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McDonald’s: Free Iced Milo w/ Every Happy Meal Purchase from 3 – 9 Oct 2016
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Under current regulations, LTA says the electric motor of PABs is only allowed to kick in and provide assistance when the rider is pedalling.
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SINGAPORE – Judges have no answer yet to whether a woman who conceived a baby with a stranger’s sperm in a fertility treatment mix-up is entitled to damages for bringing up the child.
A five-judge appeal court explored various legal issues raised in the case on Oct 6, but ended with no conclusion.
In her negligence suit against Thomson Fertility Centre, its parent company Thomson Medical, and two embryologists, the woman sought damages for various categories of claims, including for the upkeep of the child, known as Baby P in court proceedings.
Here is a recap of the case of Baby P:
WHAT HAPPENED?
A couple – a Singaporean Chinese woman and her Caucasian permanent resident husband who are both in their early 30s – had sought fertility treatment at Thomson Fertility Centre, which is part of the medical centre at Thomson Road.
The couple, who had been married for about 10 years, had approached the centre on the advice of their obstetrician.
In 2007, the couple went to the centre for fertility treatment and had a son.
The treatment they underwent involved retrieving eggs from the wife and fertilising them with sperm from the husband in a laboratory, before transferring the eggs back into her uterus.
The couple wanted more children and underwent a second treatment in January 2010.
The wife gave birth to a baby girl on Oct 1 that year, about 15 days before the due date, following an emergency caesarian operation.
Read also: Thomson Medical IVF mix-up: Mum ‘still anguished’
WHEN DID THEY DISCOVER THE MIX-UP?
When the baby girl was born, the couple noticed that the child’s complexion was noticeably different from theirs.
Two days later, they were told that the baby has type B blood, which raised their concerns because the couple have blood types A and O.
They asked the medical staff about this, but did not get satisfactory answers initially.
They were later informed that there was a possibility that a mix-up could have taken place.
A DNA test revealed the baby is biologically related to the woman, but not to her husband.
WHAT RESULTED IN THE MIX-UP?
Lapses in procedure and human error were the reasons behind the mix-up of sperm used in the IVF treatment, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament in November 2010.
At the time of the incident, the embryologist was processing semen specimens of two individuals at the same workstation at the same time.
The pipette used for transferring the specimen was reused, instead of being discarded after each step.
Even though it was reused only for handling the specimens from the same individual, it unnecessarily raised the risk of human error.
There was also no second person to counter-check that the specimens were transferred to the correct receptacles at every critical stage.
Mr Khaw did not give further details on how the mistake actually took place.
WHAT STEPS WERE TAKEN FOLLOWING THE MIX-UP?
To eliminate the risk of any mix-up, assisted reproduction centres were required to follow procedures in accordance with international best practices.
First, the embryologist will work on the specimens of only one individual or one couple, at one workstation at a time.
Second, he will carefully label all the receptacles and instruments with the couple’s or the individual’s name.
Third, he will discard disposable instruments such as pipettes after each use, to avoid any contamination.
Fourth, at every critical step, a second operator will counter-check that the specimens are transferred to the correct receptacles.
WHAT ACTION WAS TAKEN AGAINST THE HOSPITAL?
Thomson Medical Centre was fined the maximum $20,000 in June 2011.
A representative of the company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure suitable assisted reproduction practices were followed.
The Health Ministry also suspended all new assisted reproductive activities at the centre in November 2010 following the botched IVF procedure.The suspension was lifted after eight months in June 2011.
WHO FILED THE CURRENT LAWSUIT?
In 2012, the child’s mother filed a lawsuit against Thomson Medical, its fertility centre and two embryologists over the mix-up in sperm samples.
She sought damages for various categories of claims, including for the upkeep of the child, known as Baby P, in court proceedings.
The upkeep expenses included her pre-school needs in Beijing where she was living with her parents at that time, further education in Germany, her father’s home country, as well as daily necessities until she is financially self-reliant.
However, ahead of the assessment of damages, the defendants asked the High Court to give a ruling on the preliminary question of whether Singapore law allows damages to be awarded for the upkeep of a healthy child.
In January 2015, Justice Choo Han Teck disallowed the claim, noting that there were “cogent policy considerations” against finding liability for upkeep.
“Baby P should not ever have to grow up thinking that her very existence was a mistake,” he had said.
The woman appealed and the case was heard in August 2015.
Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan, who represented the woman, argued that her loss was the unwanted pregnancy in which she gave birth to a child with a stranger’s DNA, when she and her husband had contemplated raising only a child who was biologically their own.
Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming, who represented the defendants, argued that the cost of raising the child was not a loss arising from the defendants’ conduct; the woman had wanted a child and contemplated incurring expenses to raise one.
Mr Lok noted that the courts do not recognise damages for the ordinary upkeep of a child, on the basis that the birth of a healthy child was “a blessing”.
The case was adjourned for further arguments, which were heard on Oct 6, 2016.
This article was first published on Oct 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
Some initiatives include extending the one-stop MyInfo portal to the finance sector, as well as testing an online platform for parents of school-going children to sign consent forms and make payment.
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SINGAPORE – M1 subscribers can tune in to three popular video and music streaming services locally for under S$10 a month.
On Friday (Oct 7), the telco launched its new Entertainment Data plan, which gives subscribers unlimited local data access to Netflix,…
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Singaporean singer Nathan Hartono has been averaging only five hours of sleep a day since he arrived in Beijing on Monday (Oct 3).
In the lead-up to the finals of the popular talent show Sing! China on Friday (Oct 7), Hartono had been city-hopping every few days – in Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and now Beijing.
His hectic schedule has been packed with rehearsals, confirming wardrobe choices and music arrangements, as well as tackling media interviews.
“Normally it takes me 30 minutes to an hour to learn an English song.
But for Mandarin songs, I will need to take two to three days,” he told the Singapore media at the Beijing National stadium – also known as the Bird’s Nest – on Thursday in between rehearsals.
“I’d write the lyrics on paper, and put down the hanyu pinyin for the words that I can’t read and also use Google Translate to find out the meaning of words that I don’t understand,” said the 25-year-old, who is known by his Chinese name Xiang Yang in the show.
At the finals, he will sing at least two Mandarin songs – a duet with his mentor Jay Chou and a solo.
“I’m terrified that everything will go terribly wrong. Jay is very adventurous and experimental.
“He just keeps adding stuff to the performance,” he added.
He was worried that he would forget the Chinese lyrics, but everything went well at the rehearsal just before the interview, so he felt more at ease now.
Hartono said he will be trying out many things that he had never done before on stage, including dancing, rapping and performing an “interesting” instrument that he would not reveal.
Singaporean singer Kit Chan gave a shout-out to Hartono on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo.
“During a competition, the most important thing is to relax, just try your best.
“Use your bewitching voice and charm to defeat the other competitors!” Chan wrote in Chinese.
“Can I have a cup of iced Milo too?”
Read also: Iced Milo treat ahead of Nathan Hartono’s competition
The show, which is the rebranded version of The Voice Of China, continues to be one of the most-watched variety programmes on the mainland this season.
It premiered on July 15 on Zhejiang Television with a nationwide viewership of 2.24 per cent, the highest among all programmes during the same time slot on a Friday night.
It enjoys a market share of more than 30 per cent across China, nearly five times that of the No. 2 show, reported the Beijing Daily.
According to media reports, the show has also broken online records with more than 37 billion views for this season.
Despite a new name and a slightly different format due to a legal dispute over copyright, the show is still widely regarded as the fifth season of its previous incarnation.
It retained the four mentor-judges of pop star Jay Chou, singer-songwriter- host Harlem Yu, songbird Na Ying and rocker Wang Feng from season four of The Voice Of China.
In the show’s five-year history, Hartono is the first Singaporean to make it past the blind audition and all the way to the finals.
And he reached the finals with flying colours, having garnered the highest score of 93.65 among 12 contestants at the semi-finals aired last Friday.
He received 47 out of 51 votes from industry professionals and 333 votes from a pool of 350 live audience.
On Friday for the finals, he will face five other finalists namely Guangzhou’s Wang Chengrui and Malaysian singer Jeryl Lee from Na Ying’s team; Xinjiang’s Jiang Dunhao and Shenyang’s Xu Geyang from Wang Feng’s team; and Jilin’s Yang Meina from Yu’s team.
He is the only contestant from Chou’s team at the finals.
“I’m going into these finals without a competitive mindset,” said Hartono, adding that he did not think he would make it this far.
His personal favourites for the top spot are Xu and Jiang from Wang Feng’s team.
“They know how to pick the songs and interpret them nicely. I would personally vote for them,” Hartono quipped.
Xu, with her powerful rock vocals, has proven to be a crowd favourite, topping an online popularity poll with some 138 million votes, ahead of second place Jiang, who earned 90 million votes.
The winners of the show’s last four seasons were all from China, and three out of four – Liang Bo (2012), Zhang Bichen (2014) and Zhang Lei (2015) – were from Na Ying’s team.
Li Qi, the winner in 2013, came from Taiwanese singer’s A-Mei’s camp.
The Sing! China finals will be held at the Beijing National Stadium on Friday at 8pm.
This article was first published on Oct 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
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TURIN, Italy – Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi levelled from the spot eight minutes from time as Italy grabbed a lucky point in a 1-1 World Cup 2018 qualifying draw with dominant Spain on Thursday.
Italy’s 2-0 defeat of La Roja in the last 16 of the European Championships this year ended Spanish hopes of challenging for a record third consecutive title.
But only three months on, and in spite of failing to win, the former world champions appear to be back with a bang.
Italy were outclassed throughout a one-sided performance at Juventus Stadium, where Spain enjoyed 77 per cent possession in the opening half.
It took only 10 minutes of the second half for the Azzurri defence to buckle, ‘keeper Gianluigi Buffon rushing out to close down Vitolo when he ran on to Sergio Busquets’ through ball and completely missed it.
Vitolo slid the ball into an empty net on 55 minutes but spurned a great chance to put the match beyond reach soon after.
Spain were fully deserving of victory, but when Inter Milan striker Eder fell under slight contact by Sergio Ramos following a great low cross by second-half substitute Andrea Belotti, Italy were awarded a penalty.
De Rossi stepped up to send Manchester United ‘keeper David De Gea the wrong way.
Italy spurned a great chance to snatch the win in the end when Ciro Immobile, a late and effective substitute for the ineffective Graziano Pelle, flashed a drive across the goalmouth that found no takers.
The result means Italy protected their record of never losing a World Cup qualifier at home.
Only the group winners automatically qualify for the finals in Russia and with Albania, Israel, Macedonia and Liechtenstein included Italy are expected to battle Spain for top spot.
On this performance, the Azzurri will be up against it when they face Spain away next year.
Jelun Lopetegui’s side dominated in the opening half, midfield maestro Andres Iniesta testing Buffon with a shot after waltzing across the area to complete a one-two with Manchester City forward David Silva.
It took 11 minutes to come, but in that time Spain had enjoyed 90 per cent of the possession.
By the end of the half, Italy had enjoyed just 23 percewt possession and 122 passes to Spain’s 375.
Silva and Diego Costa were a constant threat in and around the Italy area, although Spain’s best chance of the opening half came from Gerard Pique.
The Barcelona centre-back was yards from goal when Dani Carvajal’s cross found Sergio Ramos at the back post, but after he nodded on for Pique the big defender headed straight at Buffon.
It took Italy until the 40th minute to elicit a positive roar from the crowd, Leonardo Bonucci’s interception on the edge of the area sending Eder on his way up the left flank before he was closed down.
Only 10 minutes after the restart, Vitolo ran on to Busquet’s superbly-weighted through ball to beat the onrushing Buffon.
It was a timely reminder that Buffon’s time as Italy’s number one, as he admitted Wednesday, is “running out”.
The introduction of Immobile made a huge difference for the hosts, the Lazio forward injecting a much-needed dose of pace and creativity into a wilting attack.
But Immobile slid in late when Eder offloaded to the right after being set up by Alessandro Florenzi.
Vitolo should have doubled Spain’s lead on 69 minutes when he was sent free but with three defenders in hot pursuit the 26-year-old fired inches wide of Buffon’s far post from just inside the area.
Italy claims for a penalty on 80 minutes were initially waved away by referee Felix Brych, but after consultation with his official, the German pointed to the spot.
De Rossi’s penalty did the trick, but after a poor performance has left coach Giam Pietro with more questions than answers.
BUSAN – The 21st edition of the Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s largest, kicked off Thursday amid a number of complications both unexpected and long-standing — outdoor facilities damaged by Wednesday’s Typhoon Chaba and local filmmakers’ ongoing boycott over BIFF’s artistic autonomy.
Sets at BIFF Village, the venue on Haeundae Beach which was to host many of the festival’s outdoor events, were almost completely destroyed when the typhoon swept through the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, with repairs estimated to take several days.
All events scheduled to take place at BIFF Village, including outdoor interviews and hand-printing ceremonies, have been moved to the Busan Cinema Center, BIFF’s central venue.
Festival organizers, breathing a sigh of relief that the typhoon narrowly missed BIFF’s opening day, are currently working to ensure all events will occur according to schedule, a BIFF official said.
All international guests have arrived safely and will be attending events as scheduled, the official added.
Photo Gallery
While the sun came out Thursday, forecasts have predicted light rain during the weekend and clouds next week.
Several areas in Busan, including Marine City adjacent to Haeundae, continue to be flooded with seawater.
BIFF will run until Oct. 15, screening 301 films from 69 countries on 34 screens at five theatres throughout the city.
The opening film is Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu’s “A Quiet Dream,” a humorous story shot in black and white about a woman who runs a bar and takes care of her paralysed father while three men vie for her affection.
It is the first Korean film to open BIFF in five years.
“The opening films are traditionally light-hearted ones that can communicate with the audience,” director Zhang said after the film’s press screening on Thursday at a media event moderated by BIFF executive director Kang Soo-youn.
“This is a film about people leaning on each other in a normal neighborhood.”
Lingering feud
The aftermath of BIFF’s struggle for autonomy, sparked in 2014 when it screened a controversial documentary against the city government’s wishes, continues to cast a pall over this year’s event.
While BIFF managed to gain significant independence from the Busan Metropolitan Government by amending its bylaws — it now has the authority to appoint its chairman — four major filmmakers’ associations continued their boycott of the festival, first declared in April.
The Korean Film Directors Association, one of the groups boycotting the festival, said, “The amendments are not enough to ensure the festival’s artistic freedom.”
“The number of Korean filmmakers attending this year is much lower compared to previous years,” said a film industry official who asked to remain anonymous.
Directors Park Chan-wook (“The Handmaiden”) and Bong Joon-ho (“Snowpiercer”), the head of the Korean Film Directors Association, will only be participating in unofficial events.
Box office hits “Train to Busan,” directed by Yeon Sang-ho and “Tunnel,” directed by Kim Sung-hoon, refused to screen at the festival.
Some film industry personnel are planning to stage a protest on the red carpet, according to reports, calling for Busan’s Mayor Suh Byung-soo to apologise for “pushing out” BIFF’s former executive director Lee Yong-kwan, who awaits sentencing for embezzling festival funds.
The filmmakers argue the probe is political backlash for the controversial 2014 documentary screening.
BIFF’s new Chairman Kim Dong-ho, however, announced in a press conference last month that the amendments “set in stone that the selection and invitation of works will be the exclusive rights of the festival’s executive director and programmers,” positing that “these amendments guarantee the festival’s independence and freedom of expression almost 100 per cent.”
Kim added that further discussions will take place on the amendments if needed.
The new anti-graft law, which went into effect last week and strictly prohibits buying meals over 30,000 won ($27) for civil servants, journalists and educators, is also impacting the festival.
Film distribution company Showbox, for example, cancelled an event it had planned to host with producers and press to promote comedy flick “Luck-Key,” set to open next week.
Three other major distributors — CJ Entertainment, Next Entertainment World and Lotte Entertainment — will also forgo events announcing upcoming film projects to reporters.
Meanwhile, the city of Busan is hosting the Busan One Asia Festival, showcasing hallyu trends from K-pop to K-beauty and K-food, during the same period, prompting civil groups to question the intention of the event.
What to see
All the controversies and troubles that plague BIFF notwithstanding, the festival will feature a significant array of films and filmmakers, albeit on a considerably smaller scale compared to past years.
American director Ben Younger of “Bleed for This” and actors Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart who star in the biographical boxing film will visit BIFF on Oct. 12.
Other visiting actors include Japan’s Joe Odagiri (“Over the Fence”) and France’s Deborah Francoise (“The Poisoning Angel”).
Prominent filmmakers such as Mali’s Souleymane Cisse, whose 1978 coming-of-age film “Yellen” won the Jury Prize at Cannes will be serving as jury members.
Korean actors Lee Byung-hyun and Son Ye-jin will hold open interviews on the afternoon of Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Kim Ki-duk’s “The Net” and Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” will be screened in the Korean Panorama category.
Among the international works to be shown at BIFF is Ken Loach’s “I, Daniel Blake,” which nabbed the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Eleven films from 10 countries, including Indian director Padmakumar Narsimhamurthy’s “A Billion Color Story” and Korean director Lee Dong-eun’s “In Between Seasons” will be competing in BIFF’s signature New Currents category, which celebrates up-and-coming Asian directors.
“The Dark Wind” by Iraqi director Hussein Hassan, depicting the friction between conventional religious virtues and an innocent romance, making its international premiere at BIFF, will close the festival on Oct. 15.
By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)
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