SINGAPORE: Fourteen people were arrested during an eight-hour joint operation that started on Friday night (Mar 31) and went on into the wee hours of the morning. 

In a news release on Saturday, the Singapore Police Force said it checked four public entertainment outlets – located in Jalan Besar, Bugis and Chjimes – and two outlets were found to have breached public entertainment licensing conditions. 

It added that 11 women were arrested during these checks for employment related offences.

The traffic police also conducted an enforcement operation against drink driving in the Kallang area where 21 motorists were checked.

(Photo: SPF) 

Two men were caught for drink driving while another man was arrested for an outstanding warrant of arrest, said police. Investigations against the suspects are ongoing.  

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) will get a S$90 million facelift later this year, with the revamp expected to be completed by 2021, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu announced on Saturday (Apr 1).

This is the first time the contemporary art museum, which has a strong focus on works in Asia, will be undergoing a major revamp since it opened its doors in 1996.

Visitors can look forward to large-scale installations in the expanded space. There will also be more opportunities for interactive art pieces as SAM explores how it can host multimedia works.

A bridge could also be built to link the two SAM buildings – the main building and SAM at 8Q – which are now separated by a small road. Both are heritage buildings, which used to house St Joseph’s Institution and Catholic High School respectively. And conservation work will be carried out to ensure that they are restored in accordance to preservation guidelines, said Ms Fu.

The revamp will also take into consideration accessibility for visitors with special needs.

Artist impression of the new bridge linking the main building to its annex, SAM at 8Q. (Photo: Singapore Art Museum)

“In our art scene’s next phase of development, we need to enlarge the space for engaging content to emerge and provide more opportunities for our artists. So we have been regularly reviewing our cultural infrastructure to ensure they can support the needs of our artistic community,” said Ms Fu.

An open tender for the project will be called by the second quarter of this year. SAM at 8Q on Queen Street will remain open, while the main SAM building will be closed to the public after the removal of the Singapore Biennale artworks.

The expansion is expected to cost S$90 million, of which up to S$80 million will be funded by the Government, with help from the Cultural Matching Fund. The remaining S$10 million will be funded by sponsorships and donations.

REVAMP LONG OVERDUE

SAM is the latest Singapore museum to get a facelift, after recent upgrading projects at the Asian Civilisations Museum and the National Museum of Singapore (NMS). Many also consider the revamp long overdue, especially after the opening of the bigger National Gallery Singapore a year ago.

“This is the first major retrofit since we opened in 1996 and we’ve seen in two decades how much art has developed and how the demands of contemporary art has leapt forward,” said Joyce Toh, co-curatorial head at SAM.

Having a double-volume space – which means a continuous two-storey high open space – will allow the museum to present works it has had difficulty doing so in the past.

“A lot of contemporary art are these ambitious, ginormous kinds of works that we haven’t been able to accommodate because we just don’t have the space for it,” she said, citing Indian artist Subodh Gupta’s pots-and-pans work at the recent Biennale, which had to be installed at the National Museum.

She added that the idea of building a bridge between SAM’s two buildings would also benefit visitors. “We’ve found out that people often get lost, despite these two buildings being close to each other. And when it rains, it has been difficult for people to cross over.”

Subodh Gupta’s work at the recent Biennale which had to be installed at the National Museum. (Photo: Singapore Biennale)

The museum upgrade has also been welcomed by members of the arts community, including Fyerool Darma, a participant at the recent Biennale who pointed out how SAM in its current state can be a challenge for artists like him.

“There are a lot of challenges, in terms of lighting and flooring, for example – certain spaces have floors that creak,” he said, adding that he hopes SAM could also look at creating a bigger display for its permanent collection and also consider activating underutilised spaces in the museum, such as the outdoor courtyards.

SAM’s courtyard space. (Photo: Singapore Art Museum)

Meanwhile, FOST Gallery founder Stephanie Fong hoped that the museum could benefit from the expertise seen in the creation of the National Gallery.

“SAM has become a grand old dame, I think, and it’s not purpose-built for a contemporary art museum. When it was first refurbished, a lot of things weren’t expected, in terms of how the rooms are cut up, for example. That has proven to be a challenge for curators who want to put up works that require distance in terms of viewing.”

But she also pointed out the need to have a balance between being a museum and the buildings’ heritage needs.

“I think great care has to be taken to retain some really important features. These buildings are a repository of a lot of memories so I hope certain characteristics can still be retained without compromising much on the needs of a contemporary art museum.”

SINGAPORE: To encourage water conservation, less water-efficient taps and mixers will be phased out, while a four-tick rating will be introduced for washing machines, national water agency PUB said on Friday (Mar 31).

The new Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme standards, which kick in on Apr 1, will see zero-tick water fittings disallowed for sale in Singapore.

The scheme was introduced in 2009 to help consumers make more informed decisions when buying water fittings and appliances. The more ticks a product has, the more water-efficient it is.

“Washing in the kitchen sink and showering are the two most water-consuming activities at home, taking up 22 per cent and 29 per cent of total household water usage respectively,” the agency said.

Using a three-tick tap or mixer can save an average of 54 per cent more water compared to a zero-tick one, PUB said, adding that one- to three-tick fittings do not cost more than less efficient zero-tick models.

NEW FOUR-TICK RATING FOR WASHING MACHINES

The agency also said that doing laundry takes up about 19 per cent of total household water usage. The market share of three-tick washing machines rose from 37 per cent in 2011 to 88 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 – an indication of an “increased consumer preference” for water-efficient models, it said.

Three-tick washing machines use 9L or less of water per kg load. With the introduction of four-tick washing machines, washing machines that use between 6L and 9L of water will be given a three-tick rating, while machines that use 6L or less will get a four-tick rating.

As of December last year, there were 79 two-tick models, 474 three-tick models and 41 four-tick models of washing machines available in Singapore.

Mr Michael Toh, PUB’s director of water supply (network), said the new standards are part of plans to eventually phase out water-inefficient fittings and appliances.

“Water is a precious resource, and everyone is encouraged to make water conservation a way of life. One way we can do this is through the use of more water-efficient fittings and appliances,” he said.

SINGAPORE: The High Court will deliver a verdict on an appeal by leaders of City Harvest Church next Friday (Apr 7).

The six church leaders were sentenced to jail terms of between 21 months and 8 years in November 2015 for misusing S$50 million of church funds – the largest amount of charity funds ever misappropriated in Singapore. The money was used to bankroll the secular music career of church founder Kong Hee’s wife, Sun Ho.

All six launched appeals, arguing their convictions should be overturned.

Prosecutors have urged the High Court to not only uphold the convictions, but to increase the sentences as follows:

Kong Hee: From 8 years to 11 to 12 years’ jail

Tan Ye Peng: From 5 years and 6 months to 11 to 12 years’ jail

Chew Eng Han: From 6 years to 11 to 12 years’ jail

Serina Wee: From 5 years to 11 to 12 years’ jail

John Lam: From 3 years to 8 to 9 years’ jail

Sharon Tan: From 21 months to 5 to 6 years’ jail

The prosecutors said the six “committed fraud of the worst kind” and that the judge had given “undue weight” to mitigating factors by noting that the offenders caused no permanent loss to the church and did not gain personally from their crimes.