SINGAPORE: An employment agent was sentenced to four weeks’ jail on Friday (Aug 25) for fraudulently obtaining a work permit for a foreigner. Lee Peck Li has also been barred from the employment agency industry following his conviction, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a press release. The 44-year-old Singaporean wasContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: Presidential candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday (Aug 25) that he would rather let people judge for themselves than comment on any “tactical statements” by his fellow candidates.
He was responding to CNA’s question about what Mr Tan Kin Lian said earlier in the day that appeared to allude to the wife of Mr Tharman and fiancée of fellow presidential candidate Ng Kok Song.
Mr Tan told reporters on the sidelines of a walkabout that this election will also give Singaporeans the chance to choose their first lady, adding that he and his wife were born in Singapore and are “blue-blooded Singaporeans”.
“Of course, we respect other people from other countries who come to Singapore to become citizens, but I think deep down our locals would prefer at least a chance to have the President and the first lady to be true Singaporeans from birth,” said Mr Tan, a former NTUC Income chief executive and second-time presidential candidate.
Mr Tharman’s wife, Jane Yumiko Ittogi, was born in Japan to a Japanese father and a Singaporean Chinese mother who met in Singapore. She has lived in Singapore since she was three and attended local schools.
Mr Ng’s fiancée Sybil Lau is a Singaporean who was born in Canada. The 45-year-old has been living in Singapore for 18 years.
Speaking to reporters during a lunchtime walkabout at Amoy Street Food Centre, Mr Tharman said it is “just not my style” to comment on any particular statements by other candidates.
“Each candidate, they will come up with various tactical statements and I let people judge for themselves,” he said.
But he pointed to the example of former presidential hopeful George Goh, saying: “I have nothing against George Goh. The fact that he was born in Malaysia … started off poor, worked very hard, came to Singapore and succeeded. I thought it was a good story. It’s always been the Singapore story.”
Outgoing deputy PM in charge of legal affairs plans to rest, possibly write books and teach
PUBLISHED : 25 Aug 2023 at 17:17
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam has vowed to wash his hands of politics, saying he wants to rest and take care of his health.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr Wissanu said he had been gradually moving his belongings out of Government House, making way for the new government led by Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai Party.
Asked what he would do now that his his role as deputy prime minister in charge of legal affairs is ending, Mr Wissanu said he would spend most of his time at home resting.
He also intends to spend time with his grandchildren, write some books and take up teaching jobs, and may also take a board position at a company to earn some money.
Mr Wissanu said he would still be a member of the Council of State, the government’s legal advisory body, and the Royal Society of Thailand.
“As for politics, it will call it quits,” he said. “I thought I would quit in 2006 but eight years later I happened to have to return (to politics). But there will be no more this time, because I have a health problem,” he said without elaborating.
Asked whether he would shut the door completely to politics, Mr Wissanu said, “Yes, definitely. I swear.”
Mr Wissanu, 71, was born in Hat Yai on Sept 15, 1951. He studied law at Thammasat University, graduating with an honours degree, and was admitted to the bar by the Thai Bar Association.
He continued his studies in the United States, completing his Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1986 he was appointed professor of law at Chulalongkorn University. In 1991 he accepted a position as deputy secretary-general of the cabinet and in 1993 he was promoted to secretary-general, the highest-ranking civil servant advising the cabinet on legal affairs. Mr Wissanu held the post for more than a decade, surviving four changes of government.
In October 2002 he was approached by then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to join the cabinet, serving as a deputy prime minister until June 24, 2006.
After the September 2006 military coup that deposed Thaksin, Mr Wissanu was approached by the military regime to draft a post-coup interim constitution, alongside Borwornsak Uwanno. He then became a member of the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly. During and after this time, he continued to teach at Chulalongkorn University.
He returned to politics in August 2014 after the coup by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, serving as deputy prime minister in charge of legal affairs until the present day.
Singapore used to have the official title of “first lady” for the spouse of a male President, but that has not been the case since at least 2000, said Associate Professor Eugene Tan of Singapore Management University (SMU).
He added that the use of “first lady” prior to 2000 was “merely a practice that had no legal basis”.
“There is as such no official role for the President’s spouse. Any courtesies extended to her is by virtue of her being the spouse of the head of state and not because of her designation as ‘first lady’.”
Assoc Prof Tan also said that Mr Tan is “engaging in negative campaigning”, referring to his comments apparently alluding to Mrs Tharman and Ms Lau.
“His nativist views are highly inappropriate and clearly self-serving,” he said, reiterating that Mr Tharman’s wife is Singaporean but of Japanese-Chinese parentage, while Ms Lau is a “naturalised” Singaporean.
“It is not only a risky grasp at winning support but one that is divisive and certainly not in keeping with the dignity and decorum of the office he is seeking to win a mandate for,” Assoc Prof Tan said.
Mr Tan also said on Friday that he will continue the tradition of the President’s Star Charity, which was initiated by former President Ong Teng Cheong.
He added that Mr Ong had several charities covering different groups of people and he would “study which are appropriate and relevant today” and implement those.
Mr Tan also said he has his own ideas for charity, which will cater to older people. Further details will be provided later in his campaign, he added.
The former NTUC Income CEO also spoke about his presidential candidate broadcast speeches, the first of which took place on Thursday evening.
The Elections Department (ELD) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Thursday that there were “inaccuracies” about the President’s role in Mr Tan’s speech that had to be removed.
The joint statement came after Mr Tan told reporters earlier in the day that IMDA asked for three paragraphs to be removed, which he considered the “most important paragraphs” of his campaign message.
Mr Tan took issue with the edits, saying that IMDA “did not have the authority to interpret the constitution in a narrow way and asked for these statements to be removed”.
For the next and final presidential candidate broadcast on Aug 30, Mr Tan said he would send his draft to IMDA early and ask if they want to remove any part of his speech.
“I don’t want to take the trouble of translating into the other languages when some parts are to be removed,” he said.
He reiterated that removing the parts in his original speech for Thursday’s broadcast was “not correct” and that “IMDA (interpreted) the constitution in their way”.
A Nigerian man and 13 Thais, who were members of a romance scam gang responsible for siphoning about 800 million baht out of Thailand over a span of three years, have been arrested following police operations conducted across seven provinces.
Teams of Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police on Thursday raided 14 locations – seven in Bangkok, two in Phitsanulok and one each in Pathum Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Kamphaeng Phet and Phichit, CSD commander Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan said on Friday.
Seized from the 14 suspects were 21 mobile phones, 20 bank account books, a mutual fund book, two computers, five sets of overseas money transfers, a SIM card, three memory cards and two Chanel bags.
The arrest came after a victim filed a complaint with the CSD police last year. The victim reported losing more than 1 million baht in a romance scam.
According to the victim, one of the gang members had initiated contact, using a photo of an attractive foreign woman as her profile photo on social media. The scammer, posing as an American female soldier based in Syria, engaged the victim in online conversations, professing love and plans to visit Thailand.
After establishing trust, the scammer claimed to have sent valuable parcels to him, which were held up at the airport due to taxes. The victim was coerced into paying the taxes, with promises of reimbursement, said Pol Maj Gen Montree.
Once the victim fell into the trap, the scammer asked a Thai accomplice to pose as an airport staff member, using phone calls to extract money from him for purported tax and service fees. The victim made several transfers amounting to over a million baht, said Pol Col Pornsak Laorujiralai, deputy CSD chief.
After obtaining the victim’s money, the scammers could no longer be reached, he said.
Pol Lt Col Akkharaphon Maneewan, deputy superintendent of CSD’s subdivision 1, said police began tracking down the culprits and eventually gathered leads indicating that the gang comprised both Thai and Nigerian nationals.
The Nigerian man was identified as Ezeneche Uzochukwu Jerome, 45, who had been previously arrested in 2018 for similar offenses and had resumed such activities after being released.
CSD investigators tracked the money trail of the Nigerian and his gang, and found that they would immediately transfer money swindled from their victims to overseas bank accounts.
Between 2018 and 2021, about 800 million baht had been funnelled into foreign accounts, said Pol Lt Col Akkharaphon.
The CSD secured court approval to arrest the Nigerian suspect and his 13 Thai accomplices. All were held in CSD police custody for legal action.
SINGAPORE: A 44-year-old man was convicted by a court on Friday (Aug 25) of five counts of molesting an 11-year-old student when he was a teacher at a primary school.
The man, who cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victim’s identity, also tampered with witnesses including his fellow teachers, by giving them information so they would testify accordingly.
The judge on Friday convicted the man of all counts of molesting the 11-year-old boy five times in a Head of Department room at the unnamed school between November 2017 and October 2018.
In a case that pitted the victim’s testimony against the man’s bare denial, the judge found that the prosecution had established all charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Multiple witnesses testified in the case, including the boy, his relatives, the school’s principal and teachers, as well as former students.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Lim Ying Min and Angela Ang said the victim was from a fractured family, with his parents separating when he was an infant.
The offender took advantage of this, gaining the trust of the victim and his mother as a teacher and mentor in the victim’s life, said Ms Lim.
The boy was largely cared for by different people at various points in his life, including his grandparents, his great-grandmother and a housekeeper.
After being moved to a different primary school in 2016, he felt sad, lost and alone as he did not know anyone. He testified that he did not have a good relationship with his new stepfather, who would allegedly scold and beat him, leaving bruises.
In this period, the boy joined a co-curricular activity (CCA) that the offender was in charge of.
The teacher later appointed the boy as a leader of the CCA and the boy would meet the teacher in his office at the HOD room to discuss CCA matters.
In 2017, the boy began confiding in the teacher about his family problems.
The teacher also asked the boy to be his godson.
They grew so close that even the boy’s mother came to rely on the teacher. But she said she did not know that her son had been going out alone with the teacher, or that he had become the teacher’s godson.
However, the teacher began molesting the boy. The boy testified that the first incident occurred before the school holidays in late 2017, when he was alone in the teacher’s cubicle.
He said he was telling the teacher about his family issues when the teacher placed his hands across the boy’s waist and molested him over his shorts.
The boy testified that he was shocked and uncomfortable and left the HOD room. He also felt embarrassed and did not know what to do.
The molesting continued another four times, with the final incident occurring when the boy confided in the teacher about having to move out and how he had cried as he felt his mother no longer wanted him.
The teacher stood up from his seat to hug the boy, before molesting him.
The boy testified that his focus was not on the teacher’s touch at this time because he was too emotional about having to move out.
This account was supported by his mother’s testimony, in which she said she had made the decision over concerns that her husband would punish her son harshly over his behavioural issues.
The offences came to light by “sheer chance”, said the prosecution, after the victim’s brother found out that the teacher was celebrating the victim’s birthday.
The victim told his brother that his teacher was taking him out for dinner to celebrate his birthday and was buying him a bicycle as a gift.
The brother thought this odd as he felt teachers did not usually do such things and asked for a photo of the teacher.
When the victim showed his brother a photo of the teacher, his brother jokingly said that the teacher looked “gay” and asked if he had touched the victim.
When the victim turned silent, his brother sensed something amiss and repeated his question. The victim then said that the teacher had touched his private parts.
The victim eventually told his uncle and brother what happened and demonstrated the acts.
The victim’s mother spoke to him about the seriousness of the matter and the consequences of his allegations but the boy stuck to his story.
After the mother reported the incident to the school, the principal arranged for a meeting with the victim and the lead school counsellor. The principal noted that the victim looked “uncomfortable and uneasy” at first, appearing “embarrassed and awkward” and eventually breaking down and crying.
The principal later told the boy’s mother to file a police report, which she did that same day.
The boy testified that he did not say or do anything to stop the teacher because the teacher was bigger than him, and he was afraid that the teacher might do something to him.
He also did not dare to tell his family about what happened because he did not think they would believe him. He also felt they would not have trusted him at the time because he had lied to them about homework, classes and other things.
He also said he did not want to “break” his relationship with the teacher, who had helped him a lot and whom he was grateful for.
At trial, the man downplayed his relationship with the boy and denied knowing about the boy’s family issues despite evidence showing otherwise, said Ms Lim.
The teacher, who was defended by Mr Gino Hardial Singh, claimed that the victim had concocted the allegations because he refused to give the boy a bicycle.
He called the boy a compulsive liar and said he could not have committed the offences because he did not meet students alone in the HOD room, and because of his busy after-school schedule.
He argued that he could not have committed the offences in most of the charges as he had only moved to the cubicle in question in September 2018.
His previous cubicle was visible to people outside the glass door of the HOD room, he claimed.
He also gave inconsistent evidence, such as saying that he did not talk to the victim about the victim being scolded or beaten by his stepfather, even though he had said otherwise to the police.
The prosecution said the teacher had persistently tried to obstruct the court of justice in the course of trial, despite numerous warnings.
During the first tranche of the trial, the teacher had sent an image to prove that he was still sitting in a certain cubicle until September 2018 to two defence witnesses.
The witnesses were part of a group chat where they were discussing the seating movements in the HOD room, saying that they were unclear about what happened.
One of the witnesses later confirmed during the trial that the accused was trying to convince the group so they would testify accordingly.
The accused had also contacted a prosecution witness – the principal of the school – by sending her an email while the trial was ongoing.
The accused also met up with defence witnesses and discussed the evidence that they needed to give in court that would be helpful to his defence, including a discussion on his seating arrangement in the HOD room.
In January 2023, the accused contacted a former teacher who was a prosecution witness, telling her that he had left her a birthday present at her home the day before.
The accused also sent messages to one of the defence witnesses saying he had “no choice” but to try and jolt her memory as it was quite critical for him.
He then sent a series of images to the witness, along with his own narration of a chronology of events. He reminded her that when she took the stand, the prosecution would ask her questions like how sure she was, and that she would “say these lor”.
This was despite the witness saying that she could not recall the matters, and expressing surprise that the accused could. The accused then told her to “correct all the wrong” done by a prosecution witness.
The accused also sent a message to participants of a group chat comprising some defence witnesses, saying that they needed to have “some coordination”. He was later cross-examined about this and conceded that he wanted the defence witnesses to testify based on whatever information he had on hand.
One of the defence witnesses confirmed that she understood this to mean that the accused wanted to coordinate what the defence witnesses were to say in court.
She also conceded in cross-examination that the accused had been trying to coordinate the testimonies to ensure that they were consistent and would assist his case.
The teacher also met up with one of the defence witnesses for lunch, preparing a document titled “Evidences” which he sent to the witness. He asked the witness to disseminate it to the rest of the witnesses, and this witness sent the document to a group chat.
The accused later asked one of the witnesses to delete their group chat, where they had discussed evidence despite not being supposed to. He also gave instructions on what to say if the police asked about the group chats.
The prosecution said it was “abundantly clear” that the accused had proven himself to be “a deceitful witness unworthy of credit”.
The man will return to court for mitigation and sentencing next week.
CNA has contacted the Ministry of Education for more information.
Formula 1 season is right around the corner and this year’s Grand Prix Season Singapore (GPSS) will be back with a range of precinct parties and events at four locations across the island from Sep 8 to 17.
Under the theme Circuit of Festivity, the events will be held at Orchard Road, Clarke Quay, Kampong Glam and Sentosa. These will be complementing the actual Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2023 experience, from the races themselves to the musical acts such as Kings of Leon, Post Malone, Robbie Williams and Jackson Wang.
“The curated line-up of offerings across multiple facets such as dining, entertainment and retail showcase the best of Singapore’s lifestyle experiences, which both locals and visitors can enjoy,” said Ong Ling Lee, executive director, Sports and Wellness, Singapore Tourism Board.
Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect at each place:
WHERE: ORCHARD ROAD
A light and sound show titled Revolutions: The GPSS Immersive Experience, done by Singaporean artist Brandon Tay, will be the main attraction, located in a dome structure at ION Orchard.
PUBLISHED : 25 Aug 2023 at 14:30
The selection of the new police chief has been postponed until the inauguration of the new government for the sake of appropriateness, Royal Thai Police (RTP) spokesman Pol Lt Gen Achayon Kraithong said on Friday.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Police Commission, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, at the RTP headquarters on Friday morning.
The agenda included the selection of a new RTP commissioner-general to replace Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, who is set to retire at the end of September. The meeting also discussed the selection of deputy police chiefs, the police inspector-general and commanders of all police divisions.
According to Pol Lt Gen Achayon, the meeting agreed to postpone the selection of the new police chief until after a new cabinet has been sworn into office, in line with the principle of good governance.
Pol Gen Damrongsak was assigned to chair the meeting to proceed with the selection of deputy police chiefs and other positions.
On reports that Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, a deputy police chief, is the frontrunner candidate for the top police post, Pol Gen Achayon declined to reply, saying that this matter should be left for the new prime minister to decide.
On Tuesday, a joint sitting of the House and the Senate elected Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai Party as prime minister with 482 votes for, 165 against and 81 abstentions.
When asked about security arrangements for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who has been admitted to the Police General Hospital for treatment, Pol Gen Achayon said the issue was not discussed during the meeting.
Thaksin, 74, was admitted to prison on Tuesday after his return to his home country the same day, following a court appearance.
On Wednesday, the inmate was transferred from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital at 12.20am Wednesday, suffering from chest pain, hypertension and low blood oxygen, according to the Department of Corrections.
SINGAPORE: The parents who sued a private psychiatrist and the Institute of Mental Health for S$3.3 million (US$2.4 million) over alleged negligence linked to their son’s suicide have settled for a sum of S$330,000.
However, the father’s former lawyer filed court summonses asking for the money to be paid into court, as he felt the plaintiffs might “run off” with the settlement money while his fees of more than S$372,000 remain unpaid.
A second lawyer, who acted for the deceased man’s mother in the suit, is claiming fees of about S$141,000.
In a judgment released on Friday (Aug 25), Justice Choo Han Teck dismissed the summonses by the first lawyer. He said that all those involved may move on “sadder but wiser” if the lawyers can settle with their ex-clients on costs and “leave them with a sum sufficient as a balm for their grief”.
Mr Steven Joseph Arokiasamy, a 68-year-old retiree who previously worked with the Ministry of Defence, and Madam Tan Kin Tee, a 67-year-old part-time teacher, had sued Dr Nelson Lee Boon Chuan and IMH for S$3.3 million.
They blamed the defendants for the suicide of their son, Mr Salvin Foster Steven, who died aged 31 in 2017.
Mr Arokiasamy was initially represented by Mr Vijay Rai, while Mdm Tan was represented by Mr Anil Balchandani.
However, the pair terminated the services of both lawyers in July, before the trial was set to begin in September.
About a week after this, the parents settled with the defendants and agreed to discontinue the suit.
On his judgment, Justice Choo sai this would ordinarily mean “an uneventful end”, but Mr Rai filed a summons for his law firm to record the settlement, with the sum of S$330,000 to be paid into court.
Mr Rai later filed another summons for his law firm to be joined as a plaintiff or claimant.
He wanted to be made a plaintiff so that he can pursue his own demands over the settlement. He said that his fees rendered so far came to about S$372,000, with a separate sum of about S$13,000 in disbursements likely to be incurred.
These amounts do not include a sum of about S$56,000 already paid to him, nor another S$40,000 in costs to be paid to the defendants for a discontinued action against a second psychiatrist.
Mr Balchandani, the former lawyer of the deceased’s mother, said he would be seeking costs of about S$141,000. This does not include a sum of about S$10,600 that was already paid. Mr Balchandi expressed support for the two summonses brought by Mr Rai.
According to Justice Choo, Mr Rai filed the summonses because “he is anxious to have the S$330,000 paid into court because he thinks that the plaintiffs, especially the father, may ‘run off’ with the settlement money”.
Justice Choo dismissed the two summonses, with Mr Rai’s law firm to pay costs to the plaintiffs and defendants.
In explaining his decision, Justice Choo said the pleadings did not indicate what cause of action the parents relied on.
He said it appeared that they claimed that their son was prescribed the wrong medication, was not properly attended to and was wrongly diagnosed as suffering from depression and not schizophrenia.
However, the judge said these claims should have been made on their son’s behalf, by the father suing as the administrator of his son’s estate.
“It does not explain why the father (personally) and the mother were suing as plaintiffs,” said Justice Choo. “In their respective affidavits, they claim that their son’s death drove them to depression and they could not therefore work.”
The parents said this led to them being dismissed from their jobs.
Justice Choo said that the parents’ case appeared to be “a difficult one”, with an early settlement sparing them much anger and grief, not just “on account of the loss of their son, but now fuelled and furthered by festering animosity with their own lawyers and a looming sense of dread over the fees”.
He said the settlement that was reached was “in itself right and fair”, but said he was not satisfied that the fees incurred are justifiable.
He cited a previous document from November 2020 that estimated the fee for Mr Rai’s law firm, inclusive of trial, to be about S$150,000.
This estimation was expected to be lower if the matter was settled before trial, which turned out to be the case.
“Despite having settled the suit before trial, Mr Rai is now claiming a sum of at least S$372,022.34, with an unknown amount yet to be claimed in further bills,” said Justice Choo.
He said Mr Balchandani’s fees of S$141,061.55, while a smaller sum, are “not insubstantial as well”.
“In this connection, Mr Balchandani’s support of both summonses is misplaced,” said Justice Choo. “The overall sum which the father and mother have already paid and the sums the lawyers are now claiming against them amount to around S$600,000, almost twice the settlement sum received by them before trial.”
He said the clients are entitled to have the lawyers’ fees taxed, to determine what the actual amount payable is.
“Until that is done, I need not comment further – save to say that it is for Mr Balchandani and Mr Rai to justify why the plaintiffs should incur the costs of hiring two sets of counsel to act for them in the matter of the death of their son,” said Justice Choo.
He said there were overlaps in the work done by both lawyers, which should be considered in rendering the final bill.
“It is not too late for parties to salvage something from this situation,” concluded Justice Choo.
“If Mr Balchandani and Mr Rai can come to a settlement on costs with their clients and leave them with a sum sufficient as a balm for their grief, then everyone concerned may move on, as they say, sadder but wiser.”
SINGAPORE: There are two minutes to spare once an aircraft landing at Changi Airport comes to a complete stop and chocks are put in place to prevent it from moving.
Within this window, operators of the passenger loading bridge must currently activate the bridge and manually manoeuvre it for the last 50cm to dock to the aircraft door accurately. Then they open the doors for passengers to disembark the plane and enter the terminal.
For wide-body planes, which have two aircraft doors, one operator is required for each arm of the bridge during the docking process.
While operators usually complete the process within two minutes, the speed depends on how proficient the operator is.