South-East Asia (Page 990)

STUDY VISITS, SCHOLARSHIPS

To that end, Singapore will continue to tap the S$10 million (US$7.4 million) Enhanced Technical Assistance Package to help the Palestinian Authority build capacity and prepare for eventual statehood, said Dr Balakrishnan.

Palestinian officials will be in Singapore from Jul 8 to Jul 12 for a study visit on using artificial intelligence in the public service.

Singapore has hosted Palestinians delegations for 18 study visits over the years on topics including urban planning and development, and public finance and fiscal policy.

More than 750 officials have also been trained in areas like diplomacy, water management and economic development, said Dr Balakrishnan. 

Postgraduate scholarships have also been disbursed to 13 Palestinian officials to study at the Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics courses were included in the programmes offered under the assistance package in response to feedback that Palestinian officials were interested in them as they can better support development. 

The Enhanced Technical Assistance Package was first presented in 2013, and the amount was doubled to S$10 million in 2016.

“We hope that these training opportunities will help Palestinian Authority officials better serve the Palestinian people, as well as equip them with the necessary skills when it comes to the eventual reconstruction of Gaza,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

With regard to a question on training Palestinian officials to aid the reconstruction of Gaza, the minister said Singapore will assess how best to assist bilaterally.

“We stand ready to contribute, taking into account Gaza’s needs and an account of our own resources and expertise, but clearly all this can only take effect when the fighting ceases,” he said. “For now, the focus has to be on securing an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages immediately.”

Continue Reading

SINGAPORE: A man allegedly pushed another man such that the latter fell backwards, hit the back of his head and fell into the Singapore River off Clarke Quay where he drowned.

Legha Pawan, a 21-year-old Indian national, was charged on Tuesday (Jul 2) with a rash act causing death, not amounting to culpable homicide.

According to the charge sheet, Legha pushed Mr Jasbir Singh, 33, on his chest at about 10.15pm on Sunday. 

This was at the riverside in front of Merchant Court and Clarke Quay Central Mall.

As a result, Mr Singh fell backwards and hit the back of his head on the edge of the steps leading to the river.

He fell into the river and drowned.

In an earlier statement, the police said they received a call for help for a man who had fallen into the river that night.

Divers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) were deployed to perform an underwater search.

Mr Singh’s body was retrieved from the waters and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police identified Legha with the help of police cameras and closed-circuit television camera footage and arrested him.

He was remanded for investigations after being charged.

If convicted of causing death by a rash act, Legha could be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

Continue Reading

SINGAPORE: The matriarch of a family that abused an intellectually disabled woman they turned into their slave was sentenced to 17 years and 10 months’ jail on Tuesday (Jul 2).

Hasmah Sulong, 73, is the last of several family members to be sentenced in a case that dragged for years and almost went to trial. When her jail term was read out, a woman in the public gallery began sobbing.

The victim, who was 27 at the time of the abuse, initially sought refuge with Hasmah’s family after running away from home but was soon turned into the family’s slave after angering one of Hasmah’s daughters.

Over one-and-a-half years from mid-2016, the victim was tortured by Hasmah and her two daughters, Hasniza and Haslinda Ismail.

Haslinda alleged that the victim had made a sexual advance towards her husband.

The women fractured one of the victim’s toes, knocked out her teeth and splashed hot water on her.

Despite the victim suffering burn injuries, blisters and incontinence, the family did not get medical help for her, instead applying Dettol and cream on her wounds.

When Haslinda accused the victim of stealing, Hasmah chained her up. She also instructed one of her sons to affix a metal plate with a hook to a wall to secure her position.

The victim was in that position between eight and 12 hours daily and had to sweep and mop the house before she was allowed to eat breakfast.

She was also taken to Malaysia to clean a house there, where Haslinda splashed hot oil on her.

The victim was later moved and chained to the toilet bowl because she lost control of her bowels.

She began oozing dark liquid from her mouth and nose in January 2018 and a stench emanated from her body, with pus coming from her wounds.

She was finally taken to hospital via an ambulance in early 2018 in a dangerously ill state and was not expected to survive the next day, as she had pneumonia and sepsis from her wounds.

She was revived after eight hours of resuscitation in the Emergency Department and discharged more than three months after admission, but suffers permanent injuries to this day – including 10 missing teeth, permanent vision issues in her right eye and a deformed ear.

She was examined at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have mild intellectual disability that would have affected her ability to seek help.

LESS RESISTANCE TO TORTURE THAN A CHILD

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said the victim just “sat there” and allowed her toes to be twisted by the women.

“A child could have perhaps offered more resistance,” he said.

Mr Chong, along with fellow prosecutors Mr Han Ming Kuang and Ms Grace Chua, sought 17 to 19 years’ jail for Hasmah.

Hasmah pleaded guilty to five charges related to the abuse, with several others taken into consideration.

Defence lawyer Amarick Gill asked for 15 years instead, asking the court to consider his client’s age and plea of guilt.

He kept his mitigation brief and said the plea of guilt had spared the traumatised victim “what would have been a significant cross-examination”.

The plea has also saved the court time, as well as the time of the 49 prosecution witnesses who were set to testify.

The lawyer acknowledged the “horrors” descended on the victim by Hasmah and her family members and said he had not stated anything in his mitigation plea to slight the victim or even go into “whatever allegedly transpired to start this ruckus”.

“Hasmah apologises to the victim, both for what she has done, and also what her children have done,” said the lawyer.

He told the judge that her sentencing would bring closure to Hasmah, her family as well as the victim.

The prosecution did not seek a compensation order, saying Hasmah has been unemployed for some time and does not appear to have the financial means to make compensation.

Justice Valerie Thean said the offences were “really horrific”, with the family forcing the victim into servitude and leaving her with permanent and serious injuries.

“I have taken into account that the accused is 73. If not for her age, given the overall seriousness of this … I would have made more offences run consecutively, and the total sentence would be more than 20 years,” said Justice Thean.

She allowed Hasmah to see her family before being taken to jail.

Hasmah’s jail term is the longest of all her family members involved.

In 2021, Haslinda received eight-and-a-half years’ jail for her involvement, while Hasniza was given three years.

Their brothers, Muhammad Iskandar Ismail and Muhammad Iski Ismail, who had lesser roles in the abuse, received eight months and about three months’ jail respectively.

Haslinda’s husband was given three weeks’ jail in 2020 for slapping the victim’s face on his wife’s instruction.

Continue Reading

Popular South Korean rapper and variety star Lee Young-ji is returning to Singapore on Oct 19 – a year after her last concert here. Titled All Or Nothing, the upcoming concert marks Lee’s first-ever world tour which will see her visiting the US, Taiwan and more.

Lee first caught the eye of the public in 2019 after becoming the winner of the third season of the survival hip-hop TV show High School Rapper. Over the years, she has become one of South Korea’s top personalities, following appearances in multiple variety TV programmes such as Running Man.

In 2022, she gained further popularity after being a cast member of the hit variety show Earth Arcade, alongside IVE member Yujin, Oh My Girl’s Mimi and comedienne Lee Eun-ji.

Continue Reading