Quick News: Wednesday, January 05, 2011

M'sian hubby fined for lying to ROM he was single

A MALAYSIAN and permanent resident here was on Wednesday fined the maximum $3,000 for lying to a Commissioner of Oaths that he was single when he married a Singaporean in 1998. The marriage went through but the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) discovered the bigamy in May 2010 when businessman Tan Hock Lum, 50, applied for a student's pass for his son from an earlier marriage. He also submitted his Malaysian marriage certificate to Madam Khoo Gun Hoo as a supporting document, and checks by ICA indicated that this marriage is still valid. Tan pleaded guilty in a district court on Wednesday to making a false declaration. The Malaysian came here in 1985, obtaining his PR a year later. In 1987, he married Madam Khoo Gun Hoo in Kluang in Johor while continuing his business here. The couple went on to have three children but living apart from his family resulted in Tan befriending and growing close to a Singaporean woman in 1990. Eight years later in 1998, they decided to marry and Tan declared he was single and not married to any other person before Commissioner of Oaths Ms V. Suppiah at the Registry of Marriages (ROM).

Marginal fall in prices for big car COE

COE (Certificate of Entitlement) prices for big cars have eased slightly after recording 13-year highs in last December's final round of bidding. The COE premium for cars above 1,600cc ended at $69,000, a drop of $3,001 or 4.2 per cent. For Open COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but which end up being used mainly for bigger cars, the premium registered a slight 0.4 per cent drop to $75,789 from $76,102. COE premiums for cars of up to 1,600cc have registered the largest drop among all categories in the first bidding exercise for 2011 ending at $38,889 - a dip of $7,240 or 15.7 per cent. Motorcycle premiums have landed at $1,503, from $1,551. But the only category to register a rise is commercial vehicle COE premiums which ended at $35,111, from $33,501.

Merlion sculpture to close for cleaning from Jan 11-18

THE iconic Merlion that sits at Merlion Park will be closed for routine cleaning from Jan 11 to 18. During the cleaning, the Merlion will be hoarded up for safety considerations. The Singapore Tourism Board said that the works and barricades may cause some inconvenience during this period and that they seek the public's understanding. The Merlion was first built as an eight-metre tall sculpture in 1972 and located at the mouth of the Singapore River to 'welcome all visitors to Singapore'. It was subsequently moved in 2002 to its current location at Merlion Park next to One Fullerton, and now overlooks Marina Bay.

Cabbies get new Drive & Save scheme for Medisave

TAXI companies have pledged to build up the Medisave accounts of their cabbies under a new Drive And Save scheme launched on Wednesday.
Cabbies who pay at least 50 cents a day into their Medisave account will receive an additional 50 cents daily from their taxi companies. This comes up to a yearly $360 contribution to cabbies' accounts. The scheme is expected to help about 25,000 drivers and will cost the seven companies $4 million a year.

 

 

 

Charged for insulting, threatening ST reporter

A DESIGNER was charged on Wednesday for allegedly sending insulting and threatening messages via email, voicemail and a letter to a newspaper correspondent for a period spanning more than a year.  Amy Chua Kwan Ming, 34, is said to have sent Ms Joanne Lee Li Li, 36, five email messages that either harassed or distressed the recipient between August 2008 and September 2009. Chua also mailed an insulting letter as well as left two threatening messages on Ms Lee's voicemail in the office. According to the charges, the designer, who works freelance for a structural design firm, is said to have made threats at the 36-year-old correspondent, which included hiring a private investigator to check on her. At Wednesday's hearing, Chua declined to undergo a psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) that was suggested by the police prosecutor. Instead, she asked District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan to impose a fine to settle the matter. Pointing out that it had not come to that stage yet, the judge adjourned the case to Jan 19, so as to allow for further investigations. He also ordered Chua not to approach Ms Lee.

Passer-by catches snatch thief

A SNATCH-AND-RUN robbery attempt by a 29-year-old man was foiled by a member of the public on Tuesday. The suspect accosted a 34-year-old woman sitting at a void deck of Block 76A, Redhill Road at about 10.50pm and tried to snatch her handbag. He was unable to pry the handbag from her and fled when she yelled for help. The victim's shouts attracted the attention of 29-year-old Mohamed Rozali. Mr Rozali chased the suspect and eventually managed to detain him in the vicinity of Block 77, Redhill Road. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the police and will be charged in court on Thursday.

Ghostly taxi found in Choa Chu Kang

 HAVE you ever seen such an unusual taxi? Lovell Tan never has. The user on popular citizen journalism website Stomp came across this taxi which, on the inside, was decorated with obituary photos, toys and figurines. Apparently she was with her friend when she stumbled onto this taxi in Choa Chu Kang, an area that is not short on cemeteries. According to the National Environment Agency website, Choa Chua Kang Cemetery is the only cemetery in Singapore still open for burials. She told Stomp: 'It was over-flowing with decorations - the front and back windows was filled with figurines, there was an amazing amount of written notes and stickers all over the taxi, and obituary photos were hanging from end to end. ''Even the car boot was filled with toys and figurines and photos of the dead.' As I was taking photos of the taxi, the driver came up to us and I asked him if we could take a photo of him with the taxi. He obliged. 'I wonder if anyone would dare to ride in his taxi. 'Those daring passengers might receive a discount on the fare as well we think - from the pictures the atmosphere of the cab looks chilly enough without turning on the air-con.

Blood-stained body found at Bukit Batok church

 THE body of a 29-year-old man was found on a grass patch in the compound of the Church of Saint Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok East Avenue 2 on Wednesday morning. The man was found lying motionless at the back of the church compound near some classrooms and later pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, at about 10.20am. There were bruises on his face and blood stains on his chest. Besides the church, police also cordoned off the void deck of a block of flats opposite the church. Members of the church interviewed were unaware of what happened and the church has so far declined comment. It is not clear whether there is foul play involved.

Alleged rapist says woman agreed to sex at his flat

A MAN accused of rape claimed that the woman was the one who tried to seduce him while they were dancing at a popular nightspot.
Ong Mingwee, 28, who runs a family provision shop, stated that the 22-year-old woman had agreed to have sex with him, and no force was used. He is alleged to have raped the woman at a flat in Toa Payoh North in the early hours of Feb 12, 2009. In his statements, which were admitted in evidence on Wednesday, he said he did not understand why the woman had lodged a report against him. Investigation officer Station Inspector Azman Mohd Hussin, read out the statements he recorded from Ong in court. Ong stated that when he met the woman and her friend for the first time at Zouk, she was quite high. He said they were together most of the time that evening. While drinking, he said she pulled him to the dance floor and the sexy way in which she danced, made it seem she was trying to seduce him. After the club closed, they left in a taxi for home. They started kissing and when he asked if she wanted to go to his place, she agreed, he said. But when they were at his flat, she started to cry, saying she was scared and wanted to go home.

GCE O-level results will be released next Monday

THE results of the 2010 Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O-level) Examination will be released on Monday, Jan 10. School candidates may collect their results from their schools at 2pm on the same day. Private candidates will be informed of their results by post. They may also access their results through the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board website at http://www.seab.gov.sg/  from 2pm on Jan 10. Students can apply for Junior Colleges (JCs), Millennia Institute (MI), Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) via the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) using their GCE O-level results. Students who wish to apply only to Polytechnics may also apply via the Joint-Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE). The JAE is conducted annually by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to allow those who had sat for the GCE O-level Examination to apply for admission to courses offered by the JCs, MI, Polytechnics and ITE. The JAE registration period is for five calendar days, starting from 3pm on Monday Jan 10 and ending at 4pm on Friday, Jan 14. Applicants are to submit their application online through the JAE Internet System (JAE-IS), accessible through the JAE website at http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/jae.

The JPSAE will be conducted together with the JAE from Jan 10 to Jan 14. A student can apply concurrently to both the JPSAE and JAE. The JPSAE complements the existing JAE, by allowing polytechnics to consider applicants based on a broader measure of merits beyond performance in the GCE O levels. Details on the JPSAE can be found at http://www.polytechnic.edu.sg/jpsae and on the respective polytechnics' websites.

'Gary Ng' admits filming more than 500 sex clips

WHILE he was engaged in sex with different women, the intimate moments were filmed with a video camera hidden in a plastic bag with a slit.
Some women were willing parties for the filming, but others were filmed without their consent. Chen Guilin, alias Gary Ng, then posted some of the video clips on the Internet with the women's faces masked. The 28-year-old on Tuesday pleaded guilty to possessing 507 obscene films, of which more than 480 were clips of him having sex with various women. The items were seized by police from his flat at Yishun Street 22 in June last year. The police also found another person's identity card in his flat. The former property agent on Tuesday also admitted to seven other offences, including breaking into the home of his client while she was away, forgery and criminal breach of trust.

Record $400m for NTU's medical school

THE yet-to-open medical school of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has received a record donation of $400 million, the largest contribution ever made to a tertiary institution here. The infusion of funds was triggered by a $150 million donation from the Lee Foundation; the sum is itself the biggest private donation given to an educational cause here. The Government responded by putting $250 million into the kitty of the school, which will open in 2013. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced in his National Day Rally speech last August that, instead of matching endowed donations to the universities on a dollar-for-dollar basis as previously, it will provide 1.5-to-1 matching funds for up to 20 years. New institutions like NTU's medical school will have it better: They will get $3 from the Government for every donated dollar in an endowed fund for the first 10 years, and $1.50 for every dollar thereafter. NTU told The Straits Times on Tuesday night that as the medical school was a new institution, every dollar in the first $16.7 million of the $150 million donation will enjoy an enhanced Government matching of $3 to every dollar given, subject to a cap of $50 million; every dollar in the remaining $133.3 million attracted $1.50 from the Government.


Cyclist dies, another hurt in accident

ONE cyclist was killed and another injured in an accident involving a lorry on Monday morning.
The incident took place at around 7.45am along Changi Coast Road towards East Coast Parkway, a route popular with amateur cyclists. Air force regular Chua Shiu Beng, 45, died five hours later at Changi General Hospital from injuries that included a pelvic fracture and abdominal bleeding. His cycling partner and colleague, Mr Kenneth Wong Wai Kiang, 40, is under observation for multiple abrasions to his face, shoulder and ribs. Mr Wong, who spoke to The Straits Times from his hospital bed, said: 'One moment I'm cycling, and the next moment I'm in hospital.' Speaking at their family home in the east on Tuesday, Mr Chua's wife, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Chua, said he was an avid cyclist and devoted father to a son and daughter. 'It was his day off on Tuesday and he really enjoys cycling. He and Kenneth would often cycle together, almost weekly,' she said, adding that he was careful and took safety precautions. Friends at the house said he had recently taken part in a 40km cycling marathon.

Risque ads for escorts pulled from LTA signboard

AMONG the offers of rooms for rent and tuition classes on the community notice board outside Ang Mo Kio MRT station, two notices stood out.
One sought 'young, pretty, attractive, open-minded' female masseuses or escorts, while the other had an eye-opening $10 'shower package' among the highlights of services provided.

Serial burglar caught on CCTV, police seek tip-offs 

 ON THE morning of Dec 3, 2010, employees of three different companies arrived at work to a shocking discovery. Their offices had been ransacked, locks tampered with and items including laptops, cameras and cash stolen. All three incidents took place at the same building at Blk 130, Jurong East Street 13. A week later on Dec 10, 2010, another break-in was reported at the same location. This time it was caught on CCTV. The culprit is believed to be in his 20s, of medium-build and was last seen wearing a green camouflage windbreaker, white shirt, black pants, gloves and a pair of black-framed spectacles. Police are appealing for tip-offs from eyewitnesses. Catch the latest episode of i-Witness on the serial burglar in Jurong East.

Number of credit cards charges past 6 million mark

FLASHING the plastic has never been more popular in Singapore, with the number of credit cards issued crossing the six million mark for the first time. That works out to six to seven cards per eligible cardholder, and they are spending more with their plastic arsenal, too, as consumer confidence rebounds strongly. Based on the latest preliminary figures from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the number of main cards crossed the six million mark in October and hit 6.079 million in November. Including supplementary cards - cards linked to the principal cardholder's cards - the total number of cards based on November's preliminary figures would be 7.46 million.
Singapore crossed the five million mark in main credit cards in November 2008, meaning new cards were added to consumer wallets at a blistering pace. Market experts suggest the eligible number of cardholders is around one million. The taxman's latest annual report shows about 906,000 taxpayers have assessed income of at least $30,000, which is the minimum annual income required for a card. A back-of-the-envelope calculation works out to 6.7 cards per person.