Meskipun pusat beli-belah yang baru telah dibuka di Geylang Serai, seperti OneKM, bazar Geylang pasti masih dapat menarik ramai pengunjung.
Demikian pandagan Anggota Parlimen (AP) bagi GRC Marine Parade Profesor Madya Dr Fatimah Lateef yang membuka rasmi bazar Geylang Serai sekitar 7:30 malam tadi.
Beliau telah memotong reben bagi menandakan bermulanya bazar Ramadan di kawasan tersebut.
Semasa ditemui Berita Harian, Dr Fatimah berkata:
“Tarikan bazar berbeza sama sekali, dan suasananya tidak mungkin ditandingi. Oleh itu, tidak mungkin ia akan terjejas (oleh pusat beli belah baru),” ujar beliau yang telah mengunjungi beberapa gerai di bazar itu.
Seperti tahun-tahun lalu, bazar Ramadan di Geylang Serai tertumpu di kawasan pasar Geylang Serai, Kampung Melayu Geylang Serai, Haig Road, kawasan lapang di hadapan bangunan Darul Arqam, Tanjong Katong Complex dan Onan Road.
The Singapore Airlines (SIA) was named the world’s second best at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday (Jun 16). The award was given out by Skytrax, a consultancy and reviews site.
The Airline of the Year award was given to Qatar Airways. SIA gained one spot from last year to be ranked second, coming in ahead of last year’s winner, Cathay Pacific Airways.
SIA also clinched other awards. It was voted Best Business Class Airline overall, as well as Best First Class Seats. Additionally, SIA’s First and Economy Class categories both made it to the second spot on their respective lists.
The cabins of Singapore’s national carrier were rated the second cleanest in the world behind EVA Air, while its cabin staff were named third best behind Garuda Indonesia and Cathay Pacific.
Here are the world’s top 10 airlines in 2014, according to Skytrax:
A design executive who slammed a car door on a taxi driver and then beat him up was jailed for three weeks on Friday (June 19).
Dutchman Dino Petrus Johannes van Deijzen, 34, had admitted causing hurt to Mr Ee Kah Ling, 42, at the open air carpark at Block 538 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 at 12.58am on Oct 21 last year.
The court heard that van Deijzen and his girlfriend were heavily intoxicated when they boarded the victim’s taxi at Dunlop Street and directed him to go to Block 538 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. They slept in the rear passenger seat.
When the taxi reached the block, the girlfriend vomited inside the taxi.
Mr Ee then asked the couple to exit, and approached van Deijzen for the fare and resolve the issue of the vomit.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chin Jincheng said the couple ignored him and walked away, without paying.
Mr Ee then said he would call the police. He walked back to his taxi.
While Mr Ee was retrieving his mobile phone, van Deijzen slammed the car door on him and punched him.
When Mr Ee tried to escape, van Deijzen chased him and pushed him to the ground. He then punched and kicked him all over his body.
The acts of violence were captured by the in-vehicle CCTV camera of the taxi.
Mr Ee was taken to hospital with slight redness over his chest wall and multiple abrasions on his arms and leg. He was given five days’ medical leave.
Seeking a fine, defence counsel Ang Gek Peng had said in his mitigation plea that his client was not a violent person, and had acted out of character.
Mr Chin had argued that it was a sustained one-sided assault and that van Deijzen was the aggressor.
District Judge Imran Abdul Hamid noted that the victim had also engaged in a scuffle with van Deijzen and traded blows, which would have explained the blunt force trauma suffered by the accused.
The maximum penalty for voluntary causing hurt is two years’ jail and a $5,000 fine.
After two months of police investigation, the police has decided to issue a “stern warning” to Jason Tan Kok Whee, a grassroots leader over a threatening statement he made online, directed at 16-year old Amos Yee.
Amos was being charged with harassment, and with allegedly wounding the religious feelings of Christians in a YouTube video. He has since been judged guilty of the offences and currently held in remand, awaiting his sentence.
Mr Tan had posted the comment earlier in March (shown above), “For me, I would cut his dick and put in his mouth for blemish Jesus Christ.”, referring to Yee.
Mr Tan’s comment was posted under the Facebook handle of “Cookie Tan” on the Facebook page of The Real Singapore.
Jason’s images at Telok Blangah CC as grassroots leader
After netizens got hold of the fact that Mr Tan is a grassroots leader at Telok Blangah., a letter of complaint was subsequently sent to the People’s Association (PA), which oversees all grassroots organisations in Singapore, about Jason Tan’s threatening post. There has been no response from the PA thus far and Jason Tan has since restricted his Facebook page from public view.
Apart from a letter of complaint to PA, TOC also understands that a number of police reports were made against Mr Tan over the statement he made.
One of the people who filed the reports, Mr Lee said he was offended by Mr Tan’s comment and decided to file a police complaint against him. He said that Mr Tan’s statement was a criminal threat to Yee.
Mr Lee said in April, “I am seriously distressed by Jason Tan’s statement that bears the intention to harm Amos Yee physical and sexually. I have checked the penal code of Singapore and it seems that Jason Tan have breached the laws and should be liable to be arrested and be charged in the courts.”
Mr Lee also explained that Mr Tan has likely breached the law in making that comment against Yee, particularly penal code section 503, 504, 507 and 508.
Mr Lee added that Mr Tan should be punished according to the penal code section 506.
Soon after Mr Lee had made his report, he was called up by the investigating officer from the Tanglin Police station for an interview.
He said that the investigating officer had informed him that “quite a few police reports” have been made against Mr Tan.
Mr Lee also shared that the police officer had asked why he felt distress about Mr Tan’s Facebook comment. He replied that any ordinary person would feel distressed when they see someone threatening bodily harm against another and Mr Tan’s offence is worse than Amos’ as Amos didn’t threaten anyone with physical harm.
After close to two months of investigation, the police wrote letters to the people who have filed the police reports against Mr Tan and said that the police has closed the case with a stern warning given to Mr Tan.
One of such letters was sent to the social-political blog, TR Emeritus and was published.
The letter writes, “After careful considerations of the facts and circumstances of the case and in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, it has been decided that a stern warning be administered to the defendant in lieu of prosecution. On 10/06/2015, the defendant was warned by Chief Investigation Officer, DSP Tan Put Seng in the presence of Senior Investigation Officer, Henry Chua.”
It is understood that the warning letter would be recorded in police records but would not turn up in regular screening by Police.
The Public Service Division, under Prime Minister’s Office, announced recently that there will be a SG50 bonus for all civil servants, amounting to $500 per officer, “in recognition of their contribution towards nation building”.
The bonus was to be paid with the mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5 month, in July 2015.
There is an estimated 143,000 public officers in government service, which means the SG50 bonus would amount to about $71.5 million.
That’s a lot of dough. So we decided to see what else the SG50 bonus could have actually been spent on, and came up with our favs…
#1 — 7,150,000 plates of Peach Garden XO sauce chai tow kway
Image credit – InSing
Openly endorsed by NTUC chief, Minister Chan Chun Sing, $10 for a plate of this prestigious adaptation of the delicious hawker centre favorite is not to be scoffed at. Confirm quite shiok, right? Civil servants and citizens who agree, kee chiu!
#2 — 8,937,500 heart bypass surgeries
Image – The Straits Times
If National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan can get it at the bargain price of $8, any civil servant and citizen should be able to! And let’s face it, after all that XO chai tow kway, it is better to be safe than sorry, as you can’t really depend on Medishield to cover you for everything!
#3 — 31,630 Kate Spade bags
Image – justonebyte.com
Nothing but the best to tote around with in swanky Singapore, forking out $1,900 for a piece of this will seem like a breeze with that much bonus. Civil servants can now emulate their favorite politician or celebrity. Good for both the guys and gals!
#4 — 1,430 HDB flat subsidies for single-parent families
It’s SG50, so lets not fuss too much about all this and share a little! And with about 500 single parent births registered in a year, $50,000 per family is surely not too much to ask, just to level things up a bit for everyone.
#5 — 35,750,000 neighbourhood kopi tiam kaya toast sets
Image – TripAdvisor.com
We are not letting this go without gunning for the bread and butter issues (literally)! Another local favorite, something enjoyed by uncles, aunties and children alike, the sweet aroma of a $2 kaya toast set is just irresistible. A great perk for the civil servant rushing to work, and the best gift of appreciation for your Minister boss!
#6 — A year’s worth of pocket money for 99,305 needy primary school students under the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.
Joseph Schooling (image – The Straits Times)
If Joseph Schooling can do it, so can our government! Needy primary school students receive $60 a month from the Fund, so why not help bolster it so that The Straits Times can spend the money somewhere else, like hire better journalists?
#7 — Palliative care for 2,958 elderly people a year
Our silver generation, unfortunately, does not come with the silver dollars. Annual fees for a patient staying at a non-profit palliative care home chalks up about $24,000. If we can give billions for the Pioneer Generation Package, this should not be too much to ask!
#8 — 14,300 collumbarium slots
Fortunately, we do not have to contend with the potentially sky-high prices at the now defunct Fernvale Columbarium. But a regular slot at any columbarium hovers around $5,000 a niche. So let’s not skirt around the death issue and face it with a bit of realism. In cash.
#9 — 143 units of dignity for our Ministers
Surely our civil servants would think nothing of sacrificing their SG50 bonus for their bosses! $500,000 for a bit of dignity, what a steal!
#10 — 2.1 years of good government for all Singaporeans
Ok, so we were wrong, this one surely beats the XO chai tow kway.
“The price of good government is $34 million a year – just $11 per Singaporean a year – or the cost of five plates of char kway teow per citizen. And the price of bad government? It could have been $3,166 per Singaporean, said Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.”
