JAKARTA: The Indonesian Navy on Friday (Nov 4) detained 10 Singaporeans on board a fishing vessel off Bintan island.

“The boat KM Rantau Bertuah, which is an Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel, was from Batam heading to the waters of Lagoi with three crew and 12 passengers. Two of the passengers are Indonesians and 10 are Singaporeans,” said the Indonesian Navy in a statement published on its website.

The navy said that upon inspection, the vessel did not have the necessary sailing permit and its safety certifications had also expired.

In addition, the vessel was travelling without a crew and passenger manifest.

The Singaporean passengers are aged between 33 and 55 years old, and two of them did not have their passports with them.

The navy said the vessel will be escorted to its base in Mentigi, in Belitung island on the east coast of Sumatra, and the Singaporean passengers will be handed over to the local immigration office.

This is the third time Singaporeans have been detained in the Riau islands on board fishing vessels this year.

Indonesia has been cracking down on illegal fishing after President Joko Widodo pledged to protect the country’s fishing industry. 

SINGAPORE: The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is stepping up efforts to increase awareness among travellers on what items are banned on a flight, what they should check-in and what they can hand carry.

It said on Sunday (Nov 6) that flyers will be sent to 1.3 million households in Singapore this month. These are updated flyers – now in four languages – of the “Pack It Right For Your Flight” campaign which was launched in 2015.

This year, CAAS is also reaching out to foreign visitors by distributing the flyers through participating hotels.

According to statistics by Changi Airport Group (CAG), common items confiscated at security checks include pepper spray, scissors, bottled drinks and food with gravy or soup.

(Infographic: CAAS)

A total of 113 hoverboards and electric scooters were also detected in checked baggage between January and September this year. CAG did not have those figures for 2015. Personal transportation devices containing lithium batteries, like hoverboards and segways, are prohibited on several airlines, said CAAS on its website.

If in doubt on what items are banned, CAAS advises passengers to check with the airlines before their flight.

SINGAPORE: Maxwell Food Centre has emerged as the favourite food haunt of locals at the annual City Hawker Food Hunt for the third year running.

During the ceremony for the ninth edition of the awards at Ayer Rajah Food Centre on Sunday (Nov 6), 37 hawkers from more than 100 hawker centres islandwide were also recognised. 

They include this year’s top prizes for ngoh hiang which went to China Street Fritters (中国街五香胃肠) at Maxwell Food Centre, sambal stingray which went to Lucky Seafood (好运烧烤海鲜) at Pasir Panjang Food Centre, and fried rice which went to Tien Kee (新记) at Block 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7.

The committee behind the food hunt rotates between various categories each year. Apart from the top stall from each food category, other stalls in the top 10 also received prizes.

China Street Fritters receiving its award from MOE and MTI Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling. (Photo: Chan Luo Er)

More than 15,000 people voted online for their favourite hawker centre and the above three categories online at the City Hawker Food Hunt website between June and September.

Three new special award categories were also introduced this year to cover innovative hawker fare, economical dishes and environmentally-friendly practices.

Those on a budget can check out Xian Jin Mixed Vegetable Rice at Bedok North Street 1 Market and Food Centre, which sells any three meat items with rice for just S$2. They also serve bak kut teh at the same price.

The sole Green Hawker Stall award went to Ho Peng Coffee Stall at Maxwell Food Centre. The drinks stall owner has been recycling milk tin cans for customers who order takeaway for 60 years.

There are around 107 markets and hawker centres in Singapore, many of which are located in the heartlands.

City Hawker Food Hunt is jointly organised by City Gas and Shin Min Daily News and is supported by the Health Promotion Board, National Environment Agency and Singapore Tourism Board.

SINGAPORE: Family and interpersonal relationships are the main causes that get teenagers thinking of suicide – although exam stress is often a contributing factor, according to Dr Ong Say How of the Institute of Mental Health.

Last year, 27 teenagers aged 10 to 19 killed themselves – the highest number in Singapore in 15 years. While it might be tempting to attribute the deaths to growing stress from school, said the chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, it is important to recognise that acts of suicide tend to occur not because of one particular source of stress, but out of several factors.

These include interpersonal relationships which can make one teenager more vulnerable than others, said Dr Ong, speaking to the programme On the Red Dot in a recent episode on suicide. (Watch the episode on Toggle.)

Stresses from work and interpersonal relationships are the leading cause for suicide ideation in some other age groups. In total, 409 people in Singapore killed themselves last year, and 6,455 calls that related to suicide risk were made to the Samaritans of Singapore hotline from April 2015 to March 2016.

Featured in the episode, for example, is suicide survivor Nicole K, who struggled for years with her parents’ unhappy marriage and eventual divorce. Blaming herself, she began to hurt herself, she said: “Because I just couldn’t deal with what’s happening between my parents and I felt very powerless.”

Watch: Nicole’s story 

At 26, Nicole was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and general anxiety, and came close to killing herself several times. She eventually came out of that “dark place” with psychiatric help and her husband’s support – and today runs The Tapestry Project, that shares stories of people who have grappled with mental illness.

“I needed to relate to somebody who is in my situation,” she said. “Even though each person’s story is so diverse and so different, when we come together we can hold on to each other and encourage each other.”

DON’T SAY THIS

If you know someone who may be contemplating suicide, phrases that are not helpful to say, according to the experts, are: “You will get over it”, “Don’t think too much about it”, or “Cheer up”.

These statements are dismissive to the person’s feelings and serve to minimise their problems rather than be helpful, said Dr Ong.

What is helpful instead, is to tell them things like: “I notice you’ve been feeling down, can I help?”, “It pains me to see you going through that”, “Would you like to share with me what you’re going through?”, and, “I’ll be here if you need me”.

Experts also emphasise that it is vital for parents to acknowledge and validate their children’s problems. Otherwise they may feel isolated, and without other avenues to resolve their problems, they may contemplate suicide. (Read more about what was said at a Talking Point forum on teen suicide.)

Dr Ong reiterate that while we seek to understand suicide, it remains a complex human behaviour that cannot fully be attributed to a single cause.

“The important thing is to increase mental health literacy,” he said. “Then we can actually start talking about issues that are relevant and important in Singapore about mental health. And that can translate to fewer suicides over the long term.”

Catch On the Red Dot every Friday at 9.30pm on Mediacorp Channel 5. Upcoming episodes in its ‘Secrets’ series deal with problem gambling, family violence and living with a criminal record.