Category: Singapuraku

Man Jailed 10 Years For Slashing Neighbour With Samurai Sword, And Drug Consumption

A jobless man who went round to his neighbour’s house and slashed him with a mini samurai sword in a row over a debt was jailed for 10 years on Wednesday.

Abdul Rahman Ibrahim pleaded guilty last September to trespassing into the home of Yun Yew Lee, 41, and injuring him on his forearm and lower back on June 6 last year. He also pleaded guilty to one of two drug consumption charges after taking morphine last November.

The court heard that Abdul Rahman had been on good terms with Mr Yun until their relationship soured over a partially-returned debt.

At about 4pm on June 6, he took a mini samurai sword with a 32cm-long blade and a chopper from his flat in Commonwealth Crescent and entered Mr Yun’s unit. He felt he had been offended by the victim and decided to “settle it” with him.

The victim was lying on the mattress in the living room and talking to his 12-year-old nephew when Abdul Rahman came and slashed him on his left forearm.

When the victim tried to turn away from him, he was slashed again.

Abdul Rahman stopped and left when Mr Yun’s brother came out of a room.

Abdul Rahman appeared in court on the morning of Nov 14 to be sentenced but absconded that afternoon when further submissions were due to have been made by the prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued.

He was arrested at his home on Nov 25 for suspected drug consumption.

His urine sample tested positive for morphine.

In 2002 he had been sentenced to nine years’ preventive detention for drug-related offences, and was therefore liable for enhanced punishment of seven to 13 years for taking morphine.

District Judge Mathew Joseph said on Wednesday he had quite a “disturbing” record.

Abdul Rahman pleaded for another chance and promised not to re-offend but Judge Joseph said: “Your promise rings quite hollow especially in light of your absconding.”

He sentenced him to 24 months for house trespass and eight years for drug consumption. An 18-month sentence for causing hurt with a dangerous weapon will run concurrently.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

March 19, 2015
Owner Of Wu Hu Aquarium Fined $41,000 For Possession And Sale Of Illegal Wildlife

The owner of Wu Hu Aquarium was fined S$41,000 in court on Wednesday (Mar 18) for the possession and sale of illegal wildlife, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in a news release.

On Apr 2, 2014, AVA said its officers conducted a surprise inspection on Wu Hu Aquarium following a tip-off that illegal animals were on sale in the shop. A total of 22 illegal creatures were found, including sturgeons, paddlefish, newts, clawed frogs and turtles.

A ploughshare tortoise and radiated tortoise were also found in styrofoam boxes at the back of the shop. AVA said the tortoises are critically endangered species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), for which international commercial trade is prohibited.

Further investigations showed that all the animals had been imported into Singapore without relevant import permits, AVA said. The animals have been sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

AVA added that under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act (ESA), CITES permits are required for any import, export and re-export of CITES species, including their parts and products. It is also an offence under the ESA if any person is found in possession of, or selling CITES species which have been illegally imported.

Those found infringing the Act could be jailed for up to two years and could also face a fine of up to S$50,000 per species, but not exceeding an aggregate of S$500,000.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 19, 2015
MyRepublic Ups Ante, Offers Free Trial Of 1Gbps Plan

Amid the price war in the high-speed fibre broadband market, three-year-old start-up MyRepublic has upped the ante by offering a free two-month trial of its 1Gbps plan, with no sign-up or cancellation fees.

The Internet service provider (ISP) first made headlines last year by offering its 1Gbps plan at only S$50 a month — a move that prompted other ISPs to slash prices.

MyRepublic chief executive Malcolm Rodrigues said yesterday the company is offering the free trial because it wants to accelerate the adoption of the 1Gbps speed band here.

“Today, technology is interconnected. Having 5 per cent of the population on 1Gbps is good, but not good enough. We plan to push this further,” he said.

Mr James Sullivan, head of APAC telecom research at J P Morgan, noted that such a strategy to gain customers may not necessarily require MyRepublic — which is in the midst of sourcing for funding for expansion — to have deep pockets.

“If a carrier has a choice between giving free services (non-cash), versus straight equipment subsidies, which amounts to cash, they would prefer to give away services,” he said.

At a press briefing yesterday, MyRepublic also spoke about its bid to become the fourth telco here. The company had said in June last year that it has ambitions of joining Singtel, StarHub and M1 as major telcos, and pledged to bring back unlimited mobile data plans if it succeeds in its bid.

MyRepublic reiterated that it will bid for the 4G spectrum in an auction it expects the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) to call by the end of the year.

Responding to media queries, IDA said no dates have been set aside for the next spectrum auction. It added that it is assessing the industry’s feedback regarding the proposed allocation of spectrum for mobile broadband services and options to enhance mobile competition. It will release its decision soon, IDA said.

According to IDA’s website, a tranche of spectrum licences will be expiring on March 31, 2017. An auction will have to be carried out before these licenses expire. The country’s first 4G spectrum auction concluded in June 2013, without any new entrants to the market.

A MyRepublic spokesman said the company, which was set up in 2012, did not take part in the inaugural auction because it was not ready then, as it was focused on building up its fibre broadband business.

Mr Yap Yong Teck, MyRepublic’s managing director, said that should his company’s bid succeed this time, it is confident of eventually winning a market share of about 10 per cent. The company is in the midst of looking for Singaporean and foreign partners. Details of its funding model will be unveiled by the third quarter of this year, said Mr Yap.

While many telcos around the world have stopped offering unlimited mobile data plans, Mr Yap was confident that MyRepublic could find a way to viably provide such offerings. “We will look to prioritise our traffic, so people will be able to use (the network) depending on the traffic or application they are using … their speed will slow down, but they will still get unlimited data, and their experience will be relatively still good,” he said.

MyRepublic plans to offer its proposed unlimited data plans for around S$70 to S$80 a month.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 19, 2015
Maids Should Be Protected Under The Employment Act

We thank Mr Leonard Poh for his feedback in “To promote domestic workers’ welfare, share anecdotes, best practices” (March 13).

Our study was conducted based on a sample of respondents stratified to reflect the major populations of migrant domestic workers here as indicated by published numbers. Statistical differences were tested using parametric and non-parametric techniques.

Statistical relationships were also examined with correlation and regression analyses. From our calculations, we concluded that 670 respondents were sufficient to achieve statistical significance in our results.

HOME acknowledges that in the 10 years we have been campaigning for migrant domestic workers, there have been improvements in their welfare and rights. Still, we have a long way to go in ensuring equal rights and adequate protections for them.

For example, our respondents worked an average of 13 hours a day, with 10 per cent found to sleep in the kitchen, living room or bomb shelter. More than half did not even have a copy of their contracts on them.

Positive mental health can happen only when employers respect their employees’ privacy and give them regular time off and rest days. However, domestic workers should not have to depend on the goodwill of employers to enjoy basic rights.

The Manpower Ministry should include them in the Employment Act so benefits such as sick leave, public holidays and limits on working hours are not left to employers to decide.

If employees in other occupations will not accept the denial of such rights, why should domestic workers be discriminated against in this way?

Jolovan Wham, Executive Director, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 19, 2015
Vigil At SGH – Wait Until Security Guards Tell Us To Leave

At Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Wednesday night, the mood was understandably muted.

A number of people had made their way down especially for one reason – to keep vigil for Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Mr Lee has been warded at SGH since Feb 5 with severe pneumonia.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said his condition had worsened due to an infection. On Wednesday, it was announced that he was still critically ill.

The people at SGH waited and sat in small groups scattered around the Block 6 waiting area. They spoke in hushed tones, making no commotion, even as some of the lights were turned off.

People like Ms Julie Minhat came to offer their prayers for Mr Lee.

Yet when Ms Julie, and others like her, spoke to The New Paper, a sense of hope could be heard in their voices.

When asked why she made the journey, Ms Julie, 50, who was accompanied by her sister and three other friends said: “It’s better than getting updates on TV or social media. (Being) here, at least I feel close to him (Mr Lee).”

Ms Julie, a resident of Ang Mo Kio, said she was at the hospital since 8pm.

In that time, she had seen a build-up of media personnel. Close to 10pm, an area was cordoned off for the press.

For most of the well-wishers at the hospital, some posts on social media proved painful to read. PMO issued a statement that a police report was being lodged against the hoaxers.

Said Ms Julie’s sister, who declined to give her name: “At a time like this, it is distasteful to poke fun. When a person is in such a state, we should show respect.”

That sentiment was shared by three men who arrived at the hospital’s waiting area at about 10.30pm.

The trio — all former school mates from North Vista Secondary School — came to show support.

One of them, Mr Jason Gan, 25, said: “I know some do not like Mr Lee because he is strong-willed. But I appreciate what he has done for the country. Had he been soft or lacked focus, I don’t think Singapore would be where it is today.”

Mr Gan, together with his friends Anthony Tan and Herman Loh, said they were unsure how long they would stay at the hospital.

Likewise, Ms Julie’s entourage said they would stay until “the security guards tell us to leave”.

Added Ms Julie: “The rumours currently floating online will not tarnish the image and reputation of the Singapore that Mr Lee has built.

“Nobody can take that away from him.”

Source: www.tnp.sg

March 19, 2015