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Japanese Company Says It Does Not Need To Follow Singapore Employment Law Under “Special Agreement”?

We received a letter from an unfortunate Singaporean who was dismissed from her job at a Japanese company without any notice or benefits. The company let her go to replace her with a new batch of foreign workers despite having worked there for the past 2 years. The company also told her that it was not obliged to render any employment benefits under “special” agreements negotiated by the company’s Japanese Embassy in Singapore, as such, she was not given any medical, dental and leave benefits for the past 2 years of her work.

Does the Ministry of Manpower know about such “special” agreements between Singapore and foreign countries? How many Singaporeans have suffered under these “special” arrangements?

Read her full letter below.

Dear Ms ——-,

I am writing to inform you about my unfair dismissal due to the absence of an independent Union to represent Workers’ interests as well as MOM infrequent audit checks on companies operating here.

I was gainfully employed as a production operator at Tanesei Trading Pte Ltd for the past 2 years but was dismissed last Wednesday without any notice or benefits to make way for a new batch of foreign workers ready to come here.

When I approached the HR, I was informed that the company was merely responsible for contributing our CPF and was not obliged to render any employment contract under “special” agreements negotiated by the company’s Japanese Embassy before the company began operations here.

Hence, I was not only without any medical, dental and leave benefits for the last 2 years but also missed out on the 13th month bonus which the company also said the bonus was revoked by parliament close to a decade ago.

In view of this, I hope the government will look into some of the blatant practices and breaches by lots of companies here.

Yours faithfully,
Ms B.M. Lim

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

October 12, 2015
Nude And Lewd – Teenagers Sexting

They might look like they’re just chatting on their mobile phones.

But experts say parents need to pay close attention to their teenagers because they could be sexting — sending lewd messages and pictures via their mobile phones.

Dr Carol Balhetchet, senior director for youth services at the Singapore Children’s Society, recounted a 14-year-old girl who was caught sexting after her mother came across nude pictures on her mobile phone.

Dr Balhetchet told The New Paper: “Her mother said that what she found was graphic and very sexual in nature. She was embarrassed to even show us the pictures and text she had found.

“After much probing, the girl’s cousin, who had access to her Facebook account, let her mother (gain access). What she saw traumatised her.

“There was a whole bunch of sexual messages and pictures that were being sent to the boy. He was 18 and not from her school.”

Such behaviour may be more commonplace than parents want to believe.

To make matters worse, these teenagers are adept at hiding their risque activities from their parents by hiding behind a slew of online acronyms.

Acronyms such as GTN (Got them nudes); HMU (Hit me up); PIR (Parent in room); KPC (Keeping parents clueless); LMIRL /MIRL (Let’s meet in real life / Meet in real life).

“In this era, teens are adamant on going as close to the edge without actually ‘committing the crime’.

“These acts, they feel, make them look bolder, cooler and prop them up in popularity,” Dr Balhetchet said.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 12, 2015
Kindergarten Teacher Resigns After Children Allege Abuse

When her six-year-old son Joel (not his real name) started refusing to attend kindergarten and claimed that his teacher had hit him with a pen, Madam Lee, 37, thought he was just being rebellious and spoilt.

But one night last month, Joel became very insistent on not going to school the next day and Madam Lee, a business development manager, sensed that something was wrong.

She started probing into Joel’s claims and found out that Joel’s teacher at Zoo-phonics School in Bukit Timah, a private enrichment centre, would hit his hand with a pen to discipline him.

He also claimed she would push and shake him violently whenever he did not know the answer to a question or made a mistake in his work.

Madam Lee found out that another child had been treated the same way by the teacher.

Both mothers went to see the teacher and principal on Oct 5 and lodged a police report later that night. They pulled their children out of the school the next day.

Police confirmed that the reports were made and investigations are ongoing.

When TNP contacted the director of Zoo-phonics School Asia, Mr Vincent Teoh, he said the teacher had resigned on Thursday.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 12, 2015
Lee Bee Wah: Reward People Who Catch Litterbugs In Action

While the rest of the neighbourhood in Nee Soon South is sleeping, about 120 volunteers were out early on Sunday morning (Oct 11). Armed with litter pickers and gloves, they sorted the garbage into bags for rubbish and recyclables.

Headed by Nee Soon South MP Lee Bee Wah, the ward is the first in Singapore to do this on a monthly basis.

The programme – called HABIT @ Nee Soon South (Hold on And Bin IT, make it a HABIT!) – started about three years ago, and organisers said they have seen a gradual decrease in the amount of litter collected. Meanwhile, the number of residents volunteering has also increased.

National Environment Agency (NEA) said it wants to replicate the monthly scheme in other parts of Singapore. It said representatives from Jurong and Queenstown have expressed an interest, and have attended Nee Soon’s monthly litter picking programme to learn more.

However, Ms Lee said picking up litter is not enough. She is encouraging her residents to look out for those who litter habitually.

She also suggested to the authorities to reward people who catch litterbugs in action. For example, after a resident takes a video of someone littering, he submits the evidence to NEA, and he gets to earn half of the summons.

She said: “In Taiwan, every resident is an enforcement officer. They can video, they can take photo of the litterbug and submit to their NEA. And if there is successful prosecution, their NEA will give the resident who reported it half of the summons collected.

“My residents have given this suggestion and I thought it is a good one. So now I’m working with NEA, and we will try to pilot this in Nee Soon South in the near future.”

Channel NewsAsia understands there are challenges in its implementation, as the legislation needs to be amended.

Said NEA chairman Liak Teng Lit: “I think the Government needs to think through what are the things we need to do. If you look at the equivalent of what is happening on the road, many people today have their in-vehicle cameras and not many people dare to make funny claims about accidents because there is a risk that whatever you say could be contradicting what’s on the camera in someone else’s vehicles.

“So certainly having neighbours watching over the environment and watching over each other will be very helpful. For the good citizens, there is nothing to worry about. In fact, people will be filming you doing good things and praising you rather than reprimanding you.”

Ms Lee also launched a second recycling point in her ward, after a successful pilot. The scheme is being supported by the Tzu Chi Foundation.

Residents take their recyclables to the void deck at Block 873, Yishun Street 81. These items will be sorted, and taken to recycling centres.

She said this will educate residents on what can and cannot be recycled. This could prevent uninformed residents from contaminating recycling bins with waste.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

October 12, 2015
Pengakuan Sufie Rashid: Saya Dipaksa Melakukan Seks Oral Kepada Bekas Pengurus/Bapa Tiri, Arif Dollah, Ibu Tidak Percaya

Penyanyi Singapura, Sufie Rashid mendakwa pernah didera secara seksual oleh bekas pengurus Tegar, Ariff Dollah.

Sufie berkata, Arif sebelum ini pernah menjadi pengurusnya dan mengaku telah dipaksa melakukan seks oral oleh lelaki tersebut.

“Ketika itu saya berusia 13 tahun dan Arif ialah pengurus saya. Jika Tegar menerima gangguan seksual, saya lebih teruk dari itu.

“Lebih memeritkan selepas ibu saya berkahwin dengan Arif, saya selalu menjadi mangsanya. Selama setahun saya dipaksa melakukan perkara terkutuk oleh Arif.

“Bukan saya tidak mengadu kepada ibu, tetapi ibu lebih percayakan suaminya,” luahnya ketika ditemui di Istana Budaya pada malam Jumaat.

Menurut Sufie lagi, kejadian yang menimpa Tegar mebuatkan dia terpanggil untuk membuat pengakuan berani itu.

“Bodohlah saya jika melakukan ini (pengakuan) kerana publisiti. Saya tak bodoh untuk mencari publisiti dengan menjual cerita melibatkan maruah diri. Tak mungkin saya akan memalukan diri saya sendiri!

“Arif sudah melampau…Saya fikir selepas 11 tahun, dia dah bertaubat. Saya hubungi Tegar selepas mengetahui dia diganggu secara seksual oleh lelaki itu,” katanya kepada Astro Gempak.

Kata penyanyi berusia 24 tahun itu, dia tidak terkejut dengan kenyataan dibuat Arif kepada media kerana lelaki itu bijak memanipulasi fakta.

“Dia memang pandai putar belit cerita. Saya ada terbaca kenyataan Arif yang menyuruh Tegar membuat laporan polis dan pemeriksaan doktor sekiranya benar dia diliwat.

“Saya merasakan kenyataan tersebut lucu kerana pihak Tegar tidak pernah mendakwa Arif meliwat, tetapi ia hanya gangguan seksual.

“Apa yang cuba dia buktikan? Saya berani mendedahkan segalanya hari ini kerana saya menyimpan perkara ini sudah lama. Ya, saya mendendami Arif. Kerana dia saya mengalami tekanan perasaan dan terpaksa menjalani rawatan bersama pakar jiwa,” ujarnya kesal.

Sufie ditemui ketika majlis sidang media sejurus selepas tamat persembahan Muzikal Nusantara di Istana Budaya.

Source: www.astrogempak.com.my

October 12, 2015