Long, long before we could be earning millions of dollars playing games full-time, we were skipping class and taking off our school uniforms to enter LAN shops and play the OG multiplayer first-person shooter, Counter-Strike.
Though the kids of today might be more familiar with the modern esports-oriented Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, we had a helluva time with its earliest iteration — a home-brewed modification of the sci-fi shooter classic, Half-Life.
This, young ‘uns, is referred to as Counter-Strike 1.6, the game that launched hundreds of LAN shops across the island, not to mention increase the rates of student truancy here.
Though the game was still in its early days then, anyone with the know-how and programme could make their own Counter-Strike maps for players to brawl in. Enter cs_hdb, a custom map clearly made by a Singaporean player known as Yonk, who is apparently now a writer at Geek Culture.
Chinese New Year (CNY) is just around the corner, and some of us may be travelling to Malaysia. Beware of the expected increase in traffic though!
With the CNY season rapidly approaching, many of us have made plans to travel to Malaysia – be it to visit family, have a reunion dinner with friends, or just some cheap shopping.
But getting stuck at Customs because of a traffic jam will definitely be everyone’s least favourite part of the CNY holiday.
Due to the influx of vehicles going in and out of Singapore, some delays are to be expected. So, here’s some tips on how you can shorten these delays.
1. PLAN YOUR DRIVE INTO MALAYSIA
In a press release sent out by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) today (15 January), it was mentioned that there will be an expected increase in traffic at the Woodlands and Tuas land checkpoints.
SINGAPORE – A logistics firm has become the first company to be charged in court with making a false declaration after changes to the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF).
Ti2 Logistics was charged in the State Court on Tuesday (Jan 14) with making a false declaration to the Controller of Work Passes in an employment pass application, stating that it had considered local candidates fairly before trying to employ a foreigner.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which was reported earlier this month to be updating the FCF, on Tuesday released details of the changes, which include the prosecution of employers and key personnel for making false declarations on fair consideration, and longer debarment duration for companies, which prohibit them from applying for new work passes or renewing existing employment passes. The changes took effect earlier this month.
Those convicted of false declaration under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act may be jailed for up to two years, fined up to $20,000, or both.
A male Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer climbed out to the ledge, and squeezed his body between the open window pane and the air-con compressor to reach the woman.
SINGAPORE: Bugis Village and Bugis Street may soon get a facelift.
“Instagrammable” container boxes, a day-to-night market, a retail incubator, shared economy spaces and a new link bridge to connect Bugis Street to Bugis+ are some of the plans CapitaLand has in mind to revamp the area, the company said in a news release on Thursday (Jan 16).
The ‘Bugis Box’, one of the proposed concept in the integrated Bugis Village and Bugis Street. (Image: CapitaLand)
The plans come as CapitaLand announced that it has won a three-year tender for the integrated management of Bugis Village and Bugis Street.
ENHANCING THE STREET MARKET CONCEPT
To enhance the connectivity of Bugis Village and Bugis Street, CapitaLand is exploring a new link bridge connecting Bugis Street to Bugis+ to provide visitors with seamless sheltered access from Bugis MRT station.
Plans are also being explored for the integrated Bugis Village and Bugis Street to house retail concepts, including a day-to-night market, a retail incubator and shared economy spaces such as coliving and coworking areas.
A section of the revamped Bugis Village and Bugis Street will be turned into a hub offering established brands and new entrants a retail incubator space to innovate new ways of creating curated brand experiences or pilot new concepts.
A section of the revamped Bugis Village and Bugis Street will be turned into a hub converging experiential retail, social experimentation and local entrepreneurship. (Image: CapitaLand)
The company also wants to introduce a series of loose and colourful container boxes with open display areas.
“This is a modern interpretation of street markets where tourists and shoppers enjoy memorable encounters with trendy Instagrammable bites, quirky gifts and trending fashion accessories,” CapitaLand said.
The company added that homegrown heritage brands will be invited to launch experiential concept stores and cuisine unique to Bugis.
There are also plans for an area for food lovers and tourists to savour Singaporean and Southeast Asian hawker food. Diners will be able to try their hands at making some dishes or purchase Singaporean food packs such as laksa paste or bak kut teh soup.
ECLECTIC OLD-WORLD CHARM
Mr Chris Chong, managing director for retail at CapitaLand Singapore, said that the revamped integrated Bugis Village and Bugis Street will cater to the creative community in Bugis and shoppers who are keen to experience the “eclectic Bugis old-world charm adapted for the new era”.
CapitaLand’s plans for the area are subject to change and pending authority approval.
The tender won by CapitaLand was awarded by Singapore Land Authority, Singapore Tourism Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority.
It has an initial tenancy term of three years, effective Apr 1, with the option for renewal for a further two tenancy terms of three years each.
Existing tenants at Bugis Village and Bugis Street may continue business operations under CapitaLand for a year at the prevailing rent, until Mar 31, 2021.
The revamped Bugis Village and Bugis Street project has a proposed retail net lettable area (NLA) of about 195,000 sq ft.
LYON, France – A defrocked French Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of boy scouts decades ago told his trial on Wednesday (Jan 15) that he himself had suffered similar assaults in his youth, in an unexpected twist to his defence.
After confessing in court on Tuesday to “caresses” he knew were forbidden, after victims testified to the horrors they suffered, Bernard Preynat, 74, faulted the church for failing to help him deal with his own urges.
During the second day of the trial in the French city of Lyon, Preynat surprised even his own lawyer in raising for the first time in court the abuses he said he suffered in his youth.
He referred to a letter written in the summer to Michel Dubost, the apostolic administrator in Lyon, where he said he had been repeatedly sexually abused by a priest, a sacristan from his parish and a seminarian.
He had never revealed these details before being questioned by a police inspector in 2016.
SINGAPORE – A licensed debt collector donned funeral garb, carried banners bearing a debtor’s face and created a commotion outside the man’s office to demand monies owed to his client.
He was detained by the police for harassment, but tried to dash out of the police cell and put up a struggle when officers tried to subdue him.
When Peh Chong Wee, 59, was out on bail, he returned to the office to demand repayment with papers printed with the debtor’s face stuck to the front and back of his shirt.
On Wednesday (Jan 15), Peh was sentenced to five weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to three harassment charges and one count of using criminal force on a public servant.
Peh ran a debt collection service called Guarantee Debts Collection Service.
Court documents showed that Peh and another debt collector, Koh Yew Ghee, were engaged by a Ms Lena Lee to collect a debt on behalf of a company, LM Tech Engineering and Construction, in April last year.
Ms Lee is listed as a shareholder of the company, according to Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority records.
SINGAPORE – Punters using the Singapore Pools’ online Toto Quick Pick option have been affected by two software glitches, one of which left the number ’49’ out of the numbers generated in their bets for a period of more than a year.
In a statement on Wednesday (Jan 15), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it was notified of the glitches earlier this month.
“MHA takes a very serious view of these errors and is currently investigating the matter,” said the gambling regulator, adding that Singapore Pools has since rectified the errors.
The errors affected only punters who placed their bets online, said the MHA, adding that customers who placed bets at Singapore Pools retail outlets in person were not affected.
Singapore Pools alerted the ministry of the first software error involving Toto Quick Pick numbers purchased through its online platforms on Jan 3.
Punters who place bets via the Quick Pick option allow the Singapore Pools system to generate a random set of numbers for them.
SINGAPORE – Singapore faces a fresh dengue threat this year, with the recent rise in infections stemming from a strain of the virus that has not been seen much for years.
The National Environment Agency said on Wednesday (Jan 15) there has not been an outbreak of DENV-3 virus here in the past three decades. This means that there is low immunity in the population to this serotype.
There are four dengue serotypes, with the outbreaks here caused by DENV-1 and DENV-2. DENV-2 has been the dominant strain since 2016.
The NEA said in a release: “We have seen an increase in Dengue virus serotype 3 cases and clusters over the past month.
“As Singapore has not seen a DENV-3 outbreak in the last three decades, the population immunity for DENV-3 is low and therefore more susceptible to transmission of the virus.
“It is thus critical that all residents and stakeholders work closely together with NEA to break the dengue transmission in these clusters, and curtail the spread of the virus.”
It added that DENV-3 infections have been detected in three of the six largest clusters – in Jalan Bangau, Cashew Road and Jalan Paras.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: His shoulders and knees were aching, but Mr Ooi In Kun still managed a wry smile as he plucked scallions from the ground.
His breathing was fast and he was perspiring, despite the cool 22 degrees Celsius temperature.
The 60-year-old, who operates a small farm outside his wooden house in Habu, Cameron Highlands, was rushing to pack a shipment of vegetables that would be sent to Singapore that same evening.
“We are rushing a bit because people are starting to prepare for Chinese New Year, we have requests for more quantity,” said Mr Ooi in Malay.
Mr Ooi, like many farmers in Cameron Highlands, are stepping up efforts to meet high demand in the lead up to the Chinese New Year period, especially from Singapore. Prices of vegetables are expected to increase due to a gap in the supply chain.
Mr Ooi In Kun does not have any plastic shelter for his crops, making them vulnerable to poor weather conditions. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
However, the spike in demand has placed a strain on some farmers like Mr Ooi, who has no employees and operates the entire farm with just his wife.
“I have been here (operating this farm) for 28 years but recently the laborious work is getting to me,” added the man of Hokkien descent, who moved to Habu from Sungai Petani, Kedah in the 1990s.
He added: “We have to work hard and work smart. Of course, no such thing as holidays. We will work through Chinese New Year because there will still be shipment requests to meet”.
PRICE TO INCREASE AS CONSUMERS STOCK UP ON PRODUCE: MAJOR SUPPLIER
Those in the industry expect vegetable prices to rise in the coming days.
“As we get closer to CNY, a lot of people are on holiday. Some of our suppliers from China and Malaysia are on holiday, so there’s a gap in the supply chain,” said Mr Kelvin Chye, managing director of Thygrace Marketing, a major vegetable distributor in Singapore.
“We have arranged suppliers to send, but there’s just no stock.”
This supply disruption also means that certain types of vegetables may not be available over the festive period, Mr Chye added.
Thygrace Marketing distributes vegetables to major supermarket chains in Singapore. Vegetables from Cameron Highlands are an important part of its supply chain.
The vegetables are loaded on cars before they are brought to the depot to be placed on trucks for transportation. (Photo: Fadza Ishak)
Specifically, the demand for vegetables is expected to spike in the last two days before Chinese New Year on Jan 25, he said.
“Vegetables can’t be stored for too long, so customers will wait until the last minute because there’s this fear that shops will be closed during the festivities and there will be no more stock,” he noted.
“Whatever they need, they will go and grab. If there’s a shortage, the price will increase. This is true especially for wet markets,” he said.
Despite most supermarket chains announcing that they will remain open throughout the festive period, consumers are still concerned about a potential shortage, Mr Chye added.
Farmers in Cameron Highlands interviewed by CNA said that the Chinese New Year period requires careful planning and strategising.
Cabbages are considered durable and hence a popular item during the Chinese New Year period. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
Mr Fung Chee Siang, an organic farmer who operates Hatiku Agrikultur in Ringlet, said he will harvest the vegetables that are durable and more popular during Chinese New Year like cabbages.
Mr Fung Chee Siang is a strong proponent of organic farming. He does not believe in using pesticides or chemicals at his farm. (Photo: Fadza Ishak)
If Chinese New Year falls on a Sunday, the vegetables will be shipped one week in advance, so that they can hit the shelves by Thursday or Friday, he explained.
“There is a lot of of preparation involved.,” said Mr Fung.
Moreover, many of the farmers are concerned with unpredictable weather conditions during Malaysia’s Northeast monsoon season, which lasts from October to March.
Mr John Liew, who operates Sunrise Farm with this father in Habu, said a wet spell that affected Cameron Highlands for several weeks in December saw crop yield fall by 30-40 per cent. This, he said, has affected preparations for the Chinese New Year supply chain.
Mr John Liew displays his orders from Singapore on a screen so that packing can be done efficiently. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
“During monsoon season now, there is a lot of rain. There won’t be a lot of sunshine, so the plants will not have enough to photosynthesise. It also rains a lot, and humidity in the air will cause fungus to grow,” said Mr Liew.
He explained that crops like tomatoes are more likely to get attacked by fungus and will rot. “Fungus spreads really fast. If we find some fungus and leave them unattended, it could really hurt us,” he said,
Tomatoes are vulnerable to fungus especially during the monsoon season. (Photo: Amir Yusof)
“Whether the wet weather will come back, I do not know. I hope not, but it’s in god’s hands,” said Mr Liew.
On whether consumers should be concerned over an increase in price of vegetables, Thygrace’s Mr Chye noted that this is only for the short term. Prices are cyclical by nature and will likely even out over the course of a year, he said.
“Now there may be a shortage, but in March, vegetables will be abundant because there will be oversupply (as the weather has improved). Farmers will have to throw away excess” said Mr Chye.
“Somebody always has to pay a price. If the consumers are happy (with low prices), farmers are unhappy, and vice versa.”
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