Picking up a new hobby or adopting a new routine was the norm during Singapore’s circuit breaker, when people had to stay at home.
Well, when some Singaporeans found that they had more time on their hands, they went to their kitchens, experimented, and launched new home-based businesses selling food instead.
And while home bakers selling cakes, brownies and cookies are a dime a dozen on Instagram, there are also those who have cooked up other delectable dishes that they started hawking to others during CB.
A stall located in Rivervale Mall at Sengkang has been the subject of controversy among the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore over its signboard.
It reads “Sedap Goreng”, which can be literally translated from Malay as “Delicious Fried” or perhaps understood as fried niceties.
The menu is listed in another signboard — humble fare like nasi lemak, mee goreng, fried bee hoon, and a slew of curry rice including a dish that features braised pork.
This is a point of contention for Muslim netizens, who have been sharing a photo of the stall across social media for the past few days. The cause of concern was how the stall is selling non-halal cuisine despite sporting a Malay name.
Since the Malay community is predominantly Muslim, some netizens have stated that the stall’s name is misleading, warning other Malay-Muslims to be wary of the food stall.
From reports of injured pets to buckling steps, it’s definitely better to be safe rather than sorry when you’re on an escalator.
An elderly man who suffered multiple abrasions after tumbling down an escalator in Hillion Mall yesterday (Sept 3) afternoon was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed.
The man, who appeared to be in his seventies, was travelling on the escalator from the mall’s basement one level to basement two with his wife, an eyewitness who works in the mall told Lianhe Wanbao.
“We heard a sudden shout of alarm coming from the escalator, then we saw an old man rolling down,” she said.
The man landed at the foot of the escalator and appeared to be unable to stand.
SINGAPORE – The Government has agreed in principle to live-stream parliamentary proceedings, said Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran.
He told the House on Friday (Sept 4) that his ministry will study the technical and implementation details.
While he said the Government still holds its earlier reservations about live streaming, he noted that global and technological trends have made online streaming commonplace and seen legislatures in other countries live-streaming proceedings.
“Parliament is a forum for serious debate on national issues. The debate in Parliament should be vigorous, but the tone should be sober,” Mr Iswaran said.
“An element of cut-and-thrust is unavoidable, even necessary, because Members want to show Singaporeans that their concerns are expressed, and questions asked and answered in Parliament.
“However, it is equally important that Members come to grips with the issues and their complexities and not simply play to the gallery. Live broadcasts risk compromising this.”
SINGAPORE: There will be no changes to public transport fares in light of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy, the Public Transport Council (PTC) said on Friday (Sep 4) after its annual fare review exercise.
The two transport operators here, SMRT and SBS Transit, had applied for the maximum increase of 4.4 per cent, said the PTC, adding that it decided against granting any fare adjustments.
“With this decision, the full fare adjustment quantum will be rolled over to the next FRE (fare review exercise) in 2021,” it said in a media release.
The PTC added that it will continue to “monitor the macroeconomic indices and prevailing economic conditions closely”.
“In making its decision for 2021 FRE, the council will also continue to balance fare affordability and financial sustainability,” it said in a media release.
Members of the Public Transport Council speaking at a virtual press conference on Sep 4 2020. (Photo: Public Transport Council)
“We recognise the exceptional economic circumstances faced by Singaporeans and have decided to keep bus and train fares unchanged to help ease the financial burden on commuters during this challenging period,” said PTC chairman Richard Magnus.
He added that beyond the freeze in fare increases, the council will closely monitor developments in the COVID-19 situation and the impact on Singaporeans.
“Our priority will be to safeguard commuters’ interests, while ensuring a financially sustainable public transport system that continues to meet the needs of Singaporeans in the years to come,” he said.
Mr Magnus noted that should the COVID-19 crisis continue into next year, this would likely affect the macro-economic indices influencing fares, such as declining wages and oil prices.
“I doubt very much that we’ll see a fare increase (should current conditions continue),” he said.
The decision not to adjust fares was made despite the impact of COVID-19 on public transport operators here, the council said, citing reduced ridership and the need to step up cleaning routines.
SBS Transit, which operates the North East and Downtown lines, cited losses in its rail operations, as well as “significant cost pressures” in areas such as manpower and repairs and maintenance.
“In its latest financial year, SBS Transit’s train segment reported a loss in tens of millions of dollars,” the council said.
Meanwhile SMRT, which runs the North-South, East-West, Circle and Thomson-East Coast lines, pointed to “escalating costs to operate an expanding train network with increasing operations and maintenance demands”, as well as additional costs to ensure a safe transit environment in light of the pandemic.
“For its latest financial year ended March 2020, SMRT Trains recorded a net loss of around S$20 million after tax,” said the council.
“Despite the drastic fall in whole-day ridership by around 75 per cent during the circuit breaker from April to June 2020, public transport operators had continued to run trains and buses largely at pre-COVID frequencies, to help commuters reach their destinations safely and smoothly,” said the PTC.
Maintaining the frequency of buses and trains, as well as enhancing cleaning routines to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, came at a “significant cost” to operators amid the drop in fare revenue, it noted.
Former Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said in May that fare revenues plunged 80 per cent during the circuit breaker period.
On Friday, the council noted that before the outbreak, the Government was expected to spend almost S$1 billion to renew and upgrade rail operating assets, and another S$1 billion to subsidise public bus services annually over the next five years. This translates to more than S$1 in subsidies for each trip taken, it added.
“With the impact of COVID-19, revenues have fallen further, and we expect Government subsidies to be even higher this year,” it said.
The current fare adjustment formula, which will be in place until 2022, takes into account factors such as energy prices and inflation, as well as the Network Capacity Factor (NCF) – which compares ridership against the network capacity added.
The council said, however, that the NCF was not designed for “exceptional circumstances” like the sustained drop in ridership due to COVID-19.
“PTC will therefore conduct a mid-term review on how NCF ought to be applied, or whether it should be partially or totally excluded, when considering its effect on next year’s fare adjustment,” it said, adding that the review would be completed before next year’s exercise.
Pointing to developments such as the expansion of the rail network and the “significant operational subsidies” provided by the authorities, the PTC said the review is timely to ensure the fare adjustment formula remains “relevant and responsive”.
The Ministry for Transport (MOT) said separately that it has accepted the PTC’s recommendation and would also not adjust fares for low-wage workers and people with disabilities.
Low-wage workers will continue to get up to 25 per cent off on adult fares.
Those with disabilities will continue to have their fares pegged to senior citizens, at 55 per cent of adult fares, and have the price of their monthly concession passes unchanged at S$64.
MOT also said that the deadline to apply for public transport vouchers will be extended from Oct 1 to Jan 1 next year, allowing eligible households more time to apply for them at community centres and community clubs.
Each voucher is worth S$50, and can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly concession passes. Households are eligible to apply for a voucher if their monthly household income from all sources per person does not exceed S$1,200.
About 30,000 low-income households under the ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance and Long-Term Assistance schemes will not need to apply, as they will automatically qualify for the vouchers.
These households will receive redemption letters for the vouchers in the mail.
The first group of households – made up of beneficiaries of both schemes as of Aug 31 – will receive their letters from early December.
The second group – recipients of both schemes as of Jan 31 who did not receive their vouchers in the previous tranche – will receive their letters from mid-March 2021.
It’s a heartbreaking scene — a wee otter pup stumbling around all alone looking for its family after getting separated.
But thanks to the efforts of local animal welfare activists and otter watchers, the little critter was rescued and taken care of. The otter was eventually reunited with its family after its human helpers brought it back to a beach where its family is known to have taken residence.
The footage of the reunion proved to be touching enough to make it to The Dodo — the popular social media channel for inspirational animal stories — on Tuesday (Sept 1).
The incident itself appeared to have taken place back in 2016 when the otter pup, named Toby, was rescued after it fell off a ledge into a canal near Fort Road and taken to Wildlife Reserves Singapore for treatment. It was then reunited with its pack, or better known as the Marina otter family.
As moving as the episode was (it garnered over 18 million views), folks across the world were more preoccupied with one thing: how polluted the beach in Singapore was.
SINGAPORE: Two Singaporean men aged 28 and 43 were arrested for suspected drug activities after putting up a “violent struggle” during a joint operation by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Thursday (Sep 3).
CNB and SPF officers raided a residence in the vicinity of Geylang Lorong 27 on Thursday evening.
“Forced entry was effected as the man refused to heed the lawful orders of the officers to open the door,” said CNB in a news release on Friday.
“As officers moved in to arrest the two males, both put up a violent struggle and necessary force was used to subdue them.”
Officers conducted a search of the residence and seized drugs with a total value of about S$410,000 and numerous drug paraphernalia.
During the raid, officers also found a karambit knife, a parang knife and a baseball bat, as well as cash amounting to S$15,830, said CNB.
A karambit knife, parang knife and baseball bat seized from a unit in the vicinity of Geylang Lorong 27 on Sep 3, 2020. (Photo: CNB)
The drugs seized included a bundle of about 1.1kg of Ice or crystal methamphetamine, 29 packets containing about 199g of Ice in total, about 56g of heroin, 1,000 Erimin-5 tablets and seven Ecstasy tablets.
The total amount of Ice seized, at about 1.3kg, is enough to feed the addiction of about 744 drug abusers for a week, said CNB.
Two bundles, each containing about 1.1kg of Ice (top) and 1,000 Erimin-5 tablets (bottom), were seized from a unit in the vicinity of Geylang Lorong 27 on Sep 3, 2020. (Photo: CNB)
Investigations into the drug activities of the suspects are ongoing ,said CNB.
The police are also investigating the two men for possession of offensive weapons.
ComfortDelGro has issued a warning to ComfortDelGro Taxi should take this taxi driver to task for purposefully driving against traffic just for his own…Posted by ROADS.sg on Wednesday, September 2, 2020″>one of its taxi drivers after a video of a cabby driving against traffic made its rounds on Facebook since it was uploaded on Thursday morning (Sep 3).
Stomp contributor Lee informed Stomp of the incident and sent the link to the Facebook post posted by ROADS.sg.
A 50-year-old woman who allegedly threatened suicide after a quarrel with her adoptive mother was arrested on Wednesday (Sept 2) after a stand-off at Block 107 Toa Payoh Lorong 1, police confirmed.
According to an 8world report, the woman had been arguing with her mother since 12pm that day.
The woman, who remains unnamed, then reportedly locked herself and her mother in the flat and threatened suicide.
The police said they were alerted to the situation at 1.02 pm.
Over 10 police officers, five Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers and two Special Operations Command vehicles were seen at the scene, an eyewitness told the Chinese daily.
Officers from the SCDF’s Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team were also spotted on the roof of the block.
The foot of the block was cordoned off and an inflatable safety life air pack was set up.
The six-hour stand-off came to an end when police officers forced open the door and arrested the woman under the Mental Health Act.
Compared to June, seasonally adjusted retail sales saw a 27.4 per cent increase month-on-month in July – this was attributed to a lower base in the previous month, when most physical stores were closed until Jun 18, before Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening began.
Excluding motor vehicles, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 19.5 per cent.
The estimated total retail sales value in July was about S$3.3 billion, with online retail sales making up an estimated 11.0 per cent.
Online retail sales of the computer and telecommunications equipment, furniture and household equipment, as well as supermarkets and hypermarkets industries made up 49.1 per cent, 21.8 per cent and 11.4 per cent of the total sales of their respective industry.
Among the segments that were hard hit by July’s retail slump were department stores, which saw a 32.1 per cent drop in sales; clothes and shoes (-27.7 per cent); and watches and jewellery (-21 per cent).
SingStat said the above three segments “continued to be affected by low tourist arrivals due to the global COVID-19 outbreak”.
F&B SECTOR FELL 25.4%
Sales of F&B services fell 25.4 per cent year-on-year, compared to the 43.6 per cent decline in the previous month, said SingStat.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of F&B services grew 29.2 per cent in July over the previous month.
The growth was mainly attributed to the lower base in June, when food & beverage establishments operated on a takeaway or delivery basis until Jun 18.
The total sales value of F&B services in June was estimated at S$665 million, with online F&B sales making up an estimated 21.1 per cent, added SingStat.
The turnover of restaurants and food caterers declined 29.9 per cent and 45.2 per cent respectively in July this year compared to July 2019.
“Similarly, cafes, food courts and other eating places and fast food outlets recorded lower sales of 11.5 per cent and 29.9 per cent respectively during this period,” SingStat added.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, turnover of restaurants, cafes, food courts and other eating places as well as fast food outlets grew by between 7.2 per cent and 61.0 per cent compared to the previous month, with more people dining in at food and beverage establishments in Phase 2.
The turnover of food caterers also increased 5.2 per cent during this period, due to increased demand for catered meals from foreign worker dormitories.
