From Dec 30, about 2.2 million commuters will see their public transport fares drop by up to 27 cents per journey after the Public Transport Council’s review.
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Public transport fares to fall by 4.2% from Dec 30 due to lower energy prices
Oil rises above US$50 as US inventory drop balances OPEC doubts
Oil edged above US$50 a barrel on Thursday as a further drop in U.S. crude inventories countered investor doubts that OPEC will be able to implement a production cut.
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Bus, train fares to be lower from Dec 30
SINGAPORE – Come Dec 30, bus and train fares will be slashed by 4.2 per cent – which means a reduction of 1 to 27 cents for commuters paying by fare cards – and a further 1.5 per cent in 2018, said the Public Transport Council (PTC) on Thursday (Oct 27),…
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Hong Kong murder accused Jutting describes photos of victims
HONG KONG – British banker Rurik Jutting calmly described to police graphic photos of an Indonesian woman he had killed at his luxury apartment in Hong Kong, according to video footage shown in court Thursday.
The 31-year-old Cambridge graduate and former securities trader for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch has pleaded “not guilty” to two murder charges, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was rejected by the prosecution.
Since the trial started Monday, jurors have viewed harrowing iPhone footage of Jutting torturing his first victim, Sumarti Ningsih, 23, for three days before he killed her by cutting her neck with a serrated knife at his flat two years ago.
Days later, he killed Seneng Mujiasih, 26, cutting her throat, also at his flat. Both women were found dead at his apartment on November 1, 2014, Ningsih’s body stuffed in a suitcase.
On Thursday, the final day of prosecution evidence in the trial, the court viewed video footage of police interviews with Jutting as he talks through photos of Ningsih taken by him on his iPhone.
Hong Kong police grill British trader over double murder
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Reuters, AFP
When shown the pictures by police he carefully described their content.
“She is currently tied up by me… she is being restrained here against her will. She absolutely did not consent,” Jutting told officers when asked about one of the photos.
He adds: “This photo was taken during around three days that she was captive against her will in my flat.” Jutting told police in the interview that he was “in a state of extreme sexual aggression” during that time.
In other clips from the police interviews in which he is describing photos from his iPhone, Jutting says the images showed Ningsih bound and gagged, and she had marks on her body from being beaten with a belt by him.
When shown a photo of his bloodstained bathroom he described to police in the video how he cut her throat there, tied her body with a rope, then wrapped her in a plastic bag, a bed sheet and a throw before putting her in a suitcase.
Jutting told police interviewers that after he attacked his second victim, Mujiasih, he collapsed “physically exhausted”.
“She was I think still alive and still moving. I collapsed outside on the balcony. When I went back in she wasn’t moving. I didn’t specifically check whether she was dead or alive,” he said in the interview.
Jutting said he had considered jumping from the balcony and at one point he climbed over to a neighbour’s balcony, waving a kitchen knife and carrying vodka, cocaine and Red Bull.
Jutting then went back inside where he rang police.
He told officers in the interview tapes that he had bought “10 packets” of cocaine daily for the three weeks before November 1, at HK$1,000 ($109) per bag.
“I had ingested it primarily by snorting it,” Jutting told police in the video.
Wearing a light-blue shirt, Jutting remained impassive in court, sometimes looking at the video footage and sometimes scanning the room.
Jurors were also shown the knife he used to kill Mujiasih and were taken through some of the graphic photos one by one by the prosecution.
The court heard Tuesday that Jutting was “deeply addicted” to cocaine and also drank heavily.
Jutting faces a life sentence if convicted of the murders. The defence is due to open its case on Monday.
The killings shone a spotlight on the seedy underbelly of the finance hub. Jutting’s flat lay streets away from one of the city’s red light districts.
Indonesian migrant organisations in Hong Kong have called for justice for the women, and compensation for their families.
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S$280,000 raised to build temporary Jurong West market after fire
The money was raised through public donations and contributions from businesses as well as temples, schools and other associations
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Nine bids received for Seletar bus package
SINGAPORE – Nine bids have been received for the Seletar bus package, the last one up for competitive tendering until the remaining contracts held by the incumbents expire over the next two to 10 years.
Among them are SMRT, SBS Transit, Tower Transit,…
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Fairprice is offering 3 tubs of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream at $29.50 (U.P. $41.70) from 27 Oct – 2 Nov 2016
BEN & JERRY’s ice cream now going at 3 for $29.50 (U.P. $41.70) at Fairprice (27 Oct – 2 Nov)
Stock up on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with NTUC Fairprice’s latest weekly promotion. Grab three tubs of Ben & Jerry’s assorted for $29.50 (usual $41.70) till 2 Nov 2016
Man arrested while trying to swim to Malaysia along Causeway
The 30-year-old Bangladesh national had overstayed in Singapore and was trying to leave illegally, says the police and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.
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Festival of lights less bright for business?
Some Little India shopkeepers and stallholders are reporting lower sales this Deepavali season.
Stallholder Ganes Kannasamy, 42, has been working at the Deepavali Festival Village, which stretches from Campbell Lane to Hastings Road, since it started about 15 years ago.
He told The New Paper: “There has been a 30 per cent drop in our income compared to last year.
“We can see that our customers’ spending power is reduced as we are not getting the same profit.”
He said that one reason could be the slowing economy.
“They spend less because they are afraid of not having enough money,” he said.
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Photo GalleryDeepavali bazaar vendors dig deep to come up with unique wares
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Mr Venkat Muthukrishnan, 29, who works at jewellery shop Mukuthi Corner on Kerbau Road, said that the numbers had already been dropping before the festive season.
The shop used to get around 3,000 customers a year, but will struggle to hit half of that, judging from the traffic over the past six months.
Mr Narayanasamy Muthu, 69, owner of Kamala Jewellers on Serangoon Road, said the festive season brings in 20 to 30 customers a day instead of the usual 10.
But this is still a far cry from what he used to get in the past.
“There are fewer tourists, so now we have to rely on our local customers more,” said Mr Narayanasamy.
GIFTS
Determined to turn things around, he has started giving out small gifts with every purchase, in the hopes of building a loyal base of regulars.
“We have to improve our business,” he said, “there is no other way.”
But one store owner is not too perturbed by the smaller crowds.
Human resource and exports manager Kartik Balakrishnan, 29, said the decline in patronage does not affect his family’s business much because they sell prayer and religious items, which are in high demand.
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Photo Gallery1st Deepavali-themed train launched on NEL
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He is even hoping to see a bump in profit as Deepavali nears.
“We still have until Friday, the eve of Deepavali, so fingers crossed,” he said.
“I’m hoping and praying. It’s Deepavali, after all.”
leeganjp@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on October 27, 2016.
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'He's very selfless', says wife of SAF specialist who did CPR on stranger
Selfless is how he is described by his wife and daughter.
And yesterday, Mr U Silvakumar, 58, received a Public Spiritedness Award from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The Military Expert 3 (ME3) signals specialist with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) hit the headlines this week when he performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an elderly man who had collapsed near a petrol station along Serangoon Road on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Silvakumar had been on his way to a nearby temple to prepare for a fire-walking ceremony.
The original Facebook post received 2,500 shares and garnered more than 3,300 likes by Monday night.
Mr Silvakumar’s wife, Mrs Vasugi Silvakumar, 55, was not surprised by her husband’s actions.
The owner of a transport company told The New Paper: “We have been married for 28 years and there were so many occasions that he did not hesitate to stop to help people.
“He is a very selfless man.”
Also describing him as a family man, Mrs Silvakumar said her husband does not drink or smoke and is very religious.
“All his free time, he will be in the temple, helping the temple. Whenever we need help, he will never say no to us,” she said.
Mr Silvakumar, who took up a CPR course in 1982 while in the army, sprang into action on Sunday when he saw a crowd surrounding an unconscious man lying on the ground.
He pushed through the crowd and administered CPR on the man after determining that he had no pulse or signs of breathing.
“I performed mouth-to-mouth CPR on him as well. I stayed until the ambulance came,” he said.
“People around me were praying for him and I passed them the victim’s phone to contact his relatives. When his heartbeat came back on the ambulance’s monitor, I was overcome with emotion. I felt so relieved.”
CARRY IT FORWARD
Unfortunately, the man later died in hospital.
Mr Silvakumar said that he had been praying for the man to pull through, and was affected by his death.
The deceased’s nephew contacted Mr Silvakumar’s daughter, Miss Aishwaryaa Kumar, on Facebook to thank Mr Silvakumar, who hopes to see the victim’s family in person to offer his condolences.
Mr Silvakumar remains motivated to keep up his spirit of selflessness.
“What we can do, we did, and after that it’s up to fate. We should keep on helping people, no matter the outcome,” he said.
“We should also stay humble and hope that the person we help will carry it forward and help someone else.”
He has taken a few refresher CPR courses over the years.
Miss Aishwaryaa, 24, told The Straits Times that her father, whom she described as selfless and caring, influenced her and her siblings to “do all they can to help people around them”.
The chemical engineer said that during the Jakarta Marriott hotel bombing in 2009, her father ran to the bomb site to help victims.
Miss Aishwaryaa said: “My family and I can never be more proud of the man we live with and who brought us up.
“Even as most of us are praising him, he does not actually know that he is quite a sensation now.”
Commander of 1st SCDF Division Colonel Alan Chow, who presented the award, told TNP that he was very proud of Mr Silvakumar.
He said: “His action was very commendable. I hope that this would spur others to respond in a similar manner if they witness something like this.”
Mr Silvakumar’s advice to the public?
“Don’t see colour, don’t see religion, forget about everything and just look at life. We can have our opinions, our opinions can change, but our lives will never change,” he said.
Learn lifesaving skills for free through SCDF
Singaporeans can learn core lifesaving skills and essential emergency procedures for free through the Community Emergency Preparedness Programme.
You can register yourself at any four Singapore Civil Defence Force Division HQs – Queensway, Tampines, Yishun and Bukit Batok.
Participants will learn about first aid skills, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, fire fighting and emergency procedures.
Participants will receive a certificate upon completion.
They are also invited to register themselves on the myResponder App, a mobile application that alerts users of nearby cardiac arrest cases within 400m of their location so they can help perform CPR or retrieve a nearby AED (automated external defibrillator) before the arrival of the ambulance.
The app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.
This article was first published on October 27, 2016.
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