A viral video of an accident has left netizens questioning if the incident was real or staged by a driver for insurance claims.

The clip, posted on Roads.sg and credited to Rach, shows a driver travelling along Toh Guan Road on June 17.

A Volkswagen cuts in front of the above-mentioned driver from a turn, and jams on his brakes a few seconds later.

The other driver manages to stop in time and avoids an accident by mere inches.

As the Volkswagen driver speeds away, the other driver stops for few seconds before going on his way.

However, the Volkswagen driver suddenly changes lanes and stops there.

The other driver is unable to stop in time on this occasion, and crashes into the Volkswagen.

The impact leaves the back bumper of the Volkswagen dented, and the engine cover of the other vehicle gets damaged as well.

Both drivers are seen stepping out of their vehicles to argue and take photos of the accident.

Both Roads.sg’s caption and many netizens have accused the Volkswagen driver of staging the accident for insurance claims.

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SINGAPORE – Johor’s water regulatory body Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (Bakaj) has made an urgent request to Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) for an additional supply of 6 million gallons of treated water per day for the next three days.

According to a statement from PUB on July 17, Bakaj said it requires the water to stabilise their own supply system in Johor Bahru after the shutdown on Wednesday due to pollution in the Johor River.

PUB said it has agreed to the request and commenced additional supply of treated water to Johor since 12am on July 17 and will continue to do so for the next three days.

PUB assured that service to PUB’s customers in Singapore will not be affected.

Under the 1962 Water Agreement with Malaysia, PUB Singapore is entitled to draw 250mgd of raw water from the Johor River. This right is guaranteed by the 1965 Separation Agreement and expires in 2061. The 1962 Water Agreement also obliges PUB to sell 5mgd of treated water to Johor.

In practice, PUB said it has been regularly providing up to 16mgd on a daily basis. This latest request for 6mgd is on top of the regular 15-16mgd provided to Johor every day, said PUB.

candicec@sph.com.sg

The introduction of eight scoring bands for the PSLE from 2021 has left some parents worried.

They fear that children who struggle academically or face learning difficulties like dyslexia could be less motivated to push themselves.

The problem, they say, is how the bands, called Achievement Levels (ALs), are set up.

Those who score 90 marks or above for a subject will earn an AL1, 85 to 89 will be an AL2, and 80 to 84 is AL3, and so on. But the bands are broader at the bottom. AL5 is a score of 65 to 74, while 45 to 64 is AL6.

While five marks at the higher ALs is enough to fall into a better band in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), a 10-mark gain at the lower range may still see a pupil end up within the same AL band.

Some parents wonder if this will also discourage teachers from putting in the extra effort for these pupils.

However, schools assure such parents that this will not happen. Under the current system, every mark a child gains means a higher T-score.

Housewife Ho Peiling, 35, who has a four-year-old son, says weaker pupils will have to put in more effort to jump to the next higher band under the new scoring system.

“Even if they work as hard to get, say, 10 more marks, they are most probably going to end up in the same band,” she says. “For better pupils, they can move up two bands if they get 10 more marks.”

Administrative manager Jenny Subramaniam, 41, who has a five-year-old daughter, says: “Some pupils may think they might as well not try.”

Financial adviser Joyce Lim, 46, whose son is in Primary 1 this year, says the new bands appear to be unfair to those who struggle with their academic work.

“It can be demoralising for these children, and their parents,” says Madam Lim, who has two other sons aged 13 and 18.

The O-level examinations also use scoring bands but these are mostly divided into bands of five marks, except for the highest grade of A1, which is from 75 to 100 marks, and the lowest grade of F9, which is from zero to 39.

Education experts and psychologists have mixed views when asked if pupils who score within the middle to lower ALs would be less motivated to work harder. Assistant Professor Ryan Hong, from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) psychology department, says there is a risk that “some children will see the wider grade bands as a hurdle”. And this could affect their motivation, he adds.

EduGrove Mandarin Enrichment Centre managing director Jerry Theseira says “the incentive for higher-ability students to do better is much greater than for others”.

Key exam changes

FROM 2021

• Each subject will be graded according to Achievement Levels 1 to 8. The PSLE score will be the sum of ALs for English, maths, science and mother tongue. The best score will be 4, and the lowest 32.
• The bands: AL1 – 90 and up AL2 – 85 to 89 AL3 – 80 to 84 AL4 – 75 to 79 AL5 – 65 to 74 AL6 – 45 to 64 AL7 – 20 to 44 AL8 – below 20
• How well a pupil does will not be judged in comparison with peers. A pupil’s raw performance will be reflected regardless of how his peers have done.
• Places will be allocated according to PSLE score first, but a pupil who puts a school higher in his list of choices will get priority over another with the same score who ranks the school lower.

NOW

• Pupils get an aggregate score for the PSLE. It is the sum of the T-scores in all four subjects. The T-score, short for “transformed score”, is an adjusted score that shows how well a pupil does relative to his peers.
• Pupils also receive grades of A*, A, B, C, D, E and U.
• A pupil with a better aggregate score will be given priority in his selected school.
• Between two Singapore citizens, the one with the higher unrounded aggregate score – which extends to decimal points – will be admitted first.
• If there is still a tie, then posting will be determined by a computerised ballot.

This article was first published on July 17, 2016.
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