THE dreaded exposure of the Panama Papers has turned up some household names in Singapore including the three local banks but there is also a fair bit of confusion as some names have been misused.

On Monday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published online detailed data from the Panama Papers trove on more than 200,000 secret offshore companies.

It is easy to search the database, and find out who’s behind almost 320,000 offshore companies and trusts from the Panama Papers and the Offshore Leaks investigations, said the ICIJ.

Last month, the ICIJ said it would be sharing the massive leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in more than 35 countries, including Singapore.

The disclosures showed that some world leaders, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron, and many celebrities including Jackie Chan have links to offshore companies.

The leak has led to the resignations of Iceland’s prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, and Spain’s industry minister Jose Manuel Soria.

But the data leaked can be confusing because some names don’t match up.

For instance, Law Society of Singapore is not The Law Society of Singapore which represents lawyers here. A spokesperson of the Law Society said: “The Law Society of Singapore does not have any overseas accounts, nor has it incorporated any overseas entities. The Law Society’s name has obviously been misused and we will be conducting an inquiry into that.”

Search DBS and DBS Foundation comes up but a spokeswoman from DBS Bank said that it is not the same entity which was launched in 2014 as part of the group’s SG50 celebrations. DBS set up the S$50 million DBS Foundation in conjunction with the nation’s Jubilee.

But DBS does have offshore entities such as DBS Trustee and The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd (now known as DBS Bank Ltd), as disclosed in the database.

“The use of professional services providers is common,” said the spokeswoman.

“With regard to offshore or trust structures, the law obliges us to take steps to identify ultimate beneficial owners and we do not support the use of concealment techniques. As with any incident, we study all information carefully and take action where required,” she said.

UOB Private Banking & Trust also pops up when you search UOB and it states that the data is from Offshore Leaks and that its agent is Portcullis Trustnet. “UOB does not use Mossack Fonseca’s office in Panama,” said a bank spokeswoman.

Portcullis Trustnet, a Singapore-based company, came under fire in 2013 when its documents were also leaked. ICIJ had previously said Portcullis TrustNet – since renamed Portcullis Group – was helping the rich to use offshore entities to dodge taxes.

OCBC Bank has several offshore entities, according to the database.

Koh Ching Ching, OCBC head of group corporate communications, said high net worth individuals may use the services of various professional service providers, such as accounting firms, corporate secretarial firms and law firms for legitimate purposes, for example, setting up of offshore or trust structures for wealth planning purposes, such as estate planning.

“Offshore structures are also used for other legitimate purposes such as business finance or mergers and acquisitions,” said Ms Koh.

OCBC’s private bank Bank of Singapore “exercises stringent screening controls to ensure compliance with both internal and regulatory requirements, including anti-money laundering and tax evasion laws, before on-boarding a client”, she said.

Foreign banks such as HSBC have several offshore entities on the database like HSBC Trustee (Singapore) Limited.

The regulators here – the Ministry of Finance and Monetary Authority of Singapore – said they “are reviewing the batch of information that was released this morning on the persons and entities identified in the Panama Papers”.

“If there is evidence of wrong-doing by any individual or entity in Singapore, we will not hesitate to take firm supervisory and enforcement action,” they said in a joint statement.

This article was first published on May 11, 2016.
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For years now, some residents at a Pasir Ris HDB block have not been able to hang their laundry outside their windows to dry.

Pigeons have been plaguing a column of units in Block 628, Pasir Ris Drive 3.

A resident who has been living on the fifth storey of the block for over 20 years has a habit of feeding pigeons from her window.

Often, the resident, who is known to her neighbours as Ms Tan and who is in her 40s, also tethers the birds by their legs to her kitchen window.

Madam Goh, a 44-year-old teacher who lives next to Ms Tan, told The New Paper: “When we bought this unit five years ago, they were already here. We thought it was a normal pigeon nuisance. But she’s the one who’s always feeding the pigeons and that’s why they stayed.

“We have to put a netting just to prevent the pigeons and their feathers from coming in. We put it up around three years ago, because the birds came into our kitchen and ate our food.”

Another resident who has lived in the block for more than 20 years and who declined to be named, said that she could see the legs of the pigeons attached to strings whenever they flew up to her flat.

She complained about the pigeons’ faeces and the smell.

An elderly woman living below Ms Tan’s flat, who also declined to be named, said: “Our windows are not the sliding type, so the birds are always standing on top of the windows when I open it.

“Sometimes, when the windows are just cleaned, the birds’ droppings dirty them.”

Some residents have tried speaking to Ms Tan, but the situation has not improved.

Woman tethers pigeons to her 5th storey window

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The New Paper, Lianhe Wanbao

TOWN COUNCIL SAYS

A Town Council spokesman said: “All the relevant agencies are aware of the pigeon nuisance, which is caused by one of the residents feeding them by throwing out food from windows. We have conducted joint-visits to advise the suspected resident.

“On many occasions, we have also carried out ground treatment (culling of pigeons) in order to reduce the pigeon population.

“As it requires multi-agencies to work together to resolve the issue, we will continue to work with the various agencies concerned.”

When TNP visited Ms Tan’s flat on Monday, she did not answer the door. Though the pigeons were not tied to her windows any more, they were still roosting in the area.

lphyllis@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 11, 2016.
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He was annoyed with the stray.

So he killed the cat by throwing it from the 13th storey of his Yishun Ring Road Housing Board block.

Yesterday, Lee Wai Leong, 41, who has been diagnosed with moderate intellectual disability, pleaded guilty to one count of animal abuse.

Court papers said he had taken a lift to the ground floor of his block at about 10.30am on Oct 30 last year.

He picked up the adult male mackerel tabby domestic shorthair from a nearby staircase landing and took the lift to the 13th storey.

He threw the cat over the parapet before taking the lift down to see if it had survived the fall.

An unknown caller alerted the police to the dead cat, which was found to have suffered significant organ tissue bleeding and multi-organ failure.

Lee was arrested and charged with one count of causing unnecessary suffering to the cat under the Animals and Birds Act on Dec 29 last year.

A report from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) said he had moderate intellectual disability even though he was of sound mind at the time of the offence.

He told the IMH psychiatrist he killed the cat as it was noisy and had entered his home once before.

Yesterday, defence counsel Josephus Tan, who was assigned by the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said in mitigation that Lee was a simple-minded person who had dropped out of school after Primary 4.

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Stomp, Facebook screengrabs, Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, The New Paper, Facebook / Yishun 326 Tabby Cat, Tra Cy’s Facebook

LOW IQ

He said his client has the estimated IQ of a 10-year-old or less, is unable to work and spends his day helping out with household chores and looking after his 14 pet fish.

He added that his client, who is facing only one charge, was not responsible for the other cat deaths in Yishun.

Mr Tan said that Lee’s parents, elder brother, sister-in-law and niece have also taken measures to ensure that he does not abuse more cats.

He has to sleep with his parents in their bedroom and they lock the door using a newly-fitted bolt lock (inset).

Only Lee’s mother has the key to it, to prevent him from wandering out.

Mr Tan urged the court to consider probation and to enable his family to get him professional help.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao said Lee could be considered for counselling and extended supervision, given he is a simple-minded person.

DPP Lee said the circumstances were unique and exceptional and did not object to the calling of a probation suitability report.

District Judge Mathew Joseph noted this was Lee’s first offence and he did not act with any perverse cruelty.

He is expected to be back in court on June 7.

The maximum punishment for this offence is a $15,000 fine and 18 months’ jail.

rloh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 11, 2016.
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One moment, she was on an escalator, rushing to meet friends at Paya Lebar.

The next, she had fallen into a gap on the third step of a descending escalator undergoing maintenance at Tanah Merah MRT station and was unable to move or breathe.

“One of my lungs was punctured and my face was torn open,” employment support specialist Azlin Amran, 31, told The New Paper on Monday, describing the incident that changed her life on Jan 28, 2013.

“I was bleeding badly and I thought, ‘This is it. I’m going to die.'”

She shouted for help – or thought she was – for over 30 minutes. Fortunately, a passer-by heard her soft cries and called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

“I had lost a lot of blood by then and to keep me conscious, the officers kept talking to me, asking me questions,” said Ms Azlin, adding that she could not remember the contents of the conversation itself.

In a previous report, SCDF said its officers arrived to find Ms Azlin conscious and in a sitting position, stuck inside an escalator maintenance pit hole that was waist-deep and located at the upper portion of the escalator.

The rescuers had to first prise open the escalator steps next to her to create more space to effectively set up their rescue equipment.

They used a hydraulic cutter to cut away two beams within the escalator pit hole, located near Ms Azlin’s leg and back.

Paramedics also went into the escalator pit hole to give her oxygen and they managed her spine by using a cervical collar to support her neck and head.

The rescue operation took about 25 minutes.

“I continued to tell them that I could not breathe when they loaded me into the ambulance and also at the A&E (Accident and Emergency Department),” said Ms Azlin.

She lost consciousness after she gave her mother’s contact details to a doctor at the hospital.

Ms Azlin learnt about her condition from a WhatsApp group chat.

The fall had fractured her pelvis and severed the nerves in her spinal cord.

“When I came to after the operation, I was in the ICU (intensive care unit) and I could not feel my legs,” she said.

“Everyone around me was trying to give me hope that I would walk again – until I got my phone back and caught up with what was being discussed in a WhatsApp group I shared with my friends.”

Fall into escalator gap leaves woman wheelchair bound

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The New Paper, Azlin Amran, Azlin Amran’s family

PARAPLEGIC

Her friends were upset about her being left a paraplegic after the mishap.

“They meant well and were talking about miracles and hopes. They forgot I was able to access the conversation,” said Ms Azlin.

“That was when reality hit. I spent every day in the ward crying.

“The painful part was not the accident but realising that I had lost my independence.”

She added that she was more sad than angry, but the stubborn streak in her spurred her on.

“The physical pain was nothing compared to the mental, emotional and spiritual pain,” she said.

“I refused to let them defeat me, so I worked at regaining my independence.

“I wasn’t going to bank my hopes on walking again.

“Nerves do not regenerate, so that avenue was out, but I wanted my independence back. I wanted to return to work.”

Ms Azlin was then working as an administrative and operations executive.

She worked hard at physiotherapy and started getting observant about her surroundings.

“For one, I have to get over my fear of escalators and taking the train,” said Ms Azlin.

“The first time after the accident, when I saw an escalator track, I thought I was going to faint. I forced myself to get over the fear.

“Also, I realised the gaps between the platform and the train were huge, and without proper training on the wheelchair, I wouldn’t be able to travel alone.”

Today, Ms Azlin leaves for work at 6.45am, wheeling herself to the MRT station, and returning home at 6.45pm on her own.

Her mother, Madam Azizah Mohd Lajis, 55, still worries for her.

Ms Azlin said: “I know she still gets a bit teary, but I cannot let that stop me from regaining my independence.”

The once sporty woman who would go trekking overseas or play badminton with friends now has to “redefine what is adventure for me”.

“I used to love swimming in the sea, feeling the waves beat against my legs as I stood in it,” said Ms Azlin, holding back her tears.

“Now I can’t even wheel myself on the sand to dip my toes in the waters.

“Going on an adventure now is getting myself to the park where I can enjoy the natural surroundings or sitting by the sea and watching the waves lap against the sand.”

But her condition has not stopped her from travelling.

“My last solo trip before the accident was to trek in Nepal. That was when there was a strike in the country,” she said.

“Last year, I went on a campervan trip in New Zealand with my mother, my cousin and a friend. It was my first trip after the accident. It was different, but it was exhilarating.”

BABY STEPS

Ms Azlin is back to playing badminton and was competent enough to be sent to Taiwan by the Singapore Disability Sports Council for training.

“I don’t want to let my predicament get me down,” she said.

“I work hard to regain my independence and not let my own powers to be taken away from me. There is satisfaction in knowing that despite being in a wheelchair, I can still work, travel and play sports.”

“It’s all about taking baby steps, improvising and living.”

Out of court settlement

Following the incident on Jan 28, 2013, Ms Azlin Amran sued SMRT for negligence and sought about $3 million in damages.

SMRT settled the lawsuit last week for a final payout of an amount that neither party would disclose.

Medical reports were tendered in court to support Ms Azlin’s claims and attest to the seriousness of her condition.

Through lawyer Nadia Moynihan, Ms Azlin alleged that SMRT had failed in its duty of care and sought special and general damages to pay for her medical treatment, caregivers and loss of earnings.

In its defence, SMRT contested the claims, arguing that Ms Azlin had caused or contributed to her injuries by failing to keep a proper lookout, among other things.

A High Court case management conference was held before Assistant Registrar Janice Wong and the case had been amicably settled out of court.

In March, SMRT was fined $120,000 after pleading guilty to one charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

This article was first published on May 11, 2016.
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