A 32-year-old man suffered burns on his chest and limbs after a car exploded in a multi-storey carpark in Bukit Batok on Wednesday (April 26).

The police said in a statement that they were alerted to a “loud explosion” at 290H, Bukit Batok Street 24, at around 6.28pm.

“Portable butane gas canisters were found at the scene,” the statement added.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force, which dispatched a fire engine and an ambulance to the scene, conveyed the man to Singapore General Hospital.

A video put up on Facebook showed the man crying in pain, with his black T-shirt in tatters after the incident. Police officers and a member of the public were seen tending to the man.

SCDF officers were also seen at the scene.

The car appeared to be severely damaged, with its front right door and rear blown off.

Police are investigating the cause of the explosion.

This article was first published on Apr 26 DAY, 2017.
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Nestled in heartland football stadiums, suburban malls and social clubs are private clubhouses with jackpot rooms filled with fruit machines.

An ongoing probe by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) into the suspected misuse of funds by Tiong Bahru Football Club (TBFC) has placed such operations under scrutiny.

While jackpot operations are a cash cow for clubs, Members of Parliament and gambling counsellors warn that these venues provide an easy and accessible outlet for gambling.

They called for additional safeguards to prevent gambling addicts from frequenting such places and for tighter regulations to ensure profits earned from jackpot operations go towards funding a club’s core purpose.

Read Also: Football: Tiong Bahru FC amassed $37 million from jackpot revenue

“We must be keenly aware that easy access and proliferation of such jackpot machines can contribute to gambling addiction,” said MP Desmond Choo, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Home Affairs and Law.

Football clubs have been using jackpot operations to fund football activities for more than two decades.

The Straits Times has reported that jackpot revenue helps cover around a third of an S.League club’s operating costs.

TBFC, a modest side playing in the National Football League, raked in $36.8 million last year from their 29 jackpot machines.

Read Also: Football: Tiong Bahru FC amassed $37 million from jackpot revenue

The sum has raised eyebrows as it was significantly higher than what clubs in the top-tier S.League made – about 10 times more than what local football powerhouses Tampines Rovers earned in the 2013/2014 financial year.

TBFC’s clubhouse and two others were raided by the CAD last Thursday.

Its chairman, Mr Bill Ng, his wife, Ms Bonnie Wong, Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Winston Lee and former Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP and FAS president Zainudin Nordin have been arrested and questioned.

Football clubs such as TBFC and other registered societies that want to run jackpot operations have to apply for a private lottery permit from the police.

While the permit conditions state that entry is for members only, checks by ST found membership can be obtained on the spot for as low as $5.

The integrated resorts charge a $100 levy to enter the casino.

MP Zainal Sapari said jackpot activities are important revenue generators for clubs here, and any heavy-handed clampdown would significantly affect their bottom lines.

Even so, more safeguards are needed to prevent addicts from gambling in jackpot rooms, he said. Mr Choo said one starting point could be to broaden casino exclusion orders to include all jackpot rooms and introduce visit limits.

Currently, punters or their family members can apply with the National Council on Problem Gambling to be excluded from only 24 clubs.

ST reported in 2014 that there were 93 such jackpot venues here, with about 2,000 fruit machines. Companies that supply jackpot machines said this number has remained stable.

Data shows that betting taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore have grown over the years, reaching $2.7 billion in the 2015/2016 financial year. That figure includes casino tax, betting duty and private lotteries duty – the tax levied on jackpot clubs.

Mr Billy Lee, executive director of Blessed Grace Social Services, estimated that 10 per cent of the gambling addicts he sees have patronised jackpot clubs, including those run by football clubs. He called them a “back door” for addicts banned from the casinos.

Like other observers, he reckons that greater oversight is needed to ensure profits from jackpot operations go towards funding a club’s core purpose.

For instance, Sinchi FC still maintain a clubhouse with six machines at Sultan Plaza despite having last played in the S.League in 2005.

The club had a gross income of $165,625, according to their latest returns filed with the Registry of Societies.

It was last reported in 2012 that the Chinese club’s jackpot revenue was being used to pay off debts, but little is known of their footballing activities.

Said Mr Zainal: “If a football club has no more team, then the licence for it to run a jackpot room should be withdrawn.”

MP Seah Kian Peng, who chairs the GPC for Social and Family Development, agreed that regulations governing jackpot clubs need to be updated.

“If there is anything good coming out of this, I think it’s that it calls for an urgent review of the status quo,” he said.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 27, 2017.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

Nestled in heartland football stadiums, suburban malls and social clubs are private clubhouses with jackpot rooms filled with fruit machines.

An ongoing probe by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) into the suspected misuse of funds by Tiong Bahru Football Club (TBFC) has placed such operations under scrutiny.

While jackpot operations are a cash cow for clubs, Members of Parliament and gambling counsellors warn that these venues provide an easy and accessible outlet for gambling.

They called for additional safeguards to prevent gambling addicts from frequenting such places and for tighter regulations to ensure profits earned from jackpot operations go towards funding a club’s core purpose.

Read Also: Football: Tiong Bahru FC amassed $37 million from jackpot revenue

“We must be keenly aware that easy access and proliferation of such jackpot machines can contribute to gambling addiction,” said MP Desmond Choo, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Home Affairs and Law.

Football clubs have been using jackpot operations to fund football activities for more than two decades.

The Straits Times has reported that jackpot revenue helps cover around a third of an S.League club’s operating costs.

TBFC, a modest side playing in the National Football League, raked in $36.8 million last year from their 29 jackpot machines.

Read Also: Football: Tiong Bahru FC amassed $37 million from jackpot revenue

The sum has raised eyebrows as it was significantly higher than what clubs in the top-tier S.League made – about 10 times more than what local football powerhouses Tampines Rovers earned in the 2013/2014 financial year.

TBFC’s clubhouse and two others were raided by the CAD last Thursday.

Its chairman, Mr Bill Ng, his wife, Ms Bonnie Wong, Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Winston Lee and former Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP and FAS president Zainudin Nordin have been arrested and questioned.

Football clubs such as TBFC and other registered societies that want to run jackpot operations have to apply for a private lottery permit from the police.

While the permit conditions state that entry is for members only, checks by ST found membership can be obtained on the spot for as low as $5.

The integrated resorts charge a $100 levy to enter the casino.

MP Zainal Sapari said jackpot activities are important revenue generators for clubs here, and any heavy-handed clampdown would significantly affect their bottom lines.

Even so, more safeguards are needed to prevent addicts from gambling in jackpot rooms, he said. Mr Choo said one starting point could be to broaden casino exclusion orders to include all jackpot rooms and introduce visit limits.

Currently, punters or their family members can apply with the National Council on Problem Gambling to be excluded from only 24 clubs.

ST reported in 2014 that there were 93 such jackpot venues here, with about 2,000 fruit machines. Companies that supply jackpot machines said this number has remained stable.

Data shows that betting taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore have grown over the years, reaching $2.7 billion in the 2015/2016 financial year. That figure includes casino tax, betting duty and private lotteries duty – the tax levied on jackpot clubs.

Mr Billy Lee, executive director of Blessed Grace Social Services, estimated that 10 per cent of the gambling addicts he sees have patronised jackpot clubs, including those run by football clubs. He called them a “back door” for addicts banned from the casinos.

Like other observers, he reckons that greater oversight is needed to ensure profits from jackpot operations go towards funding a club’s core purpose.

For instance, Sinchi FC still maintain a clubhouse with six machines at Sultan Plaza despite having last played in the S.League in 2005.

The club had a gross income of $165,625, according to their latest returns filed with the Registry of Societies.

It was last reported in 2012 that the Chinese club’s jackpot revenue was being used to pay off debts, but little is known of their footballing activities.

Said Mr Zainal: “If a football club has no more team, then the licence for it to run a jackpot room should be withdrawn.”

MP Seah Kian Peng, who chairs the GPC for Social and Family Development, agreed that regulations governing jackpot clubs need to be updated.

“If there is anything good coming out of this, I think it’s that it calls for an urgent review of the status quo,” he said.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 27, 2017.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

Police were deployed to the State Courts building yesterday after an item suspected to be a bullet was found near the main entrance.

Responding to queries from the Straits Times, a police spokesman said they were alerted to an incident at Havelock Square at about 2.50pm.

The Straits Times arrived at the scene at around 3.45pm.

An area the size of half a badminton court was cordoned off.

More than five police officers, both in uniform and plainclothes, were seen conducting investigations.

An officer took photos of the area and, at about 4pm, he took photos of a small dark-coloured object on the ground.

The object was later placed inside an envelope and the cordon removed shortly after.

Police said investigations are ongoing.

This article was first published on April 27, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The 64-year-old woman who died after her husband drove his car into her in Ang Mo Kio on Tuesday night was active and healthy.

Relatives described Madam Ng Siew Fong as a go-getter.

They said the civil servant was the healthiest person in her family and would often exercise before going to work.

The fifth of six siblings, she was also a filial daughter who often took her 102-year-old mother out for walks.

Read Also: 64-year-old woman dies after husband ‘accidentally drives into her’ at Ang Mo Kio carpark

Her cousin, Madam Joy Koh, 62, said that Madam Ng and her husband, Mr Quek Chin Ling, 67, were a loving couple who went everywhere together.

Madam Koh said: “We’re very sad and shocked at what happened. The family is more concerned about her husband, he must be very upset.”

The couple have two sons. One works in Singapore while the other studies in the US.

On Tuesday night, Madam Ng was injured when her husband accidentally drove his car into her at the carpark at Block 332 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

The car also knocked into two stationary motorcycles parked there.

Madam Ng was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) unconscious, where she died later.

Madam Ng was senior deputy director at the Ministry of Manpower’s foreign manpower management division.

Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, who was previously Manpower Minister, posted a message on his Facebook page yesterday about Madam Ng, saying: “We just lost a well-loved and respected colleague… She has been a dedicated officer who actively looked out for the well-being of the workers working here. A most unfortunate and tragic accident and our thoughts are with her family during this time of bereavement. RIP Siew Fong.”

Mr Ivan Chiu had just reached home from school when he heard a bang.

He rushed out of his home and saw a woman lying in the carpark, with a pool of blood around her head.

The first-year nursing student from ITE College East and a nurse from TTSH, who happened to be passing by, administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and used an automated external defibrillator on the unconscious woman.

The 21-year-old told TNP: “I was worried about her husband who was in a state of shock. He kept on asking me ‘what is the situation?’ and ‘is she responding?’ But the moment I reached her side and checked her pulse, there was none.

“Even though I was initially at a loss, I knew something had to be done. All I could think about was whether or not the woman was going to survive.”

Road safety expert Gerard Pereira, operations manager of Singapore Safety Driving Centre, described it as an unfortunate incident.

“Most of the time, I notice drivers reversing without checking. That’s why accidents occur, because the driver is not aware of his surroundings. When you’re not aware, things can happen.”

– ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SIM YAN LING

tnp@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 27, 2017.
Get The New Paper for more stories.