Tag: Singaporeans

Cobbler Jailed And Caned For Raping 13 Year Old God-daughter

Terence Ng Kean Meng, 43, has been sentenced to 14 years’ jail and 14 strokes of the cane Wednesday (May 27) for two counts of raping a 13-year-old schoolgirl and sexually penetrating her with his finger.

Two other charges were taken into consideration. The victim cannot be named as she is a minor.

Ng, a divorcee who owns a makeshift cobbler stall near Commonwealth MRT, first noticed the victim when she was loitering near his stall in October 2013.

After finding out that she had run away from home, he offered to take care for her as her godfather. He even went to the victim’s house to convince her then-ill mother to let him take care of the schoolgirl.

Although Ng’s defence lawyer Subir Singh Grewal said that the relationship between Ng and the victim started out as a platonic one, the prosecution led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Vikneswaran S/O Kumaran accused Ng of developing an attraction for the victim and having sexual thoughts about her.

Ng then proceeded to have consensual sex with the victim three times in the next five weeks after they first met.

On one occasion, Ng brought the victim to his flat. After the victim complained of stomach problems, Ng placed some ointment on her stomach. After she said she was feeling better from the ointment, Ng asked her if she wanted to have sexual intercourse. She said yes, and he proceeded to insert his finger into her vagina.

In this instance, Ng committed digital penetration on a minor, which is a form of sexual penetration.

Shortly after the instances of consensual sex, the victim’s mother died and the 13-year-old confided about Ng’s actions to someone at school. She was told to file a police report, and Ng was arrested four days after she did so.

Under Section 375 of the Penal Code, any man who has sexual intercourse with a woman under 14 years of age is liable to be convicted with statutory rape, with or without the woman’s consent.

A psychiatric report by Dr Jason Lee Kim Huat found Ng to not be suffering from any mental illness or intellectual disability. However, Ng’s defence said that the accused only had Primary 6 educational qualifications.

Ng’s mother filed a statement, saying that he was filial and helped to provide for the family, although he had lacked proper education. She said a psychiatric evaluation when Ng was 7 years old revealed he was behind his peers in terms of physical and mental development. However, the family did not have enough money to help rehabilitate Ng.

The defence also argued that there was no report indicating that the accused had paedophilic tendencies or that the victim had suffered any psychological trauma.

Ng could have been jailed for up to 20 years and liable to a fine or caning for each charge of statutory rape with a girl under the age of 14.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

May 28, 2015
Residents Forced To Clean Common Areas, Query AHPETC Collection Of S&CC Charges

SINGAPORE — For more than seven months, the residents and the developer of a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project at Upper Serangoon Road had to clean and maintain the common areas themselves, because of an impasse involving the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) over maintenance documents.

Following discussions, the standstill at Parkland Residences was recently resolved and from next month, the town council will fulfil its duty to manage common property in public housing estates as stipulated under the Town Council Act.

However, as far as the residents and the developer are concerned, the matter is not fully resolved: Residents, several of whom had moved in as early as October last year, said that during that period, some of them continued to pay service and conservancy charges (S&CC), even though others had stopped paying as a matter of principle. Meanwhile, the developer, Kwan Hwee Investment, said it hopes to seek reimbursement for the expenses it had incurred for taking care of the common areas between November and this month.

The situation came to light after TODAY reader Julia Ng wrote to the newspaper last week about the problems she and her neighbours face at Parkland Residences.

Among other things, Ms Ng wrote about how residents were billed for the S&CC upon collecting their keys but “there were no subsequent reminders, and many of us have not been making payment”.

She added: “It did not seem required, since there was no maintenance as evidenced by the dirty corridors and surroundings, especially in the earlier months when many residents took it upon themselves to clean the corridors.”

Ms Ng said the residents understood that the development had not been handed over to the town council and that the S&CC “were collected on behalf of the HDB, which the latter denied”.

Replying to Ms Ng’s letter, HDB director (land administration) Koo-Lee Sook Chin clarified that the S&CC collected by AHPETC “are not collected on behalf of HDB”. She revealed that AHPETC had “refused to perform its duty until the developer handed over a list of documents and items specified by (the town council)”.

“HDB has clarified that these documents and items were not required for AHPETC to carry out its day-to-day cleaning and maintenance,” Mrs Koo-Lee said.

She added that as AHPETC had “refused to maintain the common areas”, the HDB asked the developer to clean the estate in the interim, “to ensure that the hygiene of residents’ living environment would not be compromised”. The developer has been cleaning the estate since Nov 12 last year, Mrs Koo-Lee said.

“Pending AHPETC’s execution of its duties to maintain the estate, HDB will work with the developer to ensure that the estate is maintained in the interim, for the benefit of all residents,” she said.

Speaking to TODAY, Mr Philip Tan, Kwan Hwee Investment’s project manager for Parkland Residences, confirmed that the AHPETC wanted HDB’s endorsement for maintenance documents — such as drawings of water supply and gas pipes and lift maintenance schedule — but the HDB disagreed.

Mr Tan said these documents are needed to assist a town council in taking over the maintenance of services. He added that the developer had deployed cleaners on a daily basis. “We hope to seek some form of reimbursements for the cleaning work that we have done since November,” he said.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, an AHPETC spokesman said the town council “agrees that there is room to improve the handover procedures between the developer, the HDB and the town council with regard to DBSS developments”. He added that the town council was “exercising its due diligence in the handover”. Nevertheless, the town council has since reviewed its internal process, he said.

The spokesman did not reply to questions on the S&CC, including which period was the AHPETC collecting the S&CC and what it intends to do with the S&CC collected. Residents at Parkland Residences said the situation has improved, but they recalled their frustrations in the initial months.

“There was a rat infestation at my block,” said resident Joyce Wong, 27. “The bins at the lift lobbies just started piling up because no one was clearing them. When residents complained, the developers took away the bins, but then we didn’t have anywhere to discard our rubbish at.”

Another resident, a homemaker who only wanted to be known as Mrs Chan, said: “We asked the HDB whether we should pay (S&CC), but they said they hadn’t handed over to the town council yet and were not collecting. When we approached the town council, they said they were collecting on behalf of HDB, but the HDB said they didn’t know anything.”

Human resource manager Sim Bee Lay, 39, said she has not paid the S&CC since she moved into her flat.

“We only received one letter and there were no reminders following that,” she added.

Source: www.todayonline.com

May 28, 2015
High Court Turns Down MND Request For Independent Accountants At WP-Run AHPETC

The High Court will not appoint independent accountants to oversee government grants to the Workers’ Party (WP)-run town council.

Justice Quentin Loh said that the Ministry of National Development (MND) has not established legal bases for its court application to appoint the accountants.

Despite the “grave and serious questions” raised over the state of accounts at Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC), the judge wrote that “when the Town Councils are set up, the whole idea is to rest the responsibility of the management of the funds as well as the estate with the Town Council.”

The Court therefore will not appoint independent accountants to oversee payments made by AHPETC.

MND had wanted independent accountants to sign off on AHPETC payments over $20,000 before it released several million in government grants to the town council.

But in his grounds of decision, released on Wednesday, Justice Loh said that it is a “travesty for AHPETC to have ignored their duties and obligations imposed on them by the Town Councils Act and Town Council Financial Rules.”

“They owe a duty and a heavy responsibility to their constituents to run AHPETC properly and it is incumbent on them to put their house and finances in order.”

“If AHPETC was a managing corporation … I have no doubt that AHPETC or its officers will be exposed to to the possibility of civil liability or, in an extreme scenario, criminal liability,” he added.

Justice Loh said that his decision should not stop the Housing Board or AHPETC residents from bringing legal action against AHPETC for the lapses.

In a two-day court hearing earlier this month, the MND said that questions remain over the cash flow position and accounting practices of AHPETC, which recently missed two sinking fund payments.

AHPETC said that it did not make those payments as it needed the funds to keep daily operations going.

MND has withheld two years of grants to AHPETC – a total of about $15 million – as it said it has no guarantee that those funds would be used properly.

On March 20, MND applied to the court to appoint independent accountants to AHPETC to safeguard government grants.

Earlier this year, serious accounting and governance lapses were discovered at AHPETC by the Auditor-General’s Office.

Commenting in the judgment on Wednesday night, AHPETC chairman Sylvia Lim, who is also WP chairman and an MP of Aljunied GRC, said: “We respect the court’s decision and will be studying the judgment in detail.

“In the meantime, we remain focused on filing our audited accounts for FY 13/14 and FY 14/15, and on continuing to improve our financial processes.”

Separately, the ministry noted in a statement that the Court agreed with its concerns about AHPETC.

A spokesman, citing the judgment, said: “The Court said there were ‘grave and serious questions’ that have been raised regarding the state of AHPETC’s accounts and the validity and propriety of payments previously made by AHPETC to related parties (amounting to $25.9 million), and that ‘there have also been numerous breaches of the provisions’ of the Town Councils Act and Town Councils Financial Rules. The Court added that the TC’s conduct was the height of financial irresponsibility.”

She added: “The judge also stated that if AHPETC was a managing corporation subject to the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, he would have no doubt that AHPETC or its officers will be exposed to the “possibility of civil liability… or, in an extreme scenario, criminal liability”.

“The Court added that it was a travesty for AHPETC to have ignored their duties and obligations. And that the TC was to be blamed for not accepting MND’s offer to release the grant.

“The Court said that HDB and residents could have brought the action, but not MND itself. The Court has also noted that MND can require the TC to appoint Independent Accountants (as a condition for release of grants), without having to get a court order.”

The spokesman added that MND will carefully study the judgment, and consider what its next steps should be.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 28, 2015
Singaporean Man Wants To Report Family For Sympathising With ISIS

Dear Editors,

I want to bring your attention to this shocking Facebook post online. This malay man made some shocking claims in response to the latest news of two teenage ISIS supporters in Singapore being arrested under the ISA.

In his Facebook post, he claims that his mother and his family are sympathisers of the ISIS terror group and that he wished to report them.

It is unclear if this is an elaborate joke or if the man is serious about his claims that his family are ISIS sympathisers. Will the authorities investigate these claims please?

Anonymous

Note: The contributor wishes to be remain anonymous for this tip-off.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

May 28, 2015
Challenge Lies In Fighting IS Ideology, Not Group

KUALA LUMPUR — The threat of the Islamic State looms large over Malaysia, where the authorities have arrested dozens of suspected militants and uncovered several terror plots planned in the name of the militant group in recent months.

Those detained come from all walks of life, making it extremely challenging, if not impossible, for the authorities to profile suspects and pre-empt attacks.

The country’s top counterterrorism official Ayub Khan said the challenge of dealing with the Islamic State is having to fight ideology rather than an organisation. “(The Islamic State’s) doors are open to anybody … We have our work cut out for us as we are monitoring not just organisations or groups, but also individuals,” he said.

In the most recent case, six suspected militants were charged last week — the youngest being a 17-year-old. The six were part of a group of 12 who were arrested near Kuala Lumpur last month for plans to attack Putrajaya, the federal parliament and entertainment venues with explosives.

The police also detained one of the youngest Malaysians who wanted to join the group in February — a 14-year-old girl who planned to marry a man, 22, in Egypt before heading to Syria to join the militant cause.

Since April 2013, Malaysia has arrested 107 for suspected militant activities. They include military personnel, civil servants and university students, among others — a worrying sign that even people who serve the nation are buying into the group’s ideology. Two men from the Royal Malaysian Air Force were charged last month along with four other suspected militants for plotting to kidnap high-profile figures, rob banks and raid armed-forces installations.

Malaysia passed the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act Bill last month, giving the police sweeping powers to arrest and detain those suspected of terrorist activities.

Last August, the police arrested 19 who had formulated plans to bomb pubs and a Malaysian brewery managed by Carlsberg. These were targeted reportedly because Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.

A group of radicals arrested last year were planning to attack several targets in Malaysia and had their sights set on a wider campaign — the creation of an Islamic caliphate that includes Singapore, said the counterterrorism division.

The Islamic State has been adept at spreading its propaganda on social media, making it difficult for authorities to distinguish when pre-emptive action should be taken.

“We don’t go after these sympathisers as there is no evidence to show they are involved,” Mr Ayub said, but added that the counterterrorism division is taking all possible measures for intelligence gathering and making arrests. Officers are also sent to engage the people by giving talks at schools.

When asked if Singapore and Malaysia are on high alert for attacks, Mr Ayub replied: “The IS threat is a global problem. We are working with other countries through the exchange of information and intelligence.”

Of the 200 Malaysians who were fighting in Iraq and Syria, some have died as suicide bombers and others in combat.

Indonesia faces a similar growing threat from the Islamic State and launched a six-month operation in April to crack down on militants with suspected links to the group. The authorities believe about 500 Indonesians have joined the group in Syria and Iraq. AGENCIES

Source: www.todayonline.com

May 28, 2015