A three-year-old girl fell from the balcony window of a fourth-floor flat in Serangoon North Avenue 4 earlier this year when she was left alone and unsupervised at home.

Nur Syahamah Syahrom died 24 days later of pneumonia following the traumatic injury to her head.

At an inquiry into her death, the court heard yesterday that her grandmother would usually take her along to pick up her older siblings from school.

But on Jan 20, Madam Manisah Subakin, 66, did not want to wake Nur up as she was sleeping.

She left the flat at about 12.20pm after locking the main gate and closing the door, but returned about 15 minutes later to see Nur at the bottom of the block.

Girl, 3, falls from 4th floor in Serangoon North

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Shin Min Daily News

Inside the flat, a pillow which she had placed on the balcony ledge to catch the sun was on the balcony floor.

Under the window was a white stool that was usually in the dining area.

All the windows, except that of the balcony, had grilles on them.

Madam Manisah had told police that Nur had a habit of standing on her grandmother’s bed to look out of the window.

Even though it had a grille, she had told the child before not to open the window.

Nur was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with a severe traumatic brain injury and skull fracture.

She had an emergency operation but her prognosis was very poor because of the pressure on the brain caused by the injury.

She was transferred to intensive care at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital the same day.

She died on Feb 13.

In his findings, State Coroner Marvin Bay said Nur, the youngest of five children, had apparently wanted to leave the apartment to look for her grandmother.

“Finding herself locked in, she may have ventured to the ungrilled balcony window, which had been partially opened to facilitate the sunning of the pillow,” he said.

It was most likely that Nur had moved the stool to the balcony window and got on the ledge, before inadvertently falling out of the window, he said.

“Her demise is therefore a truly tragic misadventure,” he said.

Drawing sad parallels with another fatal fall of a four-year-old boy who was also left home alone, Coroner Bay said children are by nature inquisitive and keen to explore their environment.

“These young children may not have developed a sound appreciation of risks, and their propensity to do the unexpected and hazardous can never be reliably anticipated.

“The dangers of leaving young children home alone cannot be overstated,” he said.

He said Nur’s sad demise underscores the essential importance of installing grilles and securing windows to prevent accidental falls, and also adopting other sensible measures to render a home fully child-safe.

Nur’s father attended the inquest in the morning but was absent when the findings were delivered in the afternoon.

This article was first published on August 3, 2016.
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The Ministry of Home Affairs last night described as misleading a statement from the family of terror detainee Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff.

The statement was issued by his wife Shireen Abdul Samad to the media yesterday afternoon, and said information on his arrest did not paint a true picture of him and his comments online.

The family said claims by the ministry and others that Zulfikar supported terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were based on selected postings of his in 2014. But his stance changed that year after reports of violence and beheadings by ISIS, the family added.

In its reply, the ministry said the statement deals with only one aspect of the Internal Security Department(ISD) investigation and “provides a misleading picture”.

“For example, it suggests that Zulfikar did not post any radical views after 2014, which is untrue. It is also clear that Zulfikar supported violence by ISIS, including beheadings, and that at a broader level, he supported the idea of a global Islamic caliphate and the use of violence to achieve this,” the ministry said.

Zulfikar, a 44-year-old Singaporean who is based in Australia and also took up citizenship there, was arrested on July 1 when he returned here for a visit. He was detained for two years under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last month.

The ministry said yesterday: “Zulfikar will have the opportunity in due course to present his case to the ISA Advisory Board, which advises the President whether the Order of Detention should remain in force.”

In announcing his arrest, the ministry said he made many Facebook posts glorifying ISIS and its violent actions – including beheadings.

He also exhorted Muslims to take up arms in places such as the Middle East and the Philippines, and his posts led at least two other Singaporeans to become radicalised.

The ministry also said he planned to hold training programmes to persuade others of his agenda to replace Singapore’s democratic system with an Islamic state, using violence if necessary.

However, Zulfikar’s family said he had “never encouraged or promoted others to join ISIS”, and he was “not a violent person”. It was also never his intention to establish a caliphate in Singapore or use violence, the family added, saying he was also never a member of hardline group Hizbut Tahrir, which seeks to establish a global caliphate.

Read also: Detained S’porean a controversial, outspoken figure

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Facebook screengrabs, Berita Harian

Yesterday, the ministry said ISD’s investigation into Zulfikar was for terrorism-related activities and covered a number of aspects.

One, the investigation showed that Zulfikar had contributed to the radicalisation of Muhammad Shamin Mohamed Sidek, who is currently detained under the ISA, and Mohamed Saiddhin Abdullah, who is on a Restriction Order.

“Muhammad Shamin had been radicalised to the extent that he wanted to go to the Middle East to fight with ISIS,” the ministry said.

Two, admissions Zulfikar gave to the ISD during the investigation.

Three, evidence from other persons who were interviewed by ISD.

Four, Zulfikar’s public statements that had been made online.

“On the basis of all the evidence, Zulfikar was established to be a security threat to Singapore and an Order for Detention was issued against him,” the ministry added.

Zulfikar’s wife said yesterday she was still in Singapore with their two youngest children, but their four older sons have just returned to Melbourne, where the family has been living since 2002.

Read also: Don’t even ‘share’ extremist views: Yaacob

This article was first published on Aug 03, 2016.
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Tucked away among the better-known rules of riding the subway – no eating, no drinking, no smoking – is a Rapid Transit Systems Regulations prohibition against selling goods across the fare gate.

This rule has been in place for decades, but just in case you had not heard of it, at least one train station now has a notice in place for commuters.

Full-time national serviceman Xavier Lur was at Beauty World station on the Downtown Line when he spotted a sign with a quote from the relevant law: “No person shall for the purpose of any trade or business transfer any article or goods between the paid area and unpaid area unless the article or goods is taken by a person through an automatic gate.”

Mr Lur, 22, told The Straits Times that he had been unaware of the rule and that this was the first such notice he had seen in a train station.

Ok so no more Carousell transactions to be done between the unpaid & paid MRT gantry area  pic.twitter.com/Tekysb6NJr

— Xavier Lur (@xavierlur) July 31, 2016

Mr Lur said: “I don’t see a strong reason as to why train operators have to resort to such a rule, as it doesn’t affect the safety of commuters.”

He added that he had witnessed goods changing hands in stations in the past, and did not think that the rule would deter such behaviour.

Ms Tammy Tan, senior vice president, corporate communications, SBS Transit, explained in response to a Straits Times query: “For commuter safety and security, we do not encourage loitering in our premises particularly at stations with high passenger flow.

“The notice has been put up at the Beauty World Station as we have noticed increasing numbers of commuters loitering to conduct what appears to be transactions in our premises.”

This is not the first time commuters have expressed surprise about the ban on business deals in MRT stations.

In 2009, Rediffusion deejay Gan Yeok Thiam, who witnessed an errant seller receive a warning from SMRT staff, told The New Paper: “We’re living in difficult times now. Shouldn’t we be more compassionate towards people who are just trying hard to make a simple living?”

Another member of the public wrote to The Straits Times in 2014 calling on the authorities to clarify rail regulations and to publicise the rules more widely.

In both cases, the Land Transport Authority explained that the rule exists to discourage people from using public transportation for commercial goods delivery, since bus and train services are meant for carrying passengers.

Fellow rail operator SMRT declined to comment.

This article was first published on Aug 2, 2016.
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The popular rabbit bag charms sold in Singapore are made of real rabbit fur, the Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA) has claimed.

After conducting its own tests on the products, the results “strongly suggest that the product is made of real animal fur”, SPCA executive director Jaipal Singh Gill told The New Paper.

The society first raised the issue in a post on its Facebook page on July 25.

Dr Jaipal said most retailers claimed they bought the charms from China, adding that the way animals are farmed for fur is cruel.

“In China, the industry is largely unregulated. The animals are often kept in very poor conditions and slaughtered in ways which cause much suffering,” he said.

SPCA’s tests on the fur on the bag charms against real and synthetic versions ‘strongly suggest’ that the fur on the bag charms was real rabbit fur. PHOTO: SPCA

“It is important we consider the effects our consumer choices have on animals, people and the environment, and aim to be responsible consumers with regard to all our purchases.”

Animal Concerns Research And Education Society (Acres) deputy chief executive Anbarasi Boopal echoed Dr Jaipal’s concerns:

“Animals are usually farmed in inhumane conditions, such as in small wire cages with no opportunities to express natural behaviours…

“Often, the killing may include cruel methods such as beating to death or electrocution or worse, skinning alive.”

Dr Jaipal said SPCA did the tests as there was “conflicting information provided by sellers”.

“Some claimed the fur was fake while others said it was real, so we decided to conduct our own in-house test,” he said.

These bag charms, which are about 8 to 12cm long, are sold in shopping malls and pushcart stores around Singapore. Displayed prominently at the front of most shops, they come in a variety of colours and are sold for as low as $15.

They are shaped to look like rabbits and some have false eyelashes attached.

SPCA was alerted to this by concerned members of the public in early July, said Dr Jaipal.

According to its Facebook post, real rabbit fur would have tapered ends, as opposed to synthetic fur’s uniform ends. Also, the internal fibre morphology (structure of fibres) of real rabbit fur is significantly thinner than that of synthetic fur.

When TNP visited the retailers in Bugis, we found that the charms from Korea cost $28 each while those from Hong Kong were $20 each. Of the six shops visited, four said the fur was fake.

A retail assistant, who wanted to be known only as Ms Li, said her boss had checked with the supplier.

“If it were real, I wouldn’t sell it,” she said.

SHAVED

A retail assistant at another shop said: “The supplier told me the rabbits were shaved, so there is no harm involved.

“Why are we making such a big fuss about it? They’re just rabbits.”

Another retailer said there should be no shame in buying such products: “My supplier promised me that these are real. But there is no issue since other people also sell cow and crocodile hides – it’s in no way unethical.”

Ms Boopal urged Singaporeans not to buy the rabbit bag charms.

“Even though it may seem like a small product, in the bigger picture, as long as there is a demand, the cruelty will continue,” she said.

“That simple choice will go a long way in helping animals that suffer in these facilities.”

Dr Jaipal said the SPCA would be contacting sellers of such products to dissuade them from bringing in products made from real animal fur.

“If the buying stops, the suffering will, too.”

This article was first published on Aug 03, 2016.
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