Category: Singapuraku

Passengers To Get Cash Back If Train Is Two Minutes Late

Rail passengers will get an automatic compensation pay-out if their train is more than two minutes late under a new crackdown by the Government.

Travellers will receive more money for every extra minute their train is delayed – with a full refund if it is over an hour late.

Operators will be forced to sign up to the hi-tech ‘pay as you delay’ scheme which is designed to make it easier for passengers to get refunds.

Ministers believe the scheme – to be trialled in one region this year but eventually applied nationwide – will end the perceived rail compensation ‘rip-off’.

While train companies get massive automatic pay-outs from Network Rail if the track provider is to blame for a delay, individual travellers have to wade through reams of form-filling and red tape to get compensation. Research by watchdog Passenger Focus shows nine out of ten passengers never bother to claim.

Crucially, the new scheme will compel train companies to pay out automatically. It will rely on passengers switching to new ‘smart’ forms of paying for tickets – such as over the internet, using travel smart-cards, with smartphone apps or even on conventional credit cards.

These allow companies to pinpoint exactly who is travelling on which service – and who is due a refund. Compensation payments would be made directly into a passenger’s bank account.

Under the scheme, commuters will receive compensation if a train is just two minutes late. They will receive an additional 3p per extra minute of delay – up to 29 minutes. If a train is between 30 and 60 minutes late, passengers will receive 50 per cent of the value of their ticket. Beyond an hour and they will get a full refund.

Train punctuality will be measured ‘to the minute’ and ministers say the aim is to create an automatic ‘hassle-free service for passengers’.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told the Daily Mail that trials of the scheme will begin in December with Essex-based operator c2c, with the aim of rolling it out across the UK as each rail franchise comes up for renewal. Among the next in line are Northern, TransPennine, West Coast, Midland Mainline and CrossCountry.

The minister said: ‘If people are delayed, they should be repaid. I want to end the frustration endured by millions when they are delayed – and then have to jump through hoops to claim compensation. I’ve experienced it myself.’

The growing trend towards the use of travel ‘smart-cards’ – such as London’s Oyster Card – cashless credit and debit ‘swipe’ cards and even smartphone payments will make the system increasingly widespread, say officials.

One way of tracking the movement of passengers using open tickets or season tickets is to have them swipe their smart-cards as they get on and off a train, or at the platform entrance and exit.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The new initiative … is expected to provide a longer term way forward to enable full automation of the compensation process where smart ticketing is in use.’

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

March 18, 2015
Pilot Personalised Retirement Planning Program By CPF To Begin In July

A personalised retirement planning service which targets CPF members who are approaching 55 and who may need the service most – such as those with outstanding home loans – will be piloted in July.

The service, announced during the recent Committee of Supply debate in Parliament, is aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the CPF system and the new changes.

In December 2014, the CPF Board sent a mailer to about 200 members who are turning 55, inviting them to participate in a trial of the retirement planning service.

Madam Aishah Bakri took up the offer. She will be turning 55 in November this year – a pivotal point in a Singaporean’s life, where certain decisions on retirement need to be made.

Said Madam Aishah: “Before I went (for the trial), I was thinking about how much money I have, and how much money will I take out. I think that is the main thing.”

She noted: “When you go for that session, there are other things you actually have to consider. For me, that is housing. I have not fully paid (for a house), so this is one thing that I need to consider. So it is not just about taking out the money. You really have to actually look into it and decide carefully on how you are going to spend the money.”

Madam Aishah added that the session was helpful as a breakdown was provided and explained to her. She then has time to decide on her next steps. The session also provided some comfort to Madam Aishah.

“When I went for the session, they actually put in the figures, but there were some figures that they did not put in. I thought: ‘How come it’s not there?’ Later, I realised why – because it is the CPF monies that I actually took out for investment,” she said.

“So it helps me, because I realise I have money that I invested. So after I went for that session, I came back and collated all my documents. I went through them and I said: ‘Okay, I actually have more than what is shown.’ That is comforting,” she shared.

SERVICE TO BE OPENED UP TO MORE MEMBERS FROM JULY

From July, the service will be piloted and opened up to more members – but only to those turning 55, and still servicing a housing loan, who may be affected by the transfer of monies from their Ordinary Account to their Retirement Account.

Ms Dorcas Fong, senior manager at the Retirement Management Office at the CPF Board, said reaching 55 is an “important milestone” for members.

“A lot of members actually do not realise it because at age 55, what happens is we transfer Ordinary Account and Special Account savings to create the Retirement Account. This actually reduces the Ordinary Account savings available for payable obligations, such as the housing loan people,” she said.

Members will get personalised service that will take into account their needs and circumstances.

Said Ms Fong: “So if a member comes to us at 54 and we notice that he still has an outstanding housing loan, what we tell him is he can use his Ordinary Account savings to do an early repayment of the loan. In this case, he does not carry obligations into 55 and he can set aside more for his retirement as well.”

“For now there are a few obligations, which is housing, investment, education. If the member has all these concerns, then we will take those out and we will run through briefly with him so he can understand the implications and the options available to him. We estimate their future retirement incomes such as payouts using their current balances,” she added.

The CPF Board said that through the pilot phase, it will fine-tune the initiative to better serve its members.

“We discovered that members actually preferred charts and graphs in terms of communicating to them. They also find some comfort when our officers show their experience and scribble quick notes for them. So we are planning to improvise the material for the upcoming pilot in July,” said Ms Fong.

Madam Aishah added that information pertaining to how much a member has taken out of his CPF for investment purposes, should also be presented.

“They should have these figures so that you have a full view of the amount you have, including the investment,” she said.

The retirement planning service will be conducted at the CPF Service Centre at Robinson Road. Depending on the complexity of the case, each session will last for about 45 minutes.

Mailers will be sent to target groups to inform them of the service. The CPF Board will ramp up this initiative gradually from 2016.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 18, 2015
Probation Sentence Overturned, Voyeur Going To Jail

A man who was initially given probation for various offences, including filming family members of his girlfriend in the shower, making an up-skirt video, and possessing 10,574 obscene films, will be heading to jail after all.

In his ruling on Tuesday (Mar 17), Justice Chan Seng Onn described the initial sentence as “manifestly inadequate” and ordered that Chong Hou En be jailed for 16 weeks.

The prosecution had appealed against Chong’s sentence of 30 months’ split probation.

The 29-year-old had been convicted of five counts of insulting the modesty of a woman by intruding on her privacy. Back in 2011, he was caught red-handed by a victim’s husband, filming an up-skirt video at IMM shopping mall in Jurong. The former labour relations officer had stuck a mini-camera to the tip of his shoe for this purpose.

Following his arrest for that up-skirt video, subsequent investigations uncovered thousands of obscene videos in his computer.

It was also found that Chong installed a camera disguised as a lighter in the toilet of his girlfriend’s parents’ home from August 2010. Thereafter, he filmed her older sister, his girlfriend’s two nieces, aged 10 and 12 at the time, and his girlfriend’s sister-in-law.

Justice Chan noted that in sentencing Chong to probation, the district judge had placed considerable weight on medical evidence that Chong was suffering from the psychiatric condition of voyeurism.

However, in his judgement, Justice Chan took into account aggravating factors such as the high degree of planning and premeditation in Chong’s acts, and the fact that there were multiple victims – two of them very young.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 18, 2015
$316,000 Worth Of Drugs Seized In Two Operations By CNB On Monday

Drugs worth more than $316,000 were seized in two operations by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Monday.

Five Singaporean men were also arrested.

The haul of drugs included more than 5.2kg of cannabis, 1.6kg of heroin and 139g of Ice, or methamphetamine, said CNB in a press release on Tuesday.

The first operation took place in the vicinity of Sims Drive, where CNB officers were tailing a suspected drug trafficker believed to be dealing in a large amount of cannabis.

At about 4.40pm, the officers spotted the 43-year-old Singaporean male in the void deck of an HDB block with a 41-year-old man. Both were arrested.

Officers found 170g of cannabis after searching the trafficking suspect. They also raided his drug store in an HDB flat at Sims Drive and found about 5kg of cannabis and 139g of Ice.

In the second operation, CNB officers were at Simei to nab a 48-year-old taxi driver suspected of drug trafficking.

He was spotted shortly after 5 pm and followed to the vicinity of a carpark in a housing estate in Geylang Bahru.

Another trafficking suspect, a 64-year-old male got in the taxi but soon alighted. He was arrested promptly and about 239g of heroin was recovered from him.

Other officers then intercepted the taxi along Serangoon Road and arrested the driver.

A video was put up on citizen journalism website Stomp of the chase, which involved “six to 10” officers tailing the taxi on cars and motorcycles.

Officers found about 1.4kg of heroin and a small amount of Ice in the taxi. About $2,200 in cash was also seized from him.

Upon further investigation, officers went on to raid a flat in Choa Chu Kang, believed to be the hideout of an associate of the taxi driver’s. Officers arrested a 52-year-old male and recovered some 82g of Ice, 7g of heroin and a digital weighing scale.

Investigations are ongoing. The suspects could face the death penalty if convicted.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

March 18, 2015
Signs Higher Income Singaporeans Cannot Afford Private Housing

Signs of mid-upper income Singaporeans not being able to afford private housing are emerging.

Many Singaporeans are clamouring for the government to raise the income ceiling so they can buy public housing.

Currently, households with a gross income of more than $10,000 are not eligible to buy new HDB BTO flats. Those earning more than $12,000 cannot buy executive condominiums (ECs).

Lab researcher Tan Si Hui, 30, and her boyfriend have a combined income of $10,500, but they have failed in their past 5 BTO applications. “We don’t want to risk putting money into private property, especially with the rising cost of living in Singapore,” said Ms Tan. She and her boyfriend have no choice but to look for a resale HDB flat instead.

However, resale HDB flats are not cheap either nowadays. The price gap between resale and BTO flats has been growing. According to government data, the price differential in the outside central region was 31% last year, up from 18% in 2004.

Last week, during the Budget debate, some PAP MPs asked National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan to raise the income ceiling or remove it altogether.

“The income ceiling is too blunt a tool, (it) does not take into consideration the circumstances faced by each family such as the number of dependants,” said MP Hri Kumar Nair.

Mr Khaw disagreed.

“I don’t think we want to lift the income ceiling completely,” he said, noting that HDB flats are “heavily subsidised” and are aimed at those who need help.

Mr Khaw, of course, was talking about “market subsidy”, not “cost subsidy”. Till today, Mr Khaw has refused to reveal the construction cost of an HDB flat.

However, Mr Khaw did hint that the income ceiling could be raised for more Singaporeans to buy HDB BTO flats. But he attributes this to the increase in income level.

“As income level rises, we must be prepared to adjust the income ceiling,” he said, adding that he would mull over the income ceiling issue.

The income ceiling was last raised in 2011, from $8,000 for HDB flats and $10,000 for ECs. Before that, the $8,000 limit had remained unchanged for 17 years.

If Mr Khaw decides to raise the ceiling this year, it would reflect a change in 4 years, compared to the last change in 17 years.

What does this show?

What are the implications of such a change in a relatively short period of time, compared to the previous change over 17 years?

Source: www.tremeritus.com

March 17, 2015