Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Pasir Ris are to get facelifts within the next 10 years, with fresh facilities, more greenery and better connected spaces.

The three towns will be revamped under the Housing Board’s Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) scheme, which spruces up public housing estates.

The proposed changes were distilled from 11 discussion sessions with 400 residents and community stakeholders last year, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee in Parliament yesterday.

Residents in Woodlands Central will get a new town plaza, a “sizeable space for various large-scale activities”, said Mr Lee.

Woodlands Waterfront will also get more landscaping, pockets of greenery and shaded areas.

In Pasir Ris, residents can expect a mixed-use development integrated with a new bus interchange and the existing Pasir Ris MRT station.

The development will house residential and commercial facilities.

Existing parks like Pasir Ris Park and neighbourhood centres will also be improved to provide more space for recreational activities.

Mr Lee also said there are plans to improve the pedestrian mall in Toa Payoh’s town centre with more greenery, rest areas and covered shopping streets in selected stretches. Dedicated cycling paths will also be introduced in the mature town.

These plans for the three housing estates will be implemented in the next five to 10 years after they are approved, said the HDB.

Public exhibitions on these proposals will be held later this year.

Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Pasir Ris are the third batch of towns under the ROH scheme introduced in 2007. Other areas to come under this programme include Dawson, Yishun, Hougang, Jurong Lake, Punggol and East Coast.

Mr Lee also announced that Singapore’s parks will have more facilities for the young, the old and the disabled.

Eight playgrounds will be built in the next few years for children, including those with physical disabilities. This is on top of the first, built last year, in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

For seniors and dementia and post-stroke patients, there will be “therapeutic gardens” with contemplative spaces and activity zones to provide horticultural therapy.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday also introduced an Urban Redevelopment Authority programme to support projects initiated by people, to turn public areas into active community spaces.

The “Our Favourite Place” programme will evaluate proposals based on their location, timing and activities.

Those successful may get up to $5,000 seed funding for projects lasting six months or less, or up to $10,000 for longer-term ones.

Through this programme, Mr Wong hopes Singaporeans will get involved in shaping public spaces and this, in turn, “will strengthen our sense of ownership, identity and emotional connection to home”.

See also: Tengah to be developed into a ‘Forest Town’

This article was first published on April 12, 2016.
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After meeting on the popular messaging service QQ in 2010, the Chinese nationals got married in 2012 and moved here separately to earn a living.

In June 2014, they held a customary wedding in China. But when they returned to Singapore, cracks began to appear in their relationship.

The husband, Zheng Xianghua, got suspicious when his wife, Madam Wang Xueyan, 37, started using make-up daily – something she had never done until after their wedding ceremony.

He noticed she began attracting male attention at her workplace in Marsiling, where she was a component assembler.

They quarrelled over it and other matters.

Zheng, a lorry driver for an air freight company in Changi, also suspected his wife of having an affair because of her text messaging habits, and they soon started living apart.

As he became more jealous and paranoid, their disintegrating marriage would end in the bloody death of Madam Wang on Dec 16, 2014.

Yesterday, Zheng, 38, was sentenced to nine years’ jail after pleading guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

He was originally charged with murder but it was reduced when he was found to be suffering from depression and a delusional disorder. (See report above.)

About 1½ months before she was killed, Madam Wang moved out from their rented room in Woodlands to Marsiling Drive, while Zheng rented his own place in Tampines Central.

Before moving, she had smashed her mobile phone and refused to replace it, forcing Zheng to visit her once a week.

He later gave her a new mobile phone, but she frequently ignored his calls.

In early December 2014, Zheng asked his wife’s roommate to spy on her.

A few days later, the roommate told him that Madam Wang had bought a mobile phone and was using it to contact her supervisor at work.

He got jealous and suspected Madam Wang of having an affair with the supervisor.

On Dec 14, Zheng moved to another flat in Block 503, Tampines Central 1, renting a storeroom as his bedroom.

QUARRELLED

He also bought a knife that he planned to use to confront his wife’s supervisor.

When he confronted Madam Wang about her mobile phone, she admitted to using it to contact her supervisor. He then insisted they swop SIM cards to stop her from keeping in touch with the other man.

The next day, he sent a picture of the knife to his friends in China via a chat group to give them the impression that he had confronted his wife’s supervisor.

On Dec 16, Madam Wang agreed to stay the night with Zheng in his new room.

After he picked her up at a bus stop, she had dinner in the room at about 10.20pm.

Woman in Tampines flat murdered, 37-year-old man arrested

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Aw Cheng Wei, The Straits Times, Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min

They chatted and then had sex.

But they quarrelled when Madam Wang refused to allow Zheng to hug her, telling him she was tired and sleepy.

Zheng was furious and retorted that she could stay up late to talk to her supervisor.

He left the room, but they quarrelled again when he came back. He went out a second time and returned with the knife he had bought.

An angry Madam Wang then challenged Zheng to kill her.

As they continued arguing, Zheng hit his wife on the head and slapped her face.

When she told him she would no longer live with him, he stabbed her repeatedly. An autopsy showed that she was stabbed 14 times.

Frightened by the blood and gore, Zheng left the flat with the knife and went to the top of a nearby block with the intention of committing suicide.

He stabbed himself three times in the chest and slashed both sides of his neck with the knife, leaving the walls and floor covered with blood.

He climbed onto a parapet but did not dare jump, and was eventually pulled to safety by the police.

Zheng was suffering from disorders

The court heard Zheng Xianghua had suffered both “severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms” and “delusional disorder, jealous type” at the time of the offence.

Dr Stephen Phang, who interviewed Zheng, said he was “evidently depressed” but was aware of the potential consequence of his offence.

Though Zheng was not of unsound mind at the time of the offence, his serious psychiatric disorders qualified him for the defence of diminished responsibility, Dr Phang added.

Recommending a jail sentence of between 10 and 12 years, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Si En said: “What would have been normal jealousy and suspicions about the deceased’s infidelity gradually evolved with the progression of time into pathological jealousy…”

Asking for “not more than nine years’ jail”, defence lawyer Ng Shi Yang said Zheng was remorseful for committing the offence.

“Causing the death of a human being, and no less a wife that he loved dearly, will haunt Xianghua for his remaining days.

“He makes no excuses for himself and bears full responsibility for his actions,” Mr Ng said.

In sentencing Zheng to nine years, Justice Choo Han Teck said he was of the view that the appropriate sentence for Zheng should be in the range of between eight and 12 years.

zaihan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 12, 2016.
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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ms Ho Ching, apologised yesterday for unwittingly posting a photograph of a monkey showing a rude hand gesture on her Facebook on Sunday.

The post was made the same day her sister-in-law, Dr Lee Wei Ling, claimed her brother, PM Lee, had abused his power to commemorate their father’s passing in order to “establish a dynasty”.

The allegation was made in a publicly released e-mail exchange between herself and The Straits Times over a commentary in which she criticised how Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s first-year death anniversary had been commemorated.

Dr Lee’s comments, and the photograph which appeared on Ms Ho’s Facebook page, created a stir on social media, fuelling speculation of a family feud.

PM Lee then responded with his own Facebook post, saying the accusations were “completely untrue” and that he was “deeply saddened” by his sister’s claim. (See report, right.)

Yesterday, Ms Ho, who is Temasek Holdings’ chief executive officer, explained that she had been “playing around with Twitter” and “trying out different buttons” when she unwittingly reposted the picture, which then appeared on her Facebook page.

She said: “Discovered Twitter reposts pictures without captions, and unfortunately one of the pictures could be misunderstood on its own. Took down as soon as a friend alerted me.”

Her explanation was met with support by some netizens. One of them, Mr Melvin Chen, wrote: “It’s ok Madam Ho. We understand… Strange things happen sometimes when we fiddle with our phones.”

But there were some who remain unconvinced, pointing out how there was no indication on Ms Ho’s Facebook post that the picture was from Twitter.

One netizen, Mr Calvin Lee, said: “I use Twitter too. And there would be the ‘Twitter link’.

“And unless she gave explicit permission to allow repost of pics to FB, under no circumstance would she ‘accidentally’ share that picture here, much less during this sensitive period.”

But social media experts told The New Paper that it was possible for a Twitter post to accidentally appear on one’s Facebook.

Social media and international communications expert Lars Voedisch of PRecious Communications said: “There is at least one workaround that can share just a photo from Twitter on Facebook without any source indication of the source or including any text.

“So technically, it is possible.”

Miss Belinda Ang, founder and director of marketing and advertising company thinkBIG Communication, agreed and said there are many Twitter applications, each customisable.

“There are a lot of Twitter apps and they all connect to other apps in different ways. It’s possible that it was a shared tweet,” she said.

FERTILE

Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said posts on social media “provide a fertile terrain for people to comment and even speculate”.

He said: “Some would give Madam Ho Ching the benefit of the doubt. But others might not be so persuaded by her explanation.

“The reality is that anything to do with the Lee family captures a lot of attention and draws keen eyeballs.”

In her post yesterday, Ms Ho also said: “There are enough troubles in the world. Far from adding oil to fires, I would prefer we try to solve and resolve problems, among friends, within families and between neighbours.”

She also commented on the commemorations for the late Mr Lee, writing: “We grieve in different ways, and should leave space for each of us to come to terms with our loss.

“I respect and deeply appreciate the many heartfelt commemorations, and understand those who prefer a more stoic approach. Hopefully, the passage of time will help heal. Many thanks too for all the kind wishes, sound advice and generous thoughts.”

She later thanked those who had offered to help her learn more on how to navigate the social media space.

Incident reported worldwide

The Facebook posts by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, have made headlines internationally.

Britain’s The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) in Australia and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post have all published articles about the incident.

The online article on SMH, which carried the headline “Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong at war with sister over Lee Kuan Yew commemorations”, was even listed as its third most popular story yesterday evening.

The episode began with a disagreement between Dr Lee and The Straits Times (ST), where she alleged in a post on April 1 that she was not allowed freedom of speech in her commentary that criticised how the first anniversary of her father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, was marked.

She then became embroiled in a war of words with former associate editor Janadas Devan, as well as ST associate editor Ivan Fernandez, who said that Dr Lee had plagiarised almost three-quarters of the additions to her commentary.

On Sunday, Dr Lee put up the e-mail correspondence between her and Mr Fernandez to defend herself. In the exchange, she alleged that her brother had abused his power to commemorate their father’s death anniversary.

PM Lee responded to the allegations on the same day, saying her allegations were “completely untrue”.

He wrote: “The idea that I should wish to establish a dynasty makes even less sense. Meritocracy is a fundamental value of our society, and neither I, the PAP, nor the Singapore public would tolerate any such attempt.”

He added that the Cabinet had discussed how they should mark the occasion and that his advice was to leave it to “ground-up efforts” and that groups “should keep their observances in proportion”.

harizbah@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 12, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

The retail licenses of two errant tobacco retailers located in Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang have been suspended, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in a statement on Tuesday (April 12).

They announced that these retailers had sold tobacco products to minors below the age of 18.

The two retailers, Fair Inn Food Place at 806 Woodlands Street 81 and H.R Frozen Food and Trading at 205 Choa Chu Kang Central, will not be allowed to sell tobacco products for a period of six months. This is the first offence for the two outlets.

One of the sellers was an employee, while the other was a co-owner of the store.

They had both sold the tobacco products without checking the age of their consumers and were caught via HSA’s ground surveillance and enforcement activities.

In the last three years, 25 tobacco retail licences were suspended and 21 were revoked by HSA.

HSA reminds tobacco retail licensees that they are responsible for all transactions of tobacco products that take place at their outlets, as well as the actions of their employees. Tobacco retail licensees are expected by the HSA to educate their employees on the law pertaining to the sale of tobacco products and for sellers to check the age of those who wish to buy tobacco products.

Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, anyone caught selling tobacco products to those below the age of 18 is liable to a maximum fine of up to $5,000 for the first offence and up to $10,000 for the second or subsequent offence.

Furthermore, the offender’s tobacco retail licence will be suspended for six months for the first offence and revoked for the second offence.

However, if any outlet is found selling tobacco products to under-18 minors in school uniform or those below 12 years old, the tobacco retail licence will be revoked, even if it is their first offence.

HSA advises members of the public not to supply any tobacco products to under-18 minors. Those who are caught buying or acquiring any tobacco product for an underage person is liable to a maximum fine of up to $2,500 for the first offence and up to $5,000 for the second or subsequent offence.

Anyone caught giving or furnishing any tobacco product to a person below the age of 18 is liable to a maximum fine of up to $500 for the first offence and up to $1,000 for the second or subsequent offence.

From 2013 to 2015, 42 individuals were caught for these offences.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

Wedding photos are a way for couples to cherish precious moments of their big day.

But what if the photographer you trusted – and paid – to get the job done right went rogue on you?

Well, Singaporean Jaclyn Ying who had a horrible experience with a photographer posted a series of her wedding photographs on Facebook on Sunday (April 10) as a public service announcement to caution others who may be looking at buying a bridal package.

In her own words, she ranted: “What do you do when you finally receive your actual wedding day photos and find yourself sorely disappointed in them? Get angry? Check. Shed a few tears over them? Done.”

The snaps were taken by a photographer from a “pretty reputable bridal shop” which, according to Ying, didn’t allow the couple to choose their photographer.

Ying and her husband were skeptical at first after being introduced with a “bao ka liao” (Hokkien for “all-in-one”) wedding package but they relented in the end.

The couple got the shock of their lives after the photos were sent to them shortly after their wedding was done and dusted.

“…Nothing is going to take away the fact that our wedding photos by this dude are pretty much ruined,” said Ying in her post, referring to the photographer.

If the photos left anyone doing a double-take, Ying assured netizens that she did not do any extra edits before she posted them on Facebook.

What you see is what she received from the bridal shop, it seems.

Hilarious mishaps in wedding photography

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

facebook

However, Ying clarified that her actions aren’t meant to shame anyone and that she only wanted to share the amusement on social media. Her post has garnered over 100 reactions and over 13,000 shares on Facebook.

And just when you thought that the photos couldn’t get any worse, another Facebook user has turned to creating hilarious memes of the couples’ unfortunate situation.

Facebook group Kaki Friendship Club created 13 memes from the photos from Ying’s album. 

One of the photos showed a wedding guest looking tired with two hands on her cheeks and had the caption: “Why always I kena OT?”

Another showed Ying seemingly struggling to put the ring on her husband’s finger, with a description that said: “When your bae ate too much KFC b4 wedding.”

So what will Ying do with her bad photos? In her original post, she said that she is looking for some redress from the bridal shop but also called for “nice” photos from her wedding guests.

We hope that the Ying’s nightmare will be over soon and boy, is she one calm bride with a quirky sense of humour.

Kudos Jaclyn!

stephluo@sph.com.sg