Category: Singapuraku

Police Report Lodged Against Dr Lam Pin Min

Local film-maker and activist, Martyn See has filed a police report against Minister of State for Health and Member of Parliament of Seng Kang West SMC, Lam Pin Min over his facebook posting on the Thaipusam incident in February.

Mr See in his police report, filed a complaint against Dr Lam for offences committed under the Sedition Act (Chapter 290) and sub judice contempt of court.

Dr Lam in his facebook posting wrote, “An example of how alcohol intoxication can cause rowdiness and public nuisance.”

The incident which Dr lam commented on, took place during the Thaipusam festival on 3 February, Tuesday.

It was said that police officers had pulled urumi drumers for a kavadi carrier into an alley after playing musical instruments despite being disallowed. This subsequently erupted into a scuffle between the police and the men who hired the drummers.

3 men are now accused of using vulgarities and injuring one police officer.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) had initially issued a statement saying, “All three men were believed to have been drinking earlier as they smelt strongly of alcohol.” but has since stopped referring to this allegation.

The article, “What really happened at the Thaipusam scuffle?” by Lovely Singapore which Dr Lam had linked to, has also since been deleted.

However, Dr Lam’s comment on his public facebook fanpage still remains.

Mr See claims that Dr Lam’s comment has distorted an allegation by the SPF into a statement of fact. By doing so, he has :

1. Incited enmity towards the Hindu community by stating as fact that devotees were intoxicated while participating in the holy festival of Thaipusam.

2. Caused ill-will and hostility between different races and communities. The responses on his facebook page show overwhelming hostility to his remark. Yet, he has allowed his offending words to remain online.

3. Committed sub judice contempt of court by risking prejudice which may affect the final determination of the ongoing case against Ramachandra Chandramohan, Jaya Kumar Krishnasamy and Gunasegaran Rajendran, who are due to undergo trial for alleged disorderly behaviour. The three men were charged in court on 7 February.

TOC has sought the comments of Dr Lam and will include them when he replies.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

February 26, 2015
Be Grateful For Lee Kuan Yew

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) is at the gun sight of his detractors and enemies again, taking in potshots from all directions in the social media, simply because he was in the news for being hospitalised. The criticisms, condemnations, curses and swearing is gathering storm again. Even anyone who speaks up for him becomes the target. Who are these hateful ingrates? Mainly his political opponents, past and present. The social media has allowed them to amplify their hates. I will try to balance these with the good things that LKY has done for ordinary people. I will look at them from an ordinary, layman perspective.

No fear of starvation. Food aplenty, in quantities and varieties. Clothing aplenty, in quantities, varieties, styles and fashions. Don’t have to sleep in the streets. Roof over my head which I can call my own. Good sanitation system. You flush the toilet and walk away without looking back, without worrying if it will work. Home has uninterrupted supplies of water, gas and electricity. The water can be drunk straight out of the tap. Can walk from a residential block to bus-stops, MRT stations, markets, other residential blocks, etc., rain or shine, because of sheltered walkways. Good waste disposal. No unsightly and stinking piles of rubbish lying around. Cleanliness. Few litters found on the ground, though this is changing for the worse as more foreigners come in. No unsightly sticky chewing gum in public places. No fear of stepping or sitting on one.

Good education and training, leading to good jobs. Can continually upgrade. The limit is myself. Good quality and affordable health care. Public and private medical institutions aplenty. Infectious and communicable diseases are well under control. Good public sports facilities. Stadiums, swimming pools, exercise stations are available. Individual or group can exercise in the nature parks.

Good transportation; land, sea and air. Public land transportation is well-integrated. Air-conditioned bus stations are built close-by to air-conditioned MRT station. The buses and MRT coaches are all air-conditioned. Its air-conditioned comfort all the way. Combine this with the sheltered walkways, it means you can start from your living quarter and travel to a destination without a drop of sweat or a drop of rain.

Good communication system which enables the country to be well linked to the rest of the world with the latest in communication technology. Good physical environment. The rivers and reservoirs have clean water, The air quality is good, except when smog blows over from neighboring countries. The whole country is like a garden, with green grass, colorful flowers and tall healthy trees everywhere, all well maintained.

Good financial control. Never heard of a run on a bank. No one has ever lost money because a bank has gone bust. The nation’s currency is one of the strongest in the world. Good internal security. Low crime rate. Can walk the streets safely at night. Can walk and jog safely in the parks at night. No gunfights on the streets. No school children ever get shot in schools.

Strong defence backed by an advanced and well-equipped military. We have been able sleep soundly since the last external threat during the Confrontation. Good international diplomacy. We don’t make enemies, only friends. Good political stability. Govt does not change like I change shirt
everyday. This allows big, long term projects to be realised from planning to completion.

Good social order. No serious racial or religious conflicts despite being a multi-racial and multi-religious nation. Strong economy. Good quality foreign investments continue to flow in. Unemployment is low. Not satisfied with being good, things are continually being improved to make them better.

If this is not paradise, what is? How does it come about? Strong government with sound values. And that’s the PAP, under LKY.

begrateful

* Submitted by TRE reader.

Source: www.tremeritus.com

February 26, 2015
Security Executive To Be Jailed And Caned For Unlawful Possession Of Air Pistol And An Unexecuted Robbery Attempt

A security executive who was facing financial difficulties came up with an elaborate plan to rob a bank with an illegal air pistol – but got cold feet at the last minute and went to work instead.

Ng Shi Qiang, 31, did extensive online research on bank heists and carried out reconnaissance missions at several banks here.

He decided to target the POSB outlet in Block 926 Yishun Central 1 and turned up there on the morning of Oct 14, 2013, carrying a bag with the pistol and other equipment.

Ng could not bring himself to carry out his plan to rush in the front door when two women arrived to unlock it, as he did not want to hurt them.

He left and stashed the items in a dry riser unit at a nearby HDB block.

But by the time he returned to retrieve them two days later, a resident had already discovered them and called the police.

On Wednesday, Ng was jailed for five years and nine months and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to having unlawful possession of the Beretta pistol. One other charge under the Arms Offences Act, for having various component parts of firearms, was taken into consideration.

The court heard that Ng had received the air pistol from his 27-year-old brother, a regular serviceman in the Singapore Navy. His brother had brought it back from Taiwan in May 2013.

He later decided to rob a bank to pay off his debts, which included $50,000 chalked up on credit cards and a $100,000 loan from his mother-in-law.

Ng has two young children and previously worked as a security guard and army regular.

He could have been jailed for between five and 10 years, and ordered to be given at least six strokes of the cane.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 26, 2015
SMRT Enterprise Wins Award For Enterprise Risk Management Programme

SMRT Corporation has won an international award for its enterprise risk management programme – first time that SMRT has won such an award.

The public transport operator won the Delivering Value through Risk Management award at the Institute of Risk Management (IRM)’s Global Risk Awards 2015 – an international industry award recognising the highest standards of excellence in risk management.

In a media release issued on Wednesday (Feb 25), president and group CEO Desmond Kuek said SMRT was honoured to receive such an award, which was presented to the company last Thursday (Feb 19) in London. “The rigorous judging process reaffirms that SMRT’s enterprise risk management programme is truly world-class, and delivers superior value for our stakeholders,” he said.

Companies shortlisted for this award were assessed for evidence of sustained revenue enhancement, cost savings or other improvements such as reduced error rates, that can be attributed to a risk management initiative or programme; acknowledgement of the role of risk management as a value-added function within the organisation; and value delivery in the context of an overall risk management programme.

The Global Risk Awards’ judges praised SMRT’s “forensic focus on how risk management could be used to support corporate strategy”.

February 26, 2015
Chan Chun Sing: Build Social Cohesiveness Through Property Design

SINGAPORE: Building rental units next to new Build-to-Order flats and getting real estate students to also study social sciences – some of the ideas raised by Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing to have more social inclusiveness in Singapore.

Mr Chan was speaking to 50 engineering and real estate students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at a dialogue on Wednesday (Feb 25).

Homes today provide greater privacy – for instance, common corridors are no longer seen at newer blocks. Flat owners can have greater privacy this way, but it can have social implications, said Mr Chan.

“In short, today’s privacy will be tomorrow’s social isolation,” said Mr Chan.

“That common corridor doesn’t just serve a functional role to allow people to get from the lift lobby or staircase back to their house – it allows mixing, it allows people to get to know their neighbours, it allows people to walk past and greet each other,” he explained.

“When we take away that in the name of privacy, then we have to ask ourselves the next design that we need to incorporate that will allow people to have privacy and at the same time, not create a situation where in 20 to 30 years’ time, we will have an aged population with a social problem.”

Mr Chan said in fostering social interaction, those in the real estate industry have an important role. Developers could consider building different types of flats, including rental units, in a single project to bring together people of different social and economic status.

“Perhaps it’s important, in our whole society, to have social mixing whereby the rich grow up understanding that there are poor people in this society, that we will count our blessings, that in this society it’s our responsibility for those who have been more blessed to extend a helping hand to the poor,” he said.

Mr Chan added that in cases of the “not-in-my-backyard” syndrome, designers and architects can also help to mitigate the situation through careful design.

But for the property sector to play that role well, those in the industry, and real estate students, need to have a good understanding of social needs. That is still lacking in the curriculum of some universities in Singapore, said Mr Chan.

“If you want to be a good architect, a good real estate student, beyond architecture and real estate, you should really study sociology, demographics – you should study social sciences,” he said.

When asked if the government will consider building HDB flats at prime locations such as downtown Marina to improve social interaction, Mr Chan said he is sceptical it would work, as there are other issues to consider.

For instance, buyers can purchase HDB flats in prime areas at “artificially low prices”, only to flip them in the resale market and enjoy a windfall.

“Who is cross-subsidising them? The Government? Actually the Government has no money to cross-subsidise,” he said. “The real answer is the rest of the people – the three-room flats and the four-room flats are cross-subsidising them. That comes to another point which is then, is this a fair system? So there are complex considerations on where we want to build.”

Organisers of the dialogue, the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore, said it hoped to foster a better understanding of the real estate environment amongst youths.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

February 26, 2015