The Ministry of Health (MOH) has declared war on diabetes, with each of the four political leaders in its ranks primed to tackle a particular aspect of the disease.

In setting the battle scene, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament yesterday that diabetes, one of the biggest drains on the healthcare system, is already costing the country more than $1 billion a year.

“Left undetected, untreated or poorly managed, diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputations,” he said during the debate on his ministry’s budget. Every day, four Singaporeans lose a limb or appendage because of complications from diabetes, he noted.

Of the more than 400,000 diabetics in Singapore today, one in three do not even know they have the disease. Of those who do know, one in three have poor control.

If nothing is done, things will just get worse, with one out of every three people here – more than a million – getting diabetes.

“Therefore, I am declaring war on diabetes,” said Mr Gan. “We want to help Singaporeans live life free from diabetes and for those with the disease, to help them control their condition to prevent deterioration.”

He will co-chair a new Diabetes Prevention and Care Taskforce with Acting Education Minister Ng Chee Meng, that will include people from the public and private sectors as well as patient advocacy and caregiver groups.

This “war” will start with the young. Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min said it worries him to note that children and youth are getting increasingly overweight.

“Childhood obesity is likely to persist and progress into adulthood,” he added. These overweight people will be at higher risk of getting chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

He will jointly lead an inter-agency NurtureSG Taskforce with Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary to spearhead this effort.

Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor’s Women’s Health Committee will help women with gestational diabetes to prevent birth complications, as well as tackling higher risk of diabetes in the child.

Minister of State for Health Chee Hong Tat will work with the community to promote healthy living and reduce prevalence of diabetes. He will try to get more people to screen for diabetes, and to strengthen follow-up treatment for those who are diagnosed with the disease.

Mr Gan said: “The war on diabetes will not be a quick battle but a long war requiring sustained effort.”

salma@sph.com.sg

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THEY have been gold-plated, hammered into lockets and painted with enamel to look like stained glass – but it is illegal to turn Singapore coins into jewellery.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) lodged a police report last Thursday after it discovered that people had been making such trinkets and selling them on United States-based craft website Etsy, sometimes for thousands of dollars. Police are investigating and offenders can be fined up to $2,000.

Under the Currency Act, it is illegal to “mutilate, destroy or deface” Singapore currency, including painting, engraving or cutting into coins.

The sale of Singapore coin jewellery is not new, with one vendor claiming his Singapore 10-cent earrings, which sell for $125 a pair, have been a “best-selling” item since he began making them 38 years ago.

A search of “Singapore coin jewellery” on the site yielded almost 200 results, with most pieces using coins from the first series issued by the Singapore Mint from 1967 to 1985.

Known as the marine series, it features designs of the seahorse, swordfish and lionfish.

Several sellers also used coins from the floral series, produced from 1985 to 2012, featuring flowers like the periwinkle and yellow allamanda.

Apart from lockets and earrings, local coins have also been turned into cuff links, necklaces and rings.

Modifications range from holes punched through the coins to silver soldering, annealing (heat treatment) and tumble polishing.

Prices go from $4 for a pair of earrings to $2,497 for a pendant containing a 1983 gold proof commemorative coin.

All the sellers are based overseas, with most in Britain and the US, and are using these techniques to make jewellery from coins around the world.

Many told The Straits Times that they bought their Singapore coins from local coin dealers, coin shops or on eBay.

Steve Patmore, 62, owner of CoinArte on Etsy, said: “The seahorse is a beautiful creature and the design on the Singapore coin is a particular favourite.” He added that sales of Singapore coin pendants and cuff links have been steady, with many international buyers.

Many sellers added they were unaware that making Singapore coins into jewellery is illegal.

One seller, who wanted to be known only as Myron, said: “I obviously don’t want to disrespect regulations, so I will have a look at the relevant law and make a decision if I will continue selling these pieces.

“Having said that, I don’t think that the UK will extradite me to stand trial.”

A seller from the US, who wanted to be known only as Cliff, said: “It might be illegal in Singapore but it isn’t illegal in this country.”

Australia and Canada have similar laws prohibiting the defacing of coins. While it is not illegal to turn coins into jewellery in the US and Europe, the practice is not encouraged.

Lawyer Amolat Singh said that since Singapore’s laws do not have extraterritorial jurisdiction, it is unlikely that these overseas sellers will face penalties, as defacing currency is not a major offence that warrants assistance from other governments.

But he added that the police might have greater power than MAS when investigating the issue.

Etsy did not respond to queries about whether it would require the sellers to remove these items.

chiaytr@sph.com.sg

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FROM next year, fathers will get a second week of compulsory paid leave to spend time with their baby and a bigger share of their wife’s maternity leave.

These changes, when combined with the existing baby leave they get, will bring a new father a total of eight weeks of leave.

But they have to use the new perks before their child turns one year old.

The additions, announced by Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo in Parliament yesterday, are part of a government effort to encourage couples to have more babies by getting fathers more involved in parenting.

Mrs Teo, who oversees population matters, said: “Nothing quite compares to the joy of holding your own child… Fathers feel these emotions as strongly as mothers do.”

To spur fathers to do more, those whose children are born from Jan 1 next year will get two weeks of mandatory paid paternity leave.

Currently, only one week is compulsory while the second week is up to companies.

The Government will pay for the extra week of leave, capped at $2,500 per week that includes Central Provident Fund contributions.

In addition, working mothers can share up to four weeks of their paid maternity leave with their husbands from July next year.

Now, they can share only one out of 16 weeks they get.

Together with the one week of childcare leave and one week of unpaid infant care that fathers are now eligible for, they will get a total of eight weeks off work to look after their baby. The leave must be taken before the child’s first birthday.

Mrs Teo acknowledged that businesses may be concerned about the extra leave affecting their manpower needs.

But the changes are being announced eight months before they take effect, to give employers time to plan their staffing schedules, she said.

To qualify for the paternity leave and shared parental leave, fathers must be married to the child’s mother, and the child must be a Singapore citizen.

In another change, mothers who adopt will also get 12 weeks of paid leave to look after their adopted child, up from the currrent four weeks.

To qualify, the adopted child must be a Singapore citizen below 12 months of age and adopted on or after July 1, 2017.

Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said that given the gloomy economic outlook, employers would have preferred to be given 18 to 24 months’ notice.

“We understand that male employees don’t have kids every year.

“But in the years that they do, they may take quite a lot of time off from work. Can they be given automatic approval to defer their reservist training that year?” he asked.

charyong@sph.com.sg