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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
Sufi Rashid Wins Akademi Fantasia 2015

SHAH ALAM: Astro Ria’s popular reality talent show Akademi Fantasia 2015 (AF 2015) has crowned its winner, Sufi Rashid, 24, of Singapore. There were four finalists in the final concert broadcast live over Astro Ria from the Shah Alam City Council (Wisma MBSA) here at 9pm on Sunday.

Sufi received the first prize of RM50,000 while Syamel Fodzly, 22, of Kuala Lumpur, Bila Samsaidi, 19, of Kuala Lumpur, and Shahrol Kamarozaman, 19, of Port Dickson, received the second, third and fourth prizes of RM30,000, RM20,000 and RM10,000 respectively.

The champion performed two songs namely the original Kisah Dua Muka written by himself and the hit single Andai Ku Berrcinta Lagi made popular by Mojo. The two-hour concert was co-hosted by Zizan Razak and Faizal Ismail. Datuk Ramli MS, Fauziah Ahmad Daud, Datuk Aznil Nawawi and Datuk AC Mizal were the contest judges.

The contestants: Sufi Rashid, 24, from Singapore. Bila Samsaidi, 19, from KL. Syamel Fodzly, 22, from KL. Shahrul Kamarozaman, 19, from Port Dickson.

Sufi sang Andaiku Bercinta Lagi made popular by Mojo while Syamel sang Sampai Mati by Hazama Azmi. Shahrul sang Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars and Bila sang Karma by Faizal Tahir. Sufi, Syamel, Shahrul and Bila also sang the original songs Kisah Dua Muka, Hidup Dalam Mati, Hanya Kamu and Diam Saja. Sufi’s and Syamel’s songs were self-composed while Shahrul’s and Bila’s songs were composed by Zul Majid and Edry respectively.

Source: www.nst.com.my

October 12, 2015
Prison Officer Fined $10,000 For Unauthorised Data Access

A prison officer who accessed data in Changi Prison’s computer system without authority was fined the maximum $5,000 on each of two charges yesterday.

Rajeswaran Jayaram 27, who pleaded guilty to two of six charges, retrieved the case profile of a former inmate from the Prison Operations and Rehabilitation System (Ports) in November 2013.

Rajeswaran, then a staff sergeant with the Singapore Prison Service, has been suspended from work since February this year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Victoria Ting said Rajeswaran had been in a relationship with Ms Benazir Begum, 26, who bore him a child.

Later, their relationship soured and they went to the Family Court over custody of the child.

On Dec 18, 2013, Rajeswaran’s lawyer wrote to the Family Court stating that a man allegedly in a relationship with Ms Benazir, Mr Rajamanikem Sivalingam, 32, had been convicted for rioting and had served sentence.

The lawyer added that it would not be in the interests of the child if Ms Benazir was in the company of Mr Rajamanikem, who was married, but was undergoing divorce proceedings.

Suspecting that Rajeswaran had accessed confidential data about Mr Rajamanikem’s criminal records, Ms Benazir and Mr Rajamanikem complained to the authorities in July last year.

Investigations showed that Rajeswaran had accessed the system and searched for Mr Rajamanikem’s personal details.

Rajeswaran claimed that he had been receiving threatening phone calls from unknown callers.

Suspecting that the calls were made by Mr Rajamanikem and his friends, he searched the system to see the man’s photo for fear of his own safety.

He said he did not access it to get information for his custody proceedings, as alleged by Ms Benazir.

Rajeswaran could have been fined and jailed for up to two years on each charge .

Source; www.straitstimes.com

October 11, 2015
Tranvestite Prostitutes Up Sleaze Factor In Woodlands Town Garden

Newly elected MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Halimah Yacob has pledged to clean up Woodlands Town Garden, a heartland park that has grown infamous for its nightly vice activities.

Residents told The Sunday Times that they avoid the park and forbid their children from going there. Similar concerns were shared with her during the recent election campaign, said Madam Halimah, when asked about the issue.

She revealed that she would be approaching the National Parks Board (NParks) to ask the agency to develop and upgrade the park, to “eliminate its attraction to those committing vice”.

“This is something that NParks should seriously consider,” she said, highlighting how 2,000 new Housing Board residential units will be coming up in that area in a couple of years. The new residents, too, “should not be inconvenienced by such activities”, she added.

She also urged police to step up patrols and conduct raids at the park more regularly.

Tucked away in a corner of Marsiling close to the Causeway and housing blocks, the park was built in 1983, with seven Chinese pavilions and six Malay huts on stilts – a design which won it the SIA Architectural Design Award in 1986.

But over the last decade, it has developed a seedy reputation. The 11ha park is largely deserted in the day. At night, transvestite prostitutes solicit for business at its carpark – always full with vans and lorries parked overnight, and at a bus stop next to it.

The sex trade gets busier over the weekends, when as many as seven prostitutes ply their trade. Services are offered for as low as $30. Customers are often foreign workers, although Singapore-registered cars can also be seen pulling into the carpark. A check of a gay online forum also shows that the park is sometimes where strangers meet up for a tryst.

Former Marsiling MP Hawazi Daipi, who had headed the ward since 1997 when it became part of Sembawang GRC, said he had highlighted the issue to the authorities. The ward now forms part of the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. “That place is old and there is a plan to redevelop the area, so I think it will be much better in future,” he added.

The 35-year-old Woodlands Town Centre – just across the road from the park – is slated for redevelopment by the HDB next year.

A police spokesman said they do “conduct regular joint patrols at Woodlands Town Garden with our community partners” and use closed-circuit television cameras to deter and detect illegal activities.

But Madam Halimah believes this may not be enough. “As (the police) can’t be there every day, what happens is a cat-and-mouse game that these perpetrators play, where they will disperse when the police patrol the area and then reconvene when they are gone,” she said.

When asked, an NParks spokesman said the agency, too, has taken steps to increase safety, including pruning dense vegetation, improving lighting and removing shelters to prevent groups of people from congregating there.

The spokesman added that there are “plans to upgrade the park and put in more measures, including additional lighting”, but details are not available at this stage.

Residents told The Sunday Times that they hope things can change for the better soon.

“I work the night shift… sometimes, you see people walking or going to the park. I know they go there for some hanky-panky,” said liaison officer Sukwinder Singh, 25. “Obviously, I am a little disgusted.”

Factory worker Liu Qing Qing, 26, said: “I have always avoided the area because it does not feel safe.”

Madam Lim Guat Thoe, who has lived in the area since 1963, remembers when the park’s lake was a popular spot for outings. “But now, it is dirty and very unsightly,” said the 53-year-old cleaner.

Other residents complained that, at night, labourers could be seen sleeping in the underpass leading to the park.

“It is dark there at night and, with all the people in the area, I tell my children they are not allowed to go there,” said resident Ishak Abdul Rahman, 52, who has been living in the area for 15 years.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

October 11, 2015