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India Rape Shame: Children raped, forced to eat faeces in Indian school
Reuters, 30 May 2014The owner and manager of a children's boarding school in western India have been arrested after five minors said they were raped, forced to watch pornographic films and act them out with one another, police and charity workers said.
The children were made to eat faeces as a punishment if they did not comply.
The 52-year-old owner of the Chandraprabha Charitable Trust and his 30-year-old female manager were arrested on Monday after a police raid on the school in Karjat city in Maharashtra state. Full story
Massive land reclamation project backed by Johor royalty irks Singapore government
MSN Malaysia News, 30 May 2014A massive land reclamation and development project backed by the Johor royal household is causing a wrinkle in the close Malaysia-Singapore ties, the Edge Review reported today.
Quoting sources in its Informer column, the paper reported that China’s Country Gardens Holding Co Ltd has secured rights from the Johor government to reclaim as much as 2,000 hectares of land on the Johor coast for a luxury residential project.
The multi-billion dollar project will extend the Johor coast around the so-called Second Link right up to the edges of the boundary separating Malaysia and Singapore, it said.
The Edge Review reported that the Malaysian side of the Johor-Singapore link is creating unease in the island state. Full story
OPINION: Singapore’s elephant in the room
For the naysayers and soothsayers, the clearest indication that Singapore’ centre of gravity is shifting to the left came when President Tony Tan opened the second session of the country’s 12th Parliament with a rare promise to his people: You will have enough money for your golden years.
Even more unusual was the President’s use of the phrase, “peace of mind,” to describe the intended goal of his government’s social policies, especially for the vulnerable and elderly.
“We will enhance retirement adequacy to give greater assurance and peace of mind to all Singaporeans,’’ Tan said, in trying to allay the biggest fear of many Singaporeans – that their august years will become dreadful ones.
It just shows how far the government has come from a culture that preached a “nothing-is-for-free” philosophy to one that is beginning to display its heart on its sleeve. Full story
OPINION: Ang Wei Neng, villagers don’t exist to teach Singaporeans gratitude for PAP
Ang Wei Neng, MP for Jurong GRC, proposed the idea of mandatory community service field trips to rural villages in neighbouring countries in Parliament.
“I hope parents and teachers will see the value of such trips when the students return from the trip more mature and sensible. I am confident that such field trips will help our youths appreciate Singapore’s success better, reduce the sense of entitlement and inculcate the value of service to others,” Channel NewsAsia quoted him as saying.
Ang’s idea appears to be this: send Singaporean youths to rural villages in the region, where there will be no air-con and streetlights, and they will return to Singapore keeling over with gratitude for our infrastructure and the PAP for having built it!
The rebuttal to Ang’s proposal is simple: people are people, regardless of where they live and the circumstances in which they live. No one exists to be a teaching moment for anyone else. Families in rural villages do not live their lives just so we can ship Singaporean youths over to gawp wide-eyed at their plight and come back feeling a renewed sense of smugness. Full story
Tan Chuan-Jin: Former PRs are still allowed to return back to Singapore to work after withdrawing their entire CPF upon leaving
SINGAPORE: The Government does not track the number of Permanent Residents (PRs) who withdraw their CPF monies when they leave Singapore for good, said Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin in Parliament on Thursday (May 29).
As for property, he said there is nothing to stop PRs from continuing to own property in Singapore, even if they have left.
On whether they can return to Singapore to work, Mr Tan said evaluations will be done to determine their suitability.
The Government will look into their track record and history before making a decision, Mr Tan added. Link
Singapore Government spends S$749 million on 91 driverles trains for SMRT
International Railway Journal, 29 May 2014SINGAPORE Land Transport Authority (LTA) has placed a $S 749m ($US 597m) order with a consortium of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Qingdao Sifang for 91 four-car metro trains, which will be used on the new Thomson and Eastern Region lines.
The 750V dc driverless trains will be the first in Singapore with five doors on each side of each vehicle. LTA says the fleet will also be equipped with improved current regeneration technology.
Kawasaki will design the trains, while CSR Qingdao Sifang will be responsible for producing the aluminium alloy bodyshells and final assembly of the vehicles. The trains will be delivered to Singapore between 2018 and 2021. Full story
Related:
Singapore orders driverless trains for combined line - Railway Gazette
India Rape Shame: Two Indian sisters 'gang-raped', killed and hanged from mango tree
Authorities in northern India have arrested three men, including two police officers, suspected of gang-raping and killing two teenage sisters before hanging their bodies from a mango tree.
The deaths have sparked renewed public outrage over sexual violence in the country.
Villagers found the girls' bodies on Wednesday morning, hours after they disappeared from fields near their home in Katra village in Uttar Pradesh state, police superintendent Atul Saxena said. The girls, who were 14 and 15, had gone into the fields because there was no toilet in their home. Full story
Related:
Two India girls gang raped and hanged in Uttar Pradesh - BBC News
Singapore CJ Sundaresh Menon overruled Appeal Court and spares reformative training for Indian drug trafficker
Hardwarezone Forum, 29 May 2014A drugs trafficker was spared reformative training even after an appeals court found that it had been wrong to just sentence him to probation.
As Adith Sarvotham, 18, had already served a good part of his probation term by the time his appeal was heard in April, it would have been unfair to re-sentence him.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said there would be an "element of double punishment".
Adith had pleaded guilty last year to consuming and growing cannabis as well as trafficking. He was sentenced by the district court to three years' probation, which included 240 hours of community service and 12 months' residence at a prescribed hostel.
Prosecutors appealed to the High Court arguing that the probation order was inadequate and called for reformative training instead. Such trainees spend up to 36 months behind bars under a special regime for offenders aged under 21. Full story
Related:
INDIAN NATIONAL GREW TWO POTS OF CANNABIS AT YISHUN HOME AFTER LEARNING IT ONLINE - Hardwarezone Forum
PM Lee admits simultaneous release of public construction projects are fuelling the need for more foreign construction workers
Question: Lack of foresight?
Yahoo! News Singapore, 29 May 2014
Singapore said Wednesday it would defer about Sg$2 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of government infrastructure projects to slow the intake of migrant labourers amid public concern over immigration in the city-state.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament the move was part of measures to limit the inflow of foreign workers to "a level which is sustainable and which we can physically accommodate in Singapore in the long term".
"The private sector, they make their decisions," Lee said.
But "the government, we are a significant part of the construction business, and we ask ourselves which government projects need to be built (and) which projects can be deferred," he said. Full story
Related:
PM Lee admits govt lacked foresight - Hardwarezone Forum
Yahoo! News Singapore, 29 May 2014
Singapore said Wednesday it would defer about Sg$2 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of government infrastructure projects to slow the intake of migrant labourers amid public concern over immigration in the city-state.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament the move was part of measures to limit the inflow of foreign workers to "a level which is sustainable and which we can physically accommodate in Singapore in the long term".
"The private sector, they make their decisions," Lee said.
But "the government, we are a significant part of the construction business, and we ask ourselves which government projects need to be built (and) which projects can be deferred," he said. Full story
Related:
PM Lee admits govt lacked foresight - Hardwarezone Forum
71-year-old Pioneer Generation Man Arrested For Vandalising Several Bus Stops With "Return Our CPF" Messages
Hardwarezone Forum, 28 May 2014
SINGAPORE: Police have arrested a 71-year-old man for vandalising a series of bus stops along Clemenceau Ave, River Valley Road, Hill Street and Victoria Street.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (May 28), Police said the suspect was arrested at about 9.15pm on Wednesday. This arrest came after a report of graffiti on the advertisement board of a bus stop along Hill Street was received by the Police at 8am on May 23.
Channel NewsAsia understands the graffiti at Hill Street read: "We support CPF Blogger. Return our CPF money."
Officers then found another 11 other bus stops affected with similar graffiti along Clemenceau Avenue, River Valley Road, Hill Street and Victoria Street. Full story
MAS bans Great Eastern Life financial/insurance adviser after forgery conviction
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued prohibition orders against a financial and insurance adviser operating in the city state after he was convicted on charges of forgery.
According to a statement from the MAS, the regulatory body has issued “prohibition orders against Teo Choon How (Terence) from carrying on business as an insurance intermediary and providing any financial advisory service” pursuant to the Insurance Act and Financial Advisers Act.
The order prohibits Mr Teo from acting as an insurance intermediary or as a manager in an insurance intermediary as well as from “taking part, directly or indirectly, in the management of, acting as a director of, or becoming a substantial shareholder of a licensed financial adviser or exempt financial adviser in Singapore”. Full story
Minister of State Amy Khor: 'Singaporeans first' policy will not benefit the economy
Comment: For that speech alone, Amy Khor could be promoted to a full minister by the PAP government.
Hardwarezone Forum, 27 May 2014
A manpower policy that advocates hiring "Singaporeans first" will not benefit the economy in the long term, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Amy Khor in Parliament on Tuesday.
Such a policy might result in employers feeling "constrained and unable to hire the best person for the job", she added.
That could ultimately hurt Singaporeans, if companies' manpower needs are unmet and they eventually decide to move out of the country. Full story
Related:
Promotions show it pays to denigrate and scold Singaporeans
Hardwarezone Forum, 27 May 2014
A manpower policy that advocates hiring "Singaporeans first" will not benefit the economy in the long term, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Amy Khor in Parliament on Tuesday.
Such a policy might result in employers feeling "constrained and unable to hire the best person for the job", she added.
That could ultimately hurt Singaporeans, if companies' manpower needs are unmet and they eventually decide to move out of the country. Full story
Related:
Promotions show it pays to denigrate and scold Singaporeans
PAP MP Inderjit Singh: Complacency and elitism in top ranks of civil service filled with scholars
Singh also spoke out against the complacency and elitism he “detected” in the top ranks of civil servants. He said, "today’s policy makers live in a different society from the average Singaporean”.
The MP said that during his Meet-the-People sessions, he had encountered a number of residents who questioned the rationale of government policies.
He urged the government to consider reorganizing the policy making process, to “reverse it to make it more bottom-up and driven by the man in the street” instead of the top-down approach of policies crafted by those seated in “an ideal clean and sterile policy lab or an ivory tower”.
Singh had observed that the civil service’s top ranks are populated by scholars chosen for their academic achievements. He expressed concern that these scholars, who are “parachuted” to high positions at a young age, may not have the experience or understanding to craft policies for the rest of the population. Full story
Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School teacher allegedly assaulted primary five student - report
All Singapore Stuff, 23 May 2014
Today I was at work when I received a phone call from Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School. My brother a P5 student was abused by a relief teacher named "Miss Belinda".
My brother was bleeding on his nose and had scratches on his back. When my parents and sister went down to the school, the Principal and the Form teacher were professional and very helpful in the situation.
However, the relief teacher remained arrogant and did not wish admit to her mistake and kept pushing the blame to my brother. It was only until my brother's classmates came to his defense and gave their witness accounts that "Miss Belinda" apologised very unwillingly.
My brother went to the hospital for treatment and I wrote this just to inform all the parents about this relief teacher Miss Belinda and to warn your children to to be aware of this violent teacher. Link
Professional beggar with missing hands from China caught plying his trade at overhead bridge leading to Khatib MRT station
Omy.sg, 26 May 2014
卡迪地铁站天桥，又出现外国断肢乞丐，利用国人的善心讨钱，居民怀疑乞丐集团卷土重来。
热心读者罗先生（47岁，公务员）通报，前天（24日）下午4时许，在卡迪（Khatib）地铁站的行人天桥，看见一名40多岁的男子在行乞。
“男子没有左手掌和右手拇指，可怜兮兮坐在地上，地上摆着一个塑料容器，向人乞讨。” Link
卡迪地铁站天桥，又出现外国断肢乞丐，利用国人的善心讨钱，居民怀疑乞丐集团卷土重来。
热心读者罗先生（47岁，公务员）通报，前天（24日）下午4时许，在卡迪（Khatib）地铁站的行人天桥，看见一名40多岁的男子在行乞。
“男子没有左手掌和右手拇指，可怜兮兮坐在地上，地上摆着一个塑料容器，向人乞讨。” Link
OPINION: Whither Singapore Inc? - Dr. Lai Kok Fung
I published a pair of articles recently on two stewards of ‘Singapore Inc’ – SPH and SingTel. These are local giants of media and telecommunications. Their success, or lack of it, considerably impacts Singapore’s startup ecosystem.
In terms of SPH, I compared this pseudo media monopoly to Naspers, a dominant media group based in South Africa. I argued that the lack of competition has caused SPH to underperform. Protected by the monopoly, SPH has taken the easy way out to shore up its financials by leveraging its capital base onto the property business. In contrast, Naspers was more successful in transforming from a traditional newspaper business. It has become a major ecommerce player in emerging markets and currently owns significant stakes in Tencent (maker of QQ and WeChat) in China and Mail.ru in Russia.
When it comes to SingTel, I questioned its execution on the acquisition of Amobee. SingTel has failed to realize the investment thesis: combine Amobee’s agency and platform business to monetize SingTel’s digital assets. With a huge operating loss, SingTel will have spent a whopping S$1 billion on this acquisition by next year. SingTel’s failure stems from its gatekeeper mindset, demonstrated by its CEO’s recent appeal to regulators to give carriers the power to charge WhatsApp and Skype for use of their networks. Full story
Singapore Airlines A380 crashes into aerobridge at Sydney Airport
News.com.au, 26 May 2014THE pilots of this Singapore Airlines plane have been left a little red-faced after it struck an aerobridge at Sydney Airport this morning.
It is believed the A380 had just landed and was pulling into the gates when one of its engines impacted the aerobridge.
A spokesperson for Sydney Airport told news.com.au,“there are no operational impacts and the damage is being assessed.” Full story
VIDEO: Three PRC youths beat boy to death, then urinated on his face
Liveleak.com, 25 May 2014
The youths inflicting the bashing had suspected the boy reported their names to police about a theft in the village.
What starts out as a beating, turns vicious as large bricks are thrown to his head, rendering him unconscious. Finally, they actually go pee boy's face.
The victim has been identified as Li Chin, who died of died of intracranial hemorrhage.
Link
The youths inflicting the bashing had suspected the boy reported their names to police about a theft in the village.
What starts out as a beating, turns vicious as large bricks are thrown to his head, rendering him unconscious. Finally, they actually go pee boy's face.
The victim has been identified as Li Chin, who died of died of intracranial hemorrhage.
Link
Pinoy group scraps plan to hold Philippine Independence Day event in Orchard Road upon advice from Singapore police
The planned Philippine Independence Day celebration at Singapore's Orchard Road shopping district will not push through, weeks after it became the center of an online controversy in the city-state.
The Pilipino Independence Day Council Singapore (PIDCS) withdrew their application to hold the event at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, a shopping center along the famed street, The Straits Times reported Monday, May 26, quoting the police.
The police cited "public order and safety concerns," the Straits Times reported. The police also suggested to the organizers to select another venue if they wanted to go through with the celebration, the paper reported. Full story
Snapshot: Gerard Ee contradicts himself on public transport fare hikes
Public Transport Council (PTC) says fare hikes and breakdowns are unrelated issues - The Real Singapore, 21 Jan 2014
Public Transport Council Chairman Gerard Ee: Want better transport? Pay more for it! - The Real Singapore, 25 May 2014
OPINION: Temasek doesn’t really make 16%, and why your CPF isn't really safe
Andyxianwong.wordpress.com
It is completely inconceivable that Temasek has achieved the returns it claims through ordinary open market investment performance. Any attempt to attribute these returns to particularly excellent investment decisions by the Prime Minister’s wife is beyond ludicrous. Professor Balding has written on a few occasions about how out of kilter the numbers claimed by Temasek look when compared to pretty much every other index, benchmark or verifiable institutional investor (of which there are plenty).
You may be wondering, if Temasek’s investments don’t make such great returns, where do the funds come from to pay back the money borrowed from our CPF accounts? The answer, obviously, is that it doesn’t come from anywhere. Obviously, as we are reminded every year, the CPF money is not getting paid back. Borrowers don’t just default on their borrowings, and unilaterally restructure their debts for no reason. Yet this is what happens every year when the minimum sum is increased, and when the retirement age is increased. A couple more tricks exist that governments can use to make inconvenient debts go away. Full story
Bengawan Solo claims it was a "honest mistake" when caught red-handed putting up discriminatory recruitment advertisement at its Marine Parade outlet
Comment: Although Bengawan Solo had denied it's hiring policies and practices is biased against locals, it is very clear that only Malaysians are intended for their Marine Parade outlet. Nobody will know about this if not for the mistake made by one of the staff in pasting the word "Malaysian" on the poster.
TR Emeritus, 23 May 2014
The reader was at Parkway Parade shopping centre in Marine Parade this afternoon when he saw the above advertisement put up by a Bengawan Solo outlet there.
The reader said, “I was at Parkway Parade this afternoon and saw this advertisement pasted at their shop front. Begawan Solo should be taken to task by MOM for their discrimination!”
“Their shop is at the basement of the shopping mall. Can you please kindly keep MOM posted on this matter,” the reader angrily added.
The photo showed a walk-in job advertisement asking for only Malaysians to apply. The outlet is looking for supervisors and sales assistants (part-time or full-time). Full story
TR Emeritus, 23 May 2014
The reader was at Parkway Parade shopping centre in Marine Parade this afternoon when he saw the above advertisement put up by a Bengawan Solo outlet there.
The reader said, “I was at Parkway Parade this afternoon and saw this advertisement pasted at their shop front. Begawan Solo should be taken to task by MOM for their discrimination!”
“Their shop is at the basement of the shopping mall. Can you please kindly keep MOM posted on this matter,” the reader angrily added.
The photo showed a walk-in job advertisement asking for only Malaysians to apply. The outlet is looking for supervisors and sales assistants (part-time or full-time). Full story
eBay hacked, hundreds of million passwords being compromised
The e-commerce site confirmed Wednesday that its corporate network was hacked and a database with users' passwords was compromised. While eBay says there is no evidence that users' financial information was accessed in the hack, the company is telling all users to change their passwords.
The database, which eBay said was compromised in late February and early March, held eBay customer's names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth. However, the company says users' financial information was not accessed. Full story
Related:
- eBay hacked: 230 million told to change passwords after major cyber attack - Metro News
- eBay hasn't emailed all customers about the attack - CNNmoney
- Why did eBay take THREE MONTHS to reveal cyber attack? Website blasted for 'inexcusable' delay after customers details were hacked as long ago as February - Daily.co.uk
Singapore's pioneer generation 81-year-old retired nurse reduced to irking out a living selling cardboxes died in tragic road accident
From a retired nurse to karang guni seller - is this how our pioneer generation have descended to?
Link
Link
OPINION: LTA's latest restructuring plan allows SMRT, SBS Transit to pass bus operation losses to the government
Mypaper.sg, 22 May 2014The shift to a government contracting model in public bus operations will be a welcome move for SBS Transit and SMRT, which have, for several years, suffered losses in the business, said experts.
Under the existing privatised model, both operators have struggled with the sustainability of their bus operations. While fare increases are regulated by the Government, operators have faced escalating capital and operating expenses.
DBS Bank equities analyst Andy Sim said both SMRT and SBS Transit will benefit, as the losses they are seeing now will be erased when the new government contracting model is implemented in 2016.
"They will be able to cut down on capital expenditure, and the balance sheet will not be so strained," Mr Sim added. Full story
Athletic training school puts out public warning to parents about three Filipino coaches with dubious credential plying their trade in Singapore
They are unethical coaches still plying their trade in Singapore Schools & conducting private coaching but having wrong concept of “Winning at all Costs” as displayed by them and training especially primary schools pupil with rigorous workouts meant for adults.
PLEASE don’t let these coaches abuse (not coaching) your child with old school training method as they are desperate for results as shown during Primary Schools National Track & Field Championship. Nothing is good about their training methods, any Tom, Dick & Harry can achieved that kind of results by whacking the kids and coaching the kids 5-6 sessions in a week. Sad to say that their services are still engaged by parents too without checking their background and these coaches can be found conducting their private coaching at Bedok Stadium, Bishan Stadium and at Toa Payoh Stadium.
Firstly, they are still moving around and proudly lying to innocent public that they were former national athletes & national coaches of Philippines when they have never been one at all. Full story
OPINION: Think CPF Will Cover Your Home Loan? You’ll Rethink That Idea After Reading This
The CPF Valuation Limit (VL) Letter
Before you reach your VL limit, CPF will send a letter at least three months before you reach your VL limit.
Don’t ignore it!
That letter comes with one VERY important message:
You won’t be able to use your OA to service your mortgage UNLESS you set aside HALF the cash component of the Minimum Sum Scheme (MS), which is $74,000 (MS is $148,000) currently.If you already have the MS set aside, you can take advantage of the AHWL. If not, you’ll need to start paying your mortgage repayments with cash until you do. Full story
OPINION: PM Lee’s threat of lawsuit against blogger shows 3 weaknesses
So PM Lee Hsien Loong has decided that he will sue blogger Roy Ngerng of thehearttruths.com unless Ngerng apologises, takes down an offending article and pays for damages and costs.
The letter of demand is an old-school weapon – heavy, effective, and double-edged. It also has serious knock-on effects, and pretty much ignores everything else going on in the environment. It’s basically a nuclear weapon from the medieval age, if monks had spent more time studying physics instead of perfecting beer. I for one am glad there were no medieval nukes.
The most interesting thing about the letter of demand is the fact that it is a reminder of a persistent weakness in the G’s (or at least PM’s) gameplan. Full story
OPINION: Dr William Wan is expected to be appointed NMP to speak out for FTs in Singapore Parliament
This tot crossed my mind when I read that the general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), Dr William Wan, is applying for the post of Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP). He told the media that his nomination papers were submitted yesterday (14 May).
SKM’s mission is to inspire graciousness through spontaneous acts of kindness, thus making life more pleasant for everyone [Link]. The patron of SKM is PM Lee Hsien Loong and its adviser is Minister Lawrence Wong.
As to why he could be a Trojan Horse (albeit an unwitting and unintended one) for FTs, here is the evidence that made me conclude (reasonably I hope) that he believes, “In S’pore, FTs are more equal than S’poreans”.
– Dr Wan came out to defend Anton Casey (‘ SKM condemns ‘online lynching’ of Antony‘). Full story
HAZE: NGOs call on Singapore company to cease clearance of natural forest in Tana Tidung, North Kalimantan.
NGOs in Kalimantan call on PT. Adindo Hutani Lestari (AHL), a pulpwood supplier of Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd. (APRIL), to immediately stop clearance of natural forest in Tana Tidung, North Kalimantan.
GAPETA Borneo, Kalimantan Forest Monitoring NGOs (RPHK) and WWF-Indonesia East Kalimantan released a new joint report today revealing that AHL has continued to clear natural forest on protected peat after APRIL issued its Sustainable Forest Management Plan (SFMP) in January 2014. AHL cleared even High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) identified by an APRIL commissioned assessment.
“It appears that APRIL’s sustainability commitments are only on paper, but not in the forest,” said Kamiruddin, head of GAPETA Borneo. “Their deforestation and peat canal excavation should be stopped as they cause serious environmental damages including carbon emissions. Deforestation on deep peat should also be stopped because it is protected by law.” Full story
Related:
Vice-Chairman of Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings is Bey Soo Khiang, former Singapore's Chief of Defence Force holding the rank of Lieutenant-General. [Link]
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