Category: Singapuraku

Singapore Diabetes Patients Among The Youngest In Asia

A new local study on patients with type 2 diabetes across nine Asian territories showed that Singapore has the highest proportion of younger patients.

The study among 319 patients was conducted by the Asian Diabetes Foundation from 2012 to 2014, and included patients from Singapore, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The study found that three in 10 patients in Singapore had diabetes before turning 40.

Younger patients also fared poorly in terms of glucose control, hypertension and cholesterol management compared to older patients.

Hence, doctors said it is timely that a new drug called JANUMET XR was approved by the Health Sciences Authority last year to help patients with type 2 diabetes maintain their blood sugar level.

Currently, patients require multiple drugs for blood sugar control. But doctors said this new drug, which combines two powerful diabetic agents, will help to lower patients’ glucose levels in one dose.

A total of 498,190 people in Singapore have type 2 diabetes and achieving glycaemic control continues to be a challenge for people with diabetes.

“Diabetes has no symptoms. Because of that people do not care — they think they are doing well,” said Dr Ben Ng, a consultant physician at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Medical Centre. “On top of that, many other lifestyle issues such as too good a diet, lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle all contribute to increasing weight and rate of diabetes.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 17, 2015
Homeless Man With Tantrum Issues Fined $1500 For Splashing Doctor With Hot Milk

A homeless man who splashed a jug of hot milk at a doctor after she wrote that he was prone to tantrums was fined the maximum $1,500 on Monday.

When Dr Parvathy Babu Surendra Babu, 31, refused to delete the comment, 63-year-old Abdul Aziz Selamat told her that he would “show what a tantrum was”, then grabbed the jug from a nearby pantry at Thye Hwa Kwan Hospital.

The attack left the 31-year-old doctor suffering redness on her face and chest.

Aziz was originally charged with acting rashly to endanger the personal safety of others, but admitted an amended charge of using criminal force on Sept 3 last year.

The court heard that he had been referred to the hospital for rehabilitation following surgery.

Dr Parvathy, in her summary form, stated that Aziz threw tantrums almost daily and often created trouble for hospital staff.

Two days after his discharge, Aziz returned to the hospital to retrieve his mobile phone charger. He met Dr Parvathy and asked her to delete the adverse comments but she refused, sparking his anger.

He threw milk at the doctor’s face and chest and she ran tap water over the affected area, although the redness subsided the next day,

The prosecution admitted to being unable to ascertain the temperature of the milk.

The court heard that Aziz had been afraid that the adverse comments would affect his applications for a Housing Board flat and financial assistance.

Mr Foo Juyuan, who represented Aziz under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Fellowship, urged the court not to jail Aziz, citing his various medical ailments, ill health and financial trouble.

He said Aziz, who is jobless, volunteers at Mercy Centre twice a week by packing and delivering food to fellow homeless people.

The lawyer said Aziz is trying to get a licence to busk around Singapore.

Aziz could have been jailed for up to three months on top of the fine.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 17, 2015
Murder Charge Of Father-Son Pair Reduced

The lawyer for the father-son duo charged with the murder of a man allegedly trying to rob a family member in Malaysia, told The Straits Times that the charge against part-time cook Moo He Hong, 57, and Moo Wee Keong, 29, will be amended to causing death by negligence.

Mr Gobind Singh Deo added that the case is due to be rementioned at the Rembau magistrate’s in Negeri Sembilan on Wednesday.

“The amended charge will be under Section 304(A), a far more minor charge compared to murder which carries the death penalty,” said Mr Gobind.

“It is two years’ jail maximum and/or fine. I will do the necessary to obtain bail on Wednesday.”

When contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Moo’s Singaporean wife – Kuek Soo Lan – revealed that bail for each of the men could be set at between RM10,000 (S$3,762) and RM15,000.

“I’m so happy right now, my heart is literally beating out of my chest,” a relieved Madam Kuek said in a phone interview.

“They have been locked up for almost three weeks and it has been a testing period for the family.”

The elder Moo and his son were detained in the wee hours of Feb 24 near their house in Gemencheh, Tampin, after subduing Chan Boon Poh, who was allegedly attempting to rob Madam Kuek with a parang.

They were charged with murder after Chan died while he was tied up.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

March 17, 2015
NTU Chinese Major Graduands Raise Disappointment Over Inability To Nominate Valedictorian

Chinese major graduands from Nanyang Technological University have raised a stink over their inability to nominate a valedictorian this year — believed to be a first in seven cohorts.

The reason that the option has been taken away from them: They are collecting their scrolls with those graduating from the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM), from which the valedictorian will be chosen because its cohort size is bigger.

Because a single convocation ceremony cannot accommodate all the graduates from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), who number about 700 each year, one of its divisions joins another school’s ceremony. The Economics division held theirs with ADM last year, but had a valedictorian chosen from among them due to the larger Economics cohort. This year is the Chinese division’s turn to have their ceremony with ADM.

But with the slight by HSS’ 2013 valedictorian’s speech still fresh in their minds, the Chinese graduands are discontented with the university’s decision to deny them a valedictorian nominee.

That year, Sociology major Darren Woo made disparaging remarks about the language abilities of Chinese majors in his valedictorian speech, creating a stir.

One Chinese major graduand, who declined to be named, said: “We feel this is an unfair arrangement and it might send a signal to the public that Chinese division graduates are not as capable and the school stereotypes us.”

In an email to final-year HSS students yesterday, the school’s assistant chair of communications and student life Tan Joo Ean broke the news that due to the extremely large cohort size, the graduation ceremony for Chinese majors — 109 in all — will be held separately from that of the other HSS divisions.

In the email, Dr Tan also announced the valedictorian nominees from the Sociology, Psychology, English, Economics and Linguistics and Multilingual Studies divisions. These graduands were chosen for their academic performance, leadership qualities with participation in activities outside school, and good public-speaking skills, said Dr Tan.

In a separate email that was sent only to final-year Chinese majors, the head of the division I Lo-Fen reassured students that the school does not discriminate against them, noting that HSS’ valedictorian last year came from their division.

She also urged students to speak with university officials instead of contacting the media to seek redress.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, a HSS spokesperson said it is a common practice for schools with a large graduating cohort to hold more than one convocation ceremony for practical, logistical reasons.

“This year, it is the Chinese Division’s turn and the valedictorian will be from ADM, since the majority of graduands at that ceremony are from ADM,” he added.

Unhappy with the reason, the 2015 class are mulling over starting a petition to the university. They also hope that the university can address their concerns over the potentially discriminatory effect on future cohorts.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 17, 2015
Barren Land At Bukit Batok Not Due To Pest Extermination

A significant amount of vegetation that once grew on the hill beside Bukit Batok MRT station has been cleared, about three months after it made headlines for being infested with hundred of rats.

However, the barren land is not the result of an operation to weed out rats, said pest controllers.

“I believe (authorities) are doing their so-called routine maintenance, but this time round they’re doing a bit more. Actually, it comes after our exercise. They didn’t want to do this earlier so as not to jeopardise the whole rodent removal exercise,” said Mr Bernard Chan, general manager at Star Pest Control.

The hill had been declared “rat-free” in early January.

When contacted, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said it was carrying out clearance to “better maintain the land”. HDB said that the “bare” portion of the land is temporary as re-turfing is being carried out.

Star Pest Control said it has not discovered any new signs of rats in the area. It said the rodents could return if people do not dispose of food properly, or feed strays, providing a supply of food for the rats.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 17, 2015