Tag: Singaporeans

Shanmugam: Religious Preachers Who Attack Other Religions Won’t Be Tolerated

Religious preaching that encourages violence or pits one religion against another will not be tolerated in Singapore, said Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam in Parliament on Friday (Mar 3).

Referring to a video posted on social media which purportedly shows an imam saying “God grant us victory over Jews and Christians”, Mr Shanmugam said the context of what the imam said will be clear once investigations are completed.

“If the imam had referred to the phrase, to say, for example, that such phrases can promote ill will, hatred, enmity or violence against other communities, and that this is not acceptable in a multi-religious society, then there can be no objection.

“But if he had said that Jews and Christians should be defeated, and for God to grant Muslim brothers victory over them – to make that very point – then that is completely unacceptable.

“The Government has taken a strict position when Muslims have been attacked. People have been charged and sent to jail,” he said. “The same applies to any attack on any other religions.”

He cited the example of a Christian couple sentenced to eight weeks’ jail in 2009 for distributing material that cast Islam in a negative light.

Mr Shanmugam said the Government’s position has to be made clear because “matters like this have the potential to escalate, with people jumping in, opinions being formed, hardened, along religious lines”.

If the imam did not make any inflammatory suggestion, no action will be taken and the authorities will issue a public statement, Mr Shanmugam said. But if the imam had engaged in such preaching, “some appropriate action” will be taken.

“We have to be fair to the imam,” he said.

Mr Shanmugam also criticised NUS academic Khairudin Aljunied for encouraging vilification of the individual who posted the video online.

“Looking at what Mr Khairudin has said, he seems to suggest that it is okay for the imam to say that Jews and Christians should be defeated. He assumes that the imam intended to mean that, and Mr Khairudin sees nothing wrong with that.

“Mr Khairudin’s position and actions are quite unacceptable. He has jumped into this, without verifying the facts and without checking the context. And supports a position that is quite contrary to the norms, values and laws in Singapore.

“The police will look into the issues, and the conduct of all involved – quite thoroughly,” Mr Shanmugam said.

Source: CNA

March 3, 2017
Gay American Lecturer Jailed For Lying About HIV Status, Qualifications

He pretended to be a professor of child psychology and lied to the authorities about his HIV status to get jobs at local polytechnics.

He even used his lover’s blood for an HIV test so that it would test negative for the condition.

Over about eight years, American citizen Mikhy K. Farrera-Brochez, 32, committed offences including cheating, lying to a public servant, possessing drugs and using forged educational certificates.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to 28 months’ jail. He pleaded guilty to six charges, with 17 taken into consideration. Three other charges, which had been taken into consideration, were later stood down to be mentioned at a later date.

In 2008, Farrera-Brochez moved to Singapore, a year after he began a romantic relationship with a local doctor, general practitioner Ler Teck Siang, 35.

To apply for an Employment Pass (EP) to stay in the country with his lover, he submitted an HIV negative blood test result to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in March that year.

However, Farrera-Brochez, who is HIV positive, had used Dr Ler’s blood for the test by visiting a clinic in Commonwealth where Ler was on duty.

Ler had drawn the blood from his arm that day and labelled the test tube holding his blood with Farrera-Brochez’s particulars.

MOM then issued Farrera-Brochez with an EP, and he later worked as polytechnic lecturer teaching psychology and early childhood education.

He similarly duped the authorities in 2013 when he tried to apply for a Personalised Employment Pass (PEP), which would let him change employers without applying for a new EP.

He was also found guilty of possession and consumption of ketamine and amphetamine in May last year. Investigations further revealed his educational certificates, including a doctorate degree in psychology and education from the University of Paris, were forged.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Suhas Malhotra said he had conspired with Ler to falsify the test results.

“His conduct evinces a blatant disregard for the authority of our laws,” he said

Ler, who is also facing charges, has not been dealt with.

Source: www.tnp.sg

March 2, 2017
PRC GrabHitch Driver Pulled Down Lady’s Skirt After She Refused To Pay $2 ERP Charge

My nightmare with Grabhitch experience. Dear All, this post has been posted to warn the public of my upsetting experience with Grabhitch just yesterday evening. *This post is 100% true and has been written by my personal experience, If it has accounted to defame to any company/person, it has been done to warn of others danger.

I have been a passenger with Grab for at least 2 years and had at least 200 rides with them. But my experience yesterday might be a change to everything. Yesterday evening at 6.50pm, my Grabhitch arrived and picked me up at my designated venue. Below is an attached screenshot of my booking.

The whole ride was smooth until when I was about to alight, the china Grabhitch driver demanded for me to pay an additional $2 for the ERP incurred during the trip.

As i chose Grabpay, I told the driver to add into the payment and it will be deducted. He then told me that Grabhitch will not allow the deduction as:

1) the driver clearly knows he is NOT allowed to collect tolls from me
2) Grabhitch has made clear to all their Hitch drivers that tolls are to be beared by drivers
3) Which means the amount deducted from my credit card already INCLUDED the ERP.

So, when I told him that he can follow up the matter with Grab, he flared up. When i was alighting, he pulled my bandage skirt down with a huge force causing my skirt to reach my knees. With the force exerted, i returned into the car after my foot planted. (FYI, I was sitting on the passenger’s sit behind on the left) Being shocked and humiliated this way, I screamed at the china driver in mandarin

” How can you just pull someone’s skirt down? ” He did not release his hands from my skirt and still held on to them with force, and continued demanding for the $2 cash. I was totally fine about paying the additional $2 and did not argue about it with him.

But after what he did, pulling my skirt down to my panties and NOT even trying to get out of the car to settle peacefully… i really am lost of words. If some of you might think he was trying to grab hold of me and accidentally pulled my skirt down, NO.

He still continue pulling and holding firmly to my skirt which was already down to my knees while arguing! I just kept screaming at him to let go and when he finally did..

I was in shock and trembling and what i wanted was to just quickly alight that car and stop that guy from having any contact with me. So i quickly tried to step out of the car on the passenger door on the left.

When the driver saw me putting my leg out, he started moving the car! How dangerous is that? I was wearing heels and he just moved the car when my leg is already out of the car.

The whole situation happened at Hong Kong Street. At that moment being so flustered, i actually still left the car while the vehicle is still moving as i really cant imagine what would he do to me next.

I quickly regained my balance and pulled up my skirt and i saw some Valet nearby and shouted in mandarin for their help. “can u all come over n help me? he just pulled me skirt down!!”

but the valet just stood there and stared LOL. In the mean time, the china driver heard and he immediately drove the car away with the passenger door still open. The valet that stood there and NOT bothering to help, is from the company Valet Uncle.

SUPER dissapointed and shameful for them. After i got down the car, i was extremely emotionally unstable and broke down. I dialed for the police and they sent me down to cantonment immediately.

The driver tried calling me 5 times after he fled, my mom called back and he cursed our family with full of vulgarities and for my whole family to die. And said he would not be afraid for the police to catch him. Someone which is not remorseful and thinks that Singapore is like his homeland. As of now, Report has been done and authorities has been informed and to be followed up.

The driver has been banned, and i am really distressed by the situation. Is Grabhitch really that safe to use? You determine. I hope i put across a message that would help prevent future similar incidents.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

March 2, 2017
American Sexual Predator Preyed On Young Teenage Girls In Singapore,

Harbouring a fetish for young girls, a 39-year-old man used social media platforms to lure victims, then secretly filmed them engaging in sexual acts with him to add to his stash of child pornography videos.

Joshua Robinson, who successfully preyed on two 15-year-olds between September 2013 and June 2015, was on Thursday (March 2) sentenced to four years’ jail, as the judge described him as a sexual predator.

When the law caught up with Robinson, officers who raided his apartment found 5,902 obscene films, of which 321 videos featured children between the ages of 2 and 16. This is believed to be the largest child pornography video collection seized from one person in Singapore.

Robinson, a mixed-martial arts instructor, faced 29 charges in total, ranging from sexual penetration of a minor to making an obscene film. The prosecution proceeded with nine of these charges, with the remaining taken into consideration during sentencing.

In March 2015, the American used the pseudonym “Tristan” to contact a 15-year-old girl on a social media website. He told her she looked good, and asked for more photographs of herself. The conversation ended after she declined his request.

Months later, she posted a drawing online, and he contacted her again to praise her artwork. They exchanged numbers thereafter.

He claimed that he was 27, and told the girl that he had a fetish for young girls in uniform.

“I have wanted to find as young as possible. I think 13 would be ultimate. But 15 is youngest,” he said in a text message to her.

When she said that she was insecure about her weight, he told her that he accepted the fact. “He took full advantage of her own insecurity about her body image … so that he would get emotionally closer to the victim,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai.

During the third week of June, Robinson said that there was no point in chatting online unless they met up. He instructed her to wear her school uniform without underwear and met her at Clarke Quay MRT Station on the morning of June 23, before they went to his apartment at Upper Circular Road. In the apartment, he filmed the sexual acts that he performed on her.

“As (she) was engaged in sexual activity with the accused, she noticed that he was using his handphone at all times. She was unaware of what he was doing at first and assumed he was just ‘multi-tasking’ on his handphone,” said DPP Lai.

After the meet-up, she had a mental breakdown and filed a police report.

During investigations, the police found 12 obscene videos of Robinson with another 15-year-old girl on his laptop. It turned out that he got to know her from a dating website in 2013.

They had at least three sexual encounters between September 2013 and September 2014.

While Robinson was on police bail, he showed a six-year-old girl an obscene video of himself at a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym at Peace Centre. On July 27, 2015, the girl had accompanied her father to the gym, and as he trained, Robinson approached her to show her the obscene video.

DPP Lai described Robinson as a prowler on the internet who sexually groomed and morally corrupted his young victims.

“The victims were 15 years old when the accused, who was two-and-a-half times their age at the material time, coaxed them into performing sexual acts with him… From the get go, the accused had preyed on the victims’ youth, naivety and vulnerability to satiate his sexual lust,” said the prosecutor.

Agreeing with the prosecution, District Judge Crystal Ong said that Robinson demonstrated a propensity for committing sexual acts with young girls, although a psychiatrist ruled out any mental illness such as pedophilia.

Defence lawyer Mervyn Tan acknowledged that it was wrong to use social media to “lure and attract” victims. But he also argued that the films in Robinson’s possession were for private consumption, and not meant for circulation.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 2, 2017
Expat From Melbourne: I Am Bleeding Money At Rapid Rate In Singapore

I think life is better outside Singapore under a certain income threshold, but life is pretty good here over a certain income threshold.

Apart from the lower tax rate, It is because there are a lot of convenience services here; foreign workers, excellent taxi services, to your door services for a whole bunch of services, etc. You can’t get a lot of this back home, even if you have money, because these services simply don’t exist.

Singapore though is remarkably safe and exceptionally clean, multi-cultural, and schooling here is fantastic – if not a bit too grades focused – so there and great things here regardless of income. Those factors combined with the lack of drinking and drug culture here, compared to where I come from, makes it ideal for raising kids.

I’m pretty happy to be here honestly. I just need to work out the local shortcuts to live a cheaper life.

I find I am bleeding money in SG at a rapid rate, more so than where I came from – Melbourne – which isn’t exactly cheap either. But I am starting to work out there’s two Singapore’s.

There’s the “cheap” Singapore where life isn’t actually that great (comparatively to where I am from) – the quality of life is better back in Australia I reckon for lower/middle income earners. Then there’s the expensive SG, which is incredibly convenient – life is better than Australia in this Singapore – but also very draining on the wallet.

There’s a big difference between the two. In Australia at least, the gap between the blue collar and white collar is no where as big as it is here. You can still have a pretty decent way of life if you’re a lower (not too low of course) income earner.

One noticeable difference here, especially for us exPats, is the heat. The heat I find forces you to do things indoors constantly, and most indoor places are basically shopping malls, which are designed to drain your wallet. Back home there’s way more outdoors things you can do with the family, that are free, far away from shopping malls, and vastly more comfortable… and owning a car is MUCH cheaper so you can get to these things cheaper and easier.

Example: Australia – 5 minutes walk to the park where you can play for a couple of hours – free. Here, if I want to take my kid to an indoor playground it’s $70 when you include taxis, entry fees, etc.

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Republished from Reddit.By Redditor DaveDashFTW

Source: www.theindependent.sg

March 2, 2017