Long before the doors open daily at 10.30am at Dolphin Island at Resorts World Sentosa, 27 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands are already splashing about in the 11 large interconnecting lagoons.

At the crack of dawn, a team of marine veterinarians, specialists and animal husbandry professionals, together with 35 trainers from more than 10 countries, gathers to greet the dolphins and check on their well-being.

The team works round the clock on shifts to monitor the 23 adult dolphins and four calves and make sure they are well cared for.

Since its opening in 2013, Dolphin Island has welcomed four healthy calves.

The name of one of them, Isabelle, which was born on Dec 17, 2014, was chosen after a public voting exercise.

The latest addition is Kudali, which was born on Jan 31 this year.

More than 500 babies of close to 10 species were born between October last year and April this year at the S.E.A. Aquarium, which is also at Resorts World Sentosa, and Dolphin Island.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times

Dolphin Island was dogged by controversy even before it opened in 2013 as animal rights groups in Singapore and the Philippines lobbied for the release of the dolphins.

Nevertheless, the attraction has provided thousands of visitors the opportunity to learn more about dolphins in ways they would otherwise not have the chance to.

These included a special invitation in 2013 to underprivileged children from The Little Arts Academy. They were the first visitors to meet the dolphins.

Last year, pupils from Kranji Primary School were invited to take part in an immersive learning journey in which they got to meet the latest calf and join a dolphin interaction programme.

desmondf@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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This year’s Hari Raya light-up promises to be bigger and more spectacular than usual – and will carry a deeper meaning.

From June 4, a 2.8km stretch of Geylang Serai from Still Road to Lorong 101 Changi Road will fill with lights and festivities to appeal to Muslims and non-Muslims ahead of Hari Raya Puasa on July 6.

The event will be themed “deepening our kampung spirit” and organisers aim to “reinforce, strengthen and resurrect that feeling”.

A common motif will be that of the weave, a pattern with strong significance to the Malay community and which symbolises the concept of unity and close-knit ties.

Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin, a member of the light-up committee, said: “It’s not just about shopping and eating (but) how you bring people together.”

An addition to the festivities will be a series of interactive exhibits, including a giant set of drums and a gong. There will also be a pavilion which takes inspiration from long kampung houses that served as meeting points for families and friends.

Organisers hope the pavilion, which will be decorated with lampu colok, or celebratory lights, will serve as a place where visitors can sit and interact.

Mr Tan, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, hopes the exhibits will provide a good opportunity for visitors to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of different cultural and religious traditions.

The occasion is also an opportunity for visitors to understand the “true meaning of Islam”. Fellow Marine Parade GRC MP Fatimah Lateef, who is also on the light-up committee, explained that this includes elements like friendship, honesty and close-knit families.

In line with this, this year’s displays will carry not only traditional greetings such as “Eid Mubarak” and “Salam Aidilfitri”, but also a new one “Berbudi Bahasa”, a phrase reminding people to be mindful of their manners when interacting with one another.

Visitors can look forward to a wide variety of activities, including a performance by singer Sufie Rashid, silat and kompang (drum) performances, sarong tying, calligraphy, and a ride on the Hippo Bus.

Mr Rahman Shah Ismail, a 23-year-old student who visits the light-up every year with his family, is pleased with this year’s plans.

“It’s good to let others know what Islam really is about, given the situation around the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, mosques around Singapore will encourage worshippers to be more health- and environment-conscious during this year’s Touch of Ramadan campaign. During the month, many Muslims eat their sundown meal at a mosque before evening prayers.

The An-Nahdhah Mosque in Bishan will offer meals with less oil and salt as well as a platter of fruit and vegetables at break- fast every night. The mosque will conduct a series of talks on healthy living from a religious perspective. Other mosques, such as Al-Islah in Punggol and Al-Ansar in Bedok are also planning to offer healthier options.

The Mujahidin Mosque in Queenstown will lead a Green Ramadan campaign which aims to get mosques to save water during ablution. Mosques will also be encouraged to use biodegradable utensils.

Additional reporting by Zhaki Abdullah

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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Ms Nurhayati Abu Bakar was placed under probation and sent to a youth home after getting into a fight when she was 15.

Before that, under the influence of friends, she had also picked up smoking and taken drugs.

Ms Nurhayati is now a different person. The nurse is happily married with a child, and speaks of having a positive outlook on life.

The 26-year-old is one of many girls whom Beautiful People, a volunteer group that reaches out to at-risk youth, has helped over the past 10 years.

Beautiful People now supports 100 girls and women each year through their programmes, up from around 10 a year when it first started in 2006.

The group will celebrate its 10th anniversary during its annual Family Day event on Saturday.

Said its founder, Ms Melissa Kwee: “To be honest, we never set out to achieve anything other than to be a place where girls, whose homes were not the happiest places, would feel welcome and cared for. I called it Beautiful People… because the point was to see the best in others.”

The group plans to go into school- based mentorship programmes.

Ms Kwee, 44, is also the chief executive officer of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.

Beautiful People began as a mentorship programme for at-risk teenage girls under Beyond Social Services, an organisation that works with disadvantaged youth.

It has since gone into programmes with an emphasis on the family, such as Baby Reader, which focuses on supporting teenage mothers by teaching them parenting skills and budgeting.

There is also Free for Good, a programme that helps female inmates reintegrate into society upon their release.

In March, Beautiful People started Heroes’ Journey, a mentorship programme for teenage boys, its first for males. “(Heroes’ Journey) was obviously a big shift for us, but we see it as a natural extension of building a family culture that builds supportive relationships,” said Ms Kwee.

Mentorship programmes for teenagers run officially for a year at Beautiful People’s partner homes such as Gracehaven and Pertapis Centre for Women and Girls. They are assigned mentors, who are volunteers with Beautiful People.

Said Mr Albert King, 54, one of the co-leads for Heroes’ Journey: “These mentors look to support these youth. They do not force them to do anything, but strive to help them make good decisions.

“They hope to care for them and be people whom the mentees can trust.”

Added Mr King, a leadership coach and facilitator: “Even after the mentorship ends, the relationship continues. It is a lifelong one.”

Indeed, Ms Nurhayati, whose mentorship officially ended more than four years ago, still keeps in touch with her mentor, Ms Wong Kwei Ming, 49, a marketing manager at a bank.

Referring to her mentor, Ms Nurhayati said: “In the past, I was very negative. But Ming isn’t judgemental. She encouraged me to see things from a different perspective and not just give up.”

Said Ms Wong: “From being a mentee, she is now assigned to look after kids (at camps organised by the group) and maintain discipline. I am very proud of her.”

She added: “We recently celebrated Mother’s Day, her baby’s first month, her birthday and her wedding anniversary together. I can see myself celebrating more milestones with her in the future.”

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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A former Voluntary Special Constabulary (VSC) officer, who sexually abused an intellectually disabled youth, was sentenced to five years in jail yesterday.

Koon Kok Wai, 53, had also molested the then 17-year-old after a swim while they were in a toilet cubicle of a swimming complex on an earlier occasion.

Another charge of molesting the youth was taken into consideration in sentencing.

The offences occurred in June 2014, less than a month after Koon got to know the victim while attending to a case of a boy who was creating trouble on May 29.

Koon was in uniform and on duty as a VSC sergeant at the time. He obtained personal details, including the mobile number from the youth, who is autistic and mentally retarded.

A few days later, Koon befriended the youth by calling and meeting him on a number of occasions, at the latter’s block and at a nearby community centre. On June 12, he told the boy to meet him at a swimming complex and molested him in the toilet cubicle. Deputy Public Prosecutor Lin Yinbing said the victim did not like Koon touching him.

In mid-June, the youth was alone at home when Koon paid him a visit. He told the teenager to go to his bedroom and he followed suit. Koon then sexually abused the victim.

He later told him not to tell his mother that he had visited.

DPP Lin said the youth subsequently told his mother that Koon was “crazy”. He revealed that Koon had behaved inappropriately towards him. She later took him to make a police report.

In her submissions on sentence, the DPP said this was a case in which a VSC officer had abused his power by using information privy to him to exploit a vulnerable member of the public.

The offences were pre-meditated.

Koon had breached the trust of the youth and had taken advantage of someone who was so vulnerable and defenceless against him.

Pleading for leniency, Koon’s lawyer A. Ravidass said his client was remorseful.

He comes from a humble background and had been with the VSC since 2006. Koon was allowed to defer his sentence until June 1 to bring forward a medical review.

He could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined for sexual penetration, and jailed up to two years and fined for outrage of modesty.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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Cleaners and stall owners worked hard to clean up Pek Kio Market and Food Centre yesterday, after an outbreak of gastroenteritis cases in the area prompted a two-day closure of the centre.

More than 180 cases of the viral illness, which has symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and fever, have been reported in the Owen Road area in the past week, said the authorities in a statement on Tuesday.

They found that the majority of cases involved people who lived near or visited the Owen Road area. Many of them had also patronised the Pek Kio market.

While the source of the outbreak is under investigation, the market has been closed for two days as a precautionary measure for thorough cleaning and disinfection. Such cleaning typically takes place every three months. The authorities also alerted nearby shops to clean surfaces that may be touched by customers.

When The Straits Times visited the centre yesterday morning, cleaners were scrubbing the walls, and steaming them. Hawkers were washing their utensils, crockery and their stall floors.

Stall owner Wendy Yeo, 60, who sells lontong and Indonesian kueh, estimated that she may lose $1,000 during the closure, but said she was not bothered about it. “As long as people are healthy, it’s okay. Money can be earned back. If we are not well, we also can’t sell,” she said.

While they did not mind the cleaning, the hawkers voiced concerns that pigeons – a longstanding nuisance at the market – and rats could have spread the illness, which is sometimes known as gastric flu. They said they have raised these issues with National Environment Agency (NEA) officers.

Ms Yeo cited how 10 pigeons may pick on food together at the same table.

Mr Yong Tat Cheen, 84, who has run a noodles stall there for over 40 years, said: “Once, when I came in to open the shop, there was a small rat in the sink. I took it and threw it away.”

“Although cases of human infection from animal rotaviruses have been reported, they are very rare and tend to be isolated cases, rather than a huge outbreak,” said infectious diseases expert Hsu Li Yang.

This is because the viruses are specific to the host, and seldom jump across species to cause infection, he said, adding that a probable cause of the outbreak is the consumption of contaminated food and drinks.

Mr Yong said stall owners like him have to do their part by handling food in a hygienic way.

Ms Michelle Seah, 52, who runs a clothing shop opposite the market, felt the same way. “They (the authorities) should check on the hawkers more often, because the safety of the food also depends on their individual hygiene,” she said.

The outbreak came to light after Dr Angela Cheong, who runs a clinic at Block 45, Owen Road, alerted the Ministry of Health. She flagged the issue after seeing about 30 cases of gastroenteritis cases daily from May 16 – up from the typical five to 10 a day.

“I got suspicious when there were whole families coming in together,” said the 51-year-old general practitioner who has been practising in the area for 20 years. She has treated 155 patients with the symptoms, and they ranged from about a year old to 80 years old.

Stall owners like Madam Chong Kiam Hong are afraid that patrons will not return, and predicted a 40 per cent loss in business in the days to come.

Her worries, however, may be unfounded. Patrons of the hawker centre said they would go back once it reopens.

“The prices are cheap, and the food is good. It’s hard to find places like this,” said cabby Chua Liat Hwee, 48.

HOW THE VIRUS IS SPREAD

Consuming contaminated food or drinks.

Placing a hand in the mouth after touching surfaces or objects that are contaminated.

Having direct contact with a person who is infected and showing symptoms, for instance by sharing eating utensils.

PRECAUTIONS

Wash hands frequently, especially after toilet visits and before eating or preparing food.

Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly before consumption.

Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces thoroughly immediately after an episode of illness by using the proportion of one part of bleach to nine parts of water.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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