A 29-year-old man participating in the half marathon in yesterday’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore died during the run.

He collapsed 1km away from the finish line at the Padang.

The Straits Times Online reported that the man is believed to Mr John Gibson, a Briton living in Hong Kong.

Race organiser Ironman Asia’s managing director Geoff Meyer said the runner was immediately attended to and sent to the hospital in an ambulance.

Mr Meyer said: “Our main priority and focus is on his family. We are working with them to see how they can be fully supported, (we are) doing everything we can possibly do.”

Sport Singapore extended its condolences to the runner’s family and friends, and said it will continue to work with the organiser to provide assistance to his family.

This year’s event drew about 46,000 participants.

ORCHARD ROAD

For the first time also, the half and full marathons flagged off simultaneously in Orchard Road at 4.30am.

The runners were later joined by participants of the 10km race, which started at 6.45am in Esplanade Drive. All races finished at the Padang.

This is the second death in the 15-year history of the marathon here.

In 2011, 22-year-old Malcolm Sng Wei Ren died after completing a half marathon.

A coroner’s court later determined that he had died from acute coronary insufficiency and had an abnormal coronary artery which had been previously undetected.

This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

A 25-year-old woman died after falling from a flat in Punggol on Saturday (Dec 3).

The incident happened at about 1.20pm at Punggol Parcvista located at Block 312B, Sumang Link.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that paramedics found an unconscious woman in cardiac arrest at the foot of the block when they arrived.

They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her en-route to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

She eventually died from her injuries, police said.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that she was a maid, and fell from the third storey.

Police investigations are ongoing ..

This article was first published on Dec 04, 2016.
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A section of ceiling at Joo Chiat Complex fell near people queueing at the ATM on Friday (Dec 2), reports said.

A witness who saw broken pieces fall from the ceiling at around 9am told Stomp: “Lots of broken pieces fell with a loud bang.

“This really scares residents like us,” he added, asking the authorities to look into it.

It is understood that no one was hurt.

The area has been cordoned off and plastic used to cover the holes, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Shoppers told Shin Min that they were concerned about their safety when they visited the mall at Joo Chiat Road.

This article was first published on Dec 04, 2016.
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Walk through a furnished kampung house complete with a 1970s copy of The Straits Times and mosquito net-covered bed, or stroll through a durian and starfruit orchard.

Visitors to Pulau Ubin can now revisit Singapore’s kampung days, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

The Ubin Fruit Orchard and Teck Seng’s Place – a refurbished 1970s Chinese kampung house – are some of the attractions on the new Rustic Reflections tour, announced yesterday by the National Parks Board (NParks) at the end of its year-long Celebrate Ubin campaign, which highlighted the island’s rich animal and plant life and history.

“The tour is very good… for Singaporeans to experience the heritage of the past,” said NParks deputy director for Pulau Ubin Choi Yook Sau.

A 10-minute walk from the jetty, Teck Seng’s Place was built in the 1970s by Mr Chew Teck Seng, who owned a provision shop in the island’s village centre.

Previously known as House 363B, the home has been furnished with items donated by Ubin residents and other members of the public, aimed at evoking earlier times. Among the items are a Rediffusion radio and a dry food cabinet used to preserve food before refrigerators became common.

The house is open to the public on the second and fourth weekend of each month, and on public holidays, between 10am and 2pm. It will also be open on the third Saturday of each month as part of the Rustic Reflections tour, which is expected to start next year.

The 1ha orchard will feature around 350 fruit trees from 30 different species, including rambutan and starfruit, once commonly found in kampungs. Student volunteers from Ngee Ann Polytechnic helped plant some of the trees, while Nanyang Girls’ High students produced signs about them.

Ubin resident Chu Yok Choon said the orchard was a good addition that would help educate younger visitors about the island’s heritage.

“In the past, almost every house used to have its own garden and fruit trees,” said the 71-year-old grassroots leader, who has lived on the island all his life.

The tour will also feature stops at a new sensory trail pond, made up of former fish farming ponds redesigned to attract wildlife such as herons and kingfishers, as well as an existing Malay kampung house.

“Through these initiatives, there will be more opportunities for the public to get a glimpse of kampung life on the island, and experience life as it used to be on Ubin,” said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Desmond Lee, who planted a durian tree to mark the orchard’s opening.

Later this month, a tender will be called for a water treatment system to be installed and maintained at the Ubin Living Lab, which is used by researchers and visitors, as well as compact water treatment systems for public toilets at the Chek Jawa wetlands and other areas.

This article was first published on Dec 04, 2016.
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