SINGAPORE – A refugee-saving mobile app developed by a Singapore company has been pulled from the Apple App Store, following accusations on social media that it does not work.

I SEA, developed by Grey for Good, the philanthropic arm of digital advertising agency Grey Group Singapore, claims to have the ability to scan the Mediterranean Sea for migrant vessels.

The app purportedly employs real-time satellite data that allows users to spot, tag and report a vessel in distress.

The information is then relayed to the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) – Grey Group’s client for the app – so that the authorities can send help.

Aided by an impressive promotional video and its humanitarian concept, I SEA won an award in the “Promo & Activation” category at the Cannes Lions 2016, an international advertising festival held in France, on Monday (June 20).

Its launch last week was also highlighted by news agency Reuters, as well as news websites such as Mashable and Wired.

But the app’s win has come under scrutiny after investigations by various technology experts and websites alleged that the app was not quite what it promised to be.

US media news website Gawker reported that the app “pretends” to distribute satellite images of different parts of the Mediterranean Sea to the app’s users, but instead sends everyone the same image.

A check on the Apple App Store on Tuesday (June 21) afternoon revealed that I SEA was no longer available for download.

When contacted, Grey Group’s director of marketing and business development Spencer Cheng declined to comment on the accusations that the app was a fake.

Asked to confirm if Apple had indeed removed the app from its store, Mr Cheng also declined comment, referring queries to the company’s corporate communications department.

The department has not responded to queries by Tuesday, 9.30pm.

In an earlier statement posted on its website on Sunday (June 19), Grey Group said the app is “currently in a testing mode”.

“During this testing period, the satellite images available are not in real-time. Grey for Good are still working to optimise the technology, but we are proud of what we have achieved so far and are grateful to all those who have shown interest in helping to improve the app further.”

A MOAS spokesman, speaking to digital news website The Daily Dot, said: “Technology questions are not our area of expertise.”

According to its website profile, Grey Group has a client list that includes companies such as Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Pfizer and Canon.

In Asia, the firm says it covers 28 cities in 16 countries.

This article was first published on June 22, 2016.
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POLYTECHNICS are expecting more students to apply via the new Early Admissions Exercise (EAE), which allows them to secure places in diploma programmes through course-specific talents and interests rather than just academic grades.

A higher proportion of polytechnic places has been set aside for these students next year under the EAE, which begins taking in applications today.

Polytechnics said a range of education and career guidance activities, such as talks and programmes in schools as well as seminars for parents, may have contributed to the strong interest.

The EAE, which gives polytechnics greater flexibility to choose students on criteria other than the O-level examination results, can admit up to 12.5 per cent of the intake.

It will allow students to receive a conditional offer for admission to a diploma course even before sitting the O-level exams.

Previously, polytechnics took in such students through the Direct Polytechnic Admissions exercise (DPA) and the Joint Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE), which could admit up to 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent of the polytechnic intake respectively each year.

The EAE is replacing both of these exercises.

Earlier this year, Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said at the Education Ministry’s (MOE) Committee of Supply debate that all five polytechnics, as well as three of the autonomous universities – Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University – will expand their aptitude-based admissions.

He also said MOE studies have shown that among polytechnic students with similar O-level aggregate scores, those who are admitted “via DPA do better in their studies… and are far more likely to embark on careers in the sectors for which they were educated and trained”.

The mode of assessment under the EAE can vary and may include interviews, portfolio submissions and aptitude tests.

Polytechnics may consider achievements such as awards received, roles assumed in and out of school, work attachments and involvement in relevant projects.

For instance, for the informatics and information technology courses at Temasek Polytechnic, the selection panel assesses applicants during interviews on their knowledge of how IT is applied in areas such as education and healthcare.

At Singapore Polytechnic, students applying for the music and audio technology diploma will have to go through auditions at which they will be asked to display their musical proficiency.

Republic Polytechnic registrar Windersalam Shanmugasundar said the scheme encourages students to “discover and pursue their passion”.

“It promotes active planning for their own life.”

calyang@sph.com.sg

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Marina Bay Link Mall, part of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, is the latest mall to have rat issues.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it will be taking action against the parties concerned after finding dried rat droppings above a food outlet at the mall and common area of the mall during an inspection. The restaurant is understood to be Absolute Thai.

A spokesman said NEA conducted the inspection last Wednesday within the Marina Bay Link Mall premises where a rat was sighted, the immediate common areas of the retail mall, as well as surrounding perimeter areas of Towers 1, 2 and 3.

However, no live rats or nests were found, she said.

Opened in 2010, the mall is linked to upscale homes in The Sail, Marina Bay Suites and Marina Bay Residences.

Hairdresser Kean Pang, 36, said a rat once ran into the salon. He and his colleagues chased it out and informed the management.

Part-time waiter Chan Junwei, 18, saw a rat about two weeks ago. “I was walking towards the toilet and it fell from the ceiling right in front of me and ran away,” he said.

A spokesman for Raffles Quay Asset Management, which manages the mall, said: “A rodent was sighted at the entrance of Marina Bay Link Mall about two weeks ago.

“An intensified pest control flushing programme has been put in place and inspections have been increased.”

For pest infestations, food retail shops face a fine of up to $2,000 and demerit points, and mall managements face a fine of up to $5,000.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg

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