JTC selling off more industrial properties
INDUSTRIAL landlord JTC Corporation has embarked on the second phase of its exercise to sell off many of its industrial properties so it can focus on developing new ideas to give Singapore an edge. The move also aims to promote greater competition in the market. JTC is now selling 21 blocks of flatted factories and amenity centres mainly in areas such as Tai Seng, Kolam Ayer, Kallang Basin, Bedok and Kampong Ubi. It has not put forward a guide figure but reports suggest the total could be in the range of $600 million to $700 million. The first phase of divestments was finalised in 2008 when JTC sold 39 high-rise ready-built factories worth a combined $1.7 billion to Temasek Holdings unit Mapletree Investments. The latest portfolio will be divided into two tranches according to location, tenure and size, with the two-stage tender process closing on March 1.
Foreign lawyers to practise Singapore commercial law
BY THE end of the year, foreign lawyers may practise Singapore commercial law here - if they sit for, and pass, an examination set by the new Singapore Institute of Legal Education. The new bill tabled in Parliament on Monday by Law Minister K Shanmugam will add supply to meet the bigger pie from regional and cross-border needs say industry players. Currently there are 966 foreign lawyers registered with the Attorney-General's Chambers to practise foreign law here. According to the bill tendered by Law Minister K Shanmugam, the exams will be prepared and issued by the new Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE). The SILE which will replace the current Board of Legal Education which currently runs the courses preparing lawyers for admission to the Bar. The SILE headed by Professor Walter Woon will also be tasked to draw up programmes for compulsory continuing education to keep lawyers updated with current practices.
Law trainees to get feet wet sooner
PRACTICE trainees undergoing pupilage in law firms may be exposed to a wider range of legal work sooner. At the moment, law graduates appear only before a judge in chambers or in court for simple tasks such as applying for bail or mentioning a case - and they start doing this only after four months of a half-year-long attachment to a law firm. But this is set to change if the proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act is accepted by Parliament. Under the proposed changes, the time before trainees appear in court and chambers will be whittled down to three months. Besides the shorter time frame, they will also be allowed to appear in court for all types of hearings, including represent clients in open court, just three months into their training. Mr Andy Lem, a partner in law firm Harry Elias Partnership, expects more trainees to get on board the programme, should the proposed changes be passed. To be able to appear in court and chambers, trainees must first make an application with support from their supervising solicitor. If they do not make the application, they will be allowed to appear in court only after completing six months of training.
No to lowering minimum age requirement for maids
THE Government has no intention of of changing the minimum age requirement for maids, despite recent calls from employment agencies to reduce it from 23 years to 21. Responding to questions posed by Jurong GRC and labour MP Halimah Yacob in Parliament yesterday (Jan 10), Senior Minister of State of Trade and Industry and Manpower Lee Yi Shyan said doing so will not address the problems faced by young foreign domestic workers. In fact, he said it 'may even lead to a perverse outcome of making it easier for even younger girls to circumvent the minimum age requirement.' The issue was put in the spotlight following the case of Indonesian maid Nurhayati, who was charged with murdering her employer's disabled 12-year-old daughter last November (2010). It was discovered in court last month (December) that the maid was actually aged 16, and not 24 as stated in her travel document. In 2005, the minimum age limit for maids was raised from 18 to 23 years on the basis that older maids are generally more responsible, better able to take care of themselves and adapt to the working environment here.
MOE to tighten teacher and scholarship selection
THE Ministry of Education (MOE) will look into tightening the processes used to select teachers and scholarship candidates, as well as better monitor their scholars while they are studying overseas.
Education Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament on Monday that besides tightening processes, MOE would also specifically ask the schools of potential scholars to provide more information. Dr Ng was answering questions from MPs on the selection process after MOE scholar Jonathan Wong was arrested last year (2010) for possessing child pornography on his computer. He was studying in Britain at that time. He said applicants for both teaching positions and scholarships are required to undergo an interview process where they are assessed by a panel on their overall abilities, aptitude, character, and passion to teach. On top of that, scholarship candidates selected to study overseas undergo an additional interview conducted by trained psychologists to assess qualities such as leadership style, character, values, and the ability to adjust to overseas living. Dr Ng assured the House that panel members are experienced enough to 'interpret the nuances and identify information gaps', and that any concerns, such as that of the candidate's integrity, would be discussed before reaching a decision.
PUB to fight floods with CCTV
NATIONAL water agency PUB is turning to security cameras as it extends its network of monitors in the flood-prone area of Bukit Timah. It plans to install five closed-circuit televisio (CCTV) cameras along the Bukit Timah Canal and one at the Jalan Haji Alias outlet drain near Coronation Road West. A PUB spokesman said this trial study to monitor real-time conditions in places such as outlet drains and low-lying areas aims to 'allow PUB to respond even faster' to areas prone to flash floods during intense storms. She added that the CCTV cameras will complement PUB's current flood management initiatives such as water level sensors installed in key canals and drains. To date, PUB has installed 90 such sensors, including at points in the Bukit Timah Canal near Blackmore Drive and Prince of Wales Road. PUB's call for tender, which closes today, indicates that it is looking at a system that will allow images captured by the solar-powered CCTV cameras to be accessed via mobile broadband services on devices such as laptops and iPads.
St Nicholas has top O-level student, 3rd-year running
CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School (SNGS) has produced the top O-level student three years in a row. SNGS student Chia Pei Yun topped the nation with a score of 10 A1s. Her seniors also managed the same feat in previous years: Lai Kai Rou scored Haw Sue Hern both scored 10 A1s in 2010 and 2009 respectively. The release of the O-level results on Monday saw little change in the overall performance of students islandwide. Nearly all - 99.8 per cent - of the 37,655 students who took the exams last year scored at least one O-level pass. Of these, the vast majority - 35,753, or 94.9 per cent - had three or more O-level passes.
Jailed for submitting fake payslips to bank
A BANK officer suspected that a payslip submitted by a credit card applicant was not the real McCoy and checked with the employer. True enough, the salary had been inflated to meet the $60,000 annual income requirement set by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). Investigations revealed that a whole team at telemarketing firm Touch & Tech was behind it, and on Monday, a direct sales agent and an applicant pleaded guilty to conspiring to using the false payslips and fake employment letters. Both are Filipinos. Charon Legaspi Dimpas, 26, was jailed three years and nine months while Maria Theresa Arena Garcia, 39, was jailed six months. A district court heard that Dimpas had submitted fake documents for 96 applicants and earned $8,474 in commission from June to November 2009. SCB had engaged Touch & Tech to market its credit cards. From its office in Middle Road, Dimpas would make cold calls to prospective applicants but many did not meet the bank's criteria. Besides the inflated payslips, Dimpas also submitted false letters for extension of employment because applicants needed a minimum of one-year validity remaining on the employment passes. In Garcia's case, she was an administrative operations executive with an employment agency in 2009, earning $2,600 a month. On the fake payslip, this was inflated to $5,180. Like the others, she also used the fake documents to apply for a loan and the court heard that SCB had lent nearly $760,000 to the 96 applicants.
Cost of living to soar further: Shanmugaratnam
THE rising cost of living, driven partly by higher food prices, is expected to soar further in the first three months of this year before moderating, Finance Minister Tharaman Shanmugaratnam cautioned in Parliament today. But some relief for Singaporeans hurt by the quickening inflation is in store: the upcoming Budget next month will contain measures to help shield them from its impact, he promised. 'The Government will take into account the impact of inflation and the needs of low-income and retiree households when considering further transfers,' said Mr Shanmugaratnam. The minister also hinted that existing assistance schemes such as the ComCare Fund - now holding $800 million - may be enhanced to provide more buffer for the needy. 'Apart from the Budget... we've got ComCare and other schemes which will allow residents who are truly in need to get assistance,'he added. Inflation in Singapore hit 3.8 per cent in November from a year ago, the largest jump since January 2009.
Lorry driver gets fine and driving ban
A LORRY driver was fined $6,000 and banned from driving for four years on Monday for negligently causing the death of an elderly pedestrian. Tan Eng Huat, 51, was driving out of the carpark at Block 90 Whampoa Drive and making a right turn when his vehicle hit Madam Ho Ah Nui, 68, at about 9.10pm on Feb 8 last year. Madam Ho was seriously injured and died of head injury the following morning. His lawyer said in mitigation that Tan had attended to the woman after the accident and attended her wake and cremation. District Judge Low Wee Ping said he was impressed by the fact that Tan acted with significant remorse. Tan could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined for causing death by doing a negligent act.
S'pore Govt bonds for trading on SGX by mid-2011
RETAIL investors will have a safe alternative to bank deposits come middle of 2011, when Singapore Government bonds will be made available for trading on the Singapore Exchange. Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam revealed this in parliament on Monday, noting that Singapore's capital market will continue to develop, offering more investment alternatives. He said, "These include instruments that offer better returns than savings deposits - but without overly high risk." He added that well-rated corporate bonds are also becoming more widely available as more high quality-corporate borrowers are turning to the bond market to meet their financial needs. With some of these bonds targeted at retail investors, such bond issuance can be expected to be a growing trend in coming years.
Nearly 2 in 3 Singaporeans shop online
SIXTY-FOUR per cent, or nearly two-thirds, of respondents, in a MasterCard survey said they now shop online, up by 10 per cent from last year. Singaporean women continued to out-shop their male counterparts with 68 per cent of female respondents shopping online, compared to only 60 per cent of males. Female online shoppers also purchased an average of five items online in the last three months, more than the male shoppers' average of 4.2 items. The types of online purchases have not changed from past years. Airline tickets continue to be the most popular items, followed by hotel accommodations, movie/concert tickets, women's apparel and accessories and books and art. These online purchases are usually planned in advance, with nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed doing research beforehand. On the other hand, the most common items that triggered impulse shopping online are women's apparel or accessories and airline tickets. Singaporeans cited convenient payment methods, secure payment facilities, and price and value of the items being purchased as the top three influencing factors in their online shopping experience. Respondents were also surveyed on their online shopping habits through mobile phones for the first time. Only 12 per cent of respondents in Singapore made purchases on their mobile phones in the last three months.
HDB clarifies rule on siblings
HOMEBUYERS who are siblings and unmarried - whether citizens or permanent residents (PRs) - can apply to buy HDB resale flats if their parents live overseas and do not already own a public flat. They do not have to be above the age of 35, and their applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
125 estate agents' application forms missing
THE Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) on Sunday said it has misplaced 125 application forms due to an administrative oversight. It is working with these estate agents to get them registered as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the agents have been issued provisional registrations and are allowed to practise. The CEA also said that 'as a gesture of goodwill', 813 of 1,736 property agents whose applications are pending approval can act provisionally till the end of this month. These agents either submitted their application forms after the Nov 30, 2010 deadline, or did not have their forms in order. Another 923 agents' applications are pending approval, but this group will not get the grace period. These are people who either did not declare criminal convictions or who gave inaccurate information on their bankruptcy status. They can re-apply or appeal to be registered. The government agency acknowledged problems such as missing forms and registration delays, and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
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