In a rare accident, two anchored cargo ships collided in Singapore waters, sending 10 containers toppling from one ship to another.

Another container fell into the sea in the crash on Friday.

The accident involving cargo ship Hanjin New York added to the woes of collapsed South Korean maritime company Hanjin Shipping.

But no oil pollution or injuries were reported.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) told The New Paper: “The Hanjin New York dragged anchor and contacted the bow of a Liberia-registered container ship, MSC Claudia.

“Ten 40-foot empty containers fell from Hanjin New York onto MSC Claudia’s bow and one 40-foot empty container fell into the sea.”

TNP understands that there were strong currents when the collision occurred.

It is believed to be the first case of an anchor drag collision off Singapore. TNP understands that the MPA has not come across previous anchor drag accidents.

The two cargo container vessels were anchored at Eastern Bunkering “A” near the Singapore Anchorage off Changi Naval Base when the accident happened at about 6pm.

The container that fell into the sea has been retrieved and arrangements are being made to remove the 10 containers from MSC Claudia.

The MPA spokesman said that both vessels sustained minor indentations and were later safely re-anchored.

MPA is investigating the incident.

Mr Eugene Cheng, 29, a lawyer specialising in shipping litigation from Gurbani and Co LLC, said: “One of the most common reasons why vessels collide is because of the failure of the crew to maintain a proper lookout.”

Hanjin Shipping, the seventh-largest shipping carrier in the world, first made news in late August when creditors Rickmers sued the company for owing some $7.3 billion.

This led to an arrest of Hanjin’s vessels, leaving more than 80 Hanjin vessels and crew onboard stranded around the globe.

INTERIM STAY ORDER

One such vessel, the Hanjin Rome, was in Singapore waters when it was arrested at 9.20pm on Aug 29 and the cargo was stuck aboard along with 24 crew members – 11 South Koreans and 13 Indonesians.

TNP reported on Oct 1 that five crew members had been repatriated on Sept 27 including the vessel’s former captain Moon Kwon Do, but the Hanjin Rome is still stuck in Singapore waters.

An interim stay order granted by the Singapore Supreme Court on Sept 16 meant that Hanjin’s vessels were allowed to berth in Singapore’s ports to offload cargo.

Hanjin’s vessels from the region have since made a beeline for the port of Singapore.

Hanjin Shipping’s website reported that at least seven Hanjin vessels have berthed at the Tanjong Pagar Terminal since the collision happened on Friday, including the Hanjin New York.

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Hanjin’s captain allowed to ship

Source:

The New Paper

Reuters

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The MPA said yesterday that there are three Hanjin vessels in Singapore.

At least two other vessels, Hanjin Netherlands and Hanjin China, are expected to berth in the next three days.

This article was first published on October 05, 2016.
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Three days after he moved into a flat, a driver lifted the blanket of his housemate who was sleeping and took a photo of her topless.

Teng Ching Yuan, 31, was caught red-handed when he tried to do it again three days later. Yesterday, he was jailed for 12 weeks after pleading guilty to five charges: two of insulting a woman’s modesty, and one each of criminal trespass, use of criminal force and possession of obscene films.

A District Court heard that Teng, a Malaysian, rented a room in a Pasir Ris flat. He stayed there with the unit’s owners, a married couple, and a 30-year-old female tenant. The latter had a habit of sleeping unclothed and would usually lock her room door, the court heard.

On April 15, just one week after Teng moved in, the female tenant was awakened at about 5am when she felt someone lifting her blanket slowly about three times. Her door was shut but not locked and the lights were off. She saw Teng standing shirtless beside her.

She cried out, but Teng put his hand over her mouth. She struggled and tried to get her phone to call the police, but Teng told her not to do so. When she shouted for help, he covered her mouth with his hand again.

The flat’s owners were woken up by her shouting and went to her room. Teng was arrested that day.

A photo of the victim, topless and asleep, taken on April 12, was found in his phone. There were also 70 obscene films in it.

The maximum penalty for criminal trespass and use of criminal force is three months’ jail and a fine of $1,500; for insulting the modesty of a woman, one year’s jail and a fine; and for possession of obscene films, a fine and six months’ jail.

This article was first published on Oct 05, 2016.
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For more than three years, a man who was remanded in custody for killing his wife of 21 years received no psychiatric treatment even though he was diagnosed to be suffering from a delusional disorder of the jealous subtype.

This lack of treatment was “unsatisfactory”, observed Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon yesterday, as a three-judge appeal court cut the jail term imposed on Rosdi Joenet, 51, from nine to 7½ years.

“It seems unfair… and mistaken to suggest that the appellant’s prison term should be extended to enable treatment to be carried out in prison, when this situation would not have arisen if treatment had been promptly provided.”

The court allowed Rosdi’s appeal for a lighter sentence given that the killing was a one-off incident which was out of character, that he had a low risk of re-offending and that his family, including his wife’s mother and sister, wished to have him back.

In 2012, Rosdi, a driver, began having delusions that his wife was unfaithful.

He suspected that she was seeing a man who drove a BMW. He tried to get his daughter to spy on her and constantly checked with his wife’s co-workers on her whereabouts.

She denied having an affair.

On the morning of Nov 17, 2012, he woke her up to talk about their problems but his wife chased him out of the room. Rosdi returned with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed her.

He was sentenced to nine years’ jail for culpable homicide in March. The judge took into account as a sentencing factor that he was still not well as he had yet to undergo any treatment in prison for his mental illness and thus needed a longer period in jail to be treated.

But yesterday, Rosdi’s lawyer, Mr Abraham Vergis, argued that it was “unfair and prejudicial” to hold this against his client, when it was something beyond his control.

When the Chief Justice asked why Rosdi was not treated, Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Weng said the prosecution was trying to find out what happened between the prison authorities and Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist Bharat Saluja, who has since left Singapore.

The Chief Justice noted that serious offences committed by mentally disordered persons “can pull the court in different directions”.

On the one hand is the focus on rehabilitation and, on the other, the protection of the public. Rosdi fell into the former category, based on four IMH reports that the risk of reoffending was low, he said.

“The offence here was undoubtedly an outrage as a husband killed his wife with a knife,” he said.

“But the significance of retribution may be attenuated where, as here, those closest to the homicide, namely the children, and the blood relatives of the victim, including her mother and sister, have stated that they seek a reduction of the appellant’s sentence because they have forgiven him.”

This article was first published on Oct 05, 2016.
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The Singaporean who died after falling some 150m while descending Sabah’s Mount Kinabalu last Saturday yearned to reach the summit.

Mr Woon Tai Kiang, 36, had started his climb at around 7am on Saturday and reached the summit around 2.40pm the same day, said close friend Amy Khor, a finance manager in her 40s. He probably got to the accident area on his way down at about 3pm to 4pm, she said.

His body was found around 7.30am on Sunday in a ravine near Sayat-Sayat, the last checkpoint about 3,700m above sea level before the summit. He was supposed to return to Singapore that day.

“In a way, I’m happy that he did what he liked and fulfilled his wish,” said Ms Khor, who flew to Sabah to identify his body upon learning of his mishap. She was later joined by his elder brother, Mr Desmond Woon, 41.

“When he sets his mind to do something, he will do it,” she said of her friend, a former executive at Singapore National Employers Federation. He had been training alone for the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon on Oct 16 when he fell.

She learnt from other hikers that it had started to drizzle that day and the path could have been slippery.

“Many experienced climbers and hikers told me that it could have been the weather. It’s very foggy in the afternoon,” said Ms Khor. Usually, climbers are encouraged to descend from the summit by 11am.

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Singaporean man falls to death on Mount Kinabalu

Source:

The Star/ANN

China Press

Lianhe Wanbao

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“Sayat-Sayat is pretty steep. He could have… tripped and fallen. But nobody was with him.”

Ranau police chief Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah told The Straits Times that while the official report is not out, Mr Woon suffered serious injuries to his head. He had fractures to his arms and legs as well.

Police added that Mr Woon could have moved too quickly when making a turn, leading to his fall.

But Mr Woon had been cheerful on the climb and did not appear to be suffering from health conditions, Ms Khor learnt.

A serious runner, he had encouraged her to join ultramarathons. In August, they completed a 32km race in Switzerland.

“His pace was definitely faster than mine, but he would always be there waiting for me at the finish line,” she said.

Mr Woon will be cremated tomorrow. Tonight, his friends from the ultra-running community will pay their respects to him at his wake in Bedok North, in memorial T-shirts, which were sold among them. Proceeds will go towards assisting his family.

This article was first published on Oct 05, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Please leave the sensitive areas in Singapore’s nature reserves alone, the authorities here have asked of the developers of the popular Pokemon Go mobile game.

The National Parks Board (NParks) has asked that Pokestops – the game’s virtual pitstops found in real-world locations – be removed from off-limit areas of three nature reserves here.

“This is to avoid situations of Pokemon Go players walking off trails while playing the game, inadvertently trampling the vegetation, disturbing wildlife and causing damage to the environment, and endangering themselves,” said Wong Tuan Wah, NParks’ group director for conservation.

Pokemon Go: A beginner’s guide

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The New Paper

The affected Pokestops are located within the sensitive forest and wetland habitats of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Central Catchment Nature Reserve and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

They are located in off-limit areas where people should not be venturing into in the first place. Under the Parks and Trees Act, it is an offence to enter any part of a nature reserve except through designated trails.

Pokemon Go fever

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Reuters, AFP

NParks had appealed to Niantic, the developer of the game, to have the Pokestops removed in August when the game was launched here.

But a check by The Straits Times yesterday showed they were still there.

Players of the game visit the Pokestops in Singapore’s nature reserves, usually located at places of interest or landmarks, to obtain items such as Pokeballs which can be used to catch virtual monsters called Pokemon.

A Niantic spokesman said: “We cannot confirm the status of removal requests for specific Pokestop and gym locations in Pokemon Go, but are moving quickly to review and address all such requests.”

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Shopback, Twitter, Reddit, imgur

Pokemon Go players interviewed said it was a good idea to remove the Pokestops from nature reserves.

Customer service officer Ryan Logarta, 39, said: “They shouldn’t be in protected areas. Pokemon can be caught in public areas anyway.”

T.S. Teo, 54, said the move could help protect individuals too. “There are no designated trails in there and people could get lost.”

audreyt@sph.com.sg

Read More:

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Pokemon Go buzz won’t last more than half a year: Survey

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