- B E R I T A _ H A R I _ I N I _ 2 0 0 8 -

fatz2

Feb 23, 2008         
61 stranded at Airport without explanation
By Samantha Eng
WHAT should have been a routine two-hour flight to Phuket turned out to one that took more than seven hours, including a five-hour delay, for some 61 passengers on Saturday.

They were among 151 passengers who had turned up at Changi Airport's Budget Terminal to catch budget airline Tiger Airways flight TR152 to the Thai destination at 8.15am.

But when it was time to board the plane, only the first 90 passengers were allowed to do so.

One affected passenger, Ms Leonora Lok, 30, told The Sunday Times that no satisfactory explanation was given.

'All they did was to announce over the PA system that there was a flight restriction. Even the ground staff we spoke to could not elaborate,' she said.

An employee of Swissport which handles ground operations for Tiger Airways, told The Sunday Times that she and her colleagues were not informed of the reason why only 90 passengers could board the plane.

She added: 'We called Tiger Airways but no one answered. In the end, no Tiger Airways staff came down to explain to the passengers.'

Ms Lok, who had paid about $700 for two tickets for herself and a friend, said the 61 passengers were given the option to take a 1.30pm Thai AirAsia flight to Phuket.

She estimated that about 70 per cent of them accepted this offer though she and her friend declined to do so, and were seeking refunds.

Throughout the five-hour wait, she noted that tempers were running high, voices were raised and passengers crowded around the ground staff to demand answers.

'I'm more upset about the service than anything else. They should have given us a better explanation, and a faster one too,' she said.

A Tiger Airways spokesman later told The Sunday Times that one of the six Exit signs in the plane's cabin was not working.

'Due to safety precautions, we can board only half of the maximum capacity of 180 passengers. Our No. 1 priority was to make sure our passengers got onto the next plane as soon as they could,' she said.

When The Sunday Times called the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, none of the five people we spoke to said that they had heard of such a ruling.

Tiger Airways, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, started operations in September 2004. Its 70 planes fly to 31 destinations in eight countries in the Asia-Pacific.

fatz2

Feb 22, 2008         
She found her stolen undies in don's bag
Man who teaches in China varsity pleads guilty to the theft
By Chong Chee Kin and Elena Chong


Lee Wing Foon was making faces at a Straits Times photographer outside the Subordinate Courts, after his bail was extended. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

SHE had been warned by her friends staying in the hostel - keep your underwear safe, there is an undies thief on the prowl.

But Lisa (not her real name) thought 30 minutes was too short a time for anyone to pinch her underwear. So she left two bras and a pair of panties on a clothes-line outside her room and went to bathe.

The 21-year-old Nanyang Technological University (NTU) mathematics undergraduate returned 30 minutes later, and found her underwear gone.

The culprit, an associate professor teaching in a China university, pleaded guilty on Friday to the theft. Lee Wing Foon, 39, will be sentenced on April 7.

The Singaporean obtained his PhD from NTU before leaving to teach in China. At the time of the offences, he was back here during his leave.

Lisa said when she heard from a friend that the security guard in her hostel had detained a suspect, she went down to check. She found Lee there with her underwear in his haversack.

In court on Friday, Lee's lawyer, Mr Jose Charles, urged Community Court judge James Leong to call for a pre-sentence report before meting out the sentence.

He said his client suffers from a psychiatric disorder and started taking women's undergarments since he was around 14, as these items would sexually arouse him.

Lee, he said, had no intention of causing annoyance to the owners.

fatz2

Feb 24, 2008         
Nokia forced to cough up more than $1,000 over faulty phone
By Alfred Siew, Technology Correspondent

EARLIER this month, Ms Tan Geok Hoon marched into Nokia's office, brandishing court documents and threatening to seize the assests of the cell-phone giant.

A bailiff stood at the side of the 43-year-old sales manager, ready to reposess the company's things.

Ms Tan was enforcing a small claims court decision that ordered the world's largest cellphone maker to pay her $778 for a faulty cellphone she bought last year.

The moment, which Ms Tan recalled recently, marked the culmination of a seven- month David-versus-Goliath battle.

The story of one woman's fight against a mighty firm made its rounds in several online forums last week, casting the spotlight on how the world's top phone maker handled unhappy customers.

Things all started in August last year, when Ms Tan bought a Nokia E61i phone from a StarHub store.

Ms Tan said the phone would not power on in the first week, but a Nokia service centre refused to exchange it for a new one.

Frustrated after sending it for repairs several times, she turned to the Small Claims Tribunal in November.

At this point, Nokia tried to settle the matter privately, by offering to exchange Ms Tan's phone with a new one, or to refund her $388. This was the purchase price that came with a two-year StarHub subscription.

She rejected the offer, looking instead for $778 - the full retail price of the phone.

Ms Tan told The Straits Times: 'I didn't claim for more than what the phone cost because I'm not greedy for Nokia phones.'

There were two consultations and one hearing before the small claims tribunal. Nokia missed the last two sessions, claiming the relevant department had not received the notice on time.

As a result, the company was ordered on December 18 last year to pay Ms Tan $778 within 15 days.

But it did not.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

fatz2

Feb 24, 2008         
Visitors brave heat, snaking queues to catch last day of Singapore Airshow
By Teh Joo Lin

UNWILLING to buy a $20 ticket to watch the jets fly at the Singapore Airshow, Mr Teo decided to park his lorry by the road and plane spot from the nearby Changi coast.

But he ended up with a ticket of another sort when he returned after the flying display to find his vehicle missing.

The authorities had towed his 10-foot lorry.

'Of course it was not worth it,' said the self-employed man, who declined to give his full name.

While Mr Teo had a rough afternoon, some 50,000 people who paid to visit the Singapore Airshow on its last day did not have it easy either.

They braved sweltering heat, snaking queues and slow traffic to be part of the inaugural show, which closed after six days on Sunday with $18.9 billion worth of deals sewn up.

More than 30,000 trade visitors and over 90,000 aviation buffs passed through the turnstiles, said the show's organisers, Singapore Airshow and Events.

Among the visitors were President S R Nathan and celebrity Zoe Tay, wife of airforce fighter pilot Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Chionh.

Judging from the crowd's cheers, gasps and eager picture-snapping when LTC Chionh and his fellow Black Knights roared past in their F-16s, the earlier inconveniences had been forgotten.

On Saturday, the first of two days that the show was open to the public, traffic snarls and other crowd-related congestions led to some complaints.

But with about 80 buses to ferry visitors to and from the site, the situation improved markedly on Sunday, though there remained problems.

Aircraft technician Generale Virgelito, 25, said after the flying display, he queued for an hour before he boarded a shuttle to the Pasir Ris bus interchange.

Other jams cropped up near security checkpoints, where people walking to the viewing site came to a standstill and stared, slack-jawed, at the aerial acrobatics overhead.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

fatz2

Home > Latest News > Singapore
Feb 24, 2008        
Empty packs clue to illegal cigarette trade in S'pore
By Arti Mulchand& Teh Joo Lin

TOBACCO companies here could soon be digging through piles of rubbish in a bid to gauge the size of the illegal cigarette trade.

Singapore's tobacco association is awaiting the final nod from the authorities to collect empty cigarette boxes islandwide, including hotspots for peddlers like Geylang and Woodlands Road, said representative Manminder Singh.

The study - which could begin by the end of next month - involves sifting through packages for tell-tale signs, like a lack of health warnings.

Two smaller studies were done by British American Tobacco (BAT) in 2005 and last year, which paid pubs to collect empty packs left by patrons. One fifth were found to have come from overseas - likely without taxes paid.

Mr Singh, who is also the corporate and regulatory affairs manager for BAT, said: 'While the method is far from conclusive, it does give us an idea of how much contraband there is out on the market... We can then increase our efforts to deal with it.'

High taxes on legal cigarettes has led to an explosion in Singapore's black market. A pack of Marlboros, for instance, now costs $11.60 in stores, compared to about $5 for a pack of contraband.

Just last week, Customs officers seized more than 2,000 packs of illegal cigarettes during raids and arrested a slew of buyers and dealers.

In a statement, the agency said sting operations netted 68 buyers and eight street peddlers, in places like Geylang coffee shops, void decks in Boon Lay, Tampines and Ang Mo Kio, and a Bedok North hawker centre.

fatz2

Feb 25, 2008         
Tremors felt in S'pore after strong earthquake in Sumatra
By Tay Yi Wen

TREMORS were felt in various parts of Singapore at about 4.30 pm on Monday, soon after a strong earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island, sparking a tsunami alert.

The Meteorological Services, which received 10 calls from the public, confirmed that an earthquake occurred in southern Sumatera and registered 7.5 on the Richter scale. It said there is no cause for alarm, and that any potential tsunami will not affect Singapore.

53 buildings in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and CBD areas experienced tremors as a result of this afternoon's earthquake, according to a police statement on Monday.

In response to the tremors, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and HDB engineers have so far conducted inspections on 35 of these buildings as an added precaution, which were found to be structurally safe.

Police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force said they had received about 60 calls from the public reporting these tremors. There were no reports of injury.

More than half a dozen readers called the The Straits Times hotline to report that they, too, had felt the tremors.

One of them, Ms Lee, 39, who lives on the 23rd floor of a block at Marine Vista, said she felt her flat shaking for about 30 seconds.

She was lying down on the sofa reading when she saw the chandeliers in the room swaying to and fro. The wooden table at the balcony also rattled.

Ms Lee said tremors are becoming common for her, although her 10-year-old daughter cried last year when she felt them.

"My daughter, who was doing her math paper when she felt the tremors today, said that we should just move as soon as possible,' she said.

Another resident in Marsiling Road, Mr Adman Jaya, 41, called The Straits Times to report the tremors.

Mr Adman, who lives in a five-room flat, said he was alerted to the tremors when his 60-year-old mother was aroused from her nap by the shaking. She yelled for him and he then saw his standing fan swaying.

The last time he felt the tremors was during the earthquake in Banda Aceh, which sparked a huge tsunami in 2004.

'Today's tremors were even stronger,' he said.

Seismologists said there were no reports of damage following the Sumatran earthquake.

The quake hit 165 km northwest of Sumatra's Mukomuko at 3.36 pm (0836 GMT) at a depth of 10 km, triggering a tsunami warning that was lifted less than an hour later.

fatz2

Feb 25, 2008         
Pimp gets 6.5 years jail, 6 strokes for not reporting Awol soldier
By Elena Chong


Ong Boon Jun was sentenced to six and a half years and six strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to the charge last week. -- PHOTO: POLICE

ONG Boon Jun, the co-accused of full-time national serviceman Dave Teo Ming who had gone AWOL from camp with a rifle and live ammunition, had every opportunity to report his friend to the authorities but he did not.

The 22-year-old was hauled to court for being found in the 20-year-old's company at a Geylang hotel room in circumstances which presumed that he knew Teo had the firearm in his possession last Sept 3.

On Monday, District Judge Liew Thiam Leng sentenced Ong to six and a half years and six strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to the charge last week.

In passing sentence, the judge said the safety of the public and the security of the state could not be compromised.

'A person who is in unlawful possession of a rifle will pose a security risk to the state and the public,' he said.

As a former national serviceman, Ong was 'well aware of the importance of preserving the security of the state'.

'It was incumbent upon him to report to the police to ensure that no harm is caused to anyone after he came to know that the co-accused was in possession of a stolen army rifle. More so in this case as the accused was informed by the co-accused that he intended to commit robbery.'

The freelance pimp operating near Lorong 18 Geylang had known Teo, who had engaged the services of a Thai prostitute through him.

Teo, whose case is pending, went absent without leave from Mandai Hill Camp on Sept 2 when he took the SAR-21 and five rounds of ammunition.

He went home and retrieved three more rounds he had earlier stolen and loaded them into the magazine. He left home with the rifle in a bag and checked into Champagne Hotel in Lorong 16 Geylang the next day.

After assembling the rifle and loading the magazine in the room, Teo covered the weapon with some pillows before calling Ong for the services of the Thai prostitute.

The court heard that Ong knew about the rifle and Teo had even shown it to him in the hotel room, saying he had stolen it from camp to commit robbery. Teo later left with the dismantled rifle in his bag while the prostitute and Ong stayed behind and took a nap.

Teo was arrested that night in the third floor toilet at Orchard Cineleisure. Ong was nabbed the next day at 3.45am.

Ong remained expresionless in the dock when he was sentenced. But according to his father who saw him later, Ong was crying.

The father, together Ong's mother and a cousin, declined to speak to the media.

Under the Arms Offences Act, Ong could have been jailed between five and 10 years and given not less than six strokes for the offence.

fatz2

Feb 25, 2008         
Indian restaurant owner dies after attack in Johor


Mr Rahim Rajah, 42, who owned the CMK restaurant opposite Mustafa Centre in Little India, died less than 48 hours after the brutal attack which left him with severe head injuries and broken ribs. -- PHOTO: NP

THE owner of a popular 24-hour restaurant in Little India died after he was set upon by a group of assailants last Thursday in a small town near Segamat - the latest victim of a violent attack in Johor.

Mr Rahim Rajah, 42, who owned the CMK restaurant opposite Mustafa Centre in Little India, died less than 48 hours after the brutal attack which left him with severe head injuries and broken ribs.

He was mere steps away from home when the unknown assailants set upon him last Thursday night in Cha'ah, a small Johor town, where Mr Rahim was said to be planning to open a branch there, The New Paper reported on Monday.

His son, Mr Kathar Sharif Rahim, 17, said he was told by his Malaysian uncle that a passer-by had found his father after the attack and called the police.

With the help of other passers-by, the man helped Mr Rahim to his house and called his friends.

Mr Kathar said his father's friends did not realise how serious his injuries were.

'My dad had internal injuries, so his friends thought he was okay when they saw him,' he told The New Paper.

'They cleaned his face and put him to bed. It was only when he vomited blood the next morning that they realised how seriously he was hurt.'

Mr Rahim's siblings, who live in Cha'ah, about an hour's drive from Johor Baru, rushed him to the nearest hospital in Batu Pahat.

His family brought him back to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore when they found that the hospital in Johor did not have the facilities to handle his serious injuries.

Doctors found Mr Rahim had a broken skull and blood clotting, and told his family that even if they operated, he had only a slim chance of survival.

Mr Rahim died at about 4.20pm last Saturday.

He leaves behind his wife and three children.

The motive for the attack is still unknown and the Malaysian police are investigating. They are understood to have made two arrests, said The New Paper.

fatz

Prima pleads guilty in court

ABOUT two months after Singapore's biggest outbreak of food poisoning in recent memory, Prima Food has been charged with selling contaminated goods.

The company, which produces baked goods for the island's 39 PrimaDeli franchises, appears set to take legal responsibility for the outbreak, which felled more than 200 people.

In charges filed last night, the company is accused of possessing hazelnut paste containing the salmonella bacteria.

Authorities allege that the paste, which made its way into chocolate cakes, came from Prima's Keppel Road factory on Nov 30 last year.

About 15 people were hospitalised after eating the contaminated cakes.

In court on Tuesday, Prima's representative said that the company would like to plead guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum $5,000 fine.

'We are guilty. May I ask for a lenient sentence or fine,' the representative said. When approached by The Straits Times outside the courtroom, the man declined to give his name.

But AVA prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan asked that the case be adjourned as it had been referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

fatz

Feb 27, 2008         
PR who worked as engineer caught using fake degree
By Teh Joo Lin

AFTER working in Singapore for eight years as an engineer, Hong Tao decided to stay for the long haul.

So the China national applied for permanent residence in September 2006.

He was successful. But just over a year later, he was in hot water.

The 36-year-old was arrested last November after checks revealed that his degree from the Anhui Institute of Electro Mechanics was fake.

For that and other work-related misdeeds, Hong was fined $13,000 in court last Thursday. He now faces the prospect of losing his permanent residence.

He joined a list of about 660 people the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has dealt with in the past two years for lying in their applications for immigration passes.

The group includes students, visitors and PRs. Last year alone, about 320 were found out by the ICA.

While rare - and not included in those figures - some have even cheated their way to gaining citizenship.

They include 40-year-old Sivanantham Veeran, who in March 2006 succeeded in his citizenship application. But the Indian national had lied about his 1994 convictions here for immigration offences and other crimes.

ICA spokesman Lim Jing Jing told The Straits Times: 'All applications and their supporting documents for immigration facilities - including permanent residency and citizenship - are carefully checked for tell-tale signs of forgery and other signs of irregularities.'

The ICA also acts on tip-offs and complaints. Those caught were likely to have their PR status or citizenship revoked, said Ms Lim.

The authorities have also come across foreigners who forged applications to land jobs here.

In all, 374 were caught in 2006 with fraudulently obtained employment passes which go to highly qualified people, and S-Passes that are for semi-skilled workers.

Fake diplomas and other phoney qualifications were the most common way of abusing the system.

Though the culprits make up only a tiny fraction of pass holders, the number of cases has quadrupled since 2005, when 97 cases surfaced.

The Manpower Ministry has said tighter checks accounted for the rise.

More foreigners are seeking permanent residency in Singapore. Some 46,900 of them were granted PR status in the first nine months of 2007, compared with 57,300 for all of the previous year.

[email protected]

fatz

Singapura : 27 Februari 2008         
  
LELAKI DISERANG GARA-GARA MERENUNG

JARI HAMPIR HANCUR DIGIGIT

Oleh
Khairul Bahriah Mahfud

HAMPIR enam bulan lamanya beliau 'menggigit jari' mencari kerja tetap dan hanya bergantung kepada kerja sambilan.

Tetapi kini, apabila beliau menerima tawaran bekerja, jarinya pula benar-benar digigit hingga hampir hancur semasa diserang dua lelaki.

Menceritakan pengalamannya, Encik Noral Zaini, 41 tahun, berkata kejadian beliau digigit itu berlaku sekitar 2 petang Sabtu lalu.

Beliau sedang minum dan duduk seorang diri di pusat makanan Haig Road.

Dua lelaki dipercayai pekerja asing berusia 40-an tahun mendekatinya dan menuduh beliau merenung mereka.

Walaupun Encik Noral menafikan tuduhan itu, beliau terus diserang dengan perutnya ditendang.

Seorang penyerang memegang Encik Noral dari belakang dan seorang lagi, yang berkemeja belang menggigit jari telunjuk tangan kirinya hingga berlumuran darah.

'Lukanya sangat dalam hingga boleh dilihat daging hancur dan nampak tulang putih,' katanya.

Encik Noral hanya dapat melepaskan diri setelah menumbuk penyerang itu dengan tangan kanannya berkali-kali.

Setelah kedua-dua penyerang itu melarikan diri ke kawasan bangunan Darul Arqam, Encik Noral berjalan keluar dari pusat makanan tersebut dan terus rebah di hadapan pusat makanan Banquet.

Beliau tidak sedarkan diri hingga seorang lelaki datang membantu dengan menghubungi ambulans.

Jarinya yang hampir hancur digigit itu mendapat rawatan di Hospital Besar Changi (CGH) dan terpaksa dirawat di sana sehingga hujung minggu ini bagi rawatan lanjut.

Menurutnya lagi, beliau telah membuat laporan polis selepas menerima rawatan.

Polis ketika dihubungi semalam mengesahkan kejadian itu dan masih menjalankan siasatan.

'Kawasan Haig Road memang selalu kecoh kerana ramai pekerja asing dari negara jiran tertumpu di sana,' tambah Encik Noral.

Encik Noral, seorang duda yang menginap bersama ibu bapanya di Circuit Road, kesal kerana kejadian ini berlaku.

Sebelum ini, Encik Noral telah membuat kerja sambilan, antaranya membantu teman di syarikat pindah dan menerima pendapatan kira-kira $900 sebulan.

Beliau sudah menerima tawaran bekerja sebagai buruh kontena kapal.

'Tetapi sekarang kalau jari ini tak boleh bergerak susah jugak nak kerja,' ujarnya yang kematian isteri pada 2001 akibat barah otak.

fatz

Singapura : 27 Februari 2008         
         
PEGAWAI POLIS DAN DUA RAKAN ADIK-BERADIK DITUDUH SELUDUP ROKOK

SEORANG pegawai polis bersama rakannya, dua adik-beradik, dituduh di Mahkamah Rendah semalam cuba menyeludup masuk 32 karton dan 80 peket rokok dari Johor Bahru.

Suhaimi Yusoff, 38 tahun; Siti Melati Sheikh Zainal Abidin, 22 tahun; dan adiknya, Sheikh Sufian Sheikh Zainal Abidin, 16 tahun, menghadapi dua tuduhan tidak membayar cukai eksais dan cukai barangan dan perkhidmatan (GST) berjumlah sekitar $3,000.

Mengikut kenyataan pertuduhan, mereka menyeludup masuk rokok-rokok itu dengan nilai sekitar $3,600 itu pada 17 Februari, sekitar 2.20 petang, di Pusat Pemeriksaan Woodlands.

Sebaik tiba di pintu masuk ke Singapura, kereta mereka ditahan dan diarahkan masuk ke lorong pemeriksaan 100 peratus.

Di situ para pegawai menemui 32 karton dan 80 peket rokok seberat lapan kilogram yang disorok dalam kereta itu.

Di mahkamah semalam, mereka berdiri sugul di kandang tertuduh. Tiada sebarang pengakuan diambil daripada mereka.

Peguam yang baru diambil untuk mewakili mereka, Encik Ismail Hamid, meminta Hakim Daerah, Encik Victor Yeo, memberinya masa untuk membuat perwakilan kerana baru mendapat arahan.

Kes mereka akan didengar dalam satu sidang sebelum perbicaraan (PTC) pada 4 Mac.

Mereka kini dibebaskan dengan ikat jamin - $10,000 bagi Suhaimi, $6,000 bagi Siti Melati dan $5,000 bagi Sheikh Sufian.

Jika sabit kesalahan mereka boleh dipenjara sehingga tiga tahun bagi setiap tuduhan dan dikenakan penalti maksimum $56,320 bagi tuduhan elak cukai eksais dan maksimum $10,000 bagi tuduhan elak GST.

fatz

Singapura : 27 Februari 2008         
         
PEMILIK FLAT 'TANGKAP' AKSI TAILONG MELALUI KAMERA TV

Rakaman lelaki simbah cat di pintu dan pagar diserah pada polis

Oleh
Khalid Khamis

SELEPAS berminggu-minggu flat mereka aman dan tidak diganggu tailong setelah kisahnya disiarkan di Berita Harian Disember lalu, Encik Jumadi Samian dan Cik Aidilawati Ahmad sangka masalahnya sudah berakhir.

Sangkaan mereka meleset.

Mimpi ngeri menghantui semula keluarga itu Rabu lalu apabila pintu dan pagar yang kurang sebulan dipasang disimbah cat, dipercayai oleh tailong.

Namun kali ini Encik Jumadi, 50 tahun, berjaya 'menangkap' orang yang melakukannya dalam sistem televisyen litar tertutup (CCTV) yang dipasang di luar flatnya.

Dalam rakaman CCTV tersebut, seorang lelaki dilihat berlegar-legar di depan flat empat bilik mereka di Blok 762, Choa Chu Kang North Avenue 5 sekitar 4.30 petang.

Rakaman itu telah diserah kepada polis untuk tujuan siasatan.

Lelaki itu turut dilihat seorang anak jiran mereka.

Ketika dihubungi, Encik Jumadi, seorang pekerja marin, berkata: 'Nasib baik saya sudah pasang CCTV jadi dapatlah tangkap orangnya.

'Saya harap rakaman CCTV itu dapat membantu polis dalam siasatan mereka.'

Ketika kejadian tersebut, tiada seorang pun anggota keluarga itu berada di rumah.

Memberikan gambaran rakaman CCTV itu, Cik Aidilawati, seorang guru berusia 33 tahun, berkata lelaki tersebut dirakam beberapa kali berlegar di depan flat itu untuk memastikan tiada orang melihat sebelum dia menyimbah cat tersebut.

Menurut beliau, pintu dan pagar itu baru dipasang dengan belanja lebih $800 bulan lalu.

Selain itu, beliau membelanjakan sekitar $500 untuk membeli dan memasang sendiri kelengkapan CCTV tersebut.

Menjawab pertanyaan Berita Harian, polis mengesahkan telah menerima laporan kejadian itu dan sedang melakukan siasatan.

Pasangan itu membeli flat tersebut di pasaran jualan semula dan menerima kunci sekitar September lalu.

Gangguan daripada tailong bermula selepas bekas pemilik flat itu dipercayai berhutang dengan mereka.

Akibat terdesak, bekas pemilik itu menawarkan wang tunai $5,000 untuk Encik Jumadi dan Cik Aidilawati membeli flatnya.

Pasangan itu pernah juga menerima surat hutang daripada beberapa institusi kewangan dan bank kerana hutang yang belum dilunas oleh anak bekas pemilik flat tersebut.

fatz

Singapura : 27 Februari 2008        
         
PEMBUNUHAN DI GEYLANG

DUA BELIA BAWAH UMUR ANTARA 6 DIDAKWA

Mangsa dikelar di belakang kepala dan leher, polis masih buru beberapa suspek lagi

DUA lelaki bersama empat belia - termasuk dua perempuan dan dua di bawah umur - didakwa di Mahkamah Rendah dan Mahkamah Juvenil atas tuduhan membunuh seorang jurujual sambilan, Encik Seah Boon Lye.

Suhardi Ali, 28 tahun; Sufian Nordin, 22 tahun; Muhammad Haziq Mohamed, 18 tahun; dan Nur Azimah Razale, 19 tahun, didakwa di Mahkamah Rendah semalam.

Dua lagi belia berusia 15 tahun, seorang lelaki dan seorang perempuan, dituduh di Mahkamah Juvenil.

Di Mahkamah Rendah semalam, dengan tangan mereka digari, Suhardi, Sufian dan Muhammad Haziq berbual-bual dengan Nur Azimah sehingga terpaksa ditegur polis.

Di Mahkamah Juvenil pula, ibu saudara belia perempuan itu berkata ibu tertuduh` tidak dapat dihubungi dan dia dijaga neneknya.

Ibu bapa belia lelaki itu pula dikatakan tidak hadir kerana ada kematian dan diganti oleh seorang bapa saudaranya.

Belia perempuan itu akan ditahan di Rumah Tumpangan Budak Perempuan dan belia lelaki itu pula di Rumah Budak-Budak Lelaki Singapura.

Kesemua tertuduh diberkas polis di beberapa kawasan Ahad lalu, menyusuli pembunuhan mendiang Encik Seah sekitar 6.30 pagi Sabtu lalu di Lorong 10 Geylang.

Menurut kenyataan pertuduhan, mereka telah berkumpul bersama beberapa lagi orang.

Encik Seah dikelar di belakang kepala dan leher dan `meninggal dunia di Hospital Tan Tock Seng (TTSH) akibat kecederaannya.

Adiknya berusia 21 tahun terselamat dalam kejadian itu tetapi mengalami luka-luka ringan.

Polis mengesahkan bahawa pihaknya masih memburu beberapa orang lagi yang disyaki terlibat dalam pembunuhan tersebut.

Jika sabit kesalahan, empat belia yang dituduh di Mahkamah Rendah itu boleh dikenakan hukuman gantung.

Dua belia yang dikenakan tuduhan di Mahkamah Juvenil itu boleh terlepas daripada hukuman maut kerana bawah umur dan ditahan sehingga Presiden memberi kebenaran untuk membebaskan mereka.

fatz

Freeze on government fees extended till end of 2008
Posted: 27 February 2008 1612 hrs

SINGAPORE: The one-year freeze on government fees which kicked in last July will be extended till the end of 2008.

This will include fees charged on all government-provided services such as school fees, ITE and polytechnic fees, charges in public car parks, and all licence fees.

Announcing this in Parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the move is to provide further reassurance to Singaporeans at a time of rising prices.

The one-year freeze was implemented when the GST rate was raised from 5 to 7 percent last year.

Mr Tharman, who was wrapping up the debate on the Budget Statement, said regulatory charges such as those in the transport sector and the development charges in the property market will not be frozen.

This is because they must continue to serve the purpose of regulating demand.

Similarly, the freeze has not applied to fees charged by non-government entities such as the universities, restructured hospitals and town councils.

He explained this is because they have to make their own decisions on whether or not they will raise fees.

However, Mr Tharman acknowledged the concerns many Singaporeans continue to have on rising costs, and he urged the town councils to consider holding their Service and Conservancy Charges unchanged for this year.

In his 90-minute speech, Mr Tharman responded to the various points raised by over 40 MPs in the three-day debate, especially the calls to do more for low-income Singaporeans.

Summing up, he gave the assurance that assistance has and will be given.

But he also stressed that Singapore's basic philosophy has been and must be to keep alive the incentive for every Singaporean to strive and maximise opportunities to do better for themselves and their families.

He said this is the philosophy which will keep Singapore going through good years and bad, and which will ensure the prosperity will last.


- CNA/so

fatz

Woman's wallet stolen during ruse on shopping mall escalator

A WOMAN was riding the escalator at a shopping mall in Park Road on Tuesday at about 2.30 pm when a man standing infront of her suddenly fell backwards.

Two men behind her then rushed forward to prevent the man from falling off the escalator, sandwiching the woman between them.

Moments later, the three men walked away in different directions. The woman later found that her handbag was open and a wallet containing $1,500 cash and personal documents were missing.

Police are investigating the incident. There were 1,038 theft cases in 2007 and 790 in 2006, said police.



Internet scammer jailed 2 years for ripping off 106 people
The conned were mostly teenage girls   
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent   
AN INTERNET scammer was jailed on Wednesdy for two years after ripping off 106 people, mostly teens girls, who shopped for apparel and accessories on bogus online sites he set up.

Chew Kiew Cheng pleaded guilty to 24 charges of cheating 12 victims, totalling almost $6,300. Another 105 similar charges involving a total of $4,946 were considered during his sentencing.

The court heard the 29-year-old set up an email link on a new website that sold cheap jeans and teenage accessories with his girlfriend.

Chew, who is jobless, gave potential buyers his cellphone number to create the impression that he was a salesman for the website. He asked victims to transfer money into his personal account and promised to deliver the goods in three to four weeks.

But the victims - mainly in their teens - never got them after making payments. Instead, Chew used the money for himself, in part to cover personal debts.

The swindled buyers reported to police in October last year.

This led to the arrest of Chew and his alleged accomplice, his 19-year-old girlfriend. The woman has yet to be dealt with.

He could have been jailed for up to seven years or fined or jailed and fined on each charge.

fatz2

S'pore's largest Newater plant to start construction in April


Construction of the new plant will begin in April and will supply PUB with 50 million gallons of NEWater a day when it is completed in 2010. -- PHOTO: SEMBCORP

SEMBCORP Newater, a new subsidiary set up by Sembcorp Utilities has signed a 25-year agreement with national water agency, PUB, on Thursday to design, build, own and operate Singapore's largest Newater plant at Changi.

Construction of the new plant will begin in April and will supply PUB with 50 million gallons of Newater a day when it is completed in 2010.

The Changi Newater plant will adopt a cost-saving 'plant-on-plant' design, where the main process facilities of the plant will be built on the roof-top of the Changi water reclamation plant and the storage tanks will be built on land.

At its peak, an expected 250 employees will be working on the plant's construction with a crew of 20 people to run the plant when it is fully operational.

'The Changi Newater plant will further strengthen SembCorp's track record but also contribute to Singapore's sustainability in water,' said Mr Moh Wung Hee, PUB's director for Best Sourcing.

SembCorp will be the third private company to supply water to PUB under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), with the first two being Singspring and Keppel Seghers Newater Development, who own and operate the Singspring Desalination Plant and Keppel Seghers Ulu Pandan Newater Plant respectively.

Currently, Newater meets more than 15 per cent of Singapore's daily water needs. The addition of the Changi plant will increase that to 30 per cent by 2010.

fatz

Aussie pilot charged with unauthorised flight into S'pore
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent


Clad in a short-sleeve blue shirt and tie and khaki trousers, Thomas was calm when the charge under the Air Navigation Order was read to him. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI

AN AUSTRALIAN who flew into Singapore last month on a Cessna 208 without an approved flight plan was charged in a district court on Thursday with flying without a certificate of airworthiness.

Rhys Henry Thomas, 59, is alleged to have piloted the 1998 Australian-registered Caravan amphibious seaplane without the valid certificate issued by the Australian authority at about 7.20pm on Jan 22.

He is believed to have flown in from Koh Samui, Thailand, with a passenger.

Clad in a short-sleeve blue shirt and tie and khaki trousers, Thomas was calm when the charge under the Air Navigation Order was read to him.

If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $5,000 or a year's jail, or both.

His lawyer, Mr Salem Ibrahim, applied for the case to be adjourned to make representations to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

The prosecution sought bail of $15,000 but counsel asked for the bail to be reduced to a third.

Mr Ibrahim said his client had been here for the past five weeks and had his passport with him. He assured the court that there was no flight risk.

But Inspector Leow Teck Wee disagreed. As a foreigner, he said Thomas had no links or ties in Singapore and his attendance must be compelled with an appropriate amount of bail.

District Judge John Ng set bail at $10,000 and impounded his passport.

The case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on March 13.

Ratu_Lybeau

Originally posted by fatz2 at 28-2-2008 11:34 PM
Manhunt for escaped JI leader intensifies
By Teh Joo Lin, Tania Tan and K.C Vijayan


http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20080228/front-seenhim.jpg  http://www.straitstimes.com/S ...

mesti kecoh kat spore skarang kan......How I wish Im there to witness....mesti best....

btw....how can he escaped.....kan kawalan ketat....
maybe dia ada extra skill tak....teleport...cam citer xmen.....

tig_cun

kecoh sesangat... paling geram kat woodlands chkpt.. jam rabak sampai la now nie... eii...