So what’s the next best workaround for someone who really, really wants to commute via e-scooter? Risk broken bones by riding on top of sheltered walkways then?
Why not, thought this particularly roguish e-scooter rider.
An eclectic mix of cuisines available at mostly affordable price points makes eating out at the hawker centre a popular option for many Singaporeans.
Snaking long queues and tables “choped” with tissue paper packets are a common sight come mealtimes, and even when friends from abroad ask for food recommendations, I’ll usually point them to a hawker centre.
If you frequent popular quick-service joints such as McDonalds and Starbucks, you’re probably aware of the existence of a “secret menu” with commonly-accepted modification to items.
But did you know that hawker centre dishes have them too?
Since each order is made upon request and on-the-spot, a slight modification can result in a completely different dish (as we’ve found out), and it’s just a fun way to add some pizzazz to your meals.
We’ve gone round the office to squeeze out some of these hidden finds from our colleagues and took the liberty to make sure they actually exist.
KUALA LUMPUR – Four Malaysian men have been caned for having gay sex in violation of Islamic laws, with activists on Tuesday (Nov 19) condemning “vicious punishments” they said highlighted a crackdown on the LGBT community.
Rights group say there is a worsening climate for gays in the Muslim-majority country, where authorities have maintained a colonial-era ban on sodomy and mete out harsh physical punishments for same-sex relations.
The men, aged 26 to 37, received six strokes of the cane each in a prison outside Kuala Lumpur on Monday for attempting “intercourse against the order of nature”, an offence under syariah law, Amnesty International said.
They admitted committing the offence in an apartment last year, with an Islamic court also fining the men and sentencing them to jail terms of up to seven months each.
Religious authorities found out about the private event by monitoring messages between the men, and then sent a raiding party of 50 officers to detain them, according to Amnesty.
SINGAPORE: A high-tech fish farm, capable of producing up to 20 times the “minimum production level” of coastal farms, was officially opened by Senior of Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon on Tuesday (Nov 19).
The S$4 million farm called Eco-Ark is contained within a platform measuring 48m by 28m permanently anchored about 5km off Changi Point ferry terminal. It uses a closed containment aquaculture system developed by the Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (ACE).
It will eventually produce up to 166 metric tonnes of fish like barramundi, red snapper and grouper each year in its four tanks, each with a capacity of 475,000 litres.
The fish farm is expected to operate at full capacity in three months’ time.
Its closed containment system makes it more resilient compared to other coastal fish farms.
Four tanks with approximately 30,000 to 80,000 fish. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
“Coastal aquaculture farms currently employ open net cage farming systems which makes them vulnerable to environmental threats,” said Dr Koh, adding that plankton blooms, oil spills, waste discharge and warmer waters from climate change are existential threats to these farms.
Poor practices in conventional open farming systems can also result in water pollution, affecting marine biodiversity, he added.
But the closed containment system developed for Eco-Ark addresses these issues.
“Developed with support from the SFA’s (Singapore Food Agency) Agriculture Productivity Fund, the Eco-Ark combines Offshore and Marine Technology with a Recirculating Aquaculture System to filter and treat seawater, kill bacteria and germs and reduce vulnerability to external conditions,” said Dr Koh.
The Agriculture Productivity Fund provides funding support for farms to adopt and develop new technologies and systems.
The Eco-Ark is also “manpower and space efficient” noted Dr Koh. It requires about 1,400 sq m of sea-space and two workers to have an annual yield of 166 tonnes of fish.
This is just about 14 per cent of sea-space that current coastal fish farms need, said Dr Koh.
Eco-Ark’s ability to produce more with fewer resources is aligned to Singapore’s “30 by 30” vision to produce 30 per cent of the country’s nutritional needs locally by 2030.
Currently, Singapore produces less than 10 per cent of its needs.
“A key pillar of our agri-food and tech industry is aquaculture. Our aquaculture is one of the most efficient forms of animal protein food production and one of the fastest-growing food producing sectors,” said Dr Koh.
Three inlet pumps that suck in sea water. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
A NEW TECHNOLOGY
What sets Eco-Ark apart from other floating aquaculture closed containment system farms is its patented Novel Offshore Advanced Hull system (NOAHs).
Water from the sea is drawn in through three large pumps and filtered with ozone technology which kills off all pathogens in the sea water. The water passes through the four fish tanks and a second filtration system purifies fish waste and fish feed from the water and returns it to the sea.
Ozone towers where ozone mixes with the incoming sea water, killing most bacteria and pathogens in the water. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
According toACE CEO Leow Ban Tat, NOAHs is “game-changing” because of the manpower and energy savings created by the system.
Although the Eco-Ark is newly opened, Mr Leow already has grand plans for the future. He hopes to open two more Eco-Arks, one with eight tanks and the other with 10. He eventually aims to open an Eco-Ark farm in every country.
A wedding’s a meaningful and joyous occasion, and Singapore newlyweds Abraham Yeo, 37, and Peng Cheng Yu, 24, made it especially so when they shared it with those who were less fortunate than themselves – 25 guests from Homeless Hearts of Singapore. The non-profit organisation was co-founded by the groom in 2014.
In a post shared by YMI, an online Christian platform for millennials, the pair revealed they had originally planned for a celebration in Chinatown, where most of their friends from Homeless Hearts of Singapore would gather. However, the venue they had in mind had already been booked. They later chose to tie the knot at Yio Chu Kang Chapel instead.
“We wanted the banquet to resemble a heavenly feast for our guests and to offer them a sense of abundance.” – Cheng Yu.
SINGAPORE – Two soldiers were sentenced for their roles in the incident leading to the death of actor Aloysius Pang after they pleaded guilty in a military court on Tuesday (Nov 19).
The two men who were in the cabin of the Howitzer gun at that time were Military Expert 2 (ME2) Ivan Teo Gee Siang, 35, and Third Sergeant (NS) Hubert Wah Yun Teng, 31.
Wah was fined $8,000 and if he does not pay, he will be detained for 40 days. The judge also agreed that he be demoted from Third Sergeant to Corporal.
Teo was fined $7,000 and if he does not pay, he will be detained for 35 days.
On Tuesday, they had their charges read to them in their army uniforms at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Court Martial Centre at Kranji Camp II.
Third Sergeant (NS) Hubert Wah Yun Teng, 31. PHOTO: The Straits Times
Teo, a regular technician, and Wah, a gun commander, did not display any emotion when their charges were read.
She conspired with a former Nanyang Technological University (NTU) director and used her own husband to cheat the university out of $191,000.
For these offences, Louise Lai Pei Hsien, 43, the former director of IT firm I-KnowHow (IKH), was yesterday jailed for 17 months. She pleaded guilty to five counts of cheating, with another 10 cheating charges taken into consideration.
The court heard that Lai and her co-accused Cheng Choong Hung, also known as Viktor, were former colleagues. At the time of the offences, Cheng was the director of NTUitive. He was also a director at the Institute for Media Innovation (IMI) and chief executive of Techbiz Xccelerator (TBX).
All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of NTU.
Lai set up IKH in July 2014 on the advice of Cheng, who had control over the company, sourcing projects and making business decisions for it.
They agreed to tender for projects at IMI, TBX and NTUitive despite Lai knowing there would a conflict of interest. They also agreed Cheng should not be registered as a director, shareholder, or otherwise in connection with IKH.
The rider of a personal mobility device (PMD) was seen getting into a confrontation with a pedestrian for not giving way to him, on the basis that the footpath should be shared.
A video of the incident was posted on SG Road Vigilante’s Facebook page on Saturday (Nov 16) and was said to have been originally uploaded by the PMD rider.
It is unclear what device exactly he was riding.
In the video taken by the PMD rider, he is seen riding on a pedestrian walkway and can then be heard sounding his horn at passers-by.
He then came face-to-face with a man, with both of them not budging to let the other through.
The PMD rider is heard saying: “You know I honk you… we must share the path.”
After implying that other pedestrians had given way to him, the PMD rider then told the man: “Wa, you are very stubborn, man.”
In Singapore, foods such as chilli crab and durian are an indelible part of the local culture. So how better for a Singapore-based fashion label to mark its 10th anniversary than by plastering these foods over dresses, skirts and hoodies?
“It is our first time creating our own digital print, so I wanted something that can resonate with me as a Singaporean and a designer. What can be more iconic than food?” says Afton Chen, head designer and co-founder of label Reckless Ericka.
“I chose to start with the chilli crab as a challenge to myself,” says Chen. “I did not want to make the print too souvenir-looking, so I thought of using an outline of the crab in the design and to juxtapose it with Peranakan tiles.” (Peranakan culture is a hybrid of southern Chinese and European influences prevalent in Singapore and Malaysia.)
The three designs in the “Chilli Crab” range are featured in a capsule collection of the label’s signature looks, including full circle skirts and retro feminine midi dresses. The result is stylish and far from gimmicky.
When IGN came out with a 6.8/10 score for Death Stranding, I was kind of expecting it, honestly.
This was supposed to be the return to form by video game auteur Hideo Kojima, years after he was pushed out of his former home ground Konami — the very company that put out the man’s globally beloved Metal Gear Solid series. But after years of gorgeous-yet-puzzling game trailers and a star-studded cast that spouted dialogue that didn’t make sense, the pre-launch reviews that dropped made it clear that Kojima’s new magnum opus had been bogged down by towering suitcases of hype.
But then I actually played Death Stranding for myself. And I’ve loved every minute of it.
