's behalf.

Auto Lease was also affected by Exodus Global's closure. In total, Mr Lim said Auto Lease had paid $310,000 in COE deposits on behalf of Exodus Global and TLC.

Mr Raymond Tang, first vice-president of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, said cases such as TLC's are "not new".

Indeed, the industry sees similar cases almost yearly. The biggest in recent years involved Volks Auto, which misappropriated some $4.6 million in deposits in 2014.

Mr Tang said consumers should patronise "respectable firms with long track records to be safe". Even better, go to CaseTrust-accredited dealers, he said. "Most times, they get into trouble because they go for the lowest prices," he said.

TLC managing director Timothy Gay was uncontactable for comment.

This article was first published on Nov 04, 2016.
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