A 17-year-old horse was in such a bad condition that three vets – including a former professor in equine medicine – believed it should have been put down.

Sharpy had dead or rotting tissue on its right lower hind leg and was unable to walk. It had also been given inadequate food, water and bedding, the vets told a district court.

However, Gallop Stable’s operations director Thanabalan A. Rengasamy yesterday denied the mare had severe wounds – and insisted it had not been deprived of care, or suffered any pain.

Testifying as the first witness for Gallop on the third day of its trial on a charge of animal cruelty at the State Courts, Mr Thanabalan claimed the dead tissue was scarring caused by an inflammation of Sharpy’s lymphatic system.

Mr Thanabalan said he was first told it had swelling in its hind legs by his company’s Pasir Ris ranch manager in May 2013. Thinking it to be a relapse of lymphangitis, based on photos he saw, he advised that Sharpy be made to walk.

But by May 15, pus was oozing out of sores on its legs, and Mr Thanabalan asked the manager to call a vet.

That was also the day that an Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) vet, on an unrelated visit to the ranch, saw Sharpy lying down with flies in its tearing eyes.

Its condition deteriorated further over the next few weeks, before improving.

The charge the company faces is for failing to provide adequate veterinary attention to the horse on or before May 15, 2013.

By the time a private vet saw Sharpy on May 16, it had slipped and fallen in its stable, causing further wounds. However, Mr Thanabalan claimed it had been adequately protected by rubber matting on the stable ground, with wood shavings sprinkled on top.

Mr Thanabalan denied the claims of the vets who testified for the prosecution that Sharpy was unable to stand on its own due to leg wounds, and said it could get up on its own and walk without any problems. He also denied that it was dehydrated or underfed.

Mr Thanabalan told the court that animal cruelty went against the nature of his company, which has some 85 retired race horses.

They would all have been put down, had his company not taken them in.

He also said his company would not euthanise a horse “unless there’s no way the horse would recover and get well”.

But when Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Marshall Lim showed him a statement he had made to the AVA, he admitted suggesting to Gallop Stable’s owners that three horses be put down because it was “not cost effective” to keep them.

One horse was found unsuitable for riding lessons due to having a hollow hoof and flat toe.

“At the end of the day, we still have to look at running a business,” he said.

Mr Thanabalan, however, disagreed with DPP Lim’s suggestion that the reason his company spent time, effort and money on Sharpy’s recovery was that it was already under scrutiny from the AVA.

The court yesterday also heard that Gallop Stable lost its accreditation with the British Horse Society in 2013 because the latter found that the company’s horses and ponies were being kept in unsatisfactory conditions.

DPP Lim submitted to the court a letter from the society to the AVA in support of this, although the contents of the letter were not read out in court.

Mr Thanabalan said he did not know of anyone from the society visiting the company’s ranches.

If guilty of cruelty, Gallop Stable faces a maximum fine of $10,000.

Sharpy, now aged 20, is still with Gallop Stable.

The trial will resume at a later date.

This article was first published on May 14, 2016.
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A Chinese consortium is preparing to bid for the high-speed project linking Malaysia’s Capital Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, a source with China Communications Construction Group said on Friday.

The source in Beijing-based CCCG, a major construction enterprise of transportation infrastructure and dredging projects, said that consortium members are discussing details on how to carry out the project.

Sheng Guangzu, general manager of the China Railway Corp, the leading company in the consortium, said it would also involve another 5 companies including China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. The subsidiary of CCCG will start a three-day visit starting from May 23 to Malaysia to push for the project.

In March China Railway announced it was investing $2 billion to build a regional centre in Bandar, Malaysia, near the proposed site for the terminal of the line, to help promote local railway and road construction projects.

The 350-kilometer railway line, the first high-speed rail project in Southeast Asia, has attracted not only Chinese companies but also Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Germany’s Siemens and French company Alstom, all of which said they would bid for the project.

When constructed, the entire trip will take two hours with the train travelling at an average of about 330 km/h.

Experts said on Friday that the Chinese consortium would have an upper hand in bidding for the project especially after China Railway’s acquisition of stakes in Bandar Malaysia, a transit hub, and the terminal of the proposed project.

Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd, or 1MDB, agreed to sell 60 per cent of its property project in Bandar Malaysia to China Railway to ease its debt burden earlier this year.

Liang Haoguang, head of the Capital Development Institute of China, said that China’s railway and construction companies also have an edge over its rivals in terms of technologies and project costs.

“China’s rich experience in large construction projects will help win the rail project, because normally it takes relatively less for Chinese companies to finish the project, and financing is also easier for the cash-rich Chinese companies,” he said.

China is home to the world’s longest and most modern high-speed rail system with over 19,000 km of track.

It has strengthen regional co-operation with construction of many industrial clusters worth billions of dollars in Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Liang said that the closer ties among those countries will also pave the way for the bidding, with those ties helping gain trust from local companies.

Singapore, Malaysia push back deadline for high-speed rail link

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Wildlife experts and animal welfare groups have applauded proposed changes that will give more creatures in the animal kingdom protection on Singapore’s roads.

The proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act, made in Parliament on Monday, will widen a 53-year-old definition of “animals” – from mainly farm creatures to include cats and wildlife.

Currently, the Act requires only motorists who run over “horses, cattle, a**, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dogs” to stop to help them, or risk being jailed for up to a year or fined up to $3,000. With hundreds of animals, including rare species, ending up as roadkill here each year, animal welfare groups have lobbied for the law to be changed.

“Wild animals in Singapore will continue to explore new habitats,” said Ms Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres). “We should take this into consideration as we embark on new developments and make necessary policy amendments.”

She added: “While the habitats of critically endangered species like the Sunda pangolin are protected here, their major threat is becoming roadkill.”

The National Environment Agency had 2,258 pieces of feedback last year on dead animals sighted, whether killed on the roads or otherwise. This is up from 2,198 in 2014.

Animals run over by drivers in recent times include the plantain squirrel, long-tailed macaque, wild pig and deer. On May 8, an otter was almost knocked down in East Coast Park Service Road.

“If you hit an animal, it should be common sense to stop and see if it is alive,” said Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng, who is also Acres’ chief executive. He said animals left to die often face a slow and painful death, while those that are rescued have the potential to recover.

Mr Bernard Tay, chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, said the amended law can encourage drivers to be more alert, but added: “It is inevitable that some drivers will find it inconvenient to stop.”

Motorists interviewed admitted that they were previously unaware of the Road Traffic Act’s section on animals, or the proposed changes.

Housewife Alice Loo Lay See, 54, said: “The proposed modifications are good, but I think it should be applied to only some animals. I would probably not stop for a rat.”

Engineer Ho Pwee Kim, 59, added: “On the highway it may be dangerous to stop.”

Dr Shawn Lum, president of Nature Society (Singapore), said that while it was “a good idea to review aspects of the law”, the changes should be practical.

Dr Lum suggested potential measures to complement the Road Traffic Act, including reducing speed limits for vehicles near nature reserves and identifying potential hot spots for collisions with wildlife.

Ms Mary-Ruth Low, a research assistant studying the spatial ecology of reptiles at the National University of Singapore, believes an amended definition of “animal” will have a significant impact on mindsets.

“Some people think of snakes as pests, not wildlife. They forget that these animals are part of the nature reserve.”

This article was first published on May 14, 2016.
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Poor hygiene practices were the likely cause of a mass food-poisoning incident in February, an investigation by the authorities has found.

Some 231 people fell ill after eating food supplied by Kuisine Catering over three days in February, the National Environment Agency (NEA), Ministry of Health and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said in a joint statement. Five of those affected needed in-patient medical treatment.

The caterer’s food was eaten at events including a Chinese New Year gathering and a birthday party between Feb 12 and 14.

The outbreak was caused by a food-borne pathogen, Salmonella enteritidis, which is normally linked to raw poultry products, the agencies said.

The bacterium was “most likely introduced into ready-to-consume food items as a result of poor personal and food hygiene practices”.

Victims suffered from after-effects such as vomiting, diarrhoea and fever, according to media reports. Some even had to be put on a drip. All patients have since recovered.

Upstream food suppliers were not found to be responsible. The agencies investigated firms which supplied food items to the caterer and found no safety lapses.

Before the end of the investigations, Kuisine Catering told the NEA that it would cease business and the NEA cancelled its licence.

After being notified of the incidents on Feb 15, the authorities immediately inspected the caterer’s premises. The NEA instructed it to suspend its operations on Feb 18 and to discard all raw ingredients and condiments. It then instructed the firm to thoroughly clean and sanitise its premises and transport vehicles, and to get a pest control operator to inspect its premises.

Food handlers working at the suspended premises were required to re-attend and pass the Basic Food Hygiene Course.

The NEA also issued warnings for lapses, including expired products and a failure to maintain a temperature-monitoring record of freezers and chillers.

When The Straits Times visited Kuisine Catering’s premises at Jurong Food Hub yesterday, the door to the unit was shuttered and there was no signboard bearing the company’s name to be seen.

Members of the public who encounter food establishments with poor hygiene practices should not patronise such outlets, the agencies added.

Anyone encountering them should call the 24-hour NEA call centre on 1800-225-5632 to provide details for investigation.

Ms Leow Manling, 32, said her relatives and husband suffered ailments like diarrhoea, fever and flu for three to seven days after eating the caterer’s food at a Chinese New Year dinner.

Dishes included chicken, sweet- and-sour fish fillet and beancurd with mushrooms.

Although she was not affected, she said: “Some had to see the doctor a few times. An elderly relative was warded for a few days. My mum had to go to the hospital for a drip. It was quite traumatising for everybody.”

Ms Leow, a healthcare worker at a hospital, added that she hoped the firm would pay attention to hygiene practices if it started a new business: “The workers have to be very conscious of hygiene practices when handling food.”

This article was first published on May 14, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – A self-employed man who made his victims believe that he was the brother of then Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Wong Kan Seng was sentenced to 4½ years’ jail on Friday (May 13) for cheating them of $520,000.

Undischarged bankrupt Wong Kok Keong, alias Wong Kock Khiang, 63, is out on $30,000 bail pending his appeal.

He had admitted to three charges, with six others, mostly under the Bankruptcy Act, taken into consideration.

He cheated three directors of Manor Construction in 2007 by deceiving them into believing that he was DPM Wong’s brother, and that a sum of $180,000 representing 20 per cent of an option to purchase a property at Yung Ho Road was payable.

He deceived the company of $240,000 over another business deal.

He has since returned $209,000 to Manor, leaving an outstanding balance of $211,000.

In 2011, he cheated Mr Chiam Teck Hwa, 48, by making him believe that he was DPM Wong’s brother and saying that he would invest the victim’s $50,000 into a company, along with his own money.

Wong has paid Mr Chiam back, as well as to another victim, Mr Tan Teik Chin, but this charge was considered.

In Mr Chiam’s case, Wong claimed he had a project to set up a company to run dialysis centre units in Parkway Group Hospital and in Marine Parade.

After Mr Chiam had given a cheque of $50,000 to Wong, he found out through a search there was no record of the company, Grace Asset Management. He also found out that Wong was not related to DPM Wong and asked for the money back.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hon Yi had said the amounts involved were substantial, and that Wong was motivated by personal profit.

Calling him a serial cheat, DPP Hon said Wong resurrected his old methods and perpetrated the same scam on the victims. In 2003, Wong was jailed for 53 months for cheating, dishonest misappropriation and obtaining of credit as a bankrupt.

Wong’s lawyer Edmond Pereira said his client’s ill health in recent years has resulted in increasing medical costs. His finances were crippled because his businesses had collapsed due to the adverse publicity. He said the father of three is remorseful and had co-operated with the authorities.

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
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