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Tag: NS50

  • Fair Or Unfair?: Some Public Officers In Civil Service Can Get Extra Day Off In Celebration Of NS50

    Fair Or Unfair?: Some Public Officers In Civil Service Can Get Extra Day Off In Celebration Of NS50

    Some public servants will be receiving an extra day off this year to mark 50 years of National Service (NS50) in the Republic.

    The day off, which has to be taken between Aug 1 and Dec 31 this year, is meant for employees who have served as full-time National Servicemen or uniformed regulars in the Singapore Armed Forces and the Home Team, according to one statutory board.

    Rumours of the extra day off for public servants first surfaced on online forum hardwarezone late last week, with users asking if it was true.

    Checks by TODAY revealed that employees of some statutory boards have received an internal memo or email from their Human Resources department earlier this month.

    But it seems the benefit may not be rolled out to all public officers as employees at some other ministries and statutory boards said they have yet to receive word of the extra day off.

    In an internal memo seen by TODAY, the day off was declared by the staff member’s employer “in support of the Ministry of Defence’s NS50 initiatives”.

    TODAY has written to the Ministry of Defence and the Public Service Division for more information.

    This year, Singapore marks 50 years of National Service, and as part of the celebration, a year-long series of events and initiatives have been rolled out to commemorate the milestone.

    Among the perks given to all past and present national servicemen this year are S$100 worth of NS50 vouchers, which they can use at a wide range of retail and food and beverage outlets. Those currently in service, or have completely their operationally ready NS are also given an additional one-year membership at either Safra or HomeTeamNS.

     

    Source: http://www.todayonline.com

  • Enterprising Singaporeans Reselling Limited Edition NS50 G-Shock Watches At Huge Profits

    Enterprising Singaporeans Reselling Limited Edition NS50 G-Shock Watches At Huge Profits

    A limited-edition Casio G-Shock watch model released to coincide with 50 years of national service this year has proved popular with Singaporeans, with several stores selling out the timepieces within hours of sales starting. The watches cost $269.

    A check by The Straits Times on online marketplace Carousell at 9.30pm on Friday revealed seven people selling the coveted watch at higher prices ranging from $280 to $400. One seller was offering his at $2,699.99.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Good NS Performance Will No Longer Be Taken As Mitigating Factor For Sentencing Defaulters

    Good NS Performance Will No Longer Be Taken As Mitigating Factor For Sentencing Defaulters

    How well a national service (NS) defaulter performs in his duty when he eventually serves should have no bearing when deciding his punishment.

    This was made clear yesterday by the High Court as it laid down fresh sentencing benchmarks for NS dodgers.

    The benchmarks also “amplified” punishments for those who default for longer periods since it affects their fitness for service and the time they can serve as reservists.

    The three-judge panel, led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, set out four sentencing bands based on the length of default.

    For those who evade NS for two to six years, the starting point is two to four months’ jail; for seven to 10 years, it is five to eight months’ jail; and for 11 to 16 years, it is 14 to 22 months’ jail. For cases involving those who evade for 17 to 23 years or more, the default jail term kicks off from two to the maximum of three years.

    The grounds of decision were related to the cases of three defaulters, who were given heavier sentences in April after the prosecution appealed.

    Explaining its decisions yesterday, the panel rejected key parts of the sentencing benchmarks laid out by Justice Chan Seng Onn in February last year, when he sentenced a 25-year-old to three months in jail for defaulting for more than six years, and then gave a 1½ month discount for his good performance in NS.

    The panel agreed with Justice Chan that the main factor in determining an NS dodger’s culpability is the length of time he defaulted, and that anything over two years should mean a jail term. This, the court said, is because he would start serving only after his peers had completed their duty.

    But, among other things, the court disagreed that the sentence should be calibrated based on whether the defaulter has a substantial connection to Singapore, that a discount should be given on the accused pleading guilty instead of claiming trial, and that exceptional NS performance should be a mitigating factor.

     

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Special Constable Irfan Fandi – Keeping Singapore Transportation Services Safe

    Special Constable Irfan Fandi – Keeping Singapore Transportation Services Safe

    For 50 years, more than one million National Servicemen have served Singapore with pride and distinction, helping to fulfil our vital need for defence and safety.

    The contributions of these National Servicemen will be recognised throughout 2017 as part of NS50, a year-long celebration to recognise past and present National Servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

     

    For Special Constable 2 (SC2) Irfan Fandi Ahmad, 20, NS was something which took him some time to settle into.

    “Before I enlisted into the SPF to serve my NS, I had been focusing on my football career so I took a while to adjust. But after awhile I started to enjoy myself. I made a lot of new friends and learnt a lot of new things,” said SC2 Irfan, who is now serving his NS as a Public Transport Security Command (Transcom) officer.

    SC2 Irfan recalls his first two weeks of training as being both mentally and physically challenging.

    “After my first book-out, the first thing I did was to go home and have a good dinner with my family. Those first two weeks were really challenging because you don’t get to see your family and your Field Instructors really pushed you to your limits,” said SC2 Irfan.

    Despite the initial challenges he faced, SC2 Irfan credits his mentors with building up his discipline and fortitude. Today, he enjoys solving cases and meeting new people while continuing to serving his NS as a Transcom officer.

    “NS has taught me the importance of sleeping early, waking up early, training hard and just being focused in everything that I do. I know this is a platform where I can learn new life experiences so I’m going to take it positively and just never give up,” remarked SC2 Irfan.

     

    Source: www.hometeam.sg