A student living in Hougang asked if he could pay less tax since the area does not enjoy as much upgrading.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s open admission that PAP wards are favoured for HDB upgrading exercises has touched a raw nerve among netizens.His admission came as a reply to a university student living in the Hougang Single-Member Constituency (SMC) ward who asked if he could pay less tax since the opposition-held ward does not enjoy upgrading programmes.Since this story was first posted, reaction has been swift with over 1,500 Facebook shares and 150 comments. The majority were highly critical of PM Lee’s stand.
The highest-rated comment came from Yahoo! user Chia, who posted, “Upgrading is not delivered solely based on policies. It is driven by money from the reserves. The money comes from the people and not from PAP.”
He added that, “It (upgrading) is a national building programme. A nation does not belong to any party but the people.”Another Yahoo! user, Davido, said, “I can’t believe the PM said that, my only respect left for him is that he is candid enough to admit not all wards are treated equally.”
They were hauled up by the cops in connection with an online vice ring that was busted last December.
About 60 men were arrested and later released on police bail.
They are accused of having had sex with one "social escort".
Three months later, it appears the police have concluded their investigation and some of the men may be taken to court soon.
Already, one has been told to report to the police headquarters at Cantonment Road today, said his lawyer, who requested anonymity.
This, the lawyer said, may be a prelude to charging his client, a finance professional in his early 20s, in court.
The man is out on police bail after having given earlier statements to the cops.
The lawyer said he has another client who was also arrested in relation to the case.
He is also in his early 20s and works in the financial sector.
The duo are likely among the youngest in the group.
Four other lawyers who are representing 17 of the men in total told The New Paper that their clients are in their 30s and 40s.
And they are a diverse bunch of married men and bachelors working in various industries.
300,000 unskilled foreign workers will get to work longer here
About 60 men were arrested and later released on police bail.
They are accused of having had sex with one "social escort".
Three months later, it appears the police have concluded their investigation and some of the men may be taken to court soon.
Already, one has been told to report to the police headquarters at Cantonment Road today, said his lawyer, who requested anonymity.
This, the lawyer said, may be a prelude to charging his client, a finance professional in his early 20s, in court.
The man is out on police bail after having given earlier statements to the cops.
The lawyer said he has another client who was also arrested in relation to the case.
He is also in his early 20s and works in the financial sector.
The duo are likely among the youngest in the group.
Four other lawyers who are representing 17 of the men in total told The New Paper that their clients are in their 30s and 40s.
And they are a diverse bunch of married men and bachelors working in various industries.
300,000 unskilled foreign workers will get to work longer here
From July 1, as many as 300,000 unskilled foreign workers who are already in Singapore will be able to work here for up to 10 years.
Currently, they can be employed for only up to six years.
'A significant proportion of these workers are employed in the construction and services sector and have worked in Singapore for more than four years,' a spokesman for the Ministry of Manpower told The Straits Times.
The Singapore conundrum
It never fails to astound! The idea that foreigners could give Singapore and its economy a fillip and set it soaring was what everybody welcomed with open arms some 20 years.
There certainly is no doubt that the policy has indeed delivered some benefits from its implementation from meeting the drought in babies born, to meeting national economic objectives.
Perhaps one was when a Singaporean team scaled Mount Everest in 1998. That feat was feted all around the country.
Then a table tennis team became the toast of the town when it won a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics; the first time it has ever happened since 1960. Again there was all around merriment.
Man charged with murder of woman in Jurong West
A 38-year-old man has been charged in court with the murder of a woman in Jurong West.
Lee Haw Ling Gabriel is believed to be the boyfriend of the 25-year-old woman found dead in a flat Saturday morning.
The woman was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
Neighbours told Channel NewsAsia that the flat is shared by several people and they heard a couple quarrelling on Saturday morning.
If convicted of murder, Lee faces the death penalty
Circle Line service delayed by faulty maintenance vehicle
The Circle Line train service ran into a problem this morning when an engineering vehicle broke down at Bishan Station during maintenance hours.
According to a local news channel, the stalled vehicle caused service between Caldecott and Serangoon stations towards Dhoby Ghaut to be disrupted this morning.
Commuters had to make a transfer at these two stations if they wished to continue their journey toward destinations beyond this stretch.
The life of a retiree isn’t always bad
Many live on retirement funds if they have it or on past savings or with their children’s help. Some give home tuition or drive a taxi.
ONE of the things I noticed as the process of ageing deepened in recent years was that strangers would start a conversation with me not in English or even Mandarin – but dialect.
The trend became more pronounced as wrinkles multiplied and the body weakened.
When I was younger, most people would use English on me. Now, dialect is the norm probably on the assumption that the pre-War generation can’t speak English.
Actually it was not without basis. Few of my contemporaries did better than a secondary education. Most had not gone past primary school and grew old with it.
Recently, a foreign friend asked me: “How does a retiree in Singapore cope with living in one of the world’s most expensive cities?
Electricity tariffs to increase by 4.3 per cent
Electricity tariffs will increase by 4.3 per cent from April to June this year as higher fuel prices have resulted in higher power generation costs, said SP Services.
Electricity tariff of households will increase 1.19 cents per kWh from 27.59 to 28.78 cents per kWh. This means that the average monthly electricity bill for families living in four-room HDB flats will increase by $4.18.
The average fuel oil price over the last three months between 1 January and 15 March increased from $127.07 to $135.37 per barrel – a 7.3 per cent increase.
The tariff is reviewed quarterly by SP Services based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), the electricity industry regulator.
