A picture of an elderly void-deck cobbler sharing a light-hearted moment with his wife, who is sitting beside him, has won university student Kirthana Ganeson a prize in a photography competition.

Titled Sharing A Moment, the photograph, taken in Ang Mo Kio, bagged third place in the Instagram category of the Celebrating Life in the Heartlands Photography Competition 2016, organised by the Housing Board in conjunction with HDB’s Community Week 2016.

“The couple I photographed had a hard life. The husband was working as a cobbler at a void deck, while his wife kept him company. Despite their challenges, they were genuinely happy. I felt I had to take a picture,” said Ms Kirthana, 20.

Held from Jan 15 to March 31 this year, the competition was centred on the theme Friendly Faces, Lively Places, and asked for entries that highlighted the distinctive character of HDB towns.

This year’s competition included a new Instagram category. Eligible entries with the most number of “likes” in the Instagram category won the People’s Choice Award.

Engineer Chan Wai Meng, 45, who won the first prize in the Instagram category for his picture Tai Chi Masters, had been exploring Bras Basah when he caught the group on camera.

“The way they worked as a team needed to be remembered. It truly expressed Singapore’s culture and lifestyle,” he said.

The Open category’s first prize went to IT executive Hang Loo Ming, 44, who captured the front facade of an HDB block in Mountbatten during Chinese New Year.

“I spotted a lion dance troupe and asked them where their next performance would be. Then, I went to the opposite block and took their picture from there,” he said of his photo Stories Across Storeys.

Shortlisted entries in the Open category were judged by Ms Eileen Neo, an HDB representative who was also a judge for the Instagram category; Ms Wang Hui Fen, deputy picture editor at The Straits Times; and Mr Vincent Liew, honorary secretary of The Photographic Society of Singapore.

Referring to Mr Hang’s photo of the lion dance troupe, Ms Wang said: “(It) had good composition, nice framing and striking colours. The moment the picture was captured opened a window on heartland living. It was a unanimous choice among the judges.”

The other judges for the Instagram category were Mr Khairulazmas Salim, a Singapore-based photographer, and Mr Yafiq Yusman, curator of online group exploresingapore.sg.

IT operator Rushdi Jamari, 39, won a merit prize in the Instagram category for his photo Heartland Melodies. Walking through Rochor Centre, he came across an old man playing a flute at a void deck.

“He was so immersed in the music, I decided to capture the moment,” he said.

Another Instagram merit prize went to tutor Wong Chek Poh, 55. His photo Old Is Gold showed kids at an old playground in Toa Payoh. He felt that the sand-based, dragon-shaped playground is disappearing in Singapore.

The contest received 2,204 entries this year, with 990 entries for the Open category, and 1,214 for the Instagram category.

Looking forward to the next contest, Ms Kirthana said: “The heartland is a versatile space that depicts our diversity. These towns are the microcosm of Singapore society.”

Winners of HDB’s photo contest recount stories behind their pictures

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Kirthana D/O Ganesan, Calvin Chan Wai Meng, Hang Loo Ming, Rushdi Bin Jamari, Wong Chek Poh

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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Three days after his mother died in a vehicle collision, he heard that a friend and her boyfriend had been involved in a hit-and-run accident.

Toh Wei Xue, 17, also found out that the accident happened on the same day as his mother’s death.

His mother, factory supervisor Lau Lee Kiau, 46, was on her way to work last Saturday when a 17-year-old without a driver’s licence crashed his car into the motorcycle she was on.

The driver fled the scene, but was arrested later the same day.

Feeling suspicious, Wei Xue tried to find out more about that accident, and realised his friends were dodging his questions.

He confronted one of the driver’s friends, who later admitted the truth – Wei Xue’s mother was killed in the same accident.

Wei Xue told The New Paper at his mother’s wake yesterday: “I would not have felt as angry if he had hit my mum and stopped to help.

“He is heartless. He knows who I am, and he knows that I know that he is the culprit, but he has not even apologised.”

Wei Xue also found out that the driver was with his 15-year-old girlfriend during the accident. She is a friend of Wei Xue’s.

He said: “I told my friend to tell him (the driver) to come to the wake to apologise.

“He said he was going to come, but I haven’t heard from him. I don’t think he’s going to come at all.”

More details about Madam Lau’s fatal accident have also emerged.

Divorcee killed in traffic accident, leaving behind son, 17, and daughter, 13

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Lianhe Wanbao

HARROWING

A harrowing video of the crash, captured from an in-car camera, was put up on the Facebook pages of Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News and Roads.sg yesterday.

In the 30-second video, the motorcycle Madam Lau was on and a taxi are seen on the right lane of the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2.

A car from the opposite direction then crashes into both vehicles.

It also mounts the road divider, and its front bumper is damaged after the collision.

Wei Xue saw the video and recognised his mother’s helmet, which was flung onto the road after the crash.

He said: “I feel sad watching the video, but there is nothing more that we can do.”

Madam Lau’s boyfriend, who was riding the motorcycle, was discharged from hospital yesterday.

The plumber, known only as Mr Lim, 55, had suffered from back and leg fractures, and went through surgery on Monday.

Madam Lau’s oldest sister, 67, said they visited him in hospital, and that he was still guilt-stricken about the accident.

She recalled: “He couldn’t stop crying and blamed himself.

“He said that he should have died in her place because she has two children to take care of.”

Wei Xue said he does not blame his mother’s boyfriend, but he cannot forgive the driver for his mother’s death.

“The maximum penalty for his crime is five years. He can still lead a new life after that,” he said.

“He killed someone and my family has been torn apart by his actions. Doesn’t he feel bad?”

Wei Xue said he is determined to make his mother proud.

He will enrol in a private school next month to take his O levels.

He said: “My mother always wanted me to complete my studies. I will do well this time.”

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – Local blogger Amos Yee was charged with eight new offences in court on Thursday (May 26), local media reported.

According to Channel NewsAsia, the 17-year-old faces six charges for allegedly wounding the religious feelings of Muslims and Christians under Section 298 of the Penal Code.

On Wednesday, Yee posted photos of his charge sheets on his blog, which showed that the above charges pertain to offensive material he had posted on his social media accounts, TODAY reported.

He also faces two charges for failing to turn up at Jurong Police Division twice despite receiving a notice from Assistant Superintendent of Police Doreen Chong as well as an magistrate’s order.

The alleged offences took place between November 2015 and May 2016.

If found guilty of deliberately wounding the religious feelings of others, Yee faces up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine. For failing to report to Jurong Police Division despite an order, he faces up to a month’s imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,500.

The teenager, who was not represented by a lawyer, told District Judge Ronald Wee that he intends to claim trial to all charges, according to The Straits Times.

Yee is currently out on $5,000 bail and a pre-trial conference has been fixed for next Monday (May 30).

Last year, the teenager served four weeks in jail for posting an obscene image on his blog and making offensive remarks against Christianity in a video.

Amos Yee sentenced to 4 weeks in jail

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The Straits Times, The New Paper, Reuters, AFP, Lianhe Zaobao

minlee@sph.com.sg

His girlfriend had been led away by a man who allegedly claimed to be a policeman.

When a passerby told him that the man was not a cop, the worried boyfriend tried to call the girl, then 16, to warn her.

She answered her phone when he called her, only to tell him that she would call him back before she hung up, the court heard yesterday.

He did not get a chance to warn her of the alleged impostor and frantically started looking for her.

By the time he found her, she could only cry and say she was afraid he would leave her.

Muhammad Firman Jumali Chew, who was a pizza delivery man, is now on trial for one count each of rape, sexual assault by penetration and pretending to be a police officer.

Now aged 30, the married man and father-of-one is accused of pretending to be a policeman before raping the teenage girl and forcing her to perform oral sex on him at a staircase landing between the fifth and sixth storeys of Block 359 Woodlands Avenue 5. The incident occurred sometime between 4.50pm and 6pm on Oct 9, 2013.

Testifying on the second day of the trial, the victim’s then-boyfriend, now an 18-year-old ITE student, said he had been in a relationship with the alleged rape victim for four months. Both were just 16 then.

While together, he admitted they had gone to Block 362, which is near Block 359, “many times” to have sexual intercourse. He cannot be named to protect the girl’s identity.

He said in his police statement that they were having sex at a staircase landing on the 11th storey at around 4pm on Oct 9, 2013, when the girl spotted someone spying on them from an upper level.

The boy said they decided to leave after he went up to the 12th storey and saw Firman hiding beside a wooden door to the stairwell. They were waiting for a lift on the 11th storey when Firman came forward and allegedly told them he was a police officer and would take action on them.

The boy said in his statement on Oct 29, 2014 that Firman told him to leave as he wanted to talk to the girl alone. The boy told her he would wait for her at the void deck.

Firman then allegedly took his victim to Block 359, where he raped her.

When defence lawyer, Mr Ravinderpal Singh, cross-examined him yesterday, the boy testified that Firman was then not wearing a uniform or anything else to indicate he was a police officer.

While the boy was waiting for the girl, the court heard that a witness from Block 362, Mr Tung Shue Kiong, told him that Firman was not a policeman. The boy and Mr Tung decided to look for the girl, but could not find her.

The boy was about to go home when she phoned him, crying, saying she was scared and asked him to meet her at Woodlands Bus Interchange.

When the boy got there with Mr Tung, they spotted Firman in front of a provision shop. He also saw his girlfriend queueing for a bus.

CRYING

While Mr Tung spoke to Firman, the boy went to the girl, pulled her aside and asked her what had happened.

In his statement, he said: “I brought her to (Mr Tung) who was still talking to (Firman).

“She kept crying and kept telling me not to and said she was scared. But I just pulled her.

“(Mr Tung) asked (her) if that was the man. She was still crying and nodded her head with her hand pointing at (Firman).”

The boy said she ran off when bus number 950 pulled up, telling him that her family friend was waiting for her.

The boy also said in his statement that he heard Firman telling Mr Tung that he had not done anything to the girl.

Instead, he claimed they had walked around and he had bought her a drink.

The boy said he went home after Mr Tung allowed Firman to leave.

A police officer testified that Firman was arrested at around 9.25pm two days later as he and his wife were headed to Malaysia through Woodlands Checkpoint.

The trial resumes today.

If convicted of rape, Firman could be jailed up to 20 years and fined or caned.

This article was first published on May 26, 2016.
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