An online petition has been started on Charge.org, asking for a harsher sentence for convicted paedophile Joshua Robinson.

The 39-year-old American mixed martial arts (MMA) instructor was found guilty on Thursday (March 2) for having sex with underage girls and possessing child pornography.

He was sentenced to four years imprisonment by district judge Crystal Ong who said “the law must come down hard on such individuals so as to specifically deter them from re-offending and also to deter others from committing such acts against vulnerable young persons.”

The petition was started by a Ms Sarah Woon, who claims she is a close family friend of a 6-year-old girl whom Robinson had shown an explicit video while she was waiting for her father who was training at the gym.

Ms Woon wrote in the petition: “As a parent and an early childhood educator advocating for the voiceless in our country (and children everywhere, with the fact that upon release this paedophile could be anywhere around the world, abusing his mixed martial arts trainer’s credentials), I find this unacceptable and absolutely intolerable.

“Unfortunately, the 6-year-old in this traumatic case is a daughter of a close friend and it absolutely breaks my heart and those of all our friends and family.”

Ms Woon started the petition on Sunday and as of Monday morning, it had garnered over 1,910 supporters.

Among a number of those who have shared the petition on Facebook is renowned Thai mixed martial artist and entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong.

He shared the link on his Facebook page on Monday, calling for martial artists to “stand up together against evil”.

The petition comes after numerous comments were posted on news reports and social media about the relatively lenient sentence for Robinson.

In an interview with TODAY, the dad of the 6-year-old girl who was shown porn by Robinson said he was outraged by the man’s four-year jail sentence.

He took to social media to express his anger: “They lock drug abusers up for much longer than four years…but a child sexual abuser? Just a slap on the wrist!”

The father said in the interview that Robinson is well-known in the martial arts industry here and even taught in schools.

In fact, it has also been revealed in The Indepedent that Robinson had been a “poster boy” once for Contact Singapore, a campaign to attract global talent to work in Singapore.

Here’s a video of Robinson being featured in the video:

It’s tough being a wild animal in Singapore nowadays, having to share the creeping concrete jungle with human beings.

Two otters recently displayed their adaptability in navigating the city by climbing up a ladder from a drain, shown in a video clip captured by photographer Bernard Seah.

In his Facebook post, Mr Seah expressed his wonder, saying: “A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that smooth-coated otters learned to climb ladders.”

He said that the curious critters also sniffed his iPhone which was used to film the video.

Last Thursday (March 2), the mammals were also spotted basking in the sun at Marina Bay’s floating platform where the art exhibition Art-Zoo was taking place.

Recently, some of these wild animals are venturing out of their usual haunts like Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Pulau Ubin, and Changi into parts of the city.

They have been spotted at Marina Bay or the Singapore Botanic Gardens and have also taken up residence in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

Adorable as they may be, members of the public should not touch, chase, or corner otters, the National Parks Board (NParks) says.

If you encounter these animals, it is best to observe them from a distance and not feed them as they can forage for clams, fish, and other small creatures from the environment.

According to NParks, otters are listed as critically-endangered in Singapore.

And did you know that enamoured Singaporeans also chose the Bishan otters to represent the country as part of the nation’s 51st birthday celebrations?

minlee@sph.com.sg

Despite having a total land area of only 719.2 sq km and undergoing rapid urbanisation, Singapore surprises with the diversity of its wildlife.

It is home to a wide variety of species, including some which are not commonly seen, such as the lesser false vampire bat and the Raffles’ banded langur.

There are an estimated 23,000 to 28,000 species of terrestrial organisms and 12,000 to 17,000 species of marine organisms in Singapore.

“A healthy natural environment enhances our quality of life, improving our overall health and well-being as well as enriching our lives. In addition, wildlife aids in pollination and dispersal of seeds, thereby ensuring the long-term survival of our forests and native plants,” said Dr Lena Chan, group director of the National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board.

“We are working to develop Singapore into a biophilic city, a city in a garden where nature is a part of our urban environment, where humans live harmoniously alongside wildlife.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Straits Times picture desk would like to thank the following for their assistance in this project:

• National Parks Board
• Dr Andie Ang
• Herpetological Society of Singapore
• Dr Vilma D’Rozario
• Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)
• Ms Xu Weiting and Ms Fung Tze Kwan, from the National University of Singapore Civet Research Team.

This article was first published on March 6, 2017.
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There are more hybrid cars here now, in part because motorists are attracted by the low fuel consumption and high rebates on the cost of these vehicles.

The numbers suggest private-hire car services Uber and Grab may have also fuelled this increase.

According to statistics from the Land Transport Authority, there were 10,848 petrol-electric hybrid cars on Singapore roads as of January this year. This is an increase of about 70 per cent from 2015, when there were 6,371 such cars.

The increase corresponds with the change in the maximum rebate given under the Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS), which is aimed at encouraging motorists to switch to low carbon emission vehicles.

Read also: COE tender postponement sparks speculation of major car tax changes

In July 2015, the maximum rebate was revised from $20,000 to $30,000. The amount is offset against the car’s additional registration fee, a tax imposed upon the registration of a vehicle.

There is little difference in the selling price of a hybrid model and its petrol-based counterpart. For instance, a hybrid Honda Vezel is about $2,000 more after the rebate.

Read also: S$9.2b to come from car taxes and COE premiums in FY2017

Mr Derek Low, director of Venture Cars dealership, said hybrids now make up 60 per cent of all cars sold by his company.

“They’ve become so popular that we’ve stopped bringing in the petrol versions of certain models,” he said, adding that many buyers were attracted by the CEVS rebate.

Private-hire car services, which almost doubled the rental car population from 29,369 in 2015 to 53,589 this year, also feature hybrids as part of their fleets. Grab offers the Toyota Prius, while Lion City Rental, owned by rival Uber, rents the Honda Vezel hybrid and the Prius.

Read also: Tougher to claim against private-hire cars: Lawyers

“Consumers look at hybrids due to their interest in improving the environment and cost savings from potentially lower fuel consumption,” said Asian Clean Fuels Association executive director Clarence Woo.

But they should also take into account the energy and materials used to produce car components such as batteries, when considering the environmental impact of such vehicles, he added.

Independent financial analyst Morten Strange, 64, renewed the certificate of entitlement (COE) for his 2006 Toyota Prius for another five years and said he would buy another hybrid once it expires.

Mr Strange praised the regenerative braking feature found in many hybrids. When the brakes are applied, the electric motor acts as a generator to recover kinetic energy, which is then stored in the batteries.

He said: “This makes them perfect for city driving, where there are a lot of traffic junctions.”

This article was first published on Mar 06, 2017.
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Home-grown singer-songwriter Beth Yap, better known by her nom de plume Bittymacbeth, comes from a musical family and has been playing the piano since she was six.

But it was only after watching TV singing competition American Idol that she started harbouring dreams of becoming a singer.

The 22-year-old features in the seventh episode of the third season of ST Sessions, The Straits Times’ online video series which features rising talents in the home-grown music scene performing stripped- down live sets.

Currently a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Yap says in the video: “I grew up in a musical family, but it was only when I was 12, I was watching American Idol, seeing all these people live out their dreams of being singers, that I thought that, hey, I kind of want to do it too.”

Her father was a guitar teacher and her older brother plays music as well.

Her songs espouse positivity. An original tune that she performs in the episode, Haters Gon’ Hate, is about “taking time to understand and listen to people instead of judging them on preconceived notions”.

The song is from her debut album, Beauty For Ashes, which she launched with a concert at the Esplanade Recital Studio last year. The release went to No. 1 on the local iTunes and Apple Music’s R&B/Soul charts.

Yap, whose music encompasses genres such as soul, jazz, pop and funk, says in the ST Sessions video that she wants to put her music education to good use and give back to the creative scene here.

“I just hope that with everything that I learn and all the opportunities (that I get), and all the people out there (that I meet), that I’ll be able to grow so much more and not only make my own music better, but really contribute more to Singapore’s music and arts scene.”

ST Sessions’ third season is part of a series of digital video programmes produced in a partnership between the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore and Singapore Press Holdings.

The new season features eight acts, including singer-songwriter Tim De Cotta and indie duo Tomgirl. A new episode is launched every other Friday.

This article was first published on Mar 6, 2017.
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One day, Ms Patricia Poo will become totally blind.

Ms Poo has only partial sight in her left eye and is completely blind in her right. Despite her poor vision, she has continued to pursue her passion for running, which was the only sport she could take part in when she was in primary school.

The 23-year-old receptionist has embraced it even more since then, with the help of a guide runner.

“If I run outside, I can’t run alone because I don’t know what’s ahead of me,” she said.

“When there are steps, a turn, uneven ground or people, that’s when our guides come in. They are our eyes.”

Ms Poo, who joined sports cooperative Runninghour in 2013, is featured in this instalment of Heroes Among Us, a video series which explores the lives of everyday people who overcome extraordinary challenges.

Runninghour will hold its third annual “blindfold” run on May 13 this year where members of the public can experience what it is like to run “blind” with the aid of a guide.

This article was first published on Mar 6, 2017.
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Parents who face problems seeing their children after a divorce are getting to spend time with them under the supervision of counsellors.

Last year, the Family Justice Courts (FJC) sent 112 families for supervised visitations and related services such as counselling, up from 81 families in 2015 and 79 families in 2014.

During a supervised visitation, the parent who lives with the child will drop him off at a social service centre specialising in handling divorce issues. These are called divorce support specialist agencies (DSSA). The other parent spends time with the child at the DSSA, under counsellors’ supervision.

Such an arrangement minimises the potential for conflict between parents.

Read also: 8 things women need to know before getting a divorce

An FJC spokesman said more parents are opting for supervised visits as a result of greater awareness of the programme.

The FJC and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) have been educating family lawyers and parents about it, while more lawyers are also recommending to the courts to place their clients on it.

Couples who are ordered by the FJC to use this service now do not have to pay, making it a more feasible option for more families.

It is free for up to 24 sessions for couples where at least one party is a Singaporean or a permanent resident.

In April last year, the MSF started funding two DSSAs – the Thye Hua Kwan Centre for Family Harmony @ Commonwealth and the Care Corner Centre for Co-Parenting – to handle court-ordered cases involving Singaporeans or PRs.

Read also: Divorce cases handled faster last year

Before the MSF funding started, couples sent by the courts for the service had to pay. The THK Centre for Family Harmony @ Circuit currently charges $180 an hour on weekdays and $220 on Saturdays.

Family lawyers say parents who face persistent difficulties in seeing their children after the divorce could be sent for supervised visits. Their former spouses may have denied access or made it hard for them to spend time with their children, to get back at them for infidelity, money woes or other resentments.

Lawyer Rajan Chettiar said: “After the divorce, they don’t see the children as ‘our children’ but as ‘my children’. Access problems are the toughest to tackle.”

So some parents have not seen their children for a few years, even though they have a legal right to see the children once a week.

Then, there are children who are “so influenced” by one parent that they refuse to have any contact with the other parent, the FJC spokesman said.

Read also: What happens to your HDB flat after a divorce?

Lawyer Lim Chong Boon says visits supervised by a neutral third party work as they ease fears, for example, that the other parent may snatch the child away or abuse the child during the visits.

A businessman, who wanted to be known only as Andy, 43, did not see his children for six months. He said his former wife had cheated on him, left home with their two children and wanted a divorce. They fought over how often he could visit and she refused to open the door when he tried to visit.

He managed to spend time with his six-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl only when the court sent them for supervised visits at the THK Centre for Family Harmony @ Circuit.

He said: “My daughter was cold towards me at first but she gradually warmed up. I’m very thankful to have an avenue to meet, talk, play and bond with them.”

This article was first published on Mar 06, 2017.
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