"We have two hands, one is to work hard and the other is to help others."

These words moved Stomp contributor XYW to tears during her night shift at a restaurant recently, and tugged at the heartstrings of netizens after being shared on Stomp.

A single mother of two young kids, Penang-born XYW arrived in Singapore 10 years ago and has struggled to meet ends meet ever since her divorce in 2012.

"My ex-husband, a Singaporean, left me for a woman from China," she told Stomp.

The 37-year-old does odd jobs such as cleaning houses and washing clothes in the day, while her nights are spent toiling away as a full-time employee at a steamboat restaurant in Katong.

XYW, who declined to be identified over fears of losing her job, said: "As I am a Permanent Resident, I have very little subsidies.

"My take-home salary from the restaurant is $700+ while I can earn $50 for every home I clean (about four hours each time). Sometimes, I have to clean up to 20 houses a month."

Read also

Single mum working multiple jobs cries after getting $2,000 tip from kind S'porean man

Despite her hard work, XYW had hit a rough patch as her children's school fees were overdue and she lacked funds.

But a generous $2,000 tip in cash from a regular customer helped her tide over the crisis.

XYW initially thought the extra cash was a "mistake" as the customer's bill was only $66, but broke down in tears upon realising the truth.

Stomp got in touch with the customer, whom XYW identified as Mr Atwell Tay, to find out what inspired his actions.

"I felt that it was something that I had to. My family is also in the F&B business, so I know what a tough industry it can be, having helped my father in the kitchen before. It requires a lot of energy and can be very stressful.

"She (XYW) is also a very hardworking person, and this is a quality that's hard to find in Singapore nowadays. I appreciate and am impressed by people who work hard instead of stretching their hands out to ask for money," said the 32-year-old oil trader.

Mr Tay, who had been accompanied by his wife and eldest daughter (aged nine) at the restaurant, also encouraged XYW to stay strong and continue to give her best.

STRONG FAMILY VALUES

Mr Tay's love for his family is evident from the way he spoke about them during his exclusive video interview with Stomp.

His main motivation for helping others comes from wanting to be an exemplary role model for his three daughters: "Being humble is a virtue and I want them to see that."

And his moving quote about what our two hands are for? It was a lesson that he derived from his mother when he was 19 years old and had yet to serve his National Service (NS).

Admitting that he went through a rebellious streak during his teenage years, Mr Tay said: "She told me I could do whatever I want, but to always have commitment and consistency, or one would never succeed."

GENEROSITY =/= WEALTH

He first made headlines in 2015 after being given a flashy Lotus supercar by his mother for his birthday that year.

But in response to critics who think that his family background allows him to be generous with money, Mr Tay pointed out that lending a helping hand is not about being well-off.

"Coming from a poor family and becoming rich doesn't mean you will end up helping everyone. Neither does coming from a rich family and being successful mean you will help other people. It all boils down to the individual," he shared.

Likewise, XYW had only good things to say about Mr Tay.

She told Stomp, "He visits the restaurant about thrice a week, always in a different car.

"However, I am really touched because he always clears his own plates, telling my colleagues that it's okay and to relax.

"Whenever I serve wealthy people, they are usually very proud. But Mr Tay is humble and always greets us, saying thank you and everything."

Mr Tay, who is also a venture capitalist, revealed that he is no stranger to people taking advantage of his kindness and generosity.

Still, he remains undeterred and wants to act as an inspiration for the younger generation.

When presented with a Stomp Goody Bag, Mr Tay expressed his wishes to donate it to his daughter's school.

"I would like to donate the Goody Bag to someone else because I am not here for the publicity. I'm here because I hope that more people in our generation can work hard."

Watch Stomp's full interview with Mr Tay below.

She would never have imagined that picking up a phone call would cost her $80,000.

The 60-year-old woman had received a call from a 'police officer' to inform her that her bank accounts had been used for money laundering purposes.

She was asked to provide her personal information and to keep the 'investigation' a secret.

The elderly woman received another call and was directed to a webpage that resembled the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) website. There, she keyed in her bank account details and passwords.

After visiting the webpage, she discovered that a large sum of money was transferred out of her bank accounts without her knowledge.

The victim made a police report on Tuesday (Nov 14) and investigations are ongoing, the police said in a press release on Wednesday (Nov 15).

The woman had fallen for a phishing scam, where users are tricked into providing their personal or financial information through bogus websites or emails that appear to come from official sources.

Following the report, the police clarified that the official SPF website address is www.police.gov.sg and advised members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties:

- Ignore the calls. Scammers may use Caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number;

- Ignore instructions to remit or transfer money. No government agency will inform you to make a payment through a telephone call;

- Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on the website or to callers over the phone;

- Be wary of befriending strangers online who may ask to use your bank account to either receive money or transfer money to someone else - you may be in the process of being recruited as a money mule;

For scam-related advice, call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688.

a1admin@sph.com.sg

Indonesian art may not be as well known to international collectors as, say, Chinese art, but that is set to change. With big events such as Jakarta Biennale and the opening of swanky new museums, the Indonesian art scene is revving up.

Enjoyed Ed Sheeran's concert in Singapore last weekend? Find out more about the pop superstar in Weekend Interview. And also in the magazine, hang out in Hiroshima, which has risen from the ashes of World War II to become one of Japan's most scenic cities.

Put away your phone. Sit down and crack open that boardgame. You'd be in good company, with the boardgame business enjoying a massive revival today. Our Brunch feature in the main paper chronicles the renaissance of tabletop gaming.

Cubicle Files, meanwhile, looks at how to deal with a boss who's an insecure leader, and how to spot the signs.

What do Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Marina Abramovic have in common? Sass & The City gives the lowdown on the high art of performance.

In The Finish Line, we line up the non-performing teams that are stuck in the World Cup wilderness.

And will a new 2.0-litre gasoline engine help Jaguar's sleek sport utility vehicle (SUV) sink its claws into a wider audience? Find out in The Steering Column.

To subscribe, visit btsub.sg/weekend

Transport operator SMRT has refuted claims that its group chief executive, Desmond Quek, fired half of the employees in a rail department after taking over the reins in 2012.

SMRT's response comes after allegations that former CEO, Mdm Saw Phaik Hwa, "fired 25 per cent of the night staff", which was "not so bad", until "Desmond stepped in and fired 50 per cent of the night crew".

"So the original [workforce] is down to 35 per cent", it was alleged.

It is unclear where these allegations originated from, though a screenshot was shared by SMRT on Facebook yesterday (Nov 16).

Refuting the claims, SMRT wrote: "This is obviously fake! How would SMRT have been able to complete the change out of all the power rails and 188,000 sleepers if staff count had indeed been cut so drastically?"

The company also clarified that "the Permanent Way (PWAY) team that looks after our track and track-side infrastructure almost DOUBLED" under Mr Quek's tenure.

"It grew from 206 staff to 395 staff from 31 December 2010 till 30 September this year," said SMRT, adding that "the number of night shift workers also increased by 65 per cent."

Unfortunately, SMRT's statement seems to have gotten netizens even more riled up.

Many took issue with the tone of the statement, which they deemed "unprofessional":

Some felt that SMRT could have better spent the time refuting "fake news" on resolving more pressing issues:

This comes after train disruptions occurred on the East-West Line, Circle Line and North-South Line -- all of which are operated by SMRT -- on the same day (Nov 15).

A collision at Joo Koon MRT Station on the EWL that day left 36 people injured.

An interesting thread went up on Reddit Singapore yesterday.

Titled "I am an SMRT staff and here is what is wrong", the thread begins with the writer introducing themselves as a Station Manager.

A little disappointingly, the thread is not about the breakdowns. However, it does portray SMRT as "basically a swamp filled with leeches".

In all honesty, the thread reads a bit like a rant, and we encourage you to take it with a pinch of salt.

Read also

SMRT refutes claims that CEO Desmond Kuek fired 50% of staff: 'This is obviously fake!'

The main thread has been summarised here, but here's the original thread. [Edit: The post has since been deleted]

The Darker Side Of SMRT

The writer begins their diatribe with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

SMRT problems have been worsening since the "cable tie" problem, the writer say.

But the main problem is that station staff are lazy.

"They always say "we are working on it". […] If only the people here aren't that all lazy and complacent."

Complacency from behind an "old bird" (long-term employee) sets in and so, many choose to slack off.

And while the writer does admit to work boredom, they can't tolerate that many colleagues "sleep, play games or even just lepak (loaf around)".

At one station the aircon went out [and] the Station Master did not deploy fans because [they] wanted to sleep.

One recent change at MRT stations was the stopping of EZ-link top-ups at passenger service counters (PSC).

Initially considered a move towards a cashless future, the writer reveals a darker side to the truth.

"Station staff always "borrow" money from the drawer to buy lunch/dinner/groceries [and] lie on the cash report or blame other staff."

"There was this incident where the Tanah Merah Station Master stole $20k."

SMRT Is "A Swamp Of Leeches"

Staff are not worried about punishment as it's always the "CEO and top management who get the blame."

After all, they are the ones attending conferences and whatnot.

"We are the ones who did it but we only cut bonus or [receive] "strongly worded" emails. […] Most of the time, our uncle Desmond and Khaw take the blame."

[It's] ironic because the passengers give gifts to staff who I know are lazy.

Neither do they need to worry about being fired as there is collusion with supervisors.

Even if there's proof, they will threaten to post on social media, shaming SMRT for firing a hardworking person, "even though he always cuts corners and slacks off."

"Singaporeans will accept [it] because the blue collar worker kena fired by men in white."

The SMRT is just basically a swamp filled with leeches. Top to bottom, all of them like your NSmen: lazy, chao keng, siam and arrow people.

Solution = Foreign Talent?

"Actually, I also don't know [how to fix]," the writer concludes.

Colleagues suggest hiring a Japanese CEO because they "always take the blame and [we] can still enjoy our bonus."

You need to remove this people, they already got the mindset of not doing work.

"I support the idea [of hiring foreign talent], because they are at least hard working and if they don't do work, they have to leave Singapore."

Read also

Passenger recalls getting 'thrown forward' by impact after train incident at Joo Koon MRT Station

"My colleagues [get] jealous when they get awards by SMRT, but […] at least they do their work and don't go against everyone."

"I'm not saying I want foreign talent to work, but it's actually better for the train system."

What about you, do you agree with what has been shared?

This article was first published in Vulcan Post.

A domestic helper from Myanmar who had worked in Singapore for just 40 days felt unappreciated and in a moment of misguided rage, strangled her employer's 19-year-old daughter with a pillowcase.

The incident happened in a Trellis Tower condominium unit on Feb 18, 2017, at around 9.30am, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

During the scuffle, both the accused, Su Hlaning Hnin and the victim, Ms Li fell onto the floor of the living room.

The process lasted for about five minutes, and Ms Li sustained multiple injuries on various parts of her body.

At one point, she managed to escape and quickly ran into her room but was so afraid that she forgot to lock the door.

Su followed and after calming herself down warned Ms Li not to tell her parents about the incident.

Ms Li hid in the toilet and sent a distress message to her parents, asking for help.

Su denied harming the girl and claimed that the injuries on Ms Li were self-inflicted

After a seven-day trial, the judge found Su's account to be unconvincing, sentencing her to 22 weeks' jail.

Su subsequently filed an appeal in the High Court.

The court heard that Su had started working for the family on Jan 10, 2017.

Ms Li and her parents claimed that they had never quarrelled with the maid, and found her work satisfactory.

On the day of the incident, Ms Li's mother had brought her grandmother for a medical checkup and grocery shopping.

Ms Li's brother was gone to a gym, leaving her and Su alone in the house.

She was using her computer at the dining table when the maid suddenly sneaked up from her left and wrapped a pillowcase around her neck.

Su told her: "See, see."

Ms Li could not comprehend the situation and looked up, but as she lifted her head, the grip on her neck tightened.

Instinctively, Ms Li attempted to push Su away and struggled as she stood up from her chair.

Ms Li said she was so focused on escaping, she did not notice whether they had fallen onto the floor first or hit the wall.

A medical examination revealed that Ms Li had suffered many bruises on her head, neck, abdomen, shoulders and various parts on the left side of her body.

PETALING JAYA - Malaysians work an average of 15 hours more than their contracted hours each week, surpassing Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, but has one of the highest percentage of productivity loss.

A newly released workplace survey of the four countries conducted by AIA Vitality found that Malaysian employees are overworked, stressed, lead unhealthy lifestyles, and as a result, are at high risk of health problems and productivity loss.

The survey also found that Malaysia has the highest percentage of employees who slept less than seven hours a night at 56 per cent.

Malaysian employees also reported the highest percentage of physical inactivity with 64 per cent doing less than 150 minutes of physical activity a week.

Due to the high stress and sedentary lifestyle, the survey found that 84 per cent of employees reported at least one type of musculoskeletal condition while 53 per cent are at risk of mental health issues.

The survey linked poor employee health and well-being to a major loss in organisation productivity.

It said in Malaysia, the average yearly cost of health-related absenteeism and presenteeism per organisation is estimated at RM2.7 million (S$880,000).

Presenteeism is when an employee is physically present for work despite being sick or not being productive.

Among the four countries surveyed, Malaysian employees recorded the second-highest number of absenteeism and presenteeism at 67 days a year, after Hong Kong.

The Malaysia's Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality Survey 2017 involved a total of 5,369 employees from 47 organisations.

The wider Healthiest Workplace survey, encompassing Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, surveyed 214 organisations and 10,001 employees in total.

The 1,162 employees from Singapore were found to have long working hours but respondents reported less stress than those in the other three countries surveyed.

The survey noted that Singapore has a culture of working long hours, with "a significant proportion of employees" reporting that they "did not eat a balanced diet or take sufficient physical exercise".

Taking a break is much harder for Singapore workers, with 14.3 per cent of Singaporeans reporting difficulty in this area.

The survey also stated that there are "some concerns about levels of stress in the Singapore workplace and poor sleep patterns among employees", with 51 per cent of respondents saying they sleep less than seven hours a night.

A Maserati driver, Lee Cheng Yan, 34, injured an on-duty Traffic Police (TP) officer in a hit-and-run accident on Friday night (Nov 17).

Lee was arrested on Saturday morning (Nov 18) and charged in court for a rash act causing grievous hurt.

A video of the Maserati driver fleeing the scene after the accident was captured and uploaded onto Facebook by user Yan Han.

In the video, a motorcyclist attempted to give chase but was unable to keep up with Lee's Maserati.

According to an initial official statement from the police released on Saturday (Nov 18) at 1am, it was looking for Lee, who had accelerated his Maserati towards an on-duty Traffic Police (TP) officer when stopped during an enforcement check along Bedok Reservoir Road at around 9.20pm on Friday (Nov 17).

The officer suffered multiple injuries and was conveyed to Changi General Hospital for treatment.

In an updated statement at 4.21am, the police said that officers have tracked down and arrested Lee at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) unit in Geylang Bahru Road.

Lee's Maserati had earlier been found abandoned at Cedar Avenue.

This was not Lee's first offence.

In July 2017, Lee was fined $13,500 for an illegal modification on his Maserati - installing an altered exhaust system on it - and also causing an accident at Orchard Road in 2016, which saw a motorcyclist being injured.

Lee has been caught a total of eight times between May 2013 and November 2015 for usage of the altered car.

For his latest offence, he was charged with the offence of rash act causing grievous hurt in court on Saturday morning.

If convicted, Lee faces up to 4 years' jail and a fine which may extend to $10,000 or both.

A woman was hit by an SBS Transit bus in Sengkang on Friday (Nov 17) and conveyed unconscious to a Khoo Teck Puat Hospital where she later died.

The accident occurred at the junction of Anchorvale Road and Sengkang East way, around 2.40pm.

The victim, Ms Huang Luyang, 38, is survived by a husband and two sons, aged one and three.

During the time of the accident, Ms Huang is believed to have been crossing the road on her way to work.

It is unclear, however, if she was using the pedestrian crossing.

According to The Straits Times, Ms Huang was trapped beneath the bus.

In an update by the police on Saturday, Ms Huang was pronounced dead, and investigations were ongoing.

The time of death was around 3.40am, reported The Straits Times.

Photos showing the bus parked along the side of the road have been circulating online.

In the photos, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers and several other people were seen at the back of the bus.

In response to media queries, Ms Tammy Tan, senior vice-president of corporate communications at SBS Transit, said the company was very sorry and very sad about the accident.

She added: "Our top priority is to assist the family as best we can in this very difficult time.

"We are meanwhile assisting the police with their investigations."

KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) has responded to a Stomp query regarding a viral Facebook post from a couple complaining that their daughter's condition was downplayed by an on-duty doctor, attributing her subsequent deterioration to lapses in the doctor's judgement.

In the Facebook posts of couple Tricia Ang and Warren Lim, the enraged parents recounted how they had to wait between three to four hours when they brought their daughter into KKH on the night of Nov 13.

When they finally met a doctor, Dr Peter Wong, they were told that their daughter's condition wasn't serious, and they had to wait a few more hours, as priority would be given to emergency cases.

However, the girl's condition took a turn for the worse, and around 11am on Nov 14, she became motionless.

An ambulance was called and she was admitted to the hospital.

The post read:

"My poor little baby!!

"Yesterday night came into KKH, waited for three to four hours and the doctor says she's not (in a) serious condition, called us to wait (for) another two to three hours, (as) emergency cases come first.

"Doctor still said that if we don't want to wait, we can cancel and go (to) another place.

"And today morning at around 11am, this thing happened to my baby.

"Called the ambulance and (the hospital) admitted her.

"Thank god she (still) has a response."

The post also showed Mr Lim administering Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on his daughter.

In an accompanying video, a family member could be heard telling emergency response officer that they were not able to 'check the breathing' of the girl.

The family member was then told to continue CPR on the girl until the ambulance arrives.

As Mr Lim continued administering CPR, the child's legs started moving, and the member said that she had become 'responsive'.

The Facebook posts and videos have since been removed.

In response to Stomp's query, KKH issued an official statement on their Facebook page stating that there had been 'no lapses in medical care or patient safety.'

The post which was uploaded on Sunday (Nov 19) read:

"A recent post circulating online mentions our hospital and doctor, Dr Peter Wong, with regard to the KKH Children's Emergency.

"We have investigated the matter and are in contact with the child and family.

"The facts are as follows: When the child was first assessed at the Children's Emergency, she was found to have fever, but was otherwise stable. Our attending paediatric consultant, Dr Peter Wong, who is an experienced and well-regarded doctor, acknowledged the inconvenience caused to the family by the wait, and tried to explain to the parent that there were other patients who were more serious that needed to be attended more urgently and that the child would be attended to as soon as possible.

"The child's condition was stable and she was not in danger. If her situation had changed or deteriorated, she would have been attended to promptly.

"We understand that the patient then left KKH Children's Emergency before further medical examination could be conducted.

"About 12 hours later, the child was again brought to the Children's Emergency and she was assessed to be stable.

"She was admitted to the general ward and provided with the necessary care. She was discharged the following day and is now at home.

"We have reviewed the case, and there were no lapses in medical care or patient safety.

"The hospital's priority is to provide appropriate and timely care to our patients.

"As such, emergency cases have to be given priority. KKH is committed to improving our patients' experience, but parents and caregivers have to also play their part to be responsible and considerate to enable our medical professionals to perform their tasks.

"Please share this post."