Pilots are reporting an increase in the past decade of people flashing laser pointers near airports, an alarming trend as such lights can disorientate pilots, causing accidents.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) received 53 reports between January and November last year, compared with just 28 for the whole of 2015.

Worldwide, the number of incidents has jumped from one a day in 2008 to 17 in 2012, which is more than 6,200 a year.

The figure has easily doubled since then, worrying pilots, airlines and aviation bodies.

The good news is that except for maybe a few, experts do not believe that perpetrators flash these lights to cause harm.

More likely, they do not understand the harm they can cause.

Flashing laser lights at aircraft is especially dangerous during take-off and landing, the two most critical phases of flight when most accidents occur.

It does not help that laser pointers appear quite harmless.

The reality, though, is that even at a very low power of five milliwatts, the pen-like, battery-operated devices, which emit a red, green or blue light, can be dangerous.

Studies have shown that such incidents – termed laser attacks – result in temporary incapacitation of pilots in 62 per cent of the cases.

In a further 19 per cent of cases, this incapacitation lasts up to a full minute, and in 15 per cent of cases, it lasts up to 45 minutes.

In the most severe cases, pilots can be affected for more than two hours.

Laser lights aimed at the cockpit are potentially dangerous, even if they do not directly hit the pilot’s eyes.

In February last year, a Virgin Atlantic flight was forced to turn back to London’s Heathrow Airport after a laser beam was shone into the cockpit, hitting the co-pilot in the eye.

The flight was grounded overnight, and all 252 passengers were put up in hotels.

Public education is critical to put a stop to, or at least reduce the number of, such laser attacks.

In the past, the CAAS conducted public awareness campaigns by distributing circulars to households, targeting those in the eastern neighbourhoods close to the airport.

This should continue and be expanded, for example, through partnerships with schools, town councils and grassroots bodies, so that the message can be spread through more channels.

Enforcement patrols at East Coast beach, Bedok Jetty and other open spaces near the airport should be stepped up and perhaps more volunteers could be roped in to do the job.

Apart from educating people, community policing is key.

It is tough to catch offenders, given that it takes just a few seconds to flash and run.

Enforcement officers cannot be everywhere all the time, so it is up to the public to do their part. If you see someone playing with laser lights near the airport, tell him not to do it.

Better still, explain why it is dangerous.

When talk does not work, the stick comes in. In Singapore, first-time offenders can be fined up to $20,000.

A repeat offender faces a maximum penalty of a $40,000 fine and a jail term of up to 15 months.

While no one has been prosecuted so far, the punishment serves as an important deterrent.

But not all countries have such laws.

This is why the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, supported by other industry players, including the International Air Transport Association, has submitted a proposal to the International Civil Aviation Organisation – the commercial aviation arm of the United Nations – for such acts to be classified as unlawful.

If this happens, it would encourage and possibly even compel – depending on how tough a stance the UN takes – countries that do not currently do so to put in place penalties for such actions.

Pilots, airlines, regulators and local communities must work together to reduce the number of incidents of people flashing laser lights at aircraft.

This will become increasingly critical as the number of flights, especially in South-east Asia and the larger Asia-Pacific region, continues to grow.

Changi Airport, which handled 55.4 million passengers in 2015, is expected to announce later this month that passenger traffic last year grew to about 60 million.

During peak hours, a plane takes off every minute.

With plans for a third runway to be added and Terminal 5 – which will eventually be bigger than T1, T2 and T3 combined – to start operating in 12 to 15 years, the skies above Changi will get even busier.

The last thing pilots need is to have to deal with people flashing laser lights at them.

Read Also: ‘Control tower, we’ve a laser-light problem’

karam@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on January 17, 2017.
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Senior geotechnical engineer Gavin Chan, 31, is all too familiar with having to go “below the surface” in his job.

He specialises in engineering works that have to do with MRT lines and sewer systems.

After attending a one-year training programme last year, he said he can now also scratch beneath the surface of his speciality, with a broader range of skills he picked up from the Young Engineers Leadership Programme.

It has exposed him to other fields like patent law, soft skills like negotiation, and other engineering specialities.

“It’s made me more business-minded. So, if I progress into a business development role, I could go out to find new frontiers for the company and new technology to bring back to Singapore,” said Mr Chan, who works at CPG Consultants.

He was among 138 engineers graduating yesterday from the programme, which is organised by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES).

Another 24 senior engineers also graduated yesterday from the Advanced Engineers Leadership Programme, held from August to October last year.

They picked up leadership and innovation skills and also had one-to-one mentorship sessions with industry leaders.

IES president Edwin Khew said at the graduation ceremony at the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre in Jurong that the programmes are part of an industrywide career development plan to help engineers acquire the necessary skills to move up the career ladder and to encourage others to join the profession.

The job is sometimes seen as low-paying and boring.

Labour chief Chan Chun Sing said having broader skillsets, such as in marketing and communication, will help engineers become more competitive globally.

“If our engineers have the deep domain expertise and the adjacent skillsets, then it’s much harder for people to take away our jobs, and it also puts us in a much better position to compete with the rest of the world,” he said.

Mr Chan, who is secretary-general of NTUC, also hoped engineers can inspire others to become engineers by talking about their role in helping Singapore overcome challenges, such as countering cyber terrorism or keeping lifts safe if buildings were to go up to 100 storeys high.

Airbus Group Innovations Singapore operations head David Woon, 42, who completed the advanced programme, said he enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with engineers from other companies.

His team of five worked on a project to find a more efficient way to wash airline pillows after every flight.

“With diversity, we can gain more insights,” he said.

joseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
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Singapore is exploring the possibility of more training opportunities for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in New Zealand and is also looking to deepen its relationship with the country, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday.

He was speaking to the media alongside his counterpart Gerry Brownlee, after both held the inaugural Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting.

Earlier, both ministers observed Exercise Thunder Warrior, an artillery live-firing exercise at the Waiouru Training Area.

The exercise marks its 20th anniversary this year.

It is being held from Jan 6 to Jan 26, and involves about 500 personnel from the Singapore Artillery.

Dr Ng said it was important to strengthen relations with “like- minded” countries during this “period of uncertainty”.

He noted that New Zealand and Singapore already cooperate in platforms such as the Five Power Defence Arrangements and the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus.

“Whether it is the US’ new President, Brexit, rising powers like China and India in this part of the world, the status quo has been changed,” said Dr Ng, according to a transcript from the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).

“When status quo has been changed, it can be very unsettling so we have to guide this region and even globally to a period where we can continue to have peace and stability in our region,” he added.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed to explore further defence cooperation through new platforms, such as annual Air Force staff talks, and the establishment of one operational working group and one working group for education and training.

Mr Brownlee said the Royal New Zealand Navy will use Singapore as a port while travelling through the Strait of Malacca.

Meanwhile, Dr Ng said a naval task group will come to Singapore for Exercise Bersama Shield- a multilateral exercise between members of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

The exercise will take place in April.

azhaki@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
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On one side, low-income women looking for jobs. On the other, an ageing population in need of care.

Now, an effort is under way to match both camps. Two organisations here have banded together to train low-income women for jobs in eldercare.

The aim is to train, in two years, 100 women from families with a per capita income of less than $400 a month, and connect them with employers.

Already, pilot runs have helped place three women in such jobs.

The effort is driven by voluntary welfare organisation Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT), which helps women with financial challenges, and the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware).

DOT founder and executive director Carrie Tan said the idea came about because of Singapore’s need for manpower in the eldercare industry. By 2030, there will be over 900,000 Singaporeans aged above 65. About one in three will need eldercare services.

“We also know that women here have the heart and the aptitude. So we want to bridge the gap in skills and opportunities that are needed for them to enter the industry,” said Ms Tan.

Out of the pilot batch of 12 women who were trained early last year by iCare Life, a training provider whose course is approved by the Agency for Integrated Care, one has found employment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

And that was before DOT and Aware pushed for more partnerships, especially with employers, so they can secure job interviews for the women trained by iCare Life.

Now, NTUC Health and Econ Healthcare – both run nursing homes and day activity centres for the elderly – and social enterprise Homage have come on board to provide jobs for the trained women.

Since December, bank JP Morgan has been funding the programme – this includes paying the women’s course fees. Since then, six women have attended the iCare Life course and two of them have found jobs.

The eldercare training comes in two parts: a three-hour community eldercare workshop which gives an overview of the industry, and a seven-hour caregivers’ training programme which teaches participants how to perform caregiving tasks.

Mr Raymond Lai, training and development manager at iCare Life, said the introductory course is important. “Many people plunge into eldercare, take courses and are placed in jobs, but find that they are mismatched. So we needed to show what eldercare is about,” said Mr Lai.

For example, the workshop looks at communication issues one might have with a dementia patient, and how a caregiver might have to change diapers and wash the elderly. “This makes them think about whether eldercare is what they really want to do,” he said.

If so, they continue with the caregiver training programme which includes 5½ hours of online learning, followed by a seven-hour course conducted on a Sunday.

There, participants learn how to shower, feed and dress an elderly person. They are also taught about mobility aids and home safety, as well as how to transfer an elderly person from a bed to a wheelchair.

They learn that a person who has just had a stroke should use a walking frame instead of a walking stick because a frame is more stable. And if a person uses dentures, his toothpaste should not contain excessive fluoride because it can corrode the dentures.

Factoring in those who might drop out after the introductory workshop, DOT and Aware are targeting to get 80 of their low-income beneficiaries to go for training each year.

Ms Tan said of the women who have completed the course: “The work may be trying and emotional, but the women have found it very satisfying. Being able to care for others has helped them gain dignity because they have become a figure of strength for others.”

kxinghui@sph.com.sg

SHOWING THEM THE REALITY

“Many people plunge into eldercare, take courses and are placed in jobs, but find that they are mismatched. So we needed to show what eldercare is about. This makes them think about whether eldercare is what they really want to do.”

MR RAYMOND LAI, training and development manager at iCare Life, on why the eldercare training includes an introductory workshop.

FULFILLING PURSUIT

“The work may be trying and emotional, but the women have found it very satisfying. Being able to care for others has helped them gain dignity because they have become a figure of strength for others.”

MS CARRIE TAN, founder and executive director of Daughters of Tomorrow, on the women who have finished their training.

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
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The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) and the Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH’s) Chinese Media Group have entered into a partnership to develop and boost the Chinese cultural scene in Singapore.

A memorandum of understanding was signed yesterday by SCCC chief executive officer Choo Thiam Siew and Ms Lee Huay Leng, head of Chinese Media Group at SPH.

This will allow Lianhe Zaobao, SPH’s Chinese flagship newspaper, to organise a series of cultural activities at SCCC under the banner of Zaobao Cultural and Creative Space.

Lianhe Zaobao will organise and publicise the activities, while SCCC will provide the venue as well as on-site arrangements.

At least 12 events will be organised every year as part of Zaobao Cultural and Creative Space. These range from talks on cultural appreciation, to a reading club, and zbNow Tea Sessions where the public can interact with Lianhe Zaobao columnists.

On Feb 25, the series will kick off with the first session of the Creators’ Laboratory, a series in which entrepreneurs from creative industries share their experiences with the public.

Said Ms Lee: “We look forward to the launch of Zaobao Cultural and Creative Space, where a conducive environment and appealing atmosphere will be developed for our readers to experience top-notch cultural events.”

The collaboration is a step forward in the work of the centre, which will progressively establish strategic partnerships with other organisations to promote and develop Chinese culture, said Mr Choo.

tohwenli@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
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