SINGAPORE – Customers have lost about $331,600 with the sudden closure of two car dealers, Universe Motoring and Karz Automobile, the Republic’s consumer watchdog said on Friday (Nov 22).
This is even as consumers lost about $822,000 from December 2018 to September this year from dealers that closed, a nearly 12 per cent drop from a year ago.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said it received three complaints on Universe Motoring and two complaints on Karz Automobile between September and October this year.
Consumers reported to Case that they had entered into contracts to buy pre-owned cars from the two dealers.
After making payments and taking delivery of the cars, the two companies failed to transfer the vehicle ownership record with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to them.
In one case, the consumer paid in full for the car but did not receive vehicle ownership two months later, despite sending several reminders to the car dealer.
Universe Motoring has since vacated its premises in Turf Club Road, while Karz Automobile has vacated its premises in West Coast Highway.
Stomp contributor Petrina said she had brought friends from overseas to visit the hawker centre, located along Bedok North Street 3, a few months ago.
The place was packed but the group eventually managed to find a table.
However, what was supposed to be an enjoyable dinner turned out to be a less-than-pleasant experience for Petrina and her friends.
The Stomp contributor recounted: “After we found a table, we were told by one of the drink stall assistants that we had to order drinks from them as that area was their ‘territory’.
“Throughout our dinner, we were approached countless times by several different drink stall assistants, which we found very irritating.
“Despite our constant refusal, we eventually gave in just so that they would stop pestering us.
Fluffy & Famous is a weekly video series where we interview “infurrencers”, a term we coin for famous fur kids who aren’t like your regular influencers on Instagram.
This week, Ugs the bunny hops her way into our hearts with her floppy ears, feisty personality and adorable antics.
Infurrencer’s Profile
Name: Ugs
Instagram handle: @ugsthebunny
Number of followers: 27.7k
Age: 5 years old
Ugs, the 5-year-old Holland Lop bunny, is a household name among the rabbit community.
With an Instagram account of 27,000 followers, multiple party invites and sponsorships, Ugs practically lives the life of a social media influencer, only she has a furry butt and a poofy tail.
It would be a surprise if you haven’t come across a photo of her while scrolling through the app in search of cute animals (which, let’s be honest, is something we’ve all done at least once).
Chinese tech giant Huawei has opened a new artificial intelligence (AI) lab here promising to train up to 100 AI architects and 1,000 AI developers over the next three years.
At the launch of the lab at Changi Business Park on Friday (Nov 22), Huawei International chief executive Nicholas Ma said the firm hopes to address the AI tech talent crunch here as the move is beneficial to all parties.
“Whenever I attend a tech summit in Singapore, people are asking me about getting more talent here. There is a need for more tech talents across every industry, and we want to help fill that gap. Hopefully, by doing so, these talents will help us in the long run and make contributions to our business,” he said.
Other than the talent programme, Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding with Nanyang Polytechnic on the same day to explore various talent cultivation programmes in the fields of AI as well as 5G and cloud technology.
SINGAPORE: National water agency PUB is testing two new flood protection devices “which can be easily deployed” if flooding occurs during the northeast monsoon season, it announced on Friday (Nov 22).
The first two months of the monsoon season, which sets over Singapore from the second half of November, typically brings frequent and heavy thundery showers, and flash floods may occur “if the intense rainfall temporarily overwhelms the drainage system”, said PUB.
DAM EASY FLOOD PANEL
One device is called Dam Easy Flood Panel (DFP) and is installed across doorways to prevent floodwaters from entering.
It weighs about 20kg and 0.6m high. It is reusable and can be adjusted to fit doors between 0.78m and 1.10m wide. Unlike conventional flood panels, installation does not require tools or fixings that can damage doorways, said PUB.
PUB said it has purchased 20 DFPs costing S$1,200 each, which it will loan out to homes and businesses in flood-prone and low-lying areas in eastern and central Singapore for one year.
These areas include Lorong Melayu, Lorong Marzuki, Mimosa Walk, Tampines Road, Everitt Road, Lorong 104 Changi and Syed Alwi Road, said Mr Yeo Keng Soon, director of catchment and waterways at PUB, in response to CNA queries.
“These are localised areas where conventional measures to alleviate floods like raising roads and platform levels are not feasible due to low-lying existing developments,” said PUB in a media release.
Explaining, Mr Yeo said some of the homes and shophouses in low-lying areas were built decades ago, and do not meet the current minimum platform levels for flood protection.
“Only when the area undergoes redevelopment can the ground level be raised,” he said.
PUB said it will purchase an additional 50 DFPs so that more properties in low-lying areas can be protected.
“As long as they are residing in a flood-prone area, we will definitely let them try this. But with the weather changing, and as and when more hotspots (arise), and we think they will benefit from this Dam Easy Flood Panel, we will also loan it to them to let them try,” said Mr Thomas Soh, senior principal engineer (drainage operations) of PUB’s catchment and waterways department.
“When we loan this out, we also work with the residents to try and train them how to use this, it’s quite straightforward and easy, they should be able to master it in about less than an hour,” he said.
Mr Lim K S, who lives in a landed property along Tampines Road, received his DFP on Friday. He said given its weight, the DFP could be difficult for the elderly to install on their own.
“I hope that as technology improves, we can have a lighter one that we can use. But it’s better than nothing. Without it the water will just come in,” he said.
Resident Mr Lim K S uses the pump to inflate the watertight seal. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
The 47-year-old, who lives with his 83-year-old father, recalled the last time his house was flooded in 2014 after a heavy rainfall. The water reached above his ankles and Mr Lim spent six hours clearing the water and debris.
PORTABLE FLOOD BARRIER
To tackle flash floods, PUB’s quick response teams will also be equipped with portable flood barriers (PFBs). They are designed for use on firm surfaces like roads and pavements. These barriers help divert or confine floodwaters so that traffic remains passable, said PUB.
PUB’s new flood barriers can be used to divert or contain floodwaters. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
It would take a two or three-man team about five to 10 minutes to set up the PFB, said Mr Soh.
When installed, the PFBs create a 0.5m high dam, about 6m in length.
Mr Soh noted that the highest floodwater levels Singapore has experienced are between 0.3m and 0.4m high, which is lower than the maximum height of the barriers and panels.
PUB stressed the importance of being aware of and prepared for the possibility of a flood. The agency will be releasing alerts on impending heavy rain or flash floods on its Facebook and Twitter, and invited the public to stay updated on the weather and flash floods in the coming months.
To manage storm water and reduce flood risk, and cope with more intense and frequent storms due to the effects of climate change, PUB takes “a holistic approach”, said Mr Yeo.
“These include upgrading drains and canals, installing detention tanks and flood barriers at buildings, and raising entrance levels to underground facilities, to contain and slow down the flow of storm water,” he added.
Noting that the DFPs are “relatively still quite affordable” considering that they can be reused over a long time, Mr Soh said PUB hopes that this will make landed property owners more aware of the solutions available on the market.
“What we want to do here is to try to build up Singaporeans’ individual response and to get them to see that actually everyone can play a part when it comes to flood response.”
SINGAPORE: For most people, eating out is a matter of convenience. But for 18-year-old Kaylene Choe, eating out is troublesome – possibly life-threatening.
“When I go out with my friends, I have to speak to the chefs or the people in the kitchen to make sure there’s no cross-contamination. If (the food) touches anything I can’t eat, then I get an (allergic reaction) so I have to be really careful,” she said.
The teenager is allergic to common food ingredients such as peanuts and eggs. Her allergies have affected her quality of life, and she has to think twice when eating packaged food or accepting food from friends.
But a new egg allergy trial could provide hope for people like Ms Choe.
In a media briefing on Friday (Nov 22), the National University Hospital (NUH) announced that it would be conducting a Probiotic and Egg Allergen Immunotherapy (PEAT) study, which aims to help people with an egg allergy consume eggs without having to worry about an allergic reaction.
Conducted by Dr Lydia Wong, principal investigator, and Dr Elizabeth Tham, of NUH’s division of Paediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, the study was inspired by a similar one conducted more than five years ago by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne that looked into probiotic and peanut immunotherapy treatment.
Trials conducted as part of the Australian institute’s study showed “long-lasting” protection against peanut allergy up to four years post-treatment, said Dr Wong, adding that it makes the PEAT study “promising”.
According to Dr Wong, egg allergy is the most common food allergy for children under three in Singapore, and one of the top three causes of food-triggered severe allergic reactions in adults. Severe allergic reactions include choking, swelling of the airways and low blood pressure.
While many children eventually outgrow their allergies, overseas studies found a significant number of people remain allergic to egg even into adolescence – up to 42 per cent.
The only way of dealing with allergies is to avoid the food and to seek treatment immediately once consumed, said Dr Wong.
This is particularly difficult in the case of egg allergy, as egg is a common ingredient in many types of food.
“This can significantly impair the quality of life for those with egg allergy and their family because total avoidance is close to impossible,” she explained.
A nurse conducts a skin prick test on a patient. (Photo: Cindy Co).
TREATMENT
The PEAT study proposes to increase an allergic individual’s tolerance to egg through a daily dose of a probiotic together with egg oral immunotherapy.
“Food allergies are actually an immune system problem … Food allergy occurs because the immune system recognises something that is innocuous or something that is not harmful like food protein and creates a reaction against it,” said Dr Wong.
Immunotherapy seeks to “modify or change the immune system’s response to this food protein”, she added.
While oral immunotherapy in itself has been shown to be effective, its effect is only temporary. Dr Wong and Dr Tham hope to add in probiotics, which modifies the immune system, to create a life-long protection against egg allergy.
The study will be conducted over 20 months – 18 of which will be used for treatment. There will be a total of 40 patients aged five to 30, and they will be split into two groups – an active group, which will receive the therapy, and a placebo group.
The PEAT trial will be the first of its kind in the world to use both probiotics and oral immunotherapy to protect patients against egg allergy.
Similar trials will be conducted at both research centres – the MCRI and NUH – with the Australian institute as the lead site.
“If we can show that the probiotic food immunotherapy approach is effective in treating egg allergies as well, this will mean that we could perhaps extend this treatment to other food allergies,” Professor Mimi Tang from MCRI said.
“I think it’s great that they’re doing this … if this works out, then it’s going to help a lot of people,” Ms Choe said.
It’s pretty common to have a love-hate relationship with Carousell. On one hand, you can get some pretty sweet deals on second-hand products. On the other, you might have to undergo some painful interactions with strangers.
Hell is other people, and Carouhell is no different. Facebook user Dia Benzy has apparently made a mission out of showcasing the awkwardness of it all, having uploaded a series of cringe-worthy exchanges on the online marketplace last month.
After going viral on Facebook for that post, Dia has returned to the fold with “Carouhell part 2”, yet another archive of Carousell’s finest conversations.
Some are dumb. Some are lame. Some are bizarre. All are hilarious. Take a gander at some highlights from the album and check out the whole thing here.
It’s no secret that Huawei has modelled itself after the highly-polished marketing sheen of Apple. Once a relatively unknown brand disregarded as a cheapo Android device, the Chinese tech company is a household name today, its phones recognised as premium, quality devices worthy of flagship prices.
It’s come to the point that Apple is now legit afraid of Huawei, which surpassed the American tech behemoth in smartphone sales since last year.
Though the scales may be tipping against Huawei in the past couple of months (the US ban marches on), the beleaguered firm remains capable to do battle for the hearts and wallets of consumers. Case in point: Huawei FreeBuds 3, the company’s own take on truly wireless earbuds with noise-cancelling technology.
SINGAPORE: A teenage boy was among 70 suspected drug offenders arrested in an islandwide operation by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) that ended on Friday (Nov 22).
The 15-year-old Singaporean, believed to be a drug trafficker, was being investigated for selling Ice to a 14-year-old Singaporean female suspected drug abuser, CNB said in a news release on Friday.
About 9g of new psychoactive substances, 20g of heroin, 704g of Ice and an Ecstasy tablet was seized during the operation, which began on Monday and covered areas including Bedok, Choa Chu Kang, Tampines, Telok Blangah and Yishun.
There were two “sizeable” Ice seizures during this operation.
Ice seized in a CNB raid on a unit at Yishun Avenue 11 on Nov 20, 2019. (Photo: CNB)
During a raid on Wednesday, CNB officers arrested two suspected drug traffickers – a 22-year-old Singaporean female and a 32-year-old Singaporean male – in a residential unit in Yishun Avenue 11.
“A total of about 100g of Ice, an Ecstasy tablet and a small amount of green powdery substances suspected to contain controlled drugs were found within the unit,” CNB said.
Other drug paraphernalia like a digital weighing scale and numerous drug-smoking apparatuses were also found within the unit.
Separately, on Thursday evening, CNB officers tailed a 29-year-old Singaporean man when he left a residential block in Yishun Street 81.
His vehicle was later intercepted along Mandai Road and the suspect was arrested. Inside his van, about 580g of Ice, a digital weighing scale and a drug-taking utensil were found.
The 704g of Ice seized during the operation is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 402 abusers for a week, CNB said.
Investigations into the drug activities of all the suspects are ongoing.
SINGAPORE – Contrary to false claims circulating on WhatsApp and social media, Hong Kong passport holders do not need to apply for a visa to enter Singapore, the Republic’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Thursday (Nov 21).
The ICA said in a statement that there has not been a change to the existing policy for both Hong Kong passport and document of identity holders.
The visa requirement is only necessary for Hong Kong document of identity holders, as the city’s passport and document of identity are different sets of travel documents.
According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s website, Hong Kong residents who are not eligible for the city’s passport may apply for a document of identity for visa purposes. The document of identity can serve as their travel document and is valid for seven years.
The Singapore Consulate-General in Hong Kong also clarified the matter on its Facebook page on Monday.
