aseanpr

Catholic stance on marriage remains unchanged, says S’pore Catholic Church in response to Pope Francis’ remarks

aseanpr 23 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Responding to reports that Pope Francis had endorsed same-sex civil unions in the new documentary Francesco, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore on Thursday (Oct 22) said the Catholic Church's stance on marriage remains unchanged. Any comment made by Pope Francis that has been recorded in a documentary "is not considered or admissible as an official papal teaching", the Catholic Church of Singapore said in a statement. It said the "Catholic understanding of marriage is defined as the sacrament by which a baptised man and a baptised woman bind themselves for life in lawful marriage". This constant teaching on marriage "remains unchanged regardless of a civil union between two persons of the same sex approved by the state", the Church added. "We do not know at the moment what the Holy Father actually said in the interview and the context of what he said," the Church said, adding that it has not had an official statement or communication from the Vatican. "What is legal in society is not necessarily moral or licit for Catholics in the teaching of the Church." Civil unions are legally recognised relationships that are granted similar legal rights to conventional mar...

Court of Appeal allows Singaporean death row inmate to argue his case on scheduling of executions

aseanpr 23 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Court of Appeal on Friday (Oct 23) gave the green light for Singaporean drug trafficker Syed Suhail Syed Zin, 44, to argue his case that death row inmates are not being treated equally in the scheduling of executions. Suhail is seeking judicial review of the Singapore Prison Service's decision to carry out the death sentence on him before those who were convicted before him, which he contends is a violation of his right to equality under the Constitution. The decision by the apex court to grant permission for judicial review came after Suhail's lawyer, Mr M. Ravi, cited the case of Malaysian drug trafficker Datchinamurthy Kataiah, who was given the death sentence before Suhail in 2015. Mr Ravi also pointed out that Datchinamurthy's inmate number is 944, while Suhail's is 949, to support his case about the sequence in which they were put on death row. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, giving the decision of the three-judge apex court, said that on the face of it, there is an inconsistency between the known facts and an affidavit submitted to the court by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Based on this apparent inconsistency, the threshold to grant permission for judic...

Chief Justice grants leave to probe DPPs for misconduct in former maid Parti Liyani case

aseanpr 23 10 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Chief Justice has given the green light for an investigation to be conducted into former domestic worker Parti Liyani's complaint of misconduct against the two Deputy Public Prosecutors involved in her theft trial. Ms Parti had earlier sought leave to start disciplinary proceedings against DPP Tan Yanying and DPP Tan Wee Hao who handled the theft charges against her. Ms Parti was later acquitted by the High Court on appeal. She was accused of stealing from her former employer, Mr Liew Mun Leong, who is the former chairman of Changi Airport Group. The charge alleged that Ms Parti had stolen, among other things, a Pioneer DVD player and, on appeal to the High Court, she was acquitted of all charges. In his judgment on Friday (Oct 23), Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon wrote: "In particular, the applicant contends that the DPPs had, in their conduct of the trial, concealed material facts and thereby created the false impression that the device was fully functional. "She contends that but for the false impression that had been conveyed, she would not have agreed, under cross-examination, that the device was operational. On this basis, the DPPs suggested that she had lied ab...

Singapore and Germany agree to establish Reciprocal Green Lane for business and official travel

aseanpr 23 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore and Germany have agreed on a Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL), said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the German Federal Foreign Office in a joint statement on Friday (Oct 23). Dates for the opening of the lane are yet unclear, as the ministries say operational details of the RGL, including the procedural requirements, health protocols, and application process, will be announced in due course. Singapore currently has no green lane arrangements with any country in Europe, a region which is in the midst of a second wave of coronavirus infection. "The RGL will enable essential travel for business or official purposes via direct flights between both countries," said the ministries in a statement. Eligible applicants, who are resident in Germany or Singapore, will have to abide by the Covid-19 prevention and public health measures mutually agreed by both countries. Both countries agreed that the RGL could serve as a model for future similar arrangements between Singapore and other European countries. Hong Kong was the last most recent territory that Singapore made special travel arrangements with. Apart from Germany, Singapore currently has travel arrangements w...

Rise in cyber security threats as more people work from home: Cisco survey

aseanpr 22 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Businesses in Singapore have seen a significant increase in cyber security challenges as more people work from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a survey commissioned by American tech giant Cisco has revealed. Of the nearly 3,200 companies from 21 countries polled in the survey from June 16 to Sept 4, Singapore made the largest shift to remote working in Asia-Pacific. About six in 10 organisations here said they experienced at least a 25 per cent increase in cyber threats since the pandemic started. These threats included connections to malicious sites on the Internet and phishing attacks. However, less than half, or 42 per cent of companies, said that they were "very prepared" to cope with these threats and transition to working remotely. Around half, or 54 per cent of companies, indicated that they were "somewhat prepared", while 3 per cent said they were "not prepared" for the transition. The remaining one per cent said they did not know whether they were prepared for it. The survey, conducted by local public opinion and data company YouGov, gathered data from 3,196 companies across 21 countries, including the United States, China and Germany. It showed that in the As...

Former Singaporean detained under ISA jailed six weeks for passport offence

aseanpr 22 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A former Singaporean detained under the Internal Security Act for terrorism-related activities was jailed for six weeks on Thursday (Oct 22) for flouting the Passports Act. Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff had falsely declared that he had not obtained citizenship of another country when renewing his Singapore passport in 2013. The 49-year-old, who was arrested for actively promoting terrorism and glorifying the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), had acquired Australian citizenship despite holding Singapore citizenship. Dual citizenship is not permitted in Singapore, and Zulfikar has since renounced his Singapore citizenship. Zulfikar pleaded guilty to one charge under the Passports Act on Thursday. The court heard that Zulfikar, who lived in Australia for 14 years, had applied for Australian citizenship in 2011 with his then 15-year-old son so that his child could evade his national service liabilities. Zulfikar "took no steps to renounce" his Singapore citizenship when his application was successful, said Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) Prosecuting Officer, Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Ganeshvaran. To prevent the local authorities from disc...

Experience the new Straits Times app with fresh look, content made for mobile reading

aseanpr 22 10 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Straits Times' revamp to mark its 175th anniversary is in full swing. Following the launch of the redesigned ST website last week, users can start downloading a refreshed version of the ST app for their smartphones from Thursday (Oct 22). Both the iOS and Android versions, available on Apple's App Store and Google Play, will be rolled out in phases to users. It may take up to a week for all users to get the latest app update. From a cleaner look to better navigation and content designed for mobile reading, the new app aims to further enhance the reading experience of users, who are consuming more news on their smartphones. ST editor Warren Fernandez, who is also editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English/Malay/Tamil Media Group, said: "Many more readers are turning to us on the go, checking in several times a day on their smartphones. "This revamped app is part of our effort to serve them better. We will keep working at it to do so." Key features of the new mobile app include: A cleaner look, and bolder use of pictures to highlight key stories. A refreshed layout that allows readers to see more headlines at a glance. They can also expect a richer reading e...

Waste management sector one step closer to progressive wage model

aseanpr 22 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The waste management and recycling sector is one step closer to having a progressive wage model (PWM) after a proposal was sent to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recently to ask for the formation of a tripartite committee on the issue. National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Zainal Sapari, disclosing the development on Thursday (Oct 22), said NTUC had sent in the proposal after getting buy-in from the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS). The labour movement is awaiting MOM's reply. Mr Zainal was speaking at the sidelines of a visit he made with NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng to waste management company Wah and Hua Pte Ltd in Kranji Crescent. Mr Zainal and Mr Ng said they could not give a date for when the PWM would be implemented for the waste management and recycling sector, as the process takes time. For instance, the tripartite committee would have to work with companies in the industry to come up with the skills ladder and also work with the statutory boards to find suitable ways for the model to be implemented, explained Mr Zainal. Their comments on the PWM comes after the issue got an airing in Parliament ...

Man charged over claim he had explosives in his car

aseanpr 21 10 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man who allegedly drove up to a medical centre near the Paya Lebar Air Force Training Command and claimed he had explosives in his vehicle has been charged in court with a law passed soon after the September 2001 attacks in the United States. Zayd Hashim Siraj is said to have driven up to the Singapore Aeromedical Centre in Airport Road on Monday (Oct 19), where he told Station Inspector Go Kheng Wah that he had explosives in his car. The 30-year-old was charged on Wednesday with an offence under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations, which were adopted by member states of the UN to deal with terrorism and the financing of terrorism. There was no indication in court documents if a device was found in his car, or about his motivation for allegedly carrying out the threat. The Singaporean is currently remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation. The Singapore Aeromedical Centre specialises in occupational and aviation medicine, according to its website. It is also involved in the physiological education and training of pilots and others. The incident happened on Monday between 3.26pm and 3.55pm. A check on the Accounting and...

Keeping trade flowing while containing Covid-19 regionally is key to Asean’s recovery: Koh Poh Koon

aseanpr 21 10 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - There is a clear need to keep global trade flowing to ensure the supply of essential goods and services in order to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, said Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon on Wednesday (Oct 21). Dr Koh said that the regional organisation Asean needs to work together "to show the world that we are open for business", and emphasised that countries must cooperate to uphold a rules-based global trading system and maintain supply chain connectivity in these difficult times. Speaking during the opening of the three-day virtual 35th Asean Roundtable, themed The Covid-19 Crisis: Impact on Asean and the Way Forward, Dr Koh also upheld factors like digitalisation and vaccine multilateralism as ways for Asean to emerge from the crisis. He said pandemic-induced lockdowns and travel restrictions caused severe disruptions to global economic activity, with the air transport and tourism sectors hit the hardest. It has exposed the fragility of global value chains by disrupting cross-border trade and transport, he said. There are further uncertainties in how long countries' lockdown measures will last, when an effective vaccine will be available, and the ris...

Dispute management office recovers $16m in owed salaries, compensation for wrongful dismissal

aseanpr 21 10 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Employees who made claims for owed salaries or wrongful dismissal between last April and March this year managed to recover about $16 million in all from their employers. About 91 per cent of the 6,537 employees who made claims had their cases fully resolved at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and the Employment Claims Tribunals. They received the full sums of salaries owed or compensation. This was revealed by the Tripartite Alliance Limited on Wednesday (Oct 21) in its annual report for the year ended March 31. In the previous financial year, TADM recovered around $15 million in salaries owed to employees in Singapore, with about 90 per cent of employees who filed claims fully recovering their salaries. The Tripartite Alliance Limited was set up by the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation in 2016. It oversees TADM, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep), and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council. Last April, the Employment Act and the Employment Claims Act were amended to allow all employees - including those who earn more than $4,500 a month...

WP’s Sylvia Lim files new motion on issues raised by ex-maid Parti Liyani’s case

aseanpr 21 10 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party (WP) has filed a fresh motion in Parliament pertaining to the issues raised by a court case involving Ms Parti Liyani, the former domestic worker of former Changi Airport Group and Surbana Jurong chairman Liew Mun Leong. WP chairman Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) filed the private member's motion, which was supported by fellow WP MP He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC), the party said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Oct 21). The motion states: "That this House affirms that fairness, access and independence are cornerstones of Singapore's justice system, and calls on the Government to recognise and remedy its shortcomings in order to enhance justice for all, regardless of means or social status, including facilitating a review of the justice system." Ms Parti was sentenced to jail for two years and two months last year for stealing $34,000 worth of items from the Liew family. The Indonesian domestic worker had her conviction overturned by High Court Judge Chan Seng Onn, who questioned the motivation of the Liew family in making the police report and also raised issues with the police investigations. Ms Lim had filed an adjournment motion on the topic last month, whic...

Teen involved in SG Nasi Lemak chat group pleads guilty to possessing obscene films

aseanpr 21 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - An 18-year-old student pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Oct 21) to one charge of possessing obscene films on his mobile phone. He was among four men arrested last October in islandwide raids to bring down the SG Nasi Lemak chat group, which was used as a platform for sharing obscene photos and videos of Singaporean girls. The student, who cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act, was found with 59 video files containing obscene material stored in his mobile phone. The files were classified as obscene as they contained explicit depictions of a variety of sex acts and close-up depictions of genitalia. Two charges involving the sharing of obscene material were also taken into consideration. The four arrested were all charged over their alleged involvement in transmitting obscene material in the Telegram chat group, which hosted upskirt images of women. Police seized more than 10 electronic devices, including a central processing unit, a laptop, a hard disk and several mobile phones, as case exhibits. Another man linked to the case, Justin Lee Han Shi, was sentenced last Friday to a year's probation after he admitted to sharing obscene films with other members i...

Man accused of Orchard Towers murder to be tried in High Court

aseanpr 20 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A 28-year-old man who was allegedly involved in the Orchard Towers fatal brawl in July last year will be tried in the High Court, said the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 20). Tan Sen Yang, who faces a murder charge, is accused of causing the death of Mr Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31. His case was moved to the High Court on Tuesday, said the AGC. Mr Satheesh died after a brawl in Orchard Towers on July 2 last year. Seven people, including Tan, were involved in the incident and initially charged with murder. After thorough investigations, the AGC found that the other six individuals were not involved in causing Mr Satheesh's death. The charges against them were then reduced. On Oct 15, Mr Chan Jia Xing, 27, was given a 12-month conditional warning after his charge was reduced to consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place. A conditional warning does not amount to a conviction or a finding of guilt, and does not leave a criminal record, meaning he will face no further action if he does not commit any crimes for a year. Joel Tan Yun Sheng and Ang Da Yuan, both 26, and Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, 24, had earlier this year ...

Lawyer who left Singapore after $33m went missing faces 14 more charges involving $17m

aseanpr 20 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A lawyer who left Singapore after more than $33 million parked at his firm went missing has been issued with 19 new charges. Jeffrey Ong Su Aun was charged on Tuesday (Oct 20) with 14 counts of criminal breach of trust as an attorney involving more than $17.4 million, as well as five counts of cheating. In a statement, police said that the 43-year-old Singaporean now faces 76 charges in all. In total, Ong is implicated in a case involving more than $75 million. This is a greater sum than the $50 million in church funds that six City Harvest church leaders were found guilty of misusing in 2015. Ong was the managing partner of law firm JLC Advisors when more than $33 million held in escrow in the firm for a client, Allied Technologies, went missing. Escrow is an essential service in capital markets that supports transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. His latest charges regarding criminal breach of trust as an attorney involve more than $17.4 million that was held in escrow by JLC Advisors for the firm CW Group Holdings, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He is accused of misappropriating the monies in 2015 and 2016, and is said to have largely engage...

NKF chairman Koh Poh Tiong to step down, pass on baton to Singtel’s Arthur Lang

aseanpr 20 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Koh Poh Tiong will step down on Oct 31, after holding the position for eight years. Mr Koh will be succeeded by Mr Arthur Lang, the chief executive of Singtel's International Group, who joined the foundation as a board director in 2015. In announcing Mr Koh's relinquishing of the post, the foundation highlighted his "remarkable contribution in shaping and fortifying the policies of corporate governance, transparency and accountability", and "strong conviction that no one should be denied access to dialysis in Singapore due to their financial limitations". Under Mr Koh's leadership, NKF has invested in building infrastructure and capacity, increasing the number of community-based dialysis centres from 25 in 2012 to 38 now. Two more are in the pipeline to provide services for kidney patients in need close to their homes. NKF currently serves more than 4,800 kidney patients and beneficiaries. Mr Koh also prioritised quality care to meet patients' multiple needs during his term. The foundation introduced nocturnal dialysis to benefit patients who require longer hours of dialysis for better treatment outcomes. This treatment is done ...

Going from hospitality sector to being a trainee in robotics

aseanpr 20 10 月

1 minute

SINGAPORE - Jumping into robotics with no background experience sounds like a tall order, but Mr Mohammad Hasbi Mohammad Shazali, 31, rose to the challenge. Mr Hasbi was laid off from his job in corporate sales in a hotel group in March, as the coronavirus pandemic hit the hospitality industry hard. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

SkillsFuture Singapore rolling out 2,300 training opportunities in advanced manufacturing

aseanpr 20 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - There will be 2,300 new training opportunities in advanced manufacturing to help jobseekers to enter this growth sector. This will help manufacturers adapt to the crisis and build the necessary capabilities to thrive in a post-pandemic world. SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) announced this on Tuesday (Oct 20) in conjunction with this year's Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific event. Some 500 of these training places are offered by leading companies in Industry 4.0 technology, such as Bosch, Nvidia, Omron, PBA Robotics and Siemens. This initiative is under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, which is part of the national SGUnited Jobs and Skills package to upskill and reskill mid-career workers. Industry 4.0 is about using automation and smart solutions to improve processes in manufacturing. These companies will take the lead in grooming mid-career talent and facilitating placements in hiring firms, where they can take on emerging roles such as industrial design engineers, automation engineers, machine learning specialists and product designers. The programme helps participants to get structured training and practical experience, while working on real projects alo...

NLB moves children’s book to adult section after complaint that it is racist

aseanpr 19 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The National Library Board (NLB) has moved a children's book to the family and parenting section in the adult's collections of its libraries after a complaint that the book has racist messages. In a statement on Monday (Oct 19), NLB said that it came to the decision on the Chinese-language book, titled Who Wins?, after a review was done in consultation with the Library Consultative Panel. "Parents and guardians can make use of this book to discuss how children can deal with bullying in schools and correct any potential misunderstandings that children may have," the board said. The Library Consultative Panel is an independent citizen-based committee comprising members from a cross-section of society. It provides recommendations to NLB on its review of books that members of the public have raised concerns about. The book Who Wins?, written by Wu Xing Hua, has been off the shelves since July 19, when NLB decided to remove the book for review. It is a picture book aimed at children aged seven to nine that features a "dark-skinned" boy with "oily curly hair" named Mao Mao - Chinese for hairy - who is an aggressive school bully. It was published in Singapore by Marshall Caven...

SMU student allegedly targeted same woman 19 times in upskirt videos

aseanpr 19 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A Singapore Management University (SMU) student allegedly targeted the same woman 19 times, secretly filming upskirt videos of her between May 28 and Sept 3 last year. Court documents did not state the locations where the student, Tien Kiat Chong, is said to have committed the offences using his mobile phone. The 24-year-old Singaporean, whose case was heard in a district court on Oct 14, is facing one charge of insulting a woman's modesty and another charge under the Films Act for allegedly being in possession of 37 obscene videos. The obscene videos were said to have been found on him at around 9pm on Sept 4 last year while he was at Sengkang MRT station. In a statement to The Straits Times on Monday (Oct 19), SMU confirmed that Tien is still a student at the university. A spokesman said: "The university takes a strong stand against any form of misconduct. Students who breach SMU's code of student conduct face a range of sanctions, including suspension and expulsion. "As the case is currently before the courts, it would not be appropriate for SMU to comment further." Tien is the latest male tertiary student to be hauled to court over similar offences. In January, form...

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