Category: Uncategorized

Driver Gets Five Years Jail And 20 Years Driving Ban For CTE Crash

The driver who caused a horrific crash on the Central Expressway (CTE) on National Day two years ago that killed a Singaporean and three South Koreans was sentenced to the maximum five years’ jail and disqualified from driving for 20 years today (June 19).

Toh Cheng Yang, 35, had committed the “ultimate traffic offence” by driving so dangerously that he caused four deaths and nearly wiped out an entire family, said District Judge Low Wee Ping.

His culpability is among the most serious and falls within the band of cases for which the maximum sentence should be imposed, said the judge, who noted that the only mitigating factor was his timely plea of guilt.

“You also committed one of the most reprehensible traffic offences. You drove under the influence of drugs,” added DJ Low.

Toh was found to have consumed five to 15 times the therapeutic level of a sedative drug called nitrazepam, which was also more than twice the amount that would produce toxicity.

On Aug 9, 2013, Singaporean trainee pilot Amron Ayoub, 23, was driving his girlfriend Song Jisoo, 24, and her family to Changi Airport for a flight to Hong Kong when a car tyre went flat. They stopped on the chevron marking the Yio Chu Kang exit on the CTE to retrieve the breakdown sign and tools from the car boot, and did not have the hazard lights on.

Amron, his girlfriend and her parents, who were standing behind the car, were killed after Toh plowed into them.

Part of the arm of Song’s mother Kim Mee-Kyung was sheared off, while the others suffered near-amputations and multiple fractures. Song’s older brother Seounghwan, a professional golfer, was unscathed as he was standing beside the car.

After Toh pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving resulting in the deaths and another charge of driving under the influence of drugs last month, DJ Low had adjourned sentencing, saying he was too shaken upon seeing photographs of the accident to make a decision.

Today, Toh’s lawyer Abdul Hamid Sultan indicated that his client would be lodging an appeal but would begin serving time in jail.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 20, 2015
NTU Top Scientific Research Institution In Singapore

An increase in high-quality research output has helped the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to emerge as the top scientific research institution in Singapore, according to Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious specialist research publications.

The Nature Index Global, which was released on Wednesday (June 17) in the United Kingdom, showed NTU moving up two spots to be ranked 40th in the world — beating out other local institutions, such as the National University of Singapore (NUS) (42nd), and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) (107th).

NTU, NUS and A*STAR are the only Singapore institutions in the top 200. NTU and NUS also beat other top universities such as Duke University (52nd) and University College London (45).

Last year, NTU published 371 scientific research articles, and the index tabulated that the university had a 6.7 per cent increase in high-quality research output as compared with the previous year.

The top three institutions are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, followed by Harvard University in the United States and the French National Centre for Scientific Research.

The Nature Index, which is in its second year, tracks author affiliations of around 60,000 scientific articles published every year, spanning across 20,000 research institutions worldwide.

The index also ranked research done according to different disciplines, and NTU was ranked ninth internationally for its chemistry research, followed by NUS at 28th place.

For physical sciences research, NUS is at 27th and NTU at 35th spot.

Responding to NTU’s showing in the index, NTU president Bertil Andersson said it “testifies to the high quality and impact of the work being done by (NTU’s) outstanding faculty and researchers”.

A*STAR chairman Lim Chuan Poh, noting the institution improvement in rankings, added that it will continue to collaborate with other industry partners in Singapore’s R&D landscape. A*STAR was ranked 133rd last year.

NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan noted that the university’s position is “a strong recognition of the (NUS’) high-quality research and capabilities”.

Among 100 countries ranked in the index, Singapore also went up by two places to 15th place. The top three countries are US, China and Germany.

Publisher of Nature Index Richard Hughes said China is ranked highly given the country’s substantial investments in research. Mr Hughes also noted that northern and western European institutions tend to collaborate with other institutions in the same region, whereas researchers in the East and South-east Asia will partner with institutions in North America or Europe.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 20, 2015
Mobile Air Employees Plead Not Guilty

Four former employees of the defunct Mobile Air shop at Sim Lim Square did not plead guilty to cheating offences yesterday despite earlier indicating they would do so.

Kam Kok Keong, 31; Edmund Lim Hong Ching, 33; and Kelvin Lim Zhi Wei, 32, yesterday asked the court for more time because they wanted to engage lawyers to “reduce charges”.

They each face one to eight cheating-related charges, with the amounts involved ranging from S$330 to S$3,710.

Koh Guan Seng, 38, the fourth accused, has engaged lawyer Edmund Wong, who told the court he had not been instructed if his client would plead guilty. Koh faces 15 charges of cheating involving S$9,789.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lim said yesterday that she was prepared to proceed with seven charges against Koh and have the remaining eight taken into consideration for sentencing, if he pleaded guilty.

Kam will have four charges proceeded with and the remaining four will be taken into consideration for sentencing if he pleads guilty, she said.

All of the accused are out on bail and their cases have been set for a pre-trial conference on Thursday, the same day as that of co-accused and Mobile Air owner Jover Chew Chiew Loon.

Chew, 33, faces 25 cheating-related charges involving a total of S$14,449 as well as one charge of criminal intimidation.

Mobile Air gained infamy last year after Vietnamese tourist Pham Van Thoai was filmed going down on his knees to beg for a refund for a phone he had purchased from there. The shop also made the news for returning S$1,010 in coins to a customer. However, both victims are not named in the charges.

After the five men were arrested last month, the police said that their victims ended up paying for mobile phones at much higher prices or had to pay fees to cancel the deal.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 20, 2015
Anita Sarawak Had Spine Operation In 2013

More light has been shed on the life of Anita Sarawak, the singing legend who hit the headlines recently when she dropped out of sight and contact.

The New Straits Times (NST) reported on Friday (June 19) that the Singapore-born star had a spine operation in October 2013 and was hospitalised for four days.

She was already living in Las Vegas then, as she had left Malaysia in 2011, and not 2013 as widely reported, NST said quoting “a source close to the couple”.

The source also dismissed rumours that arose after it was reported that Anita, 63, had “disappeared”.

She has not separated from her husband, Mohamad Mahathir Abdullah, nor is she in debt.

On the contrary, the latest property she bought was a piece of land in Tuscany, Italy.

And while she is not as prolific as was in her heyday, she has come back to Singapore and Malaysia for a few singing engagements since 2011, the source said.

She also had a few shows at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in February and March.

Once nicknamed “Asian Dynamite”, Anita came from a family of celebrities.

Her father is late actor-director S. Roomai Nor, and her mother Siput Sarawak was a prominent actress during the golden age of Malay cinema in the 1950s and 1960s.

But hers was not a charmed life. Her parents were divorced, and she met dad Roomai Nor for the first time when she was nine.

“Prior to that I didn’t know I had a dad,” she said.

She was also teased as a child for her trademark pucker.

“As a child growing up, I was always made fun of in school, they would mock my lips, saying it was as big as my neck. I didn’t have that many friends then,” she once said.

Anita has been married four times.

In 1972, Anita married musician Mohamad Abdul Samad. They divorced in 1976. She married late Indonesian singer-actor Broery Marantika in 1981. It lasted four years.

In 1995, she married American James Dean “JD” Nicholas, lead singer of US funk group The Commodores in a Las Vegas mosque. They divorced in 1999 but remain good friends.

She married her current husband Mr Mahathir, a Briton, in 2011.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
MUIS Announces Zakat Fitrah Rate For Ramadan

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has announced on Friday the “zakat fitrah” rates for this year’s Ramadan.

The normal rate is $4.90 for one person and the higher rate is $6.90. The rates are decided here by Muis, using the average price of 2.3kg of the grade of rice generally consumed by the Muslim community.

Zakat fitrah is a compulsory individual tax which Muslims pay during Ramadan. The money is distributed to the poor and needy among others.

Payment can be done by cash, cheque or Nets at all mosques, authorised Muslim organisations, Muis, AXS stations, through www.zakat.sg, and www.cimbclicks.com.sg.

Payment can also be made through a telephone service on 1900-112-3490 for $4.90, and 1900-112-3690 for $6.90, or through ATM and internet banking services by DBS or POSB banks.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015