SINGAPORE: An SMRT bus driver accused of rash driving, causing the death of one passenger and injuring another has been acquitted.

Zhang Kun, 43, had lost control of bus service number 700A as he was negotiating a sharp bend along the slip road of Bukit Timah Expressway into Dairy Farm Road. This happened on Jul 21, 2013 at about 8.50am. The vehicle veered across two lanes before crashing into a barrier and toppling over.

The prosecution argued that Zhang had been travelling 6km/h over the 50km/h speed limit as he entered the slip road, and as fast as 78km/h just before he lost control of the bus.

The crash killed 18-year-old Sasikumar Gunasakaran and injured 52-year-old Ramanand Panday A Panday. They were Zhang’s only passengers at the time.

On Tuesday (Jan 17), District Judge Michelle Yap acquitted Zhang of two charges, saying she was “not satisfied” the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt for three reasons.

First, the prosecution had not “sufficiently proven” that Zhang was travelling at a speed of at least 56km/h when he entered the slip road, said the judge, pointing to unreliable and irregular data recorded by the bus’ black box.

DJ Yap also refused to accept “highly speculative and contrived” data attempting to pinpoint the speed of the bus at specific points – when it collided into the barrier for example – put forward by the prosecution. She said the method used to come up with the data “involved a lot of guessing and estimation”.

PROSECUTION’S WITNESS NOT CREDIBLE

Zhang had argued in his defence that the bus had been faulty. He said he experienced brake problems and “engine runaway,” which caused the bus to accelerate on its own.

The prosecution’s expert witness, STA Inspection’s Tan Jiat Shee, said he found an air leak in one of the bus’ air pipes which could have affected brake efficiency. However, he claimed he was unable to conduct a break efficiency test on the bus due to the damage it had sustained in the crash.

When it emerged that SMRT staff had successfully conducted the test – which showed no problems with the brakes – Mr Tan’s credibility as an expert witness was “seriously undermined,” DJ Yap said.

However, DJ Yap “gave no weight” to SMRT’s brake test result, seeing as it was conducted by a non-independent party. “This is important because SMRT is an interested party to the case,” she said, adding that it was “troubling” that SMRT staff had “unsupervised access to the bus … there was a break in the chain of custody over crucial evidence.”

The SMRT bus lying on its side along Dairy Farm Road.

ZHANG WAS “DISADVANTAGED” BY OFFICER’S ACTIONS

The District Judge also took issue with the fact that the defence had no chance to examine the bus before its disposal, and had to rely on the findings of the prosecution’s expert witness to conduct Zhang’s defence.

She pointed out the bus had been returned to SMRT, which dismantled some parts of the bus, even before Zhang was charged in court in December 2016 – six months after the accident.

DJ Yap criticised the investigating officer in the case for “wrongfully releasing” the bus to SMRT in breach of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that even the court cannot order a disposal of property if there is any pending court proceeding in relation to the property.

“The accused was unable to conduct his own inspection of the bus to determine if there was any mechanical fault. Any doubt in this regard should be ruled in the accused’s favour,” DJ Yap said, noting that Zhang’s inability to examine the bus had “disadvantaged him in the conduct of his defence”.

SINGAPORE: When it comes to making luxury purchases, Singaporeans are no longer drawn as much to the prestige and status that come with high-end brands. Instead, product performance and aesthetics are what fuel the appetite of local shoppers.

This is according to a new study conducted by Mediacorp and luxury market research firm Agility Research and Strategy, which found that only about one-third of affluent Singaporeans (38 per cent) felt that it was important for others to recognise the brands that they are using. An even lower percentage of respondents (31 per cent) said they like the idea of people knowing the luxury brands they buy.

The majority of the 1,000 affluent individuals – defined as Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who have a monthly household income of at least S$7,500 – place more emphasis on individual needs when deciding on a luxury purchase.

For example, slightly more than half of those surveyed (51 per cent) singled out aesthetics as the most important consideration for a luxury item, while 59 per cent said these products stand out for their higher quality.

Meanwhile, about seven in 10 respondents (73 per cent) indicated that they make luxury purchases based on what they like, regardless of what others think. Instead, recognition is only meaningful when it comes from people in the same social circles, according to the survey which was conducted from November 2015 to June 2016.

As luxury goods become increasingly accessible, attitudes towards conspicuous consumption in Singapore have also shifted, with the notion of branded products serving as mere status symbols fast fading, according to Amrita Banta, managing director of Agility Research and Strategy.

“It’s not that people don’t like luxury brands anymore. They still like them for the quality, exclusivity and how much they resonate with the brand … but people think differently now,” she told Channel NewsAsia. “It’s not just about flashing a certain brand anymore; it’s more about liking luxury goods because you think it’s well-crafted, of good quality and you’re rewarding and pampering yourself with it.”

Amid a slowing economy, Singaporeans also seem to be placing more emphasis on quality buys.

“Another of our latest research findings showed that overall sentiment of Singaporeans is a bit cautious with the economy slowing over the past year. They are not spending less, but they are also not spending more on luxury items,” Ms Banta said. “We also know that a lot of Singaporeans buy when they travel or buy online now to get the best price.”

To be sure, there is still a certain segment of affluent Singaporeans that are more brand-conscious and are more likely to use luxury brands as a validation of their social standing, according to the report.

This sub-group – accounting for 33 per cent of the affluent Singaporeans surveyed and are made up mostly of younger respondents with higher incomes – prioritised immediate gratification over long-term wealth accumulation.

For instance, more than half (59 per cent) said it is important to them that people recognise the brands they are using. Similarly, 58 per cent noted that they grew up with luxury brands and half of the respondents indicated that they would increase their spending on high-end items next year.

But in general, the affluent in Singapore are making a shift away from conspicuous consumption and that is in line with the general trend across Asia, said Ms Banta.

“There’s been a general shift among affluent consumers across Asia Pacific over the past two to three years, where we see people getting a little bit more interested in experiences, rather than just buying luxury goods,” Ms Banta said, citing another study conducted by the research house.

“In our most recent millionaire survey, we saw things like skiing in Japan and going on wine tours getting a lot of interest from Singaporeans. So there has been a shift over the last few years about money and wealth being spent in different ways, apart from just buying luxury goods.”

Compared to their Asian counterparts, Singaporeans are among those who place the least importance in prestige when making a luxury purchase.

Ms Banta said: “Japan is perhaps the market with a lower score than Singapore because they have been using premium and luxury goods for a long time. Japan is a more mature market.

“On the other side, we have China and India where luxury is still new to them. They like the fact that people know the brand they are using but even in China, this is changing and they are increasingly talking about quality and exclusivity as the reasons why they buy luxury now.” 

SINGAPORE: China’s Vice Foreign minister Liu Zhenmin met Singapore’s Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Chee Wee Kiong in Singapore on Tuesday (Jan 17) and discussed upcoming bilateral exchanges such as the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation to be held next month, and the China-Singapore Forum on Leadership later this year. 

According to a post on the website of Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA), the two co-chaired the 10th Bilateral Consultations between the Singapore and Chinese foreign ministries. 

During their meeting, Mr Chee and Mr Liu “reviewed the longstanding and multi-faceted cooperation between Singapore and China”.

MFA added the two sides noted that their high-level exchanges were maintained in 2016, including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou and with Premier Li Keqiang at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane.

Mr Chee and Mr Liu tossing a prosperity salad or yusheng during lunch on Tuesday (Jan 17). (Photo: MFA)

Vice Foreign Minister Liu and Mr Chee reviewed the good progress of the two sides’ government-to-government projects, including the latest Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, MFA said.

Mr Chee also expressed Singapore’s support for China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative – a new area of collaboration which would further build upon Singapore and China’s substantive bilateral ties, MFA added.

The meeting also touched on ways to strengthen ASEAN-China relations and connectivity, “including synergies between the Master Plan for ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative”. 

Additionally, the two sides requested that the Singapore Tourism Board and China National Tourist Administration “collaborate and discuss concrete plans to promote tourism between ASEAN and China”, as part of the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation in 2017.