The steel frame of an MRT train keeps commuters inside safe from lightning strikes, and is like the protection offered when one is inside a car or an aeroplane, said experts.

Hence, a lightning strike, which was suspected to have crippled an SMRT train during a heavy thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon, would not be dangerous to passengers inside the train.

SMRT did not confirm if the train was hit and said only that lightning struck in a location between Yio Chu Kang and Khatib stations along the North-South Line. The affected train had to be pushed to a station by another, and no one was hurt.

Professor Liew Ah Choy from the National University of Singapore’s electrical and computer engineering department said there is no significant voltage difference – which causes electrocution – in a metallic enclosure such as a train cabin when lightning strikes.

Prof Liew said the steel frame of the train rises in voltage during a strike, and the current would flow around the metallic walls of the train car. “In the process of doing so, because the wall is electrically conducting, there is very little voltage difference generated,” he explained.

There is also no danger if a person is clutching a metallic pole in the cabin, he added. “Say, your hand is holding the pole and your feet are on the (train cabin) floor. The voltage on the pole is roughly the same as the voltage on the floor,” he said.

In response to concerns raised by the public about lightning strikes on the MRT network, SMRT said in 2001 that the train cabin is, in scientific terms, a “Faraday cage” – a concept named after the 19th century scientist Michael Faraday.

Other examples of Faraday cages are cars and aeroplanes, where passengers are safe if lightning hits.

The transport operator said in a letter published in The New Paper in 2001: “A person may be electrocuted if there is a high electrical potential difference between two different parts of his body, causing electricity to flow through his body. There is no electrical potential difference inside a Faraday cage.”

In Wednesday’s case, the train’s driver was said to have reported the incident, adding that he smelled something burning.

Asked about this phenomenon, a former SMRT train driver, who declined to be named, said there are electrical components in the train which may have been “shorted” by the sudden surge in voltage.

“The surge protectors may not be able to protect these parts, given that Wednesday’s storm was quite severe. There have been lightning strikes before, when the system tripped, but we were able to get the trains running soon after,” he said.

The former employee said SMRT has over the years installed more lightning rods at viaducts in open areas as additional safety measures.

According to the National Environment Agency, Singapore has one of the highest occurences of lightning activity in the world.

Even so, lightning strikes on MRT trains are not common. The last case reported in the media was in September 2013, when a strike somewhere around Kranji station caused an electrical failure that held up North- South Line services for 35 minutes.

adrianl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
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As children, the Ong siblings used to get free rides on public buses sometimes.

Their father, Ong Cheng Siang, was the second-generation owner of the Green Bus Company which operated five routes from its terminal in Queen Street to as far as Lim Chu Kang and Johor Baru.

The iconic 30-seater vehicles – Vulcan omnibuses from England – were painted a deep shade of green.

“As teenagers we took the bus out with friends. The bus conductors recognised us and we got on free,” said 65-year-old Ong Lek Meng, an oil trader.

The most profitable route was bus No. 5 which covered the Bukit Timah area and ended at the Princess Elizabeth estate.

The company was established in the mid-1930s by Mr Ong’s grandfather Ong Chin Chuan and several other partners.

The Ong family has loaned about 50 photos capturing highlights of the company’s history to the National Heritage Board (NHB).

These will be incorporated into a refreshed version of the board’s Bukit Timah heritage trail which will be launched in September.

Mr Alvin Tan, NHB’s assistant chief executive of policy and community, said the Ong family’s photos and personal stories “fill a crucial gap in Singapore’s early transport history”.

Mr Tan hopes the families of other early bus companies will also share their stories and photographs “so we can have a fuller understanding of Singapore’s early bus networks and operations”.

Prior to the war, the Green Bus Company was one of 10 which ran “mosquito buses” or small seven- seater motor buses that plied rural areas. These were popular with the working class because they were cheap and fast.

These businesses, which included Keppel Bus Company, Soon Lee Bus Company and Ngo Hock Bus Company, were mainly owned and operated by the Hock Ching dialect group from Fujian province.

As children, some of the Ong siblings would spend evenings at the bus terminal counting the takings from the various services.

Ms Ong Bee Geok, 66, a retired bank worker, said: “Rides started at five cents. The most expensive ticket was priced at 50 cents, to Johor Baru.”

While business boomed for the most part, internal strife was common among staff and shareholders.

On April 27, 1960, Mr Ong Cheng Siang, then 44, was kidnapped after a dinner and held captive in an underground cell in the east coast.

Mr Ong Lek Meng said of his father’s ordeal: “We heard that he was buried in a hole in the ground. Our house was filled with relatives, reporters and the police. He came back with rashes.”

According to newspaper reports, Mr Ong was released nine days after a substantial ransom, believed to be $500,000, was paid. His kidnappers threw him out of a car along Amber Road. There, he had hailed a cab to his motor workshop in Rochor Canal Road.

Later, in the 1960s, he was also the victim of an acid attack which left his neck, chest and arms scarred.

He eventually developed throat cancer and died in 1971.

The company was amalgamated in 1971 with two others to form the United Bus Company.

By 1973, the Government had further merged all the public bus companies into Singapore Bus Services – today’s SBS Transit.

Mr Ong Lek Meng’s son Patrick Ong, 39, who loaned the photos to the NHB, said he wanted to share his family legacy with the public.

“I hope future generations can learn about the contributions of Singapore’s early families,” the civil servant said.

“The photos could also help researchers digging into Singapore’s past.”

melodyz@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
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A government veterinarian who checked on a horse at a Gallop Stable’s Pasir Ris ranch three years ago saw its right hind leg severely swollen and infected, and it had flies in its eyes.

The next day, another vet who saw the thoroughbred mare taught stable staff how to wash its wounds twice a day.

But three days later, she had to use forceps to remove maggots, which had burrowed deep into a wound.

These details emerged on the first two days of Gallop Stable’s trial at the State Courts for alleged animal cruelty on Monday and Tuesday. The company, which owns three ranches here and one across the Causeway, is denying its single charge.

A district court heard that Wendy Toh was at the Pasir Ris ranch on May 15, 2013 for an unrelated visit when she saw the horse, named Sharpy, lying down.

It was bobbing its head in a bid to get rid of flies in its eyes.

Its right hind leg was about three times the size of a normal leg and it looked to be in obvious pain. There were faeces in the background.

“I really feel sorry for the horse,” said Dr Toh, who was then with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

When water was taken to it, the horse used its mouth to suck the liquid up, instead of using its tongue to lick the water like normal horses would. It also ate up the hay that was given to it.

Read also: Woman killed by horse in Singapore

The next morning, another vet went to check on the horse after being called by Gallop Stable’s director.

Phyllis Yew, who is in private practice, found it lying down, with a fever. There were numerous sores covering about 85 per cent of its right hind leg, which was very swollen and filled with pus.

In some areas, the skin had peeled away, leaving open sores. The sores would have developed up to eight days prior to her visit, said Dr Yew.

Gallop Stable on trial for alleged animal cruelty

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AVA, The Straits Times

The horse also had conjunctivitis in its eyes and its eyelids were swollen. It had wounds on its face, from scraping and banging its head against the ground while trying to get up on its weak legs.

Dr Yew prescribed intravenous antibiotics and painkillers and showed the stable staff how to clean the animal’s wounds. She also instructed them not to let the horse lie down to prevent further injuries, such as nerve damage.

But when she returned three days later, she had to use forceps to dig out maggots deep inside a wound on the horse’s right elbow.

This would not have happened if the staff had cleaned the wounds twice a day with an antibacterial wash as instructed, said Dr Yew.

“It’s a very simple wiping with an antibacterial wash.”

The horse, now aged 20, is still with Gallop Stable.

If convicted of failing to provide adequate veterinary attention to its horse, thus causing unnecessary suffering to the animal, the company faces a maximum fine of $10,000.

73-year-old woman crushed to death after 550kg horse falls on her

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Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, Lianhe Wanbao reader, Timothy Ng

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The labour movement has pledged its support to keep a struggling migrant workers’ cultural space open after its owner said he was finding it too expensive to continue operations.

In a letter to The Straits Times forum published yesterday, Migrant Workers’ Centre chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said that Dibashram’s activities, which include poetry competitions and counselling services, are “positive efforts to help workers here integrate better”.

AKM Mohsin, who runs both Dibashram and local monthly Bengali newspaper Banglar Kantha, had been using the paper’s profits to pay for the centre’s rent and utilities of about $3,000 a month.

But advertising revenue has fallen and he can no longer afford to pay for rent and utilities at the Rowell Road shophouse where Dibashram is housed. The 600 sq ft unit on the second floor doubles as his office.

Mr Yeo, whose worker advocacy centre is backed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said he will be in touch with Mr Mohsin on how to “help the good work of the centre continue”.

“I’m grateful for the help,” said Mr Mohsin, adding that he is still considering the offer.

Besides NTUC’s support, a crowdfunding site by researchers Mohan Dutta and Manishankar Prasad has raised more than $4,800 in five days in an ongoing campaign.

Mr Mohsin said: “Although it is not a permanent solution, we are thankful for the support that locals here have shown.”

He is currently in talks with dormitories who are interested to buy copies of Banglar Kantha for their residents. A few companies have also shown interest in taking out advertisements since the report ran.

“If more people buy the paper, it will help draw advertisers and that is a more sustain- able way to support Dibashram,” said Mr Mohsin.

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