Their performances were the highlights of the SJ50 event on Thursday to celebrate the 50 years of excellent diplomatic ties between Singapore and Japan.
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Inclusiveness takes spotlight in event to celebrate 50 years of Singapore-Japan ties
Rookie K-pop group Momoland to debut with crowdfunded album
Rookie girl group Momoland will be making its official debut next month.
The seven-member act will be releasing its first album on Nov. 10, according to industry insiders.
The debut of the group created through Mnet’s K-pop survival program “Finding Momoland” was delayed after it failed to achieve the show’s final mission of gathering 3,000 audience members for a concert. The girl group managed to attract just over 2,000 people.
To gear up for its upcoming releases, Momoland — consisting of members Nancy, Hyebin, Nayun, Ahin, Yeonwoo, Jane and JooE — successfully crowdfunded to cover the costs of the album’s production. The group raised about 10 million won, well over its initial goal of seven million won.
“In addition to local fans, people from all over Asia and countries like England donated to Momoland,” according to the crowdfunding platform Makestar on Thursday.
After releasing its debut album, Momoland is scheduled to hold more broadcast appearances and promotional activities.
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Homemade guns raise alarm in 'gun-free' Korea
A rare gunfight in Seoul on Wednesday night has caused concern among the public, revealing a loophole in the country’s strict gun control policy: homemade guns.
Public criticism and worries are mounting over the authority’s lax control over privately manufactured weapons, after a police officer was shot dead in what appears to be a premeditated attack using a self-made gun.
The policeman was shot in the back by a criminal suspect, who was armed with homemade guns and was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, in northern Seoul at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the police Thursday.
When the 45-year-old suspect, Seong Byung-dae, was apprehended, he was carrying six wooden guns, made with iron pipes attached to 30-centimeter-long wooden sticks, the police said. They later found 17 homemade guns, seven knives, a hammer and a homemade explosive device at the crime scene.
A nine-time convict with a record of sexual assault and violence, Seong seemed to have carefully planned the attack, police said. They suspect he learned methods to make the weapons from the internet.
The attacker seemed to hold a grudge against police, having made several posts via social media that signaled a future attack.
“My purpose is to kill as many police officers as I can,” one post read. “A clash with the police is inevitable.”
In the latest update, he uploaded a video on Sept. 11 showing directions from Gangbuk Police Station in Seoul to Opaesan Tunnel, where the fatal shooting took place Wednesday. He had written that he would “smash” police in two or three days.
Seong has served a total of nine years and six months in prison and was last released in 2012.
The victim — police officer Kim Chang-ho — was dispatched to the scene after a report came in that a passerby was injured by the suspect.
Many Koreans, who had believed the country to be at least free of gun crime, are shocked that detailed guides explaining how to make weapons at home are easily available online.
In South Korea, only government-authorised personnel are allowed to carry guns.
It also bans the act of uploading manufacturing methods for homemade guns or explosives on the internet, and doing so is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of 5 million won ($4,400). The law has been in force since January.
However, with authorities’ low level of supervision and lax restriction on the age of viewership regarding online videos and blog posts, experts say it is difficult for police to crack down on the manufacturing of homemade weapons.
“Since people have easy access to online content that explains how to make homemade guns and explosives, it is difficult for police to keep an eye on controlling homemade weapons,” said Gwak Dae-kyung, professor of police administration at Dongguk University.
“Considering that those videos and blog posts spread quickly online, constant monitoring of those contents will be the only way to control and prevent such crimes,” he added.
Prevalent methods of manufacturing homemade weapons available online has not only led to lax control over weapons, but also allowed individuals to retrofit the crafted guns for stronger firepower.
An anonymous comment on an online community read, “You can order components for an air rifle through a US online market and manipulate firepower by redesigning the gun.”
Korea has seen several cases involving homemade guns over the past decade.
In 2007, a 47-year-old man in South Chungcheong Province opened fire in a park after he had manufactured a gun with iron pipes and wooden sticks that he collected from a nearby construction site.
In 2010, a 19-year-old high school student was caught testing out handmade guns and sharing methods to manufacture them on an online community. The student allegedly told police he gathered information from overseas websites and an encyclopedia, which helped him create a specially adapted gun with firepower three times stronger than a normal K2 rifle.
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The best Halloween activities in Singapore
He gets paid to scare people
Halloween is Institute of Technical Education (ITE) student Mathias Lim’s favourite holiday because he gets to dress up as his favourite villains, scare people and “not get thrown into jail”.
The 23-year-old is not a prankster, however, but a scare actor – someone who acts as a zombie, ghost or psycho killer at Halloween events organised by *Scape, a youth hangout.
Over the past five years, he has morphed into knives-for-fingers killer Freddie Krueger, a werewolf, a clown and Ghostface from the Scream film series. He declines to reveal how much he is paid.
Beginning on Wednesday evening, the 10,000 sq ft Ground Theatre in *Scape will turn into The Doll Factory, the home of a deranged doll-maker who killed his family members in order to preserve them as dolls. This is adapted from a true story.
here will be seven zones in this maze. Participants will move from the gory slaughter house to the showroom where the evil doll- maker keeps his prized collection. Turn the wrong corner and visitors may run into a scare actor such as Mr Lim.
To maintain suspense, he will not reveal what he plays at this year’s Halloween event at *Scape, but he shares some of his scare tactics.
“I stalk people from behind or sometimes, I stand very still and make a very slight movement or sound just as a person approaches,” he says.
It helps that many Singaporeans “scare easily”, he adds.
The one thing he will never do is to touch the participants and neither are participants supposed to touch him, but there are the “rare occasions” when a person reacts to a fright by punching an actor.
“Some people just react in more extreme ways,” he says.
His most memorable moment was when he played Freddie Krueger and scared big and muscular man to tears. “It was very strange to see this huge guy cry and hide behind his girlfriend,” he says.
Mr Lim enjoys cosplay, so he considers his part-time job as a scare actor a bonus.
While cosplaying, he has taken on the alter egos of characters such as the infamous Joker as well as the good guys such as Spider-man and Red Ranger from superhero TV series Power Rangers.
He makes some of his costumes from scratch and has participated in conventions such as the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention.
He says: “When I put on the costume, I turn into someone else. It’s an escape from reality.”
MERMAIDS AND MANATEES GET INTO SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN
A new breed of marine creatures will be sharing the waters with the gentle manatees as part of the Halloween programme at River Safari.
Four “mermaids” will perform a 15-minute choreographed underwater show called Mermaid Mania together with 12 manatees in the park’s Amazon Flooded Forest aquarium exhibit.
The show will run on six evenings starting tonight.
With long glittery fish tails and the upper body of a human female, these “mermaids” are underwater dancers from the Singapore Mermaid School.
They wear fish tails custom-made from silicon and are trained to frolic in the water like the mythical creature popularised by the Disney princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989).
They can hold their breaths for up to a minute, after which, they will re-surface for a quick breath.
The mermaid performers are led by Ms Cara Nicole Neo, or Syrena as she likes to be called when in character.
The 24-year-old is considered Singapore’s first professional mermaid and founded The Singapore Mermaid School last year, a centre dedicated to teaching people how to swim in mermaid gear for fun and fitness.
While she often performs at children’s parties and corporate events, this is her first aquarium gig.
“We weren’t sure how the manatees were going to react to us initially but it turns out they love us,” she says with a laugh.
They have been rehearsing with the animals once or twice a week for the past 11/2 months. The sessions are accompanied by aquarists to ensure the safety of both animals and humans.
The human swimmers have developed such good rapport with the manatees that the gentle creatures are beginning to mimic their actions.
Ms Neo says: “The aquarist told us that some of the manatees now move their fins like how we do when we wave to the audience.”
Swimming in the aquarium is a “dream come true” for Ms Neo as she hopes to “spread the magic” of mermaids.
She says: “A mermaid is a very empowering role model for both little and big girls. I work with a lot of girls with low self esteem but when they go underwater, you can see how beautiful and strong and graceful they feel.”
River Safari has held Halloween- themed events since 2014, typically family-friendly programmes where kids can dress up and also learn about the various creatures at the park.
This year, besides the mermaid performance, there will also be Monster Boo!, a live animal presentation during which children can get close to and even touch a slithery python, a large pelican and a furry binturong.
SAFARI BOO
Where: River Safari, 80 Mandai Lake Road When: Tonight to Oct 23 and Oct 28 to 30, 6 to 10pm. Mermaid Mania is at 7.45, 8.45 and 9.45pm. Monster Boo! is at 7,8 and 9pm.
Admission: $18 to $22 for adults and $5 to $10 for children (aged three to 12)
Info: Tickets are available only online. Go to safariboo.wrs.com.sg
Scary thrills
SINGAPORE HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL
Fend off an army of flesh-eating zombies while navigating a maze at the inaugural Singapore Halloween Festival held at Fort Canning Park.
Participants need to form teams of three to enter the zombie maze challenge. They will then battle the undead through a series of obstacles using Nerf guns. The group with the fastest time will win a PlayStation 4 for each of its members.
Those who want a less scary experience can check out the other activities in store – trampolines and bouncy castles for the children and, for the adults, DJs spinning music ranging from retro to deep house.
Food served from the likes of modern Japanese izakaya Neon Pigeon and booze from Irish pub Molly Malone’s will be sold too.
The event is organised by events company Sensat1on.
Where: Fort Canning Park, Fort Gate When: Oct 29, 11am to 11pm
Admission: $25 for each entry into the festival and $15 for a team of three to enter the zombie maze challenge (minimum age to play is 12 and parental consent is required for those under the age of 18). Children under the age of 12 enter for free.
Info: www.sensat1on.com
HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS 6
Singapore’s biggest scarefest has upped the ante this year with five themed haunted houses.
Held at Universal Studios Singapore in Resorts World Sentosa, this will be the sixth edition of the popular event, which drew more than 170,000 people last year.
One of the houses is inspired by the old Changi Hospital, considered one of the spookiest spots in Singapore.
In this haunted house, vengeful spirits, bloodied patients and a pontianak (a female ghost in Malay folklore) wander the hallways.
Another house has the familiar setting of the hawker centre. The patrons are victims of “radioactive food poisoning” and are now hungry for humans.
The other houses feature witches and demonic shape-shifters. One is a macabre art exhibition featuring the twisted memories of an artist whose family died in a fire.
Besides looking out for the walking dead played by actors, watch out, too, for 25 animatronics hidden in the haunted houses, such as a moving truck.
About 1,600 gallons of mist will be used to evoke an eerie, disorienting atmosphere.
After surviving the haunted houses, you can check out the stage performance Jack’s Recurring Nightmare, featuring Jack the diabolical clown and his freaky disciples, who will execute daredevil feats.
Finally, there will be a carnival procession inspired by Mexico’s colourful Day Of The Dead parade, an annual celebration to remember and honour the dead.
The procession will culminate in the March Of The Dead, an outdoor show featuring the sinister beauty Lady Death.
Where: Universal Studios Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa
When: Tonight and tomorrow and next Thursday to Oct 31, 7.30pm to 12.30am (Thursday, Sunday, and Monday) and 7.30pm to 1.30am (Friday and Saturday)
Admission: From $65 for Thursday, Sunday and Monday and $69 for Friday and Saturday. For those aged 13 and older
Info: www.halloweenhorrornights.com.sg
NIGHTMARE ON BUGIS STREET
When the lights go out, the meandering pathways in Bugis Street will turn into playgrounds for possessed dolls and ghosts.
Two of the three levels of the shopping arcade will be transformed into scare zones modelled after horror flicks Annabelle (2014) and Thirteen Ghosts (2001).
If visitors get too spooked out, they can head down to the first floor and distract themselves at a late-night flea market. There, they can get their faces painted to look like a zombie or spirit and spook someone else for a change.
Where: Bugis Street, 3 New Bugis Street When: Oct 28 and 29 and Nov 4 and 5, 10pm to 2am
Admission: Standard ticket from $45, $35 for students aged 13 and older with a valid student ID
Info: www.bugisstreet.com.sg
Dressed to kill
ZOUK HALLOWEEN 2016: THE SCREAM DINER
Torture chambers, chunks of meat hanging from the ceiling, bloody kitchen pots and other gruesome surprises will take over Zouk as the home-grown club is transformed into an American diner that is also a blood-soaked crime scene.
This is the story: The Scream Diner’s owner Mr O’Donnell, a prime suspect in an unsolved case of missing patrons, is back and he is set to continue what he started.
Look out for his assistants, too, who will be roaming around the club, ready to pounce on unsuspecting diners .
There are prizes worth up to $15,000 for the best-dressed. These include the grand prize of $1,000 cash, four ZoukOut VIP tickets and complimentary accommodation at hotel W Singapore – Sentosa Cove.
Where: 17 Jiak Kim Street When: Oct 29, 10pm till late Admission: $33 for women and $38 for men (includes two standard drinks); those in full costume get free and priority entry
Info: www.zoukclub.com.sg
TRAIN TO NOVA
New club Nova is bringing the horrors of recent hit Korean zombie thriller Train To Busan (2016) to life in its first Halloween party on Oct 29 called Train To Nova.
The club will morph into a train station – similar to Daejeon station in the flick – where zombies lurk.
DJ duo Rave Republic will be spinning electronic dance music and open format tunes on the deck.
For revellers who dress in the best outfit, there will be prizes including five tickets to Swedish house duo Dada Life’s party at the club on Nov 5.
Where: 02-29 Orchard Hotel, 442 Orchard Road When: Oct 29, 10pm till late
Admission: $18 for women and $25 for men (includes two standard drinks after midnight, free entry for those in full costume and before midnight)
Info: www.facebook.com/Clubnovasg
BATTLE ROYALE: HALLOWEEN 2016
Put on boxing gloves and a game face as it is going to get ugly at OverEasy Orchard’s fight club.
There will be no ghosts and zombies, but visitors might spot martial arts legend Bruce Lee or heavyweight great Muhammad Ali battling it out on the dancefloor.
The best walk away with the grand prize of a four-day, three-night stay at a Bali villa, worth more than $1,000.
Where: 01-01 Liat Towers, 541 Orchard Road When: Oct 29, 10pm till late
Admission: Free
Info: Call 6684-1453 or e-mail orchard@overeasy.com.sg
CIRQUE LE SOIR AT CE LA VI
A human pincushion, a fire breather and a performer who combines drumming with swallowing tricks will be bringing the bizarre and outrageous to rooftop nightclub Ce La Vi Singapore for Halloween.
They are from the famed outlandish London nightclub Cirque le Soir, who was at Ce La Vi last year, too, for its Halloween party.
Where: SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands, Tower 3, 1 Bayfront Avenue When: Oct 29, 9pm till late
Admission: Online early-bird price of $48 (inclusive of one house pour) or $68 at the door
Info: sg.celavi.com
Family-friendly spooks
PARADE OF THE DEAD
Scary clowns will invade Downtown East’s D’Resort next weekend as part of the Parade Of The Dead. They will be walking around the resort and barbecue pits and guests and members of the public are welcome to join the procession.
They can also take part in the Circus Carnival, which has Halloween face painting, games and tarot card readings.
Where: Rainforest Terrace, D’Resort, Downtown East, 1 Pasir Ris Close
When: Oct 29, 7 to 10pm Admission: Free
Info: www.downtowneast.com.sg
THE NOT-SO-CREEPY HALLOWEEN
Send your child on a secret mission at the Science Centre Singapore to catch villains scattered throughout the centre and unravel the science behind their destructive plots.
They might run into Lady Rust and learn how environmental conditions affect the rusting of metals. And an encounter with Lord Rubbor will show why electricity requires a conductor to flow.
Over at Snow City, an indoor snow centre, the kids can sit in for a spooky storytelling session or go trick-or-treating in the snow.
Where: Science Centre Singapore, 15 Science Centre Road
When: Oct 29 to 31, 10am to 6pm
Admission: $5 for each trail booklet in addition to admission charges to the Science Centre. Suitable for kids aged five and older. Standard charges apply for entry to Snow City activities.
Info: www.science.edu.sg/events/Pages/halloween.aspx
HALLOWEEN FUN IN THE HEARTLAND
The Halloween festivities are spreading to the suburbs as grassroots organisations organise familyfriendly events at community clubs (CC).
One example is the sixth edition of the Woodlands Fright Night happening tomorrow and on Sunday at the Woodlands Community Club.
Older kids can head into the haunted house maze while the younger ones can hop on a haunted train.
Over at Potong Pasir Community Club, the three storeys of the building will be converted into a Paranormal High School on Oct 28 and 29.
Participants will be armed with Nerf blasters as they make their way through scare zones where ghosts lurk. They also have to solve puzzles while at it.
Recommended for children older than seven.
Where: Various locations including Woodlands CC, 1 Woodlands Street 81; and Potong Pasir CC, 6 Potong Pasir Avenue 2
When: Throughout the month. The event at Woodlands CC takes place tomorrow and on Sunday from 5 to 10pm; the event at Potong Pasir CC is on Oct 28 and 29 from 6pm till late.
Admission: Depends on the event. $1 for entry into Woodlands Fright Night and $15 for Paranormal High School Info: Check with the CC if it has a Halloween event lined up
This article was first published on October 21, 2016.
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Singapore MMA fighter Tiffany Teo to face biggest test at One Championship debut
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Tiffany Teo will face her biggest test when she makes her One Championship debut on Nov 11.
The 26-year-old holds a perfect 3-0 win-loss record, with all of her fights ending in the first round.
But on the day she turns 27, she has to get used to more raucous surroundings inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where she will fight former Egyptian boxing champion Walaa Abbas, 32, in the flyweight division.
Teo, who was born in Brunei but raised in Singapore, said: “It’s going to be different from my past few fights.
Fighting in a One Championship event will be a big step up for me. This will be on a bigger stage and I have to cope with a higher level of stress and expectations, especially because I’m on a winning streak.
“To be honest, I didn’t enter the past fights thinking that I will be able to win in the first round,” she said of her experiences at Singapore Fighting Championship (SFC) 2, SFC 3 and Full Metal Dojo 11, which is held by Thailand’s largest professional MMA promotion.
“My coach always tells me to take my time, but it just happened that it always ended so quickly.”
To prepare for her upcoming bout, she has been throwing jabs and uppercuts and hitting the mats at Juggernaut Fight Club, as she brushes up on striking and wrestling. She trains twice a day – in the morning and evening.
In between the sessions, the therapist pulls off her fighting gloves, changes out of her sweaty gear, puts on her spectacles and visits the homes of children with special needs.
Her coach, Arvind Lalwani, 36, believes that his protege’s talent has earned her a spot in the nine-bout fight card.
He said: “It will be a good test for her to see where she stands against the elite fighters.
“One (Championship) saw the potential in her and we believe that she has what it takes to become a world champion one day.”
A day after Teo’s fight, her training partner at Juggernaut, Singapore’s first female professional boxer Nurshahidah Roslie, will also be putting her perfect 4-0 record on the line.
She will contest for the vacant World Boxing Association Oceania super featherweight belt when she takes on New Zealander Gentiane Lupi at SFC 4. Her Nov 12 fight will take place at the Singapore Foochow Association.
Lalwani, who also runs SFC, said: “She’s already made a reputation for herself in South-east Asia, so it’s hard to get good fights for her in this region. We have goals, we don’t want to remain stagnant but we want her to grow.”
Nurshahidah, 29, said: “It’ll be a test for me because it’ll be the first time I am up against a non-Asian boxer in my professional career.
“My goal is to make a legacy for female boxers in Singapore and show that Singaporeans can make it.”
This article was first published on October 21, 2016.
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Philippines aims to intensify trade with China to $83.6 billion in 5 years
BEIJING – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing is part of a charm offensive aimed at seeking trade and support from China by setting aside a thorny territorial dispute.
The Philippines is bringing home around US$13.5 billion (S$18.8 billion) worth of investment and financing deals from China following a historic state visit that rekindled ties with the economic superpower, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who added that the country’s trade with the Asian economic giant could reach US$60 billion in five years as targeted.
Lopez announced the estimated sum of all the government-to-government and business-to-business deal sizes during the Philippines-China Business Forum on Thursday.
The trade czar also expressed optimism that with the renewed friendship between the Philippines and China, trade between the two countries could double or even triple in the next few years to reach the $60 billion target in five years. He said the same could be expected from investment flows and influx of tourists.
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Photo GalleryDuterte in China to promote economic ties
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He said in a text message that the US$13.5 billion total package included the private sector memoranda of understanding signed between Philippine business delegates and their Chinese counterparts.
The amount also includes the concessional loans and private sector funding committed to public and private Philippine enterprises.
JG Summit Holdings President Lance Gokongwei, owner of a company set to sign a financing deal with the Bank of China, said the group would use the proceeds for infrastructure projects.
President of Filinvest Development Corp. Josephine Gotianun-Yap likewise said her conglomerate was signing a financing deal with the Bank of China to fund infrastructure projects.
Businessman Reghis Romero is among the delegates who have scored a number of big-ticket deals involving Chinese contractors during his trip.
In a chance interview on Thursday, Romero said he was set to sign that evening the Davao Coastline and Port Development project worth around 39 billion Philippine pesos, a project to be constructed by the China Dredging Corp. and Construction Communication Corp. The 214-hectare coastline project, which will be undertaken by his company Mega Harbor Port and Development Inc., is a five-year project to transfer the coastline of Davao City from Agdao and Poblacion Districts into a “well-planned, decrement and self-contained community.” This is a partnership with the local government of Davao.
Romero was also set to sign a 16.5 billion Philippine pesos (S$475.9 million) Cebu International Container and Bulk Terminal project, which would build a berthing facility of up to 1,200 metres as part of the 35 hectares allotted for port development.
The third project, worth 7.5-billion Philippine pesos, is a 50-hectare Harbor Center Port Terminal extension project in Manila, which seeks to alleviate port congestion in Manila.
Earlier, it was reported that China Railway Group Ltd. had committed to invest up to US$3 billion in Philippine infrastructure projects.
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Korean star Lee Kwang Soo's fans greet him with giraffe plushies
SINGAPORE – Korean actor Lee Kwang Soo, 31, is nowhere like his has-been idol role in the upcoming South Korean remake of American drama Entourage, which revolves around show business.
“My character brags a lot. He has a good heart, but he is unable to express his emotions. He looks irritated and annoyed. In real life, I’m quite different from him. I express my feelings more than him, I don’t really get annoyed and I’m not nasty to people,” says Lee, who is a regular cast member of popular South Korean variety show Running Man.
Another key difference is that the lanky comedian-actor is still at the peak of his career.
His popularity has translated into endorsements – he was invited here as the ambassador of duty-free chain The Shilla to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of Shilla Beauty Loft at Changi Airport on Thursday (Oct 20).
Lee was speaking at a press conference, ahead of an autograph session at Terminal 3 which attracted more than 250 fans.
Fans came armed with signboards emblazoned with Lee’s name and giraffe plushies – in reference to his Giraffe nickname, which he was given because of his towering height of 1.9m.
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Photo GalleryKorean star Lee Kwang Soo’s fans greet him with giraffe plushies
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Young fan Karina Liswandy, 10, was one of those who turned up with a giraffe toy in hand. The contest winner not only won the chance to get up close with her idol, but she also snagged a hug and a selfie with the star.
Her housewife mother Miranda Liswandy, 42, says: “She was so excited that she knocked down two cups of drinks at lunch. Though the event only started around 4pm, she couldn’t wait and we came a few hours earlier.”
Primary Four pupil Karina says: “I like him because he is funny. I will print out my selfie with him and paste it on the wall of my room.”
This article was first published on October 20, 2016.
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Healthcare Manpower Plan 2020: Push to provide quality care closer to home
Senior Staff Nurse Noraini Umar left her job 10 years ago to care for her young son and ailing parents. Now that her parents are better and her son is older, she returned after a three-month mandatory refresher.
“There were so many changes. Now, technology is applied in many aspects of our work,” she said of the the course.
Since April, 19 nurses have returned to the aged-care sector under a scheme to bring back nurses who had stopped work, part of a large-scale effort to ramp up the number of healthcare workers.
“With their previous nursing experience, they are valuable assets and contribute to caring for patients and residents and helping them to stay well in the home and community environment,” said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday, as he launched the Healthcare Manpower Plan 2020.
The plan includes a push to have Singaporeans’ healthcare needs met within their community, and less in the hospital.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it will expand and improve existing polyclinics and family medicine clinics even as more are built – allowing seniors to age in the neighbourhood they are familiar with.
It is also building more community hospitals, nursing homes and senior care centres in the community and making home care more accessible and affordable.
Family doctors too have a role to play. Now, 122 are working with the Institute of Mental Health so people with stable mental health conditions can get care close to their homes.
But with this expansion of primary and community care, more healthcare workers such as nurses, therapists and healthcare assistants will be needed.
Mr Gan told The Straits Times: “Given the current softening of the economic climate, we will want to ramp up efforts to build a stronger local core in the healthcare sector, in a few ways.”
This will be done by expanding the training and recruitment to enable young job seekers, mid-career entrants, former nurses and part-time workers to get work in healthcare.
MOH will invest in skills training and job redesign “so that our healthcare workforce can do more at each level”, he said.
To retain current workers, it will enhance both career development and work environment.
Mr Gan said Singapore will further develop community nursing as an option for nurses. “If we are shifting care beyond hospitals to community and home, we will need to change the skills profile of our future workforce,” he explained.
Both Nanyang and Ngee Ann polytechnics have doubled the time their student nurses spend in community care, while physiotherapy and occupational therapy students at the Singapore Institute of Technology will have six to seven weeks of clinical work in a community setting.
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam promised in the Manpower Plan: “We will be investing even more heavily in everyone working in healthcare, so that they have the skills to deliver the best quality care while taking advantage of new technologies.”
This article was first published on October 21, 2016.
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Start-up puts brakes on self-driving trials after accident
Start-up nuTonomy has put its tests of driverless cars on hold following an accident involving one of its vehicles on Tuesday, The Straits Times understands.
However, tests by three other agencies – A*Star, Delphi and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Smart) – conducting self-driving trials in the one-north area are still ongoing.
Dr Eng You Hong, a postdoctoral associate with Smart, said his team would “strictly follow safety protocols” as they had done over the past year.
One of nuTonomy’s self-driving cars hit a lorry in Biopolis Drive at one-north while on a test drive on Tuesday. The vehicle, which had two engineers on board, was said to be travelling at a “low speed” and was changing lanes when the accident happened at about 9.30am. No one was hurt.
The Traffic Police and Land Transport Authority (LTA) are still investigating the incident.
“Additionally, the company is conducting its own investigation into the exact cause of the incident,” said nuTonomy in a statement on Tuesday.
nuTonomy is one of two firms selected by the LTA to test on-demand driverless taxi services here.
There has been a push towards the adoption of driverless technology in recent years.
On Monday, the National Environment Agency and Transport Ministry issued a request for information for the development of driverless road cleaners.
Two days later, Nanyang Technological University signed an agreement with the LTA to hold trials of self-driving buses beginning in 2018.
Singapore’s drive for autonomous vehicles is still in its infancy and is unlikely to be set back by the accident, said experts.
“Driverless vehicles here are still in the testing stage,” said Dr Park Byung Joon, SIM University senior lecturer in urban transport management, adding that he believed nuTonomy would still be able to launch commercially here in two years’ time.
This article was first published on Oct 21, 2016.
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<p>Start-up nuTonomy has put its tests of driverless cars on hold following an accident involving one of its vehicles on Tuesday, The Straits Times understands.</p>
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Primary 5 boy falls to death after failing exams
In his first four years in primary school, he had never fared poorly in any examination subject, usually averaging about 70 marks.
But in this year’s mid-year exams, the Primary 5 pupil found out that he had failed two papers – mathematics and Higher Chinese.
On May 18, the boy was found dead at the foot of his Sengkang block, just nine days after his 11th birthday.
He was due to collect his exam results that day for his parents to acknowledge.
A coroner’s inquiry into the boy’s death yesterday was told that his 45-year-old mother thought he had killed himself over his exam results by jumping from his bedroom window in the 17th-storey flat.
But his father, a 47-year-old customer service engineer, felt his son had accidentally fallen to his death.
The identities of the boy, his family members and his school cannot be disclosed because of a gag order.
Yesterday, investigation officer Inspector Lynn Ong told State Coroner Marvin Bay that the boy’s mother, a housewife, had expected him to score at least 70 marks per subject for his exams.
He had scored about 70 marks for every subject from Primary 1 to Primary 4.
If he did not meet her expectations, she would cane his palm lightly, Insp Ong said, adding: “She would hit him once for every mark short of 70 marks.”
However, she would cane him only if his average score across all subjects was below 70 marks.
“Sometimes, she would look through his examination papers first, and if they were difficult, she would not hit him.”
His mother also rewarded him when he did well, such as buying him a gift.
For the mid-year exam, he had asked for a kite, and she bought one for him on May 14, even before the results were out. He went out to fly the kite with his father the next day.
The school principal described the boy as an average performer who was generally able to cope with school.
The principal also said that pupils tend to see a dip in their exam results in Primary 5 because of changes in the exam format to prepare them for PSLE.
The boy found out his results before May 18, when the exam papers were returned to the pupils for checking.
Out of 100 marks, he scored 50 for English, 53.8 for Chinese and 57.5 for science. He fared poorly in two subjects, scoring 12 marks for Higher Chinese and 20.5 for mathematics.
UPSET
The boy’s Chinese and Higher Chinese teacher noticed that he was visibly upset after receiving the results for both subjects.
However, his science teacher saw him on May 17, a day before he was supposed to take his results home to show his parents, and he was cheerful and bubbly as usual, the court heard.
On May 18, his father noticed that he was taking a longer time than usual to get ready for school.
His mother tried to open the bedroom door, but it was locked.
She used a spare key to unlock it, and when they entered the room, he was nowhere to be seen.
The couple, who also have a 16-year-old daughter, looked out of the window and saw their son lying on a grass patch at the foot of their block.
His mother called the police at around 6.50am.
She called his school about 15 minutes later and told the principal what happened and said she needed help as her husband was distraught.
Insp Ong said that when the principal arrived at the scene, the mother was “very emotionally unstable”.
“She heard her lamenting in Mandarin, saying ‘I only asked for 70 marks, I don’t expect you to get 80 marks,'” Insp Ong added.
A paramedic pronounced the boy dead at the scene at around 7am.
The police do not suspect any foul play.
The cause of death was found to be multiple injuries, consistent with those sustained after a person had fallen from height.
Coroner Bay will deliver his findings today.
HELPLINES
If you are in emotional distress, you can get help from:
Samaritans of Singapore (24-hour hotline): 1800-221-4444
Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
Care Corner Counselling Centre (in Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222
Aware Helpline: 1800-774-5935
This article was first published on October 21, 2016.
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Primary 5 boy falls to death after failing 2 subjects in exam
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