Category: Sosial

TransAsia Airways Plane Crashed Into River In New Taipei City

At least 12 people were killed and many more are feared trapped after a TransAsia Airways plane crashed into a river in New Taipei City, which encircles Taipei, on Wednesday.

According to the latest update from government officials at 1.52pm local time, 30 people remain missing and 16 others are injured. The extent of their injuries is not clear.

The ATR-72-600 turboprop aircraft with 58 onboard, of whom 31 are tourists from mainland China, was flying from Taipei to the offshore island of Kinmen when it crashed into the Keelung River at 10.26am, the quasi-official Central News Agency (CNA) and Reuters said. The plane apparently ramming into an elevated highway before falling into the river, CNA said. The crash happened shortly after the plane took off from Songshan Airport in Taipei and was suspected to be due to insufficient propelling force, according to United Daily News.

The pilot of flight GE235 radioed a “Mayday, Mayday” distress call shortly before the crash, but did not respond when air traffic controllers answered, the report said.

An eyewitness on the ground was cited as saying the aircraft was flying “almost 90 degrees on its side” and going increasingly lower until it hit the highway bridge and crashed into the river.

CNA posted on its website dramatic photos of the plane hitting the highway, as a taxi on the highway apparently swerved to avoid being hit.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 4, 2015
81 Year Old With Fractured Arm Waited For 6 Hours At SGH A&E Before Being Treated

My 81-year-old mother had a fall on Jan 19 and I took her to a polyclinic, where an X-ray showed she had fractured her left hand.

The doctor referred us to the accident and emergency (A&E) department of Singapore General Hospital to get her hand set in a cast.

We arrived there at 1.35pm and waited for 5.5 hours before she was seen by a doctor. After the 15-minute consultation, we had to wait another 40 minutes before a nurse was available to assist the doctor to place my mum’s hand in a cast.

During the time we were at the hospital, I noticed many other elderly people waiting for hours to see the doctor. They did not dare to leave the area in case their numbers were called, and the staff had no idea when they would be seen.

The experience raised several questions and observations.

First, why was my mum referred to the A&E when she was a non-critical case? I am quite certain she would have been seen earlier if she had been referred to a different department.

Second, there were not enough chairs or wheelchairs in the A&E waiting area. My mum had to remain standing after her X-ray and also to collect her medicine.

Third, the staff should be more helpful and sympathetic to the waiting patients, especially the elderly. Perhaps hot drinks like Milo could have been provided, especially if patients have waited for hours.

Lastly, since it is known that the wait at the A&E can be long, why hasn’t anything been done about it? Although there are 10 consultation rooms, only five were used. Is there a critical shortage of doctors?

Something is seriously wrong if we have such an inefficient A&E system in a country known for its efficiency. I hope the Health Ministry will look into this.

Jill Hum (Ms)

* Letter first appeared in ST Forum (1 Feb).

Source: www.tremeritus.com

February 3, 2015
Malaysian Undergraduate Blackmailed And Raped By Policeman

Two cops were arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping and blackmailing a 19-year-old university student, Malaysian police said.

The teen lodged a report on Saturday, claiming the duo took advantage of her after catching her and her boyfriend having sex in a car on Jan 26.

Assistant Commissioner Azmi Abu Kassif said the victim claimed she was made to get into the police vehicle with one officer. The other officer got into her boyfriend’s car.

“The victim claimed that while in the police car, the officer had asked her to give him RM2,000 (S$745) to let her go.

“The victim agreed and the officer dropped her and her boyfriend by the roadside. She said the officers then took down her contact details,” he said.

Raped her in toilet

The student said she received a call later that day from the one of the officers who demanded that she pay up.

ACP Azmi said the girl alleged that the officer picked her up from her hostel, drove her to a nearby mall and forced her to perform oral sex on him in his car.

“She said he later took her to a toilet in the mall and raped her. He said if she didn’t do as he asked, he would arrest her.”

According to the victim’s report, the officer didn’t stop there. The girl claimed the man has been calling her up the past week to demand sex again.

“Upon receiving the report, we arrested the two officers on Sunday.”

Source: www.tnp.sg

February 3, 2015
Online Betting Sites Blocked As Remote Gambling Act Comes Into Force

Visitors to online gambling sites would have found themselves shut out yesterday after the authorities blocked access to several hundred of them, as laws to curb remote gambling kicked in.

The list of websites to be blocked will be regularly reviewed, but details will not be made public, a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesperson told TODAY.

“The MHA and the Media Development Authority are working with Internet service providers (ISPs) to ensure that the blocking of websites is implemented smoothly,” the spokesperson said.

As the law came into force yesterday, some regular visitors to remote gambling websites found that they were unable to withdraw money that they had deposited for games on those sites.

A check by TODAY showed that as of 10pm yesterday, some popular betting sites such as ibcbet.com and sbobet.com had been blocked. Some other popular sites were still  accessible.

The Remote Gambling Act, which was passed in Parliament on Oct 7 last year, outlaws remote gambling services. “It is also an offence under the Act to publish remote gambling service advertisements and promote remote gambling in Singapore. Offending websites will be served notices to remove these materials,” said the MHA spokesperson.

Under the new legislation, it is an offence to gamble in Singapore using remote communication such as via websites or to use a remote gambling service such as mobile apps that are not provided by an exempt operator. Those who break the law may be fined up to S$5,000, or jailed for up to six months or both.

The Association of Banks in Singapore confirmed that banks here had been informed that the Act would come into force yesterday and said it had “ensured compliance with its provisions” after it received orders from the Monetary Association of Singapore (MAS) to do so.

The MAS yesterday ordered all licensed banks, card issuers, holders of stored value facilities and operators of any payment system designated under the Payment Systems (Oversight) Act to block payment orders involving mobile or Internet gambling application or websites.

Financial institutions are not to accept credit or proceeds of credit, any cheques, bank drafts or similar instruments, or make or accept electronic fund transfers or any fund transmissions to or from remote gambling services.

They are also to block payment and prohibit transactions to merchant category codes 7995 MasterCard, 7995 Visa, 7995 UnionPay, 7995 JCB and 7995 Diners.

Meanwhile, StarHub, an ISP here, yesterday told TODAY that it was putting measures in place, in compliance with the new law. However, it was not able to share information on the blocked websites due to confidentiality obligations, said a spokesperson.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 3, 2015
2 Foreigners Found Dead In Hotel 81 Palace Geylang

Two people were found dead in Hotel 81 Palace at Lorong 16 Geylang on Sunday (Feb 1), in what is believed to be a murder-cum-suicide case.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they were alerted to the incident at 7.50pm. A woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s were pronounced dead at the scene.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the two dead are a 29-year-old woman from Indonesia and a 31-year-old man from India. Both were in Singapore on work permits.

They were both found motionless in a room on the third floor of the hotel. The man was fully dressed, while the woman was partially clothed, with visible injuries on her body.

The hotel’s manager declined to comment on the incident.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Source www.channelnewsasia.com

February 2, 2015