MPH Bookstores outlet at Robinson Road – 30% OFF storewide moving out sale till 18 Mar
MPH Robinson Road will be having a moving out sale featuring 30% off storewide. Save up to 40% on selected items!
Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou charged with leaking confidential information
TAIPEI – Former President Ma Ying-jeou has been indicted for leaking confidential information in a wiretapping case in 2013, Taipei prosecutors announced on Tuesday (March 14).
Prosecutors said the charges against Ma include violations of Communication Security and Surveillance Act and the Control Act.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming filed the lawsuit against Ma in 2013, accusing Ma of leaking details from an ongoing criminal investigation.
Ker claimed that Ma leaked information obtained by then-prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming, who was investigating allegations of improper political lobbying between Ker and then-Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng of the Kuomintang by wiretapping telephone conversations.
Ma has repeatedly maintained his innocence, and his lawyers deny that Huang was instructed to leak information of those conversations.
Image:
Publication Date:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 11:44
Keywords:
Send to mobile app:
Source:
Story Type:
Others
Woman realises father injured in fatal BKE crash while watching clip on Facebook
The video was going viral online, and Malaysian Chin Jia Yi was watching it like other netizens, curious to see what happened in the horrific accident along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) last week.
Little did she know that she would be in for the nastiest of shocks. While watching the clip on Facebook, Ms Chin, 21, spotted her own father, 54-year-old Chin Boh Fatt, lying among the injured at the accident site.
“I immediately contacted my mother who, coincidentally, had just received a call from my father,” she told Malaysian news agency Bernama.
She added that she was relieved to hear that her father, who has worked in the construction industry in Singapore for the past three decades, had only sustained an injury to his left thigh.
Read also: Fatal BKE accident: Deliveryman charged with rashly causing deaths of 2 motorcyclists
381636
2017-03-12 11:40:29
Photo GalleryFatal BKE crash leaves 6 hospitalised and 2 motorcyclists dead
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
The accident occurred last Saturday (Mar 11), when a van crashed into several motorcyclists who were taking shelter under a flyover along the expressway to put on their raincoats.
Two Malaysians, Loke Whay Mam, 50 and Lim Chun Hong, 34, were killed in the accident. Six others, including Mr Chin, sustained injuries and were sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
Read also: Family thought news of motorcyclist killed in BKE accident was a scam
24-year-old Koh Boon Ping, who had been driving the van, was arrested, and his driving license was immediately suspended. On Monday (Mar 13), he was charged in court with two counts of causing death by a rash act.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to five years and/or fined for each charge.
Read also: Victim frets over kids’ education expenses
seanyap@sph.com.sg
Image:
Publication Date:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 11:07
Send to mobile app:
Source:
Story Type:
Rewritten Story
Going beyond the classroom
Different people are great at different things, said Melvin Teo. The 24-year-old had an epiphany that if he wants to succeed in life, he should pursue things that he is good at.
Although Melvin has a chemical engineering diploma from Temasek Polytechnic, he…
Source link
'Fake doctor' who worked in Australia for 11 years could now be in Singapore
A man who allegedly pretended to be a doctor and practised in public hospitals in the state of New South Wales in Australia could now be in Singapore, Australian news media have reported.
Shyam Acharya, who is accused of pretending to be British doctor Sarang Chitale, told neighbours that he was making “back and forth trips to Singapore” for work, ABC reported over the weekend.
The neighbours ABC spoke to said that Acharya had not been seen for months, and when contacted, he told them that he was working overseas.
“I have been doing a lot of back and forth trips to Singapore. I will be back on 31st March,” read a text message believed to be sent by Acharya to his neighbours in January.
The Australian Associated Press also reported that a neighbour recalled Acharya saying he often travelled to Singapore to work as an emergency department doctor.
Described as a “nice person and a good neighbour”, Acharya lived with his wife and their young daughter, who have not left the country, The Daily Telegraph reported. The girl is believed to be around five years old and was born in Australia, the report said.
Acharya worked in four New South Wales hospitals for 11 years, and had allegedly entered the country on a fake passport.
Last week, the state’s health minister Brad Hazzard said an independent inquiry would be launched, adding that Acharya’s A$1.25 million (S$1.34 million) house could be seized to recoup wages paid to him.
“We will be doing everything we can to recover the cost of the house so taxpayers can get their money back,” Mr Hazzard was quoted by ABC as saying.
Suspicions of Acharya’s medical background arose when Novotech, a clinical research company he worked for, alerted authorities last year. He had previously also worked for pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Meanwhile, the real Dr Chitale, who is “held in high regard within the British medical community”, was described by The Daily Telegraph to be “distressed” by the idea that someone had stolen his identity to practise medicine elsewhere.
ljessica@sph.com.sg
Image:
Publication Date:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 11:29
Keywords:
Send to mobile app:
Source:
Story Type:
Rewritten Story
Canadian couple search for relatives of adopted Chinese girl with blood disorder
Canadian foster parents search for abandoned child’s family members
Local authorities in Southwest China’s Guizhou province began a search on Friday for possible siblings of a girl who was abandoned about 10 years ago and was later adopted by a Canadian couple.
If they succeed, it means the girl will have a good chance of curing her disease through a bone-marrow transplant.
The girl, named Hosanna, was left alone on the doorsteps of Tianzhu county police station at dawn on May 6, 2007, according to the county’s police department.
When they failed to find her parents, the police sent her to a local welfare house, where she was named Chen Fupei and given a presumed birthday that made her 1 year old.
Greg Crowell and Cathy Crowell, a couple who are now in their 50s and already had four children, adopted the pale-looking girl from the welfare house later that month, knowing that she had a disease.
They gave her a new name. “We called her ‘Hosanna’, which is Hebrew for ‘saviour’,” Cathy Crowell said.
They took her to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, where pediatric doctors from Nanfang Hospital affiliated to Southern Medical University diagnosed her with severe beta thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder resulting from the poor ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen.
Following doctors’ advice, Hosanna has spent her life receiving blood transfusions every two to three weeks, as well as daily injections to remove excessive iron from the transfusions.
“Every night she needs to be given an injection,” Cathy Crowell said. “It is all very difficult for her.”
“Hosanna can survive with blood transfusions, but she will need them for her entire life,” she added.
In the past decade, Hosanna, who will celebrate her 11th birthday this spring, has been living in Alberta, Canada, with the couple.
They have returned to the welfare house during that time, but have had no luck in finding her biological parents.
Doctors in China and Canada have told the couple that the only way to cure Hosanna is through a bone-marrow transplant, which requires a match that is most likely to be found in a sibling.
The couple recently posted an open letter online, announcing the search for relatives of the girl.
They offered to cover the cost of blood tests to find a match “because these people could possibly help Hosanna in a physical way that we will never be able to”, Cathy Crowell said.
The letter caught the attention of the authorities in Tianzhu, who have pledged to assist the couple in their search.
Led by the local internet information office, a notice was made to spread Hosanna’s story in the hope of tracking down a relative.
Copies of the notice were given out to local school heads, who were told to pass them on to students and parents.
While there have been no leads so far, the couple said they remain hopeful.
“We do not want to pressure them. They need our respect and we want them to come forward on their own. This is not easy for them,” Cathy Crowell said.
Nevertheless, the couple have been introducing Hosanna to Chinese culture and she has been learning Mandarin for five years.
“We hope that one day she can help us visit China and be our interpreter,” Cathy Crowell said.
Image:
Publication Date:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 11:05
Keywords:
Send to mobile app:
Source:
Story Type:
Others
Another Mercedes driver is caught going against traffic, this time in Yio Chu Kang
Stomp contributor Clarence almost had a head-on collision with a Mercedes-Benz driver who had gone against traffic along Yio Chu Kang Road yesterday (March 12) at around 6.30pm.
When he saw the car coming towards him, Clarence sounded his horn and came to a stop to warn the driver as well as the drivers behind him of the imminent danger.
“I have no idea how the driver could have gone in the wrong direction but my friends and I suspect she had been driving against traffic for at least 350 metres, according to Google maps,” said Clarence.
“It was a risk for me to stop my car along the road but who knows what could have happened if I did not stop and sound my horn at the driver?”
After Clarence’s warning horn, the Mercedes driver made a three-point turn to travel in the right direction.
Clarence has reported this case of dangerous driving to the traffic police.
This is the latest incident in a series of drivers going against traffic, the most devastating of which was the AYE accident that left one dead last December.
356501
2016-12-19 13:51:35
Photo Gallery1 dead, 3 injured in AYE accident
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
-
<!–
Visit STOMP for more stories.
Image:
Publication Date:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 10:56
Keywords:
Send to mobile app:
Source:
Rotator Image:
Story Type:
Others
New vehicle underpass from Sims Way to Nicoll Highway to open Apr 2
SINGAPORE: A new vehicle underpass at the junction of Nicoll Highway and Sims Way will open at 6am on Sunday (Apr 2), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a press release on Tuesday.
Motorists travelling from Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and Sims Way can use the new two-lane underpass to connect directly to Nicoll Highway or Stadium Drive.
“This will help to alleviate the congestion motorists currently experience at the KPE exit and Sims Way when connecting to Nicoll Highway,” LTA said.
With the opening of the underpass, the right turn from Sims Way to Nicoll Highway at the traffic junction will be removed. The existing access along Nicoll Highway towards the city to Stadium Drive will also be permanently closed when the new underpass opens.
Motorists travelling from Guillemard Road should use Stadium Boulevard via Mountbatten Road to access Stadium Drive and Singapore Sports Hub, LTA said.
Lee Dong-wook kicks off Asian fan meeting tour
Lee Dong-wook started his Asia fan meeting tour Sunday.
Titled “For My Dear,” the actor’s meet and greet in Seoul was attended by some 1,500 Korean fans.
Lee captured their hearts by singing to Zico’s “I Am You, You Are Me” and dancing to Twice’s “TT.”
He also revealed what he looks for in a girlfriend, saying, “I want to date someone who is wise and pretty and at the same time who can eat well. … I also want somebody who I can have good conversations with.”
Gong Yoo, who starred in tvN’s hit drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” attended the event in a show of support for Lee.
The actor broadcasted part of the event via the Naver V app Sunday for those who could not attend.
Tickets for the meet and greet were sold out within one minute of their release.
The “For My Dear” tour is set to take place in six more cities. Lee will visit Taiwan and Singapore in April; Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand in May; and Japan in June.
Image:
Publication Date:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – 10:51
Keywords:
Send to mobile app:
Source:
Story Type:
Others
Hong Kong trails Singapore in quality-of-life rankings due to housing, pollution issues
HONG KONG — Hong Kong risks losing out on top expatriate talent if it does not tackle its pollution and housing issues, according to latest survey findings on quality of life, released by a global consulting firm.
The annual survey by Mercer, used by multinational companies to design expat packages, ranked Hong Kong 71 out of 231 cities for quality of living – dropping one spot from last year’s placing.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s regional rival Singapore took the top spot, followed by five Japanese cities. Hong Kong placed 7th.
Pollution and housing were some of the greatest concerns for expatriates looking to move to Hong Kong.
“For employees with families, they need to consider their children’s health. Singapore will definitely be a better place than Hong Kong because of better pollution control,” Ms Connie Leung, principal business leader for talent information solutions at Mercer, said.
“And as for housing [in Singapore], you may have more choices for flats [and] the living environment is much better. The cost is too high in Hong Kong and so you have a limited choice [of flats].”
Vienna in Austria took the number one ranking overall for the city with the best quality of life.
According to the survey, Hong Kong’s quality of life was on par with Detroit, a former United States automobile manufacturing powerhouse.
Social and political issues were also reasons for the city’s lower ranking.
“Hong Kong saw a dip in ranking due to recent social and political uncertainties as well as the rise in quality of living in other cities in the region,” Ms Leung said.
“The good news is, Hong Kong still remains at a relatively good standing compared to nearby cities in Asia.”
The survey looked at 10 categories including: political and social environment, economic environment, natural environment, housing, health services, and education.
British account manager Nick Ball has been a Hong Kong resident since 2011 and said he has seen a decline in his quality of life.
“A lot of places where we use to hang out have disappeared because of [high] rents, and it seems that things that can bring a better way of life … are just not really being very well run anymore,” he said.
“Congestion has got a lot worse. You try to go anywhere on the weekend and it’s just terrible unless you get out first thing in the morning because there are traffic jams everywhere.”
Despite the problems, Ball still said there was “no other place on Earth” like Hong Kong, but he was uncertain if he would still be in the city five years from now if things continued to decline. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
