He helped a woman pay for her studies at Kaplan Singapore.

Now, Kaplan has rewarded him in kind – by sponsoring his daughter’s tertiary education.

A few months after a chance encounter in late 2013, technician John Shu, 50, gave about $6,000 to Ms Jaycie Tay, 32, who was struggling with money for a diploma.

The twice-divorced single mother of four had been twice incarcerated for drug offences.

It was on her way back to halfway house The Turning Point that she first met Mr Shu at a Yishun bus stop.

In 2014, she completed her diploma in marketing management from Kaplan Higher Education Institute.

About a week after Kaplan learnt of Mr Shu’s kindness from an article in The Sunday Times, it decided to pay close to $20,000 for the tertiary education of his daughter, Shermin Shu, who’s 22.

The private school invited the Shus to the Kaplan City Campus @ Wilkie Edge, at Wilkie Road, yesterday, to surprise them with the sponsorship.

As Ms Shu is on holiday in Thailand, Mr Shu received the sponsorship on her behalf from Kaplan’s president, Mr Leon Choong. He also received a document to recognise his act of generosity.

Speaking from Thailand, Ms Shu said her family was “on cloud nine”, and that Kaplan had called her yesterday morning with the news.

“I thought that I was dreaming. Who would have thought that my dad’s simple gesture would give us such a reward?” she said.

She said her parents would have struggled with her university fees, and Kaplan’s generousity would motivate her to work harder in university.

Ms Shu recently completed her three-year diploma course in visual communication at Nanyang Polytechnic and plans to pursue her passion in arts and design at university.

Kaplan will reimburse the costs of her polytechnic education – about $8,000 to $9,000.

It will also contribute $10,000 towards her university degree.

Mr Choong said he was touched by Mr Shu’s and Ms Tay’s story, and had convened an emergency board meeting to see how Kaplan could help Ms Tay.

After learning that she is receiving aid from the Yellow Ribbon Fund Star Bursary, Kaplan turned to Mr Shu instead.

Ms Tay said she had felt bad because she could not repay Mr Shu. But now, she’s grateful over how things turned out.

“When Kaplan told me they wanted to recognise his kind heart, I felt like God sent something to help me repay (him).”

josehong@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 14, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – The third child of the founder of Eng Wah Organisation (EWO) has sued his father’s estate, claiming that the cinema magnate, who died last year, owes him $10.6 million.

Mr Goh Keng Beng alleges that his father, the late Mr Goh Eng Wah, had agreed to compensate him $15.75 million for the losses he suffered as a result of transactions central to the reverse-takeover of the company in 2008.

In his High Court lawsuit filed in June, Keng Beng says he received $5.15 million between 2008 and 2012 but his father died before the outstanding was paid.

He is relying on a deed of settlement prepared by a lawyer and purportedly signed by his father in September 2008 in which the patriarch agreed to pay him $15.75 million over five years.

The patriarch’s other surviving child, younger daughter Min Yen, who is the executrix and trustee of her father’s will, is defending the suit as the estate’s representative.

Min Yen contends that her brother’s allegation of suffering losses is “manifestly false and completely lacks any basis”.

She does not accept her brother’s version of events, including the authenticity of the deed. And even if her father did sign the deed, she asserts that he had been unduly influenced by Keng Beng to do so.

In court papers filed last month, she points out that their English-illiterate father did not receive any legal advice and would not have been able to understand the deed on his own.

She also notes that their father’s alleged signing of the deed was witnessed only by Keng Beng and that her brother had failed to mention it to her until May this year.

Min Yen also contends that her brother’s claims are time-barred as the six-year limit under the law has passed. She has countersued Keng Beng for the return of $5.15 million.

The late Mr Goh was a pioneer in the local cinema industry who produced films and screened them in the cinema chain that bore his name. His business empire spans entertainment, properties, hospitality and lifestyle in Singapore and Malaysia.

He died on Sept 5 last year at the age of 92, leaving his wife, two sons and two daughters. His widow, older daughter Min Lu and older son Keng Soon have since died.

Keng Beng’s suit stems from the reverse takeover of EWO by biotech firm Transcru, in which EWO was required to dispose of all its assets and liabilities other than cash of at least $10 million.

Keng Beng was a shareholder and director of EWO’s parent company, Eng Wah Holdings. He says his father’s decision to transfer EWO’s assets to new set-up EW.G instead of Eng Wah Holdings caused his shares to drop in value.

Mr Goh and and Min Yen were the only shareholders of EW.G, now known as Eng Wah Global.

But Min Yen says the decision to make an offer through EW.G was to prevent the reverse takeover, which hinged on the disposal of assets, from falling through.

She notes that the decision was made by the board of EWO and approved by minority shareholders; Mr Goh and herself had abstained from voting as they were deemed interested parties.

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled on Dec 29.

This article was first published on Dec 13, 2016.
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PUTRAJAYA – A bilateral agreement for a cross-border MRT system between Singapore and Johor Baru is expected to be inked by the end of next year.

The Rapid Transit System (RTS) will connect to the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), and will adopt the same systems and trains as the TEL to reap economies of scale.

It will link the Bukit Chagar terminus station in Johor to the Singapore terminal in Woodlands North via a high bridge across the Strait of Johor.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak endorsed the technical details for the RTS link at their annual leaders’ retreat on Tuesday (Dec 13) in Putrajaya.

Both leaders told a joint press conference that officials from both countries have discussed the matter for some time and feel the high bridge is the most cost-efficient solution.

The cross-border link was first announced by Singapore and Malaysia in May 2010, and was initially targeted to be ready by 2018.

PM Lee said he hoped a bilateral agreement on the RTS could be inked by the end of next year.

A new completion date and the detailed alignment for the link have not been finalised yet.

It will be operated by a corporate entity. Fares will also be market-based and set by the operator.

When ready, it will allow commuters here to hop on the 43km TEL, transfer to the cross-border link at Woodlands North station near Republic Polytechnic, and take a train into Johor Baru.

American conglomerate GE has been appointed to supply the signalling system and platform screen doors for the TEL. Singapore Technologies Electronics (STE) will provide the communications systems, including sub-systems such as video surveillance and travel information systems.

The Land Transport Authority has also bought 91 four-car trains for the TEL, awarding a contract to a consortium formed by Japanese firm Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Chinese company CSR Qingdao Sifang Co.

The fully automated and driverless trains will be the first in Singapore with five doors on each side of each car to allow smoother passenger boarding and alighting.

The 31- station TEL will open in phases from 2019 to 2024. It runs from Woodlands to Sungei Bedok in the east.

This article was first published on Dec 13, 2016.
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PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia and Singapore have signed the High-Speed Rail (HSR) agreement that will cut travel time between both countries to just 90 minutes.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the signing of the landmark bilateral agreement during the 7th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat here on Tuesday.

The agreement was signed at 5.15pm between Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

Also witnessing the signing was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The document is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by both countries on July 19, and outlines further plans and details for the development of the expansive rail project.

The HSR service is targeted to be up and running by 2026 and will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes, with trains designed to reach maximum speeds of 300km per hour.

The rail line will stretch 350km, with 335km in Malaysia starting from Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and 15km in Singapore, ending at Jurong East.

It will have six transit stations in Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri.

The project will be administered by MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, which has been incorporated as a company wholly-owned by Malaysia’s Finance Ministry.

Earlier in the afternoon, Najib and Lee held a four-eyed meeting followed by a delegation meeting as part of the leaders’ retreat, an annual event hosted rotationally by both countries.

Also present were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa as well as other ministers and senior government officials from both countries.