SINGAPORE – A comment about needing “a very small space to have sex” has stirred up social media.
The remark, made by Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo in an interview with The Straits Times that was published on Wednesday (Oct 12), was meant to…
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‘Let’s talk’: Josephine Teo responds to clamour over ‘sex’ comment
Young Singaporeans must embrace key growth areas: Dr Yaacob
SINGAPORE – Young Singaporeans must make the transition to key growth areas, such as IT and advanced manufacturing, even as the economy changes “for the better”, said Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim on Wednesday (Oct 12).
He was…
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Philippines artists draw inspiration from nature and fishermen for the Singapore Biennale
The environment and human migration are just two issues close to the hearts of artists from the Philippines, who will represent their country at the Singapore Biennale at the end of this month.
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Singapore President visits University of Tromso
As part of the fourth day of Singapore President Tony Tan’s six-day visit to Norway, he spent the morning at the University of Tromso, which is renowned for being an international centre for Arctic research.
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Young families welcome Punggol’s grassroots library
SINGAPORE – Punggol has added another place where its burgeoning young population can go: It is the size of a five-room flat and carries 3,100 books.
It is the area’s first library, albeit temporary and in a container. The facility largely caters to children…
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Thai king’s health 'unstable' as crowd holds vigil
BANGKOK – The health of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej is “still unstable”, the palace said late Wednesday, with the 88-year-old on a ventilator and battling a new infection as crowds gathered to pray outside his Bangkok hospital.
Bhumibol is the world’s longest-reigning monarch and beloved by many in Thailand, where is he is seen as a unifying figure in a country riven by political rivalries.
But he has not been seen by the public for nearly a year as he battles a series of ailments in a Bangkok hospital, a source of great anxiety for many in the kingdom.
In a fresh health update released on Wednesday evening, the palace said new blood tests from Tuesday showed the king’s liver was working “irregularly” and that there was heightened levels of uric acid in his blood.
Both are signs of organ failure.
“The doctors have given him antibiotics and have corrected acid levels in his blood, placing him on a ventilator together with CRRT (Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy),” the Royal Household Bureau said in a new statement.
“His illness overall is still unstable,” it added.
The statement followed a similarly pessimistic palace health update on Sunday that has triggered market jitters inside Thailand this week as well as public prayers for his well-being.
By late evening around 300 well-wishers had gathered outside Siriraj Hospital where the king has spent much of the past two years. Many held aloft portraits of the king and were moved to tears by a week of grim news.
“It feels like he is getting worse this time,” said Somchit Naravichit, 58, tears welling in her eyes.
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Photo GalleryThai king is world’s longest-reigning monarch
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“Millions of Thais are sending him support, praying for him and wanting him to get well soon,” she told AFP.
Stock market volatility hit Thailand for a third day on Wednesday.
Around lunchtime Thai media travelling with junta chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha in the eastern province of Chonburi said the leader had abruptly cancelled all official engagements and returned to the capital with little explanation.
The stock market promptly plunged, losing as much as 6.8 percent soon after the announcement although it later recovered to close 2.5 percent down.
Rumours about the king’s health quickly swirled on social media and well-wishers began gathering in greater numbers at Bhumibol’s riverside hospital.
By late afternoon junta officials downplayed the significance of Prayut’s urgent departure and said he returned to the capital to meet with named heir Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who spends much time outside the country.
“The Prime Minister did not undertake his official duties in Chonburi province today in order to prepare for an audience with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for a routine presentation on the government’s work in progress,” said junta spokesman Lieutenant General Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
Bhumibol’s health is a sensitive subject and palace officials maintain tight control over news about his condition.
A draconian lese majeste law also makes public discussion of the succession all but impossible.
Privately many business leaders – both domestic and foreign – fret that the king’s demise could lead to economic instability, especially as there is no official discussion on how the country will handle his passing.
Thailand’s stock market has dropped by 6.5 percent since Sunday’s health announcement.
The baht was headed towards its steepest weekly drop in three years, trading at 35.90 on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg data.
Sean Yokota, head of Asia strategy at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB in Singapore, said the baht’s slide was “mostly related to the king’s health”.
“It’s about the political stability that the king has provided and his being a reconciliatory buffer between the major parties,” he told Bloomberg.
The last two health statements are noticeably grim in their prognosis. Previous statements have tended to end on a positive note after successful treatment.
The king has battled a range of ailments in the last two years including regular infections, breathing difficulties, renal failure and hydrocephalus – a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid commonly referred to as “water on the brain”.
Most Thais have known no other monarch and many revere Bhumibol as the kingdom’s moral leader.
Vajiralongkorn, 64, has yet to attain his father’s widespread popularity.
There was no official confirmation on where the Crown Prince was travelling from although publicly available flight records showed his private Boeing 737 flew from Munich, where he owns property, to Frankfurt early on Wednesday morning.
Since Sunday’s announcement, many Thais have started wearing pink in the belief it will bring the king good luck.
Security was stepped up at the riverside hospital where Bhumibol is being treated, with a spokeswoman saying they expected the Crown Prince to make an imminent visit to see his father.
“The king is very important to us because he has done everything for the people,” Suwanna Kaennumtiang, a 62-year-old woman holding a portrait of the king, said.
“He is like my angel. I pray to his photo on my bedside everyday.”
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PM Lee meets Australian helicopter pilot who helped save lives in 1983 Sentosa cable car accident
CANBERRA -For almost three hours on Jan 29, 1983, Australian helicopter pilot Geoff Ledger, then 27, battled to keep his helicopter steady near Sentosa amid the wind and rain.
Seven people had died after a drillship snagged the cable car ropeway between mainland Singapore and Sentosa island, and 13 people were still trapped in four cars that were hanging precariously, 180m above the water.
Then in Singapore on exchange with the Republic of Singapore Air Force, Mr Ledger had participated in the mission to save them.
His story was recounted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Oct 12), as an example of the camaraderie and sense of common purpose Singaporean and Australian troops share.
Mr Lee, then a colonel in the Singapore Armed Forces and directing the rescue mission, said when addressing the Australian Parliament: “He did not have to fly this mission… It was a risky operation, at night under windy conditions, but fortunately the rescue succeeded.”
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Ledger said the danger and the stakes made it a harrowing experience: “Even today, I still get quite emotional about it.”
But he added: “I was very proud to be serving my country in Singapore, and Singapore is a great country.”
While he still cringes at the memory of the injured peoples’ screams, he said he also formed tight bonds with the Singaporean team on the mission – a Chinese co-pilot, a Malay chopper aide and an Indian winchman.
For his efforts, Mr Ledger received from Singapore a silver commendation medal, his first career award.
He was invited to the luncheon hosted by Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull for Mr Lee on Wednesday.
Recalling his interactions with Mr Lee during his stint in Singapore – at the briefing for the rescue mission, and later at a thank-you party at Sembawang Air Base – he said Mr Lee was “attentive and directed” on the first occasion and “gregarious, open and friendly” on the second.
Mr Ledger, who has since retired from active duty as a commodore, added: “I’m not surprised he became Prime Minister.”
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Photo GalleryPM Lee in Australia
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This article was first published on Oct 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
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Catholic Church calls for regular review of safeguards against ill effects of gambling in Singapore
Archbishop William Goh says the Catholic Church remains concerned about the possible ill-effects of a “gambling culture” that could grip Singaporeans.
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Man on trial for killing his father says he was attacked in a quarrel over money
SINGAPORE – A businessman on trial for the manslaughter of his father told a court on Wednesday (Oct 12) that his father had accused him of stealing his money, and then attacked him.
Unknown to his father, Mark Tan Peng Liat had been withdrawing up to $5,000 each time from a joint bank account, for five to six years.
Mr Tan Kok Seng, who was 67, died on Feb 10 last year, after his son applied a headlock and a chokehold over his neck region. These acts are not disputed.
However, Mark Tan, 30, is accused of doing those acts knowing that they would likely cause death.
He had at first been charged with murder, but the charge was later reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
On Wednesday (Oct 12), Tan took the stand to begin his defence and recounted the events that day. While driving in his car at around 3pm to 4pm on Feb 10 last year, Tan got a call from his father, who accused him of stealing money.
Tan went home to find his father enraged in the master bedroom, on the second floor of a semi-detached house in West Coast Rise. His father lunged towards him and threw a punch, but Tan blocked it.
Father and son then grappled. It was the first time that the two men, whom relatives said shared a close relationship, had physically fought.
The father had a black belt in taekwondo and exercised regularly, using weights and punching bags. “He said that he could kill a man with one punch,” Tan told the court.
As they grappled in the room, the father walked backwards towards the bathroom, while trying to punch, kick and elbow his son.
Man accused of putting father in fatal headlock during argument
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Inside the slippery bathroom, things got “chaotic”, Tan said. His spectacles flew off and he tried to get a grip on his topless father to subdue him, even holding on to his head at one point. Both men then fell to the floor and the son applied a headlock to his father.
Shortly after, when things appeared to have calmed down, Tan said he left the bathroom. But his father got back up and tried to attack him inside the master bedroom.
Tan wrapped his right arm around his father’s neck, from behind. He also pressed his left hand on his father’s upper chest, near the collarbone.
Read also: 2 houses of victim sold
He was afraid that his father would take the fight out of the bedroom. Tan said he collected swords and kept about six to nine such weapons around the house.
The two men fell near the bedroom door, with his father on top of him. Shortly after, Tan went to find his spectacles in the toilet and then went out of the house. “I wanted to get as far away from my father as possible,” he said.
When his aunt who lived a short distance away came by – the maid had seen the fight and ran to get help – Tan said he told her: “I think he’s dead.”
Tan called an ambulance, then went up to the master bedroom, where he saw his father lying motionless and face-up on the floor, with his mouth open.
Tan tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, while waiting for paramedics.
Asked by his lawyer Derek Kang if he intended to cause harm to his father, Tan said: “I didn’t even want to hurt his feelings. I just wanted to stop him.”
If convicted of manslaughter, Tan faces up to 10 years in jail, a fine, caning, or any combined punishment.
The trial continues on Thursday (Oct 13) with Deputy Public Prosecutor Kumaresan Gohubalan asking Tan questions about his testimony.
This article was first published on Oct 12, 2016.
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New mental health survey to test for more psychiatric conditions
SINGAPORE – The second nationwide study on the state of mental health in the country will surpass its 2010 predecessor in breadth and depth, with questions on four more psychiatric conditions added to the survey that will cover about 6,000 people aged 18 and…
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