SINGAPORE: Former Reform Party chairman Yang Yaohui was charged in court on Wednesday (Jan 19) for allegedly harassing a police officer and hurting Christians’ religious feelings with social media posts.

Yeo, 31, received three counts under the Prevention of Harassment Act (POHA) for posting threatening, abusive and abusive stories on Instagram.

He was also charged with three counts of making or attempting to make a statement that hurt the religious feelings of the Christian community.

Yeo is accused of posting on his Facebook page in November 2020 with intent to hurt the religious feelings of Christians who see homosexuality as contrary to their religious beliefs.

In his post, he called the Christians “radical and dogmatic” and “false Christians who use religion for personal gain.”

In February last year, he allegedly attempted to hurt Christians’ religious feelings with two posts on his public Instagram page @toxicstatenarrativeinsg.

In the post, Yeo pointed to certain Christian churches and referred to “homophobes with trashy agendas” and “radical Christians” who were “homophobic and distorted the message of Christ.”

Charles Yeo and Jolovan Wham leave state court on January 19, 2022 (Photo: CNA/Gaya Chandramohan)
Yeo is also accused of making abusive, insulting and threatening communications to a police officer on his Instagram page in November 2020 and January 2021.

The posts named the officer by name and described him as “nothing more than a pathetic coward and collaborator of an authoritarian regime” who “deserves to be tortured before execution.”

Yeo is represented by lawyers Ashwin Ganapathy and Azri Imran Tan of IRB Law. Mr Ganapati told the court his client intended to contest the charge of hurting religious feelings.

Two prosecutors appeared in court to hear the case, one of whom told the court that Yang’s commercial affairs department was investigating him. Any allegations arising from those investigations could be dealt with separately, she said.

Yeo was standing in the dock with his arms crossed, dressed in a black shirt. His mother was appointed as his bail at S$5,000.

Prosecutors stressed that Yeo should “be mindful” of what he posted further on social media, saying he could find himself in more trouble if he posted anything of a similar nature to his alleged posts.

Mr Ganapathy said he would advise his clients accordingly. The judge reminded Yeo not to commit any more crimes or his bail could be revoked. She held a pre-trial meeting on February 25.

Yeo was arrested last week on suspicion of participating in criminal offences of breach of trust and forgery, following a report to Whitefield LLP.

No such charges were laid against him in court on Wednesday.

If convicted under POHA, Yeo could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

If convicted of intentionally hurting anyone’s religious feelings, each charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a fine, or both.

Yeo said after his arrest on suspicion of criminal breach of trust that “these allegations are completely fabricated and false”, claiming the police’s actions were “unprofessional”.

Police have dismissed his allegations and said the investigation into Yang was not politically motivated. Police said they had received several reports involving four clients of Whitefield Law Corporation charged with forgery or breach of trust.

Yeo is part of the Reform Party team that is competing against a five-member team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the Ang Mo Kio GRC in the 2020 general election.

Following news of Yang’s arrest, the party said it accepted Yang’s offer to resign as chairman until the issue was resolved. Ms Yasmine Valentina has been appointed as the party’s acting chairman.

SINGAPORE: Changes to Singapore’s carbon tax should be carefully calibrated and adjusted to give businesses enough time to adapt and remain competitive, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong told parliament on Wednesday (Jan 12).

He noted that setting the right carbon price would guide investment decisions and spur companies to decarbonize, but would also impose higher costs on businesses and consumers.

“We should carefully calibrate and adjust the rhythm to give businesses enough time to adapt, implement decarbonisation measures and remain competitive,” Mr Gan said.

Citing the S$180 million corporate sustainability plan launched in October last year, he said the carbon tax would be supplemented by financial support for businesses.

The minister said the government would also consider how it could help mitigate rising costs, especially for low-income households, as the higher carbon tax would have an “indirect impact” on households.

For example, when the carbon tax was first introduced in 2019, the government offered an additional U-Save utility tax rebate for three years, he noted. A program that provides vouchers to eligible households to offset the cost of energy-efficient appliances has also followed.

Mr Gan is responding to a motion on climate change put forward by PAP MPs, calling on the government to strengthen green financing, create more green jobs and more.

In a wide-ranging debate that lasted more than five hours, the focus was on raising the carbon tax, seen as a key tool in Singapore’s transition to a greener future.

The country’s existing carbon tax will last until 2023 and is currently fixed at S$5 per tonne of emissions. Finance Minister Huang Xuncai said the revised carbon tax rate for 2024 would be announced in this year’s Budget.

Raise the carbon tax rate
MPs who spoke at the debate, such as Mr Louis Ng (PAP-Nee Soon), agreed that the current carbon tax was too low.

Mr Wu said the tax rate was the “most powerful tool” to cut emissions and had to be raised “substantially”. It could also be expanded in scope, he said.

Currently, Singapore’s carbon tax applies to all facilities that generate 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gas emissions per year. This covers about 50 large emitters and accounts for 80% of Singapore’s total carbon emissions.

“We should aim for higher coverage,” Wu said, adding that small emitters with emissions of at least 2,000 tonnes were already considered “reportable facilities” and were paying to monitor and measure their emissions. cost.

“Given that any additional compliance costs are likely to be small, it makes sense for the carbon tax to cover all reportable facilities,” he added. “A launcher, big or small, can do its job.”

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (PAP-Bishan-Toa Payoh) also suggested the establishment of a fixed carbon tax rate formula to develop over a longer period, which would help businesses predict their potential costs and plan accordingly.

While some experts have suggested a carbon price of $50 to $75 per tonne of carbon dioxide by 2030, he stressed that the pace of the increase must be determined carefully.

He suggested first setting the carbon tax level at at least $8 to $9 per ton of emissions, “or just a little bit higher, to inject some urgency for emitters to accelerate their decarbonization plans”. This price floor is where the voluntary market assesses and trades carbon credits, he said.

Supporting businesses in transition
MP Liang Eng Hwa (PAP-Bukit Panjang) pointed out that businesses will face transition costs such as higher capital expenditure and compliance costs against the backdrop of supply chain disruptions and slowing global growth.

Therefore, helping businesses “overcome the initial tough challenges” in this transition is critical, he said. For example, tax increases should be rolled out gradually with a clear timetable.

It should also receive government support, he said, citing measures such as increased financial support to help the industry become more energy efficient.

Additionally, MPs Foo Mee Har (PAP-West Coast) and Mariam Jaafar (PAP-Sembawang) said businesses should be given ample time to adjust.

Ms Foo cited Sweden as an example, which she said went through a 30-year phased implementation before reaching the current carbon price “without affecting the economy”.

“A clear long-term trajectory for expected changes in carbon taxes will be key to helping companies develop the business case for adopting new green technologies and making the necessary investments,” she added.

Mr Ng and Ms Foo also suggested that the additional tax revenue from increasing the carbon tax be given back to those affected, either as a subsidy to deal with higher costs during the transition, or as an incentive for companies to adopt green technologies.

Balancing coverage with potential compliance costs
Describing the carbon tax as the “core” of Singapore’s climate mitigation strategy, Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu also agreed that “stronger price signals” are needed over time for companies to take bolder decarbonisation step.

But she reiterated the need to balance tax coverage with potential administrative costs for businesses.

She said the existing carbon tax thresholds ensured that the tax was applied at “critical junctures” and flowed to the rest of the economy. “This eases the administrative burden on small emitters, especially (small and medium enterprises) to measure, report and verify their emissions.”

But she agrees that it is necessary to use carbon tax revenue to support the company’s decarbonization journey.

“In fact, in the first five years, we are prepared to spend more money than we have collected to encourage the adoption of energy-efficient processes and other valuable emission reduction projects,” she said, adding that some of the revenue will also be used to help households .

Ms Fu added that additional funding was also being used for research and development of low-carbon technologies and urban solutions.

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) said late on Wednesday (Jan 12) that the “burning smell” reported in eastern Singapore over the past two days was not related to any local industrial incidents or hotspots in the region.

In response to CNA’s inquiries, the NEA said it received feedback on “burning smells” on Tuesday and Wednesday.

CNA’s readers also said that they have experienced these two days in places like the East Coast, Bedok, Loyang and Tampines.

“NEA’s inspections did not uncover any local industrial incidents that could have contributed to the smell,” NEA said.

“The Singapore Civil Defence Force has also confirmed that they have not responded to any incidents involving open burning in eastern Singapore.”

It added that no hotspots were detected in the nearby area.

In terms of air quality, the agency said, “1-hour PM2.5 concentration readings remained within the normal band (Band I) and 24-hour PSI levels were in the ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ range”.

The NEA has not received further feedback on the burning smell since Wednesday afternoon, but added that it will continue to monitor the situation.

SINGAPORE: More than a year after a human skeleton was found under a bridge in Kallang Baru, the identity of the deceased remains unknown despite extensive investigations and cross-references with 18 unsolved missing persons cases.

In a set of findings released Wednesday (January 12), state coroner Adam Nahoda announced a public verdict in the case.

The identity and cause of death of the deceased remain unknown. Evidence found during the investigation suggested the deceased was an adult man in his 30s to 60s who died at least six months to a year before his bones were found on November 9, 2020.

Workers erect scaffolding under the bridge at 1 Kallang Place as part of a contract awarded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in early November 2020.

Around noon on November 9, 2020, a worker erecting scaffolding under the bridge saw a skull in the space below the structure. He immediately sought help from the Land Transport Authority and police were alerted shortly after.

Police at the scene inspected the bottom of the bridge and found skeletal remains scattered on top of the supporting beams. They also found a shirt, underwear, three strands of hair and some strands of hair near the skeleton.

A suitcase, a brown bag and a bag with black and white stripes were found on the riverbank near the entrance to the walkway where workers were building.

The suitcase contained a pair of jeans, a set of underwear, a belt and a sock. Faded receipts were found in black and white bags, but no useful information was gleaned from them.

Pieces of paper with phone numbers were found in the bag, but when police called those numbers, the person who answered was unable to provide any information relevant to the investigation.

The clothes found in the bag produced DNA that did not match the DNA of the deceased. Investigations revealed that they belonged to a homeless man sleeping under a bridge.

Police found no evidence of blunt force injuries in a preliminary investigation to suggest foul play or that the deceased was a victim of any crime prior to his death.

Autopsy
An autopsy was performed on the deceased the day after the remains were found. Forensic pathologists found that there were no remaining organs, flesh or hair and the remains were “completely skeletal.”

The bones were “completely disjointed from each other” and had a brownish discoloration with some small maggots inside the skull.

Forensic pathologists found that the bones belonged to an adult man between the ages of 30 and 60, likely at least six months to a year before the autopsy.

The pathologist added that he was “probably of Mongoloid ethnicity,” using an anthropological term associated with a group of people of Asian ancestry, classified according to physical characteristics.

A forensic dentist examined the skull and found strong muscle attachments to the mandible and other surfaces suggesting it belonged to a man. The tooth wear from brushing suggested he was likely right-handed.

DNA samples taken from the man did not match any samples in the Health Sciences Administration database.

During the investigation, a man identified in court documents as Mr LBP came forward as he suspected the bones belonged to his brother. His brother was reported missing on August 19, 1986.

The bridge is one of the places Mr LBP used to go with his brother, just a short walk from their old home. However, Mr LBP’s DNA sample did not match that of the deceased.

Unresolved missing persons report
From June 2019 to June 2020, police processed 18 outstanding missing persons reports involving men between the ages of 30 and 60. Most of them have been eliminated, and four of them may qualify.

The first Mr LKS was reported missing on 26 August 2019. He was supposed to be 56 in November 2020 and his family last saw him in 1997. He signed divorce papers through attorneys representing him in 2000 and his son filed a missing person report in 2019 because Mr LKS had not paid alimony since 2000.

Police assess the chances of a DNA match for Mr LKS’ son with the deceased are very low and police believe the deceased is unlikely to be Mr LKS as he was missing for a long time before November 2020.

The second, Mr NHS, was reported missing on 5 July 2010. His family last saw him on July 1, 2009, when he told them he was going to Thailand for two weeks.

He did not return to Singapore and his family filed a missing persons report on 5 July 2010. As of November 2020, he will be 41 years old.

However, police found it unlikely the deceased was Mr NHS as his sister recalled his teeth were crooked, unlike the remains, and was told he was still in Thailand.

A third possibility is Mr. NY, a Chinese national who was reported missing on March 20, 2020, and should be 27 as of November 2020. He did not show up for work on March 9, 2020, and his employer filed a missing persons report a few weeks later.

Inspections showed he had not left Singapore, but on January 29, 2021, Mr. New York’s facial features matched CCTV’s facial search results, excluding him.

The last possibility is Mr. CYW, who was reported missing on March 4, 2020, two days after he was last seen. As of November 2020, he will be 40 years old.

However, Mr CYW’s profile matched a CCTV face search on January 31, 2021. The coroner said he remained “at large”. CCTV face-search footage was shown to Mr CYW’s father, but he could not be sure it was his son.

The blood and DNA samples of Mr CYW’s father did not match those of the deceased.

In recording his public verdict, the state coroner said there was no evidence the deceased’s death was linked to foul play.