The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced in a statement on Tuesday (May 24) that it has served BSI Bank Limited (BSI Bank) notice of intention to withdraw its status as a merchant bank in Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank's operations and gross misconduct by some of the bank's staff.

BSI Bank has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005, offering private banking services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSI SA, a bank founded in 1873 and headquartered in Switzerland.

This is the first time that MAS is withdrawing its approval for a merchant bank since 1984, when Jardine Fleming (Singapore) Pte Ltd was shut down for serious lapses in its advisory work.

The Swiss bank is also embroiled in global probes into Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

MAS said it is working closely with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the home regulator of BSI SA, to oversee an orderly closure of BSI Bank in Singapore. Clients and customers of BSI Bank are assured that it is solvent and has assets in excess of its liabilities and commitments. It also has the full support of its parent bank, BSI SA in Switzerland.

Back in 2011, MAS inspected BSI Bank and found policy and process lapses at its front office and weak enforcement by control functions. These lapses were rectified but MAS inspected the bank again in 2014 and uncovered serious issues in its due diligence checks on assets underlying the investment funds structured for the bank's customers.

Following this, MAS instructed BSI Bank's management to increase scrutiny of the bank's risk management processes and internal controls. In 2015, MAS conducted a more intrusive third inspection which then revealed multiple breaches of anti-money laundering regulations and a pervasive pattern of non-compliance.

Specific regulatory lapses by BSI Bank included the processing of multiple unusual transactions which were essentially pass-through trades often without economic substance.

Approvals of such transactions were based purely on faith of client representations despite deficient documentation and concerns raised by the bank's compliance officers.

FINMA has approved the acquisition of the entire BSI Group by EFG International, a bank authorised by FINMA and based in Switzerland, MAS said.

In the interest of BSI Bank customers, MAS will allow the transfer of the Singapore subsidiary's assets and liabilities to the Singapore branch of EFG Bank AG or to the parent entity, BSI SA.

The Authority found considerable evidence of gross dereliction of duty and failure to discharge oversight responsibilities on the part of BSI Bank's senior management. Its ineffective leadership led to a poor risk culture, which prioritised questionable customer demands ahead of compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and the bank's own internal controls.

Several of the bank staff had also committed acts of misconduct such as making material misrepresentations to auditors, abetting improper valuations of assets and taking instructions from persons other than customers' authorised representatives on matters relating to their accounts.

The severe lapses and failings in BSI Bank were the result of the actions or omissions of these individuals.

MAS has also referred to the public prosecutor the names of six members of BSI Bank's senior management and staff to evaluate whether they have committed criminal offences.

They are: Former chief executive Hans Peter Brunner; former deputy chief executive Raj Sriram; head of wealth management services Kevin Michael Swampillai (who is suspended by the bank); former senior private banker Yak Yew Chee; former wealth planner Yeo Jiawei; and former senior private banker Seah Yew Foong Yvonne.

Additionally, MAS has also served BSI Bank notice to impose financial penalties amounting to $13.3 million for a total of 41 breaches of MAS Notice 1014 - Prevention of Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. These breaches include failure to perform enhanced customer due diligence on high risk accounts and to monitor for suspicious customer transactions on an ongoing basis.

MAS managing director Ravi Menon said: "BSI Bank is the worst case of control lapses and gross misconduct that we have seen in the Singapore financial sector. It is a stark reminder to all financial institutions to take their anti-money laundering responsibilities seriously."

Financial institutions in Singapore are required to comply strictly with the Authority's regulations on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.

MAS is conducting supervisory reviews of several other financial institutions and bank accounts through which suspicious and unusual transactions have taken place.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - A surge of patients with stomach inflammation has prompted the closure of Pek Kio Market and Food Centre for two days starting on Wednesday (May 25), and it will re-open on May 27.

As of Monday (May 23), more than 180 cases of gastroenteritis - inflammation of the stomach and intestines - have been reported, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.

Authorities were first alerted of an unusual increase in the number of cases of gastroenteritis by a general practitioner at Owen Road on May 19, the joint statement by MOH, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), National Environment Agency (NEA), and Public Utilities Board (PUB) revealed.

Further investigations found that other clinics in the area had experienced a similar increase.

"In all, more than 180 cases had sought medical treatment for symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain in the past week," the statement read.

The patients typically recovered within a few days. However, seven patients were warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for observation, and all of them are recovering well.

Through their investigations, authorities linked the patients to the Owen Road cluster.

"Many of them had also patronised the Pek Kio Market and Food Centre, although the investigations did not identify any specific food stall that could be the source of the reported cases," the statement added.

A thorough cleaning of Pek Kio Market and Food Centre will be conducted during the two days of closure.

grongloh@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - One Virgin Mary statue is attired somewhat like a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk. Another figurine of the revered mother of Jesus Christ resembles bodhisattva Guanyin floating on a plume of clouds.

These are but only two examples of the remarkable cultural interplay seen in old Christian art produced in Asia as the religion spread in many corners of the region, from Indonesia to Japan, and China to the Philippines.

Assembling highlights of this unique synthesis in items crafted over 800 years is a new exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) - Christianity in Asia: Sacred Art and Visual Splendour.

Starting from Friday (May 27), the first-ever such display will feature more than 150 sacred treasures from Singapore, France, Portugal, Italy, Hong Kong, and the Philippines and 20 renowned institutions and private collections around the world. Many will be unveiled here for the very first time.

Complementing prized items from Musee du Louvre, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and Lisbon's National Museum of Ancient Art, will be objects from ACM's collection, such as the largest known Sri Lankan ivory sculpture of Mother Mary.

The exhibition, which will run till September 11, will cover Christian art spanning from the 13th to the 20th century, with special attention paid to the period of 16th to 18th century when missionary and international trade activities flourished.

European Christian subjects in objects were designed with local motifs and patterns, or distinctively local materials such as Sri Lankan ivory, Chinese porcelain and Vietnamese mother-of-pearl were used to make them. Interestingly, many of the artists who created Christian images belonged to other faiths.

Here are some highlights:

1) Virgin and Child

The largest known Sri Lankan ivory of the Virgin and Child. Dated mid-16th century. The pleated garments are are not Western in style. The shawl on Mary is the same type of garb worn by Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. Three incised lines on the neck of Mary and Jesus are distinguishing marks seen on the Buddha.

2) Shrine with a painting of Holy Family with John the Baptist

Shrine with doors from Japan. Dated late 16th century. This ornate portable Jesuit shrine is made of lacquered wood, enhanced with gold decoration and mother-of-pearl. Doors with flowering trees and birds open to reveal an oil painting on copper showing the Holy Family with John the Baptist. The painting may have been made in Europe, Americas or Asia, and then shipped to Japan. Alternatively, empty lacquer shrines may have been exported. It is believed they were made for a variety of customers such as wealthy Japanese Christians, as well as European and local clergy.


3) Portrait of Matteo Ricci

Oil on canvas by Emmanuele Pereira aka You Wenhui, Beijing, China. Dated 1610. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), an Italian Jesuit, devoted his life to propagating Christianity in China. He is dressed here like a Confucian scholar, with long robes and a tall four-corner hat. This is the only known portrait of Ricci.

4) Bureau shrine

Bureau in wood, gold, lacquer, silver and brass from China, probably Guangzhou. Dated 1730s. Created in the style of an early 18th-century English "bureau bookcase", this is the only known Chinese lacquer bureau made as a Christian shrine. The ivory sculpture of Christ on the Cross was carved in Goa, India in the late 17th or early 18th century.

5) Virgin and Child with John the Baptist

Colour painting on paper by Muhammad Zaman, Iran. Dated 1682-83. The image of the Virgin and Child with John the Baptist is generally European style. The presence of Christian subjects in Islamic art is unsurprising since the Virgin, Christ, and John the Baptist are respected figures in Islam. The artist may have made images for Christians, such as members of the Armenian church. But not all were made for Christians.

Highlighting another effort by the museum to present a broad perspective of pan-Asian cultures, ACM director, Dr Alan Chong, said: "Christian art in Asia was created by artists of many different faiths: Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Confucian, and so on. New motifs and materials were used in these objects, which reflect many heritages. Moreover, many of the images were collected by patrons who were non-Christian. This demonstrates the curiosity and openness evident throughout Asia, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries."

Christianity in Asia: Sacred Art and Visual Splendour exhibition runs from May 27 to September 11, 2016 at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Admission charges apply.

chenj@sph.com.sg

The man who hit the news in March for living on a lorry with his pregnant wife was detained early this month, for failing to appear in court thrice for a lawsuit over his ex-wife's alimony.

My Paper and Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported in previous months about 44-year-old delivery man Wang Baohua, who lived like a nomad with his Vietnamese wife.

They cooked, ate, did their laundry and slept on the back of the vehicle at Changi Beach Park at night.

After his plight was reported, Mr Wang managed to get a two-room rental flat at Bedok North last month.

However, when he headed to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) on May 5 to update his address, he was detained, Wanbao reported yesterday.

Mr Wang explained that he had lived at a rental flat in Macpherson many years ago but moved out to live on his lorry after that and had no fixed address. The court sent letters to his old Macpherson address and he did not receive them.

He was detained for 12 hours before a friend bailed him out.

Mr Wang said he was most worried about his pregnant wife while he was detained.

"I was alone and I couldn't call her. She can't speak Mandarin and I was worried that she wouldn't know how to go home. Thankfully, she met a good person who helped her."

Last Thursday, he went to court to address the alimony case with his ex-wife.

Mr Wang's wife, Nguyen Thi Phu Vinh, told Wanbao that Vietnamese media had carried their story as well.

Her parents heard about her "hard life" here and asked her to return home.

Friends asked about her well-being and Vietnamese consulate staff contacted her.

When the news broke, more than 50 My Paper readers wrote in to offer items ranging from furniture and baby clothes to milk powder.

The couple, who thanked readers for their offers of help but turned down the gifts, have furnished their flat with items from friends.

"We have all the furniture we need. Thank you everyone for your goodwill but my house cannot accommodate so many items," said Mr Wang.

He added that his greatest wish is for his child to be born healthy and for his lawsuit to be settled smoothly.

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Suburban mall Compass Point in Sengkang, which closed in October last year for a facelift, has been given a new name closer to the original when it reopens later this year.

The revamped Compass One will feature an enlarged public library over two levels, more than 50 new retailers and newly improved amenities such as a children's playground, the mall's owner, M&G Real Estate, announced in a press release last week.

The mall was in the news last December when it held a naming contest on social media, with the winner awarded a $1,000 cash prize. But the name that was picked - 1 Sengkang Mall - was criticised for being boring and lacking in creativity.

Many also requested that the mall retain its original name.

On why the management decided on the second name change, M&G said it had been getting a lot of feedback from its customers who "miss the old name and want it back".

"So we have put Compass back in the name. But we also wanted to stick with our original plan to give the mall a new name to reflect a fresh, lively and vibrant experience that is going to be a step up from its predecessor," a spokesman said.

"So we have mixed the old and the new with Compass One. One is the address of the site and also reflects our ambition to make this the best shopping experience in the area."

In its press release, M&G revealed that 90 per cent of the retail space in the mall has been leased to tenants, well ahead of its targeted opening in the third quarter.

Supermarket chain Cold Storage, foodcourt operator Kopitiam and the Sengkang Public Library will remain the anchor tenants.

Erle Spratt, manager of M&G's core Asia real-estate investment strategy, said: "The substantial investment we have made to refurbish and upgrade the mall as well as acquiring full ownership demonstrates our long-term confidence in the Sengkang suburban retail market.

"Closing the mall for the works shows our determination to deliver the improvements safely and efficiently to minimise inconvenience for residents."

M&G Real Estate, the real-estate fund management arm of M&G Investments, took full ownership of the mall in February. It had previously owned a majority stake since 2002.

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There is a new weapon in the war against dengue and Zika, and it fits right inside your smartphone.

Mozzie Watch Keeper @ North West is an interactive e-learning mobile application launched yesterday in an effort to rally the community to learn about, prevent, spot and report cases of potential mosquito breeding grounds.

It is jointly developed by North West Community Development Council (CDC), Holland Bukit-Panjang Town Council and the National Environment Agency (NEA).

According to NEA, the warmer weather this year has shortened the breeding cycles of mosquitoes, which has resulted in an unusually high number of dengue cases since the start of this year - at least 7,968 so far.

The app was developed to address the urgency of dengue prevention as well, in light of the recent Zika case.

It contains a Spot and Report module, with which users can take pictures of potential mosquito breeding grounds and report them to NEA.

It also has an e-learning quiz module aimed to create awareness of and provide knowledge for effective dengue and Zika prevention.

This is not the first time a CDC has tapped on technology to combat dengue and Zika. Earlier this week, South West CDC and NEA collaborated with global life sciences company Bayer to develop an educational portal on mosquito-borne diseases.

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SINGAPORE - Most people in Singapore prefer human interaction over using digital channels to solve customer service issues, a survey by Accenture Strategy has revealed.

It showed that 83 per cent of consumers prefer dealing with customer service representatives face-to-face rather than through digital channels.

Almost 60 per cent agree that in-store service is the best way to get a tailored experience, while about 40 per cent say they would rather go to a store than use digital channels for advice on products and services.

The survey gauges the experiences and attitudes of 24,489 consumers in 33 countries around the world about marketing, sales and customer services. About 350 consumers in Singapore were included in the sample. The survey was conducted online in August and September 2015 and the results were released on Tuesday (May 24) in a media release.

The survey also found that about 70 per cent of consumers in Singapore have switched service providers in the past year due to poor customer service, with retailers, banks and Internet service providers being some of the worst offenders.

In Singapore, customers switching due to poor service cost companies an estimated US$26 billion (S$36 billion).

However, better customer service makes consumers willing to pay more for goods and services, with nearly 50 per cent of consumers saying that they are willing to pay a higher price for better service.

This article was first published on May 24, 2016.
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The Singapore Botanic Gardens is the top pick for Chelsea Flower Show judge Christopher Bailes on his list of the 10 best gardens in the world.

In a column for British newspaper The Telegraph, published on Monday (May 23), Mr Bailes said the site offered a "real taste of the tropics", pointing to its collections of economic plants, ginger and spices set in a "charming colonial era landscape" dating back to its founding as a national garden.

Describing himself as a "committed orchidophile", Mr Bailes was impressed with the National Orchid Garden's vibrancy and its "remarkable" collection of bromeliads.

"As an antidote to all this colour, the garden still preserves a piece of Singapore's original rain forest," the curator of the Royal Horticultural Society's garden in Rosemoor, England, concluded.

The 157-year-old Botanic Gardens, which is home to more than 10,000 species of plants, was inducted as a Unesco World Heritage Site last July.

It is the first and only tropical botanic garden on the Unesco list.

New Zealand's rhododendron-rich Pukeiti Gardens and Monet's garden at Giverny in northern France rounded up Mr Bailes' top three spots.

The Japanese Garden in Portland and South Africa's Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden were also shortlisted.

Mr Bailes said travelling the globe to visit different gardens was one of the most rewarding and pleasurable forms of tourism.

He wrote: "At its purest, gardening is a manifestation of mankind's love of plants, beauty and landscape, and gardens are as infinitely varied as the people and cultures that create them.

"A great deal can be discovered about countries or individuals through their gardens."

This article was first published on May 24, 2016.
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Student Hazel Lim, 15, was stunned when she received WhatsApp messages from four of her friends last year, each containing photos of her nine-year-old self.

The photos showed her as a model wannabe, even posing with her hand on her head while flaunting the clothes she was wearing.

The pictures were so embarrassing that she declined to have them published for this article.

Her friends had gotten hold of the pictures by being Facebook friends with her mother, Madam May Liew, who has been posting photos of Hazel since the teenager was nine.

Hazel told The New Paper: "I was extremely embarrassed but laughed it off anyway. I obviously did not know exactly what Facebook was when I was nine.

"I asked my mother to delete the pictures, but she said that they were too cute to be deleted."

For Madam Liew, 48, posting family pictures online is a way of documenting shared memories.

Madam Liew, who runs a stationery manufacturing company with her husband and also has a 21-year-old son, said: "Sometimes, Hazel would complain about the photos that were taken when she was younger, but I choose not to delete them for memories' sake.

"It is also easier to store the photos on a single platform so I don't have to worry about losing them when I change my mobile phone."

Thankfully for Hazel, the surfacing of her old photos was a one-time occurrence as her "friends have gotten sick" of teasing her for it.

Today, Madam Liew, who has 63 friends on Facebook, continues to post pictures of Hazel, but mostly of two of them together on special occasions such as Mother's Day.

'RIDICULOUS'

But Mrs Lim could end up in jail for a year or be fined up to 45,000 euros (S$70,000) for posting pictures of her young daughter - if she was in France, that is.

French authorities recently warned parents against posting "embarrassing" photographs of their children online and "publicising intimate details of the private lives of others - including their children - without their consent", reported The Telegraph.

Calling this law "ridiculous", full-time Singapore blogger Wendy Cheng, also known as Xiaxue, told TNP: "If I dress my son up as a kitten during Halloween, is that considered embarrassing? Who decides what is considered embarrassing?"

With more than 614,000 followers on Instagram, the 32-year-old, who is married to an American, frequently posts pictures of her three-year-old son Dashiel on her social media accounts.

Dashiel has also appeared in videos that Ms Cheng hosts for online television network clicknetwork.

Ms Cheng said: "This law will only be logical if the pictures are sexual. But I think for newborns and little boys, topless shots are still acceptable.

"Besides, nothing can be more traumatic for a child than his parent going to jail."

French police said the warning was in response to the "danger of paedophiles targeting children after seeing family photographs online".

Some French parents were also forced to remove naked pictures of babies or young children from their social networks, reported The Telegraph.

While parents TNP spoke to agreed that stalkers and paedophiles are a real concern in Singapore, they have not received any disturbing comments online.

But parents, especially those whose social media accounts have a wide reach, should be mindful of certain boundaries, said Singapore blogger Ang Chiew Ting, better known as Bong QiuQiu.

Ms Ang, 28, who has more than 294,000 followers on Instagram, created another account dedicated to pictures of her daughter Meredith even before she was born.

Meredith, now one, has more than 65,000 followers.

Ms Ang said: "I know of bloggers who do not censor their child's private parts, but I think that there should be a line to it.

"I don't post any half-naked pictures of Meredith. My posts also don't have any location tags. I'm especially careful as Meredith is a girl and she is growing older."

Another parent, Mr Alvin Low, 33, said the law seems like an "overreaction".

The owner a creative enrichment company posts pictures of his two-year-old son Koby on his Instagram account, which has more than 1,200 followers.

Mr Low, who holds classes in primary and secondary schools: "(Doing so) is a way for me to connect with my students. Many of my students, including primary school kids, follow me on social media because of my son.

"I then use social media to try to motivate my students and share certain values."

While Mr Low said that whatever is considered "embarrassing" can be subjective, he added that parents should ensure their posts do not cause any discomfort.

"I guess a picture is generally embarrassing when it makes its viewers go 'Oh my gosh' instead of 'Aww'," he said.

EXPERTS SAY...

Social media and international communications expert Lars Voedisch of PRecious Communications told TNP that compared with the past - when parents would show off photos of their children in their wallet - the Web seems like a natural platform today because of its convenience.

But he added that parents should protect their children's modesty and privacy.

Mr Voedisch said: "We should be very wary of what we share online, and this applies not just to photos of children but also general private information."

While there has not been any research on children being psychologically affected by parents posting photos of them online, the Internet presence can affect one's childhood experiences, given this day and age, said Dr Adrian Wang, a consultant psychiatrist at Gleneagles Medical Centre.

He said: "What looks cute when a child is two years old may look different when the child grows up to be a teenager. If someone uncovers an unflattering photo and makes fun of the child when he is older, it may hurt his self-esteem."

This article was first published on May 25, 2016.
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JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a deal with a hardline nationalist party to join his government, negotiators said Wednesday, forming what is being called the most right-wing government in the nation's history.

Under the agreement, Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party will join Netanyahu's coalition, adding five lawmakers to his previously wafer-thin parliamentary majority.

Lieberman, who has spoken of harsh measures against Palestinian "terrorists", is to take over the key role of defence minister.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, a negotiator for Netanyahu's Likud party, told public radio the deal had been reached, while Lieberman's spokesman confirmed it to AFP.

A spokesman for Lieberman, a longtime politician who has previously served as foreign minister and lives in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, said the deal would be signed in parliament at 0800 GMT.

The move to hand the defence ministry to the 57-year-old hardliner has sparked deep concern among Israeli centrist and leftwing politicians, as well as among some of Netanyahu's Likud colleagues.

Religious nationalists from the Jewish Home party already hold key cabinet positions in Netanyahu's government.

Moshe Yaalon, a Likud member who resigned as defence minister on Friday and who has also served as armed forces chief, warned of a rising tide of extremism in his party and the country as a whole.

Former Labour prime minister and defence minister Ehud Barak went even further, saying Israel's government "has been infected by the shoots of fascism." But others say that Lieberman is above all a pragmatic politician who aspires to be prime minister one day, noting also that he will face opposition from the security establishment if he seeks to carry out some of his most controversial ideas.

An example of his provocative style was recently on display in comments directed at Ismail Haniya, Islamist movement Hamas's leader in the Gaza Strip.

Lieberman said he would give Haniya 48 hours to hand over two detained Israeli civilians and the bodies of soldiers killed in a 2014 war "or you're dead".

In 2001, the former nightclub bouncer advocated bombing the Aswan Dam in Egypt, accusing Israel's Arab neighbour of supporting a Palestinian uprising.

The deal brings to a stunning conclusion weeks of speculation over Netanyahu's efforts to expand his government, which has held only 61 of the 120 seats in parliament since elections in March 2015.

Netanyahu had earlier engaged in negotiations with Labour party leader Isaac Herzog to join the government before turning to Lieberman instead.

Besides Lieberman becoming defence minister and another member of his party becoming immigrant absorption minister, the government agreed to allocate approximately 1.4 billion shekels ($363 million, 325 million euros) to pensions of elderly Israelis.

Lieberman, born in the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova, sought the arrangement to benefit immigrants from the former Soviet Union, his main electoral support base.

"These are the two major issues that are important to our constituency, and significant achievements," Lieberman's spokesman told AFP.

He had also pushed for the government to institute the death penalty for Palestinian "terrorists," but Lieberman backed away from the demand in the talks.

A watered-down version is thought to have been agreed upon that analysts say is unlikely to significantly change current policy. There have been no executions in Israel since 1962.

Netanyahu has sought to ease fears over Lieberman's expected appointment, saying he will continue to seek peace with the Palestinians and oversee the defence ministry's policies, which include control over most of the occupied West Bank.

Negotiations with the Palestinians have been at a complete standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.

SINGAPORE - The permanent secretary to the Ministry of Social and Family Development is one of three new members that have been appointed to the board of the Singapore Totalisator Board (Tote Board).

In a statement on Wednesday (May 25), the Finance Ministry (MOF) said that the appointment of Mr Chew Hock Yong, who is also a former chief executive of the Land Transport Authority, took effect from May 1 this year.

Aside from Mr Chew, the other two new appointments are full-time volunteer Ms Anita Fam and Far East Organisation advisor Mrs Fang Ai Lian. Their appointments will take effect from Jun 1.

Ms Fam serves as a board director in many voluntary welfare and non-profit organisations in the healthcare and social service sectors. Meanwhile, Mrs Fang is also active in the voluntary and philathropy sectors, having served as chairman of the Charity Council and president of the Home Nursing Foundation.

The Tote Board is a statutory board under MOF. It channels funds received from Singapore Pools, the Singapore Turf Club and the collection of casino entry levies to support projects that help to uplift the community and vulnerable groups in Singapore.

The three new members will replace two current board members, Mr Kon Yin Tong and Mr Patrick Lee Kwok Kie, who are stepping down after each serving for six years.

With the new appointments, the board of the Tote Board will comprise 11 members, including chairman Moses Lee.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - A series of $1 coins featuring Singapore's native orchids will be issued next month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced in a statement on Wednesday (May 25).

Named The Splendour of Native Orchids series, the special set of silver proof coins will feature orchids from the Native Orchids of Singapore coin series that was issued from 2011 to 2015.

Each set will comprise 10 pieces, and a total of 4,000 sets will be issued.

Each orchid will be featured in full colour on each coin, and will be set against a sandblasted background.

The name of the orchid will be minted on the coins' shiny upper circumference, while the obverse bears the Singapore Coat of Arms with the year 2016.

Each coin weighs 8.56 grams and has a diameter of 24.66 millimeters.

MAS said that the series celebrates the beauty of orchids that once thrived in Singapore, some of which are still found in the island's forests today.

The 10 orchids that will be featured are:

- Cymbidium finlaysonianum

- Grammatophyllum speciosum

- Arundina graminifolia

- Bulbophyllum macranthum

- Bulbophyllum flabellum-veneris

- Dendrobium crumenatum

- Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi

- Coelogyne rochussenii

- Dendrobium leonis

- Dendrobium secundum

The coin set will be issued on Jun 24, and orders must reach the Singapore Mint by Jun 12. MAS added that orders will be subjected to balloting if the coin sets are oversubscribed.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - The Attorney-General's Chambers said on Wednesday that the lawyers of convicted murderer Jabing Kho had abused court processes in his case, by filing multiple court applications last week in a bid to delay their client's execution.

Lawyers Gino Hardial Singh, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss and Alfred Dodwell had been in court on Thursday and Friday to argue against his sentence hours before his execution, which had been set for Friday morning.

"This was a case where, after every legitimate avenue for legal challenge had been attempted and exhausted, legal opportunism prevailed," said the AGC in a statement.

Mr Kho, who was executed on Friday afternoon, had brutally killed a construction worker while robbing him in 2008. The victim, Chinese national Cao Ruyin, was bludgeoned on the head with a tree branch. Kho had continued to hit him even though he stopped retailiating after the first blow. His skull was shattered, and he died six days later.

The AGC said on Wednesday that Mr Kho's case had been considered twice by both the High Court and Court of Appeal - once under the old law, and again after the law on the mandatory death penalty for murder was amended in 2012.

In both instances, he had been sentenced to death.

But after his rights of appeal had been exhausted, the apex court gave him a further opportunity to present arguments for his case to be reviewed.

Last week, Mr Singh, Ms Chong-Aruldoss and Mr Dodwell filed three applications in court to argue against Mr Kho's death sentence.

However, said the AGC, "in the conduct of his matter, the actions of (the) three lawyers amounted to an abuse of court processes".

First, they had repeatedly raised old arguments that had either been dismissed by the Court, or withdrawn by Mr Kho's previous lawyer, Mr Chandra Mohan, when the case was heard in court earlier, said the AGC.

Mr Singh had, for example, argued last week that the decision to send Kho to the gallows was tainted by apparent bias as Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang had sat in both appeals in Kho's case in 2011 and 2015.

This was the same argument that Mr Mohan had tried to make before, only to drop it subsequently, the AGC pointed out.

"Mr Singh should have known that it is improper to file a fresh application containing the same ground that had been previously withdrawn," it said.

The five-judge Court of Appeal had pointed this out during the hearing and also held that it was not improper for Justice Phang to have heard both appeals as they were on completely different issues.

The 2011 appeal was against Kho's conviction, and had to do with whether or not he should be found guilty. The 2015 appeal was against his sentence, and had to do with what punishment he deserved.

The AGC also pointed out that Ms Chong-Aruldoss and Mr Dodwell had separately tried to file applications on Thursday to argue that the death sentence imposed on Kho violated the Constitution. It said: "Once again, these arguments were not new, for Mr Mohan had earlier raised them, and the Court of Appeal had dismissed them."

Second, Ms Chong-Aruldoss and Mr Dodwell had also tried to "skirt around the law" by trying to raise their arguments under the civil process, ater they had exhausted the criminal process, the AGC said.

"Both should have known full well that this type of collateral attack on a criminal decision was an abuse of the legal process," it added.

Third, Ms Chong-Aruldoss and Mr Dodwell had tried to delay the execution by asking for the hearings on Ms Chong's application and her subsequent appeal to be postponed, the AGC said.

They had said that they did not have sufficient time to prepare for the hearings, however, Mr Dodwell was eventually able to argue the appeal, the ACG added.

"It is a cherished principle in our legal tradition that a legal practitioner must do his utmost to uphold the administration of justice. He must also conduct proceedings before a court in a manner that maintains the fairness, integrity and efficiency of those proceedings," said the AGC.

"The actions of Mr Singh, Mr Dodwell and Ms Chong-Aruldoss are not in keeping with the paramount duty a lawyer owes to the Court. It is wrong for any lawyer to assert that his duty to the client allows the court's processes to be abused."

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs noted: "The lawyers' reasons were ostensibly that they were going to make new arguments. In fact there were no new arguments. It appeared that the sole purpose of the applications was to try and delay the execution which had been set for 20 May 2016."

This article was first published on May 25, 2016.
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ADMIRERS - and there are tens of thousands of them - are already hailing it as Singapore's 2016 Picture of the Year.

But Singapore architecture and landscape photographer Darren Soh, 40, whose stunning composite image of lightning activity in Sembawang earned him an interview with the BBC, is still in shock over its impact on social media.

"Yes, I felt the photo was a bit better than my usual ones. But did I expect this level of response? Definitely not," he said yesterday.

Since uploading it on Facebook on Sunday night, Mr Soh's photo has racked up nearly 45,000 likes and over 14,000 shares. It was also featured on international news websites such as The Telegraph.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong even shared the photo on his Facebook page, praising Mr Soh for having "a knack for making the everyday extraordinary".

Mr Lee wrote: "Singapore is a lightning capital of the world, but few photos have captured it as strikingly as this composite by Darren Soh."

On Sunday night, from the 16th-floor stairwell of an HDB block at Sembawang's Montreal Link - and facing the Johor Strait - Mr Soh took about 100 images of lightning flashing across the night sky.

He selected 12 images and used Photoshop to layer them into a single composite image.

This is his first time producing a composite image of a lightning storm, having previously applied the technique in his construction photography projects. It involves photographs that are taken over a period of time which are then combined.

Mr Soh, who has been running his own photography company for 15 years and specialises in shots of HDB flats, said he had been chasing lightning storms for the past three to four years, and suffered six failed attempts before finally nailing it.

He deliberately captured the cluster of HDB flats at the bottom right of the photo as he wanted to give it a uniquely Singaporean feel.

"Without a local context, it would just be another nice lightning photo that could have been taken anywhere."

mklee@sph.com.sg

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ON TOP of their usual maths or literature classes, secondary-school students might soon have another subject to take up - how to cycle safely.

This new programme would cover basic bicycle handling skills, cycling etiquette and how to recognise off-road signs, among other elements.

Called the Safe Cycling Programme, it was launched yesterday at Qihua Primary School by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), in tandem with the start of the Singapore Road Safety Month.

The half-day programme for secondary schools will have both theory and practical sessions, said the LTA.

Students will learn how to manoeuvre through crowded spaces, share paths with pedestrians and other cyclists, and pick the best routes to go by bike.

The LTA said the programme will complement plans to boost active mobility here. Last month, the Government accepted recommendations from an expert panel to allow cycling on footpaths.

These recommendations will be passed into law, likely by the end of the year.

Parliamentary Secretary for Education Faishal Ibrahim, who also chairs the expert panel, noted in a speech yesterday that the new programme was "a follow-up" to the recommendations.

It will help students "internalise what they need to do in real-life situations", he said.

Yesterday, students from East View Secondary School took part in the pilot exercise, where they rode around a circuit within the Qihua Primary School compound, before venturing out to the Woodlands Park Connector.

The programme will also be piloted at foreign-worker dormitories, schools and community centres, before it is rolled out to the public at the end of the year.

Dr Faishal said it is important cyclists learn to share space with pedestrians.

"We cannot always find space to build dedicated paths, and there will be occasions where cyclists have to share space with cars or pedestrians," he added.

One of the programme's trainers, Steven Lim - who is the president of the Safe Cycling Task Force - said it was important to start cycling education with the young, to minimise conflict when the new rules kick in.

While the programme is currently on an opt-in basis for schools, experts such as Mr Lim believe it should be made compulsory.

"Hopefully, it can become like swimming classes in schools... We want children to pick up something about safe cycling and for this to become like a life skill," he said.

Secondary 2 student Javon Low, 13, took part in the pilot and felt it was fun, safe and educational.

"I learnt how to give way to pedestrians and how to signal to pedestrians before turning," he said.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

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Long before the doors open daily at 10.30am at Dolphin Island at Resorts World Sentosa, 27 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands are already splashing about in the 11 large interconnecting lagoons.

At the crack of dawn, a team of marine veterinarians, specialists and animal husbandry professionals, together with 35 trainers from more than 10 countries, gathers to greet the dolphins and check on their well-being.

The team works round the clock on shifts to monitor the 23 adult dolphins and four calves and make sure they are well cared for.

Since its opening in 2013, Dolphin Island has welcomed four healthy calves.

The name of one of them, Isabelle, which was born on Dec 17, 2014, was chosen after a public voting exercise.

The latest addition is Kudali, which was born on Jan 31 this year.

More than 500 babies of close to 10 species were born between October last year and April this year at the S.E.A. Aquarium, which is also at Resorts World Sentosa, and Dolphin Island.

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The Straits Times

Dolphin Island was dogged by controversy even before it opened in 2013 as animal rights groups in Singapore and the Philippines lobbied for the release of the dolphins.

Nevertheless, the attraction has provided thousands of visitors the opportunity to learn more about dolphins in ways they would otherwise not have the chance to.

These included a special invitation in 2013 to underprivileged children from The Little Arts Academy. They were the first visitors to meet the dolphins.

Last year, pupils from Kranji Primary School were invited to take part in an immersive learning journey in which they got to meet the latest calf and join a dolphin interaction programme.

desmondf@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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