SINGAPORE – Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim clashed in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 10) over whether the incoming Attorney-General is older than the Constitution allows for.

Top corporate lawyer Lucien Wong, 63, will succeed outgoing Attorney-General V.K. Rajah on Saturday (Jan 14), the day that Mr Rajah turns 60.

Ms Lim, who is an MP for Aljunied GRC and a lawyer, asked if Mr Wong’s appointment was in line with Article 35(4) of the Constitution, which governs the appointing of an Attorney-General.

It states that the Attorney-General, barring certain circumstances, shall otherwise hold office until he turns 60 years old.

The law also states that an Attorney-General who is 60 and older can be permitted to remain in office for a period agreed upon by the Government and the Attorney-General.

Mr Shanmugan, speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, replied: “The appointment of the new Attorney-General is in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution.”

But Ms Lim disagreed with the reading, saying that the law “does not seem to contemplate the appointment of a new Attorney-General who is more than 60 years old to assume the post”.

The minister replied that this would be quite an inaccurate reading of the law.

He said there were two ways to appoint an Attorney-General. The first is to appoint an Attorney-General without a specific term, which can only be done if the candidate is younger than 60. This appointment ends when the Attorney-General turns 60.

The second way is to appoint an Attorney-General for a specified term, regardless of his age. This appointment ends when the term ends, and the term can be extended by the Government.

Mr Shanmugam also cited examples of previous attorneys-general such as the current Justice of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, who was above the age of 60 when he was first appointed to the post.

Justice Chao was 63 when he was appointed for a term of two years and 65 when he left office.

Said Mr Shanmugam: “All these appointments were in accordance with the Constitution, and the interpretation I put forward… is something we have confirmed with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.”

Ms Lim suggested that the Government should apply to Court to clarify the matter.

Mr Shanmugam replied: “That is quite ridiculous. The Government has taken advice, I am satisfied, anybody who reads it will be satisfied. If the member feels that there is something wrong, I would leave it to the member to apply.”

This article was first published on January 10, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – A new law proposed in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 10) could give authorities the power to clamp down on private-hire car services such as Uber and Grab, if their drivers are found to be operating without proper licences and insurance.

Under the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, a blackout period of up to a month can be imposed on these apps.

This means private-hire drivers will be prohibited from driving for a particular ride-hailing service, essentially suspending its operations and ability to serve commuters.

Such a suspension order can be imposed if a ride-matching app has had three instances of drivers flouting the rules within a year.

The offences include drivers using an unlicensed, privately-owned vehicle to conduct chauffeur services; drivers operating without a vocational licence; and not having the appropriate motor insurance.

The Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 10), will have to be read a second and third time before it is passed.

The proposed penalties, if they materialise, will dovetail with new regulations that will be imposed on the private-hire car industry by the first half of this year (2017).

Private-hire drivers will be required to go through a vocational licensing course and undergo a background screening and medical check.

Cars being used for services such as Uber and Grab must also be registered with Land Transport Authority and they must have decals identifying them as private-hire vehicles.

There are an estimated 25,000 cars being used for Uber and Grab.

This article was first published on January 10, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – Noodle hawker Yee Meng Yong, who lost his right hand in an accident in 1984, has sold noodles for 22 years to raise his family.

His 24-year-old daughter plans to take over the business in the future as she cannot bear to see him toil any longer, but wants to preserve the art of making noodles, Shin Min Daily News reported on Tuesday (Jan 10).

Mr Yee is the 54-year-old boss of the Punggol Noodles stall, which serves variations of Teochew-style bak chor mee or minced meat noodles at the Lorong Ah Soo Market and Food Centre at Hougang Avenue 1.

Mr Yee lost his right hand in an accident with a concrete mixer in 1984.

But having just one hand did not stop him – in 1995, Mr Yee started making his signature handmade meatballs when he took over the Punggol Noodles business from his father.

Mr Yee, whose wife died in an accident in 2008, admitted to Shin Min that he had started cooking noodles only because of circumstance.

“Back then, my workers would come late and leave early, so I was forced to cook the noodles by myself. To survive, one must make sacrifices, and I had to work doubly hard,” he said.

When asked about retirement, Mr Yee said any such talk is premature, but added that his daughter wants to take over the business in future.

The 24-year-old, Ms Yee Ling Ru, started helping out at the stall when she was just eight years old.

“The business was handed down to my parents from my grandpa,” Ms Yee told Shin Min. “If nobody takes over it will be a pity. At first, my dad thought it would be too tough and did not want to let me do it. But he changed his mind later after finding that there is satisfaction in selling noodles.”

Mr Yee said: “It really is very tiring being a hawker, but I don’t intend to retire yet. It’s too early to talk about whether my daughter will take over, but I am content.”

Mr Yee told The Straits Times on Tuesday that his noodles cost $2.50 to $4.

The stall is open from 7am to 1.30pm daily, but is closed on Mondays and Fridays.

For Chinese New Year, Mr Yee is offering raw meatball paste for sale, for steamboat buffets.

He told the Straits Times that the meatball paste costs $12 per box. More than 30 meatballs can be made with the paste from each box.

Mr Yee told Shin Min that the practice began with regular customers who asked for the meatballs over the years.

He expects to sell more than 100 boxes of meatballs this Lunar New Year.

A customer who gave her name as Madam Yang, a 60-year-old retiree, told Shin Min that she tried the noodles after seeing a long queue at the stall.

“The noodles are springy. And it’s my first time seeing a person cook with only one hand. He has a great attitude and it’s very awe-inspiring,” she said.

This article was first published on January 10, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – First he crashed his car into a lorry. Then, he allegedly hit out at a traffic police officer.

And if that was not enough, he reportedly flashed his middle finger at policemen as he tried to run away.

He was eventually arrested, and now the 24-year-old man is due to appear in court for allegedly assaulting a police officer, the police said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 10).

According to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, the incident occurred when a grey Honda ran into the back of a lorry at the junction of Riverside Road and Admiralty Road on Monday morning.

Following the accident, the lorry driver and his passenger were both taken to Khoo Teck Puat hospital.

But while traffic police officers were arresting the male car driver for his suspected involvement in traffic and drug-related offences, the man resisted and punched one of the officers, the police said in their statement.

He then tried to escape, and as he was running away, turned to flash his middle finger to taunt the four officers who were giving him chase.

However, he soon ran out of breath after about half a kilometre, and was subsequently detained, Zaobao reported.

If charged, the man may be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or face a combination of those punishments.

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An impatient Subaru driver was caught on video cutting across double white lines, going against traffic, and running a red light as well.

The video was posted on the Roads.sg Facebook page on Monday (Jan 9), where it has since been viewed 39,000 times.

The user who posted the video was startled that the driver committed three traffic offences in just a matter of seconds.

Netizens who watched the video wonder what could have warranted the Subaru driver to be so impatient to flout traffic rules.

Hours after the video was posted, a user appeared to identify himself as the driver of the car in a comment to the post.

He wrote: “I am the driver of the Subaru and yes I admit I committed the wrongdoings. To the public I apologise for my foolish and dangerous act. I will observe the rules and regulations strictly in future. As for the punishments I am willing to answer for them. Thank you.”

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SINGAPORE – The once bustling neighbourhood of Dakota Crescent is now a ghost town.

Abandoned items such as furniture, clothes and crockery were left below the blocks.

Most of the flats are empty.

Residents were asked to vacate by Dec 31 last year (2016) to make way for new developments in Mountbatten, but not all have moved out.

“Only three people are staying on this level,” said retiree Vincent Chan, 70, who has been living in Dakota Crescent for almost 60 years.

“Actually I wanted to move out before Christmas but they don’t have the key, so what can you do,” he added.

He is among a handful of people who are still waiting to collect the keys to their new homes in nearby Cassia Crescent.

About 10 per cent of the 400 affected households have not yet received their keys.

The Housing Development Board said it is working closely with the grassroots leaders and social workers to render further assistance to tenants who need more help in moving out.

“I’m getting my keys on Jan 13, most probably I’ll move in after renovation. But this time around Chinese New Year, nobody will do renovation. I think they will allow me only one month from the 13th to move, so I’ll have to move in first,” said Mr Chan, who lives in the flat with his wife, Madam Vipaporn Chamdeumthanaporn, 63, and their son.

This article was first published on January 9, 2016.
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