Singapore — Another video has been circulating on WhatsApp Messenger of someone not wearing a face mask.
This time it is an elderly woman shopping for groceries.
In the video, the elderly woman is seen raising her middle finger at the beginning of the incident. This riles the man and he says repeatedly throughout the argument: “You are not wearing a mask and yet you raise the middle finger!”
The video, circulating on Wednesday (May 19), shows the elderly woman using a Personal Mobility Device (PMD) meant for older people, with her dog sitting in it.
In the video, the man who is filming her says loudly repeatedly that she is not wearing a mask.
The woman, however, responds that she is not afraid of him and urges him to report the matter to the police.
The exchange in the Hokkien dialect sees both hurling expletives at each other. At one point, the woman picks up a broom and approaches the man in a threatening manner.
Some of those who have seen the video say the incident took place at the Commonwealth Crescent market. /TISG
Singapore – Lots of people still go around in more than groups of two, breaking social gathering rules, at both Thomson Nature Park and Lower Peirce Reservoir Park, says a Facebook user.
Ms Annie Khuan, a netizen, shared her experiences at both parks, after the two-person rule was implemented, in a Facebook post on May 17.
She was stunned after witnessing many “members of the public in numerous groups of more than two persons” at Thomson Nature Park and Lower Peirce Reservoir Park on May 16.
One person was seen fishing illegally at Lower Peirce Reservoir Park even though a “no fishing” signboard was present.
Photo: FB screengrab/ Annie Khuan
“There was not a single National Park officer or ranger to stop or enforce the rule of (not) more than 2 persons in a group,” said Ms Khuan.
The new rules were implemented for the safety of the community and citizens should observe them, she said.
Ms Khuan also urged the National Parks Board to ensure stricter law enforcement against the offenders.
This was not the first time Ms Khuan expressed her disappointment at such offences by the locals during the pandemic.
The netizen also observed many members of the public without masks on though they were not doing any strenuous exercise.
She added that people brought their dogs to the Lower Peirce Trail, despite dogs not being allowed there due to the rich biodiversity, according to the National Parks Board.
“Thirdly, I saw members of the public brought along push scooter and big bicycle onto the nature trail which was illegal and prohibited”, Ms Khuan wrote.
Phuong Le Ha is an intern at The Independent SG/TISG
Singapore — A woman says she was filmed by a man on the MRT and then harassed on the phone by the officer looking into her case.
On Monday (May 17), she and a friend were on the train going to Newton MRT station when she looked up and saw a man pointing his phone at them in a suspicious manner.
She saw through the reflection of the window panels that he had been zooming his camera into her chest area and taking footage.
She later confronted the man while still on the train, and asked to look at his gallery.
“Why? Cannot,” the man rudely replied in Mandarin.
“If you didn’t do anything, you can show me your gallery.” she argued back.
He went into his gallery, and then into a separate album, and she saw pictures/videos of her in his phone before he tilted his phone away and changed to another album. He then showed her an album full of racy pictures of women.
She attempted to take his phone to change back to the album with her in it, but he showed signs of aggression. She then backed away and pressed the emergency button.
He then proceeded to delete the picture/videos on his phone before the SMRT staff entered the scene. “thus i didn’t have hard evidence against him despite my statement and the video that i’ve taken. the authorities also classified this under intentional harassment and not sexual harassment because of the lack of evidence,” she shared on Twitter.
She also complained of inappropriate behaviour by the officer looking into her case.
The officer approached her through Telegram private messaging, asking if she was the victim of the incident at Newton MRT station.
He apologised for calling her late at night but wanted to get a clear picture and added: “I’m police from Transcom.”
He said, “‘if u saw someone taking pictures of u, u shouldnt have give him a chance of ask him nicely for his phone. u should just snatch it away from him so that u can have a strong evidence that the guy has taken a photo of u and we can arrest him for the offence… i mean i also understand that u’re still young and just be careful of ur surroundings”
She messaged back that she could not have snatched the phone from the man who took her photos because he was nearly twice her size.
She posted a screenshot of their conversation.
Photo: Twitter/ catto
To her horror, the officer then messaged her under another account. He called her “babe”, pleaded with her to remove the screenshots of the initial conversation, and asked her to “apologise to him for exposing his DMs”.
She argued back, noting that it was not the standard operating procedure (SOP), to text the victims. She also noted how both accounts had called her “quite young”, which had nothing to do with the incident on the train. She deduced this account also belonged to the officer, or to a person related to the officer.
Many netizens are expressing sympathy to the victim and urging her to complain against the officer.
The woman said she has already reported the officer to the authorities.
Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG
New Delhi — After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday (May 18) that a variant of the coronavirus found in Singapore could cause a third wave in India, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain categorically stated that it is “wrong to say that there is no Singapore strain”.
The Delhi Health Minister added that the Covid-19 strain found in Singapore is different from the one found in India, India TV news reported on Wednesday (May 19).
Mr Jain’s reaction came after Singapore refuted Mr Kejriwal’s claim that a “very dangerous” strain of the coronavirus was prevalent in Singapore and that could affect children the most.
In a press statement on Wednesday (May 19), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “regrets the unfounded assertions made on Facebook and Twitter” by Mr Kejriwal that a “variant of Covid-19 found in Singapore was particularly harmful to children and could cause a third wave of infections in India”.
“MFA is disappointed that a prominent political figure had failed to ascertain the facts before making such claims,” said the ministry.
“MFA met the High Commissioner of India P Kumaran this morning to express these concerns.”
As highlighted by MOH, there is no “Singapore variant”, MFA also said. “The strain prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B16172 variant, which was first detected in India.”
In a tweet on Tuesday (May 18), Mr Kejriwal wrote: “The new form of Corona that came to Singapore is being said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may come as a third wave”.
He added: “My appeal to the central government:
1. Air services with Singapore to be canceled (sic) with immediate effect
2. Priority on vaccine options should be worked out for children too.”
The “central government” is the Indian government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi, has its own local government like other Indian states and union territories with its own legislature and chief minister.
Seoul — Law School, a JTBC drama series, has reached its highest rating so far — 7.8 per cent — on its 10th episode, which aired on May 19. The “best 1-minute” was during the scene where actor Kim Myung Min makes his final court statement.
The drama series stars veteran actor Kim Myung Min (of Beethoven Virus fame), Kim Bum (who starred in Boys Over Flowers as So i-Jeong), Ryu Hye Young (who starred in Reply 1988 as Duk Sun’s older sister) and Lee Jung Eun (also starred in the Oscar-winning film, Parasite).
Law Schoool is about a tragic incident that happened in a prestigious law school and, as a consequence, the law students are forced to rethink the justice system as they try to uncover the truth. Kim Myung Min plays the role of Yang Joong Hoon, a law professor at the Law School of Hankook University, who is accused of murdering a fellow professor.
The law students in Law School. Picture: Instagram
During the scene of his hearing, Yang Jong Hoon firmly delivers his words and says, “I, as a criminal law professor, do not teach my students that the law is just. What makes the law just is solely reliant on its ability to prove one’s innocence, and the evidence-based court proceedings are merely a factor to balancing out the scale what is considered ‘fair ‘. That is what I am teaching my students”. He then goes on to say, “The prosecution side has failed to prove that there is a ‘no reason for a doubt’, and from that, you can conclude that as a sign for my innocence.”
As reported by Allkpop, actor Kim Myung Min performed this scene with precision, power and charisma which captivated the viewers and led the drama to its highest viewership ratings. Kim Myung Min’s co-star Lee Jung Eun expressed her admiration for his performance in this particular scene and stated, “The way that Kim Myung Min delivered his entire page of lines in one breath, I realised that he had just become the breathing and living character of Yang Jong Hoon.”/TISG
Singapore—On Wednesday (May 19), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement expressing regret that the US embassy had co-hosted a webinar with local LGBTQ+ community organisation Oogachaga on Wednesday.
Furthermore, the ministry reminded the US embassy “that foreign missions here are not to interfere in our domestic social and political matters, including issues such as how sexual orientation should be dealt with in public policy”.
The seminar had been held on Monday (May 17) to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia with a focus on the economic advantages of LGBTQI+ equality and inclusion.
A Reuters report quotes the US embassy in Singapore as having said, “The US Embassy regularly works with civil society partners on a wide range of issues to build awareness and advance the human rights of all persons.”
Oogachaga, which was established in 1999, describes itself as “a community-based, non-profit professional organisation, working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer & gender-diverse (LGBTQ+) individuals, couples & families in Singapore.”
But in a country where sexual acts between men are against the law under the Penal Code, discussing issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community may be perceived as a political act.
The group’s executive director, Mr Leow Yangfa, said that Oogachaga “notes with surprise” the statement from the MFA, adding that the webinar had been by invitation only and that none of the speakers had tackled the issue of sexual orientation in relation to public policy.
Mr Leow is quoted by CNA as saying, ”The event was invitation-only, and moderated by an Oogachaga volunteer, a Singapore citizen who reminded multinational corporations to consult with local community organisations and to always abide by the laws of the territories in which they operate, especially in Singapore.”
He added that at least two MSF (Ministry of Social and Family Development) officers were in the audience and that officers from the MFA had also been invited.
Moreover, the US government had extended no financial support for the webinar.
“Stuck at home with only 2 visitors on the eve of a public holiday? We welcome you online to interfere in international, domestic, social & political affairs, all in the name of fundraising for Singapore’s most-established LGBTQ+ organisation. Last chance to get your tickets NOW! Don’t worry, we won’t invite MFA,” the group wrote.
KUALA LUMPUR — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged Malaysians to take the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic more seriously, lest further complacency leads to more loss of life that could have been prevented.
He said that Putrajaya has claimed to have spent over RM600 billion in the fight against the pandemic.
“If so, we should have the capacity to deal with the pandemic, but obviously, we do not. We must know why, as RM600 billion is a lot of money. It is not easy to spend that money in such a short space of time,” Dr Mahathir said in a post on his blog chedet.cc.
Regardless of why Covid-19 is flaring up in Malaysia, he said it must be accepted that dealing with it and attempting to reduce the number of new cases will cost a lot of money.
“It is right to reintroduce the movement control order (MCO), but now, we are far less strict in its implementation. We need to confine people to their homes, and there should not be any excuse for crowds to form.
“Self-isolation must be applied even among the frontliners. Confining people at home means they will have no money and no food, so the government must accept the responsibility of keeping people alive,” Dr Mahathir said.
The Langkawi MP suggested that for food, there should be public kitchens where it can be prepared, packaged and delivered to homes.
“It is important that the quarantined people should not come out to collect the food at the kitchens, as this will cause crowds to gather.
“Couriers should be recruited to deliver the food to the houses. There should be no contact between the delivery riders and householders,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also advocated for hotel kitchens to be utilised to prepare and package the food.
“The home quarantine should be for at least one month. The police and the military should be very strict in ensuring the people do not come out to shop or do anything.
“The cost must be borne by the government. It will be costly but the government must do it,” he said.
The vaccination process must also be accelerated, as Dr Mahathir said whatever vaccine that had been used in other countries extensively should be accepted here as well.
“Special effort must be made to get kampungpeople to be vaccinated, while masks must be worn and hands washed all the time. Frequent tests should be carried out to ensure all infected people are identified and quarantined.
“In many countries, even the first vaccine jab can help to reduce the number of new cases. But even those who had the vaccine need to be tested again and again,” he said.
Dr Mahathir recounted the development of Covid-19 in Malaysia since early last year, noting the pandemic is peculiar because it prevents normal work from being done and requires people to distance themselves from each other.
“The necessary lockdown means no income, and for many, no food even. Yet the lockdown is perhaps the only way to prevent exposure to the virus and infection, which may mean death.
“When it first hit us, the whole country had to accept total movement control. There were no cars on the streets and no pedestrians,” he said.
After a month, Malaysia congratulated itself on the success of the measure, as new cases at the time were in the two digits and deaths did not exceed 10.
“We became overconfident, as we believed we knew how to manage the pandemic. And we held elections in Sabah.
“Since then, we have seen increases in the number of cases to frightening levels. At the peak, there were more than 6,000 cases a day. We did not learn anything,” Dr Mahathir said.
When Ramadan commenced last month, he said the customary bazaars, which are enjoyed by everyone and used by traders as a means to make extra income, were not banned by the government out of fear of being unpopular.
“They must know the crowds would be uncontrollable. Sure enough, as soon as the bazaars opened, the cases increased.
“From under 2,000, the daily new cases shot up to more than 4,000 a day. In a panic, the bazaars were suddenly banned,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said that whatever may be the immediate cause of the spike, the urgent need is still to reduce the number of new cases.
“We are definitely going to be short of beds, apparatus and even oxygen if the numbers double,” he said.
Singapore—Due to the new Covid-19 restrictions that have kept people indoors, food delivery riders are busier than ever.
Being human, they also need to take breaks to rest and eat, but this is proving to be challenging as well, since dining-in options are no longer allowed in eateries at the moment.
Photos of people who need to work outside their homes eating in unexpected places such as car boots and curbsides have been circulating online lately.
Some Members of Parliament have shown extra consideration towards the food delivery riders who bring orders to their wards by setting up areas where the riders can eat and rest.
Mr Baey Yam Keng (PAP—Tampines GRC) may have started the ball rolling on Wednesday (May 19) when he put up a Facebook post announcing that a place had been set up for food delivery riders, taxi and private hire drivers at the void deck of Block 475 at Tampines N4 Neighbourhood Centre.
He wrote, “Dear food delivery riders, taxi and private hire drivers, I know it is difficult for you to find a proper place to have your meal in public now that dine in is not allowed.”
The MP, who is also the Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth, added that the space is “near coffeeshops and other F&B outlets with ample parking spaces. Hope you will find it useful.”
“While you are delivering food to your customers and bringing people around safely, do take care of yourselves too,” Mr Baey added.
And on Thursday, more MPs followed suit, including Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah.
Ms Indranee (PAP-Tanjong Pagar GRC) announced via Facebook that she is “doing our part for delivery riders” at the Tiong Bahru community centre with a rest area that is safely distanced in open air.
She added, “Tiong Bahru is a foodie haven which means lots of food deliveries.
“Tiong Bahru CC has set up a rest area for delivery riders to have their meals and take a break.
“Delivery riders have kept us going through this pandemic. We must help them to keep going too.”
As for Health Minister Ong Ye Kung (Sembawang GRC), he posted a photo of a delivery rider taking a break to eat a meal at his ward.
Mr Ong wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday morning, “As Singapore tightens its COVID-19 restrictions, dine-in is restricted at eateries and hawker centres. Our food deliveries riders who are constantly on the go may have difficulties finding a place to have their meals.
“Starting from now, we have arranged a simple area in Sembawang CC for them to have their meals. Do approach the CC staff from 10 am to 8 pm if you need to use the premises.”
Singapore — The official Singapore Government Twitter page is getting some flak after posting a series of meme tweets.
She fell in love with a frontliner but he refused to drop his mask
— Singapore Government (@govsingapore) May 19, 2021
They were tweeted on Wednesday (May 19), with the hashtag “sad love story”. One tweet has over 450 likes, and 153 retweets.
Photo: Facebook/ Gov.sg
Most of the tweets have been deleted, except for one.
They are encouraging citizens to continue the thread, using #sadlovestory.
Netizens are speculating that this is an attempt to cater to the younger generations, especially since this has the potential to be a new meme format. A “meme” is an image, video, piece of text, typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.
Some also theorise that this was the result of younger interns attempting to increase traction to the page.
Many are questioning why the Government is using memes rather than focusing on the pandemic, especially given the recent spike in Covid-19 cases.
“Lame, just focus on your job. It’s an official government account,” one Reddit user commented.
Photo: Reddit screengrab/ r/singapore
Others find this humorous, with a Reddit user commenting that “it has been a hectic week for the country so some silliness is needed for stress relief”.
Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG
Hong Kong — Famous actor Chow Yun Fat is not active on social media but he often appears on the social media accounts of fellow Hong Kong celebrities. On Tuesday (May 18) the veteran actor turned 66 and to commemorate the special occasion, several celebrities paid tribute to Chow.
Adrian Wong, daughter of Felix Wong, was one of the first to wish Chow a happy birthday. Wong and Chow are regular jogging mates. Adrian Wong, 31, posted a photo of herself with Chow on Monday. She wrote: “Happy birthday to Fat Gor in advance.” Fat Gor is Cantonese for Big Brother Fat.
Adrian Wong was one of the first few who wished Chow Yun Fat happy birthday. Picture: Instagram
Wong’s birthday was on May 2. She pointed out that she and Chow are Tauruses, according to The Straits Times.
On Tuesday veteran actress Louise Lee celebrated Chow’s birthday with a huge birthday card showing the caricatures of Chow and 15 of his jogging mates. In the card, actors like Michael Miu and Lo Hoi Pang as well as actresses Margie Tsang and Nina Paw were included.
On the card were the words, “Jogging every day. Go Go Go. Happy birthday to Fat Gor.” Lee, 70, disclosed in the post that the card was made by Miu’s wife, actress Jaime Chik.
Chow has not been seen on the big screen since he starred in the crime thriller Project Gutenberg (2018) with singer-actor Aaron Kwok. Chow’s next movie is Be Water, My Friend, with the release date yet to be confirmed.
Born on May 1955 Chow Yun-fat is a Hong Kong actor known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the action movies A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled, and in the West for his roles as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. He mainly stars in drama films and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor in Taiwan./TISG
