Chee Soon Juan reiterates concern over CECA as unemployment rate climbs

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October 31, 2019

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan has reiterated his concern over the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India, in the wake of the viral incident involving an India-born condo resident berating a security guard.

While the condo resident – who is now a naturalised Singapore citizen working in a top position at JP Morgan in Singapore – has since apologised to the security guard, the incident thrust CECA into the spotlight.

Progress Singapore Party chief Tan Cheng Bock’s promise to call for a review of CECA and Workers’ Party politician Gerald Giam’s parliamentary exchange with ex-Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang over CECA began trending on social media, after the video went viral.

In a Facebook post published yesterday (30 Oct), Dr Chee joined those expressing concern over CECA. Pointing to the climbing unemployment rate and the growing number of retrenchments, he wrote:

“Latest MOM Q3 figures show retrenchments and unemployment all going up, and it’s harder for the retrenched to find new work. The PAP makes the situation a whole lot worse by signing agreements like CECA.”

According to preliminary data gathered by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for the third quarter of 2019, the number of retrenchments and the unemployment rate has continued to rise. MOM said last week that the number of retrenchments in the third quarter of 2019 came in at 2,900, which is notably higher than the 2,320 retrenchments that were recorded in the preceding quarter.

Similarly, the unemployment rate also went up. Overall, the unemployment rate went up from 2.2 per cent to 2.3 per cent while the unemployment rate for Singapore residents (including permanent residents) went up from 3.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

In his post, Dr Chee linked a video the SDP produced last year about the changes to CECA. His caption to the video, that was published in June last year, stated: “The PAP keeps asking S’poreans to upgrade our skills but keeps bringing in foreigners.”

Latest MOM Q3 figures show retrenchments and unemployment all going up, and it's harder for the retrenched to find new…

Posted by Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全 on Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Signed in 2005 by then-newly minted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, CECA was negotiated by current Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is expected to take over leadership of the ruling party from PM Lee following the next election.

PM Lee’s predecessor, Goh Chok Tong, bragged last year that he has been credited with starting the “India fever” since he’s been promoting India-Singapore business relations since the 1990s. His admission has led some to believe that Mr Goh may have been one of the key figures pushing a bilateral free-trade agreement with India during his premiership.

The bilateral free-trade agreement has been controversial among locals since it opens the floodgates for Indian nationals to migrate here and compete for jobs with Singaporeans with greater ease. Many locals see this clause as unfair since Singaporeans are less likely to migrate to India in return.

In the agreement, Chapter 9 provides for the movement of people between the 2 countries. In particular, it provides very laxed rules for the so-called “intra-corporate transfer” of employees from 127 sectors. These employees shall be exempted from any labour market testing or economic needs testing, as specified in Article 9.3.

To top it all off, CECA Article 9.6 even allows the “intra-corporate transferees” to bring in their spouses or dependents to work too. In cases where their spouses or dependents are not professionals, they shall be allowed to work in other areas.

CECA led Indian IT companies like Wipro or Infosys to exploit the “intra-corporate transfer” loophole and move a large number of Indian IT workers into Singapore since CECA does not set any quotas and since they do not have to hire a single Singaporean in their Singapore-based subsidiaries.

When unemployment rates for Singaporean PMETs climbed and when Singaporean workers began to complain of discriminatory hiring practices at such firms, the Government responded and began to slow down the approvals of Indian IT professionals to work here.

This did not sit well with the Indian Government.

Times of India reported that work visas for Indian IT professionals to work in Singapore have dropped “to a trickle”, prompting the Indian government to put on hold the review of CECA, citing violation of the trade pact.

In particular, the Indian Government was against Singapore using our “fair consideration framework” to regulate the employment of foreigners in Singapore. “They are doing it despite the CECA clearly stating that there will be no ENT (economic needs test) or quotas on agreed services. This is a violation of the agreement,” warned an Indian official.

That was in 2017. In 2018, Singapore and India successfully concluded the second review of the CECA in the presence of PM Lee and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

The second review of CECA was concluded with no change to the chapter on movement of people and was instead expanded to officially recognise Indian nursing degrees and includes tariff concessions for more products.

CECA thrust back into the spotlight in the wake of viral incident involving Indian J.P. Morgan employee

Tan Cheng Bock’s promise to call for a review of CECA agreement trends online

Number of retrenchments and unemployment rate continues to rise: Latest MOM labour market data

85-yr-old Singaporean who receives free food goes missing for 3 days

By

Gemma Iso

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October 31, 2019

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Screen Shot 2019-10-30 at 11:57am — You Tube screen grab from Chef Lawrence APP

A Singaporean elderly named Raja, who lives alone and who is a beneficiary to Mummy Yummy Singapore’s free food went missing for three days, and nobody, not even his neighbours, could track his whereabouts.

This worried the owner of the vegetarian food stall who is accustomed to his waiting for his daily ration of food.

People manning the local food stall thought that something tragic might have happened. This prompted them to do some investigation with the police.

What they found

Grandpa Raja, 85 years old, lives alone in his flat and does not mingle with his neighbours. He rarely leaves his house and would sit by the gates everyday, waiting for the food to arrive.

But one day there was no Raja. Immediately, he was placed on Mummy Yummy’s alert list.

The police was also called for assistance. After confirming it might be a missing person or house accident, civil defence personnel was activated to break into the flat.

But the flat was empty and there was no sign of the elderly man. The police continued to search for him.

Six hours later, Mummy Yummy received a call from Raja himself. Apparently the Police had located and sent him home.

“We asked grandpa what actually happened to him and he said he got no money to take bus home (sic) and he couldn’t walk back home.

During the few days, his mobile phone had been switched off and could not be contacted because the battery was drained. The 85-year-old grandpa was also scared of asking money from strangers thinking that he might get caught and sent to jail for it.

Grandpa Raja’s case was not that of a missing person incident or that something bad happened to him. He just didn’t have fare money and was too exhausted (because of his old age) to walk back home.

Singapore’s elderly poor

Ageing is the single most important demographic shift that will affect the future of Singapore as the tiny state is one of the fastest ageing societies in the world. By 2030, one in four people, or more than 900,000 people, will be aged 65 and above.

Recently, they have become more visible as food court cleaners, servers, security guards, tissue-sellers and scrap collectors. Given Singapore’s plethora of help schemes and programmes for the needy – such as the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) and Silver Support Scheme for the old – why do the elderly poor feel the need to work for long hours and often low pay?

Do the jobs that the elderly poor do, as well as society’s safety nets, offer them adequate sense of security and quality of life in their old age?

And what about those who could no longer work even if they want to? Just like Raja? Who’s going to take care of them? Does the government have anything securely in place for them?

Or will they remain invisible until their death?

Man molests foreign domestic helper as she slept, takes photos of her in the toilet

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The Independent

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October 31, 2019

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prison jail crime_20190822 — Photo from Pexels.

A Singapore permanent resident was sentenced to more than a year of jail time for molesting a foreign domestic worker.

Yau Terng Phun (56) filmed the Indonesian domestic helper (41) while she was in the toilet. Yau used his mobile phone to snap photos of the helper in secret.

However, she saw what he was doing and told him to stop as she rushed to cover herself. In defense, Yau said the was “just kidding.” He then deleted the photos.

Yau also molested her by touching her private parts and her breasts as she slept.

According to a report by Today, Yau is married but is reportedly not on good terms with his wife. The helper used to sleep on a mattress in the wife’s room.

On the night of the incident, however, the helper slept in the living room as the wife was having a private conversation on the phone in the bedroom.

Awaking to find Yau molesting her, the helper screamed at him, but Yau made more sexual propositions.

The helper left the household and filed a report to the Ministry of Manpower on 29 May 2017.

Investigations also found that Yau already began molesting the helper ever since she started working for the household in Jan 2017.

Yau pleaded guilty to to three charges of insulting the domestic helper’s modesty and molesting her while five additional charges were considered for sentencing.

He has been sentenced to one year, three months and six weeks’ jail./TISG

22-year-old SMU student arrested for molesting a 20-year-old woman while she was sleeping

HDB’s plans to install thousands more digital displays in lifts draws swift backlash

By

Jewel Stolarchuk

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October 31, 2019

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qlib84 — Photos: Reddit u/loldumbf****, HWZ u/shredded, FB

The Housing Development Board’s (HDB) plans to install thousands more digital displays in the lifts and lobbies of public housing estates has drawn swift backlash online.

HDB, a Government statutory board under the National Development Ministry, announced yesterday (30 Oct) that it has launched a tender to install and operate about 6,000 digital screens in lifts and lobbies, as part of the Government’s Smart Nation initiative.

Bishan-Toa Payoh, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong-Clementi, Tampines, Tanjong Pagar, Sembawang and West Coast Town Councils have already installed about 8,700 such panels in common areas of HDB blocks in the public housing estates.

Interestingly, the digital displays are not meant to replace traditional noticeboards but is designed to complement the existing boards.

The digital panels, which are built by a joint venture between Singapore Press Holdings and a China-based firm, will feature news, information from government agencies and community organisations as well as commercial advertisements.

While some have praised the initiative, several Singaporeans have slammed HDB’s plans and have said that the installation of digital displays in common areas is “unnecessary” and “useless” since many lift users are usually engrossed in their mobile devices.

Pointing out that the project could contradict the Government’s promises to fight climate change, Singaporeans said that the initiative is both a “waste of electricity” and a “waste of money” and wondered who would be bearing the costs of the panels and the costs to operate and maintain it.

Some also said that the money used to fund these digital displays could be better used while others said that the initiative could make the already warm elevators even warmer:

“Stop wasting taxpayers’ monies” – Singaporeans criticise CCK and Hong Kah North Town Council for for installing LED screens in more than 1,600 HDB lifts

WP promises to field candidates who will carry the aspirations of the young in upcoming election

By

Jewel Stolarchuk

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October 31, 2019

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35993779_-_10_09_2015_-_singapore-politics-vote-1 — Photo: AFP

Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general, Pritam Singh, promised that his party will field candidates who will carry the aspirations of the young and first-time voters in the upcoming General Election.

Revealing that he spoke to students about the role and importance of the opposition at a National University of Singapore (NUS) event yesterday (30 Oct), Mr Pritam said that he hopes to engage more youths in dialogue in the coming months. He said:

“Two hours passed by in a flash taking and answering questions from students on the University Scholars Program at Cinnamon College, National University of Singapore. Spoke broadly on citizen engagement and Parliamentary processes, in addition to the role and importance of an opposition in Singapore, amongst other things.

“Looking forward to continue listening to more youth voices in the weeks and months to come and fielding The Workers’ Party candidates that will carry the aspirations of young and first-time voters at the next General Elections!”

The Government announced the first firm step towards the next election on 4 Sept, with the formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC). The formation of the EBRC precedes the calling of the next election and has been taken to mean that the next GE is imminent.

In the past three General Elections (GEs), the EBRC has taken between two to four months to complete the review. The time between the release of the EBRC’s report and polling day has ranged from as little as 17 days to as long as six months, in Singapore history.

For the next GE, the EBRC has particularly been tasked to reduce the average size of group representation constituencies (GRCs) and increase the number of single-member constituencies (SMCs). This likely means that the electoral map will be altered significantly.

News that the EBRC was convened in August has led to fevered speculation on when the next GE will take place. Political observers and members of the public seem to agree the next GE could be held as soon as November/December 2019 or timed to take place in the first quarter of 2020, after the next Budget.

PSP focuses on cost of living, healthcare, retirement, and education as election nears

Chee Soon Juan and the SDP expect the next election to be called as soon as this month or next

PAP MP busks at Orchard Road as next General Election nears

2 neighbours say they alerted authorities about possible dementia in a resident before the Ang Mo Kio fire

By

Anna Maria Romero

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October 31, 2019

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Screen Shot 2019-10-30 at 2.51.15 PM — Google Earth screengrab

Singapore—The neighbours of an older woman believed to be having dementia whose fourth-storey unit at Block 446 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 caught fire on Tuesday, October 29, say that the blaze had been “an accident waiting to happen.”

The New Paper (TNP) reports that one of the elderly woman’s neighbours, who identified herself as Ms Bernadine, said she saw smoke coming into her flat at around 9:00 am, as she was just about to leave to go to work.

Ms Bernadine told TNP, “I saw the elderly lady outside her unit, panicking and knocking on neighbours’ doors for help.”

The older woman is said to live with her son, who was reportedly at work when the fire broke out.

She woke her nephew at once, and then called the police. Even while she was still talking to them on the phone, three explosions — one after another — occurred, stunning and frightening Ms Bernadine, who works as an executive assistant.

She also told TNP that out of concern for the older lady, whom she would at times see walking around the building’s corridors in the nude, she had already written to the town council for assistance.

Another neighbour, 70-year-old Sarah Ambika, had also approached the authorities to appeal for help for the elderly woman, who is said to be in her seventies.

Ms Ambika noted that she saw fire hazards whenever she walked past the older lady’s flat.

“I saw stacks of newspaper and other hazardous items in her flat. She even burned candles on her water meter once,” she told TNP.

According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), “the fire that involved the contents of a kitchen was extinguished by SCDF using two water jets”.

The cause of the fire is still being determined.

About 40 residents of Block 446 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 were evacuated because of the fire, which thankfully, left no one injured.

The residents who had to be evacuated have received help with finding temporary housing, said Ang Hin Kee, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC.

“Those (of the) affected units and occupants are being assisted with temporary housing,” Mr Ang said.

He also told TNP,” ”We attend to feedback and render interventions as best we can and within the means available to us.”

A common corridor shared by five units on the building’s fourth floor also sustained damages from the fire./ TISG

New study shows religious leaders tackling LGBT issues make a majority of Singaporeans uncomfortable

By

Anna Maria Romero

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October 31, 2019

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43950745_10156886349168304_4392173547053645824_n — Facebook screengrab/ Pink Dot Sg

Singapore—A study released by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) on October 29, Tuesday, shows that the majority of Singaporeans are uncomfortable when religious leaders tackle issues pertinent to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The study, which centered around public opinion concerning fault lines in the country showed that six out of every 10 respondents are not comfortable with religious leaders, or even non-leaders, discussing LGBT issues.

The Straits Times (ST) reports that the respondents to the study pinpointed both LGBT issues as well as religion as what would most likely bring about polarization in society.

IPS senior research fellow Mathew Mathews, research associate Melvin Tay, and research assistant Shanthini Selvarajan are behind the study.

Messrs Mathews, Tay, and Selvarajan said that the study’s results bear witness as to how important the policies of the Government are regarding separating politics and religion, as well as emphasizes the need for policy-making to be both inclusive and consultative in order to prevent social fragmentation due to divisive issues.

While opposition toward LGBT issues has decreased sharply in the last five years, since 2013, the divisions surrounding LGBT issues may possibly deepen further, according to the study. This is because religion, age and levels of education are factors that affect attitudes towards LGBT concerns.

The respondents to the study who identify as Christians were shown to be most in agreement to their leaders speaking out on LGBT concerns. A little over 50 percent of the respondents said they were comfortable with this.

In contrast, the bigger percentage of those from other religions, or between 55 and 71 percent, said that their faith leaders raising LGBT issues would make them uncomfortable.

Those surveyed who are older and have lesser education also tended to register discomfort with the concept, showing that better educated and younger respondents are more open to free speech.

When asked concerning the possible ramifications of situations when LGBT issues are poorly handled, the better educated and younger respondents also tended to believe that this could be the cause of polarization, decreased trust levels toward the Government, or anger directed toward specific communities.

Fifty percent of respondents who attained at least an undergraduate degree, as well as 50 percent of respondents in the 18 to 25 age range indicated they believed that anger and polarization would be likely consequences to mishandling LGBT issues.

In contrast, only a little more than a third of respondents with the ages of 65 and older expressed similar views.

Around 28 percent of respondents with Bachelor’s degrees and 27 percent of the respondents from ages 18 to 25 said they believed a decrease of trust in the Government would be part of the likely fallout for mishandling LGBT concerns, while less than 18 percent had similar views among older and less educated respondents.

This seems to show that younger and better educated citizens believe that LGBT issues are significant, as well as accept the rights of the LGBT community.

Respondents who are professing Christians also showed the most conservative perspectives in the matter of sexuality and gender, when compared to those from other religions.

Regarding Government involvement in LGBT concerns, younger respondents, as well as those who indicated more liberal perspectives on sexuality, said they desired more involvement from the Government regarding LGBT issues.

According to Dr Mathews, “The potential reasons for them wanting more government involvement could be in the form of ensuring equal rights for LGBT people or repealing Section 377A,” which criminalizes sexual activity among men.

Respondents who are older, as well as those professing neutral or conservative perspectives, expressed satisfaction with the current levels of government involvement in the matter.

One surprising result from the survey is that more professing Christians and Muslims are also in favour of more government involvement, for the sake of possibly keeping Section 377A in place or preventing pro-LGBT events.

“They may want government involvement to deal with what might be seen as intrusions on the status quo,” Dr Mathews added.

However, over one-fifth of the Muslim respondents said they wanted less government involvement, as compared to 2.6 percent of Christians and 18.1 percent of overall respondents having the same view.

According to the study, this could mean that the within Muslim community there are substantive differences as to how LGBT issues are tackled by governmental polices. -/TISG

Court challenges to 377A scheduled for November, even as amendments to Religious Harmony Act provide better protection for LGBTQ

Temasek CEO praises Singapore’s CPF scheme in comparison to the retirement systems elsewhere

By

Jewel Stolarchuk

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October 31, 2019

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CEO of Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek, Ho Ching, has compared Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme more favourably than retirement systems elsewhere in the world. Mdm Ho, who is married to current Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, made this comparison in response to a recent report that the world is sitting on US$400 trillion of global retirement shortfall.

In a Facebook post published on Monday (28 Oct), Mdm Ho wrote: “US$400 trn of retirement shortfall globally for defined benefits systems. Of these, 3 countries account for just over US$340 trn – USA, China and India. The remaining are UK, Japan, Canada, Australia and Netherlands, still operating on defined benefits pension system.

“The shortfalls mean that these countries are unlikely to be able to deliver the defined retirement benefits in time to come unless taxes go up to cover the shortfall. It also means the working generation having to carry the burden of the retired generation through taxes.”

Noting that Singapore has an alternative retirement system in the form of CPF, which is a defined contribution system instead of a defined benefits system, she added: “The alternative retirement system is a defined contribution system – in other words, you save for your own retirement in a system like the CPF.

“The British set up the CPF in SG with its 3 keys logo – for govt, employer and employee – one key each for the retirement savings.

“Britain itself has also been moving from defined benefits to defined contributions over time, and is about 2/3 of its current workforce in defined contributions about 10 years ago. The main difference between the defined contributions system in UK and in SG is that the UK system doesn’t have a cap, while SG has a cap for the higher income folks.”

The CPF scheme is a compulsory savings plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their own retirement, healthcare, and housing needs. An employment based savings scheme, CPF requires employers and employees to contribute a mandated amount to the Fund each month.

The CPF, which is administered by the Central Provident Fund Board – a statutory board operating under the Ministry of Manpower which is responsible for investing contributions, has been described as “a forced savings scheme” for Singaporeans.

It has been a hot button topic among citizens, especially after the Government deferred the original withdrawal age to 65 years old. Today, CPF members are unable to take out all of their CPF savings in a lump sum once they reach the retirement age.

CPF members must set aside S$40,000-S$60,000 in their retirement account to receive monthly payouts and can withdraw up to S$5,000 from their Special and Ordinary Accounts, or their CPF savings after they have set aside their Full Retirement Sum. Those who are born in 1958 or after can also withdraw up to 20% of their Retirement Account savings from age 65 but this would reduce the amount of monthly payout they receive.

The CPF system remains a hot button topic in Singapore. Earlier this month, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan highlighted the plight of two senior citizens living in Bukit Batok who were unable to withdraw their CPF savings.

One resident, who is in his early 60s, told Dr Chee that he could not withdraw his savings even though he had S$274,000 in his CPF account. The elderly man told the opposition leader that he has to continue working even though he wishes to retire because he cannot get his retirement savings back.

Another resident, who is also in his 60s, told Dr Chee that he could not work for two years because of an illness. Desperate, he wrote to the CPF Board to release some of his savings to him so he could support himself but the CPF Board apparently refused.

The elderly man had to seek help from charity organisations to feed his family and continue paying the bills. His family also had to cut down their meals to twice a day, to survive.

Dr Chee wrote that these are “ordinary Singaporeans playing by the rules, paying their taxes but ending up after a lifetime of work unable to live in security. They face a government callous to their hardship, impervious to their pleas.”

Earlier, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chief Dr Tan Cheng Bock said that he wants to re-enter parliament to seek accountability about CPF savings.

Dr Tan, who is Singapore’s very first former ruling party politician to start his own opposition party, said earlier this year: “I go in because I want accountability. I want transparency. What’s happening to our reserves? Are our reserves all gone? Don’t know. What happened to our CPF?

“Now these things, we all can shout until the cows come home [but its] no use, if you’re not in the House.”

Chee Soon Juan tells off CPF Board for seeking contacts of seniors unable to withdraw savings

Tan Cheng Bock says he wants to re-enter parliament to seek accountability about CPF

Older uncle tackles younger man to the ground for allegedly stealing his mobile phone

By

Obbana Rajah

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October 31, 2019

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Screen Shot 2019-10-30 at 4.27.57 pm — Photo: FB/All Singapore Stuff

A video of an older man skillfully managing to tackle a younger man to the ground made its way around the Internet, going viral.

The younger man had allegedly stolen the older man’s handphone from a coffee shop. The elder man was said to be in his 50s, although his exact age is unconfirmed.

The video, posted on popular Facebook page All Singapore Stuff showed the 50-year old man managing to thwart the alleged thief’s repeated escape attempts and keeping him there until the police arrived.

The video was seven minutes long, and uploaded onto social media on Wednesday, October 30.

In the video, the handphone thief can be seen kneeling in front of the elder man, pleading and apologizing. The younger man even bows down to the uncle, as if asking to be let go despite his alleged theft. The man does not react at first, but when the alleged thief, dressed in a blue t-shirt gets up, he pushes the latter.

The young man then tries to run away. However, the uncle actually manages to tackle the thief to the ground and pins him there for a short while. However, the younger man still does not give up and attempts to escape again.

The elder man reacts quickly and grabs the thief from behind. Another man jumps in the helps to pin the thief against the elevator door.

At this point, a second man appears to help the uncle in pinning the young man against the lift door. At this point, the elder man whose phone was allegedly stolen scolds the young man in Hokkien. The two men hold him there until police officers arrive and handcuff the man.

It is unclear if the younger man did commit theft, but investigations are ongoing. /TISG

22-year-old male faces 43 counts of taking upskirt videos in MRT stations, schools

By

Anna Maria Romero

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October 31, 2019

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MRT — Photo: For illustrative purposes only / YouTube screengrab

Singapore—A 22-year-old man was charged in court on Wednesday, October 30, for allegedly taking multiple upskirt videos in numerous schools and MRT stations.

Marcus Phua Xie is facing 43 counts of intruding on a woman’s privacy to insult her modesty by taking upskirt videos.

Mr Phua is said to have taken these videos at train stations such as Clementi, Dover and Raffles Place, and in different tertiary-level schools around the country, such as Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic and other schools, the charge sheets say.

Five videos were allegedly taken by Mr Phua at an overhead bridge opposite the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). He is said to have taken one video at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and seven others at SIM.

Five offences purportedly took place at the bridge opposite SUSS, while seven occurred in SIM and one at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

The charge sheets also say that the alleged offences occurred in the six-month period between May and October 2018.

Cory Wong of Invictus Law, who is Mr Phua’s lawyer, requested for an adjournment at his client’s court appearance, explaining that he had gotten word just the previous day from a private psychiatrist.

Adam Nakhoda, the District Judge, granted an adjournment of three weeks in order to allow for the defence to have a timeline for the report from the private psychiatrist, as well as for an update on appointments.

Mr Phua is now scheduled to appear in court again on November 20.

Each charge of insulting a woman’s modesty can mete a maximum penalty of one year in jail, a fine, or both.

More individuals have gotten caught taking upskirt videos and been made to face the consequences of their offence, partly due to the rise of the number of people who are helping catch such perpetrators.

Last week, a female finance manager and a male who works in construction became the latest recipients of the Public Spiritedness Awards from the Singapore Police Force. The police conferred 12 awards in all at a ceremony at the Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) on October 24.

Among the awardees were Ms Chiang Su Sia, age 42, and Mr Jimmy Loy, age 38, both of whom aided in the apprehending of two individuals who were taking upskirt pictures in public.

At the Paya Lebar MRT station on September 30, Ms Chiang was on her way home from work when she saw a man place his cellphone on the bag in front of him, which was directly under a woman’s skirt while she was on an escalator.

The man was one step behind the woman whose upskirt photos he was taking. Ms Chiang told the woman about the man and aided in eventually getting him arrested. Together, they followed the man, and Ms Chiang told the MRT staff about what he had done.

The staff prevented the man from leaving the station, and later the police arrived to arrest the man for being a public nuisance and insulting the modesty of a woman.

On the same day at around 9:00 pm at Bishan MRT station, 38-year-old Jimmy Loy took matters into his own hands and grabbed hold of a foreign worker who was taking an upskirt video of a female while on riding on an escalator.

The police were called in and found even more similar upskirt videos, as well as women’s underwear, in the man’s possession. The foreign worker was later arrested for public nuisance, insulting the modesty of a woman and possession of fraudulent property.

Ten other individuals were given Public Spiritedness Awards, as well as appointed by the police as Riders-On-Watch volunteers.

This programme was introduced in July, wherein people volunteer to watch out for suspicious behavior in public, which they then report to police. Members of the programme also receive the updates on crime information for the public transport system.

Evon Ng, the Assistant Commissioner of Police and deputy commander of TransCom said, “The strong partnership between the public and the police goes a long way to help prevent, deter and detect crimes on the public transport network.

We encourage commuters to join TransCom’s Riders-On-Watch volunteer scheme… Together with the police, commuters can make perpetrators think twice before committing any crimes on the public transport network.”/ TISG

Public Spiritedness Awards given to commuters who helped catch men taking upskirt photos

Chee Soon Juan reiterates concern over CECA as unemployment rate climbs

85-yr-old Singaporean who receives free food goes missing for 3 days

Man molests foreign domestic helper as she slept, takes photos of her in the toilet

HDB’s plans to install thousands more digital displays in lifts draws swift backlash

WP promises to field candidates who will carry the aspirations of the young in upcoming election

2 neighbours say they alerted authorities about possible dementia in a resident before the Ang Mo Kio fire

New study shows religious leaders tackling LGBT issues make a majority of Singaporeans uncomfortable

Temasek CEO praises Singapore’s CPF scheme in comparison to the retirement systems elsewhere

Older uncle tackles younger man to the ground for allegedly stealing his mobile phone

22-year-old male faces 43 counts of taking upskirt videos in MRT stations, schools

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