A four-year-old female pedestrian was killed after getting knocked down by a car along Bukit Batok Central, towards Bukit Batok West Avenue 2, yesterday evening (Oct 9).

Another female pedestrian, aged 37, was also left injured. Stomp understands that she is the domestic helper of the deceased.

In response to media queries by Stomp, the police said they were alerted to the accident at 6.41pm.

The woman was conveyed conscious to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

The four-year-old girl was unconscious when sent to the same hospital, where she subsequently succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.

The 53-year-old male car driver was arrested for causing death by a rash act and police investigations are ongoing.

A Stomp contributor passed by the accident site while on Bus 187 at close to 9pm and contributed video footage of the scene.

Several police vehicles can be seen, with officers and SMRT staff directing traffic.

There was also traces of blood on the road.

Two men who appeared to be in a zombie-like trance were spotted near a bus stop along Kallang Avenue yesterday (Oct 9) at around 7pm.

They were standing next to each other, hunched over with their arms dangling by their sides.

One of them was swaying slightly from left to right.

The sight was disconcerting for those waiting at the nearby bus stop opposite Aperia Mall.

"Everyone was staring at them but nobody did anything,"Stomp contributor Amanda said in a phone interview.

She added that they were probably too scared to get close and that she called the police and informed them about the men.

"Has anyone else come across such behaviour recently?" she asked.

Stomp understands that when the police arrived at the location, the men were gone.

It is unclear whether this was a prank or publicity stunt or if the men had taken any substances. January.

Stomp contributor LH came across a stack of dollar notes amounting to $1,190 at the dispensing tray of POSB Bank Automated teller machine (ATM) at Woodlands Town Centre yesterday (Oct 9) at around 7.20pm.

In a telephone interview, the Stomp contributor said he was planning to withdraw some money when he saw a man rushing off from the machine.

In his hurry, he did not take the $1,190 he withdrew as well as the receipt of the transaction.

Afraid that someone might take the money for his or her own use, the Stomp contributor decided to hold on to the cash for safekeeping.

He remained in the vicinity of the ATM for the next 10 to 15 minutes to see if the man returned.

When no one came back, he called POSB Bank for assistance and was advised to return the money to any of the bank's branches.

LH took the money home as the POSB Bank branches around the area were closed for the day.

Today (Oct 10), he handed over the money and receipt to a branch at Block 303, Woodlands Street 31, at around 1.30pm.

He said he was then informed by a representative of the branch that the person who made the withdrawal must call the bank to facilitate the returning of the money.

A forum contributor has written to The Straits Times to give his two cents' worth about the issues plaguing the train system in Singapore.

The contributor, Patrick Tan Siong Kuan, felt that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT should take the blame for the disruptions that commuters have been experiencing.

He wrote:

"It is strange to read the excuses that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been giving for the shutdowns of our train system.

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"First, it was the signalling system's fault. Then, it was the track's fault.

"With Saturday's flooding of the tunnel, resulting in a major shutdown of the North-South Line, it was the rain and water-pumping system's fault.

"The LTA and SMRT almost never admit that they could have been at fault. It seems that no one in the managements of LTA and SMRT have been held accountable for all these persistent problems.

"When the SMRT management team was first appointed, I was full of hope and support for them.

"Surely, if there was anyone who could do the job, a group of army generals with experience in running a most efficient fighting force should be able to do it. But I have been sorely disappointed and disillusioned.

"With the privatisation of SMRT, the management is no longer subject to public scrutiny. Operating under a shroud of secrecy, the management continues to be rewarded despite the sufferings of commuters.

Patrick Tan Siong Kuan

Having been awarded 2 Michelin Stars to date, Restaurant ANDRE is ranked Number 2 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2017.

But after 7 years, the Bukit Pasoh Road establishment has announced that it is to serve its last service on February 14, 2018.

Chef Andre Chiang released an official statement at about 3.41am this Wednesday morning saying that he wished to "re-prioritize [his] professional life from early next year" and that he "wish[es] to kindly return [his] Michelin stars and also request to not be included in the 2018 edition of the Michelin Guide Singapore."

It seems that Chef Andre would like to shift his focus to culinary education and cooking at his own leisure.

Chef Andre would still be overseeing his other restaurant RAW which is based in Taipei, although he has also requested for RAW to be excluded from the Michelin Guide Taiwan.

On the timing of his closure, Chef Andre said, "I've been looking for that unrealistic 'moment of perfection - three Michelin stars, World's Top 50 Restaurant'... Until now I realised, at this moment, it is perfect as it is."

He calls it his "duty" now to inculcate the next generation of young chefs in Taiwan and China.

Although Restaurant ANDRE's legacy will soon become a fond memory to the world's gourmets, I have no regrets, as we have achieved all that we have wanted to for Singapore and for Asia.

This article first appeared on 
HerWorld Online

A sole player has struck jackpot, winning $8,400,000 after purchasing a Quick Pick Ordinary Toto ticket from Beauty World Centre's Giant Supermarket.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, the $8400,000 was a result of the prize money snowballed over weeks, as no one had won on the last three draws on the Sep 28, Oct 2 and Oct 5 draws.

The jackpot of $8,400,000 was the highest to be won by a single winner this year.

The winning numbers were 6, 14, 17, 40, 43, 49, while the additional number was 48.

The second highest winnings of $8,030,687 occurred last month, after snowballing from the past three draws which saw no winners as well.

At long last, there will be a Banyan Tree resort in Singapore and it will offer one-of-a-kind experience in Mandai's new integrated nature and wildlife park.

Opening in 2023, the eco-friendly 400-room resort will offer guests an interesting range of tropical stays - from lowrise accommodation for families to exclusive elevated cabins and stylish treehouses sprawled over 4.6 ha of land in the eastern section of the park.

Expect comfort and sophisticated hotel services while you enjoy the rich biodiversity and forest-fresh air in your midst. The resort might come under a new brand of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, which now offers four brands catering to different market segments and lifestyle needs.

Besides getting easy access to five wildlife parks, guests can also enjoy a nature-themed indoor attraction in the resort. Also planned are guided nature walks, wildlife spotting tours, recycling workshops and educational movie screenings, said a statement issued by Mandai Park Holdings (MPH) today (Oct 11).

After achieving continuously glowing success with its premium resorts around the world for more than two decades, the award-winning homegrown Banyan Tree group is finally going to run one in Singapore.

Mr Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree, said: "After establishing 43 resorts in 25 countries over the past 23 years, we are excited to partner MPH to plant Banyan Tree's first flag in Singapore.

"With MPH's mission and expertise in wildlife conservation and education, this partnership is in line with Banyan Tree's ethos and experience in developing sustainable resorts that fit into the natural settings - to create an original and authentic accommodation experience like none other."

Owned by MPH, the resort, which will be sensitively built around existing vegetation, will be jointly created and named by both parties, said the statement.

Mr Mike Barclay, group CEO of MPH, said: "This stayover experience forms an integral part of our overall vision for the Mandai nature and wildlife precinct - to inspire guests to value and conserve biodiversity through memorable experiences."

Banyan Tree has had immense experience in developing and managing resorts that are tactfully located and sustainably operated. It has also run many environmental conservation and community programmes, noted Mr Barclay.

So in this regard, Banyan Tree and MPH are "deeply aligned", he said.

The Mandai area now features the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari. It will be expanded to include the Bird Park (to be relocated from Jurong) and a new Rainforest Park, both of which will open in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

chenj@sph.com.sg

We may have existed for over two decades - which is ancient in internet years - but it's nice to know that we're still cool enough for Singapore millennials.

AsiaOne has topped the list of Best Brand Improvers among Millennials in Singapore, according to ranking by YouGov BrandIndex, jumping from a score of 30.5 in 2016 to 39.6 this year.

Others in the top three were Lazada at second and Amex in third spot.

YouGov had asked consumers aged between 18 and 34 if they heard anything positive about the brand in the past two weeks and were then subsequently ranked on word-of-mouth scores, based on whether they had talked about a brand with their friends and family in the past two weeks.

AsiaOne, which was established as a news portal in 1995, underwent a major rebranding campaign in May. Since then, it has transformed into a content site that focuses on trending topics within Singapore and the region. 

It carries articles from content partners around Asia to bring to readers a diverse range of stories.

In May 2017, the same month AsiaOne unveiled its brand new look, the website won the award of excellence - the highest honour possible - at the 23rd Annual Communicator Awards.

Said AsiaOne's editor Karen Lim: "With our recent revamp in May where we have shifted our focus to trending news, it's encouraging that our efforts have paid off with the results of this survey. It's great to know that our team - who are also made up of millennials - have their ears to the ground and are giving our readers what they want."

"Millennials, those were born between 1980 and 1999, are one of the largest and most technology savvy generations ever. Marketing to this demographic is a priority for established and emerging brands alike. Leveraging BrandIndex and its different measurement metrics, we can see which brands are the most popular in the eyes of this generation," said Ervin Ha, head of data products at YouGov Asia Pacific.

Among best-perceived brands, McDonald's, Carousell and Taobao Southeast Asia were ranked tops.

Featuring prominently in the list were e-commerce and m-commerce brands, as well as brands from the food and beverage sector, providing some insight on what's popular among millennials.

These include Uniqlo (67.3), Starbucks (65.4), Singapore Airlines (65.2), Singtel (64.7) and KFC (62.1).

And yes, a big thank you goes out to all of you, our dear readers. Keep on reading!

a1admin@sph.com.sg

Has someone recently contacted you regarding an investment in the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project?

It's a scam, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) warned in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Oct 11).

Scammers have been presenting fake documents and requesting for money transfers, LTA said.

The fake documents include contracts, bonds, and construction drawings, with some bearing the crests of Singapore or Malaysia governments on them.

Those who have received such requests should make a police report immediately, the authority added.

The 350km HSR linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur will have eight stations and is expected to start operation by end of 2026, according to reports.

It is estimated to cost between RM50 billion (S$16.1 billion) and RM60 billion (S$19.3 billion), The Star reported.

Commuters can look forward to a shorter travel time as the HSR will cut travel time to 90 minutes, as compared to four hours by car.

minlee@sph.com.sg

After the initial furore surrounding Halimah Yaacob being, err, elected as president, Singaporeans have predictably decided it wasn't worth the fuss and gone back to their daily lives.

Despite the initial outrage, most people have no clue how having Halimah Yaccob as president can have an effect on our lives. After all, the word "figurehead" is commonly bandied about in relation to the presidential post.

Well, guess what, it's not a given that our new president will necessarily have zero impact on our daily lives.

One of the president's roles is safeguarding Singapore's reserves.

The government's reserves are basically their assets and savings, which they can draw upon to fund local schools, pay out Baby Bonuses, subsidise childcare centres, provide healthcare subsidies, upgrade HDB flats, dole out GST vouchers and so on.

The president can choose to exercise certain powers pertaining to the government's reserves, such as the following.

APPROVING THE ANNUAL BUDGET

Lots of Singaporeans pay attention whenever the budget is announced each year. People want to know where all that money they pay in the form of income tax, GST, COE, vice tax and so on will be going.

That's where the president comes in. She has the power to reject the budget… but only if it proposes to draw upon past reserves.

Think of the government's reserves as a savings account where the cash saved up over the years has been stashed. If the government is making enough money that year, through taxation, COE and so on, to fund its entire budget, there will be no need to draw upon past reserves.

It is when expenditure exceeds revenue and the government needs to dig into its past reserves that the president can veto the budget.

To be fair, the Singapore government has traditionally been very careful about spending its reserves. The first time the government ever had to dip into its reserves was 2009.

But given the rapidly aging population and tough economic times ahead, it's likely that the government will have to start dipping into its reserves more and more, which is when the president will get to use her powers, if she wants to.

APPROVING THE APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, BOARD MEMBER OF STAT BOARDS AND GOVERNMENT COMPANIES, AND KEY PUBLIC OFFICERS

You don't need me to tell you that the people who govern Singapore and those who sit at the top of stat boards and government companies such as the MAS, the CPF Board, GIC and Temasek have a great deal of power.

That's why it is important to have some safeguards over the appointment and removal of these very important people.

The president has the power to veto the appointment and removal of these people, as well as other major public officers including the Chief Valuer, the Accountant-General and the Auditor-General.

INFLUENCING HOW INVESTMENT RETURNS FROM PAST RESERVES ARE TO BE USED FOR THE ANNUAL BUDGET

Not only does the president have to approve the government's annual budget in the event that it requires dipping into the government's reserves, her approval also has to be sought regarding the way in which the reserves are used.

Simply put, there are some rules governing how investment returns are used, based on the expected rate of return of the government's investments (after deducting for inflation and liabilities).

They're only permitted to spend a maximum of 50 per cent of the expected real returns.

But of course, what an "expected rate of return" is can vary greatly depending on whom you ask. That's why the president has the power to veto this estimation if she disagrees with it, in which case the government will be required to use the 20-year historical average rate of return when determining how much they're allowed to spend.

As you can see, the president does have some powers, especially in years where we're looking at a budget deficit, which while very rare in the past (so far we've only had a deficit in 2009 and 2015) could well happen more often from now on thanks to our demographic woes and economic uncertainty.

Of course, only time will tell whether the president chooses to exercise her powers or remain compliant to the government.

What are your views on the election of Singapore's new president? Tell us in the comments!

Local broadcaster Mediacorp has taken disciplinary action against a cameraman for his inappropriate conduct towards Channel NewsAsia producer (CNA) Juwon Park.

In a Facebook post last week, Miss Park shared screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation she had with the colleague, where she confronted him for making sexist remarks about her.

Miss Park alleged that the man had told her: "I cannot be a presenter because I have no boobs" and "girls shouldn't be too smart for their own good and I should act dumb".

He then responded by saying, "I'm so sorry if it hurt you" and "it was meant to be a joke". However, he also added that "it's how the industry works", implying that a woman either has to be "super pretty" or "have boobs" in order to succeed.

The post, titled "Sexism in 2017" is no longer publicly accessible.

Miss Park, who previously interned at Bloomberg, Associated Press and Google, said in a subsequent post that this was not a one-off incident in her one and a half year stint at Mediacorp.

However, she said that her concerns were always brushed off by both male and female colleagues who called her "unlucky".

In response to the incident, a Mediacorp spokesman said: "We have concluded that the allegations are valid and have taken the necessary disciplinary action against the staff who had made the inappropriate remarks."

The New Paper reported that following Miss Park's posts, other producers in Mediacorp have also come forward to its management to share similar experiences.

The spokesman added: "Further to Juwon's complaints, other colleagues have since brought forth allegations of inappropriate conduct by the staff in question and by two freelancers who work in the same unit as him.

"We are investigating the allegations against the freelancers and will not hesitate to take appropriate action.

"We embrace the diversity of our workforce and will fight any form of discrimination or harassment that threatens our core values.

"Our code of business conduct and ethics states that we do not condone any form of harassment and that employees who know of or witness inappropriate behaviours should report them.

"All employees of Mediacorp sign a renewed commitment to this code every year."

According to TNP, Miss Park, who had already been serving notice last week, has been released from her two-month notice period and that she has given back her media pass and work pass to Mediacorp.

She wrote in a public Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 10) that "it has been the most difficult week in my life."

Besides bearing the brunt of "very graphic and disgusting" comments on online forums, Miss Park said she was also shunned by even her closest colleagues, while some blamed her for being unable to "take jokes".

Describing it as a "painful" experience, she added: "I don't regret that I spoke up-- although it probably left some mud in my reputation and future job prospect. I spoke up because I cannot justify my job if I cannot even speak up for myself."