These foreign workers leave their homeland with hope, but tragically, return in a coffin.

Or sometimes, as ashes in an urn.

These are the worst cases because when the remains are cremated, it usually means the bodies have been badly mutilated, according to Mr Khanthan Vithilingam, 27.

“Those are the saddest cases, when the family can’t even get the body back to grieve,” said the funeral director of Singapore Indian Casket Services.

This year alone, there have been 48 deaths from workplace accidents.

For many, that number is just another statistic, but Mr Khanthan is all too aware that each one is a sad tale of shattered hopes and dreams.

When a foreign worker dies in Singapore, the employer has the responsibility of sending his or her body back, bearing the cost.

They engage a casket service like that of Mr Khanthan’s, which prepares the documentation and the body, and sends the body to the family for a fee of about $5,000.

He told The New Paper that such cases are heartrending, even for someone like him who deals with death on a daily basis.

“These people come here to sacrifice their lives for the well-being of their families… Then (they) die far away from their loved ones.”

Mr Khanthan said he is able to send the bodies back to families in most parts of South-east Asia as he has partnered with funeral directors in several other countries.

In Chennai, India, he works with funeral director S. Ravikumar, 42, who has been in the business for 16 years.

Mr Ravikumar said that each time he delivers the body of a worker who has died overseas, “it is heartbreaking”.

The tragedy, he said, is that many of the fatalities he has handled are men in their prime who were working for their children, wives and parents.

“In Indian society, parents wish to have their sons perform their last rites for them. But to have the tables turned, to see their own son’s body, they just break down,” he explained.

He added that there were times when he also shed tears.

Mr Ravikumar said the loss for these families is “devastating”.

“The family members not only lose their source of income, but a part of themselves,” he said.

Mr Khanthan handles about five cases of foreign worker deaths here each month.

He said the majority of these deaths are due to causes such as ill health.

He estimated that about five cases he sees each year are deaths from workplace accidents.

ON THE RISE

“It seems like the deaths from workplace accidents are on the rise,” he said.

And the numbers show that they are.

The number of workplace deaths in the first half of this year has spiked, and the authorities have implemented stiffer penalties for safety breaches. (See report, right.)

But what really gets Mr Khanthan worked up is when the deceased are not treated with respect.

He explained: “You want to get them back to their families as soon as possible. But some employers call different casket services from morning till evening, then try to haggle for a lower price.”

He recounted how one company contacted him at 10am, asking for a price quotation.

The same company then called back at 6pm, saying another casket service had quoted it a better price, and asked if Mr Khanthan could lower his.

“I was very angry, as well as saddened that arrangements had not yet been made. I told them, this is someone who has already passed on, we have to make the arrangements immediately,” he said.

“Silly negotiations like that cause delays that could result in flights being missed and the repatriation being delayed for days.”

Mr Khanthan said that when a worker dies, his company will try to collect the body from the mortuary as soon as possible.

“It takes about 10 hours to embalm, dress and seal the body in a coffin.”

The sealing is certified by the casket service, and the certificate, as well as the deceased’s passport and death certificate, is brought to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

A permit to export the body is then issued by the NEA, and this permit is brought to an embassy or consulate along with all the other documents.

It is only after the embassy or consulate issues a letter of clearance that the casket service can book a flight to take the body home. All this paperwork can take up to 3½ hours.

Because of this tedious process, Mr Khanthan now tells companies that try to haggle with him that he will make the arrangements and accept whatever amount they want to pay him.

“No matter who you are, or what kind of life you’ve lived, everyone deserves a dignified funeral,” he said.

You want to get them back to their families as soon as possible. But some employers call different casket services… then try to haggle for a lower price.

3 workplace deaths in August

Three workers have died here just this month alone.

On Aug 8, a construction worker at a worksite in Tuas was killed by a chain that had snapped.

On Aug 14, a worker who was assisting with lifting operations on a vessel docked at Jurong Port Road was killed after a bundle of steel bars swung and slammed into him.

The New Paper understands that about 12 hours later, on the morning of Aug 15, another worker was found dead in an industrial heated food mixer that was still running. The location of the last incident is not known.

There have been at least 48 deaths from workplace accidents this year.

The deaths happened despite stiffer penalties being implemented in May.

Minister of State for Manpower Sam Tan had announced then that stop-work orders were to last at least three weeks, up from two previously.

Companies given a stop-work order or found with a workplace fatality also risk having their work pass privileges temporarily restricted.

Last month, The Straits Times quoted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as saying that there were “far too many” workplace accidents and deaths.

Mr Lee had said: “Every life lost is too many. And when we push for higher productivity, it cannot be at the expense of safety.”

According to a report by the Ministry of Manpower’s Occupational Safety and Health Division, there were 66 deaths from workplace accidents in 2015, up from 60 in 2014.

It was also previously reported that 42 people died in workplace accidents in the first half of this year, up from 29 during the same period last year.

-davidsun@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on August 20, 2016.
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Gently, quietly and with an aching heart, his wife tells him: You are going to be a dad again.

His response: Silence.

The only sounds are those of the nurses going about their rounds, and patients talking to their loved ones.

Whether Mr Lee Kar Choon (above), 23, heard her is something his wife still does not know as he has been unconscious for the past month.

Mr Lee, a Malaysian who works as a production supervisor in Woodlands, fell into a coma after his motorcycle was hit by a falling tree in Admiralty Road West on July 20.

He suffered multiple skull and facial fractures and was in the intensive care unit of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for 14 days.

He was moved to a normal ward only about two weeks ago

Mr Lee and his wife, Madam Chai You Yuet, also 23, have been trying for a second child, who would be a companion for their two-year-old daughter, Katherine.

Two weeks ago, Madam Chai found out she was pregnant.

HARD TO BE HAPPY

The housewife said in Mandarin: “It is supposed to be happy news, but it is hard to be happy considering his condition. We have been discussing a second child for a while. He said it doesn’t matter if it is a boy or girl, he just wanted our daughter to have a playmate.”

She added softly: “I’ve been feeling unwell, but I thought it was just fatigue from taking care of him in the hospital.

“I told him as soon as I knew about this new life and how he has to be strong and wake up soon.”

Mr Lee’s accident was first reported in The New Paper last month.

His mother, Madam Yeoh Ooi Lai, 41, a housewife who lives in Ipoh, rushed to Singapore after finding out about it.

Breaking down in tears, she said in Cantonese: “Since his accident, I have been scared so many times.

“My heart, hands and legs were trembling when I hurried to the hospital. Luckily, he survived. But his life is still in danger, and he might become paralysed.”

She has since prayed to countless gods and has decided to trust in her son.

“I’ve been talking to him every day, telling him that he cannot leave his wife and daughter behind. It is even more important now that he wakes up soon, especially since he is going to have a new child.”

The family is also concerned about the medical bill, which has come up to more than $84,000.

Mr Lee’s company will cover $40,000 and the family has been trying to raise funds, but without much success, said Madam Chai.

It is still unclear if they will get any compensation in Singapore.

The National Parks Board and the Singapore Land Authority said the tree is under their purview, and they are investigating the matter.

MOVE HIM TO IPOH

To save on medical fees, his family members are planning to move him to a hospital in Ipoh. However, they are unsure if he is ready to take an eight-hour ambulance ride.

The couple, who are Ipoh natives, currently rent a house in Johor Baru, and Mr Lee used to make a three-hour daily trip to work.

Mr Lee, who started with odd jobs when he was 17, had been working in Singapore for the past four years. He earned about $1,500 a month.

Madam Chai said her greatest wish is for her husband to regain consciousness.

Their daughter, who is at the hospital every day, is too young to understand her dad’s situation, said Madam Chai.

“She will tell us to be quiet because her dad is sleeping,” she said.

“I just want him to wake up soon. It doesn’t matter if he becomes half paralysed or blind. He can always learn everything again slowly.”

Who is responsible?

If a tree is under the National Parks Board’s (NParks) care and not maintained properly, it may be liable when a branch hits a vehicle or property.

Otherwise, it would be considered an act of God – defined as events caused by natural forces whose effects cannot possibly be prevented by the exercise of reasonable care and foresight.

This means that NParks would not be held responsible.

Checks on fallen branches and trees showed that incidences of fallen branches were due mainly to adverse weather conditions rather than poor health or tree rot, according to the NParks’ website.

As part of NParks’ tree management programme, inspections are carried out along major roads or areas with high human activity at least once every 12 months.

To ensure that trees can better withstand strong winds, NParks will carry out crown reduction pruning.

Since 2003, NParks has been replacing storm-vulnerable trees, such as the Albizia trees, which are known to suffer from pest and disease problems such as root rot.

About the accident

Mr Lee Kar Choon was riding his motorcycle on his way to work at a food manufacturing factory in Woodlands Loop on July 20 when he was hit by a falling tree branch.

The Malaysian, who lived in Johor Baru, had just cleared the Woodlands Checkpoint and was five minutes from his workplace.

Police said they received a call for assistance at about 6.40am and found Mr Lee unconscious on the road.

He was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in a Singapore Civil Defence Force ambulance.

His brother-in-law, Mr Jonathan Poh, 27, told The Straits Times that it had been raining heavily during the mishap.

Mr Poh understands that Mr Lee was found with a tree “right next to his head” while his motorcycle lay some distance away.

This article was first published on August 20, 2016.
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At Parkway Dental Practice, some 2,016 Pioneer Generation (PG) card holders have walked out of the Scotts Road clinic without paying a single cent.

Senior practice manager Valencia Khoo. (Photo: The New Paper)

Ms Valencia Khoo, 34, senior practice manager of Parkway Dental, told The New Paper: “Profit is not as important to us as giving back to society. A lot of older folks want to take care of their teeth but don’t have the means. We want to help them.

“Money is not the issue, oral health is.”

The private dental practice at Pacific Plaza has been giving out subsidised treatment to pioneers since November 2013.

While the Government subsidises 30 to 50 per cent of the fee, the bill can still be a struggle for low-income families or the elderly to foot.

At Parkway Dental Practice, seniors only have to flash their PG or blue Community Health Assist Scheme card to get free treatment.

About 59 patients benefit from this scheme each month. The top three treatments they require are dentures, fillings and cleaning.

This project is the brainchild of Ms Khoo and dental surgeon Michele Chia, 28.

They first started out giving talks at voluntary welfare organisations such as Yong-en Care Centre. In fact, Madam Weena Wong, 75, a retiree, learnt about the free dental treatment at a talk there.

She said in Mandarin: “I thought it was strange: How can a clinic in the Orchard area afford to give out free dental treatment?”

Madam Wong, who previously did not visit the dentist regularly due to the prohibitive cost, said she has been going for dental check-ups and fillings.

She said: “I decided to give it a try since it is free. It turned out to be pleasant experience.”

FROM $300 TO FREE

She has seen the dentist six times over two years and requires about 10 fillings per visit.

Each filling at Parkway Dental Practice costs between $90 and $180, and the PG scheme subsidises up to $53 per filling.

“A trip to the dentist usually sets me back by $300 to $400, which is very expensive. Now that everything is paid for, I have more money for groceries and to buy things for my grandchildren.

“The dentists here do a good job and are reassuring. I am no longer scared as I know that it won’t be very painful,” she added.

Miss Chia, the dentist in charge of Madam Wong, said: “I am more than pleased to do this for the elderly. They become much more confident, more willing to smile and go out. We feel proud and happy for them.”

-constgoh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on August 20, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – Three students from Lasalle College of the Arts came in tops at this year’s Crowbar Challenge, beating 18 other teams to come up with the best marketing campaign for news and lifestyle website AsiaOne.

Amos Chew, Larries Ng and Tiffany Tan, took home $500 in vouchers and a large bar of chocolate shaped as a crowbar on Friday night at the Crowbar Awards, which was held at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Four students from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts came in second, while five students from Temasek Polytechnic came in third for the 24-hour Crowbar Challenge.

The challenge is a component of the annual Crowbar Awards, where participants rush against the clock to deliver the best proposal to a real-world client.

A 24-hour deadline may seem crazy to some, but to the trio – who are currently pursuing a degree in design communication and majoring in advertising – it was an opportunity to show the judges their creativity.

Chew even told AsiaOne that they didn’t sleep during the challenge, which was held from July 21 to 22.  

“We just wanted to give our best, so we gave it our all,” said Chew, 25.

In fact, all three students spent the night in the AsiaOne office, working hard the whole night and morning to come up with the perfect pitch and proposal.

So what was the big idea that had the judges sold? Their concept “Newsbits”, which aims to provide bite-sized news to readers across multiple channels.

Ms Karen Lim, acting editor at AsiaOne said their proposal was “on point”.

“The winning team had a strong concept right from the start. We were sold almost immediately. It wasn’t just creative, it also addressed our brief most accurately,” said Ms Lim.

Only seven teams were shortlisted to present their campaign proposals to a panel of judges from Singapore Press Holdings Digital, as well as representatives from advertising and creative firms DDB, Publicis Singapore, and Republic Studios.

Creative director from Publicis Singapore Adrian Yeap told AsiaOne that “it was very clear” when it came to choosing the winner.

He explained that he picked the winning work because it was “brave”.

“Brave enough to think big and in a way that will hopefully inspire others.

“On top of that, it demonstrated a strong understanding of human behaviour which is at the core of all the strongest ideas,” said the 34-year-old.

When asked how they found the challenge, 24-year-old Ng said: “In the advertising industry, you can never know what the client might want, so it was actually tough for us.”

a1admin@sph.com.sg

The consensus is clear: Children taken for police questioning should be accompanied by an adult.

But social workers, parents and lawyers are divided on who this person should be – the parent, a school counsellor or a social worker.

The debate comes on the heels of State Coroner Marvin Bay’s suggestion on Thursday that school counsellors could go with students to police stations when the latter are picked up from school, as a “reassuring presence”.

He was delivering his findings for an inquiry into 14-year-old Benjamin Lim’s death. The teen had jumped to his death on Jan 26, hours after he was taken alone to Ang Mo Kio Police Division for questioning over an alleged molestation.

Ms Petrine Lim, principal social worker at Fei Yue Family Service Centre, said parents should accompany their children. “I think it’s definitely more reassuring and there will be less anxiety for the child to have a familiar face to look for.”

Madam Jileen Tan, 53, who has a 16-year-old son, agreed. “If the parents cannot go, somebody from the family should be around to support the child. Benjamin’s mother went to the school and could not find her child – if it were me, I’d have lost it,” she said.

Read also: Benjamin Lim case: What’s true, what’s false

But lawyers caution that parents can be overprotective and inadvertently disrupt police investigations.

Criminal lawyer Sunil Sudheesan said: “I don’t think it should be the parents; I think it should be independent people without vested interests in the case. Thankfully, there’s already a system we can refer to.” He was referring to the Appropriate Adult Scheme, launched in March last year, where a trained volunteer accompanies a person with intellectual or mental disabilities during police interviews.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The New Paper, Shin Min Daily News

Under this scheme, administered by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore, when the police pick up a suspect with a mental or intellectual condition, they call on a pool of 200 volunteers trained in both basic police procedures and communicating with the disabled.

Within 1 1/2 hours, a volunteer will arrive and sit in for the interview, ensuring that both sides do not misunderstand each other.

Experts suggest the scheme be adapted for minors, with the appropriate adult being a school counsellor or social worker.

As counsellors are trained, they can remain objective, said Mr Alfred Tan, chief executive of the Singapore Children’s Society.

They could also help explain the investigation process, giving the child a realistic perspective of the consequences. “We cannot assume every parent knows what are the appropriate steps to take or the right things to say to the child,” he said.

Mr Sudheesan said the adult could sit in and take notes, while the police videotape the interview: “Then there is no way you can accuse the police of wrongdoing.”

But former police officer Lim Ah Soon, 70, thought having an adult – no matter who – sit in at an interview could interfere with fact-finding. He would rather the person be outside the interview room. He said some suspects could get more daring with someone else present.

In his report, Coroner Bay said counsellors should not participate directly in the interview but can remain close by, such as along the corridors of the workstations.

They can also be a “resource” person that the child, family and police can tap and who can give real-time information on where the child is during the process.

The police and the Ministry of Education have said they will consider the coroner’s suggestions in their ongoing review of the protocol.

Benjamin’s case also inspired the Law Society to set up a sub-committee in February to study the matter. The Straits Times understands the 10-man sub-committee met on Thursday. “The committee is currently working on the recommendations which will be duly forwarded to the authorities,” said a Law Society spokesman.

This article was first published on Aug 20, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Plates of chye tow kueh (carrot cake) have been flying off the pans at Bee Bee Carrot Cake for the past two days after the stall became famous instantly when Joseph Schooling dropped by during his victory parade on Thursday morning (Aug 18).

Live streaming on news sites of the champion Olympic swimmer wolfing down his favourite black carrot cake in his neighbourhood has placed the stall and the lesser-known Marine Terrace Market and Hawker Centre in the limelight.

It was sold out in about three hours yesterday after foodies flocked to the stall, reported The Straits Times.

Carrot cakes in 2 estates: Which is better?

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Chen Jingwen

The frenzy repeated this morning (Aug 20) when AsiaOne went down to check it out. The queue starting to form even before 7am.

Customers, who had placed their orders with stallholder Quek Bee Gek had to wait for as long as an hour to get their food. Her cousin, Madam Teo Kwee Lang, and an assistant were furiously cooking at two big griddles.

Upset with the much longer wait now, some regulars decided to go for something else for breakfast.

Said one woman in her 50s: “I give up. Usually, the waiting time could be 10, 20 or 40 minutes. But one hour is too long for me. So I have decided to eat nasi lemak instead.”

Another regular decided to join the queue at the other carrot cake stall called Shun Chang at the same market.

Said the housewife in her 60s: “I know it’s not great but I want to eat carrot cake today. I will take it back and fry it again with more ingredients like eggs.”

Pleas by impatient customers who had milled around Bee Bee stall drove Madam Quek up the wall although she tried to maintain her cool at most times. Slapping her head with both hands at one point, the near-helpless woman pleaded with them to wait for their turn.

“You have to wait two hours,” she barked at about 9am.

Was Bee Bee Carrot Cake worth the wait?

No, it wasn’t. Whether it was the black or white version which I waited almost an hour for, they pale in comparison to other better ones that I’ve tasted.

It was a carbo feast – chunky, spongy but tasty enough for passing marks – probably good enough for a big lug of a guy like Schooling who’s familiar with it since he was a kid.

While I was there, I tried the carrot cake at Shun Chang too. Sadly, it was grainy and over-fried.

So to fastidious eaters who would travel farther afield than neighbourhood Pokemon hunters to satisfy their tummies, the Marine Terrace carrot cakes just don’t cut it.

Two carrot cake masters at Toa Payoh Lorong 1:

Schooling fans might want to know that the food centre above the market at Block 127 in Toa Payoh Lorong 1 houses two very good carrot cake stalls. Prices are lower here, starting from $2 compared to $2.50 at Marine Terrace.

Chey Sua Carrot Cake

Run by Shirley Tay, the stall has the honour of the only carrot cake in Singapore to garner a Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. She whips up only the white version in her own style to the hilt that I think she deserves a one Michelin star.

The soft home-made carrot cake is fried to an aromatic crisp with eggs on one side. Bold flavourings like her chilli sauce and preserved radish add to the overall taste sensation.

My wait of close to an hour was worth it, this time.

26 Carrot Cake

Named after its stall number, the family-run stall headed by a Mr Ng, who has been in the business for 40 years since the former food centre was located at street level.

The 69-year-old man inherited the art of making and frying carrot cake from his father, who was selling the dish on a pushcart when Toa Payoh was a sprawling village before it became a modern housing estate.

I bought only the black version to try so that I could compare it with Bee Bee’s.

The verdict? Ng’s carrot cake beats it hands down. Robust flavours like the burnt caramelised sweet sauce coating every small cube induced helping after helping.

Michelin inspectors, how about a Bib Gourmand for this one?

chenj@sph.com.sg

Crowds gather to catch glimpse of Joseph Schooling on victory parade

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

AsiaOne