Jail for 4th man linked to plan to extort businessman filmed having sex with another man
SINGAPORE - Three men hatched a plan to extort $60,000 from a married businessman after he was secretly recorded having sex with another man. The amount was later reduced to $50,000 but police arrested the trio, including the businessman's personal assistant, before any money could change hands. They were then released on bail. Despite this, one of them, Tan Yong Jian was so intent on getting cash from the 53-year-old businessman that he separately roped in a fourth man, Mahadevan Edwyn, to try the extortion scheme again. Tan, then 24, also promised Mahadevan a 50-50 split of the amount. On Monday (Nov 29), Mahadevan, now 29, was sentenced to 18 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of criminal intimidation. The Singaporean committed the offence while he was under a remission order, just months after he was released from prison in late 2019 over crimes not stated in court documents. As part of the order, he was supposed to keep out of trouble from Oct 9, 2019 to Aug 28 last year. For breaching it, he now has to spend an additional 59 days behind bars. The three men - Tan, as well as Daryn Ho Yong Jian and the businessman's former personal assistant, both 24 - were dealt...
Market rides on economic recovery, but tech stays tepid
SINGAPORE - Another week and another high for Wall Street stocks despite confusing Fedspeak and taper tantrums. The Dow closed at 35,515.38 last Friday, for a 306.87-point gain for the week. 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.
Woman who was serving SHN at hotel allegedly climbed into balcony of another room
SINGAPORE - A 39-year-old woman allegedly left on two occasions the hotel room where she was serving her stay-home notice (SHN) and even climbed into the balcony of another room. Singaporean Jin Chensu was charged on Friday (July 30) with two counts of failing to wear a mask outside her room and two counts of exposing others to the risk of Covid-19 infection. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Friday that Jin arrived in Singapore from Cambodia on Oct 4 last year. She was served an SHN on the same day and that was to last until Oct 18. Jin was also briefed by an ICA officer that she was required to serve her SHN at a dedicated facility and was not allowed to leave her room there. But she allegedly left her room at Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa Resort without wearing a mask twice - on Oct 6 and 9. On the first occasion, Jin purportedly climbed into the balcony of another room on the floor above and remained there for about five minutes before returning to her room. She is said to have loitered along the common corridor in the second instance before a hotel staff member found her 25 minutes later. She was then escorted back to her room. On Thursday, Distr...
Manufacturing to drive Singapore’s recovery for another year amid Covid-19 resurgence
The recent Covid-19 resurgence may have baked in the prospects of an uneven and gradual economic recovery through the year led by the trade-driven manufacturing sector. That suggests the pace of growth will depend on the health of external demand for goods and services produced in Singapore - a critical node for global trade. 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.
Slump and recovery: The two faces of Singapore’s economy
The start of the year has bode well for some industries, while others continue to slump. Insight looks at what lies ahead for sectors at both ends of the spectrum, and the challenges that stand in the way of recovery. Manufacturing to drive Singapore's recovery for another year amid Covid-19 resurgence The recent Covid-19 resurgence may have baked in the prospects of an uneven and gradual economic recovery through the year led by the trade-driven manufacturing sector. That suggests the pace of growth will depend on the health of external demand for goods and services produced in Singapore - a critical node for global trade. The fear of surprise outbreaks of new Covid-19 variants will ensure that some level of restrictions will persist on travel and domestic mobility through the year, even if the current heightened alert measures are softened in the coming weeks. Those curbs will keep sectors that are dependent on domestic consumption weak, leaving the heavy-lifting in the recovery process to parts of the economy that are powered by external demand for yet another year. READ MORE HERE Positive year-on-year growth on the cards for Singapore's struggling sectors due to low base Constr...
US stocks rise with S&P 500 ending at another record
NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks rose on Thursday (April 8), with the S&P 500 finishing at another record, after lacklustre employment data bolstered expectations the Federal Reserve will remain dovish. The Labour Department reported 744,000 new jobless claims, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended April 3, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week's upwardly-revised level. Though a negative sign for the economy, the disappointing labor figures "will convince the Fed that it needs to be patient before removing policy accommodation," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said. In an appearance on an IMF panel, Fed chairman Jerome Powell again said that any rise in inflation would be ephemeral and signaled an accommodative stance on monetary policy. The broad-based S&P 500 finished at a second straight record, climbing 0.4 per cent to 4,097.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent to 33,503.57, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1 per cent to 13,829.31. Karl Haeling of LBBW said investors were also pleased by statements from President Joe Biden indicating willingness to compromise on his proposed hike in the corporate tax. Large technology companie...
Drawing out value of digital art through non-fungible tokens
SINGAPORE - If we were to list the most used keyboard functions in the world, copy and paste is bound to feature among the top few: Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, and there you go - you have the exact replica of another digital file. While it may take a lot of effort to create an interesting digital image, it is almost costless to replicate it. 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.
Woman who claims to be ‘sovereign’ expected to face another charge under Women’s Charter
SINGAPORE - The woman who claimed she was a "sovereign" when told to wear a mask in public is expected to face another charge under the Women's Charter. Paramjeet Kaur, 41, currently faces six charges, four of which are for breaching Covid-19 regulations. The remaining two are for public nuisance and for failing to report her change of home address. Her case was heard again on Tuesday morning (Jan 26) but she was not in court as her presence was dispensed with. Defence lawyer Mohamed Arshad told District Judge Adam Nakhoda that his client could face another charge under the Women's Charter. It is not clear what it will be for. The judge adjourned the case on Tuesday and sent it to the community court. Kaur made headlines after she was caught on video claiming to be a "sovereign" during an argument with passers-by at Shunfu Mart near Upper Thomson Road in May last year. In the video, which went viral online, she is heard making claims that the law does not apply to her. "It means I have nothing to do with the police, it means I have no contract with the police," she said. "They have no say over me." She also claimed that she was "not a person", but was instead "we the people". Kaur ...