Man found murdered in Ang Mo Kio park

Man found murdered in Ang Mo Kio park

 

SINGAPORE: A 64—year—old man was found murdered on Saturday morning, in Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West.

Hours later, an 18—year—old man was arrested in the vicinity of the park, in connection with the case.

Police said they received a call of an assault at about 6.40am in the park, which is near the Ang Mo Kio Library.

The man, who had facial injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at about 7.10am.

It is believed the deceased was exercising in the park before he was attacked.

He wore a T—shirt and shorts, and his valuables were untouched.

Channel NewsAsia understands the police found a bent umbrella near the man.

The police said they are not ruling out the possibility of it being used as a weapon.

The case has been classified as murder.

— CNA/fa/wk

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Top concerns for S’pore insurers — new regulations, shortage of talent

I can’t keep all my staff at the town council: Potong Pasir MP Sitoh

Ong Dai Lin

dailin@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

That was the response last night from the People’s Action Party Member of Parliament Sitoh Yih Pin after the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) delivered in the morning its letter petitioning him to retain all staff at the Potong Pasir Town Council.

Saying that he was not a “vengeful person”, Mr Sitoh reiterated that he could not keep all 16 employees as he had to abide by EM Services’ regulations, after bringing it in as the managing agent for the town council.

Which is why, when asked if he will respond to the SPP, he said it is now “a matter between employer and employee”.

The town council has come under the spotlight after 13 of its employees were terminated last week and offered re-employment in other town councils by EM Services.

Mr Sitoh said yesterday he has seen the terms that will be offered to the employees and described them as better than what they were getting at the town council. He added that the staff will be employed by EM Services if they send in their applications.

There is no deadline for the submission.

So far, six of the staff have submitted their applications and Mr Sitoh told MediaCorp that he has spoken to the other seven to give it a go.

On the SPP’s request for a severance package for these employees, Mr Sitoh said he has not decided as “the financial state of affairs (of the town council) needs urgent, significant improvement”.

He said that, as of March 31 last year, the town council’s sinking fund was S$4.3 million, while the Lift Upgrading Project over the next three years will cost the town council S$8.8 million.

As town council chairman, he has decided not to take the S$500 monthly allowance he is entitled to, and his vice-chairman will also forego a S$300 allowance to help save money for the town council, Mr Sitoh said.

“Residents don’t have to worry. They voted me in, it’s my problem and it’s only mine to solve,” he said.— He would “never throw sand into people’s rice bowls” and is “very disappointed that some parties chose to politicise” the leadership transition at the Potong Pasir Town Council.

more reason to visit

VIMITA MOHANDAS

vimita@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

That makes Singapore its largest tourist market, generating about RM28.4 billion (S$11.7 billion) in tourist receipts last year.

The Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) added that Malaysia’s Homestay Programme is rising in popularity with Singaporeans.

Singaporeans account for almost half of all homestay tourists, making the Republic the top foreign market for the programme.

The homestay tourism product was introduced in 1995 as a means to elevate the socio-economic standing of the rural people in Malaysia. Currently, more than 140 villages in Malaysia offer this programme at 3,009 kampung homes.

“... This homestay programme gives tourists something special which is more like the kampung lifestyle. When they stay at the kampung together with the family, like the Japanese tourists for example, they won’t eat sushi and teppanyaki but instead go for goreng pisang and nasi lemak,” said MTPB acting director-general Azizan Noordin yesterday.— Malaysia saw about 13 million tourists from Singapore last year — an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to 2009.

Surprise checks are conducted on operators

Letter from Eugene Tan

Secretary, Public Transport Council

WE THANK Mr Raymund Koh Joo Guan for the feedback and suggestion in his letter, “Secret audits the way to go” (May 24).

On Mr Koh’s suggestion to carry out unannounced audits, we would like to share that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducts unannounced on-site checks and audits to verify operator performance and data.

[# Such reports should be published for public  reference #] 

These are supplemented by ground checks on bus services where we have received unfavourable feedback from the public.

These checks are conducted in addition to the Public Transport Council’s (PTC) review of actual performance data of bus services to verify the public transport operators’ compliance with the Quality of Service standards on bus reliability. The use of actual performance data provides the PTC with a more objective assessment of the public transport operators’ compliance.

On Mr Koh’s observation of bus services bunching at bus stops, this is due to buses being subject to uneven loading conditions along the bus routes as well as different traffic conditions.

To overcome bus bunching and improve service delivery, the public transport operators have invested in bus fleet management systems to help bus drivers adjust bus speeds to keep as close to the schedule as possible.

To help reduce the impact of traffic conditions on buses and improve bus speeds, we have given buses greater priority on the roads using bus lanes.

We have also implemented the Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme at 202 bus bays island-wide which helps to reduce the time buses take to exit bus bays. The LTA will continue to implement this scheme at suitable bus bays.

We seek commuters’ understanding that they may still experience instances of delays in bus arrival times or bus bunching due to traffic and demand surges.

Nonetheless, we will continue to work with the public transport operators to find ways to better meet the needs of our bus commuters.

Foreigners’ job history to be made available

Letter from Farah Abdul Rahim

Director, Corporate Communications,

Ministry of Manpower

WE THANK Mr Matthew Chua and Mr Ebenezer Jeyara for their feedback and suggestions (May 25 and 28) to provide employers information on the employment history of foreign workers.

We have also contacted Mr Chua directly to follow up with him.

We agree that the interests of employers should be protected. Currently, if a complaint has been lodged against a foreign domestic worker (FDW) or foreign worker, the MOM will alert a prospective employer and seek the complainant’s consent to be contacted by the employer for more details.

In order to safeguard the integrity of information provided, the employment history made available to prospective employers is limited to information that can be verified, such as the number of previous employers and employment periods.

[# Unverified information should also be included with a qualification that it had not been verified #  Because authority's incompetence in verifying information can lead to serious true fact being ignored and not revealed ? ? ? ? #]

Prospective employers can already view an FDW’s employment history via the Work Permit Online on the MOM website. Plans are underway to extend such information to prospective employers of foreign workers next year, as we recognise that it would help them make better informed decisions.