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Stories you might’ve missed, Apr 28

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Maid doesn’t want to go with employers on holiday, asks if there will be consequences

 

YouTube screengrab from the Singapore International Student Film Festival

A foreign domestic worker asks if there are any consequences she will have to face for refusing to go with her employers on their holiday.

In a Facebook post on the group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a woman who gives her name as Deep Kaur posted this question on behalf of another domestic helper.

Read more here.


 

‘SPH is where it is today because it failed as a business’ — Tang Li

 

Photo: Blog screengrab/beautifullyincoherent.blogspot.com

Around a month ago, the former interim CEO of SPH Media Trust, Mr Patrick Daniel delivered a lecture on Stewardship Of The Singapore Media: Staying The Course, at the Institute of Policy Studies’ (IPS).

In his lecture, the veteran of the Singapore media scene outlined what he believed needed to be done in order for SPH Media Trust to become financially independent by 2045. The full report on what Mr Daniel said can be found at:

Read more here.


 

Old videos of Lee Kuan Yew on the death penalty go viral

 

It’s been more than seven years since Mr Lee Kuan Yew died, but that’s not stopped videos of Singapore’s first prime minister from going viral online.

Following Wednesday’s execution of Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, old video clips of Mr Lee being interviewed about drug trafficking and the death penalty in Singapore have been trending.

Read more here.


 

Animal Cruelty: Old man in JB rapes cat to death at children’s playground, and two men in NT detonated firecrackers in cat’s anus

 

a-man-has-been-charged-with-having-sex-with-a-cat

A 63-year-old man in Malaysia raped a cat in a playground in Johor Bahru, and the cat died as a result.

It was at around 4:30am on April 16 that the unemployed man from Sarawak forced himself on the cat in the Taman Ungku Tun Aminah housing area at a children’s playground in Skudai, Johor.

Read more here.


 

Woman says stall hawker at North Bridge Road hurls vulgar Hokkien expletives to people who sit at tables he ‘choped’ for himself

 

Photo: Fb screengrab/Singapore Incidents

A woman posted a video on the Singapore Incidents Facebook page on Tuesday (Apr 26) of a shouting match at a food centre after a hawker reportedly got angry when diners sat at the table he had reserved for himself.

The incident is said to have occurred at North Bridge Market and Food Center in North Bridge Road near the Lavender MRT station. Ms Summer Fung called the man an “Abusive Vegetarian Stall Hawker” in her post. “The hawker ‘choped’ two tables permanently for his own use and when patrons sit at the table, he hurls abusive and vulgar Hokkien expletives (at them),” she wrote.

Read more here.


Stay of execution granted to Datchinamurthy Kataiah, who was scheduled to be hanged tomorrow Apr 29

A last-minute stay of execution has been granted to Malaysian national Datchinamurthy Kataiah, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to be hanged.

Datchinamurthy, 36, represented himself before the High Court on Thursday morning, Apr 28. He has an ongoing prison correspondence misconduct legal challenge that is scheduled to be heard on May 20, wrote his former lawyer, Ravi M Ravi, in a Facebook post, adding “The question before the court is can they hang him this Friday when he has a hearing date fixed on the case to be heard on 20th May.”

In his next post, Mr Ravi announced that the stay of execution had been granted. “This underscores the importance of exhausting the legal process and trying till the end and not giving up.”

After the High Court’s decision, the Attorney-General’s Chambers filed an appeal against it, which was immediately heard by the Court of Appeal.

The Court dismissed the appeal, however, and maintained the stay of execution.

Malaysian lawyer N Surendran also tweeted about the stay of execution

Datchinamurthy had occupied a neighbouring cell to Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who was executed on Wednesday morning (Apr 27), despite global and local calls for his pardon. 

Nagaenthran, also a Malaysian national, was 34 when he was executed and had been on death row for a dozen years. He was said to have had an IQ of 69 as well as intellectual disabilities.

In 2015, Datchinamurthy, also a Malaysian national, was sentenced to hang after having been found guilty of smuggling 44.96gm of diamorphine into Singapore in 2011.

He claimed at that time that a man named “Rajah” had asked him to bring Chinese medicine into Singapore.

His family was informed that he was set to be executed last week, on Apr 21.

He filed for an eleventh-hour judicial review to prohibit the scheduled execution based on his pending legal challenge.

On Monday night, a candlelight vigil at Hong Lim Park was held for Nagaenthran and Datchinamurthy.

On March 30, Singapore carried out its first execution in more than two years. Abdul Kahar bin Othman, 68, had been convicted on two charges of trafficking diamorphine in 2013 and given the death penalty two years later. /TISG

UN Human Rights office urges gov’t to halt the imminent execution of Nagaenthran & Datchinamurthy; notes ‘alarming acceleration in execution notices’ in SG

Read also:

UN Human Rights office urges gov’t to halt the imminent execution of Nagaenthran & Datchinamurthy; notes ‘alarming acceleration in execution notices’ in SG 

Paul Tambyah, Alfian Sa’at, among those slated to speak at vigil for Nagaenthran & Datchinamurthy, who are scheduled for execution later this week – Singapore News 

Unpopular Opinion: Many netizens sympathetic towards death row inmates, but say criminals should not be treated as heroes – Singapore News 

‘Old apek’ cups & rubs woman’s buttocks in Sheng Shiong supermarket, woman grabs old man by the collar ready to ‘brutally murder him’

After an old man cupped her buttocks at a supermarket, one woman refused to remain quiet, raising such ruckus that the man was chased by Sheng Shiong personnel and later arrested by the police.

“I WAS MOLESTED YESTERDAY,” Ms Siti Mariam wrote in an Apr 22 Facebook post.

She had been shopping for groceries at Sheng Shiong at 154A Bukit Batok West Ave 8 with her young son when she “felt a hand cupped and brushed up my butt.”

It did not feel like an accidental touch, but an “intentional caress that lasted for a good 2 seconds”, she said.

At first, she thought it might have been her son who touched her, but when she turned, she came face to face with a man she described as “an old apek, botak, slightly shorter than me, grinning back at me”.

“I shouted ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!’ and instinctively brought up my hand to slap him. But my hand hit his phone on the way up and I managed to stop myself before I brutally murder him with my daun sop (chinese celery). I then bellowed at the top of my lungs ‘You better stay where you are, I’m calling the police!’”

The man began moving away from her. She went after him while trying to call the police as he made his way out of the supermarket.

Ms Siti also called out, “Someone help me stop him PLEASE. He molested me!!!” but said that no one came to her aid.

“At this point, everybody just looked at me, confused. The whole store went silent but nobody helped,” she added.

While on the phone with the police and holding her groceries in her hands, she “grabbed the apek by his back collar, telling him to stop.”

“The urge to punch him there and then, was oh so intense. I was angry, at him and at the fact that nobody tried to help or even asked what’s going on. I didn’t even care that I was fasting (we cannot get angry you see?). In my mind, I just wanted to get him real good.”

But the man got away again. And while a lady staff at the grocery tried to stop him from leaving, he was able to leave.

Ms Siti could not follow him because she was still hanging on to her groceries and had not yet paid for them. She was also still on the phone with the police.

Fortunately, two Sheng Siong staff ran after the man and brought him back. The police arrived later and arrested him.

“He is 66 years old. No priors (more like didn’t get caught before ah!) He admitted that he felt like molesting today, and so he did. CCTV showed his actions very clearly. It also showed very clearly of me trying to strike him. Ooops. Natural instinct OK?

Ms Siti said she was telling her story to thank the three people from Sheng Shiong who helped her, as well as to tell those who are molested not to stay quiet so that the culprits don’t get away.

She also asks people who witness such situations to help out. She said that she and her son were fine.

I had fever last night for a while maybe out of shock. Felt a little better after talking to the IO. She reassured me that wanting to hit him immediately was a normal reaction but not many can do that. Sadly most victims will just walk away.

“So fight or flight? Fight. Definitely fight.”

Netizens commenting on her post cheered her on, with many telling Ms Siti they are proud of her.

/TISG

Man allegedly molests two women at Toa Payoh MRT station

‘Don’t ignore warning signs’ — Netizens blame ‘selfish’ S’porean tourist for the death of Australian father & son who drowned in their attempt to rescue the tourist

Despite multiple warning signs advising visitors of the dangers of swimming in unpatrolled waters, a tourist from Singapore decided to take a dip and swiftly got swept offshore by the churning waves.

This heedless act culminated in the death of an Australian father and son in a bid to save the tourist. The rescue boat they were in was faulty and capsized.

Mr Andrew Francis Powell, 32, and his father, Mr Ross William Powell, 71, died while trying to save Mr Sanjay Bhaskar, 30, who disregarded the danger signs.

The Coroners Court of Victoria released the findings of the incident earlier this month, noting that the rescue boat used had a catastrophic fault before capsizing.

The Straits Times reported on April 27 that Mr Andrew Powell was waiting with his partner for the birth of their first child when the tragedy happened on April 21, 2019.

It was reported that Mr Sanjay visited Sherbrook River near the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, with another Singaporean, who is identified as Mr Abhinash Balachandran Pillai.

They parked near the river and walked to the shore, and in so doing, passing many signs indicating the dangers of swimming in unpatrolled and unpredictable waters.

However, Mr Sanjay decided to go in because he figured he was a good swimmer and only planned to stay in waist-high water.

Mr Abhinash recalled seeing “pretty high” waves, some of which were over 2m high. The waves crashed onto Mr Sanjay, and he got dragged away from the shore.

Meanwhile, Mr Abhinash misunderstood his friend’s cry for help as a signal to him to take a photo.

Eventually, Mr Abhinash realised his friend was in trouble and called emergency services as the waves continued sweeping Mr Sanjay ever further away.

The Powells, active volunteers for the Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club, responded to the call. They were accompanied by the local fire association captain, and the trio soon began the rescue mission.

Only the captain survived after a wave crashed into their boat, causing it to capsize.

The same boat drifted close to Mr Sanjay, who then grabbed hold of an attached line.

Both the captain and Mr Sanjay were rescued by helicopter and taken to the hospital.

“Despite warning signs, (Mr Sanjay), like many others who visit this country, entered the water,” said Victoria Deputy State Coroner Caitlin English in her findings of the case.

“While Australian-born beach users have the dangers and risks of swimming in unpatrolled beaches continually drilled into them from a young age, many tourists or new arrivals have no such knowledge or appreciation of how treacherous our waters can be,” she said.

“They subsequently not only risk their own lives when entering the water, but they risk the lives of their rescuers.”

No criminal charges have been pursued.

The three rescuers received bravery awards for their efforts. “I commend each of the volunteers and responding emergency personnel for their heroic actions on this tragic day,” said Ms English.

The online community commented on the incident, urging others to take heed of the warning signs and refrain from “selfish” and “reckless” behaviour.”

Photo: FB screengrab
Photo: FB screengrab
Photo: FB screengrab
Photo: FB screengrab
Photo: FB screengrab

/TISG

Toddler drowns in swimming pool as parents were busy with OnlyFans photoshoot

“The 80% of us are happy with the strict laws” — Netizen on CNB seizing over 2kg of heroin hidden in locked riser

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has arrested three Singaporeans after seizing more than 2kg of heroin, enough to satisfy 1,100 drug abusers for a week.

“The 80% of us are happy with the strict laws” — Netizen on CNB seizing over 2kg of heroin hidden in locked riser

CNB officers arrested a 21-year-old man on Apr 26 in the vicinity of Eunos Crescent. Two other men, aged 20 and 22, who are believed to be his associates, were arrested in follow-up operations.

Officers then escorted the 21-year-old to a locked riser enclosure, using a key found on him, and recovered about 2,312g of heroin, CNB said in a media release on Apr 27.

Photo: Taken from CNB website
Photo: Taken from CNB website

Under Section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, it is an offence for a person, on his or her behalf, or on behalf of any other person, whether or not that other person is in Singapore, to traffic in a controlled drug, offer to traffic in a controlled drug; or to do or offer to do any act preparatory to or for trafficking in a controlled drug, said CNB.

If a person is found guilty of trafficking more than 15g of pure heroin (diamorphine), they could face the death penalty.

Investigations into the suspects’ drug activities are ongoing.

“CNB remains committed to keeping Singapore safe from the harms of drugs and inhalants,” said the agency.

Malaysian Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, 34, was executed on Wednesday (Apr 27) following his arrest in 2009 for bringing 42.7g of heroin into Singapore. He had been convicted and sentenced to death in 2010.

With the recent news in mind, netizens commented on CNB’s operations, mostly noting they agreed with the country’s strict laws and penalties against illegal drug use and trafficking.

“For those who strongly opposed to the death penalty, come and criticize our laws, you got maybe about 13 years to finish studying law or be a psychiatrist doctor, still got time to go overseas and get a PHD, and come back and fight for them,” said Facebook user Gwendolyn Kuo. “The 80% of us are happy with the strict laws,” she added in a comment that gained more than 90 likes.

“Today, Malaysian national was hung for 44grams after all avenues of pardon were turned down and this case of three men with 2kg; what’s next? Have to follow this case,” said Facebook user See Min Tan.

More information on how to spot warning signs of potential drug problems and effectively engage young people to stay drug-free can be found on the CNB website.

Parents who suspect or are worried that their children may be involved with drugs can call the CNB hotline 1800-325-6666. Members of the public who have drug-related information can call the same hotline or make a report at https://www.eservices.cnb.gov.sg/feedback. /TISG

Richard Branson, for the third time, urges President Halimah to pardon Nagaenthran, calls death penalty a ‘horrible blotch’ on Singapore’s reputation

Old videos of Lee Kuan Yew on the death penalty go viral

It’s been more than seven years since Mr Lee Kuan Yew died, but that’s not stopped videos of Singapore’s first prime minister from going viral online.

Following Wednesday’s execution of Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, old video clips of Mr Lee being interviewed about drug trafficking and the death penalty in Singapore have been trending.

Nagaenthran, 34, was hanged for drug trafficking despite many challenges to his conviction and appeals for clemency on the grounds that he had an intellectual disability. He had been on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 42.72gm (1.5 oz) of pure heroin into Singapore.

His high-profile case has drawn interest from supporters and opponents of the death penalty. Amidst this, video clips of the late Mr Lee have popped up. They look to have been extracted from his interview on BBC’s HARDtalk programme.

In the hard-hitting interview, Mr Lee was asked about Singapore having one of the highest rates of capital punishment in the world. Singapore law prescribes the death penalty for those caught with more than 15g of pure heroin.

“If we could kill them a hundred times, we would.”

So said Mr Lee in an interview with Tim Sebastian, who was then the BBC’s anchor for its long-running HARDtalk programme.

The videos do not carry a date but current HARDtalk anchor Stephen Sackur took over in 2005, which means the interview was conducted some 17 years ago.

Said Mr Lee:

“It’s terrifying to see because you are then drug dependent, you steal, you cheat, you rob your own parents. I mean, it’s so destroying. And they come in knowing that death if they are found with this goods on them, but the rewards are so great. And they try.

“Without capital punishment, our transhipment rate as a drug centre would quadruple or quintuple.”

Former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew explains why Singapore needs the death penalty for drug traffickers:

@sureboh.sg

 

Netizens also shared Mr Lee’s interview with Tim Sebastian on BBC’s HARDTalk on the death penalty in Singapore:

Another Malaysian man, Datchinamurthy A/L Kataiah, is on death row, awaiting execution for drug-related offences. A legal challenge has been filed and is scheduled – to be heard in court in May. But his execution is set for Friday, April 29. /TISG

Paul Tambyah, Alfian Sa’at, among those slated to speak at vigil for Nagaenthran & Datchinamurthy, who are scheduled for execution later this week

‘These are all fake’ — Ong Ye Kung’s image being used to endorse medical products

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has posted a warning on Facebook that doctored pictures of him are being used to endorse “certain medical products”.

Mr Ong said in his post on Tuesday (Apr 26) that it was members of the public who alerted him and the Ministry of Health about the doctored photo. “These are all fake,” he said in posts on Instagram and Facebook.

“As a practice, MOH officials and political appointees do not endorse any medical products,” Mr Ong said, adding that the ministry is working with Facebook in Singapore to remove the unauthorised and misleading posts.

“Please be careful and not fall prey to such fake advertising,” he urged.

One of the photos online shows Mr Ong with his Malaysian counterpart, Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, holding an envelope. The caption begins “Malaysian Orthopaedic Association” and appears to advertise a product that promises to cure “lumbar spondylopathy,” a form of arthritis, “with miraculous effect”.

The sponsored post appears on the Facebook page of TXSJW pot, a store selling air fryers, which can no longer be accessed.

The image was taken from a March 23 Facebook post by Mr Ong, in which he and Mr Khairy Jamaluddin are pictured holding a book titled In This Together: Singapore’s Covid-19 Story.

The Health Minister is hardly the first official whose picture has been misused.

In August 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that he filed a police report about his photo being misused to spread fake news.

On Facebook, Mr Heng included a sponsored post from an entity called ‘Well Vacation,’ which reportedly linked to an article titled “The Nation Says Goodbye To Finance….” The post included a photo of him speaking at the World Bank-Singapore Infrastructure Summit with the caption “You can take a HUGE advantage of this program”.

But a search on the wellvacation.com site shows nothing when “Heng Swee Keat” is keyed in. /TISG

Heng Swee Keat lodges police report over his photo being used in a Facebook scam

Could Elon Musk help end world hunger instead of buying Twitter for US$44 billion? — Marvel star Simu Liu’s tweets, “Was there nothing better to do with 44 billion dollars?”

Less than two weeks after Elon Musk placed a bid to buy Twitter for US$44 billion (S$61 billion), the board of the social microblogging site agreed, and it was reported on Tuesday that Musk would take over as Twitter’s owner.

Many reacted online to the news, including Simu Liu, the Canadian star of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ring.

He tweeted: “Was there nothing better to do with 44 billion dollars?”

Incidentally, US$44 billion is just a shade under the annual GDP of Lithuania, which according to Worldometers, is US$ 47.5 billion.

Liu’s tweet is widely understood to be in the context of a tweet from Musk about solving world hunger in October last year.

A CNN report from that month claimed that the head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, said that “2 per cent of Elon Musk’s wealth could solve world hunger.”

Musk tweeted that if the UN World Food Programme “can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6bn (£4.7bn) will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.”

The head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, tweeted back then, saying that US$6 billion would not solve world hunger, but “WILL prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration and save 42 million people on the brink of starvation”.

In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, “With your help we can bring hope, build stability and change the future… I can be on the next flight to you. Throw me out if you don’t like what you hear!”

But back to Simu Liu. A number of Twitter users also remembered what Musk had said about ending world hunger as well.

Others, however, hit back at the actor, saying that how the multibillionaire, whose net worth is currently estimated to be US$264.6 billion (SGD365 billion), spends his money is his business.

Musk was a co-founder of a company that eventually became PayPal. SpaceX is likely one of the most high profile ventures he founded. Musk is best known as CEO of Tesla, which he joined in 2004.

Another Twitter user even wrote that what Musk is doing is a good thing, as he claims he is trying to protect free speech by buying Twitter.

Some even turned the argument around, asking the Marvel actor what he’s doing with his own wealth. Simu Liu is estimated to be worth US$19 million, or just a shade over S$26 million. 

/TISG

Elon Musk offers college student US$5,000 to take down Twitter account tracking his private jet, but teen has other ideas

Animal Cruelty: Old man in JB rapes cat to death at children’s playground, and two men in NT detonated firecrackers in cat’s anus

A 63-year-old man in Malaysia raped a cat in a playground in Johor Bahru, and the cat died as a result.

It was at around 4:30am on April 16 that the unemployed man from Sarawak forced himself on the cat in the Taman Ungku Tun Aminah housing area at a children’s playground in Skudai, Johor.

In the Sessions Court in Johor Bahru on Tuesday, Janting Keling pleaded guilty to having unnatural intercourse with a cat, causing its death.

Janting did not deny the charges read to him in front of Judge Fatimah Zahari, which stated that he had carnal intercourse against the order of nature. 

He was charged under Section 377 of Malaysia’s Penal Code, which carries a possible jail term of 20 years and a fine or whipping. Because he is older than 50, he is unlikely to be whipped.

When he was offered bail of RM15,000, he asked for the sum to be reduced as he was unemployed and had recently arrived from Sarawak. He also said he was living with his daughter and was unsure if his daughter would post bail for him, according to a report in The Rakyat Post. He did not have a lawyer to represent him.

The court then set the bail value of RM6,000 in one surety. The case will be mentioned again on May 25.

Detonating firecrackers in a cat’s anus

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, police officers in Nusa Tenggara have nabbed two people who are accused of setting off firecrackers in a cat’s anus. They were arrested on April 19 at their home after they had posted a video online of this horrid act.

“Based on the report of one of the animal activists and the pressure from netizens, we managed to catch the two people in the viral video,” says a police official.

The task was made easy for the police when they found recordings of the incident on the mobile phone of one of the perpetrators. The cruel pair face possibly a three-month jail term for this inhuman act.


The post A man has been charged with having sex with a cat appeared first on The Independent News.

 

Woman says stall hawker at North Bridge Road hurls vulgar Hokkien expletives to people who sit at tables he ‘choped’ for himself

A woman posted a video on the Singapore Incidents Facebook page on Tuesday (Apr 26) of a shouting match at a food centre after a hawker reportedly got angry when diners sat at the table he had reserved for himself.

The incident is said to have occurred at North Bridge Market and Food Center in North Bridge Road near the Lavender MRT station. Ms Summer Fung called the man an “Abusive Vegetarian Stall Hawker” in her post. “The hawker ‘choped’ two tables permanently for his own use and when patrons sit at the table, he hurls abusive and vulgar Hokkien expletives (at them),” she wrote.

For the uninitiated, to chope means to reserve a seat or place at a table.

Ms Fung followed her first statement by asking whether hawkers should be allowed to reserve and ‘chope’ tables for their own use, especially since the pandemic made social distancing necessary, which means fewer seats were available.

“Should he also control himself and not loudly scold Hokkien expletives in public places like hawker centers?” she asked, adding, “Its very bad for our children and also visitors to Singapore.”

Many commenters seemed to agree with Ms Fung.

One said that the hawker “behaved like a hooligan”.

A number of commenters urged her to report the hawker to the NEA (the National Environment Agency), as they can do something about it.

Others, however, sympathised with the hawker and said that the woman who got into a shouting match with him was in the wrong as well.

“Everyone chope seats in hawker centre. Hawkers are humans too, they just need a table to rest,” wrote one netizen.

/TISG

Man ‘chopes’ Ang Mo Kio parking lot ‘for a long time’ — Netizens point out there’s a big carpark nearby