SINGAPORE: SMRT will deploy more staff and signs on the ground during the shorter service hours on the eastern sector of the East-West Line (EWL), set to begin this weekend.

The stretch between Paya Lebar and Pasir Ris MRT stations, as well as Expo and Changi Airport stations, will see early closures on Fridays and Saturdays at 11pm and late openings at 8am on Saturdays and Sundays this month.

These 10 stations will also be closed for the entire day on Jan 21 and Jan 28.

During the affected hours, four shuttle services will kick in to support commuters, with up to 300 buses and 1,200 staff including bus captains, crowd marshals and station personnel deployed on the ground.

The latter figure is 20 per cent more than during the previous round of closures on the western sector last month. The extra staff will add a human touch to help on the ground, said SMRT director of operations support and resource management Vincent Gay.

“What we experienced in the western sector is actually a lot of (commuters) asking how to do this and that,” he told reporters at a briefing at Changi Airport on Thursday (Jan 4). “So, we want to give a bit more so-called human interaction with commuters in terms of how to travel.”

There will also be an increase in the number and size of signs put up around the affected stations alerting commuters about the closures.

“We learnt that we need bigger signage and more staff on the ground to provide wayfindings for commuters to travel on these shuttle services,” Mr Gay added.

Other companies are also doing their part to ease inconvenience during the closures.

Nine SBS Transit bus services – 60A, 63M, 222, 225G, 228, 229, 291, 292 and 293 – will be extended by at least 45 minutes on all Fridays and Saturdays and on the last two Sundays this month.

“This is to cater to the travel needs of commuters given the early/full-day closure of the MRT stations between Paya Lebar and Pasir Ris on the East West Line,” SBS Transit said in a release.

In addition, Uber will offer two promo codes – 3SGEASTMRT for existing riders and 8SGEASTMRT for new riders – for rides on Jan 21 and Jan 28 from near affected stations.

The first promo code entitles riders to S$3 off two uberPool rides, while the second promo code entitles riders to S$8 off one uberX or uberPool ride.

“We note that during these so-called closures, a lot of inconvenience will be caused to all the commuters,” SMRT’s Mr Gay said. “We hope that commuters can plan ahead in terms of their travel journey.”

CHANGI AIRPORT GEARS UP

At Changi Airport, one of the stations affected by the closures, commuters can travel onwards via two shuttle services which leave from Gate 8 of the departure hall at Terminal 3.

This location was chosen because it is the nearest point to the MRT station, and sees the least vehicle traffic from passenger drop-offs, a Changi Airport Group (CAG) spokesperson said.

Shuttle 8 will stop at Expo station before terminating at Tanah Merah station, while Express 12 is an express service that goes direct to Bugis station. Both shuttles will follow the same fare structure as trains.

For the express service, Bugis was chosen because of its Downtown Line (DTL) connection, providing commuters with onward travel to the city.

“The faster connection part is actually to have an express service bringing them directly to the city,” said Mr Gay, adding that one in 10 commuters who take the train from the airport usually go to the city.

In addition, signs have been put up at 11 locations, including outside the MRT station and at skytrain stops, across the terminals. Similar TV signs will also be displayed at the baggage claim area in the arrival halls.

At Gate 8, queue poles and outdoor shelters will be set up for commuters. Marshals will also be stationed there to guide them into separate lines for the two shuttle services.

As for workers who might be inconvenienced by the closures, the CAG spokesperson said it has “disseminated the information to all the airport partners” since last week. 

“We have (sent) a circular and got our portfolio officers to send delegated emails to the senior management of the companies,” she said. “We don’t want staff to not be able to get to work on time.”

The spokesperson added that some of the companies, which include those in charge of ground handling staff and sales assistants, have made alternative transport arrangements – like carpooling  – for employees.

BUSINESSES REACT

Meanwhile, signs have also been put up near Expo station, which comes after Changi Airport station on the EWL.

The Expo station serves as the main public transport connection for Changi City Point, a shopping mall that sits right next to it. Despite that, businesses there remain largely unfazed by the upcoming full-day closures of the EWL station.

Many told Channel NewsAsia that the DTL station, which opened less than three months ago, will keep customers coming.

“It might slow down sales over here but not so much,” said Ms Lyanna Ridwan, sales assistant at Cotton On. “Because we also have the Downtown Line, so we can still get customers.”

Chateraise owner Karen Quek said there might be a “slight drop in customer flow as most of them take the green line, but we are glad we still have the Downtown Line”.

Ms Hui Ling, sales assistant at Urban Studio, which sells apparel and luggage, said “business will still be okay” with the DTL station, pointing to how it connects directly to the mall, as opposed to the EWL station, which is located across a road.

A waitress at Japanese eatery Ajisen Ramen, who only wanted to me known as Madam Teo, said most customers seem to get to Expo station via the DTL as it goes direct to heartlands like Tampines. “Unless there’s an activation at Expo, then it’s different,” she said.

Ms Janette Lulunan, in-charge at Japanese eatery Teppei Syokudo, said business only gets brisk when the convention centre holds events on weekends. “So, it will be the same even during the closures,” she said. “I think there will be no difference.”

However, supervisor at Fragrance Bak Kwa Yvonne Loh said she is “worried” about the closures, as she crossed off the two days on her calendar.

“People come here by MRT; if it’s closed there will be fewer people,” she said. “Luckily, the blue line will help a little bit. But we will still be affected.”

Madam Loh lamented that the two Sundays come in the build-up to Chinese New Year, when the sales “target is very high”. “We only make money once a year for bak kwa, especially during the weekend peak,” she added.

At Pasir Ris station, which is only served by the EWL, businesses were also less optimistic about the full-day closures.

Ms Zhang Ben Ju, supervisor at Mr Bean, said it will be “hard to sell” her wares if commuters only take buses from the bus interchange, which is located away from her outlet. “If the station is closed, then I don’t think there will be customers.”

ValueMax Pawnshop operations manager Rich Chua said business will “definitely” be affected. “During the weekends, there is a bigger crowd,” he said. “So, if the station is closed, business will slow down.”

LONDON: Oil rose to its highest since May 2015 on Thursday, supported by unrest in Iran that has raised concerns about supply risks, cold weather in the United States which is boosting demand and OPEC-led output cuts.

Six days of anti-government protests in OPEC’s third-largest producer have added a geopolitical risk premium to oil prices, although Iran’s production and exports have not been affected.

Brent crude , the international benchmark, was down 1 cent at US$67.83 a barrel at 1318 GMT. It traded as high as US$68.27 earlier in the session. U.S. crude rose 15 cents to US$61.78 and also touched the highest since May 2015.

“There is enough support for prices with the cold in the U.S. and the geopolitical factor,” said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix.

Freezing weather in the United States has spurred short-term demand, especially for heating oil.

Aside from the spike in May 2015, oil is trading at its highest since December 2014 – the month after a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to stop cutting output to support prices, a move that deepened a price collapse.

Analysts at JBC Energy said the price reaction to the Iranian unrest was overdone, while Swiss bank Julius Baer said prices projected “an overly rosy picture” that left the market at risk of profit-taking.

OPEC, supported by Russia and other non-members, began to hammer out a deal to cut supplies again in 2016, aiming to lift prices by removing a glut built up in the previous two years.

Their cuts started a year ago and compliance has been high, aided by involuntary output declines in Venezuela, whose economy is collapsing, plus unrest in Nigeria and Libya. Producers have decided to extend the deal until the end of 2018.

OPEC’s cuts are helping reduce global inventories. In the United States, crude stocks fell by 5 million barrels in the latest week, the American Petroleum Institute said on Wednesday before the government’s supply report later on Thursday.

Byron Wien of Blackstone listed the prospect of U.S. crude topping US$80 as one of 10 potential shockers for investors in 2018 in his annual list of surprises.

Balancing the trend towards a tighter market is higher production in the United States, where the OPEC-led effort to push prices up is spurring more shale oil output.

(Addtional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Mark Potter and Edmund Blair)

SINGAPORE: It was a regular evening for police officer Sofian Othman, who was on his day off and buying a sandwich at Bedok Mall for an early dinner. But he soon realised that something was not quite right as he was leaving the mall, as he heard loud shouts coming from the McDonald’s a short distance away.

That was when he realised that a young man was behaving aggressively, intimidating mall shoppers. Some looked scared, and quickly left the mall.

In his first interview with the media on Thursday (Jan 4), the 35-year-old investigation officer with the Unlicensed Moneylending Strikeforce recounted how he came to help detain an 18-year-old man for causing trouble with a pair of scissors at Bedok Mall last Wednesday.

The incident, which happened at about 6pm, saw the young man damage property at several stores in the neighbourhood mall.

Frightened shopkeepers and customers scrambled for safety as the man went about messing up items on display, shoving things to the floor and shouting at shoppers. The teenager also smashed the glass panels of some stores.

“My main concern was the safety of members of public and the damage that he would cause to the surrounding,” said Mr Sofian, who has been in the force for 14 years.

Following his “police officer’s instinct”, Mr Sofian followed the young man from behind as he made his way into yet another shop, a watch store. By this time, a couple of other male shoppers were also trailing the man, seeing if they could help.

Mr Sofian signalled to one of them that he would approach the young man from behind, and attempt to catch him unaware and disarm him. The opportunity soon came as the man turned his back to Sofian to sweep more items off the counter of the shop.

It took five men, including Mr Sofian, to pin down the teenager.

“It was a bit chaotic at that time as (he) was behaving aggressively,” recalled Mr Sofian.

The first question Mr Sofian asked the teenager was if he was okay. 

“I engaged him in conversation to find out about his condition – whether he was injured, or if he needed any immediate medication. He mentioned that he was on medication but he did not have it on him. So to calm him down, I offered him a bottle of drink.”

Mr Sofian had earlier bought a bottle of water to go with his sandwich dinner. The young man appeared disoriented, but calmed down soon after.

The police arrived several minutes after and arrested the man.

In a Facebook post update on evening of the incident, the police said that the man had a history of mental health problems and was arrested for public nuisance. Investigations are ongoing and it is understood that the man is out on bail.

“I was quite heartened to see members of the public being very alert and coming forward to assist in this kind of situation,” said Sofian.

He lauded the SGSecure programme as being key to reaching out to members of the public on what to do when encountering difficult security situations. However, he also reminded the public that personal safety should come first, and not to put themselves in harm’s way at any time. 

SINGAPORE: Fans of the arts can look forward to an expanded Light to Night Festival as it makes its return later this month, the National Gallery Singapore announced on Thursday (Jan 4). 

Themed “Colour Sensations”, the second edition of the festival will feature indoor and outdoor interactive art installations, a food and craft market space, and performances throughout the Civic District area. The festival will run from Jan 19 to 28, during which St Andrew’s Road will be closed from 4pm on Fridays until 1am on Saturdays.

“The Civic District is home to major cultural institutions in Singapore and prides itself as an arts and cultural hub right in the heart of the city. Light to Night Festival aims to extend this experience beyond the walls of these timeless monuments and into the public spaces for a multi-generational audience to gather and enjoy the art around them,” said festival director Suenne Megan Tan, who is also director of Audience Development and Engagement for the gallery.

Various events will be held at institutions like the Arts House, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, Asian Civilisations Museum and The Esplanade, which will be extending their opening hours until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Visitors can participate in some of the works. For instance, A Stitch in Time by Filipino artist David Medalla – a piece inspired by his chance reunion with a handkerchief that he had given to his former lover years ago – encourages visitors to stitch words or objects onto a canvas as a display of interconnectedness and accidental discoveries. 

There will also be an installation of large illuminated city streetscapes on the facade of the National Gallery for the first time.

Other events taking place elsewhere include Art Skins on Monuments – coloured light projections by 30 artists, illustrators and multimedia designers – as well as music performances, poetry recitations and talks by artists.