Category: Sosial

More Financial Help Disbursed To Poor In 2015

A record sum of $116 million in social assistance payments were made to the poor in the last financial year, ending March 2015.

This was a 14 per cent jump from the previous year and almost double the $61 million given out five years ago.

This money was used to help 91,093 individuals last year, up from 54,041 five years ago.

ComCare is a key social safety net for low-income Singaporeans and it provides three broad types of assistance: long-term help, largely for the elderly poor; interim as well as short-to-medium term help for those facing crises, such as illness or retrenchment; kindergarten and student care subsidies for children.

A portion of the money – $68.5 million – came from interest generated by the Community Care (ComCare) Endowment Fund, set up by the Government in 2005 to help needy families get back on their feet.

The rest came from the budget of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

The biggest jump last year was in short-to-medium-term payouts, which rose from $55.7 million in 2013 to $68.7 million last year, said the latest ComCare annual report. Five years ago, such payouts amounted to $16.6 million.

One reason could be the rise in the number of people who live alone and therefore need more support.

Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin noted that one- and two-person households under short-to-medium term assistance rose from 51.4 per cent in 2012 to 55.8 per cent last year.

Households given such an assistance can receive vouchers for transport and rent, monthly cash grants, medical assistance and help in job search or training.

Spending on long-term help grew to $18.7 million last year, up from $17.3 million the year before. Data from the report showed that 65 per cent of households on such assistance are the elderly who live alone.

They receive cash handouts for daily expenses and those with children get help with school expenses.

In a newly created blog called MSF Conversations, Mr Tan wrote: “The increase (in ComCare financial assistance) is not too surprising because we have increased our efforts in the last few years to bring help closer to those in need.”

The 24th Social Service Office (SSO), that completed Singapore’s social services network, was officially launched in Taman Jurong earlier this week. SSOs administer ComCare assistance and plan social services in their neighbourhoods.

Mr Tan added: “We have also adjusted some of our income criteria thresholds so that more can be assisted.”

Since July last year, the household income cap for short-to-medium-term aid was raised from $1,700 to $1,900.

National University of Singapore’s Irene Ng noted that economic disparity has “improved somewhat” over the past two years.

But “we are still not past the problems of high income inequality, bottom wage stagnation, high costs of living and fast pace of growth that makes it harder for the less able to catch up”, said the Associate Professor of Social Work.

Source: http://news.asiaone.com

December 18, 2015
Man Attacks Cabby, Ran Away Without Paying Cab Fare

Pls Help Me Spread Around..

Tis Man Took A Cab Tis Morning.. The Taxi Driver Alr said tat the nets machine is down & only accept cash.. Upon reaching he not satisfied when the driver told him tat to pay by cash..

So the two girls with him said ok send her to the nearest atm machine he suddenly being so violent.. Traffic turn red light, He smack driver head rest & he went out from the taxi ask the taxi driver to go out from the taxi but unfortunately the driver nvr went out & he broke the side mirror..

The driver just wind down the window,

The worst part he punch the driver head & the driver black out for a while.. The driver said he want to call police but this guy ran away wo paying the fare also..

Currently in under police investigation & driver currently at hospital for check up coz his head is spinning badly..

The case happen at Hotel 81 Lavender around 7.20am.. Thanks for sharing guys..

Source: Nur Roslan

December 17, 2015
Madonna Posts Singapore Concert On Website

Madonna fans all over Singapore have been getting ready to buy the hottest ticket of the music calendar next year.

It was reported last month that local concert promoter IMC Live was in talks to bring the Queen of Pop’s Rebel Heart tour to Singapore. And yesterday, the Madonna fan club newsletter sent out an email informing fans of her concert here.

“Madonna is taking her Rebel Heart to the Lion City when she brings her successful world tour to Singapore National Stadium on February 28!” the email stated. “Lifetime Legacy members will receive first access to tickets starting Thursday, Dec 17 at 10am SGT. Icon Live Pass access begins @ 11am SGT.”

On the tour page of Madonna’s official website, the Singapore date was added to the list. On Facebook, a poster was seen providing ticketing details.

If it comes to pass, it will be the 57-year-old singer’s first time here.

In 1993, she was banned from bringing her controversial Girlie Show World Tour to Singapore.

However, at press time, the local organiser declined to give any comment; although the police have confirmed that the application for a public entertainment licence is currently under assessment.

Source: www.todayonline.com

December 17, 2015
Singapore Couple Staying In Orchard Road Condo On Trial For Starving Filipino Maid

A Singaporean couple is on trial for allegedly starving their Filipina domestic helper. She weighed just 29kg when she escaped from their Orchard Road condominium in April 2014.

Lim Choon Hong and wife Chong Sui Foon, both 47, face one charge each under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, which states that employers are responsible for the “maintenance” of their foreign employee, including proving them with adequate food.

Ms Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, had worked for the couple for almost 1.5 years before she escaped and sought refuge at HOME, a non-profit organisation that assists migrant workers, including domestic helpers.

Ms Thelma lost 20kg whilst working for Lim and Chong. She told HOME of only being given instant noodles to eat twice a day for over a year. On some occasions, she was given bread.

Ms Thelma Oyasan Gawidan lost 20 kg over a 15-month period while working for Lim Choon Hong and his wife Chong Sui Foon at their condominium in Orchard. (Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY)

Chong also only allowed her to shower once or twice a week, keeping tabs on Ms Thelma to make sure she did not use any hot water, despite forcing her to shower in the condominium’s public toilet, Ms Christina Quek, the investigation officer in charge of the case, told the court.

HOME reported Ms Thelma’s conditions to the Ministry of Manpower, who directed the NGO to send Ms Thelma for a medical check up.

In court on Monday (Dec 14), Dr Lim Huiyu, senior resident at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s department of gastroenterology and hepatology who examined Ms Thelma in April this year, testified that she suffered “significant weight loss due to insufficient intake of food”. This conclusion was arrived at after ruling out medical or organic causes. So malnourished was Ms Thelma that she did not have her period for a year, the doctor said.

“I WAS SHIVERING FROM HUNGER”

Ms Thelma took the stand on Monday afternoon, and guided by Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet, detailed her alleged ordeal.

The couple asked her to work odd hours, telling her to sleep in the storeroom in the day and putting her to work overnight. Ms Thelma brought up a particularly draining episode when she woke up on a Monday at 7pm and was made to work without rest till Wednesday. She had told Chong she was tired from working over 24 hours, but was told to”hurry up and finish”, Ms Thelma told the court.

The petite woman also recalled how she was “shivering from hunger”. “When I am still hungry, I will ask for more … sometimes she will give me more, but the next meal I will get less”, Ms Thelma said.

Chong would sometimes add some meat and vegetables to her food, Ms Thelma told the court, but in the form of “one slice of tomato … or cucumber”. As for meat, Ms Thelma pointed to her little finger to indicate the size of the portion. “Is that all?”, DPP Tan asked. “Yes. I always felt hungry,” Ms Thelma added.

“I DIDN’T RECOGNISE MYSELF IN THE MIRROR”

Ms Thelma was never allowed to eat out with the family. Even when Lim and Chong brought their three children to stay at Raffles Hotel, they packed instant noodles and bread for Ms Thelma.

“I became skinny. I didn’t recognise myself when I looked in the mirror,” Ms Thelma said. She broke down sobbing at one point, and had to be given a 10-minute break to compose herself.

The 40-year-old also told the court she felt weak in general, and that her clothes were getting looser. After a while, her hair started dropping out. She stopped getting her period in February 2013, a month after starting work for the couple.

Ms Thelma told the court that she tried to plead with Chong for more food on one of the instances when the Singaporean was supervising her whilst she showered. “I pleaded with her when she was in the bathroom with me: ‘Look at my body, I am skin and bones already’”. But Chong pretended not to have heard her, she said.

Ms Thelma sobbed uncontrollably in court and covered her face when shown pictures of herself at 29kg, after running away from her employers’ home.

If found guilty, Lim and Chong could be jailed up to 12 months and/or fined up to S$10,000.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

December 15, 2015
Miracle Baby: Cancer Survivor Conceives And Gives Birth To Healthy Baby

She may be the first Singaporean to undergo a ground-breaking medical procedure called ovarian tissue cryopreservation.

But all Madam Siti Nurjannah Sapiee, 32, is grateful for is that it enabled her to be a mother.

Her journey to motherhood began with a devastating roadblock.

Just three months before her planned wedding, in November 2009, Madam Siti, who was then 26, was shaken by two diagnoses – cancer and infertility.

The former primary school teacher was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma of the thigh, a rare cancer of the soft tissues that typically occurs near the large joints of the arms or legs.

INFERTILITY

To make matters worse, she was told that chemotherapy might render her infertile.

Madam Siti, who is now a housewife, said: “The most heartbreaking thing to me was remembering that my fiance wanted three kids and I felt I couldn’t give him what he wanted.”

So she postponed her wedding to November 2010 and focused on battling her illness to pursue her chances of having children.

Madam Siti was referred to Dr Anupriya Agarwal, a consultant at the National University Hospital (NUH) Women’s Centre’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, by her oncologist, Dr Andrea Wong.

Before the start of her cancer treatment, the doctors discussed how to sustain her fertility.

They suggested ovarian tissue cryopreservation, a procedure that involves the removal of ovarian tissue from Madam Siti’s body and keeping it in frozen storage until after her recovery.

In-vitro fertilisation, an alternative procedure, was not an option as Madam Siti was engaged, but not married at that time.

“You don’t know how much you want a baby until somebody tells you that you can’t have one,” she said tearfully.

In December 2009, Madam Siti underwent the ovarian tissue cryopreservation procedure, which cost $5,000. Soon after, she underwent chemotherapy.

About three years later, in March 2013, Madam Siti was confirmed to be cancer-free and was ready for the ovarian tissue to be reimplanted into her body.

EXTREMELY CONCERNED

Her husband, Mr Raihan Haji Rajin, 32, told The New Paper that he was still extremely concerned.

“Even though she was cancer-free, I didn’t want her to neglect her health just so that she could conceive my child. I wanted her to raise it with me,” said the primary school teacher.

Madam Siti’s menstrual cycle returned three months after the ovarian tissue was reimplanted.

Over a year later, in October 2014, the moment she had been dreaming of finally came.

Mr Raihan said: “She woke me up one morning and showed me a pregnancy test that showed a positive result. I told her to try two more times and all three tests were positive.

“At that time, she was already excited, but I didn’t want to raise our hopes, to be disappointed in the end. That’s why I was still quite hesitant and wanted to wait until we received confirmation from a doctor.”

Madam Siti said it was not until the third month of her pregnancy, when the gynaecologist showed them a sonogram of their baby, that she and her husband really believed they would be having a child.

She recalled having an easy pregnancy. Once, she had a craving for belacan that could be bought only in Malacca.

“The funny thing is I didn’t even want to eat it, I just wanted to smell it,” she said with a chuckle.

On May 21 this year, Madam Siti gave birth to Nur Hannah A’qiylah.

Weighing 2.7kg at birth, baby Hannah is reportedly one of only 21 babies worldwide who was conceived naturally following ovarian tissue cryopreservation, according to NUH.

Her birth is reportedly the first in Asia.

Madam Siti said: “If I could advise anyone who is going through the same thing I did, I would tell them to have faith and not give up. Hannah is proof that miracles still exist in this world.”

She now faces a time limit: Her reimplanted ovaries are viable for only five years. Otherwise, she will have to go through the entire procedure all over again.

She said: “I am very happy and contented right now. But I hope to try again for another child in the next five years.”

You don’t know how much you want a baby until somebody tells you that you can’t have one.

– Madam Siti Nurjannah Sapiee

OVARIAN TISSUE HARVESTED & FROZEN

HAPPY MUM: Madam Siti hopes to try for another child as her reimplanted ovaries are viable for only five years.

Soon after her cancer treatment, Madam Siti Nurjannah Sapiee was also put on hormone replacement therapy to ease the effect of premature menopause, which had been brought about by the temporary removal of her ovarian tissue.

In the ovarian tissue cryopreservation procedure, doctors harvested tissue that stores the eggs from both of Madam Siti’s ovaries.

A special freezing technique was used to preserve that portion of tissue, also known as the cortex.

Ms Joyce Mathew, chief embryologist in NUH’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, said: “The most crucial part of the freezing procedure in the laboratory was to ensure that there would be no freeze damage to the egg cells in the cortical tissue.”

By March 2013, Madam Siti had recovered from cancer and was ready to have children.

The frozen tissue was thawed and rinsed with a special thawing solution, then reimplanted into her body via a mini laparotomy.

The surgical procedure involves making a large incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity and it was done with the use of extremely fine sutures.

Source: www.tnp.sg

December 14, 2015