A Stomp contributor was celebrating his friend’s birthday at the shopping complex when he was alerted to the incident.
He contributed photos and videos of what he saw at the scene and told Stomp: “My friends and I were at level one when we heard some commotion from the third floor.
“When we rushed up to take a look, we found a man, who was in a grey t-shirt, assaulting an older man.
“The older man had collapsed onto the ground due to the assault.”
The video shows the man in grey kicking the older man, who manages to grab onto the assailant’s leg.
The man in grey throws the older man onto the ground and kicks him several more times.
The Stomp contributor added: “I took a video of the assault and when the man in the grey t-shirt saw me filming, he quickly ran away.
It’s well-established that feet do not belong on bus seats but one man is getting a pass from Singaporean netizens after getting caught in the act.
A photo of a man sleeping with his feet on a bus seat was posted on Facebook today (Nov 13) and captioned “to wake or not to wake”.
In the photo, a middle-aged man could be seen sleeping with his back against a bus window and his bare feet on the seat next to him, using a small white towel as a blanket. There were three other empty seats in the frame.
A sign prohibiting commuters from placing their feet on seats was also visible on the wall beside the man.
While putting one’s feet up on the bus has long been frowned upon, signs making it official were only introduced to buses in August this year.
Social media has gone into overdrive with dozens of videos depicting angry food delivery workers confronting politicians over the banning of e-scooters (their main mode of transportation) from footpaths.
While this incident has nothing to do with the ongoing back-and-forth between the government and the people affected by the new regulation, it’s a little something to lighten up the divisive state of affairs.
A Facebook user who goes by Ah Sheng Good Boii shared how he witnessed a GrabFood rider coming to the aid of a cabbie who needed help in changing a flat tyre in the wee hours of this morning.
According to Ah Sheng, the elderly taxi driver had been “begging people for help” to change the tyre as he wasn’t strong enough to do so by himself. No one was around to help him — that is, until a personal mobility device (PMD)-riding GrabFood deliveryman stepped up.
A man who was drunk threatened those around him with a kitchen knife and sent customers at a coffee shop in Toa Payoh scurrying for safety.
The incident, which happened on Monday, ended when he was subdued by police officers.
The police told The New Paper that they received a call for help at about 5pm that day at Block 64 Lorong 5 Toa Payoh.
Mr Chen Weixian, 25, who witnessed the incident, told Shin Min Daily News that he was eating at a coffee shop when he noticed the man.
The student said the man looked drunk, and was walking around unsteadily. According to him, the man walked to the foot of Block 64, before he pulled a kitchen knife, that looked to be about 20cm long, out of his pocket, waving it around erratically and shouting as he did so.
“I could not hear what he was shouting, but he looked like he had lost his mind. He was agitated and hysterical,” said Mr Chen.
“There were more than 10 people at the coffee shop who saw him brandishing the knife, and were worried that he would hurt someone.
“Many people quickly left despite having not finished their food. I quickly called the police.”
The ongoing issue about the prohibition of electric scooters on footpaths is… complicated.
Right now, it’s clearly a head-splitting issue for the powers that be — a law suddenly passed in Parliament has created an influx of forthright backlash from the very people who rely on e-scooters to make a living: food delivery riders.
It’s a tricky balance, that’s for sure. On one hand, the government had to react swiftly and strongly to the concerning number of serious e-scooter accidents that keeps increasing despite various measures.
On the other hand, the zero-tolerance approach will affect the law-abiding riders who use e-scooters for gainful employment in the gig economy as food delivery personnel under the likes of GrabFood and Foodpanda.
Ethical hackers will look for online vulnerabilities or “bugs” in 12 internet-facing government systems in the third edition of a bug bounty programme, which will take place from Nov 18 to Dec 8, said the Government Technology Agency (GovTech).
In a statement on Monday (Nov 11), GovTech said that in this third Government Bug Bounty Programme (BBP), which it will be conducting together with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), a new special bonus of US$500 (S$680) will be awarded to participants to find bugs in mobile applications.
It was decided that the bonus be awarded due to the increased complexities involved in the process of finding bugs in mobile apps, said GovTech.
This bonus will be in addition to the typical rewards given out for the programme which range from US$250 to US$10,000, depending on the severity of the discovered vulnerability.
Sixty-five years ago, the fathers of actor Hugh Grant and director Guy Ritchie posed for a photograph in Singapore, with two other men.
The celebrities’ dads – Captain James Grant and Captain John Ritchie – were stationed in Singapore then as part of infantry regiment Seaforth Highlanders.
To mark Remembrance Sunday on Nov 10, Guy Ritchie released that old photo and another replicating the original one, with the director and Hugh Grant taking the same positions as their fathers.
The original photograph has Captain John Ritchie ( right) and Captain James Grant (standing, centre).
The regiment, part of the British Army, existed from 1881 to 1961 and fought in two world wars.
Hugh Grant is in the cast of Guy Ritchie’s next film The Gentleman, along with Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell.
It is due for release next year.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
It was the biggest turnout at a meet-the-people session (MPS) since e-scooters were banned from all footpaths last Tuesday, and the riders who gathered at the Anchorvale Community Club’s multi-purpose hall last night hoped Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min, MP for Sengkang West, would allay some of their concerns.
But after a closed-door dialogue session lasting more than an hour, the group of about 300 riders left disappointed.
Rider Jayrius Ong, 16, told The New Paper: “I can represent all the riders (and say) that we feel very emotional, rejected, angry and sad.”
Over the past week, e-scooter riders have been showing up at MPSes across the island, meeting with MPs including Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Emotions ran high on Monday night at a meeting with Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng and at yesterday’s session.
Dr Lam defended the ban last night, emphasising the need to make footpaths safe again.
SINGAPORE: Singles’ Day has yet again seen another record-breaking year on Monday (Nov 11) with Alibaba sales reaching US$38 billion in one day.
Brands and e-commerce platforms in Singapore definitely did not miss out on the action. Popular online marketplaces such as Lazada, Qoo10 and Shopee registered sales three to five times higher than last year.
What is it about events like Singles Day that make shopping so compelling? How has consumerism imposed such a strong hypnotic power over most of us?
I would argue that such major sales events may be driving consumers to make larger purchases than they would. Most of us might have been rationally attracted by the fantastic bargains but there is a psychological basis to the most extreme of our shopping habits.
THE FEAR OF MISSING OUT
The “fear of missing out” or FOMO has a strong impact on consumers in creating anxiety and feelings of inferiority.
Singles’ Day is one of the largest sales event in China. It has smashed sale records of other major global one-day shopping events including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
With top international celebrities such as Taylor Swift gracing the event and generating massive brand awareness for Alibaba and its other online shopping platform compatriots, this year’s Singles’ Day has received a lot of hype, which makes consumers want to be part of this event.
FOMO could impact the desire to purchase in two ways. First, consumers do not want to miss out on unbeatable promotional sales discounts and offers.
US singer Taylor Swift performs at a show to mark Alibaba’s 11.11 Singles’ Day global shopping festival in Shanghai, China November 10, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
The limited time promotions also invoke a strong sense of urgency and call to action for consumers to commit to purchases, without deeper reflection on whether they really need those products.
Second, social media has become a powerful platform for consumers to rave about their purchases and share their “wins” with their friends. Such dynamics intensify peer pressure and the feeling that one should do likewise so not to stick out like an outsider.
Any recollection of a frustration of missing out on group activities can add to these disappointments overtime.
Hence, to avoid FOMO, consumers take on deals that they may not make had they decided on them in the absence of Singles’ Day.
RETAIL THERAPY
Second, the act of shopping can be “therapeutic”. There have been studies that attest to this retail therapy claim.
Shopping uplifts our mood, because it tends to restore a sense of personal control over our environment and makes the consumer feel less “helpless”.
When consumers encounter a wide range of products up for purchase, they achieve a sense of autonomy when they can decide which item that is within their means they would like to buy, which invokes a positive mood.
The logo of Alibaba Group is seen during Alibaba Group’s 11.11 Singles’ Day global shopping festival at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China on Nov 10, 2019. (File photo: REUTERS/Aly Song)
With Singapore society becoming more affluent and digitally savvy, online shopping has become a very convenient and accessible avenue for people to fulfil this emotional impulse.
Nevertheless, when consumers become overly dependent or addicted to this drive to shop in order to regain a sense of power, they may inadvertently fall prey to a compulsive shopping disorder.
Third, there is this sense of self-gifting, a phenomenon where a person buys a gift for himself or herself as a form of reward, to practise self-love and self-indulge. This feel-good behaviour explains why we would at times tend to buy something expensive for ourselves or treat ourselves to a good meal.
Studies have demonstrated that self-gift giving can compensate for the feelings of loneliness one might feel and act an escape mechanism from stress.
Singles’ Day seems to be a perfect event that triggers the need for self-gifting even more since the occasion reminds singles about the solitude of their status.
Textbook stuff: Good service goes a long way in keeping shoppers happy – and coming back for more. (Photo: Unsplash/freestocks)
When societal stress levels have been on the rise in a country calling for better work-life balance, such self-indulgent behaviour tends to rise in tandem.
Perhaps, the rise of consumerism is a reflection of the “pressure cooker” environment that we live in and the gloomy economic outlook in the past few months.
BREAKING THIS CYCLE
So, can we break this vicious cycle of obsessive consumerism? Planning and prioritisation is crucial.
I would suggest identifying the items that you need versus those you want to buy. Focus your mind on essential items whether these be health supplements, baby diapers or milk powder, for which costs savings can be significant during a sale.
Next, prepare the list of items meant for self-indulgence and budget for them. This does not give you license to buy all the items all at once in one particular sale. You can always put them on hold should you exceed your budget on Singles’ Day.
Another good practice to avoid extreme consumerism is to track your purchases, specifically those purchased online.
(Photo: Unsplash)
Most e-commerce marketplace have tools to track purchases. These can help you avoid impulsive buying.
The next time you need a retail therapy, try considering online browsing or window shopping as they have the same effect.
Just don’t hit that “buy” button.
Dr Lau Kong Cheen is a Senior Lecturer for Marketing Programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences and he is passionate about branding and consumer behaviour.
SINGAPORE: The Government’s main priority is to return safety to pedestrians on footpaths, said Dr Lam Pin Min on Tuesday (Nov 12).
The Senior Minister of State for Transport and Member of Parliament for Sengkang West SMC was speaking to reporters after a dialogue session at Anchorvale Community Club, which was attended by more than 300 people, many of them food delivery riders.
Delivery riders waiting to enter a hall at Anchorvale CC where Dr Lam Pin Min is set to address PMD users on Nov 12, 2019. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
When asked if he had a message for those who have personal mobility devices at home they can no longer use because of the ban, Dr Lam said: “We understand that with the announcement of the ban, there will be people who will be affected. But our main priority is to return safety to pedestrians on footpaths. I think that is the main reason we are doing this.”
“We don’t want a situation where we do not do anything and (this results) in another fatality on a footpath. I think this is something that is not acceptable,” he added.
Dr Lam Pin Min addressing the crowd gathered at his dialogue session on Nov 12, 2019. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
Dr Lam said the e-scooter ban was a “difficult decision” for the Government, which has “always believed in active mobility”.
“These past two years we have been trying to promote the use of active mobility … but unfortunately, over the past year and months, the situation doesn’t seem to have improved and we’ve seen a significant number of injuries and accidents,” he said.
PMD users wearing GrabFood and Foodpanda uniforms at Dr Lam Pin Min’s dialogue session on Nov 12, 2019. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
“After looking at the situation, we know that we have to do something to bring safety back to the footpaths and … this very difficult decision to prohibit the use of PMDs on footpaths (was made),” Dr Lam added.
The dialogue session was held a week after e-scooters were banned on footpaths, and followed a series of Meet-the-People sessions that were attended by food delivery riders who wanted to talk to ministers like Mr Desmond Lee and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Although the session on Tuesday night started out calm, tensions grew and several attendees were seen shouting at Dr Lam near the end. When the session ended, riders could be heard shouting in frustration outside the hall.
One woman said,” We continue to fight, okay?”.
Food delivery riders gathered for a dialogue session with Dr Lam Pin Min on Nov 12, 2019. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
Some food delivery riders told CNA as they left the hall that the atmosphere inside was “angry”.
“He didn’t answer the question and just kept repeating the same thing,” said Mr Faris Yeo, 34, who has been a full-time GrabFood rider for a year.
He said he left the session early as there seemed “no point” for him to remain. Several others had also left before the session concluded.
Food delivery riders leaving Anchorvale CC after a dialogue session with Dr Lam Pin Min on Nov 12, 2019. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
“He just brushed us off. He could not give us a definite answer,” said Ms Serene Tan, 39, who has been working as a full-time food delivery rider for several months.
“We don’t want to be enemies with fellow Singaporeans,” she said. “He just needs to educate fellow Singaporeans (so we can) live in harmony.”
Riders CNA spoke to before the session echoed the view that they were being unfairly targeted by the public.
Mr Mohd Azri, 25, said he had encountered many pedestrians walking on cycling paths and getting in the way of bicycles and PMDs.
“You have to blame the pedestrians too,” he said.
Food delivery riders leaving Anchorvale CC after a dialogue session with Dr Lam Pin Min on Nov 12, 2019. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
He was also frustrated by the overnight ban, despite many PMD riders having followed the Government’s instructions to convert their PMDs to UL-272 certified devices and to drive within speed limits.
“I just think it’s not fair… Now we become criminals… The Government should show us more transparency,” he said.
Full-time GrabFood rider Alam Mohd Nor, 54, said that the ban has affected his duties as the sole breadwinner of his family. When asked what he planned to do next, he said he would wait and see.
