When a family member passes away, many employers will give you compassionate leave.
There is no MOM— law saying that they must, but most employers will not be so heartless as to force you to use your annual leave to grieve.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHAT IS COMPASSIONATE LEAVE?
Compassionate leave is paid leave that enables you to attend or prepare a funeral for family members. Your employment contract should indicate how many days of you get.
What happens if compassionate leave is not mentioned in your contract? Some employers will grant compassionate leave when informed about a death in the family, although they might require a death certificate.
Another thing to note is that a death in the immediate family will usually qualify for leave days, but the same is not true about more distant relatives.
So, the death of parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings and in-laws will qualify. However, the same might not be true of your aunts, uncles, cousins and so on.
Hawkers in a coffee shop in Bendemeer were shocked to find burnt tables when they turned up for work yesterday morning.
The police said they were alerted to a case of mischief by fire at Block 27 Bendemeer Road at about 3.30am yesterday.
A 72-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the case.
The fire, which damaged 13 of the 20 tables in the coffee shop, was extinguished by police officers using two extinguishers prior to the arrival of firefighters. There were no reported injuries.
A television set and surveillance cameras in the coffee shop were also found to have been damaged.
Hawkers told Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao that business was affected as the burnt tables could not be used by patrons.
A coffee shop assistant who wanted to be known only as Madam Lu, 60, said she turned up for work at about 8am yesterday to find the coffee shop cordoned off by the police.
She said there was a strong burning smell in the air, and she was dumbfounded when she saw the burnt tables.
SINGAPORE: Corporate restructurings can be lengthy and ugly as creditors fight for whatever that is left to go around. Retail investors who are ranked lowest on the creditors’ list and have the least bargaining power, are often left feeling helpless.
That is the case for Ms Teo who had invested a five-figure sum into Hyflux’s securities, as she watched the once-vaunted water treatment firm struggle to put together a rescue plan nearly 16 months after seeking bankruptcy protection.
A prior deal had asked small investors like her to stomach up to a 90 per cent loss on their investments. While that was later aborted when Hyflux fell out with its would-be white knight from Indonesia, it remained a rude shock. “We really felt like we were taken advantage of,” she recalled.
As the company continued its search for a new investor, Ms Teo bemoaned that meaningful updates have slowed to a trickle. In particular, Hyflux’s talks with Middle Eastern suitor Utico have dragged on for months.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen or what we can do now,” the 46-year-old told CNA.
A recent commentary from the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS) sought to highlight the “disadvantaged” position of retail investors when companies run into financial troubles, and called for more protection measures.
Already licking their wounds, individual moms and pops do not have the means to pursue legal action or seek legal advice, according to SIAS chief David Gerald.
This is in contrast with institutional investors “who would have taken as many measures as possible to ensure that their interests are protected in the relevant legal documents”.
Unequitable communication is another problem. Mr Gerald pointed out that firms in trouble may choose to have “more open lines of communication” with larger stakeholders or start withdrawing from the public eye by saying that negotiations are confidential and delicate.
“Our experience tells us more needs to be done to protect the interests of retail investors when trouble strikes,” he wrote.
ENHANCE SIAS’S ROLE?
Mr Gerald, in that commentary, suggested two ways to strengthen protection for minority investors.
Having been the advocacy group for investors’ rights over the past 20 years, SIAS has been involved in the debt restructuring efforts of several embattled locally-listed firms, with the latest being Hyflux.
It provides independent legal and financial advisers to retail investors on a pro bono basis. It also helps to form steering committees comprising affected investors, and organises regular townhall meetings between the company’s management, steering committees and other retail investors.
Even with that, there are still problems.
One of which is that it remains up to the firms to decide whether to approach SIAS.
Mr Gerald said: “This means there could be many instances where shareholders are not properly engaged and are therefore exposed to the likelihood of not knowing where they stand.”
Authorities may want to consider having “a formal requirement whereby all companies which face liquidation are to engage SIAS”, he suggested. At the same time, SIAS could also be granted “locus standi” to act on behalf of stakeholders in court.
The set-up of a fund or insurance policy may also be explored, said the SIAS chief. This will be used to help SIAS pay for the legal and financial advice aimed at helping retail investors.
“Debt restructuring will become increasingly important and if Singapore is to become a hub for such activities, it will be essential for all affected parties to enjoy equitable treatment,” Mr Gerald noted.
“In this regard, SIAS can play an important role in ensuring that the interests of investors are properly represented.”
SIAS president and CEO David Gerald speaking at the Nanyang Technological University.
ANOTHER INVESTOR PROTECTION GROUP?
Market experts whom CNA spoke to echoed the need for small investors to be better protected, but they mooted ideas for the formation of a separate investors group.
For investment specialist S Nallakaruppan, this should be an association with statutory powers.
Citing his experiences as an aggrieved shareholder of troubled firms like Noble and Vard Holdings, he said: “Already so injured, where will retail investors find resources to gather like-minded people and then find a lawyer to protect their rights?
“You need somebody to take charge and make requests to the company. For the company to oblige, it (the body) needs some statutory power.”
National University of Singapore (NUS) associate professor and corporate-governance advocate Mak Yuen Teen suggested forming a body to arbitrate disputes between investors and companies, as well as an independent group that monitors companies and “publishes negative reports” on them and its directors.
He also gave the idea of having a body that can sue on behalf of shareholders.
Assoc Prof Mak raised the example of the Securities and Futures Investor Protection Centre in Taiwan, which helps mediate disputes and litigate on behalf of investors. Funding for the centre is provided by the stock and futures exchanges, securities firms and futures firms, he added.
If this is to be emulated in Singapore, it should be separate from SIAS, he added.
This boils down to how SIAS has taken on other tasks, such as corporate governance which involves it giving out awards to companies. This may make it challenging for SIAS to also take companies to task.
“How do they sue companies after giving them transparency or best corporate governance awards, for instance, or after jumping to their defence?” said the accounting professor at the NUS Business School.
Operating as a charity, SIAS also largely raises funds through corporate funding and its annual programmes, such as the Investors’ Choice Awards. This reliance on corporate funding is another drawback in the eyes of experts.
Said Ms Stefanie Yuen Thio from TSMP Law: “Should SIAS be granted ‘official standing’ as the investors’ association de jure, listed corporates may attempt to buy ‘soft’ influence through donations and sponsorships.”
“Even in the absence of such external meddling, it would be tough for SIAS to prove its independence if, for instance, allegations are raised by stakeholders with competing interests.
“This could undermine its effectiveness as a retail investor advocate when insolvencies arise,” the law firm’s joint managing partner wrote in a commentary published in the Business Times on Oct 29.
In response, Mr Gerald said SIAS, which he founded in 1999, has always been “very careful” about its role.
For instance, the association had stopped working with an unnamed bank after being told not to comment on the bank’s problems.
“Companies do understand that we have to be independent and they work with us on the basis that SIAS has to be independent,” he said in response to CNA’s queries.
“We have demonstrated adequately that we safeguard our independence and the rights of individuals.”
CHANGES TO THE LAW?
Ms Yuen Thio would also like to see the laws changed to better allow retail investors to take action against errant boards.
This will include amending the Companies Act to permit class action lawsuits and to help minority investors obtain timely company information in order to pursue legal claims against the directors and management.
Laws on third-party litigation funding could cover minority shareholder lawsuits in insolvency situations, she added.
Meanwhile, she also suggested the Singapore Exchange’s Central Depository, which holds the shares of investors, to provide a communication service for shareholders to rally other shareholders for a common cause.
Nevertheless, all these should be accompanied by more efforts to raise investor education.
Ms Yuen Thio cited the example of perpetual bonds or “perps”. “(These) are not really bonds in the traditional sense and a savvy investor would not invest without understanding the risks associated with a bond that the issuer has no obligation to repay.”
“When corporates go into default, there is usually very little left to go around so the parties would be picking scraps off a carcass,” she said.
“It’s much better to arm investors with knowledge and the ability to assess potential investments so that they do not put their life savings into companies that are financially overextended or badly managed.”
Bubble tea chain The Alley has responded to feedback from a customer who said he found a plastic cap in his drink at its Jewel Changi Airport outlet on Nov 9.
Stomp contributor Andrew said he had purchased the store’s signature Brown Sugar Deerioca Fresh Milk beverage, only to find an ‘extra topping’ nested among the pearls at the bottom of his cup.
He told Stomp: “Guess what, they included an ‘extra’ milk carton seal cover with the pearls.
“Fortunately, the plastic cap was too large to go through the straw. Otherwise, I could have swallowed it accidentally.
“Staff at the store have got to be more diligent when preparing drinks.”
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesman for The Alley Singapore said: “We are aware of the incident at our Jewel outlet as the customer had brought it to our attention.
“We have escalated the issue to our local management team as well as The Alley HQ in Taiwan.
A 25-year-old motorcyclist was arrested for dangerous driving, riding a vehicle without the owner’s consent, and for suspected drug-related offences on Saturday (Nov 16).
A Stomp contributor alerted Stomp to the incident after he spotted several police cars along King George’s Avenue at about 10am that day.
“The suspect was at on the third floor of Block 807,” he said.
In response to a Stomp query, the police said that a Traffic Police officer had stopped a motorcyclist along Kallang Road towards Victoria Street at about 8.14am for checks.
“When the officer approached the rider, the rider refused to comply with the officer’s instruction and sped off,” a police spokesman said.
“In the ensuing pursuit, the motorcyclist had self-skidded, abandoned the motorcycle and fled.
“The 25-year-old rider was subsequently arrested for Dangerous Driving, Driving Vehicle Without Owner’s Consent and for suspected drug-related offences.”
A 52-year-old female cabby and an 18-year-old female passenger were taken to hospital after the taxi they were in crashed into a railing and onto a slope at Block 805 Keat Hong Close in the early hours of Saturday morning (Nov 16).
Two Stompers alerted Stomp to the incident and shared photos and a video of Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers who had arrived to rescue the women from the taxi.
The incident happened next to a multi-storey carpark.
The SCDF told Stomp it responded to the accident at 2.27am.
The 52-year-old driver and 18-year-old passenger were conscious when they were taken to National University Hospital and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital respectively.
In response to a Stomp query, the police said they were alerted at 2.25am.
One of the Stompers shared photos of the broken railing and damaged vegetation following the accident.
He said: “Taxi and personal mobility device (PMD): Which is more dangerous?”
SINGAPORE – Upset that he was not showered with enough attention by his partner, a man accused his boyfriend of drugging and raping him.
Indonesian Fredy Kosman Kwee, 34, called 999 three times, resulting in police officers being dispatched to a Housing Board flat in West Coast based on the false information about his partner.
For making a false police report, the Singapore permanent resident was sentenced to five days’ jail on Monday (Nov 18).
The court heard that on Jan 2 this year, Kwee, a McDonald’s employee, called the emergency hotline at around 6.15pm claiming that there was a fight going on in a unit at Block 702 West Coast Road.
Within 30 minutes of the first call, Kwee called 999 twice more and asked for more police officers to be dispatched to the location, alleging that someone had tried to drug and rape him.
An odd clip shared by the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page over the weekend left netizens bemused over the antics of a crabby Mercedes driver.
Here’s what apparently happened along Stevens Road, according to the dashcam footage from Nov 4.
The Mercedes driver signalled to switch to the right lane, but its close proximity prompted a honk by the car recording the incident. Infuriated by getting horned at, the Mercedes driver whipped open his door and made gestures at the motorist behind him — and if that wasn’t enough, the man stopped his car and got out.
In a display of misplaced machismo, the Mercedes driver — wearing what appears to be a Republic of Singapore Navy’s Naval Diving Unit t-shirt — confronted the honking driver, no doubt trying to be as intimidating as possible.
Which, uh, failed after the Mercedes man performed a churlish gesture (apparently called a “vagface“, according to Urban Dictionary) in response to getting captured on camera.
SINGAPORE: About 40 firefighters were on the scene on Monday (Nov 18) to battle a fire at a storage warehouse near Hougang, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post.
The fire involved kitchenware and other household items that had been stored at the rooftop of the warehouse.
The authorities were alerted to the fire at about 11.30am and when they arrived, the flames were “raging at the rooftop” and “threatening to spread”.
An SCDF vehicle seen at Kim Chuan Drive after a fire broke out on Nov 18, 2019. (Photo: Facebook/SCDF)
Firefighters donned breathing apparatus sets and made their way up a “narrow and debris-filled stairway” to fight the flames.
In addition to the 40 firemen, SCDF said it also deployed 14 emergency vehicles.
“At the height of the operations, three water jets were used to bring the fire under control,” said SCDF.
A fire broke out at 29 Kim Chuan Drive on Nov 18, 2019. (Photo: Facebook/SCDF)
Pictures shared on the SCDF Facebook page showed the charred remains of a heap of cooking pots. A video from a CNA reader showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
“I spotted thick black smoke,” the reader said. “I initially thought it was an accident at the Bartley Road East flyover. But looking further, I saw flames and thicker smoke.”
“I called SCDF,” he added, noting that the authorities were at the scene in roughly five minutes.
Thick black smoke was seen after a fire broke out at 29 Kim Chuan Drive on Nov 18, 2019. (Photo: CNA reader)
The fire was extinguished by 12.45pm.
There were no reported injuries. Four occupants of the premises had self-evacuated before SCDF’s arrival.
The cause of the fire is being investigated. Meanwhile, damping down operations, which prevent potential rekindling of fire, are ongoing.
He’s the second-generation owner of Katong Shopping Centre’s underground hot eatery, Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice, after taking over his parent’s business of 30 years, reported Lianhe Wanbao. He’s also a NAFA graduate, an aspiring comedian and a bonafide snacc.
Wu found fame earlier this year in August after his series of videos took off on Tiktok. In his most viral clip to date, he grooves and whirls to the tunes of Señorita in front of his stall, all whilst donning his signature apron.
