SINGAPORE – A student from a top university in Britain who allegedly filmed women while they were inside toilets should not be allowed to leave Singapore, the prosecution argued in court on Tuesday (Jan 14).
This came after the prosecution said it was alerted to text messages last Friday between the 22-year-old Singaporean and a “trusted friend”, in which the former discussed his plans to abscond and seek asylum in another country.
According to the prosecution, the conversation occurred before she realised that she was also one of his alleged victims.
In addition, the prosecution also sought for the court to lift its gag order on the student’s identity, arguing that it is in the public interest for his identity to be published by the media.
These were the latest developments in the case involving the student, who was first charged with two counts of insulting a woman’s modesty in October last year, for filming women using the toilet and taking a shower.
He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the women’s identities. His university’s name cannot be disclosed either, as the information could lead to his being identified.
In an announcement yesterday, Singapore’s upcoming fourth telco, TPG announced that they were pulling the plug on their free data roaming trials in Malaysia and Indonesia that they first launched mid-2019.
Under the plan, users were able to make unlimited calls to Singapore mobile numbers and enjoy 20 minutes of call time to fixed lines in Singapore while roaming in those two countries. In addition, all incoming calls and SMS messages were free. And since mobile data roaming was free, WhatsApp and other such data-driven apps worked for free too.
Even better, there was no need to top up for any additional roaming subscription as it was part of the users existing service.
Without revealing exactly what feedback they received, TPG announced the decision to temporarily suspend Malaysia and Indonesia roaming from 16 January 2020 citing poor customer feedback.
The telco said they would be reviewing options to provide better quality and coverage and expected to resume roaming services to these two destinations shortly. They did not however announce an expected timeframe.
Is there no decency left in this country? Have the gods abandoned us in a violent wasteland? Did the powers that be consider the lawless landscape they have wrought?
Society frightens me, for I have seen what its people have allowed to happen.
Kids, look away. Be warned, for this image will forever haunt your fever dreams, occupy the darkest recesses of your mind, and dismantle whatever shard of hope you have left afterwards.
Bear witness, dear reader: a decapitated Snorlax. The horror! The horror!
PHOTO: Facebook / Jepoy Camaliga
How much corruption can a soul possess to commit such a blasphemous act on a life-sized Snorlax plushy? And dispose its stuffed body in public for all to behold as well? Only a savage brute, I tell you.
BANGKOK – Mark Cheng Jin Quan was supposed to be on a one-day trip to Thailand on Jan 9, but he ended up being held captive, drugged and tortured, in a kidnapping that was allegedly masterminded by his travelling companion, fellow Singaporean Kim Lee Yao Wei.
“I was shocked. I thought we were good,” the 32-year-old said, referring to Lee.
He spoke to The Straits Times in a phone interview four days after he managed to escape his captors. He said he was in a safe house provided by Thai police on Tuesday (Jan 14).
It never struck him that Lee would be the mastermind behind his ordeal and he only learnt this from the Thai police later on. “I thought he was kidnapped too,” Cheng said.
His trip had started normally enough. He and Lee arrived in Bangkok on the morning of Jan 9, and took a Grab taxi from Suvarnabhumi airport to meet a contact of Lee’s for a “social visit”.
“I didn’t know where we were going. I trusted him completely. We were on a trip together before,” said Cheng, a former blockchain adviser with Singapore fintech company X Infinity.
SINGAPORE – A lorry driver who was seen in a viral video having an altercation with a cyclist was sentenced to seven weeks’ jail and fined $500 on Tuesday (Jan 14).
Teo Seng Tiong, 59, was also disqualified from driving for two years.
His lawyer, Mr Chia Boon Teck, told the court that his client, a Singaporean, intended to appeal.
Teo had earlier been convicted of causing hurt to cyclist Eric Cheung Hoyu as well as for failing to report an accident to the police within 24 hours.
The video of the incident, which occurred at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Pasir Ris Rise just before noon on Dec 22, 2018, garnered more than three million views online.
On Tuesday, the court heard that Teo had previous convictions for voluntarily causing hurt in 1988 and 2012, and was convicted for affray in 1999. He was also convicted for an obscene act in 1993 and insulting the modesty of a woman in 2007.
He also had multiple traffic offences involving careless driving, speeding and beating a red light between 1999 and 2015.
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans are scared of failing even at a very young age.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test found that three in four Singaporean students grapple with a fear of failure.
As much as 78 per cent of our 15-year-olds see failure as a frightful scenario that could scuttle their plans for the future.
As we get older, we unknowingly carry this same fear into our working lives.
Many of us have experienced our job scope shifting with rapid advancements in technology and evolving demands. But automation and digitisation have frozen some people in panic mode, wondering if their jobs will be at risk.
According to a 2019 Randstad Workmonitor survey, about half of respondents expect that their jobs will be automated within the next 10 years and worry about being made redundant.
How do workers get over this fear and be prepared for the future? How can firms help workers embrace digital transformation instead of being held back by a fear of failing?
DIGITALISATION IS A CONSTANT JOURNEY
First, instead of seeing digitalisation as a destination, workers and companies will benefit if they see digital transformation as a journey with multiple pit stops. Organisations will have to constantly review and realign their objectives to meet future needs.
(Photo: Unsplash/Dylan Nolte)
Having an online website or a social media account does not complete that journey. Neither does downloading Slack without effectively using it for collaboration and greater productivity.
Building a culture that drives innovation demands renewed thinking regarding strategy and a mindset change. Business leaders will have to relook their fundamental framework of how they work and operate.
BUILD UP SKILLS TO DISRUPT
One common refrain we hear is how much a data-driven culture can power digital transformation but simply acquiring more information is rarely sufficient.
Organisations on a digital transformation journey often collect large amounts of employee and customer data, which can indeed be a potent new source of new business opportunities.
But in order to realise these benefits, firms must marry these with new skills in their employees – in using data to draw insights and discern actionable improvements to the delivery of goods and services by a firm.
Companies must also empower their employees to use and make sense of data to disrupt and drive change. Employees should be expected to use data-driven trends and insights to make informed and smart decisions to drive outcomes.
The influence of data analysis skills will reach new heights in 2020.
The Udemy’s 2020 Workplace Learning Trends Report indicated that advances in data science will allow the most adaptable organisations to work smarter and more efficiently, in many sectors including engineering, marketing, finance and cybersecurity, further demonstrating that the demand for data-related skills is not just limited to one particular sector.
We should expect to see the creation of hybrid roles across all levels of seniority, which will require employees to have a good mix of such technical skills along with the traditional need for business acumen.
For instance, 75 per cent of locally-based employers we engaged with mentioned they want to hire strong product sales managers, who will no longer focus on revenue and how fast they can meet business goals but also be able to measure granular metrics such as duration of a sales life-cycle, conversion rate and average margin per sale to improve productivity and chart their own progress.
In a tight labour market, the most successful businesses will be the ones that can build a team of skilled employees who have market awareness and can develop new solutions to generate higher and more meaningful revenue.
But do firms invest in training to prepare workers to adapt to new tasks and take on new roles?
MANAGERS MUST HELP WORKERS NAVIGATE CHANGE
Because digital transformation is a journey, firms must also develop a roadmap that allows innovation to flourish and guides the training agenda.
A man in an office. (Photo: Pixabay/StockSnap)
A company’s culture and appetite for change can often be a powerful driver, with middle to senior-level executives the navigators who can chart new ground for the company.
Senior executives should be developing long-term strategies that drive innovation and give their employees a useful framework within which innovation is nurtured and encouraged.
However, many leaders are swamped with resolving pressing business challenges and simply do not have enough time to think about making pragmatic changes.
This cannot be the case. If leaders want to disrupt, they must embrace new ways of working that catalyse idea generation and fast-track innovation.
They will also need to empower and trust their teams to make fast decisions that can help them achieve their desired targets within a preset risk framework.
Leaders who are seen as shakers and movers include Mondelez, a fast-moving consumer goods company, which has piloted 11 cross-functional teams to drive innovation in key categories, including a SnacksFuture hub.
Big Pharma group CVS has an innovation centre that operates like a start-up that tests and implements new concepts including its new SMS messaging service which has since reduced the number of phonecalls to their pharmacists.
FILE PHOTO: People walk by a CVS Pharmacy store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
To drive these innovations, it is not uncommon for companies to hire highly-skilled executives with professional experiences in business management. These individuals are very highly sought-after because of their ability to build products that can meet future consumer needs.
But it is not always about bringing in new talent or setting up incubator teams. There are more fundamental changes to organisational structure and culture companies need to implement to drive change.
Moncler, an Italian apparel company, took a bold step to shift away from seasonal collections and towards fresh monthly collections, a move rarely seen in the high-fashion scene.
With 12 campaigns a year instead of just two, Moncler re-organised their offices to comprise cross-functional teams and ensured collaboration and inclusivity.
Instead of a top-down approach, the organisational hierarchy moved towards shared leadership and responsibility, where people across all levels were empowered to execute initiatives.
This approach has been adapted by companies in other industries as it promotes creativity and innovation. With more autonomy and flexibility, employees can develop new products and solutions and drive incremental innovation.
HIRING MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO DRIVE CHANGE
There are many uncertainties when organisations tackle digital transformation but one thing is clear: If you keep to old ways of doing things, turn down risky ideas or enforce multilayer approvals, no amount of talent can drive change and disrupt.
How do you know you have an innovation culture? Look around. Do your people work well together? Are there new ideas germinating over recent months because of cross-functional collaboration? Are they recognised and rewarded when collaboration breeds results?
For digital transformation to take place, employers need to relook the fundamental ways in which their employees carry out their roles to meet targets.
Having a collaborative environment and strong leadership support are critical ingredients in ensuring a progressive journey towards building a more innovative and creative culture.
Instead of hiring from outside to drive transformation, business leaders should tap on current employees. These are the people familiar with the firm’s products, services and partnerships.
(Photo: Unsplash/CoWomen)
Start by helping them increase their appetite for change and risk through experimentation and providing adequate support when necessary.
While it is common to face some inertia, especially by long-serving staff, these are expected transition costs to be born in the push towards building an organisation that embraces change.
Digital transformation isn’t just about adopting new technologies or hiring a brand new team of millennials with new skills.
It’s about ensuring that you have a team of employees with the requisite skills ready and empowered to drive change, who are given the permission to disrupt and do not fear failing.
Clarence Quek is a Senior Client Solutions Director at Randstad Singapore specialising in human capital solutions for Information Technology companies and start-up firms in Singapore.
A man thought himself a hero when he personally dismantled what he believed were metal traps used by foreign workers to capture stray dogs for the purpose of eating the animals.
He even went onto the Adopt Stray Animals SG Facebook page to boast about his supposed accomplishment, warning others to keep a lookout for cruel folks with a taste for dog meat in the sequestered area of Seletar West.
On top of being presumptuous and more than a little xenophobic, he was also dead wrong. The traps that he apparently tore down and discarded at an HDB block in Yishun? They belonged to the Causes for Animals Singapore (CAS) group and were meant for its trap-neuter-release programme — a humane method to manage the population of free-roaming dogs.
The video showed an elderly man having a heated conversation with a woman, who was pushing a jogging stroller along the stadium’s running track.
As the bewildered tot in the stroller looked on, the pair began to raise their voices.
“I don’t see what’s the problem!” the woman exclaimed, seemingly frustrated.
“You’re not letting me use it because you’re afraid other people will complain? Then you should go tell the other people,” she continued. “This is a public place! I have the right to use the track.”
SINGAPORE – A 49-year-old man who is accused of raping two 14-year-old girls defecated in his clothes just before his High Court trial started on Tuesday (Jan 14) and refused to change out of his soiled clothes.
Despite being warned by the judge for obstructing court proceedings, Isham Kayubi went on to smear faeces on a glass panel of the dock while a witness was on the stand.
It was not the first time that Isham, a part-time food deliveryman and member of a motorcycle gang, has created a disturbance in open court.
In August last year, when his trial was first scheduled to start, he allegedly exposed himself and urinated in the dock.
He was then remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for assessment, and a report in September concluded that he was malingering, and was mentally fit to plead in court.
On Tuesday morning, before the court session started, he asked to use the toilet and was led out of the dock by guards.
When he returned, he had stains on the front of his T-shirt.
Snacc Attacc is a bi-weekly video series where we try out different snacks and let you know if it’s worth “snacc-(a)ttacking”.
This week, we try unique Chinese New Year snacks so you know which ones to treat your guests to this festive season.
‘Turn down for huat!’ It’s two weeks to Chinese New Year (CNY). Besides wearing new clothes and collecting ang baos (which, sadly, I don’t qualify to receive anymore), the next thing I always look forward to is snacking on CNY goodies during visitations.
Not sure about you, but I’ll never get sick of eating bak kwa(Chinese pork jerky). But, if you’re looking to switch things up this year, we’ve scoured the island for unique CNY snacks that will leave your guests feeling wang-derful.
Instead of serving bak kwa, try Janice Wong’s Chocolate Bakkwa Cookies ($25), which has sweet morsels of pork jerky interspersed within the rich chocolate cookies.
