SeaPRwire

10 weeks’ jail for repeat drink driver who offered $1,000 to cop to try to get off the hook

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A motorist, who knew he could be going to jail after he was caught drink driving for the second time, landed in deeper trouble when he offered a policeman a $1,000 bribe in an attempt to get himself off the hook. The officer rejected the offer and after a trial, Principal District Judge Victor Yeo convicted the drink driver, Chong Wei Kwong, of a graft charge. On Monday (Dec 6), the 50-year-old Singaporean also pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving after he was caught with 76 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath in December 2018. This was more than double the prescribed limit of 35mcg of alcohol. For committing the two offences, Chong was on Monday sentenced to 10 weeks' jail, given a fine of $5,000 and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for five years. Chong had an earlier drink-driving conviction in April 2001 for which he was fined $2,000 and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for 15 months. Despite this, he did not learn his lesson and downed about five glasses of liquor before entering the driver's seat of his car parked at the PoMo shopping mall- now known as GR.ID - in Selegie Road at around 10pm on Dec 14, 2018. Deputy Pu...

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Hong Lim, Chong Boon markets reopen, hawkers ask for easier grant disbursement

aseanpr
6 minutes

SINGAPORE - Some food sellers just emerging from their two-week quarantine are calling for easier access to financial compensation, having had to throw away much of their fresh ingredients and lost significant revenue due to mandated stall closures. They said the online application process - which should give them $100 for each day they are forced to shut - is too complicated. Many also did not know how to start or where to go online. Money should be more quickly dispensed to them, especially when whole food centres are being closed due to the cluster linked to Jurong Fishery Port, they said. The Straits Times was at the markets and food centres at Hong Lim and Chong Boon, which reopened on Tuesday (Aug 3) to crowds that were far from what they were before. At both, footfall was sparse and some stallholders chose not to reopen until after the National Day long weekend, due to the difficulty of getting fresh seafood. Others were waiting for more regular patrons to be aware that they are now reopened. Madam Yeo, 58, who wanted to be known only by her last name, was at Hong Lim to disinfect her roast meat stall before she reopens later in the week. She said she wanted to keep her stal...

SeaPRwire

Man who sexually groomed 13-year-old girl jailed for two years and 10 months

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man who started sexually grooming a teenager when she was 13 years old has been jailed for two years and 10 months. Nick Chong Seng Cheong, 24, had sex with the girl on multiple occasions and also paid her for it. He pleaded guilty on Monday (April 12) to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor under 14 and one count of possessing obscene films. Seven charges of sexual penetration of a minor were taken into consideration by District Judge Janet Wang during sentencing. The girl cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity. Court documents state that Chong was a project lead at an engineering company when he committed the offences. He became acquainted with the victim through chat application ChatIW in October 2017. They subsequently communicated via WhatsApp, and Chong would ask the girl to send him photographs of her private parts. He also sent her photographs of his genitals and videos of himself performing a sex act. Chong later suggested that they become "friends with benefit", to which the girl agreed, on the condition that she would be paid whenever they engaged in sexual activities. By that time, the girl had informed Chong that she was 13, t...