Category: Hiburan

Law Firm Representing Film Studio Dallas Buyers Club LLC Accused Of Bullying

The local chapter of a non-governmental organisation promoting the use of Internet has lodged a complaint with the Law Society, against lawyers from the legal firm representing the United States film studio Dallas Buyers Club LLC.

The studio is going after people here who allegedly downloaded the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club illegally, and the first batch of demand letters issued to 77 M1 subscribers by the lawyers from Samuel Seow Law Corporation had used threats of criminal proceedings to advance civil claims, thus breaching the Law Society’s ethical guidelines for legal practitioners, said the Internet Society (Singapore)’s president Harish Pillay, who personally handed the written complaint to the Law Society last week.

The complaint is against Mr Robert Raj Joseph and Mr Lee Heng Eam from Samuel Seow Law Corp’s litigation and dispute resolution practice group. Mr Raj is the director of the group while Mr Lee is an associate. When contacted, Mr Raj said he is on leave and referred this newspaper to the firm’s managing director Samuel Seow.

Mr Seow told TODAY he has no knowledge of the complaint. He added that the demand letters, which were first sent out in April, were issued by Mr Raj, who is leaving the company and has been placed on gardening leave. Mr Raj’s departure is not linked to the handling of the case, Mr Seow said. He added that he and a “new team” took over the case file from Mr Raj just last week.

Mr Seow said his law firm recently sent out a new batch of letters — which were worded differently — to StarHub and Singtel subscribers who allegedly downloaded the movie illegally.

The demand letters issued to the M1 subscribers had asked for a written offer of damages and costs, and Mr Raj said in April the studio had received and accepted “quite a number of” offers of compensation. These letters had spelt out a maximum fine of S$50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years for a conviction under Section 136(3) of the Copyright Act, and a maximum S$20,000 fine and six months’ jail term under Section 136(3A) of the Act.

Mr Pillay, who works in the information technology industry, said the demand letters were worded in the manner of a “big bully”, and the law firm had engaged in a “bad bullying tactic”.

“These words make people panic, especially those who are not legally trained … They are blaming people of alleged transgression without proof … Those who are a bit naive will settle,” said Mr Pillay. He noted that some alleged offenders may have made compensations without seeking legal help.

The Law Society’s Practice Directions and Rulings Guide 2013 states that it is improper for a solicitor to “communicate in writing or otherwise a threat of criminal proceedings in order to achieve a stated objective in any circumstance, for example, to compel a witness to attend at the solicitor’s office to give a statement or to sign a written statement despatched to him”.

Contacted by TODAY, the Law Society declined to comment on the complaint. Its spokesperson said the society was bound by the Legal Profession Act to maintain confidentiality of proceedings that are being conducted.

“The Law Society is therefore unable to comment if it has or has not received a complaint against any named lawyer or the status of any complaint received,” said the spokesperson.

Apart from Singapore, Dallas Buyers Club LLC has also started legal action in Australia and the US, where it is going after more than 4,700 and 1,000 Internet users, respectively. It had reportedly identified more than 500 Singapore IP addresses here through which the movie was said to have been downloaded illegally.

The Internet Society (Singapore) said there are alternative ways of encouraging legitimate content distribution. Lawyer Bryan Tan, who is the chapter’s treasurer, said that with the prevalence of the Internet, work will be copied and shared, and the question is how to legitimise such practices. The Creative Commons licensing system, which allows content creators to decide if their work can be modified or shared under commercial or non-commercial grounds, was set up to address this problem, Mr Pillay pointed out. “In this day and age, everything is a remix,” he said.

Background

The Dallas Buyers Club saga

• Film studio Dallas Buyers Club LLC is going after people here who allegedly downloaded Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club illegally
• First batch of demand letters were issued to 77 M1 subscribers by Samuel Seow Law Corporation
• Dallas Buyers Club LLC has also started legal action in Australia and the US, where it is going after more than 4,700 and 1,000 Internet users, respectively
• It had reportedly identified more than 500 Singapore IP addresses here through which the movie was said to have been illegally downloaded

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 23, 2015
Dominant Lions XII brush Off ATM

LionsXII dominated from start to finish as they emerged 3-1 victors over ATM FA on Saturday evening at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

An own goal from Fazly Alias set the home team on their way, before Safuwan Baharudin and Shahdan Sulaiman wrapped up the win in the second half.

As early as the second minute, they threatened to open the floodgates, but Khairul Nizam’s acrobatic effort from a deflected Gabriel Quak cross was wide of the mark.

The hosts were unable to break down a compact ATM side, until Faris Ramli had another bicycle kick attempt after Quak guided a cross towards him in the 21st minute. The winger however, scuffed his attempt and the ball bounced wide.

Three minutes later, Izzdin Shafiq saw a volley deflected off target, before he set up Faris in the 30th minute with a fantastic ball, only for the latter to put his attempted lob over the bar.

Amri then smacked his free-kick against the cross bar, before Venice Elphi forced Izwan Mahbud into a save down the other end.

The pressure finally paid off though, as the LionsXII got their deserved goal six minutes from the half-time whistle after Fazly turned Faris’ free-kick into his own net under pressure from Safuwan.

LionsXII head coach Fandi Ahmad made some tactical changes at the break, with Zulfahmi Arifin moving into the heart of the defence while Safuwan took his place in midfield.

The move worked a treat, as they doubled the lead minutes after the restart.

A cross from Quak that failed to find Nizam was picked up by Faris. The winger laid the ball back for Safuwan, and he side-footed the ball into the bottom corner to double the lead.

It could have been three four minutes later, but Syed Adney produced a superb double save to deny Khairul Amri’s flick with his back heel, and Faris’ shot from the follow-up.

Fazly then redeemed himself by reducing the deficit in the 60th minute, after escaping Nizam’s attention to meet Mario Karlovic’s corner and power a bullet header into the roof of the net.

Centre-back Madhu Mohana wasted a golden opportunity almost three quarters into the match, heading wide Quak’s cross despite having ample of space and time.

Substitute Shahdan then wrapped up the victory with LionsXII’s third goal, guiding a nodded ball from Safuwan into the bottom corner in the 84th minute to wrap up the win.

LionsXII: Izwan Mahbud (GK)(C), Madhu Mohana, Gabriel Quak, Khairul Nizam (Shahdan Sulaiman 81’), Nazrul Nazari, Izzdin Shafiq, Faris Ramli (Firdaus Kasman 78’), Khairul Amri (Sahil Suhaimi 68’), Safuwan Baharudin, Zulfahmi Arifin, Shakir Hamzah

Source: http://lionsxii.sg

June 21, 2015
50 Aussie-Style BBQs Across The Heartlands On Jun 28

Come Jun 28, the heartlands — from Jurong to Tampines — will be alight with 50 Aussie-style barbecues, as part of the Australian High Commission’s celebrations to mark Singapore’s Golden Jubilee, as well as 50 years of friendship between the two nations.

The barbecues will be held at 22 sites across the island, including Toa Payoh Central Community Club, Jem Shopping Mall, Block 516 Tampines Central 7, Punggol East Road and Haji Lane.

About 500 Australian volunteers will be firing up the grills to serve 10,000 beef and lamb steaks which weigh 1,000kg in total, about the weight of an average car.

The event will bring Australians and Singaporeans together “to share our mutual love of good food and a chat”, said Australian High Commissioner Philip Green in a statement announcing the barbecue locations.

The 50 BBQs event is the last of Australia’s 50 Bridges arts and community programme to celebrate SG50. Singaporeans can also take part in the 50 Bridges photo contest where they can submit up to 20 photos of either 50 Walls artworks or a 50 BBQs event, capturing the Australian-Singaporean relationship in a creative way.

They stand to win a pair of return business class tickets to Melbourne.

For more details about the competition and the list of sites for 50 BBQs, visit sg50oz.sg or the Australia In Singapore Facebook page.

List of sites involved in ’50 BBQs’:

1. Toa Payoh Central Community Club
2. Pavilion in front of Block 30 Telok Blangah Rise
3. Pek Kio Community Club
4. Tanglin Community Club
5. Viz Holland Condominium
6. Bishan Park
7. Serangoon Community Club
8. Block 516 Tampines Central 7
9. Rooftop garden at multistorey carpark of Block 890 Tampines Ave 1
10. Punggol Hardcourt at 50 Punggol East Rd (opp Riviera LRT)
11. Multipurpose Court next to Block 166 Yishun Ring Road
12. Bukit Timah Community Club
13. ACE The Place Community Club (Woodlands Ave 1)
14. Block 202 Bedok North Street 1
15. Kampong Park, Serangoon Ave 3
16. Jem Shopping Mall
17. Bukit Batok East Community Club
18. Block 106 Bukit Batok Central
19. Teck Whye Garden
20. Pavilion in front of Block 104C, Depot Road
21. James Cook University
22. Haji Lane

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 19, 2015
Singapore Silat Chief: Fear Of Losing Messed Up Fighters’ Minds

The Singapore silat team won eight medals, including a gold, at the recent SEA Games. But the team has not been faring well in the past few editions compared to their glory years in 1999 and 2003.

One by one, their athletes faltered at the semi-final stages of the Games, except for Muhammad Nur Alfian Juma’en. He defended his gold in the individual Class F finals after beating world champion Tran Dinh Nam from Vietnam, and famously shed tears on the podium, overwhelmed by the moment.

Nur Alfian said: “The thing that was running through my mind was that everything was worth it. Like the sacrifices that I’ve done in terms of diet, school, time with family and the training was very tough. To be able to achieve the win, I can’t describe the emotions.”

The 18-year-old first took up silat when he was five. Initially it was just for fun, but now, he is part of the elite team which has over 22 athletes.

“The main thing is discipline because you have to take care of your diet. And you must also give 100 per cent in training every single time,” Nur Alfian said.

He was one of 13 silat athletes fielded at the recent Games and the team ended with a haul of one gold, one silver and six bronze.

Mr Sheik Alau’ddin, head of the Singapore Silat Federation, said: “I asked them, ‘What is the problem with you guys? Why are you so scared?’ And they said ‘I’m scared of losing. I’m scared because I might fall.’ So, all these things messed up their minds. The main priority now is to have the mental strength, how we need to develop individual athletes.”

The team seems to fare better at other international and regional competitions. Singapore was crowned overall champions in the 5th Southeast Asian Pencak Silat Championships in April, defeating powerhouses like Malaysia and Indonesia along the way. The team received seven gold, two silver and 10 bronze in the competition. And Singapore’s silat exponents won one gold, three silver, and three bronze at the world championships in Phuket earlier in January.

At the SEA Games though, they have only bagged four gold in the past five editions.

Sheik Alau’ddin said the sport’s glory years at the Games were in 1999 and 2003. They had won three gold medals each in those years. But he said the sport is not losing its shine.

“I’m not worried about all that. It’s just the individual athletes, whether they’re hungry enough, whether they want to be on the highest podium,” he said. “You see, like Alfian, he fought in the finals and his toe was split open and there’s blood everywhere. If it’s someone who is not strong enough and they look at the blood, they might not continue.”

This hunger to win will be put to the test when they compete at the International Malaysia Open Silat Championship in September.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 19, 2015
Cathay Cinemas’ F&B No Longer Halal-Certified

Dear All Singapore Stuff,

I am disgusted to find out that Cathay Cinema is not longer going to be Halal certified from 1 April 2015. A fellow concerned customer write in to Cathay to ask about therumours and it turn out to be true.

Cathay claims that this is because of the introduction of new concept providing greater variety of food and drinks, result in non-renewal of their Halal certificate. This is outrageous! How can Cathay sukasuka just stop being Halal when they have it for so many years? Now Muslims customers can no longer buy Cathay cinema popcorn, hotdogs, nachos. Since you don’t provide Halal food, will you also not allow us to bring our own snacks inside the cinema?

Like that how now?

A netizen gave a frank view of Cathay’s decision to stop being Halal, do you think what he say is the truth? He said:

“For those who dont understand the [Cathay’s email] reply.. ” Hi there, we wish to tell you we are no longer interested in appeasing the muslim community by providinghalal food. As the muslim community is small, it doesnt make a difference. We will gain more profit by introducing non-halal food items. Then again, those who are stupid enough will still buy our no pork no lard food products. Either way, we stilwin”.”

Is this how Cathay view the business from the Malay community in Singapore? Should we stop patronizing from Cathay and take our business to Golden Village orFilmgarde instead?

Norizah Ibrahim

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

June 17, 2015