Works to see if the future Cross Island MRT line will be built under Singapore’s largest nature reserve have started.

Due to start last December, the investigation works, to determine the soil and rock profile under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, began last month. They were delayed because of “extensive discussions” between the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and National Parks Board on measures to reduce the environmental impact of the works, said LTA geotechnical and tunnels deputy director Goh Kok Hun.

Some of the mitigation measures include keeping works to between 9am and 5pm, erecting noise barriers and keeping investigation works to public trails, to avoid disturbing wildlife in the area.

The number of investigation sites has also been reduced from 72 to 16.

“Workers have to observe the stringent requirements stipulated under the environmental management and monitoring plan for the works,” said Dr Goh.

Trial runs of borehole operations and geophysical surveys were also conducted off-site prior to actual works to familiarise workers with the requirements of working in the reserve, said an LTA spokesman.

“These mitigating measures are the result of three years of engagement between the LTA and other stakeholders,” said Nature Society president Shawn Lum.

Expected to be ready in 2030, the 50km Cross Island Line will stretch from Changi to Jurong when completed. The authorities are considering two paths for the line – a 4km route, half of which would be under the nature reserve, and a “skirting alignment” that would take a 9km route around it.

While the latter option is expected to tack on $2 billion to the cost of constructing the line, it could allow for an additional station to serve Thomson residents.

It would also satisfy nature groups which have raised concerns about the possible environmental impact of running an MRT line under the reserve.

Earlier this month, a tunnel boring machine digging in mixed ground conditions caused an old tomb at Mount Pleasant Chinese Cemetery to cave in during works on the Thomson-East Coast Line. Over-excavation had created a localised depression on the surface, said LTA.

Such cave-ins are unlikely to occur should the authorities decide to run the line under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, said Dr Goh. This is because tunnelling in the area would go much deeper and only through the granite of the Bukit Timah profile, not mixed ground conditions, he added.

Soil investigation works are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Studies on the total impact of the project will be ready only by the end of next year, and a decision on the route of the MRT line will only be made after.

Dr Lum, a senior lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment, is still hopeful that the new rail line will go around the reserve.

“The skirting alignment would not just be beneficial for the environment, it would also allow for wider ridership for the MRT line,” he said.

This article was first published on Mar 23, 2017.
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Despite the challenging economy, philanthropy still remains strong here, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday.

He highlighted how more than 700 corporate donors and 400 individuals had raised $5.79 million for the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS) last year.

“Our economy is in transition and many corporates are undergoing restructuring but I am glad that this spirit of giving remains strong,” said Mr Teo to a crowd of philanthropists and companies at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel.

The amount was about $100,000 shy of the $5.89 million record in 2015, and went to two SCS programmes: 1000 Enterprises for Children-in-Need (1000E) and the 1000 Philanthropists (1000P).

The former, which encourages firms to pledge an annual donation, raised $2.91 million last year, compared with $3.33 million in 2015.

The 1000P programme, which encourages individuals to contribute $1,000 a year to society, raised $2.88 million last year, compared with $2.68 million in 2015.

SCS chairman Koh Choon Hui said it would continue to ramp up its services this year, such as the new Appropriate Adult Scheme, which involves trained, independent volunteers accompanying young suspects in police investigations.

This means 2017 “will be another challenging year” for the SCS, with an increase of about 14 per cent in budgeted expenditure, from $15.6 million last year to $17.8 million in 2017, he added.

DPM Teo said SCS could also look at early intervention and research as two areas for long-term benefit.

He added: “Early interventions can help provide a safe environment for the children in need to develop good character and pick up life skills… Research in children-specific domains will provide insight to raise awareness and help channel limited resources into areas of high impact.”

ngjunsen@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 23, 2017.
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Most building conservation efforts in Singapore are led by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which decides what to add to the country’s stable of 7,000-plus protected structures.

In a rare case, a group of heritage enthusiasts, including executives from a property company, banded together to have the building they rent – The Quadrant in Cecil Street – gazetted for conservation by the URA.

About $1 million of the company’s money was spent restoring it. It started off as just another project for Homestead Group chief executive Low Jeng-tek, portfolio asset director Sue Ann Lim and design lead Sue Lynn Oliveiro, whose company specialises in refurbishing heritage properties for new uses.

As master tenants, they were sprucing up the dilapidated building in the Central Business District and turning it into a tech office complex after taking over from a childcare operator in 2012. They had signed a nine-year lease with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

Read also: Homeowner forced to move out after tenants skip rent for 3 years and refuse to leave Hougang flat

They soon began uncovering stories about the 1930s low-rise landmark’s history and architectural merits, prompting them to question why it had yet to be protected.

Last month, Mr Low’s former classmate, heritage enthusiast Gareth Lee, sent a letter to the URA proposing its conservation.

The letter by Mr Lee, 49, the vice-president and Asia-Pacific general counsel of an American healthcare company, described The Quadrant as an “art deco structure which sits at the gateway to Raffles Place and Marina Bay”, and a “lone relic” of pre-WWll Singapore in an area dominated by skyscrapers.

The Homestead executives had shared their findings with him:

•The Quadrant had served as the South-east Asian headquarters of the Kwangtung Provincial Bank, which was used by immigrant Chinese to remit money, and its original banking hall layout and bank vault were still intact.

•It was set up by finance minister T.V. Soong of the Republic of China, brother-in-law of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen.

Their year-long restoration also brought back to life its original iron-gate traction lift – one of the few remaining in Singapore.

Mr Low told The Straits Times: “Our lease expires in 2021. Our worry is that the historical and architecturally unique building could one day be torn down and replaced by a skyscraper, given the value of land in the district.

“While we are still the stewards of this property, while it is still in our care, we must do something to ensure it stays beyond this date.”

A Facebook group, Conserve The Quadrant, has been set up.

Read also: Penang ups landed property threshold

Most ground-up efforts to conserve buildings are usually led by owners of private buildings under the URA’s voluntary conservation scheme. A URA spokesman said there have been “a handful” of such cases over the last decade, including the Parochial House at St Joseph’s Church in Victoria Street.

Independent conservation bids by non-owners are even rarer.

Experts whom the group contacted, including cultural geographer Lily Kong, expressed surprise that The Quadrant had yet to receive conservation status.

A possible reason is that a road reserve line runs across the building.

Professor Kong said the private sector stepping forward to propose its conservation would belie a nation coming of age “in which our values include pride in our history and heritage”. She said: “As Singapore matures, it would be great not to rely only or largely on the Government for conservation. There is certainly a prima facie case for this building to undergo assessment.”

Read also: Property expert cautions against stalling market

The URA said it welcomes the suggestion, adding however that as there are no immediate plans for the site, “the merits of conserving the building will be studied as part of the larger plans for the area”.

As custodian of state properties, SLA has been opening up places with “heritage value and historical charm” to optimise their use, said chief executive Tan Boon Khai.

Mr Low said juxtaposing older heritage buildings with modern skyscrapers is an internationally proven “sure-fire way to attract creative techies like bees to honey”.

He added: “Conserving The Quadrant will educate the public about our yesterdays, and also connect us to an innovative new tomorrow.”

This article was first published on Mar 23, 2017.
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There is no need to close the pre-school in Clementi where a staff member was found to have tuberculosis (TB), said Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday.

He assured parents that the TB Control Unit (TBCU) is taking “very active management” of the situation, and that it is under control.

As of Monday, 66 staff members and children at the PAP Community Foundation Sparkletots pre-school had been screened – 45 tested negative and results for 21 were pending. None of the 66 has active TB.

Speaking to reporters at the opening of a centre for the intellectually disabled, Mr Tan said TB protocols set by the Health Ministry, the Early Childhood Development Agency level and the pre-school level were followed.

While parents may be concerned, he added that TB is different from other diseases such as the hand, foot and mouth disease which is contagious and requires pre-schools to be closed in some cases.

TB is contracted only after prolonged exposure to infected patients. It cannot be passed through objects or surfaces touched by the patient. The staff member who had active TB was immediately put on medical leave on March 3 after being diagnosed.

Said Mr Tan: “Whatever measures that need to be taken will be taken, so I’d like to assure parents and staff that this situation is under control and we’re managing it actively.”

Some parents of children at the pre-school told The Straits Times they were still worried about their kids being diagnosed with latent TB.

Unlike active TB, the latent form of the illness has no symptoms and is not contagious. Both require treatment that takes up to nine months, and nine in 10 patients fully recover after proper treatment.

One parent who wanted to be known only as Madam Teng, 38, said her two sons, aged five and three, were diagnosed with latent TB after the mass screening. As TB is endemic in Singapore, the source of her children’s latent TB might not be the pre-school staff member. She revealed that her 18-month-old daughter contracted latent TB last year and has a month of treatment left.

She added: “We’ve to take leave for monthly check-ups at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.”

Some parents wondered why they were informed only on March 10 about the incident. TBCU had contacted the school on March 3 and, on March 6, conducted a site visit to identify who should be screened.

Said one parent, who declined to be named: “There was probably no risk once the affected staff member was put on leave but I would have appreciated it if they had told us as soon as they could.”

ngjunsen@sph.com.sg

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

byseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 23, 2017.
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A sales executive who got 14 months’ jail for subjecting her maid to abuse almost daily for about three weeks was yesterday unsuccessful in appealing for a lighter sentence.

Instead, High Court judge See Kee Oon increased Ang Lilian‘s sentence to 16 months’ jail.

He said Ang, 45, who asked for a fine or one day in jail, showed a complete lack of remorse.

The judge added that the mother of two, represented by lawyer Foo Cheow Ming, capitalised on her maid’s vulnerability.

The prosecution argued that there was no reason for the court to grant Ang’s appeal and depart from sentencing precedents.

They noted that the original sentence of 14 months’ jail meted out by the State Courts last year was well within the range of sentences given in similar cases.

Ang was found guilty last July on 11 charges of abusing Ms Moe Myint Aye, now 28, after an 11-day trial.

Read also: Murder suspect’s husband charged over maid abuse

However, she was cleared of one count of using criminal force on the Myanmar national, who began working for Ang’s Marine Terrace household in January 2013.

Apart from the jail term, Ang was also ordered to pay $3,150 in compensation.

The maid, who now works for another employer, was assaulted almost daily between mid-April 2013 and May 1 that year.

Ang hit her with her fist and objects such as a dustpan, a shower head and a cane. The attacks were targeted mainly at the maid’s head and face.

Ang also pulled the victim’s hair, threw her to the ground and slapped her face repeatedly.

The maid testified during trial that her life was “very bad” and that Ang would attack her for any slight mistake.

Read also: Warrant officer hit maid over ironing

Ang’s crimes came to light on May 7, 2013 after a public-spirited neighbour noticed the maid’s injuries and alerted the police.

The repeated blows resulted in severe bruising around the eyes.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Ruth Teng and James Chew, who sought a jail term in the range of 14 to 16 months in the State Courts, earlier argued that the serious injuries were a significant aggravating factor.

“This is not a case of a light smack or a quick shove. This is a case where the victim was systematically brutalised by Ang,” the prosecutors said in their submissions to the court.

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan, who presided over Ang’s trial, found her conduct particularly egregious.

The abuses were prolonged and showed a pattern of escalating severity, he noted.

Read also: Mum and daughter jailed for abusing maid

He also rejected the defence’s argument that the victim had fabricated all the incidents of abuse to engineer the premature termination of her employment contract.

Ang could have been jailed for up to three years and also fined up to $7,500 for each charge of maid abuse.

This article was first published on March 23, 2017.
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Lawyer S. K. Kumar, a familiar figure in the courtroom, was yesterday disbarred for misconduct that included misleading the court and wasting its time through being absent from hearings or seeking unnecessary adjournments.

Once, he asked a client to get a medical certificate (MC) to cover his mistake after a warrant of arrest was issued to the man for not showing up at a hearing. Mr Kumar had failed to inform his client he was due in court to plead guilty.

The client said Mr Kumar offered to arrange an MC for $300 but the client chose to see his own doctor.

Mr Kumar, who has practised for 29 years, was disbarred after a Court of Three Judges said he had fallen short of the required standards of integrity, probity and trustworthiness. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon called his conduct “intolerable”.

The paramount duty of a lawyer, as an officer of the court, was to assist the court, said CJ Menon. But Mr Kumar’s conduct shows “a gross failure… to apprehend even the most basic duty to the court”. By his frequent absence and seeking of adjournments, Mr Kumar had shown “utter disregard” for the court.

He faced 11 charges of misconduct arising from two sets of complaints, one filed by the State Courts and the other by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The Law Society asked for no more than 30 months’ suspension but the court found this “grossly inadequate”. Mr Kumar’s lawyer, Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan, portrayed his client as a hardworking lawyer who took on more cases than he could handle.

But the Chief Justice rejected the argument, painting Mr Kumar as a “bumbling” lawyer “doing his incompetent best” to cope with his workload. He noted: “He chose to disregard the legitimate expectations of all the other stakeholders in the justice system over a sustained period of time.”

Read also: Ex-lawyer guilty of practising while disbarred

This article was first published on March 23, 2017.
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