SINGAPORE – All registered Singaporeans in Nice, France are safe, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday (July 15) after a gunman killed 80 people and injured many others when he drove a truck into a crowd during the Bastille Day celebrations…
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Registered S'poreans in Nice are safe: MFA
Singapore condemns ‘heinous attack’ in Nice; all registered Singaporeans safe
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has verified the safety of all registered Singaporeans in Nice, and the Embassy in Paris is in contact with local authorities to ascertain whether there are any Singaporeans affected by the attack.
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California Fitness closes all its gyms in Hong Kong
Gym operator has chalked up millions of dollars in debts; two senior execs arrested
Some 64,000 members and 700 employees have been left in the lurch by the sudden closure of a gym chain once famously fronted by action movie star Jackie Chan.
California Fitness shut all its outlets in Hong Kong on Tuesday after chalking up millions of dollars in debts.
JV Fitness, which operates the giant chain, closed all 12 of its gyms, including two called mYoga and one facility known as Leap, pending a winding-up petition against the company.
It is estimated that the firm – Hong Kong’s second-largest gym operator – owes HK$130 million (S$22.6 million) in rent and other operating costs, said South China Morning Post.
Its sole director Wong Lun, who is not in Hong Kong, is wanted by the Customs and Excise Department following the arrest of two senior executives on Monday.
A spokesman for the Labour Department told The Straits Times that its officers raided some of the fitness centres after receiving complaints from the firm’s employees about wages owing to them.
News of JV Fitness’ financial woes first surfaced after the sudden closure of one of its California Fitness outlets on July 4.
A High Court hearing on Wednesday revealed that JV Fitness had lost HK$117 million over the past 2½ years and is now left with HK$16 million in cash.
A check on California Fitness’ website found no indication of the chain’s closure across the city. Members found out only when they turned up at the gyms on Tuesday.
Mr Morten Soerensen, 42, had tried to book a slot with a personal trainer on Monday and was told that none was available. However, the counter staff had assured him that the gym would continue operating despite reports of the firm’s mounting debts.
When Mr Soerensen returned to the same branch in Wan Chai district the following day, he was shocked to find it closed. “If they knew that they were in such a bad situation, it’s unethical of them to get people to sign up for a three-year package with the club,” Mr Soerensen, a sales manager from Denmark, told The Straits Times.
He said he had recently paid HK$11,000 up front in membership fees as he was convinced that the gym, which has branches in Singapore and China, is reputable.
Mr Soerensen said that he will lodge a complaint with the Consumer Council, which has received more than 100 complaints from gym members regarding termination of contracts in just the last week.
The consumer watchdog urged members to contact their banks for possible refunds and termination of further auto-payments.
The Federation of Trade Unions estimated that consumers could lose up to HK$1 billion, while overdue wages have already exceeded HK$10 million.
After his court appearance on Wednesday, the gym’s former owner Wong Ping Kuen told the media he was unaware of the firm’s mounting debts until he saw that the firm’s audit showed HK$335 million in net liabilities for 2014.
Mr Wong, who bought the business for HK$50 million last December, later sold it to his brother, Wong Lun.
Mr Wong also revealed that the firm, which has been slammed for its aggressive sales tactics, had seen some of its gym trainers earning as much as HK$100,000 per month, mainly from inflated commissions.
Customs officers arrested two of its staff members in May over an allegation that a customer was offered a free trial before being charged a HK$140,000 credit card payment for private training classes without her consent.
Hong Kong Democratic Party vice-chairman Andrew Wan Siu Kin, who has been assisting hundreds of gym members with their complaints, urged the government to provide “some kind of protection” to consumers who may fall victim to pressure-selling tactics by companies desperate for business.
“Singapore has an insurance system in place for people who sign up for prepaid spa packages,” he said. “We can have a similar system here to ensure that consumers are able to get their refunds when firms suddenly shut down their businesses.”
The first California Fitness gym opened in Hong Kong in 1996 before expanding to other parts of Assia. At its peak, it had 16 clubs in Hong Kong, China and Singapore.
HK and S’pore gyms operate separately
A California Fitness spokesman contacted by The Straits Times said that “California Fitness Hong Kong and California Fitness Singapore operate separately and independently”, and declined further comment.
California Fitness Singapore came under the spotlight earlier this year when it closed its Ngee Ann City outlet in February. Members could visit its other outlets in Novena, Bugis and Raffles Place.
The Consumers Association of Singapore said it has assisted in 11 complaints against California Fitness Singapore this year. Five of the complaints involved consumers asking for a refund of membership fees after its Ngee Ann City outlet closed.
This article was first published on July 15, 2016.
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30-day visa-free stay in Mongolia for S'poreans
Singaporeans visiting Mongolia will soon be able to stay for up to 30 days without a visa. Currently, they can do so for only 14 days.
The visa waiver for a longer period was among the issues of cooperation discussed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Mongolian counterpart Jargaltulga Erdenebat yesterday, during a meeting at the State Palace in Ulaanbaatar.
Mongolian visitors to Singapore can stay up to 30 days without a visa.
People-to-people ties underpin the relationship between the two countries, said Mr Lee.
The meeting between the two leaders is the first since Mr Erdenebat was appointed prime minister last week, following his party’s victory in parliamentary elections.
Mr Lee, who is on an official visit, was hosted to lunch by Mr Erdenebat, during which they affirmed the warm and friendly ties between the two countries.
Before lunch, Mr Lee met Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj and newly elected Speaker of Parliament Miyeegombo Enkhbold.
Singapore and Mongolia commemorated 45 years of diplomatic relations last year. Congratulating Mr Erdenebat on his party’s victory, Mr Lee said: “One of my goals in coming here is to explore what more we can do together and deepen our bilateral cooperation.”
Mr Erdenebat, who had rolled out the red carpet for Mr Lee in a welcome ceremony earlier, spoke of potential areas of cooperation such as mining, construction and urban development.
He said he was familiar with Singapore, where he attended a leadership course in 2010, under the Singapore Cooperation Programme.
Describing the programme as an important pillar of bilateral cooperation, Mr Lee said: “I am pleased to note that Prime Minister Erdenebat himself had attended one of our leadership courses back in 2010. Once a ‘Friend of Singapore’, always a friend!”
Since 1992, more than 1,200 Mongolian officials have attended the programme’s courses.
Mr Lee said there has also been cooperation between businesses, but “there is much more that we can do together”.
Earlier, both men witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise and the Mongolian Energy Development Centre for Singapore to share its experience in energy management, such as using clean technology to produce energy.
Mongolia’s winter can plunge to an average of 40 deg C below zero, and coal is used by many to stay warm.
Under the pact, both sides will work on projects to improve the delivery of energy to homes and businesses in Mongolia.
Mr Lee later visited Misheel Mega Mall, a joint venture between businessmen of both countries.
Singaporean Billy Lim, 56, one of the investors, said the mall, which provides all housing-related services, aims to capitalise on Mongolia’s rapid urbanisation, which has moved almost half of its three million people from nomadic to city life in Ulaanbaatar.
Today, Mr Lee will attend the start of the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting summit in the Mongolian capital.
yuenc@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on July 15, 2016.
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Pre-school teacher in hair clip saga to remain at centre
A pre-school teacher who put a girl’s hair clip on a six-year-old boy in front of his classmates will continue to teach at Zoo-phonics School’s Serangoon Central branch.
This follows an internal investigation into the matter that blew up after the boy’s father posted about the incident publicly on Facebook, sparking a debate on ways to discipline children.
In a five-page letter to parents yesterday, the school said: “The management believes that Teacher Theresa is deemed fit to continue teaching at Zoo-phonics School (Serangoon).”
The boy’s mother, who wanted to be known only as Madam Swee, 35, said she and her husband are now deciding on whether their son should continue to attend classes at the centre.
The incident took place on July 5 and the boy’s father, Mr Eric Cheong, 37, shared it on Facebook on July 9. The post has since been shared more than 2,000 times. Mr Cheong said his son had been humiliated.
Following the incident, Ms Theresa was temporarily suspended while investigations were carried out, according to Zoo-phonics director Vincent Teoh.
After viewing closed-circuit television footage, the school said yesterday that the teacher had summoned the boy, borrowed a hair clip from a female pupil and put it on him. Turning him to face the class, she then spoke about how much neater he looked.
The school said the child had worn the clip for only 50 seconds, and that his parents had blown the matter up.
After consulting other parents, it said it found that most wanted the teacher to stay, with only some parents in the boy’s class seeking a change in teacher.
Zoo-phonics acknowledged that “some parents regarded her teaching methods as “old school”, and said the teacher had been counselled.
However, Madam Swee remains upset.
“Humiliation for one second, two seconds or 50 seconds is still a humiliation which caused everyone he knows and sees daily to laugh at him,” she said.
nweers@sph.com.sg
mmala@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on July 15, 2016.
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Bowie's modern art collection to be sold at auction
NEW YORK – Hundreds of items from late rock legend David Bowie’s art collection, which includes pieces by modern masters and more eclectic fare, will go under the hammer, Sotheby’s said Thursday.
The auction house said that around 400 items from Bowie’s private collection would go on the block in a three-part sale on November 10 and 11.
Among the most valuable is the 1984 painting “Air Power” by Jean-Michel Basquiat, the New York artist whose street-inspired and often politically charged work found an international following before his death from an overdose in 1988 at age 27.
Bowie was a prominent champion of Basquiat’s work and played the role of pop art icon Andy Warhol in the 1996 biopic “Basquiat.” Sotheby’s estimated the painting would fetch 2.5 to 3.5 million pounds (S$4.4-6.3 million).
About half of Bowie’s collection consists of pieces from some of Britain’s most acclaimed 20th century artists including Damien Hirst, Frank Auerbach and Graham Sutherland.
Sotheby’s plans to display the Bowie collection in London from July 20 to August 9 before it goes on tour to Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong ahead of the auction.
Fans celebrate the achievements of British music legend David Bowie
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The auction house said that the collection showed Bowie’s “famously inquisitive mind” and also featured carefully chosen obscure pieces.
Bowie as a collector enjoyed exploring so-called outsider art – the genre of work by psychiatric patients and others outside of the established artist sphere – and also sought out contemporary African art.
Bowie was also an avid collector of design pieces and amassed works by Italian artist Ettore Sottsass and his Memphis Group, which brought sleek, pop cultural aspects to office furniture and equipment.
Bowie himself was widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the pop era, creating the glam genre before pursuing soul, disco, electronica and more abstract forms.
Born in London but a longtime resident of New York, Bowie died on January 10 – two days after the release of his final album – at age 69 after an undisclosed battle with cancer.
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Scoot: Fares fr $47 all-in to over 20 Destinations from 15 – 18 Jul 2016
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Pow Sing boss 'ate there every day since incident'
Pow Sing Restaurant‘s director had made it a point to eat a plate of chicken rice from his eatery’s kitchen every day after he learnt about the gastroenteritis cases linked to it.
“I told all my staff to eat the chicken rice; I myself ate it, too, and until now, there have not been any problems,” Mr Lee Chin Soo told The Straits Times yesterday.
Pow Sing’s licence was suspended on Wednesday after the authorities became aware of at least 29 gastroenteritis cases linked to the popular Serangoon Gardens eatery, which sells zichar, or cooked food, in addition to chicken rice.
The restaurant was told to throw away all food and completely sanitise the kitchen – including utensils, equipment, work surfaces and toilets. It was also told to rectify lapses in food preparation processes identified during earlier inspections.
“We’ve cleared everything in the kitchen; everything is empty,” Mr Lee said. “They took the chilli, cucumber, ginger, soya sauce, rice and chicken for sampling.”
Gastroenteritis – more commonly known as stomach flu – can have a number of causes, said gastroenterologist Desmond Wai of Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.
Bacteria and viruses are the most common culprits, and more rarely, toxins or parasites.
In a kitchen, Dr Wai said, food could become contaminated if it is already cooked but left in the open for too long.
“There could also be cross-contamination between raw and cooked food, which is why you should always separate the raw from the cooked meat,” he said.
A third hypothesis is that a worker could have gastroenteritis, and consequently contaminated food by not washing his hands.
Mr Lee said: “The authorities advised me to send all my staff for hygiene courses, and I did. I am cooperating wherever I can.”
This article was first published on July 15, 2016.
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NTU fires professor for 'wilful negligence' over falsified research data
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has sacked a professor and revoked a doctorate awarded to a student for falsifying data in their research.
Professor Ravi Kambadur, who led the research group studying myostatin, was found “wilfully negligent” in his supervision of the group, said the university in a statement on Wednesday (July 13).
Prof Kambadur was jointly employed at NTU and A*Star, and both institutions have terminated his employment.
A check on NTU’s website showed that Prof Kambadur’s academic profile had been removed.
Prof Kambadur’s LinkedIn profile shows that he obtained a PhD in Biochemistry from PGIMER, or the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, based in Chandigarh, India.
His profile page on A*Star’s website was still online on Friday (July 15). He is listed as a senior principal investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences.
A description of his research on the site states that myostatin regulates muscle growth as well as lean muscle mass and sensitivity to insulin.
NTU said investigations had been conducted over allegations of malpractice in research, and the outcome of this probe in December 2015 had resulted in a doctorate awarded to a student, Mr Sudarsanreddy Lokireddy, being revoked.
It added that further investigations showed that data had been falsified in some in vitro laboratory studies on myostatin research. This resulted in three research papers published between 2012 and 2014 being retracted.
The group had been conducting research on myostatin, in a joint project with NTU, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and the National University of Singapore.
Repercussions over the falsification of data in this project are set to grow, as more people could be implicated as well.
Other researchers are expected to face disciplinary proceedings over this matter, said NTU in its statement.
The university also reiterated its zero-tolerance policy on any form of research malpractice and said that it would not hesitate to take action against errant staff or students.
xiuhuil@sph.com.sg
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