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- B E R I T A _ H A R I _ I N I _ 2 0 0 8 -
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Jan 11, 2008
Kitchen fires a major concern, says SCDF
Unattended cooking fires up 7% last year; rubbish chute fires remain high
By Tracy Sua and Teh Joo Lin
DEADLY CONSEQUENCES: While blazing corridor clutter, like this case (above) in Dover Road last month, did not kill anyone last year, shopfront clutter did. Two siblings died when products kept outside a provision shop in Hougang Ave 8 caught fire last September. -- ST FILE PHOTO
EVERY two days, there are three cases of pots boiling over in a kitchen, sparking off fires that burn out homes.
Unattended cooking led to 546 fires last year, an increase of more than 7 per cent over the 509 cases in 2006.
The phenomenon was serious enough for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to point it out as a key area of concern yesterday, when it revealed its annual fire and ambulance statistics.
Kitchen fires can have life-threatening consequences as the flames spread quickly from the stove to flammable items such as wooden cabinets.
An SCDF study of 652 unattended cooking fires that occurred between April 2006 and June last year indicated that almost half, or 48 per cent of the cases, involved residents between 41 and 60 years in age. Slightly over half of them were men.
Most times, fires started while they were preparing lunch.
A total of 3,213, or 67 per cent, of the 4,796 fires last year were in residential areas.
Discarded items that cluttered common areas caused its fair share of damage with 493 cases last year - 64 more than the previous year.
Just last month, several people had to be rescued from lifts and homes and five suffered from smoke inhalation when a blaze started at a huge heap of discarded furniture and mattresses in a Dover Road block of flats.
Director of SCDF operations Colonel Eric Yap said public education is crucial and home owners must act responsibly. Town councils provide disposal services for bulky items such as furniture.
While blazing corridor clutter did not kill anyone last year, shop front clutter did.
Two siblings died when products kept outside a provision shop in Hougang Avenue 8 caught fire last September.
In the wake of the Hougang fire, some town councils intensified their drive to get shops to comply with fire safety guidelines on goods displayed outdoors.
Town councils stepped up enforcement checks, with some hiring uniformed patrols. Ten of the 16 town councils now have uniformed enforcement officers patrolling the neighbourhood to enforce fire safety rules.
Rubbish chute blazes were also a concern with 1,199 cases last year.
SCDF said 'poor social habits' of residents are the cause. Some threw things such as cigarette butts, lighted incense and charcoal embers into the chute.
Spikes in the number of chute fires occur around festive periods. The reason: the baking of festive goodies on charcoal stoves. Once the baking is over, some people simply tip the charcoal embers into the rubbish chute.
[email protected] |
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Higher take-home pay for some civil servants due to error in CPF deduction system
By Hasnita A.Majid, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 January 2008 2242 hrs
SINGAPORE: Some civil servants, including teachers, got a surprise when they received their pay slips on Friday.
Their take-home pay was higher than usual.
This was due to a glitch in the system when it came to the deductions for CPF contributions.
And as a result, the employees' and employers' contributions were reduced.
For example, Channel NewsAsia understands that for some, only between four and eight per cent of their Employee's Contribution was deducted, instead of the required 20 per cent.
It's not clear how many people were affected.
But a check by Channel NewsAsia found that some are in the Management Support Officer scheme.
The Accountant-General's Department confirmed that there is a technical glitch in the system.
It added that the error has been identified and will be rectified by the end of this month.
To offset the extra amount which had been mistakenly added in the take-home pay, the department will recover this sum from next month's pay.
Civil service salaries are now centralised at the Ministry of Finance.
The Centre for Shared Services also pools services such as processing of staff claims and staff training. -CNA/vm |
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Some using own "device" to steal water at car parks
By Lee Khai Yan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 January 2008 2042 hrs
SINGAPORE: Just to save a few cents, some have resorted to stealing.
They were caught using their own "device" to use water without paying, at a car park in Tiong Bahru.
Multi-storey car parks have designated washing bays for residents to wash their cars.
All you have to pay is 20 cents for 14 litres of water from the taps supplied.
But in a car park along Kim Tian Road, Channel NewsAsia抯 news team discovered that cleaners have been using the water for free.
They work for companies which offer car washing services.
And although the taps come without handles, the cleaners simply inserted a wire, to twist and turn on the tap.
And they're not the only culprits.
Some residents said they've seen some housewives doing the same.
In response to such complaints, the Tanjong Pagar Town Council has completely removed some of the water taps in the area. -CNA/vm |
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Stay mentally and physically active as one ages, advises MM Lee
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 January 2008 1926 hrs
SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said the biggest mistake one can make is to retire and not stay mentally and physically active.
That is why he continues to stimulate himself mentally by staying updated with developments and interacting with people.
Mr Lee was speaking at a dialogue at the Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition held at the Suntec Convention Centre on Friday.
He noted that for most people, retirement is a much awaited time for rest. But Mr Lee warned that a tendency to withdraw from everything will leave a person with no purpose in life. This is what he certainly does not intend to do.
Mr Lee said: "I'm determined that I will not, as long as I can, ... have my horizons close on me like that. It is the stimuli, it is the constant interaction with people across the world that keeps me aware and alive to what's going on and what we can do to adjust to this different world. In other words, you must have an interest in life."
The Minister Mentor warned that if a person believes in retiring at 55 years old to read books, play golf and just sit back to enjoy life, he will be done in.
That's because, Mr Lee said, research has shown that a person who leads a sedentary life is more likely to die earlier.
So, his advice is that it's best to keep on working and challenge oneself physically and mentally.
In fact, Mr Lee does not even believe in having a retirement age.
He said: "I think a man should go on working or a woman should go on working as long as they can but changing the nature and intensity of the work, as he ages.
"Retirement means death. If you ask me, for me, retirement would have meant death. I would have just shrunken up. I will not be able to speak to you in this way if I've not led a very active life, connected with the world, connected with many people throughout the world, reading, talking, understanding, assimilating and trying to interpret it to make sense for Singapore."
But Mr Lee pointed out that it is difficult for Singapore to change a world practice that has been passed down since the British rule.
He said: "It's difficult to switch from what was a world practice that we adopted, the British left us with it. (First, it was) 55, we pushed it up to 60, and then to 62."
On his health, the Minister Mentor admitted that he used to be a heavy smoker and drinker, when he was in his 30s.
But smoking caused him to lose his voice and that prompted him to quit.
He recalled: "I was about 34 (years old), we were competing in elections and I was very fond of drinking beer and smoking. After the election campaign, in the town memorial hall (we had won the city-council election campaign), I couldn't thank my voters because I had lost my voice."
Then came the time for him to watch his drinking habit.
He said: "One day, I was at the home of my colleague, Mr Rajaratnam, meeting foreign correspondents including some from the London Times and they took a picture of me and I had a big belly.....a beer belly. I thought, 'no, no. This won't work'. So I started to play more golf, hit hundreds of balls on the practice tee. But this didn't go down. There's only one way it could go down. Consume less, burn out more."
Turning 85 this year, Mr Lee said he never planned to live to this age.
"My mother died when she was 74, she had a stroke. My father died when he was 94. So my calculations are somewhere between 74 and 94, and I'm now at the halfway point," he said.
During the hour-long dialogue, Minister Mentor Lee also clarified a comment he made at a recent Institute of Southeast Asian Studies event.
He had said that Singapore should strive to become more like Italy and Austria. Some thought he was referring to the economic standards of those two countries.
But, Mr Lee said, that's not quite what he meant. What he actually meant is that Singapore should strive to become a cultured society like Italy and Austria.
"Let's move in the direction of being a cultivated society and be what Italy has in its culture and civilisation and what the Austrians have. We must make economic growth. Without economic growth, we won't be here today. We won't have the connectivity, we won't attract people to be part of the world. But having made this, let's now raise our cultural levels and in the next 15, 20, 30, 40 years, by the next two generations, we have a more cultivated society," he said. - CNA/ir
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senang arr cakap, takyah pk pasal duit nak bayar itu ini mcm org2 tua lain...terbang sana sini mcm naik bas jer |
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Saturday 12 January 2008 (04 Muharram 1429)
Heavy Rains Lash Makkah
Badea Abu Al-Naja, Arab News
MAKKAH, 12 January 2008 |
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Elderly woman robbed in lift at Fook Hai Building
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 January 2008 1538 hrs
SINGAPORE: An elderly woman was robbed in a lift on Thursday afternoon at around noon at Fook Hai Building, along South Bridge Road.
Police said the Chinese woman, who is in her late 70s, was going into a lift when a couple joined her.
The woman first flipped her scarf which hit the victim's face, then pushed her before running out of the lift.
The victim did not suspect anything initially. But when she reached the third floor of the building, she realised her wallet with S$450 cash was missing from her handbag.
- CNA/so |
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Jan 10, 2008
River Valley High to get new $79m campus in Jurong
It will welcome its first batch of students in 2010
By Jane Ng
Located at the junction of Jalan Boon Lay and Boon Lay Avenue, the 7.64ha campus will welcome its first batch of students in 2010. -- PHOTO: MOE
RIVER Valley High's new campus in Jurong will be one of the largest and most expensive school buildings in Singapore.
To cost $79 million to build, it will have full facilities for its six-year integrated programme.
Located at the junction of Jalan Boon Lay and Boon Lay Avenue, the 7.64ha campus will welcome its first batch of students in 2010.
The school will have state-of-the art facilities to cater to 2,500 students from Secondary 1 to Junior College Year 2.
River Valley High, now at Malan Road, off Alexandra, currently has 1,600 students from Secondary 1 to 4.
Principal Miss Ek Soo Ben said she would like all students to have a taste of hostel living at one point in their six years.
She also wants to open this to its foreign partner schools for learning exchanges.
'With a hostel, we can have learning symposiums for foreign partner schools and their students can work on meaningful projects together with our students,' she said.
Apart from standard facilities like 50 classrooms, two lecture theatres, an indoor sports hall and a big canteen, the school will also have non-standard ones like a performing arts theatre and special science labs.
The school will have to raise about $1.2 million to $1.5 million for these non-standard facilities.
As it is the west zone Centre of Excellence for science and technology, its six special science laboratories will have the latest facilities for photonics, mechatronics, analytical chemistry and molecular biology.
Being a Special Assistance Planned school with a strong Chinese tradition, the new building design will feature elements of Chinese heritage.
For instance, it will have meandering walkways and six courtyards, each with a different theme.
Students are thrilled with the new campus.
Secondary 4 student Lim Ze Ming, 16, who is a 400m runner for the school, said: 'Having an indoor sports hall would mean training can continue regardless of the weather. Now we do strength training in the gym because it's raining and we can't train.'
Geraldine Yeo, who plays the erhu in the Chinese Orchestra, said she is looking forward to performing in the new theatre, instead of having to travel to Victoria Concert Hall to do so. |
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Jan 13, 2008
River Valley High is in River Valley, right?
Wrong. And that's not the only school in Singapore that has a misleading name
By Deepika Shetty
'The name and image of a school takes years to build. If you change it, you have to go through the whole process of rebuilding it'
Ms Jagjit Kaur, a social worker who works closely with schools
BEWILDERED school kids. Puzzled parents. Confusion over expectations that don't add up. No, this isn't another controversy over exams or even that overworked lament, the stressful school system.
The subject: schools and their names. Like why Swiss Cottage Secondary School is nowhere close to its earlier location in Dunearn Road, near the Swiss Cottage Estate. It is now in far-off Bukit Batok Street 34.
Looking for Beatty Secondary School? You'd do well to start your search in Toa Payoh. Should you end up at Beatty Road, off Serangoon Road, which was home to the school, what you will find instead is the self-help group Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) and the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre.
That's not all. Whitley Secondary School is nowhere in Whitley Road but in Bishan and the Yio Chu Kang Secondary School is in Ang Mo Kio.
River Valley High School is another that will have parents scratching their heads. In two years, when it moves to a new site, don't go anywhere near River Valley. Think west, in terms of way over in Boon Lay, instead.
The confusion over school names that don't match their location has arisen due to schools moving for reasons such as bigger premises or making way for other developments.
The result: The unprepared might need a lesson in geography to track a school down.
And for some, this is unnecessarily testing. Fouzia, 36, a mother of twin girls, believes a school's name should change if it moves location.
While on the lookout for schools for her six-year-old daughters, Nur Haziqah and Nur Sarwizah, she found it unsettling to see how names and locations can throw a parent off.
Making the point that a school's name and location are part of its identity, she says: 'I studied at Opera Estate Primary School and the immediate connect is with the Frankel area. If the name is associated with a place, it's only logical that it should change; if not, the school loses its identity.'
Dad-of-three S. Vivakanandan, 45, chief executive officer of Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital, notes: 'If the name carries a certain heritage, like Bartley, Beatty or Gan Eng Seng, then the names should remain. However, if there is no heritage value to the name, then schools can adopt a new name based on their new locality.
'Maybe we should move towards more generic names like Casuarina Primary in Pasir Ris, rather than street names.'
Mum-of-one Jagjit Kaur, a social worker who works closely with schools, adds: 'The name and image of a school takes years to build. If you change it, you have to go through the whole process of rebuilding it. It doesn't really matter where a school is located as long as it's built a solid reputation.'
Whatever the case, there is no denying that confusion can arise.
Another parent, Mr John Francis, 47, sales and marketing director of Horizon Books, recalls: 'I was to visit the Outram Institute some years ago and assumed it was in Outram. I confidently told the taxi driver to head to Outram and ended up getting lost.
'When we checked with people, we learnt it was in Braddell.'
[email protected] |
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Top PSLE student says love for reading helped her excel in studies
By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 January 2008 1619 hrs
Natasha Nabila Muhammad Nasir
SINGAPORE: The top PSLE student last year said reading is her most important habit.
Natasha Nabila Muhammad Nasir, who is also last year's top Malay student, believes that reading helped her achieve the record aggregate of 294.
Sharing her thoughts at a storytelling and dialogue session organised recently by the National Library Board (NLB), Natasha said she started reading on her own when she was about 2-and-a-half years old and the activity has increased her general knowledge, built up her vocabulary and helped her in composition writing.
Reading is also a key element in her studies.
"Other aspects include memorising, researching through internet, but I think reading still ranks number one because I started reading first," she said.
Natasha's love for reading should be attributed to her mother, Zaharah Othman. The housewife said she started reading to Natasha while she was in her womb.
"By giving her a head-start in reading, she has that focus and concentration which have enabled her to sit and read for a long time," said Madam Zaharah.
Natasha tries to bring a book with her every time she leaves her house and her habit is in line with NLB's advice on how to inspire one's child to read. Among the advice is to share stories with the child and to read out loud.
Natasha's PSLE score of 294 |
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Originally posted by fatz at 13-1-2008 01:32 AM 
Jan 10, 2008
River Valley High to get new $79m campus in Jurong
It will welcome its first batch of students in 2010
By Jane Ng
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20080110/sg- ...
ntah sempat ke tidak nek keje situ cu... |
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nape pulak tak sempat nek?....nek dah nak niaga ke?..taknak keje lagik?
Singapura : 18 Januari 2008
SYARIKAT MELAYU/ISLAM TERSENARAI DALAM SINGAPORE 1000
Prestasi dinilai dari 1 Jun 2006 hingga 31 Mei tahun lalu dan berdasarkan perangkaan yang diaudit
Oleh
Norhaiza Hashim
SYARIKAT-SYARIKAT anak Melayu/Islam tidak ketinggalan turut disenaraikan ke dalam Singapore 1000 (S1000) yang menamakan syarikat-syarikat terbesar dan terbaik Singapura.
Antaranya ialah Prestige Marine Services Pte Ltd, milik Datuk Zain Abdullah; Second Chance Properties Ltd (SCP), yang diasaskan Encik Salleh Marican; dan syarikat Muhibbah Travel, Tours & Trading Pte Ltd.
Prestige Marine menduduki tempat ke-359 bagi penilaian penjualan tahun ini, daripada tempat ke-590 tahun lalu dan ke-747 pada 2006.
Berdasarkan buku Singapore 1000 (Edisi ke-21, 2008) yang diterbitkan DP Information Group, penjualan Prestige Marine meningkat 120.38 peratus kepada $521.8 juta bagi tahun kewangan berakhir Jun 2006.
Keuntungan bersih Prestige Marine naik 83.53 peratus, mencecah $6.1 juta.
Prestasi kewangan S1000 dinilai dari 1 Jun 2006 hingga 31 Mei tahun lalu. Ia berdasarkan perangkaan yang sudah diaudit oleh auditor syarikat.
Second Chance Properties, yang disenaraikan di papan utama Bursa Singapura (SGX), menduduki tempat ke-762 dari segi penyenaraian keuntungan bersih terbaik S1000.
Keuntungan Second Chance Properties mencecah $10.5 juta, manakala penjualannya mencapai $42 juta bagi tahun kewangan berakhir Jun 2006.
Muhibbah Travel yang diuruskan oleh Pengarah Urusan, Encik Aslam Mahmed, menduduki tempat ke-941 dari segi penilaian penjualan. Penjualannya mencecah $131.7 juta pada akhir tahun kewangan yang berakhir Disember 2006.
Syarikat-syarikat milik peniaga Muslim yang turut disenaraikan dalam S1000 ialah syarikat tukaran mata wang asing Exchange International Pte Ltd yang terletak di Collyer Quay dan RSH Ltd yang terletak di MacPherson Road.
Beberapa syarikat Melayu/Islam turut tersenarai di kalangan 500 syarikat kecil dan sederhana terbaik (SME500) tahun ini.
Antara syarikat yang tersenarai dalam 500 syarikat yang mempunyai penjualan terbaik ialah PropNex Realty yang menduduki tempat ke-94, dengan penjualan $40 juta bagi tahun kewangan berakhir Disember 2006.
Bagi penyenaraian keuntungan bersih terbaik, antara syarikat Melayu tersenarai dalam SME500 itu ialah Zac Meat & Poultry Pte Ltd yang menduduki tempat ke-284 dengan keuntungan bersih $0.5 juta dan Wood Doctor (Far East Pte Ltd) yang menduduki tempat ke-440 yang meraih keuntungan $0.2 juta.
Zac Meat dimiliki Encik Zeid Alsagoff dan isterinya, Cik Hanim Alsree. Mereka juga pemilik francais Canadian 2For1 Pizza di bawah syarikat Hobbs Holdings.
Wood Doctor pula dimiliki oleh Encik Mohammad Zain Abdul Hamid.
Salah sebuah syarikat tersenarai dalam SME Berpotensi Untuk Disenarai Dalam SME 500 ialah Shahidah Travel & Tours Pte Ltd.
Syarikat-syarikat ini merupakan SME dalam kedudukan 501-700. |
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Malay charity foundation collects close to S$1m in donation drive
By Ahmad Dhafeer, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 18 January 2008 2303 hrs
SINGAPORE: Malay charity foundation Tabung Amal Aidilfitri (TAA) has collected close to S$1 million, in its annual donation drive.
And all its effort culminated in a charity concert, which was telecast live on MediaCorp's Suria Channel on Friday at 8.30pm.
Top local Malay artistes performed at the event called 'Sinaran Hati' which means 'Ray of Hope'.
Among them were winners from 'Live The Dream' competition, soloist Fendi and top band 'By Definition'. Malaysian heart-throb Anuar Zain was also specially flown in.
Guest of honour for the event was Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi.
Viewers were encouraged to call in throughout the two-hour show to make a donation. All proceeds will go to various charity organisations and needy families.
This is the 10th year TAA is collaborating with Suria Channel.
Over S$400,000 were collected through telephone donations organised by MediaCorp's radio station, Warna, and donation boxes located around the island.
To encourage more people to donate, TAA introduced new initiatives in 2007 including 'meals for charity' and a lucky draw. - CNA/vm |
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Singapura : 19 Januari 2008
JEL DUA MINGGU, DENDA $86,890 KERANA ELAK CUKAI
SEORANG rakan kongsi sebuah perniagaan bekalan makanan dihukum penjara dua minggu dan diarah membayar denda sebanyak $86,890 semalam kerana mengisytiharkan pendapatan bersama yang lebih rendah selama dua tahun.
Ong Guan Hwa, 34 tahun, mengaku salah atas dua tuduhan membuat perisytiharan yang tidak benar dalam penyata cukai pendapatannya bagi 2004 dan 2005.
Dia mengisytiharkan pendapatan bersama lebih rendah yang diperolehinya daripada syarikat Hup Lee Frozen Food.
Ong merupakan pembekal makanan pertama yang didakwa mengelak cukai.
Syarikat itu, yang mempunyai dua rakan kongsi lain, membekalkan bahan makanan seperti kepak ayam, hot dog dan filet ikan ke gerai-gerai makan di serata Singapura.
Pegawai guaman Penguasa Hasil Mahsul Singapura (Iras), Cik Quek Hui Ling, memberitahu mahkamah bahawa Ong, Tan Boon Hai dan Toh Swee Hoon mengongsi jumlah saham yang sama dalam perniagaan bersama itu.
Semasa melakukan kesalahan itu, Ong bertanggungjawab ke atas urusan kewangan, akaun dan cukai serta telah mengisi borang penyata cukai perniagaan bersama itu.
Cik Quek memberitahu Hakim Daerah, Cik May Mesenas, bahawa hukuman penjara patut dikenakan memandangkan kesalahan itu amat serius.
Terdapat juga keperluan menyampaikan mesej yang keras kepada Ong dan orang ramai di Singapura, katanya.
Beliau menambah, hukuman penjara dua minggu bagi setiap dakwaan itu adalah satu kebiasaan.
Dalam kenyataannya, Iras berkata Tan dan Toh juga telah mengisytiharkan pendapatan bersama yang rendah berjumlah $362,010 bagi 2004 dan 2005.
Kedua-dua mereka membayar cukai dan denda berjumlah $211,866.
Iras menasihatkan semua syarikat berkongsi agar memberikan perisytiharan yang benar dan tepat.
'Meskipun Iras percaya kebanyakan pembayar cukai mematuhi undang-undang dan menyumbang jumlah cukai mereka yang adil, tindakan keras akan diambil terhadap sebilangan kecil mereka yang berdegil,' kata Iras dalam kenyataannya. |
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Singapura : 19 Januari 2008
DITUDUH SELUDUP PIL UBAT BATUK
Oleh
Khalid Khamis
HANYA ubat batuk dijual Mohamad Azlan Mohd Noor. Namun, ia membawa padah ke atasnya.
Walaupun ubat pil Dextromethrophan itu, yang dikenali juga sebagai Romilar, tidak disenaraikan sebagai dadah terkawal, ia disenaraikan dalam Akta Racun dan hanya boleh diimport dan dijual dengan lesen sah.
Mohamad Azlan, 37 tahun, menjualnya tanpa lesen.
Pada 4 Januari lalu, dia didakwa di Mahkamah Rendah dengan tuduhan menyeludup hampir 7,000 pil Romilar dari Batam menerusi pintu masuk di Harbour Front Centre.
Dia ditahan seorang pegawai Pusat Pentadbiran Dadah (CDA), Penguasa Sains Kesihatan (HSA), sejurus selepas memasuki kawasan pemeriksaan imigresen di pusat itu sekitar 4.40 petang 31 Ogos lalu.
Pil itu ditemui dalam kotak jamu dalam begnya.
Mohamad Azlan, seorang penganggur yang berambut pendek, bertubuh sederhana dan berkemeja-T polo hitam, kelihatan tenang apabila kesnya didengar lagi di hadapan Hakim Daerah, Encik John Ng, semalam.
Menerusi penterjemah bertugas, Mohamad Azlan, yang tidak diwakili peguam, meminta agar kesnya ditunda selama seminggu untuk dia mengumpul duit bagi membayar denda kelak.
Encik Ng membenarkannya tetapi menegaskan penundaan itu adalah yang terakhir.
Perbuatan Mohamad Azlan membawa masuk secara haram pil Romilar dan mengedarkannya di kawasan Bukit Batok dilaporkan Berita Harian November lalu.
Mereka yang didapati bersalah mengimport atau menjual pil Romilar boleh dihukum denda sehingga $10,000 atau penjara sehingga dua tahun atau kedua-dua hukuman sekali. |
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Jan 19, 2008
Terrorist in S'pore US embassy bomb plot gets life sentence
NEW YORK- A HIGH-level Al-Qaeda associate was sentenced by a New York court Friday to life in prison for plotting to bomb US embassies in Manila and Singapore, in a case shrouded in secrecy since his arrest in 2002.
Mohammed Mansour Jabarah pleaded guilty six years ago to conspiracy to kill US citizens in plots against the two embassies. Prosecutors had requested Jabarah, a Canadian citizen of Iraqi descent, be handed down a life sentence.
The sentence was due to 'the nature of your participation in two conspiracies at the very highest level,' federal judge Barbara Jones said.
'You have admitted ... that you were involved in heinous crimes. Although you were only 19 or 20 years old ... you did participate and really ran -- as the emissary of Osama bin Laden -- these two operations,' the judge said.
'Regardless of whom you may have become today, I must deal with the acts you committed.'
She nixed the defendant's request to be released, saying: 'You were not incidental to these plots. You were the person sent to Southeast Asia," by Al-Qaeda to carry out the plots.
According to US agents, Jabarah met Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and was sent by Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind behind the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, to meet Jemaah Islamiyah figures in Southeast Asia to plan the bombings.
Jemaah Islamiyah was blamed for the 2002 bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, which killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists.
According to a sentencing memorandum produced by US prosecutors, Jabarah secretly plotted to kill US agents with whom he was supposedly cooperating after his arrest in Oman in 2002.
Jabarah pleaded guilty in July of that year after being brought to the United States and initially cooperating with federal investigators.
But according to the sentencing memorandum, Jabarah was 'secretly planning to exploit the perception of cooperation that he created.'
'Weapons and papers seized from Jabarah during an impromptu search of his quarters left little doubt that Jabarah was bent on carrying out a martyrdom mission to murder the 'infidel' agents and prosecutors whom he considered responsible for his capture,' the memorandum said.
Documents drafted by Jabarah while in jail 'demonstrated his commitment to waging jihad against the infidels, killing his captors, and presumably himself,' it said. -- AFP |
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The dome picked for Sports Hub
By Jeanette Wang and Leonard Lim
THE WINNING PROPOSAL incorporeates a dome-shaped stadium with a lightweight retractable roof that can project different colour schemes at night. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB CONSORTIUM
KALLANG will have one of the world's biggest domes dominating its landscape by the end of 2011, to replace the 35-year-old National Stadium.
The Singapore Sports Hub consortium has pipped two other groups for the right to build and run the Sports Hub for 25 years, it was announced yesterday.
The Government will pay the consortium $1.87 billion in all over this period. Led by construction firm Dragages Singapore, the consortium will bear the $1.2 billion capital expenditure.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, hinted at what set the dome apart from the 'horseshoe' and 'crumpled tissue' designs of the contenders: its packed sporting calendar.
That accounted for 40 per cent of the ratings by the 11-member evaluation panel, which included Singapore Sports Council (SSC) representatives.
The minister acknowledged that Singaporeans might well query the $1.87 billion the Government was paying out for the Sports Hub.
Singapore needed an icon that would draw in top sporting talent, and create jobs and a lifestyle in sync with a sophisticated service economy, he said.
The stadium was 'a piece of a much larger jigsaw' which included the Esplanade, the building of the two integrated resorts and the development of Marina South.
'This is an investment and this is money well spent,' he told reporters gathered at The Ritz-Carlton hotel for the announcement of the winning design.
Asked to explain the initial price tag of between $650 million and $800 million, SSC head Oon Jin Teik said that this was based on the 2005 price index which had not accounted for a water sports centre for the new premises.
Besides the water sports centre and the 55,000-seater stadium, the Sports Hub project will also have 41,000 sq m of leisure, shopping and dining facilities. |
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Toss that cigarette butt? You're being watched
NEA has 470 officers to enforce anti-litter laws; over 20,000 litterbugs nabbed last year
By Mavis Toh
AN OFFENDER (IN WHITE) ARGUES: with an undercover NEA officer after he was caught tossing a cigarette butt on the grounf. He was fined $200. His girlfriend (seated) was also fined. -- ST PHOTOS: LIM WUILIANG
THREE men stand in a corner of Orchard Road, absorbed in conversation. Their lips move in sync, but there is no eye contact between them.
Instead, they furtively scan the crowd, picking out those who let things slip out of their hands.
Once an unsuspecting target tosses a cigarette butt, tissue paper or a disposable cup on the ground and walks away, these National Environment Agency (NEA) enforcement officers move in.
The first name to enter their books is a teenager's. The young man, with dyed hair and dressed in jeans and a polo T-shirt, is the only one among his group of five friends to flick his cigarette stub carelessly on the ground.
'I didn't do it,' he protests when the NEA officers confront him. He is given a $200 fine.
Feigning ignorance is a common tactic of litterbugs, said NEA inspection manager Michael Chew.
Otherwise, they ask to be let off with a warning, giving excuses like they dropped it 'by accident' or they were 'planning to pick it up before leaving', said Mr Chew, who routinely carries out such spot checks.
Of the over 20,000 litterbugs nabbed last year, 385 were repeat offenders who paid higher fines and were made to pick up rubbish under the Corrective Work Order scheme.
Five other litterbugs caught in the 21/2-hour operation in Orchard Road were also done in by cigarette butts.
Among them was Mr Nagappa Balakrishnan, 20, who was fined $350 for littering and spitting at Wheelock Place.
The cleaner, who earns $700 a month, clearly felt the pain. He said: 'This is such a big fine, I won't throw things again.'
Although most caught red- handed were cooperative, the officers had to call the police when a couple in their 20s refused to show the officers their identification cards. They finally complied after 15 minutes, before the police arrived, and were each handed a $200 fine.
Only a select few - the elderly and tourists - were let off with a warning.
To curb the littering problem, the NEA sends out officers daily on enforcement assignments which last between four and 12 hours.
The agency has a pool of 470 officers for such undercover duties, including 50 from security companies Aetos and Certis Cisco.
Mr Chew said they can usually nab up to 20 litterbugs over three hours.
'Singaporeans need to take ownership of their own litter,' said Mr Chew. 'There are so many bins around, so please throw (your litter) into them.'
But for those who were caught and fined, none was asked to pick up what he let slip.
And none offered to. |
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57,000 affected by seven-hour MRT train disruption
Posted: 21 January 2008 1354 hrs
SINGAPORE : MRT services between Pasir Ris and Tanah Merah stations have resumed after a seven hour disruption.
Westbound and eastbound services between the two stations were affected from the start of operations at 5.28am till 12.45pm.
SMRT Corporation says the disruption was caused by the breakdown of a maintenance works train which was carrying out works between Tampines and Simei (westbound) MRT stations.
About 57,000 passengers were affected.
During the disruption, bus bridging services were activated to ferry passengers between the two stations.
Westbound shuttle trains were also put into place at a 28-minute interval to ease passenger flow at Tampines and Simei MRT stations. - CNA/ch |
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Category: Negeri & Negara
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Author
Post time 11-1-2008 10:37 PM
