A Hong Kong judge recently refused permission for a Singaporean woman to appeal against his order that she be removed from acting for her de facto spouse in a suit over business interests there.

Madam Kay Swee Pin, 64, managing director of travel agency SA Tours, had been appointed in August 2013 to act for Mr Ng Kong Yeam in Hong Kong in relation to his suit there when it emerged he was mentally incapacitated.

Mr Ng, 77, was the former boss of SA Tours, and the Hong Kong court accepted that Madam Kay was his mistress and had cohabited with him for nearly 30 years before she and his family decided to move him back to Johor after he started suffering from dementia.

Given his dementia, which started around 2012, the court had accepted there was an “apparently irretrievable breakdown of relationship between Dato Ng and Madam Kay” since July 2013 and he was looked after by his family in Johor Baru.

There was no explanation why she applied to become his “next friend” to act for him in the suit after she had broken off with him, said Hong Kong High Court Recorder Jason Pow in judgment grounds released last year that is the subject of the current appeal.

It is understood Mr Ng’s Hong Kong lawyers made the move based on a general power of attorney executed by Mr Ng in 2010 in Hong Kong for her to act for him.

But in December 2013, a Malaysian court appointed his four children as a committee to administer his affairs after declaring him mentally incapable. His son, Mr Ng Chung San, then applied to the Hong Kong court to replace Madam Kay and act on his father’s behalf in the suit that the older Ng had initiated against four defendants there in 2011 but was unable to continue because of his dementia.

Madam Kay countered Mr Ng was not fit to take over and she was a better choice as she had full knowledge of the underlying facts in the suit.

Judge Pow wrote in his judgment grounds: “Given the breakdown of relationship; given the fact that Dato Ng had returned to the care of his wife and children in Malaysia; and given that the Malaysian High Court had appointed the committee to take care of the interest and affairs of Dato Ng, why is Madam Kay still insisting on acting as the next friend of Dato Ng in this Hong Kong proceedings?”

The court noted she was unable to show that she remained close to Mr Ng after the relationship broke down in 2013, unlike his family who are now taking care of him, but added she could still offer herself as a factual witness if she wanted to help him.

There was also a series of litigation launched by the family against Madam Kay here which the court noted she had not tried to challenge by filing an affidavit in the Hong Kong court to render her version.

Among other things, the judge cited the Singapore court decision where she sued the Singapore Island Country Club for libel and the judge found she had lied about her marital status when she declared Mr Ng was her spouse in 1992.

The judge also mentioned the Singapore episode where her lawyer- sister Kay Swee Tuan admitted she did not actually witness Mr Ng signing a lasting power of attorney for Madam Kay, according to the declaration by Singapore lawyer Sum Chong Mun. Expressing “grave doubts”about Madam Kay, the judge affirmed her removal and replacement by the younger Ng.

Madam Kay then applied for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal against his order and last month, Judge Pow ruled after examining her submissions that she was unable to show her appeal grounds would “have reasonable prospect of success”, if allowed to proceed.

The judge ordered her to bear the costs of the appeal.

vijayan@sph.com.sg

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This article was first published on Feb 9, 2017.
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The use of male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria to control the spread of dengue in a small-scale field study in three areas in Singapore has shown promise, with valuable data for future suppression trials.

After three months of releases at the Tampines West site, the viability of Aedes mosquito eggs collected from the site has been reduced by about half, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a media statement yesterday.

This suggests that the released male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes successfully mated with the urban Aedes aegypti females.

Investigations at the other two sites, Braddell Heights and Nee Soon East, focused mainly on understanding the mate-seeking behaviour and flight ability of the released male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes, as well as how well they survive in the urban environment.

Other data gathered include details on how far and high the mosquitoes fly and how long they live.

Conclusions from the data were derived after a three-day meeting between NEA’s Dengue Expert Advisory Panel and NEA’s Environmental Health Institute.

In October last year, NEA started the field study at Braddell Heights, followed by Tampines West and Nee Soon East a month later.

When male mosquitoes carrying the naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria mate with female mosquitoes, the bacteria causes the females to produce eggs that do not hatch.

The aim of this is to reduce the Aedes aegypti population, which transmits the viruses that cause dengue fever. These mosquitoes also carry the chikungunya and Zika viruses.

NEA appointed the panel in June 2014 to provide professional advice on the use of Wolbachia for suppression of the Aedes aegypti mosquito population.

The panel comprises experts from Australia, Singapore, Britain and the United States, with specialised knowledge on vector-borne diseases, entomology, epidemiology, virology and public health.

The panel chairman, Professor Duane Gubler, founding director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, said: “NEA and the people of Singapore are to be congratulated on the rapid containment of what could have been a major Zika epidemic here.”

More data is being collected from the field study to refine the suppression trial design.

NEA, in its release, said the Wolbachia-Aedes technology is promising, but is not the sole strategy for Aedes control.

It must be complemented with a strong integrated vector control programme with community participation, NEA said.

The NEA also urged everyone to be vigilant and practise the five- step Mozzie Wipeout.

“Persons infected with dengue should protect themselves from mosquito bites by applying repellent regularly, and those showing symptoms suggestive of dengue should see their doctors early to be diagnosed,” it added.

lydialam@sph.com.sg

Read also: Experts find way to make mosquitoes dengue-free
NEA to test novel way of cutting mosquito numbers

This article was first published on Feb 9, 2017.
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When Ms Tan Li-Lin and her husband returned from work last Tuesday, they thought their five-room Punggol flat had been burgled.

On the floor were shards from the dining table’s glass top, which had shattered and sent fragments to as far as the bedroom hallway.

After checking that nothing else was amiss, the couple realised that the glass had shattered on its own.

“Thankfully no one was at home when it happened,” Ms Tan, a 33-year-old who works in communications, told The Straits Times. “It was just painful to clean up – they (the shards) had got into the couch, carpet, everywhere.”

The dining table, bought for about $2,000 from a furniture store at Marina Square about three years ago, had no visible cracks or chips on the tempered glass top, she said.

In a separate incident on Sunday, a Turbo Italia tempered glass top gas stove shattered in a Pasir Ris flat.

Both gas cookers and dining table furniture are subject to safety regulations under consumer product safety authority Spring Singapore.

Read also: Family falls sick after mould on wardrobes​

Tempered glass is commonly used for glass tops of gas and electric hobs as well as table tops as it lasts longer and is more impact- and heat-resistant, Spring said.

Glass experts said spontaneous shattering occurs only in tempered glass.

But there is no cause for panic, they said, as such cases are not common.

Also, tempered glass implodes, shattering into small pieces with rounder edges than that of normal glass, reducing the risk of injury.

A check with the Consumers Association of Singapore found that it has received nine complaints since 2014 about furniture with glass parts shattering, and five complaints about shattering glass stoves and cooker hobs.

Experts said tempered glass is about four times stronger than untreated glass as it is strengthened through heat.

But the tempering process creates surface stress which, combined with nickel sulphide inclusions created during the glass manufacturing process, can cause the glass to spontaneously shatter months or years later.

Lower-quality glass contains more sulphide inclusions, which increases the likelihood of spontaneous shattering, experts said.

A safer option is laminated glass, which is two layers of glass joined by an adhesive. The glass surface holds together even when broken, as the broken pieces stick to the adhesive.

But laminated glass can be nearly twice as expensive.

Read also: Elderly woman almost hit by concrete slab ‘size of mahjong table’ in Marine Terrace flat

Business development manager Gary Lee of Singapore Safety Glass said consumers can also ask if tempered glass has been heat-soaked, a process that tests for spontaneous breakage.

Safety film can be applied to tempered glass, or a tablecloth placed over table tops to avoid injury if shattering occurs, he said.

Meanwhile, Turbo Italia’s distributor Happiness Pte Ltd told The Straits Times it had conducted a joint investigation with gas supplier City Gas and found that the product was not faulty.

It added that it has maintained a 0.1 per cent glass shattering incident rate.

Safety tips for using tempered glass gas cookers include avoiding the use of oversized or heavy cooking utensils, as well as the use of aluminium foil or other materials to cover the tempered glass top or overspill trays, said Spring.

Consumers with safety concerns related to household electrical, electronic and gas products or consumer goods can contact Spring.

tiffanyt@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Jose Hong

This article was first published on Feb 09, 2017.
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Singapore is facing a major challenge in its water security in the next 50 years, and the impending rise in water prices – which sparked debate when it was announced on Tuesday – is only a small part of the solution.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said yesterday at a Pre-Committee of Supply consultation session – attended by 35 members of industry, academia, non-governmental organisations and the public – that having a culture of “revulsion” towards water wastage was much more critical to the country than worrying about the cost of water.

Industry will have a growing role in perpetuating this culture, as it is already using more than half (55 per cent) of Singapore’s water. By 2060, this is predicted to hit 70 per cent of Singapore’s total water demand, which itself is expected to double by then.

Nevertheless, Mr Masagos said the Government will give due consideration to economic factors in setting the price of water.

“While we need to recover its cost, we cannot do so by sacrificing the competitiveness of Singapore to attract industries to come here,” he said.

This might not happen, noted Mr Lee Kok Choy, managing director and Singapore country manager of Micron Semiconductor Asia, who said: “The cost should be whatever it takes to cover the cost of manufacturing water… but it is a very small percentage of total cost (for companies) and it won’t drive industry out (of Singapore) if all you do is just cover cost.”

Read also: Price of water will go up to ensure sustainable supply

Participants at the event said the price increase would motivate decision-makers at companies to take action to reduce water usage.

Suggestions for this were tabled at the session, such as incorporating water-saving measures in the design stage for buildings and industrial processes, rather than trying to improve efficiency later.

Mr Jagadish C.V., chief executive of Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Co, suggested incentives to encourage the right culture in reducing water consumption.

“When you increase the cost of water, there should be incentives that are linked to social responsibility. For example, if you increase (water price) by 1 cent, you give a rebate of 0.45 cent to the industries that are already recycling 45 per cent (of water). The message is, if you are socially responsible in recycling, you pay less,” he said.

Although Singapore’s water consumption rate of 151 litres per capita per day is considered low among developed cities in Asia, many European countries have water consumption rates below 140 litres per capita per day.

In 2015, the World Resources Institute ranked Singapore highest in water risk alongside six other countries, most of which are in the Middle East.

How industry can cut its usage

Industry users could do more to lower their water footprint by recycling or reusing more of the precious resource.

Top water users here include wafer fabrication companies, which use water as a cleaning agent, as well as other firms that use large amounts of water for cooling purposes.

Professor Ng Wun Jern, executive director of the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said an imminent price hike would raise operating costs for the industry and drive it to consider changing processes to use less water.

One way would be to treat the waste water such firms produce and reuse it internally, such as for flushing toilets, said Dr Cecilia Tortajada, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

“Some companies are already improving the efficiency of their water usage, but there is definitely room for improvement,” she added.

Read also: 5th desalination plant to boost Singapore’s water security

At the Pre-Committee of Supply Consultation Session with Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli yesterday, participants from the industry said that industrial water consumption data for benchmarking and comparison is not yet available.

Such data would help them in their efforts to implement more water-efficient practices.

Water around the world is generally priced too low, Singapore included, experts said. A price hike would nudge users to think twice about how water is being used.

Dr Ng Yew-Kwang, the Albert Winsemius Chair Professor of Economics at NTU, said: “As a rule, utility prices are too low rather than too high in virtually all cities/countries.”

But while both price and non- pricing strategies could help reduce water demand, people need to understand that water is scarce, said Dr Tortajada. “

Many people know about climate change but don’t see it as something that our behaviour will have an impact on,” she added.

Carolyn Khew

Additional reporting by Lin Yangchen

Read also: PUB to award contract for $400-500m desalination plant next month

linyc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 09, 2017.
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Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices for cars tumbled at the latest tender yesterday as a larger supply of COEs kicked in, a day after the Government amended laws to keep a tighter rein on private-hire operators.

The COE premium for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp fell by 4.9 per cent to end at $48,401, while that for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp ended even lower at $48,209, down by 8.7 per cent.

The price for Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mostly used for bigger cars, closed 7.7 per cent lower at $48,556.

Read also: Bigger COE supply fuels hope of lower premiums

Bidding for car COEs has been fuelled aggressively by the advent of private-hire players like Uber and Grab. Since their arrival in 2013, the rental and private-hire car population has trebled to more than 50,000 as at end-2016.

With tighter regulations expected, people will not find driving a private-hire car for a living, or to supplement their income, as attractive as before, said industry watchers.

Mr Neo Nam Heng, chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said: “Ten to 30 per cent of drivers will fail to secure a vocational licence. Also, some drivers will feel uncomfortable about having to display a decal on their cars.”

Vocational licensing and tamper- evident decals are among requirements that the private-hire industry will have to meet by this year.

However, Mr Neo said the new rules and regulations were unlikely to have pulled the COE prices down. He said a bigger quota – 12 per cent more car COEs from this month to April – and weaker consumer sentiment on account of economic jitters were bigger reasons.

Read also: First COE bidding exercise for 2017 ends predominantly higher

“The next thing to watch is interest rates,” Mr Neo said, adding that a rate hike would translate to higher cost for motor firms and dampen buying further.

The COE price for commercial vehicles ended 4 per cent higher at $48,901, while the premium for motorcycles climbed 5.9 per cent to hit a five-month high of $6,412.

This article was first published on Feb 09, 2017.
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A record number of private schools shut down last year, continuing the shakedown in a sector that once headlined Singapore’s ambition to be an education hub.

Even more are expected to exit the scene this year, as the authorities prepare to enforce new and stricter rules.

Last year, 25 private schools deregistered with the Committee for Private Education (CPE), including big names such as Nanyang Education Institute and M2 Academy, which opened with a bang in Orchard Road just three years ago. In 2015, 17 schools shut down.

There are 293 registered private schools currently – the first time that the number has dropped below 300 since 2012, when tough new rules weeded out hundreds that could not meet the standards required of them.

The latest bloodletting in the sector means that the plan of building a Global Schoolhouse in Singapore, which aimed to enrol 150,000 foreign students by 2015, has effectively been shelved.

Mr Brandon Lee, director-general (private education) of SkillsFuture Singapore, said the restructuring is inevitable and will continue as the Government shapes the sector to better serve the needs of students and the economy.

He added: “Existing players need to be committed to continuous improvement to make their programmes more industry relevant and robust.”

Industry watchers say more may exit the industry in the next few months, as the CPE, which oversees the industry, introduces new measures to better protect students and make information more transparent for them.

Among other things, private schools that offer degrees will have to take part in an annual graduate employment survey run by the CPE.

Private schools will also require a minimum paid- up capital of $100,000.

CPE officials said most of the schools closed voluntarily amid tougher business conditions, and some have decided to focus on shorter skills-based modular courses, in line with SkillsFuture.

Schools not offering degrees, diploma or full-time courses at the post-secondary level need not be registered with the CPE.

In the event of a closure, the CPE works closely with the school to ensure students’ interests are protected.

The school is required to finish teaching a course or ensure that its students can transfer to other schools with the same programme.

The current student enrolment figures at private schools are not available, but figures reported in 2015 – 77,000 locals and 29,000 foreigners – already showed a drop in numbers.

Media reports five years ago said there were about 100,000 locals and about 35,000 foreigners enrolled in privately run schools.

The number of local students is also expected to fall further as the Government has pledged to increase the yearly intake for the six universities to cover 40 per cent of the cohort.

Mr Lee Kwok Cheong, chief executive of Singapore’s biggest private school, SIM Global Education, expects the shake-up to continue as rules are tightened further.

Management Development Institute of Singapore secretary-general R. Theyvendran also thinks more private schools will exit the scene.

“That is not necessarily a bad thing. Hopefully, the quality players will remain and have some support to grow their business,” he said.

sandra@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 09, 2017.
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