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Man charged with 3 counts of loan shark harassment by fire

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man allegedly turned up at three Housing Board flats over two days, but these were not friendly visits. Muhammad Nafis Mohd Nazri, who is said to have acted on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender known only as "Boss", is accused of setting fires at their main doors. On Friday (Oct 1), he was charged in a district court with three counts of loan shark harassment by fire. Nafis, 21, went to a block of flats in Jurong West Avenue 1 at around 2am on Monday (Sept 27) and allegedly used a marker to deface a wall outside a residential unit. The Singaporean is also accused of setting a fire at its main door. He allegedly went to another block of flats in Boon Lay Avenue about 45 minutes later to target a second unit. Nafis is said to have defaced a wall outside the flat and started a fire at its main door. He is accused of similar acts at a third household in Joo Seng Road, near Upper Aljunied Road, at around 1am on Tuesday. The police said in an earlier statement that they were alerted to the incidents on Monday and Tuesday. Officers viewed images from closed-circuit television and police cameras. The Criminal Investigation Department, as well as Jurong and Tanglin police di...

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950,000 HDB households to receive GST rebates in October

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - About 950,000 households living in Housing Board flats will be receiving their quarterly goods and services tax (GST) rebates in October. They will be disbursed through the GST Voucher (GSTV) - U-Save initiative, and credited via offsets to household utility bills, said the Ministry of Finance on Friday (Oct 1). The total amount distributed under the GSTV - U-Save and U-Save Special Payment initiatives this financial year will tally up to about $460 million. The amount that households will get is tagged to the type of HDB residence. Households in one- and two-room HDB flats typically receive rebates that amount to an average of about three to four months of their utility bills. With the addition of the U-Save Special Payment, the rebates will amount to about 4½ to six months of their utility bills. For those in three- and four-room HDB flats, the additional support will be equivalent to about 1½ to three months of their utility bills. The next round of GSTV - U-Save rebates for this financial year will be in January next year. The U-Save Special Payment was previously given in April and July, where households received additional rebates amounting to 50 per cent of their...

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2 endangered giraffes from India arrive at Singapore Zoo, on show at Wild Africa zone

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Two young endangered giraffes from India have arrived at the Singapore Zoo and the public can view them from Thursday (Sept 30) in the park's Wild Africa zone. The two Rothschild's giraffes, which are from India's Mysuru Zoo, belong to one of the most endangered subspecies of giraffes. Fewer than 2,000 of the Rothschild's subspecies are left in the wild. Their journey to Singapore involved a 22-hour interstate road trip and a seven-day sea voyage, zoo operator Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) said on Thursday. Named Balaji and Adhil, the two healthy male giraffes, who are both about one year old, arrived at Jurong Port in May. Transporting the giraffes to Singapore was a challenge for WRS, as there was a lack of suitable air freight due to the pandemic. "As there was a limited window period to ship the fast-growing youngsters before they outgrew all forms of transport, the team explored the option of surface transport," WRS said. The two giraffes have been adopted by Kuok Singapore, which runs the PACC Line shipping line that brought the animals from India to Singapore. They were named by the Mysuru Zoo. Balaji means strength in Hindi and is also the name of an Indian ...

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Over 70 seniors admitted to Singapore’s first Covid-19 community treatment facility

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6 minutes

SINGAPORE - About 75 seniors with Covid-19 have been admitted to Singapore's first community treatment facility (CTF) so far, Dr Wong Kirk Chuan, chief operating officer of Woodlands Health, which runs the CTF, said on Thursday (Sept 30). The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Sept 19 that the facility would be set up in response to rising Covid-19 cases here over the last month. Located on the site of the NTUC Health Nursing Home in Tampines, the CTF opened and began receiving its first patients on Sept 23, just one week after MOH approached Woodlands Health for assistance, said Dr Wong. It is meant to care for elderly patients who are stable and mildly symptomatic, but have underlying chronic illnesses or comorbidities - such as a weakened immune system - that put them at higher risk of getting sicker. Having the facility operational will help hospitals, which have come under strain in recent weeks, to admit more seriously ill Covid-19 patients. Dr Wong said that on Sept 16, the ministry asked Woodlands Health to quickly set up a facility in the community that can take care of seniors with Covid-19. "We were looking for facilities that would allow us to deliver care, with mini...

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New book on S’pore’s oldest Teochew temple sheds light on its origin

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5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Even after successfully leading a five-year-long, Unesco-award-winning restoration of Yueh Hai Ching Temple, conservator Yeo Kang Shua felt like that his work on the temple in Raffles Place was not done. After all, the 46-year-old wears many hats, and being a conservator is just one. Researching the temple's history for the restoration project, completed in 2014, left him with burning questions that stemmed from his other roles. "If I was just a conservator, I would have done enough research for the restoration and just stopped," said Dr Yeo, who added that conservators are primarily concerned with the preservation of cultural assets using authentic materials and techniques, with as little intervention as possible. "But I'm also an academic and an architectural historian - and these other questions I had, they just made me want to find out more." In a newly launched book, Divine Custody: A History Of Singapore's Oldest Teochew Temple, Dr Yeo tackles some of these questions, and also documents the restoration work that took place between 2010 and 2014, saving Wak Hai Cheng Bio - as it is known in Teochew - from termite damage and damp issues. His research began in 2007, ...

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Covid-19 antibody cocktail treatment to arrive in Singapore in October

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6 minutes

SINGAPORE - More treatments are now available here for Covid-19 patients, as Singapore continues to battle against a rising number of coronavirus infections. The latest addition to this arsenal of treatment options is a Covid-19 antibody cocktail, which was developed by Regeneron and Roche. It is expected to arrive here next month or so, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) said on Tuesday evening (Sept 28) in response to queries from The Straits Times. This monoclonal antibody treatment can be used to treat patients who are mildly sick but at risk of severe illness. It was granted interim authorisation to be used for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 under the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR) by Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Sept 21. HSA said on its website that infectious diseases specialists will be able to use this therapy for those aged 18 and older, who do not require oxygen supplementation and are at risk for progression to severe Covid-19. An ongoing phase three study that HSA reviewed has found that this antibody treatment cut the relative risk of Covid-19 disease progression to requiring acute treatment in hospital...

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Monsoon Blockchain为Bitcoin Latinum的下一代加密货币生态系统提供动力

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1 minute

Palo Alto, CA - 位于加州帕洛阿尔托的创新区块链公司Monsoon Blockchain Corporation 宣布正式推出为Bitcoin Latinum提供动力的下一代数字加密货币生态系统。Bitcoin Latinum是一种有保险、有资产支持的加密货币。在Bitcoin的基础上，Bitcoin Latinum更环保、更快速、更安全，并不断对数字交易推出革新。Monsoon Blockchain代表Bitcoin Latinum基金会，是Bitcoin Latinum生态的主要开发者。 Bitcoin Latinum是基于开放架构的加密货币技术而建立的。它能够处理海量交易、具备安全性和数字资产管理功能。Monsoon Blockchain发布了Bitcoin Latinum的官方特征、差异化因素和主要优势，包括以下几个方面。 交易量更大 Bitcoin Latinum提供了一个高度可扩展的网络，最初将支持每秒10,000次交易和每天数百万次交易，以促进零售交易。它具备可扩展的架构，支持增加交易率，从而满足需求。凭借其独特的股权证明共识机制，Bitcoin Latinum确保网络以较低的交易费用促进每分钟更多的交易。 降低交易成本 Bitcoin Latinum将传统比特币交易的成本从平均每笔交易的多美元降低到只有几美分，2021年每笔交易的平均费用为0.1美元。这是通过各种机制实现的，包括高能效的共识协议，批准的节点配置，高性能的节点互连，以及更短的确认时间。 更快的速度 利用高效的共识机制，Bitcoin Latinum提供了一个比Bitcoin更好的链上支付网络，平均交易确认时间为3-5秒，从而减少了交易负荷，并增加了交易量。 更加绿色、节能 Bitcoin Latinum使用高级版本的权益证明（PoS）机制来应对基于工作证明（PoW）的网络的固有问题。PoS使LTNM持有者能够通过持有他们的硬币作为抵押品在Bitcoin Latinum网络上进行抵押获得奖励。这导致了更少的电力消耗。现行的代币，如比特币，每笔交易需要高达885+千瓦时，以太坊需要102+千瓦时的能源消耗，而Bitcoin Latinum则将每笔交易的能耗降低到只有0.00015千瓦时。 有保险和资产支持 与其他现有的加密货币不同，Bitcoin Latinum是一种有资产支持的加密货币，并且正在努力成为世界上最大的保险数字资产。它的资产支持是以基金模式持有的，因此基础资产价值随着时间的推移而增加。它通过将80%的交易费存回支持该货币的资产基金来加速这种资产支持基金的增长。因此，Bitcoin Latinum被采用得越多，它的资产基金增长得越快，创造了一个自我增值的货币。 社区管理 Bitcoin Latinum使用代议制政府模式，在其生态系统中实...

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More than 2 years’ jail for man who abducted wife and threatened to kill her

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4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man who threatened to kill his estranged wife after abducting and dousing her with petrol was on Wednesday (Sept 29) sentenced to two years, two months and six weeks' jail. The offender, Murugan Nondoh, now 40, also threatened to kill himself. Police officers arrested him at the Tuas Checkpoint and rescued his wife, Krishnaveny Subramaniam, 40, at around 11pm on July 2, 2019. The Malaysian couple were on the way back to Johor Baru at the time. Murugan, who appeared in a Singapore district court via video-link on Wednesday, pleaded guilty last week to multiple charges over offences that included abduction, criminal intimidation and assault. In sentencing the offender, District Judge Kessler Soh noted that he had committed a "brazen act" by abducting his wife in public view. The court heard that the couple were married in 2007 and lived in Johor Baru. The marriage soured, and police learnt in their investigations that Murugan was physically abusive to his wife. In March 2019, Murugan accused his wife of having an affair, which she denied. Later that month, she moved into her mother's home in Johor Baru and filed for divorce. Murugan tried to reconcile with his wife but ...

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3 weeks’ jail for man who forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate to dine in restaurant

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Using an application on his smartphone, a man edited a copy of his colleague's Covid-19 vaccination certificate, replacing the name with his own. Zhang Shaopeng, 30, a Chinese national, later used the forged document to dine with his friends at Tanuki Raw bar and restaurant at Orchard Central. But staff spotted that the document shown was forged and chased the group out before making a police report. On Wednesday (Sept 29), Zhang was jailed for three weeks after he pleaded guilty to forgery. He is the first person here to be convicted of forging a Covid-19 vaccination certificate to dine in at eateries. Zhang had intended to attend an exhibition in the United States, along with his colleagues, Mr Cheng Lin, 32, and Ms Chen Shuwei, 25, both also Chinese nationals. As entry into the US was restricted for foreign nationals who had been in China 14 days prior to entry, the trio decided to travel to Singapore and stay for more than 14 days before going to the US. Mr Cheng arrived in Singapore on Aug 19, while Ms Chen arrived on Aug 22. Zhang arrived only on Aug 27. All three tested negative for the virus and were quarantined. On Aug 25, prior to Zhang's arrival, his two coll...

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My shirt was burned off, my body was burned black, recalls worker injured in Tuas blast

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4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Another worker has testified before an inquiry committee about the trauma he faced following a Feb 24 blast at a factory in Tuas. On Wednesday (Sept 29), Mr Rahad Asfaquzzaman, 30, recalled how he had been flung 2m from the force of the explosion, and the traumatic events that continue to give him nightmares. "After the explosion, I got up from the ground and realised I was burning. My shirt had burned off, leaving only some cloth around my neck and my pants on. I immediately tore what was left of my shirt off from my body," the Bangladeshi national said. "I saw that my body had burned black and there was blood coming out from my mouth from inside my body." Mr Rahad's facial scars - like those of the other injured workers who had testified before him - were visible beneath his mask. He added: "I am unable to produce tears when I cry, and when I am under the sun, everything I see is a blur." Mr Rahad is the fourth injured worker to testify before the committee, chaired by Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun, that is looking into the causes and circumstances of the blast at 32E Tuas Avenue 11. Three workers, Mr Subbaiyan Marimuthu, 38, Mr Anisuzzaman Md, 29, and Mr Shohel ...

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3 years’ jail for mum who abused her 2 daughters

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4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A housewife who abused her two daughters, aged six and 10, breaking the older child's front teeth, was on Wednesday (Sept 29) sentenced to three years' jail. The woman's offences came to light when her 37-year-old husband returned home and found his daughter's teeth broken. He took the child to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and the hospital later alerted the police. The abuse continued while the police were investigating her case and when she was out on bail. Before handing down the sentence on Wednesday, District Judge Kessler Soh addressed the woman, who appeared in court via video link, and told her: "Discipline (your children) if you must but do so appropriately." He also hopes that she will not "take it out" on her children again. On Sept 16, the mother, now 38, admitted to seven counts of abusing her daughters. Four other similar charges were considered during sentencing. The woman, who cannot be named to protect the victims' identities, also has a son whose age was not stated in court documents. A psychiatric report found that the woman was not suffering from any mental illness at the time of the offences. The court heard that in December 2018, her hus...

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Home-grown firm that turns coffee waste into furniture material one of 11 NEA award recipients

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5 minutes

SINGAPORE - This home-grown company collects sodden, used coffee grounds from cafes and hotels, and turns it into wood-like panels that can be used to make furniture. The firm, A1 Environment, first removes contaminants such as coffee filters from the coffee by-product, then dries and processes the coffee grounds and mixes it with a binder so they can be shaped into fire-retardant panels. Since 2019, A1 Environment has worked with local woodworkers and carpenters to build furniture and household items such as tables and shelves from the novel material. For giving food waste a new lease of life, A1 Environment and 10 other firms were recipients of the inaugural Food Resource Valorisation Awards on Wednesday (Sept 29). Food resource valorisation refers to the conversion of food waste into higher-value products. It is a preferred solution to reducing food waste compared to turning it into compost or liquid nutrients. The awards were given out by the National Environment Agency (NEA). A1 Environment business director Loh Yen-Lyng said by the end of next year, when the company has scaled up its processes, it plans to launch a range of furniture, in collaboration with the woodworkers. It...

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‘We were screaming in pain’: Worker recalls Tuas explosion at inquiry hearing

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Moments after an explosion shook a Tuas building and blew out its window panels, the eight workers who were in the workshop at the time ran to a nearby open field screaming in agony. Workers from neighbouring units went to splash water and hose down the badly burnt workers. The brutal experience of the Feb 24 blast at 32E Tuas Avenue 11 was shared by one of the injured workers, Mr Hossain Jitu, 32, before an inquiry committee on Tuesday (Sept 28). "We were screaming in pain at the open field, and workers from neighbouring units came out and started throwing and spraying water on us using a water hose," the Bangladeshi national testified. "I realised my shirt was on fire and part of it had already burnt off. I removed what was left of my burning shirt using my left hand." Mr Jitu, whose scars were visible beneath his mask in court, suffered burns to 54 per cent of his body and had difficulty breathing and closing his eyes. "The skin beneath my eyes was burnt and I was unable to close my eyes and sleep after the accident," he said. Three workers, Mr Subbaiyan Marimuthu, 38, Mr Anisuzzaman Md, 29, and Mr Shohel Md, 23, died from severe burns that covered 90 per cent of the...

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Companies need to set clear plans to achieve net-zero emissions target: Panellists

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4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Many firms have set for themselves the target of bringing their emissions of planet-warming gases down to net-zero at a certain point in time, but few actually have concrete plans on how to get there, Mr Sunny Verghese, group chief executive of agroforestry company Olam International, said on Tuesday (Sept 28). Speaking during a panel discussion on carbon markets during the Ecosperity Week sustainability conference convened by state investor Temasek, Mr Verghese said the focus of discussions among the business community has always been on why change is needed, and what targets and objectives can be set. "Almost every other day, there is a conference of some kind related to climate and the environment. But in none of these meetings is there a sufficient focus on how and what chief executives and businesses are struggling with in terms of a climate action playbook," he said. Over the past two years, there has been a surge in the number of companies making net-zero declarations as nations pursue a "green recovery" from the Covid-19 pandemic in a way that also deals with the threats posed by climate change. But the road to achieving these targets is plagued with obstacles, ...

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Man in car stops outside house at 1am, allegedly bashes windscreen of parked car

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man in a car stopped by a parked car in Paya Lebar at 1am on Monday (Sept 27) morning and bashed its windshield. The owner of the parked car, a sales and marketing manager at Amaron Car Batteries, said he was shocked to find a hole in the windscreen of his car at 8am when he was leaving for work. "I opened my car door and found glass shards all around. I was shocked to see a gaping hole in my windshield," the 27-year-old told The Straits Times. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me," he added. Footage from his dashboard camera showed a white Subaru car pulling up to his vehicle, which was parked a distance away from his house, in the wee hours of the morning. The Subaru then made a U-turn. A man, partially out of view of the camera, stepped out of the car and hit the windscreen with an unidentified object. From the damage, the owner suspects that it was an axe. He called the police immediately. The car was towed for repairs after the police left. The owner said he does not think the man had an ulterior motive, and suspects that it was a case of mistaken identity. The police told ST that they were alerted to a case of mischief at Paya Lebar Crescent at around 8.20...

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At this Tanah Merah junction, red does not mean stop for speeding road users, as months of ST video footage shows

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1 minute

SINGAPORE - Traffic rules appear to be taking a back seat among lorry drivers, motorcyclists and bike riders in Tanah Merah Coast Road, part of a popular route among cyclists. This is a cause for concern, say road safety advocates. 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.

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PM Lee Hsien Loong congratulates Canada’s Justin Trudeau on his re-election

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated his Canadian counterpart on his re-election, saying that Mr Justin Trudeau's victory reaffirms the Canadian people's trust in his leadership. "Congratulations on your re-election as the Prime Minister of Canada," Mr Lee wrote in a letter to Mr Trudeau on Monday (Sept 27). "Your victory reaffirms the Canadian people's trust in your leadership, as you lead Canada's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and implement your policy agenda and vision for the way forward." Mr Trudeau was last week re-elected to a third term as Canada's prime minister in a snap election that he had called last month to capitalise on his government's handling of the pandemic. In his victory speech, Mr Trudeau promised to lead Canadians "into the brighter days ahead". In his letter on Monday, PM Lee said Singapore and Canada enjoy an excellent relationship and that the two countries have worked together to preserve essential global links and support vaccine multilateralism even amid the pandemic. "We engage in wide-ranging collaboration and are exploring cooperation opportunities in new and emerging areas, such as infrastructure developmen...

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Office crowds thin out, businesses brace for tougher times as tightened Covid-19 curbs kick in

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5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Closure is on the horizon for Good Old Taste, a cafe at The Arcade shopping mall in Raffles Place, as it copes with the latest round of Covid-19 curbs that kick in on Monday (Sept 27). A year-long "go-no-go" Covid-19 measures regarding working from home and dining in at food and beverage (F&B) establishments has crippled its business permanently. Its manager Ms Linda Koh, 50, said that the latest state of heightened alert - limiting diners to groups of two regardless of vaccination status, and requiring employees to work from home - could just seal its fate. "We're waiting to die and just leaving it up to fate," Ms Koh said. Since the lockdown, which took place from April 7 to June 1 last year (2020), its business has shrunk by 75 to 80 per cent. If the latest tightened Covid-19 measures keep up for another three months, Good Old Taste cafe, which has been operating at The Arcade over the past 23 years, will shut its doors for good. When The Straits Times visited the Central Business District on Monday, trains along the North-South and Downtown lines and office buildings were noticeably less crowded. Another wave of Covid-19 community infections has brought Singapore ba...

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Wage support for aviation sector to be extended to March 2022

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Employers in the aviation sector will get six more months of wage support for their workers to help them tide over the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. The Aviation Workforce Retention Grant amounts to about $130 million and is expected to benefit more than 100 companies, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Monday (Sept 27). Eligible aviation companies will receive 30 per cent support for the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each Singaporean or permanent resident employee from October to December this year. From January to March next year, they will receive 10 per cent support of the same amount. CAAS said that as at September 2021, total passenger traffic at Changi Airport is 3.6 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels. Consequently, aviation companies have reduced manpower in response to decreased air travel. "After 20 months, the aviation sector remains among the hardest-hit of all economic sectors," said CAAS. The grant was introduced in this year's Budget as part of the OneAviation Support Package for the aviation sector and to "safeguard Singapore's position as an aviation hub". Apart from wage support, aviation companies will also continue to...