The two men came out of the Jalan Besar KTV lounge last night, quarrelling loudly.

The argument got so intense, they had to be separated by a friend.

Things then turned bloody as one man allegedly stabbed the other in the chest with a knife.

The man died from his injuries.

Man found murdered outside Jalan Besar pub

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Shin Min Daily News, The New Paper, Stomp

A 48-year-old man staying at an adjacent hostel, The Trey, who wanted to be known as Mr JS, said he saw the victim and the other man, seen carrying what appeared to be a knife wrapped in newspaper, come out of KSP Pub & KTV at about 11.30pm.

He said the victim shouted in Hokkien: “Yes, I owe you money, but we are brothers, so why the need to bring out weapon?”

The other man had to be restrained by a friend, said Mr JS who works in maintenance.

The victim then crossed the road but challenged the other man to a fight at a nearby alley.

When the man did not follow him, the victim ran back across the road and taunted him again.

That was when the man allegedly stabbed the victim who screamed before collapsing outside the hostel.

FLED

“Blood gushed. He was wearing a white T-shirt, making it even more obvious,” said Mr JS, adding that the alleged attacker and his friend then fled the scene.

Mr JS said he immediately called the police, who arrived in about two minutes, before calling The New Paper hotline.

“What shocked me the most was that I had just seen the man alive,” he told TNP.

A hostel manager, who wanted to be known as Mr Shammy, 35, told TNP that he heard the victim cry in pain outside the hostel.

“I ran out and saw him use his hand to cover the wound on the left side of his chest. He was screaming in pain and blood was coming out from his chest and nose,” he said.

The injured man stumbled and knocked over a few tables and chairs outside the hostel.

Mr Shammy added that he tried to help the man by pressing on his wound with his hands and staying with him until the ambulance came.But within seven minutes, the man’s pulse faded.

By the time TNP arrived at the scene at about midnight, police had set up a blue tent at the scene.

Officers were seen still investigating the scene at press time.

This article was first published on July 12, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – An elderly man was rescued after hanging precariously from a clothes rack on the eighth floor at a HDB block in Tampines.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to a rescue call at 3.35pm on Monday (July 11) at Block 410 Tampines Street 41.

A reader sent citizen journalism website Stomp a video of the chilling rescue.

In the video, SCDF personnel could be seen in the units below and above.  

At one point, an officer was seen rappelling down to the rack on the eighth storey to free the man.

SCDF told Stomp that the officer then guided the man onto a combined platform ladder, which was deployed from the foot of the block.

SCDF rescues man hanging precariously on clothes rack in Tampines

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Stomp

“He was conveyed to Changi General Hospital in a conscious and stable condition,” SCDF added.

It is unclear how the man ended up on the clothes rack.

debwong@sph.com.sg

Amid concerns about the security at banks here following a bank robbery in Holland Village last week, local banks say they have security staff at most branches that handle cash transactions.

A DBS Bank spokesman said about 80 DBS and POSB branches handle cash transactions, and all of them deploy security personnel.

At United Overseas Bank, a spokesman said all 61 of its branches in Singapore have security personnel present. A spokesman for OCBC Bank said that out of its 47 branches around Singapore, 46 handle cash transactions and all of these engage trained guards from Certis Cisco.

Amid concerns about the security at banks here following a bank robbery in Holland Village last week, local banks say they have security staff at most branches that handle cash transactions.

Read also: MAS urges banks to assess security measures after Standard Chartered robbery

A DBS Bank spokesman said about 80 DBS and POSB branches handle cash transactions, and all of them deploy security personnel.

At United Overseas Bank, a spokesman said all 61 of its branches in Singapore have security personnel present. A spokesman for OCBC Bank said that out of its 47 branches around Singapore, 46 handle cash transactions and all of these engage trained guards from Certis Cisco.

A spokesman for StanChart said last Saturday that the bank is “always reviewing our security measures and has taken immediate actions to further enhance them”.

StanChart now has a security guard at its Holland Village branch.

Bank robbery at Holland Village Standard Chartered Bank

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The Straits Times, Twitter

A Citibank branch in Holland Village, which also did not deploy a security guard previously, had a guard stationed there yesterday.

When asked if all its branches have guards, a spokesman for Citibank said all of its eight full-service branches will have security guards present, but declined to reveal how many have guards deployed now.

Security agencies reiterated that it is important to have physical security presence to complement security and surveillance technology, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Read also: Holland Village bank robbery: Banks’ security measures include CCTV, alarm systems

Regal Security Services general manager Mark Leong said: “In the case of alarm activation, you need someone present to respond. Physical presence is deterrence.”

He added: “The CCTV (cameras) can’t react to a crime happening, but they are very useful in capturing the sequences and to recognise the perpetrator of the crime.”

Yesterday, customers at StanChart’s Holland Village branch said they wished to see a greater security presence at the branch.

Mr Aaron Teo, 35, said: “We need to stop taking for granted that there are a lot of people in the area, or that Singapore is very safe.”

Otherwise, Singaporeans would “become complacent, but crime can happen”, he added.

This article was first published on July 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

SINGAPORE – Wanted: A masterplan to turn Jurong Lake District into a car-lite, innovative and inclusive urban space, where people can live, work and play amid lush greenery and waterways.

This ambitious order comes from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which yesterday put out a call for masterplan proposals for the area, which it said will be a “district of the future” and Singapore’s second Central Business District (CBD).

Property experts said the URA’s vision paints an exciting picture for the future of Jurong that includes preserving the area’s built heritage – such as Jurong Town Hall and Science Centre Singapore – and designing innovative urban infrastructure using underground space.

A new business precinct, Lakeside Gateway, will be the centrepiece of the district, anchoring it as Singapore’s second CBD, with 112ha of land and a potential total gross floor area of between 4 million sq m and 5 million sq m.

The precinct will also be the site of the upcoming Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail terminus.

The URA said that in addition to providing a wide range of business and employment opportunities, Lakeside Gateway should feature “green” mobility options, continuous waterfront access and innovative urban infrastructure.

For example, a district cooling system, a pneumatic waste conveyance system and urban logistics will be on the cards.

Developments in the precinct could include offices, business facilities, shops, entertainment and food and beverage outlets, waterfront homes, hotels, recreational facilities and inclusive public spaces, the URA added.

Overall, the URA wants Jurong Lake District to be easily accessible and feature smart and green mobility options so that commuters can go car-lite.

“The district will be a hub for smart innovations and home to sustainable urban infrastructure that will boost productivity and manpower efficiency,” said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

Urban and infrastructure consultancy Surbana Jurong is confident that, with its multidisciplinary skills, it can submit a compelling proposal. “This is a unique transformational opportunity to develop a large part of western Singapore into a future ‘work, live, play’, sustainable city within a city,” it said.

Dr Chua Yang Liang, property firm JLL’s South-east Asia research head, said it will be exciting to see the kinds of masterplan that will be proposed.

“The Government has been trying to encourage commuters to go car-lite in the current CBD, but it is tough to shift people’s longstanding habits. Now we have a clean slate on which to show the world what we can do to address such urban issues,” he said.

Cushman & Wakefield research director Christine Li expects the plans to feature office buildings set up in campus-like environments, connected by smart transport systems to encourage people to go car-lite.

“This could further attract technology companies that have already achieved certain sizes and would like to move to cheaper locations for research and development activities,” she said.

But Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong warned that masterplan proposals will have to be flexible. “We are seeing signs that the global marketplace is becoming harder to predict,” he said.

“Not only are business cycles getting shorter, but we also don’t even know what kind of businesses will survive and what won’t. So how would you plan for industrial and business facilities today as we move into this ‘unknown unknown’?”

This article was first published on July 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Those who run afoul of contempt of court laws may face serious criminal sanctions, such as jail.

This is a key reason why these existing laws are being codified, said Law Minister K. Shanmugam, so people are clearer about what they cannot do, and the punishments they could face.

“If you look at criminal law, the general principle is that it should be set out in writing,” he told reporters after the Administration of Justice (Protection) Bill was tabled in Parliament yesterday. “The law of contempt has been the exception and, for sometime now, we wanted to crystallise it.”

The law of contempt – part of Singapore’s case law and developed by judges, covers three main areas: prejudicing court matters, disobeying court orders, and scandalising the courts.

In an earlier interview, Mr Shanmugam highlighted three benefits that the Bill, if passed, will bring.

First, it gives people a better sense of what actions can unduly influence court proceedings, known as sub judice, and what amounts to unfounded allegations of bias in judgments, known as scandalising the courts.

This ensures that every one receives a fair trial, and public confidence in the Singapore’s legal system – which stands at 92 per cent according to a survey commissioned by the Government last year – is not eroded by baseless attacks on the courts’ integrity.

Second, it provides a framework for punishments, and sets a limit on the fines and prison sentences. Currently, there is no maximum, and the degree of punishments is left entirely to judges.

Third, the Bill spells out specific powers the courts will have to enforce orders, such as in divorce cases, where men have to pay maintenance to their former spouses.

Mr Shanmugam said contempt laws do not affect discussions on policies, and people are free to criticise judgments after a trial is over.

“After the verdict is delivered, there is nothing to prevent people from saying what they think… that the law should be changed, that the punishments are not adequate. But wait for the case to be over.”

For instance, arrests in last year’s Thaipusam procession led to a public debate over whether music should be allowed. That is fine, said Mr Shanmugam.

What is not right, he added, is the public expressing views on an accused’s guilt or innocence, which may influence court proceedings.

“You want an independent party, the judge, to decide on guilt or innocence. You don’t want, as it were, a trial by the public,” he said.

Mr Shanmugam said the move to put contempt of court laws in writing has been in the works for some years now.

In a 2010 speech at the opening of the legal year, then Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong raised the idea of putting contempt of court laws in statutory form.

When asked why it took six years before it was put forward, Mr Shanmugam yesterday said contempt laws were already part of Singapore’s case law, and there were more pressing matters to deal with, such as changes to family law.

This article was first published on July 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.