Friday, January 7, 2011

Quick News: Friday, January 07, 2011

Changes made to polling districts

THE Elections Department on Friday announced that changes have been made to polling districts, four days after it released news of a new round to update the electoral registers. The changes to polling districts are to ensure that no polling station handles too many or too few voters. They were set out in a 109-page notification on the electronic version of the Government Gazette. The last round of polling district changes were announced in February last year. Such changes routinely take place when voter registers are updated. The law requires voter registers to be revised within three years of the last general election, which was in May 2006. As some voters would have changed addresses since then, the Elections Department looks at their registered addresses as of a specified date and reassigns these voters to the appropriate polling districts.


Muis plans to raise $2m for Punggol's 1st mosque

THE Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has announced plans to raise funds for the nation's newest and most expensive mosque. To cost $15 million, the Punggol mosque will sit at the junction of Punggol Place and Punggol Field, near the area's MRT station, and be up by 2014. Construction will likely start in 2012. The high cost was to rising construction and land costs, Muis said at a press briefing on Thursday. The site, about the size of 10 tennis courts, will serve a congregation of 4,000 worshippers. It will be the first mosque in the Punggol area. A committee comprising 15 residents of Punggol and Sengkang were appointed in December 2010 to oversee the mosque's fundraising activities. Construction costs are funded separately by the Mosque Building & Mendaki Fund.



Singapore gets top marks in global law survey

SINGAPORE was rated No.1 in the civil justice systems in the Rule of Law Index 2010 of the World Justice Project. It is a project to rank the quality of legal systems in the context of the rule of law. The accolade drew the notice of Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong who raised the point in his address at the official opening of the Legal Year ceremony, to underline the star quality of the legal system here. Law Minister K. Shanmugam weighed in on the issue explaining how this had been achieved and said the system here protects the independence of the judiciary, and extremely high-quality judges are appointed from the legal service as well as from the profession. Asked about some people still mocking the justice system, he said the 'more they mock, the better we do, so let them keep mocking, we will become better and better as a financial centre, as a city state and as a legal services centre.' Separately , Singapore's fight against financial crimes has been beefed up and taken to the next level. Attorney-General Sundaresh Menon in his speech, said a new Economic Crimes and Governance Division has been created, in addition to the current Criminal Justice Division and the State Prosecution Division. ' Its officers will focus on and specialise in the prosecution of even the most sophisticated financial crimes, and regulatory offences.' More than 500 guests and members of the legal fraternity were present including Senior Minister S. Jayakumar, High Court judges and law officials from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Brunei.



Accused in SLA scam should be jailed for a long time

EX-SWIMMING instructor Ho Yen Teck who is the first accused in the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) $12 million scam to admit to his crimes should be jailed for a long time, said a prosecutor on Friday. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Chan said the 31-year-old played a significant role and was a persistent offender working hand-in-glove with his co-conspirators. The court heard that SLA was induced to award a total of 195 contracts to Ho's seven sole proprietorships which received $9.8 million between January 2008 and March 2010. Ho had admitted to 21 charges of conspiring with Koh Seah Wee and Lim Chai Meng to cheat the SLA by rendering false invoices for fictitious IT maintenance services and goods which were not delivered. Both Koh, 40, and Lim, 37, were then working in SLA. Their cases are pending. Another 174 counts will be taken into consideration when Ho is sentenced next week. Arguing for a stiff sentence, DPP Chan said the offences were committed against a public institution over a substantial period of time, resulting in the loss of an astronomically large sum of public funds. Ho, DPP Chan said, played a pivotal role in the conspiracy. She said the offences seriously undermined the integrity of the public procurement process. Pleading for leniency, his lawyer Jackson Eng said Ho was no more than a puppet in the entire exercise. Of the $9.8 million received from SLA, Ho only received about $200,000. He had voluntarily surrendered $53,799 to the police and was offering to make another $3,800. Counsel said the offences were borne out of Ho's personal difficulties. Ho can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge.

 

Both Lions and management to blame: ST Readers

THE blame for a disappointing national football side should fall on both the players and management. This was the general sentiment among readers of The Straits Times, after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced that the Lions would be disbanded following disappointing performances last year. Other than turning in poor performances, like their failure to qualify for the final round of the Asian Cup last February and last month's Suzuki Cup disaster, the Lions were plagued by disciplinary problems such as smoking and curfew-breaking. The news resonated with readers, drawing more than 200 'likes' on The Straits Times webpage in a matter of hours. Many said that the disbanding was long overdue. 'It's due time that the team should have been disbanded. This time, make sure to train them in full discipline. Kudos to FAS president for taking this step... albeit finally,' Sonny Pereira wrote on The Straits Times' Facebook page. Bert Thongchai praised the decision as well. 'We need Maradonas, not Prima Donas.. Rule with iron fist please, (and show) no more sentiment. Show the players you mean business.' However, a more prevalent opinion was that the management should share the blame for the Lions' poor showing. Wrote SivaG on Twitter: 'Players are to blame too, of course. But why make them scapegoats? Officials must be brave enough to take responsibility - none have so far.' Clarice Felix agreed, lamenting: 'To produce good players you need to have good management. Maybe it's time to get some new good players and revamp the management too but it's hard these days. Gone are the days of the Gelek King and the Kallang Roar.' However, some thought the decision wasn't addressing the true root of the problem and was just a 'knee-jerk reaction', as Matthew Lim put it. He explained, "When we had discipline problems and under-performed these past couple of seasons, nothing was done. Should something have been done earlier to prevent the rot from settling in?' Agreeing, Kelvin Chan chimed in: 'I think enough has been discussed and debated over our National Team. So many years of feedback, opinions, public opinion, public support, Sponsors support... all down the drain. They can do whatever they want right now...who cares.' Some suggested looking north, to Malaysia, for ideas on revamping the team. Wrote Joe Danker Monreal, 'I think if Malaysia can do it with all locals, why not us? If Malaysia can, so can we.' Syamil Mirza agreed, adding that 'FAS should consider having an all-local squad, from the coaches to the players, just like the Malaysia team and we see how it goes from there. At least if the team still doesn't live up to expectations, we can still be proud of them because they're all born Singaporeans.'



Ex-Yuhua CC officer jailed for pocketing $50,700

BETWEEN 2008 and October 2010, a constituency support officer of the Yuhua community club diverted $50,700 he collected as fees from participants attending courses, into his own pocket. On Friday, Koh Wee Ngiap, 36, pleaded guilty and was jailed four months by a district court. The offences came to light when a deputy manager checked the accounts and realised that a large amount of funds was missing. Koh, now jobless, could have been jailed up to seven years for misappropriating the money.












Alleged rape victim's alcohol level 3 times legal limit


THE blood-alcohol level found in a young woman at the time of an alleged rape by Ong Mingwee was more than three times the legal limit for drink driving. The 255mg ethanol per 100 ml of blood was above the toxic level but below the lethal level of 350mg, said a forensic pathologist. Senior consultant forensic pathologist Wee Keng Poh testified on Friday at Ong Mingwee's rape trial that the level found on the then-22-year-old woman would physically or mentally incapacitate her. She would also not be capable of giving consent. Dr Wee said the alcohol she had taken would reduce her ability to protect herself, impair her judgment, her perception of others, as well as her ability to resist both physically and verbally.
Ong, 28, is said to have raped the woman at a flat above his family-run minimart at Toa Payoh North in the early hours on Feb 12, 2009. After calling 14 prosecution witnesses, the prosecution closed its case. District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim called on his defence. Ong, who elected to give evidence, will take the stand when hearing continues on Feb 14. The maximum penalty for rape is 20 years' jail and fine or caning.





Five face 32 more fake casino chips charges

FIVE Indian nationals accused of using fake casino chips at Marina Bay Sands were accused of 32 more similar charges on Friday. Asfaq Usman, 25, Maqsud Ibrahim, 28, Vishal Sopan Gurav, 26, Soheel Ahmad Jamil Ahmad, 33, Kunal Balan Shettiyar, 24, are alleged to have conspired with Ijaz Ahmed and others unknown in December, to use as genuine, counterfeit chips. Ijaz, who is believed to be in Mumbai, has not been charged. Except for Soheel, the rest are said to have presented one to two pieces of fake chips with a face value of $1,000, to exchange genuine chips in smaller denominations with croupiers at MBS casino on Dec 29. A police prosecutor told the court that the five are believed to be working for a syndicate dealing with counterfeit casino chips. The court heard that only $17,000 had been recovered from the $47,000 involved. Asfaq's lawyer is Mr Subhas Anandan while Mr S.K. Kumar is acting for the rest. Bail of $60,000 was offered to each. A pre-trial conference is set for Feb 11. If convicted, each faces a fine of up to $150,000 or a jail term of up to seven years or both.



Lorry hit 140kmh trying to beat cops

A LORRY ran a police roadblock, beat a red light and blazed down Jurong Town Hall Road at 140kmh trying to outrun a pursuing police car early on July 6 last year. The driver, Bagavath Singh Jayakkumar, 31, was eventually cornered after the 3km high-speed chase. At the police station later, the Indian national refused to breathe properly into a breathalyser. On Thursday, he was jailed a month for dangerous driving and fined $2,500 for failing to provide a specimen of his breath for the breathalyser test. The court heard that police conducting checks at a roadblock along Jurong Town Hall Road at 1.20am that day had signalled him to stop. But he simply drove through, eventually reaching a speed that was twice the 70kmh allowed on that road, even as a patrol car, siren blaring, stayed on his tail. Jayakkumar was forced to stop at the junction of Boon Lay Way and Jurong East Street 31, as there was no way through the vehicles that were waiting at the red light. Smelling strongly of alcohol and failing the breathalyser test conducted by an officer, he was arrested and escorted to Clementi Police Division for another attempt to measure the alcohol level in his breath.



COE prices fall: Time to buy a 1.6-litre car?


STEP on it if you are thinking of buying a 1.6-litre or smaller car. The certificate of entitlement (COE) premium for this vehicle category dipped by $7,240 to $38,889 on Wednesday, but dealers expect the price to go up in the next few months of bidding. The road bump ahead for consumers is an expected cut in the vehicle quota this year to possibly the lowest on record.
COEs, which give one the right to buy a car here, are central to Singapore's Vehicle Quota System, which enables the Government to control the growth of the car population and road congestion. Anyone seeking to buy a car has to bid for a COE in that category of vehicle, determined by engine size. On Wednesday, the premium for cars up to 1,600cc and taxis fell by 15.7 per cent - the highest of all vehicle categories - compared with the last round of bidding two weeks ago. The $38,889 figure is also $8,715 less than the unprecedented high of $47,604 a month ago, sparked by dealers reportedly scrambling to fulfil sales targets.


2 comments:

  1. Too risky if you use fake casino chips, there are already lots of reported arrests due to usage of fake chips.
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