His internship with the company lasted three years and he earned only $500 a month.

During this time, his former boss frequently hit, humiliated and verbally abused him over perceived mistakes he had made.

Yet, Mr Calvin Chan Meng Hock, now 31, stayed on and endured the torment because he felt his abuser could teach and guide him in his career.

Yesterday, his former employer was sentenced to a 10-day short detention order (SDO) for assaulting him.

In 2013, the manager of IT company Encore E-Services, Lee Yew Nam, was filmed verbally abusing and slapping Mr Chan in a 17-second video clip which went viral in mid-2013.

Lee, now 45, was given the 10-day SDO yesterday after pleading guilty last Aug 18 to four counts of voluntarily causing hurt to Mr Chan between January and May 2013.

Offenders given SDOs have to serve a brief stint behind bars for up to 14 days. They will not have criminal records after serving their sentences.

Lee committed these offences in a third-storey office of what was then the iHub building – now known as Jurong Town Hall – at Jurong Town Hall Road.

An only child, whose parents are both cleaners in their 60s, Mr Chan told The New Paper that his mild nature could have led Lee to take advantage of him.

He said: “Now, I think it’s ridiculous that my internship lasted about three years with such a pathetic pay.

“I was exploited, treated like cheap labour.”

When asked why he did not resign, he replied: “I thought I could still learn a lot more about IT from him.”

Mr Chan said he did not tell anyone about the abuse as he did not want others to worry about him.

He added: “I now realise he was just a bully. I should have just packed up my bags and left.”

INTERNSHIPS

Mr Chan, who graduated with a degree in computer science from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) in 2010, said he had gone through the SIM Student Portal and found out Lee’s company was offering internships.

The workplace was close to his four-room flat in Jurong East.

The bachelor started an initial six-month internship in May that year, earning $500 a month.

He found Lee, whom he referred to as “Alan”, friendly and approachable.

Mr Chan, who is now working as a 3D artist for a gaming company, said Lee showed his true colours two months later when he berated him for not handling a customer well.

Lee’s wife and another intern, a woman in her 20s, were the only other people in the office.

Mr Chan said: “He shouted at me and I was puzzled at this sudden change in demeanour. I didn’t expect him to act like that as he was so nice in the beginning.”

From then on, Lee started shouting at him at least once a week and no one intervened.

Mr Chan said that later that year, Lee shouted and slapped him across the face over a mistake he had made.

He said: “Even my own parents have never hit me. But I thought what he did was okay as it was my fault.

“It never occurred to me that I could have told my parents or my school about it.”

Mr Chan’s six-month stint ended in November 2010 and Lee offered to extend his internship. Mr Chan accepted the offer as he felt he had much to learn from Lee.

He recalled that even though official working hours were from 9am to 6pm on weekdays, he worked till 10pm several times a week as he had to deal with overseas customers from places like Africa.

Mr Chan said he was not given any overtime pay and could not remember if he was given any annual leave.

Lee took his abuse a step further in February 2013 and, for the first time, hit Mr Chan when there were others around.

Angry that Mr Chan had failed to correctly answer a customer’s request, he punched him on the left side of his face several times. He then pushed Mr Chan, causing him to fall off his chair.

Lee hit him again in the office about three months later.

Another intern, Mr Amos Yeo, then 25, used his mobile phone to film the incident.

Mr Chan said he found out about the clip only after a cousin called his parents on May 19, 2013, asking to meet all three of them at a nearby coffee shop.

The cousin showed Mr Chan and his parents the video.

Mr Chan said: “I felt very angry and embarrassed to see myself being treated that way.

“My parents were furious with Alan and insisted we make a police report that night. I decided that enough was enough and agreed.”

Mr Chan is grateful to Mr Yeo for helping him.

He said: “As for Alan, I have already forgiven him but I won’t forget.

“I don’t want to have anything to do with him any more. Once bitten, twice shy.”

Expert: Victim felt zero control

His then-boss Lee Yew Nam, now 45, abused him at their workplace.

So why did Mr Calvin Chan Meng Hock, now 31, tolerate the ordeal and not stand up for himself?

Dr Elizabeth Nair, principal psychologist at Work & Health Psychologists, told The New Paper that Mr Chan might not have friends or colleagues he could talk to about what he was going through.

She said that without these people to compare notes with, he could have assumed that the way Lee treated him was “normal”.

Dr Nair added: “Physical and verbal abuse may be thought to be ‘this is how it is in the working world and I must accept and learn to do better’.”

Mr Benedict Lim, managing director of psychological consultancy firm iGrow, said Mr Chan probably did not feel like he could control the outcome of his situation, perhaps due to learnt helplessness.

PASSIVE

Mr Lim said: “This occurs when a person believes that he has zero control over the situation and therefore does not bother to try to avoid it.”

He added that Mr Chan appears to have a passive style of communication.

“Passive people tend to keep to themselves and do not readily reveal their honest thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, they are also known to elicit minimal or no resistance at all to any forms of abuse,” said Mr Lim.

Dr Nair said employees should voice out the first time their superiors verbally abuse them. Bosses can then be given a fair warning that such behaviour is not acceptable.

Mr Lim told TNP that employees should immediately speak out at the first instance their bosses physically abuse them. They should also inform the police.

He said: “Avoid retaliation unless there is a need to protect oneself from serious harm and injury.”

SIM: There were no issues raised

Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) said it was not aware that its former student Calvin Chan Meng Hock, now 31, continued to work at IT company Encore E-Services after he graduated in 2010.

It added that its records did not show any issues raised by him or the firm during his internship when he was a student.

Responding to queries from The New Paper, the SIM spokesman said: “In 2013, we terminated our internship collaboration with Encore E-Services after our student Amos Yeo, who was also interning at Encore E-Services at that time, reported Calvin’s abuse incident to us.

“Our students are also advised to contact our Career Development Office should they encounter any issues or have any feedback during their internship.”

Students are asked to submit their evaluation of their internship experience after they complete their internships.

“We were saddened to learn about Calvin’s experience with Encore E-Services but we hope that this incident will not hamper him from moving on to have a successful and fulfilling career,” said the SIM spokesman.

ashaffiq@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
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He spent the night anxiously waiting at the void deck of his block of flats. And by the time it was morning, Mr Abu Bakar Omar decided to take a day off.

The 55-year-old was among the residents of Block 508, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, who took leave from work after having to forgo the comfort of their homes between Thursday night and Friday morning.

This was due to a stand-off between an alleged drug offender and the authorities at the HDB block.

When The New Paper arrived at the scene yesterday at about 9.30am, the stand-off was still ongoing.

About 15 residents were seated below the block in a variety of chairs provided by grassroots members and the town council.

Mr Abu Bakar, who was at the void deck when The New Paper met him, said he was tired and could not get back to his house to change into his work clothes. So he had no choice but to call in sick.

The cleaner, who lives on the seventh storey, was supposed to start work at 7am yesterday.

He and his wife were able to rest at his daughter’s nearby unit but he still didn’t get a restful night’s sleep.

Though his daughter’s unit is in the same block, her household was not required to evacuate because it was at the other end of the block.

ANXIOUS

“I was very anxious because of all the commotion,” he said.

“So for most of the night, I joined the other residents downstairs to see if there were any updates.”

He said that at about 4am, he tried to get some sleep.

“Even then, my mind was still on everything that is happening. All because of this, I can’t go to work this morning.”

Like Mr Abu Bakar, nurse Misha Kaur also took the day off.

She said her family roughed it out at the playground at the foot of the block overnight.

“I took the day off because I didn’t get to sleep at all last night,” said Ms Misha, whose family lives on the ninth storey. The nurse, who is in her 40s, said that at about 8.30pm, she heard knocking on her door.

“Next thing I knew, the SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) was at my door and they asked if they could enter to put up a safety net.

“There was a strong smell of gas in the air and they asked us to go downstairs for our own safety.”

Mr Ang Hin Kee, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, who joined residents at the void deck of block from about 10pm on Thursday, told TNP at 10am yesterday that residents who could not return to their homes were allowed to rest below the block or at the nearby Cheng San Community Club.

TNP understands that a few families with children were able to rest in the air-conditioned music room of the community club.

Grassroots members also set up chairs and provided food and drinks for residents who were unable to return to their homes.

For those who wanted to use the toilet, the grassroots members accompanied them to use the toilet at the community club.

The residents were able to return to their homes only after police broke into the unit and arrested the suspect at around 10am yesterday.

Mr Ang said the authorities took a long time because they wanted to ensure everyone’s safety.

For Ms Misha, she was just relieved that the whole episode was over.

“I’m just glad nobody is hurt.”

tnp@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 2, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

By any global measure, a prime minister of Singapore presides over a minuscule patch of earth and speaks for a tiny fraction of the world’s population. Yet notwithstanding the city-state’s small size-or maybe because of it-its prime ministers often have a keener grasp of American interests than Americans do.

So it’s no surprise that Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s current prime minister, would come right to the point in a meeting with The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

When asked for his take on the Obama administration’s unratified Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which neither the leading Democratic nor Republican candidate for president supports, he answered this way:

“You have an administration which understands America’s international responsibilities and interests, but you have a population which is anxious, tired, and doesn’t want to bear any burden and pay any price. And that’s very difficult for whoever becomes president.”

The TPP is a trade deal with 11 other Pacific nations that would cut tariffs on American goods and services, improve intellectual property rights, and help write the trade and investment rules for an area that is home to about 40 per cent of global economic output.

The agreement notably does not include China. There’s an irony here, because at a moment when trade opponents in the US are hollering that these deals are always stacked against Uncle Sam, China’s leaders fear the opposite is true with TPP. They believe, Mr. Lee says, “that you are trying to create rules which will favour you.”

Read the full article here

OTHER WSJ.COM STORIES:

– Trump and His Debts: A Narrow Escape

– Saudi Women Made History – But Still Have a Long Way To Go

– A Mysterious Disappearance Chills Hong Kong

By any global measure, a prime minister of Singapore presides over a minuscule patch of earth and speaks for a tiny fraction of the world’s population. Yet notwithstanding the city-state’s small size-or maybe because of it-its prime ministers often have a keener grasp of American interests than Americans do.

So it’s no surprise that Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s current prime minister, would come right to the point in a meeting with The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

When asked for his take on the Obama administration’s unratified Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which neither the leading Democratic nor Republican candidate for president supports, he answered this way:

“You have an administration which understands America’s international responsibilities and interests, but you have a population which is anxious, tired, and doesn’t want to bear any burden and pay any price. And that’s very difficult for whoever becomes president.”

The TPP is a trade deal with 11 other Pacific nations that would cut tariffs on American goods and services, improve intellectual property rights, and help write the trade and investment rules for an area that is home to about 40 per cent of global economic output.

The agreement notably does not include China. There’s an irony here, because at a moment when trade opponents in the US are hollering that these deals are always stacked against Uncle Sam, China’s leaders fear the opposite is true with TPP. They believe, Mr. Lee says, “that you are trying to create rules which will favour you.”

Read the full article here

OTHER WSJ.COM STORIES:

– Trump and His Debts: A Narrow Escape

– Saudi Women Made History – But Still Have a Long Way To Go

– A Mysterious Disappearance Chills Hong Kong

Singaporeans have been gobsmacked by the overwhelmingly suffocating dry spell in March, and it hasn’t even hit haze-filled season yet! While we are not going to hit 40°C, according to NEA, we may hit 36°C on some days, with other daily highs of 33 to 34°C.

NEA has attributed a few factors to the dry spell in Singapore, such as the influence of El Nino, the presence of a dry and warm air mass over the region, and the occurrence of the equinox.

What Exactly Is Causing The Heat?

Some of us might be wondering, why is it expected to be so hot this month? Well, global warming and El Nino aren’t the only culprits. A phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) has also contributed to this in cities such as Singapore.

The UHI effect is a situation whereby urban areas are significantly warmer than rural areas due to urbanisation and human activities in large cities. And it’s going to heat up even more, as Singapore continues to urbanise and develop.

But here’s the good news! A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) researchers have developed a modelling tool to depict UHI effects by creating visual maps for areas based on (i) sunlight and shading, (ii) wind flow and temperature, and (iii) noise levels.

A*STAR Team who developed the UHI modelling tool

With such information, city planners, housing developers and even town councils can better make informed decisions on exactly where and how to build better cities. By determining our island’s pain points, we can address them in simple but effective ways; such as increasing tree cover, installing rooftop gardens and building water features to cool things down. Perhaps the rooftop infinity pool of the Marina Bay Sands is not simply an aesthetic construction after all!

Here’s a video of the modelling tool developed by A*STAR:

5 Places In Singapore To Escape the Heat

Now if the heat does become unbearable, here are some places we specifically highlighted out for you to escape the heat:

1. Pinnacle at Duxton

First on our list is Pinnacle at Duxton, simply because it has a great rooftop on its 50th Storey Skybridge. And yes you do not have to be a resident there to access the facilities. Other than enjoying the cool breeze from the rooftop garden, you can also enjoy the amazing view of the city. Here’s a look at the Skybridge:

2. Vivocity Rooftop Pool

If Pinnacle is not enough to charm you, you can also drop by the drop by the popular Vivocity. Other than being known as the largest shopping mall in Singapore, Vivocity has a great rooftop pool which is designed to keep the temperature around cool. It is familiar to see families and kids around enjoying the facilities. Pro tip from us? Grab a few snacks and set up a mini picnic over at the rooftop pool to escape the hot Singapore weather!

3. Lantern at The Fullerton Bay Hotel

This is fast growing to be one of our favourite hangout spots – Lantern at the Fullerton Bay Hotel. Located at the Marina Bay, the bar gives you a stunning view of the bay area, perfect for to bring your date on a weekday or weekend night. With the rooftop pool, along with its proximity to the bay, you can be sure that the bar is a great spot to escape the Singapore heat, which can be unbearable even after sunset.

4. Punggol Waterfront

Instagram-worthy spots around Punggol Waterfront

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times

For friends staying at Punggol, you are in luck – the waterfront is probably one of the best places to hang out to escape the Singapore heat. The park with well-planned with its green features and water features, and for the adventurous and for those in the know, Punggol Beach is hidden gem – soft, fine sand, moss-covered rocks, with an unbeatable view of the horizon.

5. Gardens By The Bay

Cherry blossoms bloom in Gardens by the Bay

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Gardens by the Bay

Last (but definitely not least) on our list is the Gardens By The Bay (of course it is!). Gardens By The Bay is just a walk away from the Bayfront MRT and it is a nature park spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land in central Singapore. You can choose to stroll at the park, cycle around it, visit the popular Flower Dome or Cloud Forest, or take part in the many activities that the authorities have planned for visitors.

The heat will be better come April, and while we await the cooler weather, these are the five spots that we’ve identified to avoid the heat in Singapore. Know any hidden spots that we should all check out? Do let us know in the comments below!

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