Quick News: Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Brisbane going 'under': Accounts from S'poreans

STRAITSTIMES.COM had published on Wednesday, an online call to Singaporeans and Singapore residents based in flood-stricken Brisbane to contact The Straits Times with their accounts. The replies have been streaming in and a stirring early account came from a husband whose wife is now stuck there. This is the letter from Mr Terence Lim Wen Song, a final year medical student at University of Queensland. 'I have been living in Brisbane for the past three years. I am currently in Singapore and I was supposed to fly back this coming week as my term will start on Jan 24. My wife, Michelle, who is also studying at Uni of Queensland, flew over to Brisbane on Jan 10 (Monday), in time to start her Graduate Law training. Unfortunately, after she landed in Brisbane, she told me over the phone about the relentless heavy rain there. 'We are currently staying in a unit apartment along MacQuarie Street, in a suburb named St. Lucia, and it is closely situated to the University of Queensland campus. The crucial fact is that our riverview apartment block is just within 10 metres from the Brisbane River. 'Although we are staying on the 5th level, there have been fears. My wife has been telling me that the river has burst its bank and is encroaching towards our building. The houses across the river (as we can see from our balcony) have all been partially submerged.

A call to Singaporeans or S'pore residents in Brisbane

CALLING all Singaporeans, or Singapore residents based in flood-hit Brisbane, Australia, The Straits Times would like to contact you, or have you send us your messages, or pictures from the scene itself, to tell us how you've been coping if you have been directly affected. If you know of friends, family, and other Singaporeans or such Singapore residents there - and have been in contact with them regularly - do tell us more. Email your name, mobile phone or contact numbers to stonline@sph.com.sg and give us details like your location, and do send your pictures and thoughts as you cope with the ongoing tragedy in Brisbane. The AFP news service reported that Brisbane was besieged on Wednesday by once-in-a-century floods that could hit more than 30,000 homes, as the death toll in raging torrents rose to 12. Thousands of people have already fled to higher ground and Brisbane's centre was a 'ghost town' as the river city of two million prepares later on Wednesday for its worst deluge since 1893. More than 50 suburbs and 2,100 roads are expected to be left under water as the Brisbane River bursts its banks and swamps the city centre, along with other areas, with the peak of 5.5m due around dawn on Thursday. Damage is already intense, with witnesses spotting entire houses in the river.

Education profile of S'poreans 'improved significantly'

SINGAPOREANS are now a better educated bunch, according to the Census of Population 2010 released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Wednesday. Overall, 49 per cent of the non-student residents aged 15 years and over in 2010 had at least post-secondary qualifications, up from 33 per cent in 2000. The share of university graduates also increased significantly from 12 per cent in 2000 to 23 per cent in 2010. The proportion of university graduates among residents aged 25 to 34 years rose from 24 per cent in 2000 to 47 per cent in 2010. Literacy rates in residents 15 and above moved up from 93 per cent in 2000 to 96 per cent last year. The number of Singaporeans proficient in two or more languages jumped from 56 per cent ten years ago to 71 per cent in 2010. The use of English at home is also more prevalent, especially among the younger age groups. Among residents aged five to 14 years old, English was the home language for 52 per cent of Chinese and 50 per cent of Indians. Twenty-six per cent of Malays in the same age group now speak English at home, a spike from 9.4 per cent in 2000.



S'porean singles, aged 30 to 34 years, up by 10%

THE Census of Population 2010 released by the Singapore Department of Statistics reveals a rise in the number of singles, especially prominent in the younger age groups between 2000 and 2010. Among Singapore citizens aged 30 to 34 years, the proportion of singles rose significantly from 33 to 43 per cent for males, and from 22 to 31 per cent for females. This translates to a 10 per cent and 9 per cent increase respectively. Singlehood was most prevalent among citizen males with below secondary qualifications and graduate citizen females. On the family front, there has been an increase of 6 per cent - from 14 per cent in 2000 to 20 per cent in 2010 - in the proportion of childless families. This took place among females aged 30 to 39 years. The age group of 40 to 49 years saw an increase of 6.4 per cent to 9.3 per cent during the same period. An upward trend has been noted in the number of families that only have one child. Among females aged 40 to 49 years, the proportion went up from 15 per cent in 2000 to 19 per cent in 2010. Families with two children continue to be the norm.

Cancellation of bidding exercise for vehicle numbers

THE weekly bidding exercise for vehicle registration numbers will not be held from Jan 29 to Feb 1. The Land Transport Authority announced in its statement on Wednesday that the cancellation of the bidding exercise was due to the upcoming Chinese New Year public holidays on Feb 3 and 4. The weekly bidding exercise for vehicle registration numbers will resume on Feb 5, a Saturday. But the weekly bidding exercises for vehicle registration numbers prior to the Chinese New Year public holidays - remain as scheduled:
* Jan 15 to 18
* Jan 22 to 25

Chinatown roads affected by Chinese New Year festivities

TO MANAGE upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations in late January and early February, traffic routes in the Chinatown area will be temporarily changed. New Bridge Road, Eu Tong Sen Street and Keong Siak Road will be closed on Jan 15 from 2pm to 11pm and on Feb 2, 5pm to 3am. This is to make way for the opening ceremony and countdown celebration of the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2011 respectively. To be held at New Bridge Road, 15,000 people are anticipated to turn up on Jan 15, while a crowd of 40,000 is expected on Feb 2. During the road closure periods, Mosque Street will become a two-way road to allow access to and from South Bridge Road. SBS and SMRT buses serving the affected roads will also be diverted during the road closures.

Agent jailed for embezzling $15,000

FOR four years, an embezzler eluded police and refused to assist them in the investigations. Abdul Samat Kaman's luck finally ran out in January last year when he was identified in a police check and arrested. On Wednesday, the 57-year-old pleaded guilty to committing criminal breach of trust (CBT) and was jailed three months. A district court heard that in 2005 Abdul Samat was working as a freelance sales representative with Hamid & Sons Renovation Contractor located in Marsiling Industrial Park. The firm was owned by Meng Design & Build, and his duties included presenting quotations and to collect down-payments and progressive payments for work to proceed. Instead, he pocketed several payments amounting to $14,940 between Dec 20, 2005 and March 13, 2006 when he stopped reporting for work. Checks by the accounts department then revealed the offences and police were informed on March 17. All attempts by the police to find Abdul Samat came to nought and when contacted over the phone, he said he was not coming in to assist in the investigation. His name was then placed on the police gazette and he became a wanted man. It is believed he hid out in Singapore until his arrest.

Jailed 7 years for stealing 18 generators

A MAN would hire a lorry with a crane on the pretext of transporting heavy machinery from a worksite. Unknown to the lorry driver, Nanthakumaran Lokanathan was not a worker at that site but was on a stealing spree. By the time. the 34-year-old Singaporean was found out, he had stolen more than $240,000 worth of generators. He was sentenced to seven years corrective training on Wednesday. A district court had heard that Nanthakumaran has been in trouble with the law on four occasions since 1997 for theft and disposing of stolen property. He was also found suitable for corrective training, which can last from five to 14 years, is meant for recalcitrant offenders, with no remission for good behaviour. The general worker was caught on July 11 last year after driving off with metal sheets worth $12,000 from a construction site in Jurong East. Two workers at the construction site had stopped the lorry and Nanthakumaran spun a story that he was moving the metal sheets to another construction site in Tampines on the instructions of a 'Mr Choo'. The two workers played it safe by taking pictures of the lorry before allowing it to leave. When the theft was discovered some hours later, police had no problem finding the lorry at Old Tampines Road.
Investigations then revealed that Nanthakumaran stole 18 generators between Oct 2009 and July last year. His busiest period was between April 2 till July 1, when he filched 15 generators from worksites in Yio Chu Kang, Jurong, Ang Mo Kio, Tampines and Mandai. The court documents indicate that the offences were committed on holidays or either very early in the morning or late in the evening of workdays.

Singapore wants justice in Romania diplomat case

BUCHAREST - SINGAPORE is closely watching the trial of a Romanian diplomat charged with manslaughter following a hit-and-run car accident in the city state and wants 'justice' to be done, a Singapore envoy in Romania said on Wednesday.
'The Singapore government is still watching what is happening very closely", envoy Anil Kumar Nayar told AFP as the trial of a Romanian charge d'affaires accused of killing a man in a car accident in Singapore in 2009 is scheduled to restart on Wednesday. 'The most important thing for us is that we want to make sure that justice is done and we have a commitment from the Romanian government as well that they too would like to see that justice is done", the Brussels-based envoy added while waiting for the hearing to start at a Bucharest tribunal. Silviu Ionescu, a former charge d'affaires in Singapore, has been charged with manslaughter, causing physical injuries and making false statements after a deadly car accident in December 2009 in Singapore. The diplomat is alleged to have hit three pedestrians while driving a car belonging to the Romanian mission. One of them, a 30-year-old Malaysian national, suffered brain damage and died on Christmas Day. Ionescu is also alleged to have fled the scene. However he denies he was the driver and says the car was stolen.

MTA writes to Transport Minister on COE system

THE Motor Traders' Association has written to the Minister for Transport Raymond Lim to provide suggestions to finetune the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system to better cater to both the motor industry and car buyers. This move was prompted by the high COE prices currently seen which have come on the back of sharp cuts in the COE quota over the last 12 months. The MTA has suggested to Mr Lim that taxis should be excluded from the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) in the Category A COE quota, as it exerts unnecessary pressure on COE premiums. This reason given by the association is because taxis are a form of public transport and like other forms of public transport, it should be excluded from the VQS. Now, taxi operators compete with the private car buyer for a COE in Category A. As business enterprises, they can bid more for such COEs. The MTA has proposed that the government regulate the taxi population separately through issuance of COEs meant specifically for taxis. Another suggestion is to do away with Category E COEs - which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mainly for cars. They should be removed in order to allow for a more equitable spread of the COE quota. The MTA says this move will prevent possible speculation of Category E COEs.


Woman charged with 68 counts of cheating and forgery

A FORMER sales manager was charged in court on Wednesday with cheating her boss of $134,200 and making false tax invoices. Chan Yoke Lan, 35 was with Regional Design & Contracts, a furniture specialist, when she allegedly deceived the owner, Mr Yam Kok Wai, on 39 occasions into believing that she needed cash to buy furniture for clients between July 2009 and June last year. She also faces 29 charges of forgery allegedly committed at the Race Course Road premises between November 2009 and May last year. Chan, who was represented by Mr Tan Cheng Kiong, will appear in court again on Feb 9. If convicted of cheating, she can be jailed for up to 10 years and a fine on each charge. For forgery, the maximum penalty is four years and a fine.

Bus 186 to skip one bus stop temporarily

SBS bus service 186 will temporarily skip the bus stop opposite the PWC Building (bus stop 03041) along Cross Street from 11am on Saturday, Jan 15, to 5am on Monday, Jan 17. This is due to lane closure to facilitate the removal of the viaduct. Passengers who want to get to Cross Street can alight at the bus stop along Cecil Street, opposite the GB Building.




Please refer to www.sbstransit.com.sg for more details.
 

Man accused of 18 graft charges

AN UNEMPLOYED man was charged in court on Wednesday with corruptly giving bribes totalling $9,400 to two security supervisors to close an eye on his suspected vice-related activities at a hotel.
Wong Jing Ching alias Patrick Champion Wong, 40, allegedly gave a total of $7,600 to one Sazali Kassim, 31, near Landmark Village Hotel between April 2009 and May last year. He is said to have abetted Mr Sazali in a conspiracy to give bribes of between $200 and $600 to the latter's colleague, Muhammad Farhan Osman, 23, in return for not reporting his suspected vice-related activities in the hotel to the management. The five alleged incidents occurred between January and May last year. Wong, who is out on bail, had been charged earlier with seven counts of living in part on the earnings of prostitutes, receiving three of the Uzbekistan women at Changi Airport, and managing a contact point for prostitution at the hotel in Victoria Street. A pre-trial conference has been fixed for Monday.

Fewer people taking up driving lessons

THERE will be fewer new drivers on the road this year compared to last year, going by fresh statistics from the Traffic Police. The number of people taking up lessons to get their driving licences is estimated to have dipped by 30 per cent between the period from January to September last year, and the same period the year before.

Neighbours at Bishan block mourn deaths

ONE fall, two deaths. At least, it looks to be that way with the pair of women for whom wakes are being held in adjoining blocks in Bishan Street 13.
Their families, who barely know each other, were trying to come to terms with the deaths on Tuesday, even as police reviewed closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to find out how the pair came to be found dead at the foot of the same block on the same day, at the same time. One of them is believed to have been crushed when the other fell on her, but what exactly happened on Monday morning is a mystery. No witnesses have come forward. Ms Lau Fong Kien, a 55-year-old retiree who lived on the 15th floor, had head injuries and wounds on her knee.