SINGAPORE – About 4,000 people were evacuated from Century Square mall in Tampines after a fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon (Nov 5).
The fire involved a floor cleaning machine, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The SCDF responded to the fire, which occurred at the foodcourt on the third floor at about 4.15pm, but the fire was extinguished by sprinklers in the mall before its officers arrived.
Shoppers and staff in the building were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is being investigated, added the SCDF.
Hundreds of staff and shoppers were in the process of being evacuated when The Straits Times arrived at the scene at around 4.40pm.
A group of pre-schoolers from a centre located in the mall was waiting outside as well with their teachers.
Mr Hairul Qamar, 37, an assistant supervisor at hardware store Mr DIY, said he and other employees had been having a meeting when they heard the fire alarm.
“We thought it was a false alarm and continued with the meeting, but then we saw a lot of people outside,” he said.
JAKARTA – A Singaporean is among three divers reported missing while diving in waters off Banten province’s Sangiang Island in the Sunda Strait.
Indonesia’s search and rescue agency (Basarnas) has been conducting search operations, involving at least three navy vessels, two police patrol boats and a helicopter, since a diving mate of the missing trio alerted the authorities to the incident last Sunday (Nov 3).
A total of seven foreign tourists went out diving in two groups, but the missing trio – one Singaporean and two Chinese nationals – did not return to base.
The Singaporean was identified by Basarnas as Wang Bing Yang, while the two Chinese are Qin Xue Tao and Tian Yu. All three missing are male.
The Singapore Embassy in Jakarta has been in contact with the family of the Singaporean, according to an MFA spokesman on Tuesday (Nov 5). The embassy has been liaising closely with the Indonesian authorities.
“A consular officer from the embassy is on the ground to provide assistance and close support,” the spokesman said.
SINGAPORE: Opposition politician John Tan remains disqualified from standing for election as a Member of Parliament (MP) after the High Court on Wednesday (Nov 6) dismissed his application for a declaration allowing him to do so.
He was fined S$5,000 in April this year after he was found guilty of contempt of court. The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had initiated the contempt case against him following a Facebook post supporting activist Jolovan Wham, who was also fined for contempt of court.
According to Singapore’s Constitution, a person is disqualified from standing as an MP if they have been convicted of an offence by a court of law in Singapore or Malaysia and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than a year or to a fine of not less than S$2,000 and have not been given a free pardon.
In October, Tan had applied to the High Court asking for a declaration that he was not disqualified, claiming that the term “offence” as referred to in the Constitution did not extend to criminal contempt.
He also referred to an incident in 1988, when the then-returning officer allowed an SDP candidate to contest the GE that year despite being fined for contempt.
In his judgment, Justice Aedit Abdullah said: “Despite counsel’s best efforts on behalf of the applicant (Tan), I am thus of the view that the declaration sought cannot be granted, and accordingly dismiss the application.”
FINED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT
On Apr 29, 2019, Wham and Tan were fined S$5,000 each for contempt of court, after being found guilty in October last year.
In April 2018, Wham had published a Facebook post alleging that Malaysia’s judges were “more independent” that Singapore’s in cases with political implications.
The AGC initiated a contempt of court cases against him. Less than a month later,Tan wrote on Facebook that AGC’s actions confirmed the truth of Wham’s comment.
Human rights activist Jolovan Wham arrives at the State Court in Singapore February 21, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
In sentencing, Justice Woo Bih Li rejected a custodial sentence for Tan, saying the politician was “responsible for the situation that he finds himself in”, adding that the political consequences of the fine were not relevant to the sentence.
He added that Tan’s taking down of the post after a sentencing hearing in March was not a reflection of remorse.
“It was an 11th-hour manoeuvre to try and persuade the court to accede to his request not to impose a fine,” Justice Woo had said.
APPLICATION TO STAND AS MP
The High Court was told in a hearing last month that Tan plans to stand in the next GE, which must be held before April 2021.
In his application, Tan pointed a case in 1988 involving SDP’s Jufrie Mahmood. The then-returning officer Ong Kok Min informed the Straits Times that Mr Jufrie’s nomination papers would not be rejected if he attempted to stand for election.
The politician had earlier been fined S$3,000 for contempt of court. Tan claimed that meant the returning officer took the position that the disqualification – as mentioned in the Constitution – was only applied to criminal offences, and that the offence of contempt of court was not criminal in nature.
Mr Jufrie went on to stand as a candidate at the General Election in 1988 for the SDP in Aljunied GRC, where his team was defeated.
The court heard that the newspaper report only stated that Mr Ong allowed Mr Jufrie’s nomination papers and not that the Constitution did not apply to criminal contempt.
The returning officer did not provide any details of his reasoning and there was no official record tendered, the court was told.
“Even if the position of the returning officer in 1988 were accurately reported and reflective of the actual legal position taken by the Government then, this does not mean that the Government remains bound by this position some 31 years later,” Justice Aedit wrote in his judgment.
He said the position taken by Mr Ong in 1988 “does not by itself show that a representation was made or that there was any settled practice”.
“There was also nothing to show that the applicant had relied on such a representation or settled practice when committing the offence of criminal contempt,” the judge wrote.
He added: “The fact that Mr Jufrie was treated differently, even if taken at face value, would mean that, based on the present arguments by the respondent (Attorney-General), it was done in error of law.
“The fact that the respondent in the present proceedings adopts a different position from the returning officer does not amount to deliberate and arbitrary discrimination against the applicant (Tan).”
In dismissing Tan’s application, Justice Aedit said he was satisfied the disqualification applies to convictions for a criminal conviction and that the position taken in respect of Mr Jufrie does not “bind the Government in any way”.
SINGAPORE: A 62-year-old taxi driver was taken to hospital following an accident along Robinson Road on Wednesday morning (Nov 6).
The accident involved the man’s taxi and a car, according to the police, who said they were alerted to the accident at about 10am.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded to the accident at the same time and took a person to Singapore General Hospital.
A taxi and car were involved in a collision along Robinson Road on Nov 6, 2019. (Photo: Akshay Raj)
A taxi driver was taken to hospital after the accident. (Photo: Akshay Raj)
The man was conscious when taken to the hospital.
Another person was assessed by a paramedic and declined to be taken to hospital, said SCDF.
The police said investigations are ongoing.
Emergency responders at the scene of the accident. (Photo: CNA reader)
Photos of the accident showed a silver car on its side lying across the pavement, with emergency responders at the scene. Bystanders were seen helping a man out of the vehicle.
A ComfortDelGro taxi involved in the collision had mounted the kerb and its bonnet was damaged.
Amidst the hilarious gags about the e-scooter ban hammer yesterday, there was one particular scene that anyone with a heart would find pretty forlorn.
In a video clip that has since gone viral on the Helloあsia Singapore Facebook page, a woman can be seen struggling to push her personal mobility device (PMD) along the footpath.
It’s possible that her three-wheeled machine ran out of juice, but it’s also highly probable that she just doesn’t want to risk being caught riding a PMD on the pavement.
The Land Transport Authority’s official statement is that errant riders will only be given warnings for now, but fines (up to $2,000) and jail time (up to two months) will be enforced starting next year.
SINGAPORE – Two weeks ago, Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker accused Changi Airport Group (CAG) of having copied Qatar’s ideas in the design of Changi’s Jewel.
Since he began his tenure as Qatar Airways chief in 1997, Mr Al Baker has not been shy to publicly put down his competitors.
Here are five other instances when he was in the media spotlight for his comments.
1. ‘MOST DEFINITELY’ BETTER THAN SINGAPORE AIRLINES
In an interview with The Straits Times in 2014, Mr Al Baker said Qatar Airways was “most definitely” better than Singapore Airlines (SIA), and warned that the gap between the two would get wider with time.
Speaking from the business-class cabin of Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787 on display at the Singapore Airshow, he boasted: “I don’t think that there is any airline operating into Singapore, including Singapore Airlines, that offers this (Qatar’s) high standard of product.”
He added that Qatar Airways provides “the best value for money” in almost all aspects, from flying the most modern aircraft to offering top-end in-flight products at attractive fares.
SINGAPORE – A jobless young man, who was invited by a man he met online to take part in a threesome with the latter’s girlfriend without her knowledge and consent, was concerned about whether his hairy legs could give the game away, the High Court heard on Tuesday (Nov 5).
This emerged on the first day of the trial of Srihari Mahendran, 23, on 10 charges of various sexual offences – including four for rape – against the woman in 2016.
Testifying as a prosecution witness, the woman’s former boyfriend said: “His legs were hairier than mine, he was asking if it might give (the game) away.”
The former boyfriend’s solution: pantyhose.
The 28-year-old former auxiliary police officer is serving a jail term of 19 years and 11 months.
He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the woman, now 28.
SINGAPORE – More than 100 riders of e-scooters and other personal mobility devices (PMDs) were warned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for riding on footpaths on Tuesday (Nov 5).
In response to queries, the LTA said it has issued more than 100 warnings as of 5pm, on the first day that a ban of e-scooters from footpaths kicked in.
The ban will be progressively expanded to other motorised PMDs, such as hoverboards and unicycles, by the first quarter of next year.
LTA also said it will issue warnings to riders till Dec 31, but will take “strict enforcement action” against serious cases.
Under new rules announced on Monday, users of e-scooters are banned from riding their devices on the 5,500km of footpaths in Singapore.
This means that the use of e-scooters, which are already banned on roads, will be confined to 440km of cycling paths.
From next year, those caught riding an e-scooter on footpaths can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to three months.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) has elected Mr Steve Chia as secretary-general and Mr Jose Raymond as chairman, it announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Nov 5).
The opposition party’s new central executive committee elected its office bearers at its first meeting on the same day.
Mr Chia, 49, succeeds veteran politician Chiam See Tong, 84, who stepped down as secretary-general last month after 23 years at the post. Mr Chiam remains a member of the party.
“I would like to thank Mr Chiam for his many years of mentorship and guidance in Parliament,” Mr Chia said of his predecessor.
“He has been a beacon in my life, and this is truly an honour for me to be given this task of taking over his appointment in the Singapore People’s Party.”
Mr Chia, previously SPP’s organising secretary, added that the transition for the new team has been “smooth and stable”.
“We are looking forward to working together as a team and in helping to continue the legacy of the SPP.”
Mr Chia was a member of the National Solidarity Party (NSP) from 1995 to 2018, and a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2006.
In the 2015 General Elections, he intended to contest in the MacPherson Single-Member Constituency but later dropped out of the race.
Meanwhile, former Singapore Environment Council executive director Jose Raymond will take over from Mrs Lina Chiam as the party’s chairman.
SPP’s Jose Raymond speaking to reporters after the Ordinary Party Conference on Oct 16, 2019.(Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY)
The 47-year-old is the chief strategy officer of communications firm Spin Worldwide and deputy chairman of the Chiam See Tong Sports Foundation, a charity that helps disadvantaged athletes.
The former journalist once served as press secretary to Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
The appointment was an “emotional moment”, Mr Raymond said in a statement.
“Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that this day would ever happen.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us, as a collective leadership. It is immaterial what positions we hold within the party, and we must always work together as a team.”
He added that it is their “duty and responsibility to carry on the work of Mr and Mrs Chiam and the values of the SPP – of being loyal to the country, of bringing good policy ideas to the table, to help people in need, to be their voices, and to always be their ray of hope”.
Other office bearers include vice-chair Williiamson Lee, assistant secretary-general Ariffin Sha, treasurer Mario Ong and organising secretary Eman Lim.
SPP currently holds no seats in Parliament after losing Potong Pasir SMC to the People’s Action Party in 2011.
SINGAPORE: The market share of wholemeal bread has increased from 28 per cent to 39 per cent in the past five years, new statistics from the Health Promotion Board (HPB) show.
Increased wholegrain intake has been associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, including stroke.
One bread lover who has made that switch is Jaclyn Kee. The higher fibre content in the wholemeal and multigrain varieties also usually keeps her children from snacking.
“In terms of weight control, I think it’s pretty good,” she says. “Also, I read somewhere that it helps boost their concentration, so I encourage them to eat it for breakfast or in between meals.”
Jaclyn Kee’s family go through two loaves of bread every week.
Even at the National Day Rally in 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong disclosed that he watches his diet by, for example, choosing wholemeal instead of white bread.
Are wholemeal and multigrain breads really so healthy, or is that marketing hype? The truth may be surprising, as the programme Talking Point finds out. (Watch the episode here.)
SIMILAR TO INSTANT NOODLES
Whether it is wholemeal, multigrain or regular white, mass-produced bread is defined as ultra-processed food — and belongs in the same category as sausages and instant noodles.
“They’ve got a lot more additives and emulsifiers, or different kinds of stabilisers, to extend the shelf life of the bread,” explains Khoo Teck Puat Hospital senior principal dietician Gladys Wong.
Gladys Wong has over 20 years of experience in food and nutrition.
The term “ultra-processed food” refers to foods that have gone through substantial industrial processing and typically contain high amounts of sugar, salt and saturated fat, for example.
Some of these additional ingredients help to make the bread texture “a bit softer”, says Wong. They are also used to enhance flavour, especially in white bread.
These kinds of food additives are usually denoted by E numbers. For example, E100 to E199 mean food colouring, E200 to E299 are preservatives, E300 to E399 are antioxidants, and E400 to 499 are thickeners, emulsifiers and stabilisers.
Ultra-processed foods would be things like chocolate as well as some fruit juices and breakfast cereals, cites Wong. “Anything that can last very long … probably has got a lot more additives.”
Common examples of ultra-processed foods.
Some mass-produced wholemeal and multigrain breads may also not be baked with 100 per cent wholemeal flour.
For example, at BreadTalk, the wholemeal and multigrain recipes may contain only 30 per cent wholemeal flour, says chef Lim Meng Poh, a senior trainer at the bakery. White flour is needed “to improve the final product — the texture”.
“It looks nicer,” he says. “(With) 100 per cent wholemeal flour, the final product would come out a little bit hard, dry and the shelf life would be shorter.”
White flour has little nutrients and a high glycaemic index, which means a higher risk of diabetes. So how healthy is wholemeal bread if there is white flour in it?
As long as wholemeal flour is on the ingredient list, says HPB nutritionist Melissa Koh, “it’s still better than 100 per cent white flour”.
What consumers can do is look out for the Healthy Choice Symbol on the packaging, she advises. Bread with that logo contains at least 25 per cent more wholegrains, which have nutrients that are good for the body.
Studies show that eating more wholegrains … protects us from developing chronic diseases in the long term.
There are multigrain breads, however, that are made of 100 per cent white flour, “with just some multigrain blends on top”, she warns.
“The ingredients are usually listed in order of the quantity used. So if you’re looking for a solid wholemeal bread, wholemeal as an ingredient should be listed as one of the first few.”
For the past seven years, Melissa Koh has been trying to get Singaporeans to eat better.
HEALTHIER OPTIONS
On the other hand, artisan breads present a healthier alternative, but cost more. So are they worth the price?
Master baker Nick Chua from Nick Vina Artisan Bakery is one who offers heathier choices such as sprouted wheat, rye, cornmeal and spelt bread. These use different types of flour and are not mixed with white flour.
“For these kinds of bread, the different types of flour bring … different textures and flavours to the breads,” he says.
The sprouted wheat bread, for example, contains wheat germ (part of the kernel), bran and a high level of fibre, while rye bread contains four times the fibre of white bread and 20 per cent fewer calories.
Sprouted wheat sourdough, baked without any white flour.
As for spelt flour — a wholegrain relative of wheat flour — it has around 20 per cent more protein than traditional wheat flours and is a good source of vitamin B2.
“We ferment (the yeasts) for more than 24 hours to let the wheat flavour slowly come out,” says Chua, who stresses that no emulsifiers are added to improve the texture, flavour, colour or shelf life.
These artisanal breads are priced at upwards of S$6 — about two to three times the price of a mass-produced wholemeal loaf in the supermarket.
“At first, they were very difficult to sell,” admits Chua. “(Locals) tend to eat the soft breads. So when we started, we needed to educate customers on how to eat them.”
Nick Chua has been a bread artisan since 1995.
For the true weight-watchers, there are also keto buns, which do not use sugar and are gluten-free, as there is no wheat either. They are also low in carbohydrates because they are made with almond flour.
At the bakery Seriously Keto, each bun has “only three grammes of carbs”, says its founder Janti Joso Brasali — in comparison with 15g in a slice of white bread.
Each bun has 8g more fat compared with a slice of white bread, but she adds that these are good, monounsaturated fats with omega-3 fatty acids.
“It could be higher in fat because of the almond flour. Also, we use eggs … and the psyllium husk (a soluble fibre),” explains the 54-year-old, who adopted a ketogenic diet two years ago and started her bakery here this year.
Talking Point host Steven Chia with Janti Joso Brasali.
Such wholefoods do not come cheap: Two buns cost almost S$9.
“So not all breads are created equal. Newer varieties often come with a heftier price tag,” notes Talking Point host Steven Chia.
As to make whether they are necessarily healthier, he concludes that “looking at the labels on that loaf of bread” would help make for informed decisions.
Watch this episode here. Talking Point is telecast on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.
He won’t be eating artisan breads daily, but says it’s “good to know that we have these options”.
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