The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been running highly efficient and well-organised weapons factories in the Middle-East.

But would they be able to get rockets to their followers in Batam, Indonesia?

That’s one big question that came up yesterday after six men who are believed to be linked to ISIS were arrested by the Indonesian authorities for plotting to launch a rocket attack from Batam on targets in Singapore’s Marina Bay area.

The authorities in both countries have not given any clues as to the type of rocket the suspects were planning to use, and the Indonesian police said they have not managed to recover any weapons so far.

Nonetheless, the plot has raised concerns about the possibility of an attack on Singapore targets from a distance.

Singapore and Batam are less than 30km apart at the nearest point.

An investigation published by UK-based Conflict Armament Research this year said that ISIS has produced thousands of rockets and bombs in Fallujah, Iraq.

It is not known if the suspects have had any exposure to rocket-making, but they are from a terror cell called KGR@Katibah.

All of them worked at a factory except for one suspect, who is reportedly a bank executive.

If the suspects were constructing a homemade rocket, its accuracy would not be high, said Mr Collin Koh, a research fellow at the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Mr Koh told The New Paper: “However, those manufactured by military factories are more reliable, and there are such examples (of rockets) which can be fired in single shots.

“Otherwise, those (rockets) from multi-barrel tubes require more military training to operate.”

OTHER CASES

In the Gaza Strip conflict in the early 2000s, homemade rockets such as the fold-up Qassam-2 missile, which can be concealed and assembled within minutes, were fatal threats.

Developed by radical group Hamas, they have a limited range of about 8km and a payload of 9kg of TNT, reported Time in 2002.

Other short-range rockets capable of reaching Singapore from Indonesia would include the Grad (range 20km) and WS-1E (range 45km), reported Today.

These missiles, however, are not homemade and are manufactured in Iran and China respectively, meaning they would be more difficult to obtain for a small cell of budding terrorists.

This article was first published on August 6, 2016.
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The opening of two mega childcare centres in areas with high demand for the service has been delayed.

Initially slated to open by the third quarter of this year, the centres in Jurong West and Sengkang West run by NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool (MFS) are now due to open by the first quarter of next year.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times following a Lianhe Zaobao report, an MFS spokesman said construction work on the Jurong and Sengkang sites started last September and October respectively.

But certain “unforeseen site constraints and technical complexities” emerged.

At the Jurong site, the need to re-route an originally planned sanitary line to a much longer route extended the time taken for construction work “considerably”, while the Sengkang site faced some challenges due to soil conditions.

MFS said parents who have expressed interest in the centres have been informed of the delay.

The Sengkang centre has a capacity of about 500, while the Jurong centre can take about 300 children.

A Housing Board void deck centre usually admits about 100 children.

An Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children centre run by Awwa, formerly known as the Asian Women’s Welfare Association, will be co-located with the Sengkang childcare centre.

The delay has upset parents like Ms Mariana Idris, 32.

The housewife had been looking forward to placing her two daughters in the same centre.

“I was initially interested because of the intervention centre.

“It’s very hard to find childcare in my area because there are many young couples with young children,” said Ms Mariana.

Her elder daughter, five, is autistic and goes to Awwa’s Lorong Napiri centre, while her three-year- old attends a playgroup.

There are five mega childcare centres run by anchor operators.

Plans for these were announced by the Government last year in order to meet demand, and it was expected that the centres would add about 2,000 spots to the pool of childcare places.

These operators, which include EtonHouse International and PAP Community Foundation, get government grants and priority in securing sites in HDB estates.

But they cannot charge more than $720 a month for full-day childcare, among other conditions.

Two of these centres in Punggol and Yishun have already started operations, with another centre in Woodlands to open by the year end.

An Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) spokesman said childcare capacity has grown by more than 30,000 over the past three years.

This exceeds the earlier target of 20,000 more places between 2013 and 2017 that had been set by the Government, he added.

“ECDA understands the inconvenience faced by parents arising from the delay, and will continue to work closely with our anchor operators to expedite the completion and opening of the centres,” he said.

This article was first published on August 6, 2016.
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A technician who stole $32,700 worth of treadmills, cross-trainers and bicycles from the gym-equipment supplier he worked for was jailed for 10 months yesterday.

Suhaime Jamin, 48, is the third employee of AIBI International to be imprisoned over the thefts.

He had admitted to four of 11 charges of stealing equipment from the company at Yishun Industrial Park A with his nephew in September and October last year.

His nephew, former technician Muhammad Sairilpaezel Mohd Pungot, 28, has been jailed 12 months while driver Iskandar Kamsan, 29, was given two weeks’ jail for their roles in the crime.

Investigations showed that Ermin Woon, 32, a former AIBI staff member, asked Sairil in June last year if he had “anything” for him – referring to AIBI machines.

Subsequently, Sairil would look out for new AIBI machines in the warehouse to sell to Woon.

He would take each piece of equipment out from the fourth floor of the warehouse and hide it behind a shutter on the first floor.

Both he and Suhaime would load it into a company lorry, drive to Old Choa Chu Kang Road and sell it to Woon, whose case is pending.

When Suhaimi left the company in October, Sairil got Iskandar to join him in the operation.

Investigations showed that Woon would pay $100 to $340 for each piece of equipment delivered to him.

AIBI’s marketing director made a police report on Oct 27 last year, stating that a number of pieces of gym equipment had been stolen from the company.

Police recovered 11 items worth $17,703.

Suhaimi could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined on each charge of theft as a servant.

This article was first published on August 6, 2016.
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When Mr Pau Sian Mung arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, it was the first time he had been outside of his native Myanmar.

The 32-year-old is here to arrange to take back the body of his younger sister, Ms Piang Ngaih Don – a maid who was allegedly murdered by her employers last month.

He was yesterday given $4,500 in donations collected by Helping Hands for Migrant Workers, a volunteer group to help migrant workers from Myanmar.

But he has set aside this money for funeral arrangements back home and for the education of his dead sister’s three-year-old son.

The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, which assists migrant workers here, is also collecting donations for Ms Piang’s family.

It will be costly to take his sister’s body back home to Dimpi Village in Tedim Township, in the impoverished Chin state.

The village, with a population of 1,500, is located in a mountainous area only accessible by a four-hour drive on a muddy road from Kalay Township.

According to Ms Kitty Aye Mar Mar from Helping Hands, half of that cost will be paid by an insurance company, with the other half shared between Singapore and Mynamar maid agents, and the Myanmar Embassy.

Mr Pau, who works in a Catholic church in his village, told The Straits Times that he and his family are shocked at the death of his 24- year-old sister.

Describing her as “very quiet”, he said she stopped schooling when she was 15, after finishing Grade 9 – Singapore’s equivalent of Secondary 3.

She worked in construction but heard from some of her friends that she would earn more money as a maid in Singapore.

She came here last May, leaving her son with her five siblings.

According to Mr Pau, his sister had called the family five times since then.

“My sister wanted to buy a plot of land to build a house for herself and her son in Kalay Township,” said Mr Pau.

“She planned to work in Singapore for two to three years to earn enough money.”

Their parents, who were farmers, died within a year of each other when Ms Piang was just four years old.

She is the sixth sibling to have died.Her surviving siblings, who are Catholics, farm the plot of land left behind by their parents.

Mr Pau has erected a cross in his village to remember his sister and plans to bury her next to their parents.

He said he appreciates the kindness of those who have donated money to his family.

Ms Piang was allegedly murdered by Gaiyathiri Murugayan, 36, and her mother, Prema Naraynasamy, 58 – both housewives – some time between July 25 and 26.

This article was first published on August 6, 2016.
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