SINGAPORE – Things are now going swimmingly well for an otter pup called Toby by the otter watching community here, despite a rough start in life.

On May 9, the six-week-old smooth-coated otter pup almost drowned after it fell off a ledge into a canal near Fort Road.

It was rescued by retiree and property investor Patrick Ng, 60, who dived in to fish Toby out of the waters. “After rescuing it, I left it on the ledge near the entrance to its holt and quickly swam away, in case the adults came back,” Mr Ng said.

But the adult otters did not. The otter watching community later realised Toby’s family had not returned for it when they found a new home nearby.

At 6pm that day, the pup was rescued and sent to Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) for treatment.

Things took a turn for the better on Thursday (May 19), when the Marina 9 pack, as the family is affectionately known, was reunited.

As the pack scurried off into nearby vegetation, an adult otter was seen carrying Toby in its mouth, which is how animals such as otters move their young before they are strong enough to do so on their own.

The reunion was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of otter watchers from the informal community OtterWatch, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS), staff from the National Parks Board (NParks), as well as veterinarians from the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Ever since the Marina 9 were observed to be making regular crossings across East Coast Park Service Road to get between their holt and the sea, the OtterWatch community has been closely monitoring the pack to look out for the safety of the otters and other road users.

Otters in Singapore

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The Straits Times, NParks, facebook, Jeff Tan YouTube

Last Monday (May 9), they noticed Toby peeking out of the holt, seemingly alone. It eventually ventured out onto the ledge and later fell into the canal.

Otter pups rely on their mother for milk, and are usually fed several times a day.

The pup could have emerged from the holt in the first place as it was hungry and searching for its parents, said Mr N Sivasothi, a lecturer at NUS’ department of biological sciences who was involved in the rescue effort.

With only an hour of daylight left, rescue efforts were carried out at 6pm, and the pup was sent to WRS for treatment. Otter watcher Jeffery Teo, 44, who was part of the rescue team, said Toby was hiding inside a narrow trough.

While under WRS’ care, Toby was nursed by Dr Serena Oh, assistant director of the WRS veterinary department. The pup was bottle-fed regularly, given a Vitamin B injection and dewormed. It showed positive signs of recovery throughout this period, WRS and NParks said in a joint response to media queries.

On Thursday morning (May 19), Toby was deemed strong enough to be released back into the wild.

It was also important to ensure that the wild otter pup did not get used to humans, Mr Sivasothi said. Wild animals usually keep a distance from people they encounter, which makes them less susceptible to cases of poaching, abuse, or “well-intentioned help”, when people try to help animals that do not need rescuing, he added.

As the otter watchers had consistently monitored the movements of the pack, rescuers had a better idea of where the pup should be placed so the adults would notice it.

Toby was initially placed in a carrier it was used to, which was further surrounded by a pet fence to prevent it from wandering. But the pup was quiet and did not emerge from the carrier.

“The strange structure, and the lack of vocalisation from the pup, made the adults wary, although they did make a few attempts to get near,” said Mr Sivasothi.

So the team tried a different strategy.

They removed Toby from its comfort zone and placed it on the sand. “It was uneasy and began squeaking and moving around, which immediately caught the attention of the adults nearby. They came over urgently but cautiously, and sniffed the pup,” Mr Sivasothi added. The family scurried off together at about noon.

NParks and WRS said post-acceptance monitoring is being conducted to ensure that the otter pup is successfully assimilated into its family.

On the successful reunion, Mr Sivasothi said: “Today I experienced a strong, unencumbered feeling of joy. No doubt about how we did what we did. Still aglow from that wonderful conclusion!”

OtterWatch’s Mr Teo added: “The rescue and reintroduction of Toby has demonstrated an unprecedented collaboration and ‘make-it-happen’ spirit between members of the public and across multiple agencies. Everyone puts in their best, not for pride nor glory, we just want to bring Toby home. This is humanity at its best form.”

This article was first published on May 19, 2016.
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Forty passengers on a Lion Air flight from Singapore to Jakarta last Tuesday were sent to the domestic terminal by accident.

And in the confusion, 16 people left without going through immigration. So far, all except one of these passengers have been contacted, reported Indonesian news site Tempo.co.

One of the passengers was Natalie Falk-Gandarum, 31, a Swiss national who had gone to Singapore to renew her Indonesian work visa. She returned to Jakarta on Lion Air flight JT161 and knew immediately that something had gone wrong.

“I have to go on a visa run every six months to a year,” she told The New Paper.

“I know that when one arrives on an international flight, one must go through immigration to get their passport checked and stamped. So it was a little strange that I did not.”

Miss Falk-Gandarum was one of the passengers mistakenly taken to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s Terminal One which serves as a domestic terminal.

She alerted airport workers about the error but they did not initially understand the nature of her situation.

When airport workers eventually realised what had happened, their attempts to remedy the problem led to yet more confusion.

She said: “They gave me bits and pieces of information.

“I had to find out things on my own, asked perhaps five people.

“They told me to take a shuttle bus to Terminal Two. There, we talked to an airport officer who told us to go to Lion Air office at the end of the terminal.”

Eventually, Lion Air staff rectified the situation and accompanied Miss Falk-Gandarum to an immigration booth.

In the end, it took her about two hours to get her passport stamped. “I did not receive any apologies either,” she said.

Lion Air is not the only airline to have wrongly let passengers off at a domestic terminal.

On Monday, 47 passengers on AirAsia flight QZ509 from Singapore to Bali erroneously left the Ngurah Rai airport via the domestic terminal, reported Channel News Asia.

All were eventually found and went through proper immigration clearance.

On Wednesday, both airlines had their ground handling permits frozen for the respective airports by the Indonesian Transport Ministry.

“The sanctions are issued so that all parties will be more careful when it comes to the safety of passengers,” said Transport Ministry director-general of Air Transportation Suprasetyo at a press conference on Wednesday.

The airlines’ flight schedules are not affected by the suspensions, said Channel NewsAsia.

The airlines have been given five days to find an operator for their ground-handling services.

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The future of Holland Village’s Wala Wala Cafe Bar is in the balance as owner Stanley Yeo waits for a lease renewal in December.

The landlord died and the place now belongs to his children. Mr Yeo expects a rental increase, especially since the last lease renewal was more than a year ago.

“This year, Wala Wala is 23 years old,” the 47-year-old told My Paper at his four-month-old outlet, Hive by Wala Wala at Furama RiverFront.

“Our future there depends on the landlords,” said Mr Yeo. “Come December, we will know. This is also another reason I had to expand before the end of this year.”

He has shifted 15 per cent of his management crew to Hive, with a new team running operations at Wala Wala Cafe Bar.

Some bands have also been transferred to Hive, “in order to make space for new local talent at Wala Wala”.

Should the rent increase significantly at the Holland Village venue, he intends to “drop the top floor and keep only the bottom” of the two-storey establishment.

He stressed that he would be reluctant to let the place go entirely.

Meanwhile, he said business at the sprawling new venue at 407 Havelock Road is “good” though it is difficult to pack the place due to its large size.

Although he planned for Hive to cater to various types of customers, with its mix of a restaurant, bar, cigar room, wine retail shop, events room and ice cream bar, the core clientele is still the bar crowd.

Mr Yeo, who hopes to break even on his almost $3 million investment in about three years, is branching out into events for his 13,800 sq ft venue, with about 20 events slated for the next two months.

They include weddings, product launches and mini-concerts. The cosy outlet can also accommodate car launches and fashion shows, with furniture moved aside for a runway and an arrangement with the landlord for ease of entry, should vehicles for car launches need to be driven in.

With a larger venue, bigger parties for special occasions such as Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are also being planned.

What has not changed is that success depends on having dedicated staff.

“It’s relationships (customers build with staff). People don’t come to see the owner. Most of the time, they see the bartender,” said Mr Yeo.

He has seen watering holes come and go in Singapore’s competitive nightclub scene but “we’re still around”.

He chalks it up to the “friendly vibe” his staff help create. Some of them have worked with him for up to 15 years.

Half his customers at Hive have been to or know Wala Wala, said Mr Yeo.

“When Wala Wala first started, we had a lot of National University of Singapore students. They got married.

“We still see them.

“In a way, they grow old with Wala Wala. Some couples met at Wala Wala and even took wedding pictures there.”

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SPEED demons beware, the Traffic Police have a new gadget to nab those who break the limit.

Yesterday, they unveiled a new portable speed laser camera that will be deployed at 44 speeding hot spots – including West Coast Highway, Braddell Road and Changi Coast Road.

It is the first time the older cameras are being replaced since speeding enforcement operations began in 2004.

Manned by a single officer, the new cameras can capture higher resolution images, work better in low light conditions and have a battery life of eight hours – double that of the older model.

Officers will be stationed on overhead bridges or by the roadside – the list of enforcement areas is available online.

The gadgets also have the ability to capture video, unlike the older model.

Signs will be placed about 200m before the speed laser cameras.

“The intent is to let motorists be aware that they are entering an accident-prone area so slow down and drive carefully,” said TP deputy commander Devrajan Bala.

Deputy assistant commissioner Devrajan added that the new cameras will complement existing efforts to curb speeding with the TP’s other cameras on the roads.

Asked why it took 12 years for the TP for upgrade its speed laser cameras, he said: “The technology has improved tremendously. We were looking for something that would be a gamechanger, in terms of camera capabilities.

“In the past, (cameras’ performance was) dependent on light conditions… the current ones are very reliable.”

The number of accidents caused by speeding fell to 1,197 last year from 1,363 in 2014.

However there were 8,021 injury accidents caused by speeding last year, up almost 3 per cent from 7,809 in 2014.

Fatal speeding accidents rose to 48 last year, from 43 in 2014.

In recent years, the TP have replaced their ageing film cameras with digital ones, and deployed mobile speed cameras – autonomous devices which can be taken down and set up within a week – at speeding hot spots.

The mobile speed cameras, which were launched earlier this year on Seletar Link, have been deployed at two more locations – Jurong Island Highway and Lim Chu Kang Road.

“The mobile speed cameras have been very effective, we see very good behaviour now… Our idea is to shape the motorist’s behaviour,” said TP commander Sam Tee.

Motorist Steve Keh, 41, who works in the maritime industry, said: “These will surely be effective and make people drive carefully.”

dansonc@sph.com.sg

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