OPINION | Curious Case of Phillip George Sceats, an Australian in Singapore charged with trafficking cocaine, escaped death row with his life
By Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss
27 June 2022
I bet you didn’t know that in 2018, an innocent Australian holiday-maker was arrested at Changi Airport and charged with trafficking an amount of cocaine punishable by death. 64-year-old Sydney businessman, Philip George Sceats languished in Changi Prison for the next 353 days, under the pall of the capital charge.
Then one day, as unexpectedly as he had been arrested, he was taken from his cell to court where he was discharged of the capital charge and told to leave Singapore within 24 hours. Sceats’ arrest in Singapore on 7 March 2018 and his release from prison on 23 February 2019 was never reported by any media at the time.
200 teenagers break into $8M mansion to party
We’ve heard of people breaking into a home to rob, but how often do we hear of people breaking into a home to party? Well, that’s exactly what happened when 200 people broke into an $8 million Florida mansion and decided to party the night away.
The incident came to light when a noise complaint was made early in the morning on June 25 at the Walton County Sheriff’s office. When the police arrived at Blackwater Street in Watercolor, most of the party people had split the scene.
Letter to the Editor | Ukraine war brought significant messages to Singapore — to become more self-sufficient & sustainable nation
Dear Editor,
I refer to the commentary, “How can Singapore prepare for the risks and opportunities of an increasingly uncertain world?” (TODAY, June 23).
Let us recognise an interesting fact: Risk and opportunity have relatively coexisted.
The Ukraine war has brought three significant messages to Singapore:
Letter to the Editor | In support of Government’s proposal of disabling social media access to harmful content
Dear Editor,
I refer to the report, “Government proposes disabling social media access to harmful content, as part of new codes of practices on online safety“. (TODAY, June 20)
As the internet has made pornography easily available and accessible, it is almost impossible to shirk it.
AWARE says ‘no right can be taken for granted’ after Roe v Wade (women’s right to abortion) overturned in the US
Shock waves rippled around the world after the United States Supreme Court on Friday (Jun 24) voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision made in 1973 that gave women the constitutional right to an abortion.
In Singapore, gender equality advocacy group AWARE expressed that it was “appalled and outraged by the overturning of Roe v Wade” and added that it was concerned over the most marginalised and vulnerable in society.