Tag: Singapore

AHPETC Paid Highest Rates To Managing Agent In Three Out Of Past Four Years

Among all the town councils, the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) paid the highest rates to its managing agent (MA) — for both residential and commercial units — for three out of the past four years, figures from the Ministry of National Development (MND) showed.

Ms Sylvia Lim, Workers’ Party (WP) chairman and Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament, had filed questions for written answers, asking the MND for the MA rates of each of the town council for residential and commercial units in 2011, 2012 and 2013. She also asked for the names of the firms that were appointed as the MA of each town council for those years.

In response, the MND released figures for the rates between 2011 and last year. For residential units, AHPETC paid the highest rates to its MA, FM Solutions and Services (FMSS), for the four years, except in 2013 when its rates was behind what Potong Pasir Town Council paid its MA, EM Services.

For commercial units, AHPETC’s MA rates were the highest in 2011, 2013 and last year, but its rates were topped by those paid by the East Coast and Pasir Ris-Punggol town councils in 2012.

The ministry also highlighted that all MA contracts charge a “clean MA rate” for each property type, with the exception of the FMSS’ 2011 MA contract with the town council. Unlike other MA contracts, FMSS’ MA fee comprises three separate cost components: The MA rate, a fee to cover the costs of existing staff of the former Hougang Town Council, and a fee to cover the costs of new staff.

During last month’s parliamentary debate on the Auditor-General’s audit report on AHPETC, which found several accounting and corporate governance lapses, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam cited the MA rates of each town council last year to show that the fees paid by AHPETC to FMSS were significantly higher. Among other things, Mr Shanmugan charged that the town council made inflated payments to FMSS — whose directors were also key office holders in the town council — without transparency and accountability.

Ms Lim questioned the figures cited by Mr Shanmugam, asserting that MA rates for commercial and residential units are usually different. In response, Mr Shanmugam said the figures were accurate.

The ministry has since clarified that the MAs of all town councils, with the exception of FMSS, have done away with the practice of charging differentiated rates for residential and commercial units. The ministry also said Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council had called for a fresh tender last year, which adjusted its rates for commercial units from S$11.50 to S$5.50.

Ms Lim also tabled a question asking the ministry what were the rates charged by the MA for the former Aljunied Town Council — which was then run by People’s Action Party — for 2010, 2011 and 2012. The ministry noted that the contract which the former Aljunied Town Council signed with its MA, CPG Facilities Management, is in fact in AHPETC’s possession. CPG’s rate per commercial unit was S$12.80 in those three years. Its rate per residential unit during the period was between S$6.03 and S$6.73.

Taking into account various components in FMSS’ MA fee, the town council’s payments to FMSS in 2011 were effectively 20 per cent higher than the amount paid to CPG Facilities Management in 2010. By last year, AHPETC was paying about S$1.6 million more to its MA than other town councils, the ministry reiterated.

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Hri Kumar Nair questioned the additional fees that the town council paid to FMSS in 2011. “Since the work of running the enlarged Aljunied-Hougang Town Council fell on former Hougang staff — some of whom became owners of FMSS — as well as the new staff whose salaries were provided for, why were additional MA fees payable for that year to FMSS?”

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 6, 2015
German Vandals Sentence To Nine Months Jail And Three Strokes Of Cane

SThe two Germans who trespassed on Bishan Depot last year to scrawl graffiti on an SMRT train have each been sentenced to nine months’ jail and three strokes of the cane.

Andreas Von Knorres, 22, and Elton Hinz, 21, each pleaded guilty yesterday to two charges of unauthorised entry into the depot, as well as to a third charge of vandalising the train.

In announcing the sentencing, District Judge Liew Thiam Leng said it had to serve to deter others from committing similar offences.

The court heard that at about 2.20am on Nov 7, the duo entered Bishan Depot through the drainage system. To reach the level where the trains were located, they had to scale a wall. They observed where the trains were and left the depot the same way they had entered.

The next day at about 2.48am, the men entered the depot again, using the same route, and climbed to the level where the trains were located. There, they took a selfie of themselves in front of a train. They then began spraying graffiti, 10m in length and 1.8m in width, on the left side of the train, using 12 cans of spray paint they had bought two days earlier. The duo later threw the cans under some wooden crates near the rail tracks and left the depot the same way they had entered.

Von Knorres and Hinz reportedly left Singapore on Nov 8, but were arrested on Nov 20 by the Malaysian police at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where they were about to board a plane to Australia. The two men have been in remand in Singapore since Nov 22 and their prison sentences will be backdated to that date.

Further investigations showed that Von Knorres and Hinz worked in Australia and that they had committed the offences while on their first visit to Singapore.

The duo’s case — the second security breach to hit Bishan Depot last year — brought to light security vulnerabilities at the depot, arising from a network of canals and drains running underneath it.

SMRT had stated earlier that it was working with the authorities to “urgently address the identified points of vulnerability to further safeguard the depot and its transport assets”.

The maximum sentence for vandalism is up to three years’ jail, and/or a fine of up to S$2,000, with between three and eight strokes of the cane. Those who trespass on protected areas may be jailed up to two years and/or fined up to S$1,000.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 6, 2015
Local Undergraduates Expect $4,000 As Starting Salary

According to a poll by STJobs, one in five local under/graduates expects no less than $4,000 as their starting pay.

This contrasts sharply with the average starting pay for a bachelor’s degree (without honours) at $2,741, according to an earlier report last month.

In view of realistic market payouts, some soon-to-be graduates seem to be asking for the sky.

In February, STJobs.sg conducted a survey among close to 200 fresh graduates and undergraduates across a wide variety of academic disciplines in local tertiary institutes to find out what their salary expectations are.

12 per cent of all respondents expected to receive less than $2,500 per month while 70 per cent of them expected to be paid up to $4,000 per month. The remaining 18 per cent felt they should receive more than $4,000 in remuneration.

When asked why they felt they deserved their expected salary, half of the respondents said it was because they would be graduating from a recognised university.

This reasoning seems to align with an earlier mypaper report whose survey findings – conducted and compiled by a HR consultant firm – found that one in five employers placed an average premium of $214 per month for local university graduates over those with degrees from overseas.

Jerry Wee, Director of JRT Recruitment, agrees that employers tend to prefer fresh graduates from a recognised local university compared to private tertiary institutions, and would even be willing to pay them 10 to 15 per cent more.

“The tightening of EPs for employment, coupled with rising costs and difficulty of hiring experienced qualified locals will put fresh grads in good stead to compete in the job market,” he said. However, he also cautioned that fresh grads need to be realistic in their expectation on remuneration.

Yu Lan, 26, a student from Nanyang Technological University, is one of them who thinks that her starting salary should be at least $4,000 as she has “strong analysis skills and trouble-shooting ability”.

On the other hand, 25-year-old Samuel Tan expects to be paid up to $4,000 in starting salary as other jobs he has applied to offer similar payouts. Other reasons cited include “I have the required abilities and good work ethics and experience from my part-time jobs”.

Interestingly, 1 in 5 fresh graduates admitted that they had no clue about the usual starting pay of the job they are looking for and thought up a random figure for their expected remuneration.

Most of them said they decided on their expected salary after consulting with friends who worked in a similar industry (46 per cent) or assumed that the industry or organisation they wanted to work in would be willing to pay them their expected salary (23 per cent).

Among those surveyed, 79 per cent are from local universities, 11 per cent from local polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and the remaining from private institutions.

The fresh grads also comprised of Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Residents (61 per cent) and foreigners (39 per cent), and 9 in 10 fresh grads are aged between 20 to 27 years old.

Source: http://business.asiaone.com

March 6, 2015
Singaporeans And AWARE Slams Nivea Ad About Malay Woman Being Shunned For Dark Armpits

According to women’s rights group AWARE, NIVEA’s recent TV advertisement about a Singaporean woman being shunned for her dark armpits actually promotes “shame and insecurity about our bodies”.

NIVEA’s 3 minute long advertisement films a young, attractive Malay woman, who unwittingly shows off her dark armpits in daily life situations, like flagging down a taxi or at the gym.

Throughout the course of the video, the lady receives disgusted looks from onlookers, who rush to get away from her when she raises her arms. The poor woman is clueless about their reactions until she herself realizes how dark her own armpits are.

After NIVEA uploaded the video on its Facebook, Singaporeans condemned the advertisement for being sexist and racist. They said that the portrayal of a Malay woman in the video with darkened armpits was discrimination against their natural skin tone. Some felt that the advertisement placed unnecessary pressure on women these days to conform to rigid standards of female beauty.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

March 5, 2015
Blogger Alex Au Fined $8,000 For Contempt Of Court

Singapore’s High Court on Thursday fined a prominent dissident blogger $8,000 for “scandalising” the city-state’s judiciary in an online commentary.

Alex Au, 62, was punished over an October 5, 2013 post insinuating that hearing dates on a constitutional challenge to an old law criminalising gay sex between men had been rigged.

Au, also a gay-rights activist, apologised to the court and paid the fine. He would have been jailed for one day if he failed or refused to pay the fine.

“I have instructed my attorneys to file an appeal,” Au told reporters.

In an earlier ruling, the High Court said Au was “guilty of scandalising contempt” for publishing the article on his blog site.

Contempt of court carries a possible jail sentence, a fine or both. There is no maximum penalty specified under the law.

Au is well-known in Singapore for his commentaries critical of the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

He has also called for the repeal of the controversial Section 377A of the penal code, which criminalises sex between men.

First introduced by British colonial administrators in 1938, the law is not actively enforced by authorities.

But the government says it has to remain on the books because most Singaporeans are conservative and do not accept homosexuality.

Singapore’s highest court, the Court of Appeal, in October upheld rulings by lower courts that it was up to parliament to repeal the Section 377A.

The government has taken a strong stand against attacks on the integrity of the judiciary, saying they undermine public confidence in the institution.

In 2010, British author Alan Shadrake was given a six-week jail term for publishing a book critical of the administration of the death penalty, which was ruled an insult to the judiciary.

Source: http://news.asiaone.com

March 5, 2015