Amidst the Christmas and New Year festivities, many food couriers would have made their rounds for the last few deliveries of the year, including one wheelchair-bound deliveryman.
Tan Yen Hua and her companion chanced upon the courier along a slope at Bukit Purmei on Dec 22.
In a post uploaded to Facebook that same day, she shared how the courier had been trying to push himself up the slope for the past half an hour, after journeying from Tiong Bahru to Bukit Purmei with just a raincoat to shield him from the rain.
SINGAPORE – About 930,000 Singaporean households living in Housing Board flats will receive a GST (goods and services tax) Voucher to offset part of their utility bills this month.
These households will enjoy a Utilities-Save (U-Save) rebate of up to $100, depending on the type of their HDB flat, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement on Thursday (Jan 2).
Those living in one- and two-room HDB flats will get $100, while those in three-room flats will get $90.
Families living in four-room flats will receive $80. Those in five-room flats will get $70 and residents of executive or multi-generation flats will get $60.
Households whose members own more than one property are not eligible for the GST Voucher.
Eligible households will continue to receive U-Save rebates regardless of their electricity provider, the ministry said.
According to the MOF, the U-Save rebate has enabled households in one- and two-room HDB flats to receive support equivalent to three to four months of their utility bills, on average, in a year.
Ow said his family had visited the Chinese restaurant for dinner at about 7.15pm and one of the items they ordered was a mushroom chicken dish that cost $12.
He recounted: “My family member ate the chicken and found that it tasted strange.
“Upon checking, we realised that the chicken meat did not look normal and was raw.
“The restaurant manager was informed and he apologised.”
Although a full refund of the entire bill was given, Stomp contributor Ow is upset at the lack of follow-up after the incident.
Ow, who shared photos of the uncooked chicken, told Stomp: “No one followed up afterwards to check if my family member fell ill.
“After a week of silence, I reported the matter to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
“I feel like no one is taking the matter seriously.
Damn, we’re in a new decade already? It’s insane how quickly the past 10 years have gone by so quickly, and if you’re sad sacks like us, regrets are aplenty.
We’re talking about the remorse over not getting to play the best games of the last decade, of course. Fortunately, GameXtreme, is presenting you the chance to catch up on the best that the 2010s had to offer in a promotion fit for a gamer’s new year.
The homegrown video game retailer has launched a sales event that sees lauded games going for as little as $15 until Jan 7. The only downside is that only cash is accepted during the promotion, while a minor gripe is that the offer is only available at GameXtreme’s Tampines Mall outlet. So lucky you if you live in the vicinity.
For the non-finicky gamers out there, there’s also the chance to get further discounts if you purchase two or three used PlayStation 4 games. And yes, there’re only PS4 titles up for grabs because let’s be honest, Xbox lost this generation’s console wars.
Travel guide videos about Singapore are a dime a dozen (thanks Crazy Rich Asians), so it takes a little something extra to get our attention.
For BuzzFeed’s Bring Me travel tips series, all it needed to do to garner Singaporeans’ awareness and annoyance was a few glaring mistakes.
To be fair, “10 Ways You’re Traveling to Singapore Wrong” was hosted by two individuals who grew up in Singapore, so the little factoids recounted on camera are pretty sound. The errors made should probably be attributed to the video’s editor, who picked the wrong stock footages from Getty Images to illustrate what the hosts were talking about.
Plus, a couple of inaccurate declarations in the overlaid text.
The most glaring mistake would be when hosts Kenneth and Devy spoke about Jewel Changi Airport and the world’s largest indoor waterfall that resides in the shopping complex. Alas, the clip used instead was the waterfall at Cloud Forest at Gardens By The Bay.
SINGAPORE: The body of 41-year-old Abigail Leste, one of two women who died after being hit by a car at Lucky Plaza last week, will be flown home to the Philippines on Thursday (Jan 2), said the Philippine Embassy in Singapore.
The remains of fellow Philippines national Arlyn Picar Nucos, 50, were repatriated on Wednesday after a wake at Sin Ming.
The body of Arlyn Nucos is moved to the hearse after the wake on on Wednesday Jan 1 , 2020. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
FRIENDS PAY THEIR RESPECTS Dozens of family members and friends attended Nucos’ wake on New Year’s Day. Loved ones of Leste, a mother-of-two, had gathered on Tuesday to say their final goodbyes.
In a statement on Thursday, the embassy said: “The remains of one of the two Filipinos who died in the incident were shipped home last night, Jan 1, 2020.
“The second will be flown home today, Jan 2, 2020.”
It confirmed that Ms Laudencia and Ms Limbauan have been discharged.
SYMPATHY AND CONCERN The embassy also thanked those who sent their well wishes to the victims’ families.
“We thank all those who have expressed their sympathy and concern for the victims and their families and encourage everyone to continue to pray for the fast and full recovery of those still in confinement,” the statement added.
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Manpower) Low Yen Ling visiting the injured foreign domestic workers at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. (Photo: MOM)
“Their presence certainly lifted their spirit,” the embassy said, adding that it will continue to extend the necessary assistance and support for the victims and their next of kin.
SINGAPORE – Filipino maid Arlyn Picar Nucos, who died in Sunday’s (Dec 29) Lucky Plaza accident, was a friend and a mentor to Ms Fe Alumbro, her co-worker in the same household.
But now, the only way Ms Alumbro, 44, can pay her back is to help pack Ms Nucos’ belongings and send them to her family in the Philippines.
Ms Nucos, 50, who had worked in Singapore for almost 30 years, was one of the six Filipino maids who were hit by a car while having a picnic outside Lucky Plaza on Sunday.
“She taught me everything, how to cook, how to look after the kids,” said a tearful Ms Alumbro at Ms Nucos’ wake at Sin Ming Drive on New Year’s Day.
Ms Alumbro’s last memory of Ms Nucos was the latter preparing food for the picnic on the day of the fateful accident, as Ms Alumbro left the house to go out.
“Now when I go home and she’s not there, I feel very sad. It’s just me left,” she said.
A similar sense of loss could be felt at Geylang Bahru, where the wake of the second accident victim, Ms Abigail Danao Leste, 41, was being held.
SINGAPORE: A new stamp set featuring the Chinese zodiac sign for the year, the rat, will go on sale next Wednesday (Jan 8), Singapore Post (SingPost) said on Thursday.
The zodiac stamp series features two graphical illustrations of the rat and comes in two denominations: 1st local (S$0.30) and S$1.40.
1st local and S$1.40 stamp sheets. (Image: SingPost)
A Pre-cancelled First Day Cover affixed with the complete set of stamps and cancelled with a zodiac rat postmark will be sold at S$3.10. A presentation pack containing both stamps is priced at S$4.15.
The collection marks a new cycle of SingPost’s Zodiac stamp series that will span the next 12 years, all of which will be designed in a similar style.
The rest of the Chinese Zodiac stamps will be released in the subsequent years until 2031, SingPost said.
The series is designed by animator and illustrator Lim An-Ling, who also designed the 2019 Singapore Bicentennial stamp sets.
The Chinese Zodiac is a repeating cycle of 12 years. Each year of the Chinese lunar calendar is represented by an animal starting with the rat, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
Postage labels bought at select SAM kiosks at the general post office from Jan 8 will also feature the Chinese New Year design, SingPost added.
OTHER RAT-THEMED PRODUCTS
SingPost will also launch a collector’s sheet with a commemorative S$10 stamp.
The stamp, a modern take on the Chinese tradition of paper cutting, is priced at S$18.80 and will be sold in a folder along with a set of eight red packets.
The collector’s sheet will be sold with a set of eight red packets. (Image: SingPost)
A diagonal decorative stamp encased in a gold-edged frame, as well as a series of MyStamp rat-themed products will also be available for sale.
Zodiac MyStamp folder and decorative MyStamp sheet. (Image: SingPost)
A limited-edition stamp miniature sheet featuring a Chinese New Year reunion dinner, priced at S$8.55, will go on sale on Jan 24.
SingPost’s Chinese New Year reunion stamp miniature sheet is priced at S$8.55. (Image: SingPost)
The Year of the Rat stamps and SingPost’s other Chinese New Year products will be available at post offices, the Philatelic Store and on the SingPost website.
They will also be sold at the SingPost booth at River Hongbao 2020 festival held from Jan 23 and Feb 1.
FESTIVE POSTAGE RATES
Leading up to the festive season, postage rates will be reduced for the sending of all greeting cards within Singapore and to overseas addresses.
The festive rates will apply for all stamped and franked greeting cards posted between Jan 4 and 25.
The festive postage rates for non-standard size greeting cards sent to a local address is S$0.30 (weighing up to 20g) and S$0.37 (up to 40g), reduced from the regular postage rate of S$0.60.
For greeting cards sent overseas, customers will be charged either S$0.70 or S$0.80, depending on the weight and destination.
SINGAPORE: About 930,000 Singaporean households living in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats will receive the next instalment of the GST Voucher – Utilities-Save (U-Save) rebate in January, the Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday (Jan 2).
The rebate, which is part of the permanent GST Voucher scheme, is distributed every three months. It helps households offset part of their utilities bills and lowers their expenses, the ministry said.
U-Save rebates amounting to S$300 million are expected to be given out in the year ending March 2020.
Eligible households will each receive a rebate of up to S$100 in January, depending on their flat type.
(Source: Ministry of Finance)
Households whose members own more than one property are not eligible for the U-Save rebates.
The annual rebates are equivalent to three to four months of utilities bills for those living in one- and two-room flats, the finance ministry said.
For those living in three- and four-room flats, the rebates are equivalent to about one to two months of utilities bills, it added.
The latest tariff will be the highest rate since the last quarter in 2014, when it was at 25.28 cents per kWh.
As an example, families living in one-room flats can expect their average monthly bill to increase by S$1.02 while those in five-room flats can expect their bill to go up by S$3.20.
“We would like to assure Singaporeans that there are many schemes in place to help with living costs, including substantial subsidies for housing, healthcare and education,” said Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and Education in the press release.
“The Government will continue to explore ways to help Singaporeans with their cost of living, especially in this period of economic uncertainty,” she added.
SINGAPORE – The Bicentennial Experience may have closed for good, but parts of it will remain on Fort Canning, while other parts, including historical materials, will be archived and stored.
This announcement was made by Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, at the closing of the exhibition on Tuesday (Dec 31).
Speaking to media, he said: “The Bicentennial Experience has excited Singaporeans by the way it has presented history… so we’re looking at how our permanent Singapore Story at the National Museum can incorporate new and different ways of presenting history to Singaporeans and visitors alike.”
Segments of the exhibition that relate to Fort Canning will be retained at its present site, while other materials will be kept with relevant agencies and partners, said Mr Lee.
“This is so that (many) years from now, the next group of Singaporeans who are given the immense responsibility to commemorate the quarter millennial, or 300 years of Singapore will have materials to rely on,” he said.
