Tag: Singaporeans

34 Suspected Online Scammers And Money Mules Under Investigations
A total of 34 persons aged between 16 and 75 are being investigated for their suspected involvement in various online scams, said the Singapore police on Thursday (Jun 25).

Following an island-wide operation conducted between Jun 22 and 24, the suspected 24 men and 10 women are believed to be involved in 88 cases of online scams involving more than S$165,000.

Some of the suspects are believed to have posed as online sellers of baby products or electronic gadgets, and did not deliver the products to buyers after receiving payment, said police. Others are believed to have been recruited from online job portals or social networking websites to become “Money Mules”.

According to police, “Money Mules” describes those who have allowed their bank accounts to be used by criminal syndicates to receive and transfer money to and from unknown sources. In doing so, they would have assisted in the commission of an offence, police added.

The suspects will be investigated for the offence of Cheating which carries a punishment of 10 years in jail and a fine, or money laundering offences, which carry a punishment of imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of up to S$500,000 as well.

Director of Commercial Affairs Department, Mr David Chew, said: “Police take a serious view against those who intentionally use the online marketplace to commit crimes and will not hesitate to prosecute them. Account holders who are aware that their accounts are being used to transfer proceeds of crime will also be taken to task for money laundering.”

The police would like to advise members of public to be vigilant when engaging in any form of online activity on social media applications or on online shopping platforms. To avoid becoming a victim of such scams, police say:
- Be wary of strangers who befriend you online.
- Never give your bank and credit card details and personal information to anyone you do not know or have not checked out.
- When purchasing, always check the track record of the party you are dealing with.
- Use reputable sites and payment platforms with established refund policies.
- Avoid making advance payments. If advance payments are necessary, insist on getting a contact number so that you may verify the beneficiary’s identity.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
June 26, 2015
25 year Old Men Arrested For Making Unauthorised Withdrawals From ATM Of Unsuspecting

A 25-year-old has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a case of theft along Orchard Road, said police in a news release on Thursday (Jun 25).

On May 11, the victim reported that someone had made several unauthorised withdrawals from his bank account. This was after he had used his ATM card to pay for bill at a pub located along Orchard Road on May 4.

The suspect, who works at the said pub, took notice of the pin number and on the pretext of processing the bill, took the victim’s ATM card to make several withdrawals from a nearby ATM machine.

Unauthorised withdrawals amounting to S$6,000 were made using the victim’s ATM card, said police.

Following the report, officers from Tanglin Police Division conducted investigations and ground enquiries which led to the arrest of the male suspect at Bedok on Jun 24 at about 1.45pm.

The suspect will be charged in court on Jun 26 for the offence of theft, which carries a maximum jail term of 3 years or with fine, or with both.

Police advise members of public to safeguard their ATM or credit cards at crowded places to ensure that their ATM PINs are not exposed to anyone else.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 26, 2015
Meet Singapore First F-16 Fighter Pilot Major Yusri Abu Bakar

Hello,

I want to share about a member of our Malay community whom I believe is a good example and many youngsters in our community look up to him as their idol and role model. He paved the way for us to dream big and give us hope that nothing is impossible.

He is MAJOR Yusri Abu Bakar the first Malay F-16 fighter pilot in the RSAF. Considering that only ONE in a thousand can make the cut to become a fighter pilot, he managed to overcome the odds stacked against him and show his ability to fly the war machine.

To earn his wings, Major Yusri had to go through 26 months of pilot training which included 11 months in France on the fighter plane. How many of us can endure and go through such long and tough training just to earn the right to be a pilot? After that only he can start his career as pilot. Because of this I really respect his hard work and belief.

Even though there are jealous people out there who will say this is about “batuk ditangga” but I hope they will change their mindset and not pull people who are successful down. For every one pilot who get his wings, 999 other pilot wannabeswho are Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian fail to become pilots. This is the reality of wanting to be a pilot where only the best can succeed.

On a side note, after Major Yusri, there are more up and coming fighter pilots like Captain Azlan Latiff and Captain Iskandar Muhammad who managed to earn their wings and protect our Singapore skies too. See how Major Yusri blazed the way for more of our Malay brothers to become pilots!

I believe Major Yusri must be on your SG50 list without fail. He is an inspiration to us youngsters in the Malay community.

Hakim

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

June 26, 2015
To My Dear Fellow Singaporean Chinese: Shut Up When A Minority Is Talking About Race

People of Chinese descent make up 70% of the population of Singapore. Singapore Chinese, as they are termed, enjoy systemic, racialized and institutional privilege in the country as opposed to the countries’ minorities (primarily racialized as Indian and Malay).

“Chinese privilege”, as Sangeetha Thanapal has named it, functions very similarly to white privilege in the United States and Europe. To use Peggy McClintock’s notion of white privilege and the invisible knapsack, Chinese privilege functions like an “invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious. [Chinese] privilege is like an invisible weightless backpack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks.” As a Singapore Chinese person, when I am in Singapore, I never need to think twice about whether my race/ethnicity is represented on mainstream media, whether my languages are spoken, whether my religions are allowed to exist, whether I can catch a taxi. All these things are little aspects of Chinese privilege which is very similar to how white privilege functions. You can find out more about the concept of white privilege here.

Despite Chinese privilege in Singapore being very real, there is little or no recognition of this concept within the national public sphere and discussions of race. Attempts by minorities such as Thanapal to name this privilege often receive hostile attack from Singapore Chinese, who employ defensive mechanisms similar to deniers of white privilege—to name privilege is divisive, to name privilege is not a solution, to name privilege is rude, to name privilege is racist. In a stroke of unfunny irony, what happens then is that minorities who call out Chinese racism are then termed racist by their aggressors.

This is very sad because Singapore Chinese themselves often complain how they are victims of racism themselves, particularly when they visit Western countries. They complain about being complimented on their command of English (don’t these people know we were colonized by the English?!), complain about being treated as second-class citizens while abroad. However, they are in complete denial of how they take on the very role of what they claim to be victim of at home. In other words, they complain about racist treatment while overseas while being racist towards minorities in Singapore.

So if you are a Singapore Chinese person—and I am a Singapore Chinese person myself—if someone who is not white or not Chinese starts talking about race, you should really think about doing the following things.

1. Shut up and listen. Because of your privilege, the speaker will be saying a lot of things that are foreign to your experience. But that you don’t think they are “true” doesn’t mean that they are untrue, it’s rather than your privilege shields you from seeing these things.

2. Stop asking them to justify their thoughts and for facts, statistics, data, argument. It’s not the job of marginalized people to educate you.Undertake your own education.

3. Your point of view is not important. If someone is speaking about race in Singapore who is neither white nor Chinese, their stories are not told as frequently as yours. So stop making their narratives about you and what you think. This is not your party.

4. It’s also not up for you to decide whether the person speaking is “right” or “wrong.” That you think your opinion is important is already indicative of how much privilege you have, and how ignorant you are of it.

5. Because you experience racism yourself in other locations, this should not inure you to your own racism at home, but rather, encourage you to have more *empathy* for those who are more marginalized than you are.

6. EDITED TO ADD. If you want to help, next time someone asks you for a perspective on race, ask a minority who studies racial dynamics. That means asking people like Thanapal to speak rather than a Singapore Chinese like me.

If you feel like you disagree with this article and are Singapore Chinese,please read this. And finally, if you are interested to find out more about why I think the way I do, please read: “White in One Space, Yellow in Another: Being Singaporean Chinese.”

Source: https://medium.com

June 26, 2015
Feasting At Bazaar Raya Utara Woodlands

So we’ve been trying to go around and visit as many bazaars as we can so that we can report back on what you can find there. Maybe it’ll help you decide if you wanna head down? Who knows

Anyways this time we headed down to Woodlands! Yeah we drove all the way to Woodlands from Pasir Ris and boy were we hoping it was worth it! Hmmmm…. we actually almost didn’t find the place come to think of it. It used to be really big and stretched out to the side where there’s a taxi stand. But when we arrived at that point (where we normally park), it was nothing but a big construction area!

Well, it’s a good thing that we didn’t give up and decided to drive one round to make sure. Lucky we did that because the bazaar is much smaller this time but it’s still there! The best place to access it would be at the Causeway Point / Woodlands MRT side.

So what goodies await? Anything special?

So we heard that there’s a famous uncle selling Wadeh aka Vadai at the bazaar and he’s been doing so for many many years. Well, good news is that he’s still around and so are his tasty-looking wadehs!

So we saw this Grill Sandwich place at the Tampines Bazaar also but maybe it was late so they were closing shop? But this time we saw that they’re selling pretty much grilled meats in a sandwich and also some finger food. Not bad for a snack I guess.

Also saw the famous Al-Azhar Bee Hoon Briyani at the bazaar. If I remember correctly, this was the big big craze a few years back and Al-Azhar was the original one who started it all.

Tried this for the first time last Ramadhan and everyone seemed to like it but it was honestly just so-so for me.

Read online somewhere about Hotel Jen having a stall at the Woodlands Bazaar and the big deal that it was the only hotel with a kitchen-on-the-go at these kinds of bazaars.

They’ve got about 7 items on the menu based on that board there which includes 1 drink and 1 dessert.

A friend of my Darling Wife tried the Lamb Shank Rice recently. Said that the lamb itself was nice and pretty tender but the rice was a little bit too dry. Oh well. If you ask me, I’d probably try the Pulled Meat Burger and a nice refreshing Thai Iced Milk Tea.

If you are in the mood for something cool and sweet, check out Coconut I-Scream!
They’ve got coconut ice-cream served right in the shell and they’ve got plenty of interesting toppings too like raisins, nata de coco, rainbow sprinkles and of course, the traditional one too.

Even saw on their Instagram that they have a ‘Takeaway Special’ for $10 where you get 12 scoops of ice-cream and unlimited toppings!! For the glutton in you… RELEASE THE HUNGER!!! LOL

Also saw this Nasi Ambeng Asli Jurong West stall at Tampines too. Anyone tried before? Any good?
Well, I have to say it looks VERY appetizing!

Well, that’s about it for the Woodlands Bazaar. There’s load of other stuff of course so walk around and have a look-see if you’d like. We went in the day time so unfortunately we didn’t get to try anything while walking around. Maybe next time we will go in the night so we can have some snacks!!

All information (including prices, availability of item on menu and Halal status of establishment) are accurate at the time of posting. All photos used in this site are property of The Halal Food Blog unless stated otherwise.

Source: http://thehalalfoodblog.com

June 26, 2015