According to CBRE’s head of Singapore capital markets Michael Tay, Far East Shopping Centre is the only commercial site currently available for sale along Orchard Road. He added that the site is “strategically positioned” to be part of the government’s plan, with the SDI scheme meant to “expedite the rejuvenation ofContinue Reading
On Jul 18, six people between the ages of 21 and 27 were arrested for suspected drug offences in a Sengkang residential unit.
Officers seized about 23g of what is believed to be cannabis, 1g of ketamine and four LSD stamps.
The youths may have abused drugs together in the unit on other occasions, according to CNB’s preliminary investigations.
On the same day, CNB raided another residential unit in Jurong West and nabbed a 23-year-old man for suspected drug offences.
Officers seized 3g of vegetable matter believed to be cannabis, 2g of psilocybin mushrooms with spores, three LSD stamps and drug paraphernalia from the unit.
In another case, a 17-year-old student was arrested for suspected drug offences in a Potong Pasir residential unit.
Authorities recovered biscuits with cannabis sprinkled onto them, allegedly prepared by the teenager.
This led to the arrest of two other students, both 18-year-olds, for suspected drug abuse.
“We urge parents and family members to have early conversations with their children on the harms of drugs, and to learn more about whom they might be spending time with and what they might be doing when they are out, and even when they are at home,” said Superintendent Royce Chua, commanding officer of CNB Enforcement F and L Divisions.
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, it is an offence for a person to arrange gatherings for drug abuse. It is also an offence for the owner, tenant or occupier to permit the premises to be used for drug abuse or trafficking, said CNB.
Investigations into those arrested are ongoing.
SINGAPORE: There has been an uptick in online advertisements misusing Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s image to sell investment opportunities. Some ads also point to scam sites that impersonate CNA’s website and misuse CNA’s logo to add a veneer of legitimacy.
The fraudulent ads also entice people to click through to the scam sites using false claims that suggest Mr Lee is in trouble with the law or that he is “wanted”.
Some of these fake ads have appeared on the CNA website due to third-party ad providers.
Members of the public are advised not to respond to these ads or click on their links.
Mr Lee on Saturday (Jul 22) said in a Facebook post that scammers tend to capitalise on his image after a major speech or announcement that generated a lot of media coverage, and such crypto scams and fake ads “have popped up again in the past few days”.
“If the ad uses my image to sell you a product, asks you to invest in some scheme, or even uses my voice to tell you to send money, it’s not me,” he wrote in the post.
In fake ads that CNA has seen, various images of PM Lee have been used to point to scam sites with false headlines such as “SPECIAL REPORT: Lee Hsien Loong’s Latest Investment has the Government and Big Banks Terrified”.
PUBLISHED : 24 Jul 2023 at 17:25
The Ombudsman on Monday asked the Constitutional Court to order the parliament to postpone the next vote for prime minister, and to rule on the rejected renomination of Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
Pol Lt Col Keerop Kritteeranont, secretary-general of the Office of the Ombudsman, said 17 complaints had been filed objecting to the parliament’s resolution rejecting the renomination of Mr Pita for prime minister and declaring it a violation of their constitutional rights.
The complaints came from both members of the public and members of the parliament, he said.
Some complainants proposed the Constitutional Court postpone the next parliamentary vote for prime minister pending a ruling by the court. The next round voting is scheduled for Thursday, he said.
The Ombudsman accordingly asked the Constitutional Court to postpone the prime ministerial vote by the House and the Senate pending a ruling, to prevent any damage that would be difficult to mend in the future, the secretary-general said.
MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulanon said earlier on Monday that the party had petitioned the Ombudsman to ask the Constitutional Court to rule if Mr Pita could be renominated.
MFP MP Panyarat Pusitanon (Nonthaburi) later confirmed she and 16 other MFP MPs had jointly filed one of the complaints made to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The parliament on July 19 rejected the renomination of Mr Pita for prime minister by majority vote on a procedural issue. His opponents argued that parliamentary regulation 41 bans the resubmission of a failed motion during the same session, and that included Mr Pita’s renomination.
Pro-Pita parties argued that the nomination of Mr Pita for prime minister was not a general motion and should not be subject to regulation 41.
Also on Monday, 115 law lecturers from 19 institutions expressed their opposition to the parliament’s passing of the resolution on July 19 to block the renomination of Mr Pita.
To encourage more people to plan for old age, the government has launched a series of community outreach efforts such as roadshows.
The campaign comes after a recent survey by the Public Service Division found that more than one in 10 Singaporeans lack knowledge about the LPA, and nearly 20 per cent did not know how to make advance care plans.
Agency for Integrated Care chief executive officer Tan Kwang Cheak said the aim is to make it easier and more convenient for people to be able to complete these care plans.
“The challenge for us is really to focus on the call to action, translating awareness to them actually coming through to… then complete their LPA or ACP together with a loved one or a spokesperson,” he noted.
As part of the campaign, the government will also roll out mobile clinics.
“There will also be free certification services, as well as advanced care planning facilitation sessions,” said Ms Regina Chang, a public guardian at the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
“It will be rolled out over the course of the year at our various community touchpoints.”
“By communicating an intention to ban this unsafe practice according to a timeline, we can send a powerful message about our commitment to ensuring the well-being of all workers in Singapore, regardless of their nationality or occupation.”
The statement called on the Transport Ministry to provide a timeline of measures that work towards the removal of an exception in the law that allows workers to be transported in lorries and a timeline for when workers can be transported safely on vehicles with seats and belts.
It pointed out that there are rules stating that equipment must be secured so that they do not fall or shift during transit.
But belts are not required for workers on lorries, which “increases the risk of injuries in case of a collision or abrupt stops”.
“We must build a society where empathy guides our actions, and where every individual can work and live in safety and dignity,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, MP Louis Ng (PAP-Nee Soon) raised an adjournment motion on the matter.
“Over the years, we have done so much to make transport safer for our children taking the school bus and soldiers in (Singapore Armed Forces) tonners, but we still continue to transport our workers in unsafe conditions on the back of lorries. Why the double standards?” he asked.
“The worker sitting on the back of a lorry is also someone’s son, brother or father, someone’s loved one,” he said.
In response, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said the number of injuries and fatalities has fallen, but the ministry does want to do more and do better.
She also highlighted challenges such as insufficient private buses and bus drivers, adding that a wider shift to mandate the use of buses to ferry workers would likely exacerbate the manpower crunch.
PUBLISHED : 24 Jul 2023 at 16:16
The number of Covid-19 cases continues to drop, with the fatalities either elderly, people with a chronic disease or unvaccinated, public health permanent secretary Opas Karnkawinpong said on Monday.
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the committee monitoring the Covid-19 situation, Dr Opas said thatlast week 556 people were admitted to hospitals for treatment of Covid-19, an average of 79 per day, and 178 had a severe infection.
There were eight fatalities last week, or about one a day. All were of the “608 group” comprising people over 60, those with underlying diseases and pregnant women, or were unvaccinated or had a booster shot more than three months ago.
An analysis of the 749 Covid-19 fatalities in 2023, showed people in crowded communities had a high risk of catching the virus from other family members. He said 116 of those deaths were in Bangkok.
Dr Opas said it was still necessary to continue with the vaccination campaign.
SINGAPORE: A man who had deserted his national service post with the Singapore Civil Defence Force in 1992 and left for the United Kingdom returned to Singapore more than 20 years later because of the COVID-19 situation.
Soh Choon Wee, now 50, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years’ jail by a district court on Monday (Jul 24) for three counts of desertion under the Civil Defence Act.
This is believed to be the longest jail term meted out for such an offence. Soh is also too old now to fulfil his NSF obligations.
The court heard that Soh enlisted as a full-time Construction Brigade national serviceman in December 1990.
He was posted to the Construction Brigade Monitoring Unit at Jalan Bahar Camp to continue his NS in October 1992.
Soh did not report for NS duty on Nov 16, 1992. He was arrested by the police at his registered address in March 1993 and instructed to report back to camp about a week later.
However, Soh did not report at camp and did not turn up for his court mention. Instead, he avoided arrest and stayed at a rental flat instead of his official address.
SCDF officers made multiple visits to Soh’s address in March 1993 but could not find him.
According to Soh’s lawyer, he worked part-time as a handyman until 1998, when he left Singapore and went to Malaysia via the causeway.
He then moved to the United Kingdom where he lived and worked in a Chinese restaurant.
In January 2021, 23 years after he had left the country, Soh returned to Singapore.
His mother had advised him to do so, as the COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom was bad, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Wee Hong Shern also said that Soh returned because he “really missed his family” and his parents were getting old.
Soh was placed on stay-home notice for a few weeks before being arrested by SCDF for desertion from NS.
The prosecution had asked for seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half years’ jail for Soh, pointing to a previous conviction for being absent without official leave.
She also highlighted the length of the desertion period, Soh’s evasion of arrest by not living at his registered address, and the fact that his current age prevents him from fulfilling his NSF obligations.
Mr Wee asked instead for four to five years’ jail. He said his client had thought that the authorities had “given him a chance” when he encountered no problems leaving Singapore for Malaysia in 1998.
He worked as a “wash-up crew” member for £150 (S$257) a week in a Chinese restaurant in the UK.
Mr Wee said Soh suffered a stroke that required an operation in March 2021. He also has kidney failure, requiring dialysis treatments three times a week.
The judge noted that Soh had remained crime-free in the period of desertion and returned home voluntarily.
However, he noted that Soh was not only unable to fulfil his NSF obligations, but also his NS ones.
He said he did not find the personal circumstances cited by the defence “compelling”, as they do not amount to a strong mitigating factor.
“NS is vital to the security of Singapore and requires sacrifice from NSmen and their families,” said the judge.
PUBLISHED : 24 Jul 2023 at 15:28
Move Forward MPs resolved on Monday the party would not join a coalition government with the Palang Pracharath (PPRP) or United Thai Nation (UTN) parties.
The party announcement after the meeting said that PPRP was led by Gen Prawit Wongsuwon and UTN had Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as its prime ministerial candidate.
Both were key figures in the coup d’etat on May 22, 2014, and there was a push to prolong their hold on power.
Voters showed through the May 14 general election that they wanted different people in government and MFP, as the election winner, was determined to form a new government and ensure they did remain in power.
Any attempt to form a government that went against the people’s decision would erode their faith in democracy, the announcement said.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Lee was hosted to breakfast by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
Mr Wong and Mr Lee affirmed the “warm and friendly” ties between Singapore and Hong Kong. They also exchanged views on cooperation across a wide range of areas, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora.
“As international financial centres, Singapore and Hong Kong enjoy close cooperation on fintech, information sharing, as well as supervisory and regulatory matters,” MFA said.
“With Singapore and Hong Kong playing complementary roles in their respective regions, both sides stand to benefit from further deepening collaboration, including in Southeast Asia and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.”
Singapore is the first leg of a week-long ASEAN trip for the Hong Kong chief executive.
He will also visit Malaysia and Indonesia, accompanied by top government officials and leaders from the finance, investment, business, legal, innovation and technology and logistics sectors, reported the South China Morning Post.