Tag: Singapore

CASE Alert: Ownership Of Vehicle Bought From Cars Today Not Transferred To Buyers

The consumers’ watchdog has issued an alert about a car dealer after receiving 12 complaints from customers who claim the ownership of the vehicles they bought had not been transferred to them.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) is investigating after buyers reported facing sudden repossession after buying their vehicles from Cars Today in Kaki Bukit.

The claims total almost $500,000.

In most cases, the cars were bought several months ago, but their ownership was not transferred, despite the buyers making several enquiries with the firm.

Many of the customers had their cars towed away at the weekend and others have been told by Cars Today’s owner James Poh to expect a repossession.

Mr Poh, 60, admitted to The Straits Times yesterday that his company is struggling to repay a $1 million loan from credit company Kenso Leasing.

He claimed that Kenso suddenly demanded repayment within seven days on Feb 6.

As Mr Poh could not come up with the money in time, Kenso said it would repossess 43 cars from his customers.

Mr Poh said in Mandarin: “I begged (Kenso) for a six-month extension, but they said no.

“Many buyers have been calling me, but I don’t have the money to repay them, I have no choice.This is my fault and I don’t know how to fix it.”

The Straits Times visited Cars Today’s headquarters at the Entrepreneur Business Centre, 18 Kaki Bukit Road 3, last night and found it empty, its doors padlocked. At least three letters from lawyers or summons from the Small Claims Tribunal were on the floor.

The Straits Times understands the space was let to new tenants last weekend, as Cars Today owes three months’ rent.

A commodity trader, who spoke anonymously, said he stands to lose his downpayment of $18,000 after repossession.

He has formed a WhatsApp group for other buyers facing the same plight, which currently has 14 members, and said he has heard of 10 cars having been towed away since last Friday.

Another buyer, Mr Marc Tay, is expecting his car to be repossessed any day now. He spent almost $31,000 on a Honda Civic last November.

The 25-year-old, who works in business development, said: “I tried to contact the financing company and told them I would willingly surrender the car if they would wait till after Chinese New Year, but they wouldn’t even consider this small request.

“This is a big blow for me. I’ve just started working, and it’s my own money – this whole incident has caused a big dent in my financial plans.”

Case has advised affected customers to make a police report immediately and consult a lawyer as the claims are more than $10,000 and exceed the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Tribunal.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 18, 2015
Indian National Received Beating After Telling Employee Of Another Company To Do His Job

All he wanted was to give feedback that the floor of his maintenance storeroom was wet. But technician Kathaiyan Sakthivel found himself at the end of a horrific beating.

Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of the attack last December shows him being punched in the face and chest, and then hit by a dustpan repeatedly until it broke.

The 42-year-old Indian national, who feared for his life while he was being hit with the dustpan, said: “I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I knelt down, kept saying ‘sorry’ and begged him to stop hitting me.”

He was one of two technicians from A@risco Services, an electrical servicing company, who were attacked by employees of other companies last year.

Source: www.tnp.sg

February 18, 2015
Four US Littoral Warships To Operate Out Of Singapore From 2018

Four US warships designed to fight in coastal areas similar to South-east Asian waters will be operating out of Singapore by 2018, up from one currently, a senior US Navy official said on Tuesday.

The “rotational deployment” of the vessels, called littoral combat ships (LCS), comes as China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea and tensions remnain on the Korean Peninsula.

“We will soon see up to four LCS here in Singapore as we rotationally deploy Seventh Fleet ships,” said Rear Admiral Charles Williams.

“We envision four ships here by May 2017 to sometime in 2018… but I think what you have is that by 2018, four LCS ships will be rotationally deployed here to Singapore.” Williams, commander of the Seventh Fleet’s Task Force 73, was speaking to reporters aboard the USS Fort Worth, an LCS on a 16-month deployment to Southeast Asia.

It replaced another LCS, the USS Freedom, which recently ended an eight-month tour of duty.

The USS Fort Worth is set to take part in exercise Foal Eagle, a joint military drill with South Korea from Feb 24 to March 6.

It will also join regional navies in the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercises and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition.

Fast and agile, LCS vessels can be adapted for specific missions through a system of interchangeable modules and crew.

The US Navy plans to build 52 LCS vessels at a total cost of US$37 billion (S$50 billion) but the programme has become controversial due to cost inflation, design and construction issues.

In 2012 the then-US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that Washington would shift the bulk of its naval fleet to the Pacific by 2020 as part of a new strategic focus on Asia.

China is embroiled in a maritime dispute with four Southeast Asian countries – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – as well as with Taiwan over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

While not a claimant, the United States has said it has an interest to ensure freedom of navigation in the area.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 18, 2015
People Behind The Real Singapore Arrested Under Sedition Act

Two of the three people behind The Real Singapore (TRS), a socio-political website, have been arrested.

This follows a Feb 4 article where the duo are said to have embellished an article posted by a witness of an incident during the recent Thaipusam festival.

The TRS article had claimed a Filipino family had sparked an exchange which led to three Singaporean men being arrested on Feb 3.

But no Filipino family was involved.

The original author of the article also denied the involvement of a Filipino family.

Police confirmed the arrest of a Singaporean, 26 and an Australian woman, 22.

The two were arrested on Feb 6 under the Sedition Act and investigations into the case are ongoing.

Source: www.tnp.sg

February 18, 2015
SDP Proposes RESTART To Help Retrenched Workers
When Singaporeans are retrenched, they are left out in the cold with no financial protection. Through no fault of theirs, retrenched workers suddenly find themselves in uncertainty and hardship.

Low-wage workers are especially vulnerable as they have no say in company restructuring or the factors that cause MNCs to relocate their operations. This affects even middle-income professionals in the fields of life sciences and hospitality.

Unexpected lay-offs cause severe strain on the entire family with serious social repercussions. Even though income stops, the bills don’t. The family still needs to eat, children still need to go to school, and electricity bills still need to be paid.

On the other end, when CEOs and top managers are let go, they are given golden handshakes, sometimes worth millions of dollars.

To remedy such an imbalance, the SDP proposes a retrenchment insurance scheme called RESTART (Re-Employment Scheme and Temporary Assistance for the ReTrenched) for our workers who find themselves laid-off from work.

Here’s how it works:
1. If a worker is retrenched, RESTART pays him/her 75% of last drawn salary for 1st 6 months, 50% for 2nd 6 months, and 25% for final 6 months.
2. The payout stops once the individual is re-employed or 18 months after retrenchment.
3. The payout capped at the prevailing median wage (which is $3,770 as of 2014). This means that a retrenched employee earning $3,200/month would be paid $2,400 for the first 6 months and so on whereas an employee earning $5,000/month would get paid 75% of $3,770 for the first 6 months.
4. MOM will assist the retrenched individual to seek re-employment and help match his/her skill- and salary-level to new job where possible.
5. The individual can reject only up to 3 job offers.
Based on a 5% unemployment rate, we estimate RESTART’s budget to be $2 billion a year. This budget will come from
- the state (80%), employers (10%) and workers (10%)
- employees’ contributions are made on a sliding scale with the higher-income groups paying more
- employers would match their employees’ contributions dollar for dollar
Such a hybrid system of financing would spread out the fiscal responsibility to all stakeholders.

To prevent abuse of the programme, those relieved of their work due to misconduct, resign from their jobs or worked with the company for less than a year will not be eligible for RESTART.

As the name, suggests, RESTART is meant to provide temporary assistance to retrenched workers and to help them get back on their feet to contribute to the economy. It will help to reduce tension and hardship for families, keeping our social fabric secure and strong.

Source: http://yoursdp.org
February 17, 2015