Under the agreement reached in late July 2020, Goldman Sachs must make a one-time payment of US$250 million if Kuala Lumpur fails to receive at least US$500 million in assets and proceeds by end-August 2022. In corporate filings in the US, Goldman Sachs noted that it has refused to makeContinue Reading
Mr Lim, who works as a community partnerships executive at K9Assistance, admitted he ventures out “more than most people with my condition” because he has a family car that is designed for his wheelchair.
He doesn’t take public transport as it is “too stressful and triggering”. The gap between the platform or pavement and the vehicle also “frightens” him.
Moreover, his housing estate poses “not so much of a concern” as there are no steps on his regular routes.
But many other wheelchair users may not be as fortunate. They face the key challenge of “a general lack of accessibility information”, making it difficult for them to plan their trip ahead of time, said Mr Alvin Tan, assistant director of independent living and caregiver support at SG Enable.
“Accessibility information could refer to the gradient of the path, the presence or absence of ramps and even the presence of trees with exposed roots along a route. Real-time road conditions such as roadworks, damaged pavements and shifted obstacles also affect wheelchair users, as they make a route temporarily inaccessible,” he told CNA.
“While non-wheelchair users can easily walk over or around obstacles, wheelchair users have more difficulty with these, and barrier-free accessible routes are essential for them.”
Needing to detour or find alternative routes is “time and energy-consuming”. And for motorised wheelchair users, their wheelchairs could run out of battery power before reaching their destination, added Mr Tan.
In wet weather, things can get even trickier as not all sheltered routes are accessible. Neither umbrellas nor ponchos offer full protection, he highlighted.
Slippery road surfaces are difficult for wheelchair users to navigate, and motorised wheelchair users could be subject to “rainwater seepage through the battery compartment of the wheelchair, causing costly repairs”.
SINGAPORE: The Court of Appeal on Tuesday (Apr 25) dismissed an application by a cannabis trafficker to have his case reviewed, a day before the death row convict was set to be hanged.
Justice of the Court of Appeal Steven Chong dismissed Tangaraju Suppiah’s bid for a review application to be made, and for his execution to be stayed.
The 46-year-old Singaporean has drawn support from British billionaire Richard Branson who claimed that his conviction did not meet standards and that “Singapore may be about to kill an innocent man”.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said in response that Mr Branson’s comments showed “disrespect” for Singapore’s judges and criminal justice system.
In a 15-page judgment, Justice Chong explained that Tangaraju had failed to show a legitimate basis for the court to review his case.
“There is also no basis for the court to exercise its inherent power to reopen a concluded criminal appeal,” he said. “This application is therefore dismissed without being set down for hearing.”
Tangaraju was convicted in October 2018 by a High Court judge of a capital charge of abetting an accomplice by conspiring to traffic cannabis.
This was by delivering about 1kg of cannabis to himself, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Tangaraju was sentenced to death after failing to fulfil any of the criteria that would free him from death row.
He later appealed against his conviction and sentence, but it was dismissed in August 2019, with the court agreeing that Tangaraju had conspired to traffic in cannabis, and that he had used a phone to communicate with his accomplice, Mogan Valo.
Tangaraju filed a criminal motion in November 2022 for permission to apply to review the concluded appeal. The court dismissed this as well in February 2023.
In his latest bid, Tangaraju, who was self-represented, argued that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he and Mogan had an agreement to traffic the specific quantity of 1017.9g of cannabis.
However, Justice Chong said it was never Tangaraju’s case at trial that the agreement with Mogan was to traffic an amount that was below the threshold amount for capital punishment, or any lesser quantity.
“It thus appears that the applicant is essentially seeking to advance an entirely new argument,” said Justice Chong.
He added that the agreement to traffic the quantity found in Mogan’s possession was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, in any event.
Justice Chong agreed with the prosecution that this new argument was premised on “false assertions”. Mogan had testified that he had collected cannabis from another person and had been instructed to deliver the drugs to Tangaraju.
He testified that he knew the “two rectangular-shaped blocks wrapped in white packaging” were cannabis upon his own inspection, and the drugs were subsequently analysed and found to contain 1017.9g of cannabis.
Justice Chong found that there was no legitimate basis for the court to exercise its power of review.
“The new arguments which the applicant has advanced at the eleventh hour, without more, do not warrant the court’s exercise of its inherent power to reopen a concluded criminal appeal,” he said.
CNA has contacted the Singapore Prison Service about what will happen next for Tangaraju.
Breaking updates will be carried across all of Mediacorp’s news bulletins, radio stations and digital news portals like CNA, CNA938, TODAY, 8world, Berita Mediacorp and Seithi.
Highlights and Team Singapore winning moments will also be available on Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube and Mediacorp’s social media platforms.
More details will be released later for Mediacorp’s coverage of the 12th ASEAN Para Games.
The Para Games, which runs from Jun 3 to Jun 9, features 26 Team Singapore athletes competing in athletics, badminton, boccia, powerlifting, swimming and table tennis.
Mediacorp’s coverage of the 32nd SEA Games and the 12th ASEAN Para Games follows recent multiplatform offerings of major sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup 2022, as well as that which features Team Singapore athletes, such as the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Sign in with meconnect to catch the 32nd SEA Games on mewatch for free. More information is available via the Singapore National Olympic Council website.
SINGAPORE: Travellers who snapped up All Nippon Airways (ANA) tickets at erroneously discounted prices last week will have their bookings cancelled and refunded fully, the airline said on Tuesday (Apr 25). In a notice posted on its websites, ANA said that there had been a “technical issue with the currencyContinue Reading
The spokesman also reportedly said that they do not think the noodles which were tested by the Taipei authorities were produced by the company.
“They (Taipei’s Department of Health) have not shown us their results or the samples they used but we do not think they used our instant noodles.
“This is because when we asked them what samples were used, the expiry date of the noodles did not tally with the ones we sent to Taiwan last year (in 2022),” said the spokesman, as quoted by The Star.
According to Bernama, citing Taiwan’s Central News Agency, two types of instant noodles made by brands from Malaysia and Indonesia were found to contain a type of carcinogenic substance.
In a statement, Taipei’s Department of Health reportedly said on Monday that a batch of “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles” from Malaysia and a batch of “Indomie: Special Chicken Flavour” noodles from Indonesia both contained ethylene oxide, a chemical compound associated with lymphoma and leukemia
The findings were part of the city’s 2023 inspection of instant noodle available in Taipei.
Testing by the Taipei authorities found that ethylene oxide was detected in both the noodles and flavour packet of the Malaysian product and the flavour packet of the Indonesian-made instant noodle, said the health department, according to Bernama.
The unspecified retailer from which the samples were collected has reportedly been asked to pull the two products off their shelves.
The products’ importers will reportedly be fined between NT$60,000 (US$1,958) and NT$200 million.
According to information on the website of Taiwan’s Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau under the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration, ethylene oxide is poisonous when consumed or inhaled.
Bernama reported that aside from leading to lymphoma and leukemia, ethylene oxide can also seriously irritate the skin and eyes of those who come into contact with the substance and can even trigger birth and hereditary defects.
Hospitals under the National University Health System (NUHS) – the National University Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Alexandra Hospital – have also been implementing measures to improve wait times, a spokesperson told CNA.
“For example, NUH has created additional beds by converting existing spaces and inpatient wards to help alleviate the high attendance and patient traffic, such as the new set-up of the second Acute Medical Unit,” the spokesperson said.
“Operating hours of allied health support services, including radiology and physiotherapy, have also been extended during weekdays as well as over weekends to manage the increased workload.”
At Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, more beds in the ambulatory ward for day surgery patients are being used for inpatients, while more basic care assistants have been recruited.
“Locum nurses have also been brought in to support patient care at the emergency department,” the spokesperson said.
“Family members are engaged for caregiver training so that they can better care for patients when they are discharged home.
“Patients are also referred to community partners for follow-up support such as medication adherence and meals on wheels services.”
Alexandra Hospital, which had the lowest median waiting times during the week of Apr 9 to Apr 15, has also been taking in patients from the other two NUHS hospitals.
Where clinically appropriate, NUHS hospitals have been offering alternative arrangements for their patients, such as teleconsultation, tele-rehabilitation, tele-monitoring, remote prescribing and delivery of medication, the spokesperson said.
“We seek the public’s understanding that longer waiting time is expected at our emergency departments and priority will be given to patients with more serious conditions and who require admission,” the spokesperson said.
“Only people with serious or life-threatening emergencies, such as chest pain, breathlessness and uncontrollable bleeding, should visit the emergency department as this allows those in need of emergency care to be attended to quickly and helps to preserve the hospital’s capacity for those who truly need acute hospital care.
“We urge members of the public to visit their general practitioners or a 24-hour clinic for non-emergencies.”
NEA also launched the annual National Dengue Prevention Campaign last month to raise awareness, in addition to ongoing dengue inspections.
Residents, especially those residing at dengue cluster areas, are reminded to take steps to protect themselves.
This includes spraying insecticides in dark corners around the house, applying insect repellent regularly and wearing long-sleeve tops and long pants.
Stakeholders should also take immediate action to suppress Aedes mosquito population and break the disease transmission. This includes measures such as breaking up hardened soil, lifting and emptying empty flowerpot plates, as well as overturning pails and wiping their rims.
Since July last year, NEA expanded Project Wolbachia to about eight additional sites – about 1,400 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks – in a multi-site field study to determine its impact on dengue cases.
Introduced in 2016, Project Wolbachia involves the release of male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes at some residential estates with a high risk of dengue to curb the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population in the community.
“When the released male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes mate with the urban female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that do not carry Wolbachia, the resulting eggs do not hatch. This is due to a biological phenomenon known as cytoplasmic incompatibility,” said NEA.
“Hence, continued release of male Wolbachia-Aedes is expected to reduce the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population, and hence lower the risk of dengue transmission over time.”
With this, about 30 per cent of HDB blocks and 5 sq km of landed estate will be covered, comprising about 300,000 households.
To support the project expansion, NEA said it has increased the production capacity of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes per week from 2 million to 5 million.
As mosquito production and release is labour intensive, the agency added it partnered Orinno Technology to custom-develop ways to automate production and release.
“Manual processes were thus replaced by automation and engineering solutions,” said NEA, with the partnership addressing challenges in areas of scale and efficiency, accurate separation between male and female mosquitoes, and fit male mosquitoes.
Some of the specific technologies developed include a timed egg hatching chamber – improving productivity by 20 times – as well as the pupae sex sorter, larvae counter and mosquito launcher.
“Development of the automated modular systems has significantly increased production efficiency of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes and reduced reliance on manpower,” said NEA.
“This increase in NEA’s mosquito production capacity supports NEA’s expansion of Project Wolbachia to cover more areas in a shorter time frame, and for NEA to test out different strategies and approaches in different areas. This ultimately contributes towards NEA’s future wider scale deployment of the technology to fight dengue.”
SINGAPORE: A 48-year-old engineer was taking a closer look at a section of false ceiling as part of her work when she stepped onto a 1cm-thick gypsum board or plasterboard, which gave way immediately.
Madam Carina Monton Isip fell 30m or seven floors and died after suffering multiple fractures to her skull, spine, pelvis and limbs.
The coroner’s inquiry into her death opened on Tuesday (Apr 25), with investigating officers from the police and the Manpower Ministry taking the stand.
The court heard that Mdm Isip had a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and had worked in the construction industry for 27 years, including 16 in Singapore.
On the day of the incident on Apr 8 last year, she was at the CapitaSpring building in the central business district, working for contractor Dragages Singapore.
Dragages had engaged a contractor to set up a gondola system to clean the interior facade wall of the building.
As part of the setup, workers on the 16M floor removed the grating cover of the catwalk to review a false ceiling access panel underneath.
It was discovered that the false ceiling around the gondola track was obstructing the installation, so part of the false ceiling panels had to be cut before further work could be done.
Mdm Isip wanted to have a look at the area involved, so she asked another worker to show her the spot.
When they arrived at Level 16M, Mdm Isip walked ahead of the worker on the catwalk. She walked past the opening to the false ceiling, as she was unaware where the relevant portion was located.
The worker called out to Mdm Isip and pointed out the opening to her, and Mdm Isip turned around and walked back.
While the worker was showing Mdm Isip the area that needed to be cut, she bent forward slightly to take a closer look, before stepping forward.
Mdm Isip, who weighed 52kg, stepped through the opening on the catwalk, and onto the false ceiling that was made of gypsum board. The panel gave way and she fell through, landing seven floors below on the ninth floor.
She was declared dead by paramedics at the scene. She was the 11th workplace fatality in 2022.
According to the MOM investigating officer, the occupier of the building, Ascott International Management, had limited the maintenance team’s access to Level 16M.
Only contractors who had prior approval and registration could enter the area with an access card and key. Dragages and the gondola operator had been granted this access.
It was found that the catwalk had an adequate guardrail, and was considered “safe” as there were proper fall prevention measures. There were also signs to indicate a fall hazard along the catwalk.
Dragages also conducted risk assessments and daily briefings, and the only personal protective equipment required was covered shoes, as the catwalk was deemed safe access.
Mdm Isip herself was trained to work at height, so she was “well aware” of the risks, said the investigating officer.
He said it was likely that it “slipped her mind” that the surface was a false ceiling. He added that it was unlikely that work fatigue had contributed to the incident as Mdm Isip had not performed any overtime work in the week before her death.
A further hearing was fixed for May, and findings will be delivered subsequently.
“We do feel a need to take care of their health, because once a worker is down with illness or the worker is on medication or on (medical leave), then definitely it will affect the workers strength and it will affect our pace,” said LBD Engineering chief strategy officer Lim Boon Huat.
“So we do take note of the situation, to try our best to mitigate the heat.”
The remainder of April is expected to be warm, and temperatures may hit 34 degrees Celsius in the afternoon on most days.
On some days when there is less cloud cover, the daily maximum temperature could reach a high of around 35 degrees Celsius, said the Met Service.
Meanwhile, one rooftop farm in Tampines is using up to 7,000 litres more water in a bid to prevent the soil from drying up too quickly.