Apart from the Budget debate, MPs have also filed questions on issues such as the erroneous charging of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by government agencies and the Singaporean businessman who was served a notice that the authorities will designate him as a “politically significant person” under a law to counter foreign interference.Continue Reading
SINGAPORE: Consumer marketplace Carousell is moving to suspend the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets ahead of her shows in Singapore, noting that ticket scams rise in the lead-up to her shows globally.
Ticket sales for her concerts will be suspended from Friday (Feb 23) to Mar 9. Existing listings will be removed by Feb 26, said Carousell.
The move affects Carousell’s platforms in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.
The US pop sensation has six sold-out shows in Singapore from Mar 2 to Mar 9 – her only stop in Southeast Asia.
“While a vast majority of ticket listings are from genuine sellers, given the unique case of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, Carousell has made the one-off exception to adopt this approach, and apologises for the inconvenience caused,” said the e-commerce company.
Although the sale of concert tickets is not prohibited on the platform, Carousell’s chief of staff Su Lin Tan said Swift’s concert is “unique in that we expect many overseas concertgoers who may not know how to adequately protect themselves from local scam tactics”.
“Additionally, we realise that the two weeks leading up to the Eras tour shows are prime for scammers taking advantage of last-minute panic buying of concert tickets,” she added.
Delays in weapons deliveries from allies played a part in the fall of the stronghold, and are jeopardising Ukrainian defences elsewhere on the battlefield, she added.
“Avdiivka is a clear testimony to the fact that the delay in assistance costs lives dearly,” she said. “We need more weapons to make progress and turn the tide.”
As dwindling foreign support and supplies threaten Kyiv’s hold on the fragile 1,000km frontline, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to his Western allies to speed up aid and plug a weapons shortage.
Ms Zelenko echoed her president’s pleas to replenish the overstretched and exhausted ranks, adding that if the world does not stand united with Ukraine, the conflict could snowball into a wider global security crisis.
“Our soldiers are committed to defending their country, they simply need the equipment to make it happen,” she said.
“We need to work together. Not a single country in Europe is capable of defeating an aggressor alone. Ultimately, it’s not only about Ukraine.”
MOH said that by providing consultations without the use of any audio or video methods, Medstar may have breached a regulation that necessitates “two-way interactive audiovisual communications” when providing outpatient medical services remotely to first-time patients.
The PocketCare website was also found to have featured claims that patients could “Get Your MC or Get a Refund”, said MOH, adding that it is investigation whether the statement infringes any regulations.
A check by CNA at about 5pm on Friday showed that the PocketCare website was down, with a message stating that it was “undergoing maintenance and will be back soon”.
The Health Ministry has issued a notice to Medstar, stating Director-General of Health Kenneth Mak’s intention to take regulatory action, including a three-month suspension of its telemedicine services and the need to rectify its consultation services before it can be resumed.
In addition, MOH has referred Dr Viknesh Shanmugam, the medical practitioner who issued medical certificates following the consultations, to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) for investigations into possible breaches of its ethics code.
MOH warned that it “will not hesitate to investigate and take regulatory and/or enforcement action against licensees who have contravened the HCSA and its subsidiary legislation, as well as refer any errant registered medical practitioners to the SMC for disciplinary action”.
Four flights from satellite terminal delayed during routine electrical maintenance
PUBLISHED : 23 Feb 2024 at 16:27
Automated trains linking the main and satellite terminals at Suvarnabhumi airport were out of service for two and a half hours on Friday during a routine check on the electrical system.
The rail system taking travellers to SAT-1 stopped functioning at 9.45am after power was shut off for regular maintenance. The reserve power system did not supply electricity to the trains, said Airports of Thailand (AoT) president Kerati Kijmanawat.
Normal service resumed at 1pm. During the outage, four flights were delayed for about 30 minutes each but no passengers were stranded, he said.
SAT-1 handled three arriving and seven departing flights involving 2,422 travellers during the period. The airport used shuttle buses operated by Thai Airways International to transport passengers in the absence of the train service.
The new underground train system, officially called the Automated Power Mover, runs at a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour and can carry about 6,000 passengers per hour. Each trip between the two terminals takes three minutes.
Mr Kerati said AoT was working with Aero Engineering and Construction Co, which is responsible for maintenance of the train link, on measures to prevent a recurrence of future shutdowns.
SAT-1 opened its doors on Sept 28 and has 28 gates that can handle up to 15 million passengers a year, allowing Suvarnabhumi to increase its annual capacity to 60 million from 45 million.
A few days after the funeral, Shannon returned to school. Her teachers gave her extra consultation slots and her friends passed along the notes they took for her, complete with little tips and hacks that were shared in class.
“It was very comforting to see that everything and everyone was still the same. Nothing much changed,” Shannon told CNA. She also used the June holidays to catch up with her work, going through recorded lectures and finishing tutorials she had missed.
Shannon was “pretty self-motivated” after coming back to school, said Ms Ang Shu Zhen, 35, one of her form teachers.
“She just picked herself up and said ok I’m going to start, and I’m going to aim to clear topic by topic, whatever I missed,” she added.
Shannon also sought out her tutors proactively to ask them about what she missed out on, said Ms Ang. “In general, she knew what needed to be done. She’s mature and she came back and did most of the work herself.”
Coming back to school unintentionally served as a distraction from grief, Shannon said, adding that she had only talked about her sister’s accident at length in preparation for Friday’s interviews with the media, which has helped her process her emotions a bit more.
Her friends also checked in on her after her return. “But because I didn’t even process my own feelings yet, so I didn’t really have a proper reply to give them other than ‘I’m ok’,” Shannon said, adding that she still finds it difficult to talk about the accident.
Things at home are as per usual. “I think my mum always says this, life goes on. I think she’s very strong,” said the 18-year-old.
Her sister’s accident also gave her some new perspective, prompting her to work even harder for her A-Levels. She collected her results on Friday, and aims to study computer science at university and hopes to do well enough to get into her ideal course at Nanyang Technological University.
“The main thing that I realised is that death is very close to us. I think that really made me more motivated to live life to the fullest. I don’t want to regret anything,” she added.
“And (I learned) to cherish whatever I have now. Because you never know, you can just suddenly get into an accident and pass away.”
Growing up, Shannon and her sister were close, but they drifted a bit as they grew older and went to different schools with different circles of friends.
Many of her preferences, like her taste in music, are inherited from her sister, Shannon said, recalling when the two would learn K-pop dances together in front of a big mirror in the living room at home. “Because she’s four years older than me, so it’s like she goes through life before me.”
One of her favourite memories with her sister is when the latter would come to her for advice. “We would sit on her bed, and she would tell me her problems. And she would ask me, is it her fault or is it her friend’s fault, how I would advise her,” she said.
“I think it was really nice that she didn’t think of me as a clueless little sister.”
Since her sister had been overseas for a few months before the accident took place, Shannon felt a bit distant from her and had not interacted with her as much as she usually would have.
Tearing up again, she said: “So even until after the accident, it still feels like that. She’s still in New Zealand.”
The number of tourists visiting the national park has almost doubled
PUBLISHED : 23 Feb 2024 at 16:09
Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi has generated more than 260 million baht in entry fees in less than four months, owing to the continual increase in the number of tourists visiting this popular island attraction.
From October last year to Thursday (Feb 22), park officials have collected 267,500,382 baht in entry fees from 126,398 tourists, Yutthaphong Damsrisuk, chief of the park, said on Friday.
Last year, the site had collected 276 million baht in entry fees from 72,428,400 visitors.
The current number of tourists visiting the venue has doubled compared to the same period last year, said Mr. Yutthaphong. During weekends, officials could collect up to collect 2.6 million baht, he added.
On Friday, many tourists were seen on tour boats heading to Hat Nopparat Thara beach in tambon Ao Nang in Muang district of Krabi, generating handsome incomes to tourism-related businesses.
The entrance fees to the marine park are 20 baht for Thai children and 40 baht for Thai adults. Foreign children are charged 100 baht for entry, while foreign adults are charged 200 baht.
Special service fees are required for visiting tourist attractions – Ko Phi Phi Don, Ko Phi Phi Le and Ko Mai Phai – with fees of 200 baht each for foreign children and 400 baht each for foreign adults, according to the park’s website.
Following the reports of frozen funds, MAS started an inspection of Samlit.
“Samlit, however, has not been forthcoming in providing the information required by MAS and has not satisfactorily explained the purported remittance fund flows,” said the police and MAS.
They added that while MAS’ inspection was ongoing, Samlit notified the financial regulator on Feb 20 of its intention to surrender its payment services licence and discontinue its business.
“Reports were also received about unusual transfer activities in Samlit’s corporate bank accounts and its director’s personal bank account,” said MAS and the police.
In light of the new information, the authorities decided to launch a joint investigation against Samlit.
MAS said it has also taken steps to secure the funds in Samlit’s corporate bank accounts, including directing Samlit to seek approval for any fund withdrawals and transfers.
“This is necessary given the circumstances surrounding Samlit’s sudden surrender of licence. The secured funds are sufficient to meet Samlit’s uncompleted remittance obligations,” said MAS and the police.
The investigations are separate from and do not affect any potential private claims by remitters against Samlit, said the authorities.
“In the meantime, MAS has directed Samlit to continue to provide relevant documentation to affected remitters to facilitate their appeal to law enforcement agencies in China regarding the unfreezing of their beneficiaries’ accounts, even after the surrender of its licence,” read the joint press release.
“MAS regrets that Samlit has not taken a more responsible course of action but has chosen to surrender its licence at this time.”
Samlit’s licence will last until Feb 29, 2024.
It has also been ordered to ensure that beneficiaries of uncompleted remittance transactions receive the funds within seven business days, even after the surrender of its licence.
If the funds have not been received within the time limit, Samlit will have to contact the remitter immediately for further instructions.
It is also required to properly discharge all outstanding obligations, including making adequate provisions for unforeseen liabilities, prior to winding down.
“The authorities understand the frustrations faced by the affected remitters and urge the affected remitters to seek redress within the legal framework of Singapore,” said the police and MAS.
“The police will not hesitate to take enforcement action against anyone who breaks the law in Singapore, including the organisation of or participation in a public assembly without a police permit.”
If found guilty of fraudulent trading, Samlit’s director and compliance manager face a fine of up to S$15,000 (US$11,160), a jail term of up to seven years, or both.
If convicted of failing to comply with their various obligations as a licensed payment services provider, an offender faces a fine ranging from S$12,500 to S$1 million – with further fines for continuing offences – and a jail term of up to 12 months, or both.
SINGAPORE: A man was jailed for four weeks on Friday (Feb 23) for slapping a 13-year-old boy who had been playing catch outside his flat with a group of friends.
One of the boy’s friends had splashed liquid at the flat, and the man and his wife suspected they were the same group who had thrown potato chips into their home a week earlier.
Lim Bock Eng, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to a minor.
The court heard that Lim, a Singaporean hawker, lived on the fifth floor of a block of flats in Bedok North.
Before 4.40pm on Jun 15 last year, the victim, his younger brother and two friends were playing catch outside Lim’s flat.
As the children ran past, one of the victim’s friends splashed a transparent liquid at Lim’s unit.
Lim who was home with his wife looked outside to see the victim’s friend splashing the liquid.
The couple was angry as they suspected that the culprits were the same children who had thrown potato chips into their home a week earlier.
Lim shouted at the children, who fled.
The victim went to a nearby playground with his younger brother and one of his friends. The friend who had thrown the liquid did not accompany them.
Lim went looking for the culprits and spotted the victim and the other children sitting at the playground.
When the victim saw Lim, he tried to leave. He told Lim that he wanted to go home but Lim stopped him.
The boy kept insisting he wanted to go home and tried to push Lim away.
Lim then slapped the boy once on his face, causing him pain.
He asked the boy why he had splashed water at his flat and the boy said it was his friend who had done it.
The prosecutor on Friday asked for jail, listing Lim’s past convictions dating from 1989 for crimes like theft, criminal trespass and criminal intimidation.
He had been sentenced to jail, caning and corrective training in the past.
The prosecutor said that while the hurt caused was low, the offence was a one-sided attack on a vulnerable victim.
In mitigation, Lim asked if he could get a fine instead. He said his son, who accompanied him in court, had recently been in a traffic accident and needed weekly x-rays.
Speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, Lim said he was the sole breadwinner and could not afford to lose his job as he had to pay medical fees.
He said he wished to apologise for his “rash act”.
The judge agreed that jail should be imposed, citing the chief aggravating factor which was that the victim was vulnerable and that Lim had slapped a vulnerable part of his body.
The penalties for voluntarily causing hurt are a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
As the victim was below 14, Lim could have been given double these penalties.
PUBLISHED : 23 Feb 2024 at 15:05
Convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is allowed to take positions in politics and offer advice during his parole period, the deputy chief of the Probation Department said on Friday.
Pol Col Montri Boonyayothin said the department does not prohibit Thaksin from taking on roles such as a board member or a political advisor of an organisation. This aligns with the department’s policy to encourage former inmates to reintegrate into society, according to several media outlets.
Thaksin must meet the qualifications set by any organisation intending to appoint him, the official said.
He added that the department visited the former prime minister at his family residence, Ban Chan Song La, on Tuesday, informing him of the activities allowed and restricted during the parole period.
During this period, Thaksin is not permitted to travel outside Bangkok unless there is an urgent issue, according to the official. This information was disclosed by Pol Col Montri when addressing questions from the press.
Thaksin left Police General Hospital on Sunday morning on parole although he did not spend a single night in jail after returning from self-exile to the country in August last year.
He founded the Thai Rak Thai Party, which is a predecessor of Pheu Thai, where his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra currently serves as the leader.