Category: Singapuraku

Sabah Earthquake: Singapore Students, Teachers Missing

Eight students and two teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) who were on a school trip to Mount Kinabalu were uncontactable after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Sabah yesterday (June 5).

They were among a total of 29 students and eight teachers from TKPS on the excursion. In a statement issued at about 9pm, a Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesperson said others had been accounted for.

“We are continuing efforts to contact the remaining (students and teachers). Parents have been informed and kept updated on the situation,” the spokesperson said.

Fifty-eight students and eight teachers from two other schools — Fuchun Secondary and Greenridge Secondary — were also on Mount Kinabalu when the quake occurred. They were safe, and arrangements had been made for them to return to Singapore, said the spokesperson. They arrived at Changi Airport after midnight yesterday. MOE officials were at the airport to receive the students and teachers. In a statement issued at about 12.30am, MOE said arrangements were being made to fly the families of students and teachers who were unaccounted for to Kota Kinabalu this morning.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat told TODAY: “A team of MOE officials and our teachers and counsellors will be together with the team , and will be together with the parents to give our utmost support. We are also working with the Malaysian authorities to give every assistance possible to continue with this operation.”

“It is a very difficult time for the parents and … a very difficult time for everyone.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has despatched a Crisis Response Team (CRT) to Sabah to help Singaporeans there. Singapore’s High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur has also contacted Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer support.

The quake struck near the mountain around 7.15 am yesterday, jolting a wide area of Sabah. Tremors were felt as far as the northern Kudat and Kota Marudu districts, and Beaufort in the south.

Since news of the quake broke yesterday morning, parents and relatives continued to stream in to TKPS throughout the day. The Malaysian media reported that two bodies, believed to be of a local guide and a 12-year-old female Singaporean student, had been recovered from Mount Kinabalu. When TODAY visited TKPS, parents and relatives were seen going in and out of the school premises deep into the night. Some had been there since morning, waiting for updates.

A parent, Mr James Ho, said: “For 12 hours, all we saw were teachers, the principal comforting us (and) giving us food. But beyond the school, we are not seeing any help.”

Another parent, Mr Sadri Farick, said he had been informed that his son Emyr Uzayr, who is in Primary 6, had been found with leg injuries, but there were no details. “We got news from one of the boys that there were boulders dropping in front (of them) and (their path) was cut off. I’m very upset by the information and resources we’re getting.”

Primary 6 student Emyr Uzayr was rescued with leg injuries, according to his father Sadri Farick. The extent of his injuries is not known. Photo: Sadri Farick

Posting on Facebook at about 10.40pm, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: “We are doing all we can to reach them and I really hope they are alright.” Mr Lee said that the authorities had contacted their Malaysian counterparts yesterday afternoon to offer support and help. “My thoughts are with those affected by the earthquake, and their families,” he added.

About half an hour later, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat also posted on Facebook: “Our hearts and thoughts are with the families of the students and staff of Tanjong Katong Primary School… We will do all we can to find the missing students and teachers in Mount Kinabalu.”

Mr Heng, who visited TKPS at close to 1am, added that MOE staff are in touch with the families of these students and teachers.

Foreign Minister K Shanmugam also took to the social networking site, saying that he had been monitoring the incident. He also outlined the efforts by his ministry to provide assistance to Singaporeans in Sabah. “My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected in the disaster,” he said.

MFA said that there are more than 100 registered Singaporeans in Sabah during the earthquake. As of 7.30pm yesterday, the ministry has contacted the majority of them and they were safe.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 6, 2015
Copyright foul? Sports Hub’s Round Ping Pong Table Similar To Artwork By Artist Lee Wen

An interactive, round ping-pong table installation at the Sports Hub Singapore has garnered criticism online for being strikingly similar to an iconic artwork by prominent Singapore artist Lee Wen.

Lee, 58, a Cultural Medallion recipient, told The Straits Times: “I just found out about this a few minutes ago when Tan Pin Pin sent me the photo over Facebook. I am a bit upset because I was not informed, and my permission was not asked for.”

He has been trying to reach the Sports Hub, adding: “I don’t want to blame anybody, but I think Sports Hub should at least give me some credit or ask for my permission before putting this out. I’m now just asking around what is going on, and checking if there is any infringement of copyright.”

Ping-Pong Go Round was first created and performed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1998. Lee had envisioned the game as “a dialogue between players on opposite sides”, using a doughnut shape for the table and creating new ways to play the game. It was a popular installation outside the Singapore Art Museum’s annexe, SAM @ 8Q, in 2012, exhibited as part of a survey of Lee’s work.

The work also travelled to Art Basel Hong Kong in March, where it proved popular with visitors to the art fair.

Lee, a performance artist, is best known for his Yellow Man performances, where he paints himself in bright yellow poster paint. He received the Cultural Medallion in 2005.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 6, 2015
Why I No Longer Trust GIC (PAP) With My CPF

It is a fact that an unbelievable number of our CPF investments are underwater. I am doubtful GIC is a shrewd fund manager.

The PAP has not been able to convince thinking Singaporeans that our CPF scheme is not a scam. To do so would require GIC to disclose all its investments and I suspect many will prove to be deeply embarrassing.

Singaporeans who are still unconvinced can analyse the 281 investments on this list. It’s of course not a complete list but if there’s any evidence of GIC’s superior performance, please share the information. I have already posted some wiped-out CPF investments and will continue to do so as objectively as our mainstream media.

Investments exceeding $1 billion will soon become the norm due to the legislated retention of humongous amounts of our CPF, ie the total amount of CPF balances doubled from $136 billion to $275 billion during the last 7 years. GIC is aware of the “inflated prices across all asset classes” but is forced to invest (risk) about S$20 billion of CPF monies annually. It is a fact that economic ‘growth’ post Global Financial Crisis has been built on a mountain of debt.

DJIA long-term chart

Source: Yahoo Finance

Most stock market indices, such as Germany’s DAX, have been hitting new highs since 2 years ago. Perhaps our multi-million dollar GIC directors do not believe that stock markets are cyclical in nature?

Source: Yahoo Finance

GIC is not a nimble investor and frequently goes in for the kill. It is a major shareholder in many foreign companies, with stakes of more than 5%. When a financial crisis hits, GIC will not be able to exit when stock prices are plunging due to a lack of liquidity. In a prolonged economic downturn, divestment by a major shareholder like GIC will result in gargantuan losses.

A recent example is its 63% investment in Nirlon. GIC’s Plan B = wipeout.

Unaccountability THE problem with GIC (PAP)

The 2 biggest investment blunders in GIC’s history are UBS and Citigroup. No one has been held accountable as if the combined 7-year S$25 billion investment is loose change.
Lee Kuan Yew justified GIC’s bad investments by merely stating “..we went in too early. This is the part of the ride”.
Lee was actually taking us for a ride because GIC was not investing in solid businesses but speculating for capital gains. Solid businesses make profits, declare regular dividends and the share price naturally heads north.

UBS AG long-term chart

Source: ft.com

Citigroup long-term chart (divide share price by 10 due to reverse stock split in 2011)

What’s so good about investing in a company whose share price has dropped 90% from 9 years ago?

GIC did make some money from its Citigroup investment but this has nothing to do with good judgement as many have come to believe. It was entirely based on luck. As confirmed by its current share price, Citigroup was horribly mismanaged, ie it had taken on excessive risks with the possibility of bankruptcy.

GIC had invested in Citigroup notes with a 7% coupon payment at a conversion price of $26.35. To prevent its bankruptcy, the US government bailed out Citigroup and the original conversion price wasreduced to $3.25. Without the reduction, GIC would be sitting on massive unrealised losses of more than 60%.

The point to note is GIC had not expected Citigroup to be:
– a candidate for bankruptcy
– its ‘attractive’ conversion price of $26.35 to be reduced by 87% to $3.25
– US taxpayers to bail out its investment.

Is this then not some sort of ‘tikam-tikam’ investment? Should anyone have faith in a fund manager who makes money by hoping for the best?

GIC has invested about S$25 billion in Citi and UBS whose net return is close to zero after 7 years. Can GIC’s smaller investments be expected to perform well when it has proven to make lousy judgements on much bigger investments?

The GIC board may not be involved in the day to day investment decisions but they certainly had beenconsulted before $25,000,000,000 of our CPF and reserves were invested. By not holding any director accountable, it appears the government has condoned risky behavior. GIC has therefore not learnt any lesson form its mistakes and CPF members should expect more losses when the next financial crisis hits.

GIC’s returns cannot be confirmed

The payment of CPF interests does not confirm GIC has been able to earn a 20-year 4.1% annualised real rate of return. Without providing a proper set of accounts, no CPF member should believe GIC’s data blindly. The payment of CPF interests was likely to have been from our reserves.

Government absorbed ‘losses’ 8 out of 20 years?

Last year, DPM Tharman told parliament that “in eight out of 20 years, GIC’s returns were lower than the rate promised to CPF members, but the Government absorbed the losses”. Why then were our reserves used 8 times without Parliament or the President being informed?

To claim that “the Government absorbed the losses” is at best a half truth because CPF member are also taxpayers. Assuming a CPF interest rate of 4% with GIC’s rate of return at 2%, we have:

GIC (2%) + Govt (2%) = CPF (4%, also taxpayers)
GIC (2%) + Taxpayers (2%) = CPF (4%, also taxpayers)

The government is not a separate entity and is funded by taxpayers. All CPF members are taxpayers and we are effectively paying ourselves. There are no losses by the government.

Singaporeans are being forced to pay for an underperforming GIC, our ‘professional’ fund manager. In a true democracy, GIC would have been history.

Understanding NIR framework confirms my suspicions

The PAP has tried to confuse the public by introducing complicated schemes and frameworks. Few would then bother to question the government or understand its motives. But it is not really that difficult to understand when we focus on key words.

The PAP currently supplements our budget with (1) up to 50% of the long-term expected real returns on the (2) relevant assets under the Net Investment Returns framework:

(1) PAP wants the public to keep guessing its “up to 50%”, which could mean anything from 1% to 49%. “Long term” could mean 10-year or 20-year which again PAP is not being upfront. Words which are meaningless to the public confirm PAP’s intent to conceal information.

PAP wants to prevent public knowledge of our reserves, money which belongs to citizens but somehow we aren’t supposed to know.

Bear in mind this is not income earned from investments but expected future earnings. In a bad year where investment income is insufficient, PAP will be able to spend money which has not been earned, ie from our reserves. Neither does it need to inform the president nor consult Parliament. Read post by andyxianwong with links to other blogs.

(2) Relevant assets are defined under the Constitution as the “assets managed by GIC and MAS, minus the liabilities of the Government (which include SGS and SSGS) and MAS. In short:

MAS + GIC assets – (SGS + CPF) = Relevant assets

The ability to determine the returns on relevant assets means the PAP (MAS?) must have known the actual investment returns earned by SGS and SSGS (CPF).

Conclusion

It is not possible that PAP does not know the actual CPF investment returns. When the government uses the excess return above the CPF rate to fund government expenditures, money which rightly belongs to me, I feel I have been cheated.
In order to avoid disclosing actual CPF investment returns, the PAP has created a smokescreen of half-truths.
The non disclosure of material information on CPF and the unaccountability of GIC have made it impossible for me to trust GIC (PAP) with my CPF. Do you?

Philip Ang

Source: https://likedatosocanmeh.wordpress.com

June 5, 2015
Poly Student Found Guilty Of Taking 170 Upskirt Photos, Videos Of Women

An 18-year-old polytechnic student was convicted today for taking more than 170 upskirt photos and videos of women.

A total of 173 photos and six videos were found in Clemence Koh’s mobile phone and laptop. The offences date as far back as Dec 17 last year.

Koh would approach his victims in an attempt to take photos from underneath their dresses or would squat down to take them if he felt it was safe to do so.

He took these photos and videos in public places such as Daiso outlets and Popular bookstores.

His actions went undetected until Jan 30 this year, when he tried to film a woman from the cubicle of a public female toilet.

Koh went to the third floor ladies’ toilet at Pearl Centre, entered the second cubicle and switched on the camera function of his phone.

After the victim entered the cubicle next to him, Koh slid his handphone under the cubicle partition and attempted to take a photo.

The victim spotted the phone, shouted and left the toilet. She immediately called the police.

Koh was arrested when the police arrived.

In mitigation, Koh’s lawyer said it was his first brush with the law and that he was remorseful. He also said that Koh was a good student and had the potential to reform.

He was charged with 62 counts of insulting the modesty of the women he filmed. Six of the charges were proceeded with.

He will be sentenced on July 6.

For each charge, he could be jailed for up to one year, fined or both.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 5, 2015
PRC Man Jailed 14 Months For Duping Retail Staff

He would go to retail stores and pretend to make a purchase. When the sales staff passed him change, he would kick up a fuss and demand to have only “new notes”.

While sifting through the notes, he would pocket some of the money with sleight of hand. Over eight days, he repeated the ruse on 10 occasions and filched a total of S$3,344.50, achieving, in the words of the prosecutor, “considerable success in his crime”.

Today (June 4), Chinese national Zhou Wei, 44, was jailed for 14 months for 10 counts of theft committed from April 13 to 20 this year. The prosecution proceeded with three charges, while the remaining were taken into consideration during his sentencing.

The court heard that Zhou, who was self-employed in China at the time of his offences, arrived in Singapore on April 13 and immediately started his stealing spree. He struck at retail shops around Orchard Road, Bugis, Upper Cross Street and Changi Airport, duping sales staff of between S$30 and S$1,050 each time. On several occasions, he even went over to the cash register to sieve through stacks of notes on his own. He would pretend to drop the notes and, while the staff bent over to pick them up, swiftly pocket some of the money handed to him earlier.

The court heard that on one occasion, when retail staff at a cosmetics store in 313 Somerset shopping mall rejected his request to “break” a S$1,000 bill into S$50 notes, he scolded the employee and removed a whole stack of S$50 notes from the cashier tray.

Pressing for a custodial sentence of six to eight months on each charge proceeded with, deputy public prosecutor Elton Tan said Zhou’s offences had been organised and premeditated, and he had preyed on the trust of retail staff, most of whom were willing to provide him with new notes.

In mitigation, Zhou, who was unrepresented, said he had realised his mistake and was willing to compensate the “innocent victims”. The offences were committed in desperation, he claimed, as he had lost all his money at the casinos here and needed money for his wife’s medical expenses and son’s school fees. “I had no choice but to do this,” he said.

In sentencing, district judge Luke Tan noted that there had been “obvious plotting” in Zhou’s offences. “The fact that you kept doing it again and again is something I cannot ignore,” said the judge.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 5, 2015