Consumer Awareness

Too early to gauge new scheme's impact on motor claim costs

2009-03-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum(13Mar09) > Story
Too early to gauge new scheme's impact on motor claim costs

I THANK Mr Daniel Choy for last Friday's letter, 'Motor Claims Framework: Why no cut in premium?'
As the Motor Claims Framework was implemented nine months ago, it is still too early to assess its full impact on containing claim costs.

The General Insurance Association firmly believes that in the middle to long term, there will be a positive and sustained impact.

Already our member insurers have seen a significant 24 per cent increase in accident reports being filed since the framework was implemented.

We believe that such timely reporting will go some way in containing and curbing rising claims, a key determinant in the need for insurers to raise motor premiums.

To better assess the effectiveness of the framework, the General Insurance Association will conduct a national survey in May to gather feedback from motorists on their reporting and claims experiences, and make further improvements.

The issue of inflated third party claims, as raised by the writer, is a very real one.

The General Insurance Association is currently studying various other options to address this crucial area as well.

Mark Lim
Executive Director
General Insurance Association

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_349457.html

It's high time motor insurers put their house in order

2009-03-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum (14Mar09) > Story
It's high time motor insurers put their house in order

WHEN I saw yesterday's headline, 'Motor insurance set to cost more', my first reaction was, 'No, not again'.
Without having to read the report, I could guess what the insurers were going to say to justify their impending premium increase. More accidents reported and higher injury claims are reasons which they cite ad nauseam.

It is the same old yarn: If insurers must pay out more, policyholders will just have to carry the burden - so easy to pass the buck.

After bearing the burden of increasing premiums for so many years, I would now like to ask the insurers whether it is time for them to put their own house in order.

For example, if there were rampant fraudulent claims, why are they not making a greater effort to bring the culprits to book?

Surely it would have helped to reduce the numbers if they had been more diligent in cracking down on such fraud. Could it be that because it is so convenient to increase premiums each year, there is no real urgency in investigating accident cases more thoroughly?

If my recent experience is any guide to the way insurers are conducting themselves, I shudder to think of what lies ahead for the motoring public.

I was involved in a motor accident early last year. I took photographs of the scene and reported quite comprehensively on what happened.

Then I told my insurer that on no account should they settle the case without referring to me as I believe I was not to blame.

Imagine my chagrin when I found out months later that my insurer had gone ahead and admitted 90 per cent liability without informing me.

But what takes the cake is this: My insurer had given the wrong location of my accident in the settlement letter but nevertheless, it was signed and sealed.

My attempt to unravel the whole nightmare is another story in itself but I will leave it until I have seen some light.

Sia Cheong Yew

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_349878.html

SAF: Stingy and Fumbling?

2009-02-25T04:17:00.000-08:00

SAF: Stingy and Fumbling?

Objective:
To provide NSmen a more equitable remuneration/ allowance package as the current package is outdated, antiquated and thus plain unfair to unemployed NSmen.

Background:
According to 'http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/nsmen/admin/PayMatters.html',
“As an Operationally Ready NSman, you will receive Service Pay for the entire period of NS activity that you attend. An NSman who suffers a loss in his civilian income as a result of having to attend NS activities can claim make-up pay (MUP) (i.e. the difference between employment income and service pay) from MINDEF.”
However, I believe that this policy is flawed in that it excessively penalizes certain groups of NSmen such as:
'NSman who is employed and on leave/no pay leave during NS training.'
'NSman who is unemployed or is a student.'
SAF's argument being:
“NSman is not eligible to claim make-up pay, as he does not suffer any loss in civilian income during the period of his NS training. He will be paid service pay.”

The Flaw:
The flaw being the omitted balance between the fact that reservist activities are by nature interruptive, restrictive and demanding both physically and mentally, and the fact that private employment income is often a flawed estimate of the NSman's worth/ contribution.

Many thus end up underpaid/ overpaid simply by virtue of their life circumstance. This is plain unfair given the fact that all NSmen need comply to the same, exacting physical and mental requirements.

Evidence of the NSmen's demoralization, dissatisfaction with the current system is plain to see on the internet. Public forums that reflect popular mentality towards seeking medical excuse towards 'earning' vocation and deployment downgrades remain an embarrassment.
'Medical FAQs', http://www.sgforums.com/forums/1390/topics/79306 , with over 1,800 posts since 2004 exists to help the poor, uninformed NSman navigate his way the ever onerous and demanding 'National Service Training System (NSTS)':

National Service Training System http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/nsmen/opsready/NSTS.html:
“Before each ICT, you should train yourself up physically and be mentally prepared for the tough training that you are to undergo. If you fail to meet the required performance standards, you will be subjected to corrective training e.g. Your Unit Commander may decide to serve you additional NS call-up for Make-up Training (MUT).... ”
- Need I say more?

'In Defense of Defense' http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=16842.1: details a citizen soldier's experiences and observations. (Jan09)

On national service : http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=12474.1 – reflections upon completion of one's NS training cycle. (Nov08)

'What the Gahmen owes you for NS' : http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=16842.1 a tongue in cheek description of 'list of NSF jobs and their real world equivalent'. (Nov08)

My Suggestion:
The Service pay of NSmen should equal what regulars of similar rank , vocation and appointment should earn (pro-rata) as the rigors of reservist training equal or exceed that which a regular soldier in such vocation faces. One might argue for MUP to be reduced for high income earners to balance costs but rumor I last heard was that SAF tries not to recall high income NSmen anyway.

Conclusions:
Sure, defense budget may go up, but our gov has never been one to stint on it any way; maybe the way out is for regular officers to improve their leadership and communication abilities, so reservist's training can be more effectively run.
Perhaps more a carrot then a stick approach should be used now that NSmen and their families are more aware of their rights and responsibilities as a recent parliamentary debates and court rulings show (below); fair reimbursement shouldn't only apply to dead or injured servicemen.

At least, such a peg method for 'service pay' will motivate more low education holders to strive during their NSF period, knowing that they won't be prejudiced against when called up during their later study/ work periods. It might in fact mean more work and more pay for their 2 weeks reservist stint, a welcome break to celebrate one's citizenry responsibilities. (**Failure to perform to standard would entail MUT paid at NSF service pay rates**).

Reply by Minister Teo Chee Hean on Compensation for Dead and Injured Servicemen: http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2007/jul/17jul07_nr.html : “For the additional lump sum compensation, MINDEF uses the principles applied by civil courts to determine compensation amounts. This is a fair system based on prevailing practices and awards. ”

Parents: It was our last resort (TNP:23.2.09): http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20090223-123888.html, 'Many people have told us that we're very brave to sue the Government,' Madam Hor, a bank teller, said in Mandarin, 'especially when we're not rich. But I believe anyone in our position would have done the same.

Have a nice day :).

Adapted from http://www.youngpap.org.sg/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=24863 ,

SAF: Beacon of progress or definition of excess?

2009-02-08T03:18:00.000-08:00

SAF: Beacon of progress or definition of excess?

I suggest that SAF peg its reservist pay to the higher of 1/2 to 2/3 of regular svc man salary for rank/ vocation OR svc man's regular civilian salary.

Currently:

(see NS portal: http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/nsmen/admin/PayMatters.html for details)

“The following categories of NSmen are NOT eligible to claim make-up pay:

NSman who is employed and on leave/no pay leave during NS training
NSman is not eligible to claim make-up pay, as he does not suffer any loss in civilian income during the period of his NS training. He will be paid service pay.

NSman who is unemployed or is a student
NSman is not eligible to claim make-up pay, as he does not suffer any loss in civilian income during his period of NS training. He will be paid service pay.

This policy improvement is crucial to raise the overall profile of SAF as a formidable force through fair and progressive human resource practises.

Greater soldier loyalty and morale of NS men can only be attained through soldier perception of SAF as a fair and committed 'employer'.

Such equitable policy changes would also result in costs savings through better soldier performance due to their respect and faith in the improved organizational practises.

An urgent boost to the morale of our NS men during these difficult economic times is crucial to the continued credibility of our fighting forces, to this end, the perception of organizational fairness , leadership and integrity is integral.

NS men who are retrenched, unemployed, a student or engaging in relatively lesser paid jobs would certainly feel disgruntled by low NS pay considering that they are already already fully trained and completed their 2-2.5 yr NSF liability. The feeling of being exploited by virtue of their unfortunate circumstance is stressful. The reservist training period deprives one the opportunity of better employment, study and personal time by virtue of it's committed and restrictive nature.

Disgruntled soldiers can only be a detriment to the organization considering the insidious damage caused. Failing morale, lack of attentiveness to safety and detail, unfair human resources practises and personal interest would surely lead to the downfall of the Singapore armed forces.

May not just a dead soldier enjoy a regular soldier's privileges.

http://www.getformesingapore.com/previous2007/220707_compensationfordeadandinjuredsafservicemen.htm - “Minister Teo: I thank Mr Siew Kum Hong for his questions on compensation as it allows MINDEF to clarify our compensation framework. MINDEF applies similar principles and practices used by the civil courts or the Workmen's Compensation Act (WCA) to determine compensation for deaths and injuries due to service. Based on these principles, MINDEF's compensation framework for death consists of up to three components. The first …

… . The second component is a lump sum death gratuity. For NSFs and NSmen, MINDEF treats them like regulars and gives a minimum of one year's basic pay for a regular of the same rank. … ...”

In this day and age of change, strength lies not just in numbers.

May the policy change :).

Do you really understand structured products?

2008-11-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Business @ AsiaOne

Do you really understand structured products?
Be smart; know what you're in for
Larry Haverkamp (Doc Money)
Tue, Jul 31, 2007, The New Paper

IT is almost funny. We have invested billions of dollars in structured products, but no one seems to understand how they work.
Here's how: Equity-linked notes (ELN) promise high returns and are one of the most popular structured products. The most advertised has been Pinnacle Notes. It is now selling series 8 which will close its offer tomorrow.
It is similar to other ELNs. Your earnings are linked to eight well-known local stocks like DBS, UOB, OCBC and Singapore Press Holdings.
If the price of all eight counters declines by no more than five per cent, you earn an annual return of 8.8 per cent. It's good.

If all eight stocks decline no more than ten per cent, you get 4.8 per cent. It's still good.
For the worst case, if even one stock declines more than 10 per cent, your return drops to zero.
Structured products limit both losses and gains. For Pinnacle Notes, these range from 0 to 8.8 per cent per year for four years. It looks fair.

Dig a little deeper, however, and you'll find problems:

First, if the market is strong and all eight stocks remain above their launch price (LP), you will be 'knocked out' after three months. Then, you get only your principal plus 2.2 per cent interest.
Second, to get the full 8.8 per cent per year for four years isn't easy. ALL eight stocks must remain above 95per cent of the LP and at least one must drop to the 95 to 100 per cent range.
Third, if just one of the shares drops into the 90 to 95 per cent range, you get 4.8 per cent.
Fourth, if just one of the eight stocks falls below 90 per cent of the LP, your return falls to zero.
Fifth, ELNs and Pinnacle Notes do not disclose costs. Sales people may tell you there are none.Don't believe it. The costs are significant and higher costs increase the likelihood of your receiving the lower end of returns (0 per cent).
Sixth, Pinnacle Notes are 'principal protected'. It sounds reassuring, but the protection can be withdrawn when you need it the most, as I will explain.

PRINCIPAL PROTECTED?
Pinnacle Notes invest about 90 per cent of your money in high-rated corporate bonds and 10 per cent in options.
The options do well when the Notes' 4.8 and 8.8 per cent payout conditions are met. Otherwise, they expire worthless. That is okay since the bonds earn enough to pay expenses and repay your investment.
It gives you principal protection.

If even one bond defaults, however, the issuer can cancel your protection. It is all explained in the 242 pages of prospectus and pricing statement. It is heavy reading. Here are two key excerpts:

(i) The principal protection can be withdrawn if a bond's interest payment is late. The word 'late' is defined rather strictly in the prospectus.
It says: 'reference to any grace period will not be applicable'. (page A-26)

(ii) The pricing statement says: 'the amount the Issuer will pay back... could be significantly less than the principal amount of the Notes. Accordingly, it is possible that investors could lose all of their investment.' (page 13)

Lose your investment? What about the principal protection?
Well, it is there for you in good times. In bad times, when you need it the most, the protection can be withdrawn by the issuer.
A Pinnacle Notes salesperson explained it to me this way: 'It's not as safe as government bonds, but it is still safe.'
That brings us to the billion dollar question: If the risk of the bonds defaulting is really so small and hardly worth mentioning, why pass it on to investors?
Why doesn't the issuer avoid this matter by simply taking the risk itself?
The only answer I've received so far is: 'It's the industry practice.'
The more, the merrier? Not for these equity-linked notes
THE previous series of Pinnacle Notes, series 6 and 7, required six bonds to stay within a prescribed price range. Now, to earn a return you need eight stocks.

Normally, adding more shares to your portfolio is good. It provides diversification.
With structured products, however, the investment rules get turned on their head. Now, owning more stocks is bad.
Why? It's because the chance of six stocks staying within a given price range is somewhat of a long shot.
The chance of eight stocks doing it is even more remote.
The sales people I talked to never mentioned this.
Their focus was entirely on earning the top return of 8.8 per cent. No one said a word about the probability of achieving it.

Copyright ©2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
http://www.asiaone.com/Business/My%2BMoney/Starting%2BOut/Investments%2BAnd%2BSavings/Story/A1Story20070814-21882.html

Lee Sr and the eye-opening trauma in London

2008-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

"In Singapore, within half-an-hour, you would be in SGH (Singapore General Hospital), TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) … and within one-and-a-half to two hours flat, you'd know what went wrong." SM Lee KY.

A tall expectation given this: 'Shortage of Drs in SG'?

Lee Sr and the eye-opening trauma in London
Today - November 3, 2003
SINGAPORE
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/031103to.htm
By Val Chua

EMOTIONS ran high on a balmy Sunday night as the normally stoic Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew nearly broke down while recounting the ordeal his wife went through in London recently.
The troubles that the couple faced — including joining a queue in a free hospital — when Mrs Lee was hit by stroke two Sundays ago, revealed how differently two systems worked.
"I cannot tell you how restless and unhappy we felt," he said at a community event in Jalan Bukit Merah yesterday.
"We run a (healthcare) system where you have to co-pay … but you get the attention. There, no attention, just join the queue," he said grimly.
The first sign of trouble was that there was no private hospital with CT scan facility at night in London, he told residents and community leaders.
So, Mrs Lee had to go to the NHS hospital nearest to the Four Seasons Hotel where they were staying — a free facility called the Royal London Hospital — and join the queue.
"We waited 45 minutes for the ambulance for a 10-minute drive," said Mr Lee in his first public appearance since the couple returned on Friday.
"In Singapore, within half-an-hour, you would be in SGH (Singapore General Hospital), TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) … and within one-and-a-half to two hours flat, you'd know what went wrong."

When Mrs Lee reached The Royal London Hospital at 12.30am, it happened to have three cardiac arrest patients.
Mr Lee was told his wife's brain problem was "not as important" as the cardiac arrest cases, he recounted solemnly. She would have had to wait till 8am the next morning for her CT brain scan if 10 Downing Street had not intervened to get her early attention. High Commissioner Michael Teo had sought help from 10 Downing Street at 2am on Sunday and she received treatment at 3.30am on the night itself.
"Once upon a time, it was a wonderful hospital. But after 40 plus years … the system cannot deliver. There's no connection between those in the system and the patients," he said.
But it's the way free healthcare systems work, he added, noting that Singapore must not go down that path, even though there are calls for free C class wards in public hospitals here.
"It's how the system works … They did not discriminate against us," he noted of his London experience.
This contrasted sharply with how quickly Singaporeans — including national carrier Singapore Airlines — reacted to the situation.
Even though doctors initially advised that Mrs Lee stay put in London for three weeks, Mr Lee decided fly her back once her condition stabilised.
And then there was the big worry that she would get a spasm onboard, he recounted.
But he needn't have worried. Within 48 hours, SIA had fitted out SQ321 with medical support of oxygen tanks and other fixtures for a drip.
"No other airline would have done this," Mr Lee said, looking visibly touched.
On board were also two Intensive Care nurses from Changi General Hospital, two doctors, as well as officials from SIA who made sure all the equipment worked.
"Everyone knows his job," said Mr Lee. "Within 12 to 13 hours, we'd reached Changi Airport. It was a big relief," he said. "Twelve to 13 hours. Your heart stops beating sometimes. We landed at Changi Airport. Great relief. I had my granddaughter (Li Xiuqi) with me. She is very fond of her grandmother. She was so relieved."

Mrs Lee was whisked off in an ambulance to Singapore General Hospital, where she is recovering.
"I think this experience has changed my granddaughter's view of Singapore," Mr Lee said.
The overseas ordeal has made him even more assured that Singapore has what it takes to succeed, despite the downturn. "It's how we respond in an emergency that determines how we fight back. And I have enormous confidence that we can fight back."
The Singapore system — with its efficiency and fighting spirit — must be kept, he said.
"You slacken, you choose the easy way, and you'd be finished," he said.
Choking back tears, he added: "I have immense confidence that in an emergency, our people respond …If we can do that, we can succeed."

"Inefficient or too thorough?"

2008-04-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

"Inefficient or too thorough?"
Tuesday • March 11, 2008 (Hosp reply is below)
Patient: Exhausted after 7 hours in clinic
I am writing about my experience at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital's 24-hour clinic.
I recently went there because of a lower abdominal pain and spent more than three hours in a waiting room with only two rows of seats. Some patients were forced to stand while waiting.
There were only two doctors on duty. I was surprised at the chaotic situation in the consultation room. I submitted some samples for laboratory testing. While I was still on the examination couch, an impatient nurse asked me to confirm my address on the specimen tube labels. Before I could do so, she concluded they were correct and took the tubes.
I was then asked to go for an ultrasound. The person performing the scan told me she was not supposed to answer my queries. I had to wait to be brought to the consultation room again, when I could have brought the report myself.
I had to wait one-and-a-half hours for the doctor to interpret the scan. I was tired after making several trips to different floors.
When I asked the doctor to clarify the report, he seemed impatient and left the impression that he wanted to dismiss me quickly. He also wanted to prescribe medication without waiting for the final laboratory report, which would have been available three days later. When I refused the prescription, he seemed dissatisfied.
I left the hospital after paying substantial medical fees and spending about seven hours there. Can the management clarify if this is a normal scenario at the clinic and how it intends to improve the situation.

Ho See Ling
------

Hospital: Didn't want to risk patient's health
I refer to Ho See Ling's letter on her wait at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and her feedback about our staff.
She came to KKH's 24-hour clinic on Feb 25 at about 10am and had an initial assessment of her condition by a nurse about 15 minutes later.
She was found to be stable with no medical emergency. She saw a specialist one-and-a-half hours later at about 12pm. She presented with symptoms of lower abdominal pain that was not explained by her earlier medical condition.
Although not a medical emergency, these symptoms could represent serious infection as well as diseases that could have severe longer-term consequences if they were not diagnosed and treated promptly. The diagnosis of this condition required a detailed ultrasound scan and other investigations, which were specially arranged on the same day to save her the inconvenience of having to return to the hospital on another day for the tests.

We wish to assure Ho See Ling that the doctor's diagnosis of her condition was not only accurate, as supported by the ultrasound scan and subsequent test results, but also his offer of prescriptions was precise. However, she declined the medications on the day of her visit. She was promptly recalled and collected her medication after the latter results confirmed the specialist's initial diagnosis.
With regard to service from staff, we would like to inform Ho See Ling that the sonographer who conducted her scan was not able to answer her queries on her condition as this can only be done by a doctor once a radiologist has reviewed the scans and written a report.
We hope she understands that some medical conditions may not be apparent at the onset and thus, a rigorous review by doctors is required to ensure the condition is properly diagnosed, and appropriate treatment is rendered.

This may take more time than patients expect. We also hope Ho See Ling will accept our apologies for any inconvenience she may have experienced during her visit, especially if staff have been perceived as impatient. KKH takes patient-care seriously and thus, we are vigilant about giving the best medical treatment possible. We are also constantly seeking new ways to enhance patients' comfort and convenience.
We take this opportunity to wish her a speedy recovery.
Assoc Prof Tay Eng Hseon
Chairman, Medical Board, KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/242192.asp

Warming up to better service

2008-04-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

"Less satisfied, however, were those who ranked Singapore's two healthcare clusters, the National Healthcare Group and SingHealth, near the bottom of the overall list. For instance, in terms of polyclinic service, they scored 60.5 and 64.7 respectively. With the issue of long queues having repeatedly made the news... "

'Queue' Mar08, Dec07, older/ source

Warming up to better service
First nation-wide index on customer satisfaction here is a start
Tuesday • April 8, 2008

Alicia Wong: alicia@mediacorp.com.sg

YOU'VE heard or experienced it all, the good and the bad that service in Singapore has to offer. Now, here are credible statistics to back the anecdotes — and the numbers paint a picture of a somewhat satisfied customer.
Based on a new, comprehensive measure of customer contentment, the city of the smiling Singa scored a "healthy" 68.7 out of 100 on the national average satisfaction scale. Other developed countries scored in the 70s.

A first in Singapore, the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) — developed by the Institute of Service Excellence (Ises) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) — includes the views of both residents and tourists, on eight key economic sectors.
Of the individual entities that stood out, the national carrier took pride of place. Thanking its customers, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson told Today it had invested "substantial resources in training" its staff to keep customers happy and was "honoured to have topped the survey".
Less satisfied, however, were those who ranked Singapore's two healthcare clusters, the National Healthcare Group and SingHealth, near the bottom of the overall list. For instance, in terms of polyclinic service, they scored 60.5 and 64.7 respectively.
With the issue of long queues having repeatedly made the news, consumers like band instructor Goh Koon Chuan, 36, were not surprised polyclinics fared badly. "Their waiting times are long," he groused.
While the transportation and logistics sector was ranked third, one of its sub-sectors — public buses — scored a low 64.3. SBS Transit said: "We are of course disappointed that we did not do better and this will definitely spur us to do better."
Most consumers were not surprised at the sector rankings, especially with tourism coming in first. But market researcher Eugene Fok, 25, did not expect telecommunications to take bottom place, while housewife Ms Cynthia Sin, 47, felt the scoring for public buses was harsh. "I depend on public transport, and I think it is quite efficient," she said.
While Singapore's national average is healthy, there is some catching up to do, said Ises director Caroline Lim. South Korea and the United States, which use the same model, scored 72 and 75 respectively.
South Korea had scored 58.8 when it launched the index in 1998 but has moved "steadily upward" since, said Ms Lim, adding that Singapore can do likewise.
Interestingly, tourists gave higher scores than residents did. Most tourists came from Indonesia, China and Australia, said Ms Lim, and when they compare against their experiences at home, "they would rate Singapore higher".
That Singaporeans could have higher expectations was also a "possibility". Even so, only 6.3 per cent of respondents had complained to a company at least once in the last three or six months — compared with the US' 14 per cent.
This could be due to US consumers being more vocal, or there being more well-established feedback channels and a faster service-recovery culture in the US, said Ises, which comes under the Singapore Management University (SMU). The key to customer satisfaction, findings showed, depended on how well a company handled the complaint.

The CSISG is an international gold standard based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, said Ises, which co-funded the $1-million survey with the WDA. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with 10,229 households and 2,159 tourists between May 1 and July 23 last year. The survey took into account how customers' expectations and the quality of products or services affected their satisfaction.
Acting Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong said good service skills will become a critical asset and a competitive advantage for Singapore. "The CSISG is not just a barometer of customer satisfaction. It is a diagnostic tool that allows companies to understand, compare, improve and monitor their customer service over time," he said, challenging companies to score above 70 within three years.

The results will be posted at www.smu.edu.sg. Data collection for CSISG 2008 will begin in mid-year, and will expand to include other sub-sectors, such as insurance.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/247162.asp

2008 Press Release [7 April 2008]
ISES@SMU releases findings of Singapore's first national level customer satisfaction study

WHAT's HAPPENING TO MEDICINE?

2008-04-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

"GPs face hard times with their high rentals and overheads and so some opt for aesthetics practice to supplement their medical practice ... six out of 10 doctors, according to a Straits Times report, choose aesthetics rather than their usual medical practice.., ... Which doctor would want to be involved in such healthcare programmes which give him $300 per Medisave account per year, compared to an aesthetics procedure that pays between $150 and $500 per visit?"
"polyclinics will then be even more overloaded..., ... One possible consideration is to let the patient carry his subsidy from the public to the private sector for the chronic disease programme."

Dr Tan is right: "Warming up to better service"
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/247162.asp (pictures)

Public hospitals need better queue system

WHAT's HAPPENING TO MEDICINE?

More stringency needed in managing aesthetics
Weekend • April 5, 2008
Dr Tan Cheng Bock

THE recent debate on aesthetics and medicine has prompted me to write this article.
I write out of concern for the future of medical practice, and how changing medical practices can affect our National Health Programmes and the management of infectious diseases in future.

I do not perform aesthetic procedures, I only practise medicine.
Aesthetics is a lifestyle industry, it is not medical practice. It does not heal but only enhances appearances. The practitioner of aesthetics is not treating sick patients but healthy individuals who want to change and improve their looks. Hence, we have procedures, for example, to remove fat and pimples and whiten the skin.
An aesthetics practitioner need not be a doctor or go through medical school. He relies on machines and creams to do the job.
However, there is a big demand for aesthetics because of the growing wealth and expectations to look slim and flawless. This big lifestyle industry, which has developed and spread rapidly in the region, is worth about $200 million.
Aesthetic practitioners used to be beauticians who conducted minor procedures. But with newer and more advanced equipment, the more complicated and difficult procedures were beyond them. Doctors were then roped in to assist in the complications.

However, doctors — both general practitioners (GPs) and specialists — were soon caught up in this wave and started providing such services to meet the demands. In doing so, they shifted their emphasis from healing the sick to undertaking this more lucrative practice where returns were very good.
GPs face hard times with their high rentals and overheads and so some opt for aesthetics practice to supplement their medical practice.
This is a worrying trend. If six out of 10 doctors, according to a Straits Times report, choose aesthetics rather than their usual medical practice, it begs the question: Why train such doctors who end up doing so little medical practice?
This will have an impact on the national healthcare programmes, such as the current chronic disease management of diabetes and high blood pressure.
Which doctor would want to be involved in such healthcare programmes which give him $300 per Medisave account per year, compared to an aesthetics procedure that pays between $150 and $500 per visit?

Moreover, since the Chronic Disease Management Programme requires doctors to follow a strict protocol of management before payment, my concern is that, in time, many GPs will opt out of the programme. The polyclinics will then be even more overloaded if GPs' participation rate is low.
Of greater concern is in the event of an acute infectious disease — such as bird flu or Sars — how are we going to get support from GPs involved in aesthetics care? They are likely to close their clinics to avoid the risks as they are not prepared to manage such a situation.
GPs giving up their medical practice is another likely scenario if the Government comes down too hard on these doctors, especially if they find that offering aesthetics procedures provides them with more than enough income to maintain their lifestyle without struggling with the daily medical practice which pays relatively very little.

I can see why some GPs give up their medical practice. But a doctor is trained to treat patients. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath they took?
All students enter medical school with a noble calling to serve their patients. But as the realities of life hit home when they start practising and have to cope with financial needs to meet the rising cost of living, many doctors will find their calling slowly eroded.
Life was much simpler for my generation of doctors who practise medicine. People were content to lead a lifestyle without a need to change the shape of their nose, have double eyelids or an implant to augment their physical assets.
But with affluence, patients no longer see doctors just as healers but also as practitioners who can improve their physical assets.
Doctors' attitudes also start to change; they now advertise their services, which was not allowed when I became a doctor. Worse, the Government started calling medicine an industry.
I remember protesting against this term "medical industry" because if medicine is an industry, then like any industry, a doctor is just a worker and has to conform to industry norm, working the stipulated hours.

That impinges on the Hippocratic Oath doctors take. The Oath becomes less binding because the "medical industry" shifts the emphasis from practising medicine to being just a worker in an industry. Moreover, the bottom line in an industry is making money while medicine's bottom line is caring for patients.
The Government calls medicine an industry because it wants to promote Singapore as a medical hub. But this drive is so over-emphasised that the cost of medical care has increased as every medical institution, private and public, has to meet the bottom line — an industrial norm especially for those listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

How do we manage the situation? We have two pressing issues to be on the lookout for.
One is the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. It is very important to involve the medical community, both private and public, because the debilitating end stage side-effects like stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputations will deplete the patients' savings as institutional care in hospitals will be very expensive.
Two, if we are not sufficiently prepared, epidemics such as Sars will have serious consequences for the country.

In managing the current trend of aesthetics care, we need to consider:
1) The role of doctors in the aesthetics industry. Identify the procedures that GPs and specialists can or cannot do. Under the Medical Clinics & Hospital Act, which regulates what constitutes a medical clinic, can doctors conduct aesthetics in their clinics? Are doctors who do so complying with the regulations?
2) The role of operators of beauty spas and salons. What are the limits to their work procedures?
3) The role of doctors in our National Health Programmes as the emphasis of medical practice shifts. How can the Ministry of Health encourage GPs to stay on these programmes in the light of the aesthetics factor? One possible consideration is to let the patient carry his subsidy from the public to the private sector for the chronic disease programme.
The writer is a GP and former Member of Parliament.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/246707.asp

Let Medisave be used for health screening

2007-12-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Home > ST Forum > Story
Dec 8, 2007
Let Medisave be used for health screening
I READ with frustration the article, 'S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health'' (ST, Dec 3).
Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, called for screening to catch problems such as diabetes and cancer early.
Three years ago, I wrote to the Forum suggesting the use of Medisave for comprehensive health-screening for those aged above 45 who have sufficient funds in their accounts.
The reply from the Health Ministry was that the Medisave scheme is designed primarily to help individuals meet their personal or immediate family's hospitalisation expenses, and that health-screening tests which are considered cost-effective, such as mammography and pap smear, are heavily subsidised at polyclinics.
Is this cheaper health-screening a comprehensive one?
What is the point of having a large amount in the Medisave and not using it for early detection and prevention?
Recently, the Government allowed Medisave to be used for certain outpatient treatments. However, this is not a preventive measure, and is too little, too late.
As not all organisations provide check-ups for staff in their 40s, the Health Ministry should encourage the middle- and lower-income group, who may have difficulties forking out cash, to go for a comprehensive screening annually by allowing the use of Medisave.
Nagarajah Sinnathurai
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_184726.html
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(#1) STTeam (Administrator) Let Medisave be used for health screening - December 08, 2007 Saturday, 01:53 AM
I READ with frustration the article, 'S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health'' (ST, Dec 3).
STTeam Send a private message to STTeam Find all posts by STTeam
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(#2) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 10:01 AM
heartlander88: You're once again opening another pandora box where your hard-earned savings will be quickly depleted even before you fall sick. Please keep Medisave strictly for hospital expenses.It has already liberalised for many other non-hospital purposes. To allow Medisave for health screening will be another dagger plunged into the heart of our sacred CPF.
There'll be wide-spread abuses of health screening using the Medisave.There is no end to what you want to screen - from head to toe. The doctors will be too happy to screen you as often as they like.The healthcare providers will laugh all the way to the bank once Medisave is released for healthcare screening. This is a bottomless pit of healthcare spending.And when you are finally diagnosed with a disease like cancer, your Medisave is ZERO! And you'll have to pay cash for your massive and costly hospital bills which will be escalating every year.
My motto: live a simple and healthy life-style. live well when you are well. when you are terminally ill and chronically sick, accept your death sentence with graciousness and let go.no need to cling on to end-of-death life which is no life at all. so spend your inheritance and be joyful. Take care.
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(#3) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 10:20 AM
chiabb:
I disagree with heartlander's myopic view and therefore agree with Mr Sinnathurai. Screening should be considered as an integral part of our medical & health system.
How impetuous to assume that "there'll be wide-spread abuses of health screening". And how cynical to say "doctors will be too happy to screen you as often as they like".
Living "a simple and healthy life-style" is only part of the answer. Preventive screening could go along way to avert costly treatment bills in future = a greater drain on Medisave.
A proactive approach to health is wise approach.
A saying trite but true: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." (Also not updated to metric ;D)

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(#4) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:01 AM
heartlander88: #3 - agree with chiabb.
i'm not against health screening or preventive medicine. what i'm saying is do not use Medisave to pay for health screening. once this pandora box is opened,there is no end to the abuses.
health screening is quite a tricky thing. how far will you go ? how cost-effective? what are the pick-up rate for certain diseases? you can screen every year for 10 years or 20 years, nothing happen - a clean slate,perfect lab results, everything normal. then you walk out of your doctor's clinic, a very happy man, and then death strikes suddenly. you collapse with a massive heart attack or a massive stroke.
health screening is not the guarantee to longevity or good health.it's so costly and the pick up rate is so dismal and so disappointing.
my philosophy is live a good and happy life when you are well. do a discreet health screening once awhile. use your own cash. keep the Medisave for the more serious hospital treatment and investigations.
simple and health screening does not cost much.why use the Medisave?

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(#5) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:33 AM
chiabb:
#4 So we agree in principle, lah. Only not quite agree which fund should pay. That's ok :)
Perhaps I might persuade you to consider that Medisave is exactly the fund for such preventive medical screening, while Medishield is actually designed for serious/chronic illness (?)
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(#6) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:35 AM
lobo_respawned:
#5: i think it depends on whether we want to see Singaporeans can think for themselves or not. If yes, then we open it up as an option for people to use. If no, let others continue to micromanage our own money.
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(#7) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:36 AM
unewolke:
I agree with the writer. Also there are people who do not work for money for one reason or another.
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(#8) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:49 AM
heartlander88:
#5 yes, we do agree in principle.
but i still maintain that medisave should be kept for more serious illnesses in hospital. medisave itself might not be enough.
medishield itself is inadequate to cover hospital treatment. the top up cash can be very painful, even with medisave.
so i maintain that basic health screening for simple basic chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and heart diseases should not use medisave.
but for treatment of such diseases, the government has already approved the use of medisave. yes for treatment and management ( that includes screening and follow-up - but up to $300 a year per account per disease).
so it is rather limited as well.
i know how fast medisave can be depleted because i've a personal experience in the hospital when my mum was admitted to the hospital.my mum has to use my brother's medisave which is also fast depleting - daily!so it's better to maintain a healthy medisave for hospital treatment.
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(#9) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 04:25 PM
reginale:
I agree, we need to be preventive instead of waiting till the last minute ?

S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health

2007-12-09T17:24:00.000-08:00

"while Singapore does well on life expectancy charts, a different picture emerges when good health is tracked. ...
... (MOH) study confirmed that a lot of suffering and premature deaths come from diseases that could be prevented - such as heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. Some cancers too could be caught early."

Home > Most Read Stories Dec 3, 2007
S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health
MOH study shows main causes of sickness are diseases that could be prevented early on
By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent IF YOU needed another reason to lead a healthy lifestyle, here it is: A study shows that Singaporeans may be living longer now, but they are also sick for more years than people in some other countries.
The main culprits are heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes and even mental illness.
Now, the average Singapore woman should live to 81.8, but she will spend eight of those years ill or disabled. Men too will spend eight of their 78 years in poor health.
So while Singapore does well on life expectancy charts, a different picture emerges when good health is tracked.
The Ministry of Health study confirmed that a lot of suffering and premature deaths come from diseases that could be prevented - such as heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. Some cancers too could be caught early.
The prevalence of such diseases also suggests that more should be done to tell people what they can do to save themselves from becoming ill, said Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health.
He called for more public education on how these ailments can be prevented, and screening to catch problems like diabetes and cancer early.
He added: 'With early detection of diseases, prompt medical treatment can hopefully minimise illness and medical complications.'
But health authorities can only do so much, argued unionist and Health GPC head Madam Halimah Yacob. People must take ownership of their health if they want to keep such illnesses at bay.
Her advice: 'Go for regular screening, eat more vegetables, less salt and do more exercise. That could cut the number of years you suffer from ill health.'
Dr Derrick Heng, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's non-communicable diseases branch said the study will guide the authorities on how to spend health resources.
But though it 'shines the torch' on diseases that cause the most suffering, the ministry will have to see which actually benefit from preventive measures.
The study will be repeated every three years, to track if the main causes of disability change, or are reduced, as the ministry puts in more effort to tackle them.
A surprising finding was how mental disorders count as much as diabetes and stroke for the wasted years. Mental health is getting a boost as the ministry has committed $80 million over the next five years to improving it.
Zooming in on problem areas could help Singapore catch up with countries that fare best - such as Japan, the top country in the world for long, healthy lives.
Japanese women live an average of 77.7 years in good health, compared to only 71.3 years for women here. Japanese men have 72.3 years of good health, compared to 68.8 years for Singapore men.
The ministry has already made the treatment and prevention of chronic disease a priority. People can now use money previously reserved for hospitalisation to treat diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and stroke.
The intention is to treat those conditions early before complications set in.
Unfortunately the programme has not been popular, said Madam Halimah. She suggested expanding the use of Medisave money to include an annual health check.
Men should also take a leaf from their wives.
Women all over the world live longer and healthier lives. The World Health Organisation (WHO) attributes it to their smoking less, exercising more and being more health conscious than men. As for Japan, its explanation is the low rate of cardiovascular diseases comes from their high-in-fish diets.
Madam Halimah said: 'We should also start eating more fish and less meat.'
salma@sph.com.sg
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_182755.html?vgnmr=1

Public hospitals need better queue system

2007-12-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

Home > ST Forum > Story
Dec 8, 2007

Public hospitals need better queue system
THE queue system in public hospitals needs to be improved.
My child was born with a congenital health condition and needs to go for regular check-ups at KK Hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, we have to take a queue number but the queue system is a random one so we never know how long we need to wait and how many patients are ahead of us.
Despite having a scheduled appointment, each visit would still require half an hour to more than two hours of waiting. We have to avoid going for food or toilet breaks in case we missed our turn.
A month ago, my father went for a check-up at the SingHealth polyclinic at Singapore General Hospital on account of chest pain. He was scheduled to undergo a physical examination and scan. Fortunately, the check-up showed that there were no major health problems.
However, the whole process took more than five hours. He arrived at the hospital about 10am and could not take his lunch as the queue system was also a random one and he didn't want to miss his turn.
Upon obtaining the scan results, he had his final consultation with the doctor after 3pm and was prescribed some painkillers.
My father was faint from hunger by then and he rejected the prescription as that would mean another wait at the pharmacy.
Most patients at hospitals are sick and may need rest but they have to queue for hours. It is especially tough on old folk and young children who are sick as they cannot afford to wait for hours in the virus-filled environment.
Since the Government has put so much money and effort into improving public-hospital standards, I hope it can look into a better queue system to enhance patients' experience.
Jessica Tan Pui See (Mrs)

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_184722.html

Double whammy for low-income households

2007-12-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Dec 10, 2007
Double whammy for low-income households
IN THE midst of the current discussion over the increasing rate of inflation in Singapore, one issue has been left out.
This issue is especially germane, since higher inflation affects the less-well-off in Singapore society much more than those who are better off.
I am referring to the declining real, as opposed to the nominal, interest rate, for savings in Singapore. The gap between the two is caused by the recent increase in inflation, combined with a stagnation in the interest rate offered by financial institutions here.
According to monthly data available from the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) website (https://secure.sgs.gov.sg/apps/msbs/interestRatesOfBanksAndFinanceCompaniesForm.jsp), 12-month fixed deposit rates of banks have averaged 0.92 per cent (over the last five years, that is, 2002-2006) and 2.05 per cent (over the last 10 years), 2.56 per cent (over the last 15 years) and 3.02 per cent (over the last 20 years).
The bank savings rate has averaged 0.31 per cent (over the last five years), 1.12 per cent (over the last 10 years), 1.52 per cent (over the last 15 years) and 1.94 per cent (over the last 20 years). The picture is similar for finance companies.
Annual inflation data from the SingStats website (http://www.singstat.gov.sg) shows that the average was 0.7 per cent (over the last five years), 0.7 per cent (over the last 10 years), 1.2 per cent (over the last 15 years), and 1.5 per cent (over the last 20 years). This year, it is expected to be between 3 and 4 per cent.
Thus, low-income households have suffered doubly in the current Singapore economy: their purchasing power has fallen (because of higher inflation) while their ability to grow their savings has declined. It is doubtful whether next year's increase in inflation will lead to any rise in interest rates.
In addition, while higher-income households are aware of alternative options for increasing their returns, such as REITs, ETFs and commodity futures which have boomed in recent past, lower-income households are unable to take advantage of such financial innovations.
It's a situation full of despair for low-income households - while they are asked to spend more time enhancing their skills so they can earn more, whatever savings they do have or put aside are steadily being eroded.
Harminder Singh
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_184770.html

Latest comments (#1)newsstorm at Mon Dec 10 07:23:30 SGT 2007:
Plus, the richest 10% - 20% people in Singapore enjoy doubling, tripled or four-fold increase of their fixed assets like private properties and commercial properties and many made millions from en-bloc sales. HDB dwellers don't enjoy this at all. The rich also have their transport cost lowered. Lower import tax and road tax lead to the low cost of absolute car price over the years, a Japanese saloon car cost about $100,000 more than 10 years ago but now cost about $60,000. But public transport costs keep on going up and up. It pays to be a rich person in Singapore but the poor get to catch up with ever-increasing costs of living.
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(#2)CallMeKP at Mon Dec 10 07:48:37 SGT 2007:
Dear Editor,
This letter should have been moved to the PRINTED VERSION. As a public media, you need to continually highlight the plights of the suffering average citizens.
Thanks

2007-12-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

Home > ST Forum > Story
Dec 10, 2007

Have we lost the humanity to say 'sorry'?
WHY is it so hard to say 'I am sorry', or 'We apologise' when you make a mistake that vexes others?
It would seem that this inexcusable lapse in common courtesy is widespread, even among the highly educated.
Let me illustrate by sharing an experience of a close buddy of mine.
John (not his real name) went to a renowned hospital one Friday morning for a blood test. Later that day, his doctor asked him to go back for a retest. Reason: an abnormally high level of potassium in his blood that could spell trouble.
Concerned, John made his way back to the hospital after lunch and was made to wait at the A&E unit until 6.30pm (almost four hours) for the result.
The 73-year-old retiree was clearly upset about the painful wait as he recounted his experience.
It turned out that his blood profile was normal after all. Poor John was unceremoniously discharged - no explanation for the discrepancy in the first lab result, no acknowledgement of mistake, and not a word of apology for the false alarm, anxiety and inconvenience caused.
This is odd, especially for a hospital that prides itself on the provision of high-quality patient care. One would think that, as a complement to its excellent medical expertise, the mission of this hospital (or for that matter any decently run hospital) would be better served by the graciousness and sensitivity of its staff.
What happened to John may seem trivial but it is not. Neither is it an isolated incident as the word 'sorry', sad to say, is rarely heard these days when it should be a natural and spontaneous response in such situations.
Perhaps it is the hectic way of life here that has over the years inured many Singaporeans to the point of abject apathy on how decent folk ought to treat one another.
That is sad but we must not find excuses for our shortcomings. This innate and instinctive part of ourselves that makes us human need not be lost forever if we, first, don't allow ourselves to live in denial and, second, make a conscientious effort to change for the better.
The change will take time, but it will be worth it for, if nothing else, we could at least say with some pride (and without apologies!) that we are truly a 'developed nation'.
Lee Seck Kay
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_185124.html

A complaint about the quality control of SAF officers

2007-11-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

" ...a story of a single bad officer, the fact that it was not dealt with more severely is indicative of a bigger problem. It shows the lack of quality control being practiced for the leaders of the SAF. "

Thought I too should host a (slightly truncated) 'copy' in honour of Moral Integrity…,

http://blog.simplyjean.com/2007/07/13/st-pm-lees-son-reprimanded-by-saf-for-misconduct/
http://rockson.blogspot.com/2007/07/pm-son-shoot-email-complain-saf.html
From: 2LT Li Hongyi, _____ PC, _____
Sent: Thursday, 28 June 2007 9:36 AM
To: ___ ____ ____, Minister, MHQ; MG ______ ____, CDF, CDF Office; BG -___ ____ ____, COA,COAOFF; COL _______, CSO, _______; zz All in ____, _________Cc: zz All in ________, _____; zz ALL IN ____, _____; zz All in _____, _____; zz All in ______, ______
Subject: A complaint about the quality control of SAF officers
Dear Sirs and alI,
I am about to disrupt my national service to pursue further studies, and this will likely be my last email sent out for the next half a decade. Unlike the common "ORD letters" that you read, this letter unfortunately cannot be as cheerful.
I am using this last opportunity to issue a letter of complaint against the quality control of officers in the SAF, more specifically against LTA X. During my time as his subordinate, LTA X was AWOL on at least 2 counts, attempted bribery, and lied to his subordinates and his superior officer.
The battalion HQ has effectively given no punishment, and has not even made these infractions known to the rest of the battalion.
Let me first give you some background. I am the ____ ____ platoon commander from __________.
In order to maintain operational readiness my duties are performed at _____ camp where our ops bus and servers are instead of at stagmont camp where our battalion is. The company is structured like so

OCCentre HeadPC

The duties are therefore shared between the PC's, PS', and the Centre Head. LTA X is the centre head of the __________.
LTA X, was originally supposed to be on duty at _____ Camp as the duty commander for the _______ on the 20th and 22nd of April, a Friday and Sunday respectively. I was on duty on the 21st of April that Saturday, to minimize the changing over, I contacted him and asked if he would like to swap duties for the Saturday and Sunday. To this he agreed, and thus he was to be on duty on the 20th and 21st of April.
On the Friday however, LTA X called to inform me that he was busy during the day, and if I could cover for him until the evening. To this I agreed to do so. At about 1600 hours, I received a call from LTA X, informing me that he was on the way and that I could leave first, thought this would result in a time where there would be no duty commander in camp, he informed me that this had already be cleared with our OC. I therefore left camp.
On Sunday the 22nd of April I arrived back in camp to take over duty from LTA X. After he had left camp the men informed me that he had not arrived in camp on Friday at all, and that he only arrived in camp at 1800 hours on Saturday the 21st of April. On Saturday they had tried to contact him to ask his whereabouts, to which he told them that he was in fact in _____ in ______ camp getting some work done. The men contacted their counterparts in ______ camp to verify this, however no one in______ camp had seen LTA X.
1 further confirmed with the ______ duty personnel on Saturday that none of them had seen LTA X, this was also with confirmed with that day's BDO.

This news obviously was very distressing, I confronted LTA X regarding this information to which he confirmed that he only arrived in camp on Saturday at 1800 hours, but that he was at _____ for a while then left later to run some errands. Upon learning that I was to bring this information to our OC, LTA X then made an offer to do some of my duties for me to which I declined, his words were "You know if you need me to help you do some of your duties.."
On Wednesday after I had completed my personal investigation and confirmed that these events had indeed transpired, I informed our OC of these offences. Our OC spoke to LTA X regarding these issues, and let him off with a warning.

I would like the story to end here, however LTA RX was again on duty at ____ Camp for _________ on the following Saturday the 28th of April. At 0030 hours on Sunday the 29th of April I received a message from the duty personnel. The duty personnel of the platoon had just spotted LTA X's car, a white Mitsubishi lancer driving out of camp. I responded by telling them to check all the car parks and look for LTA X in camp. I received a call at about 0115 hours, the duty personnel informed me that they had checked the whole camp, and that LTA X's car was no where to be found. They also informed me that LTA X was no where to be found, not in any of the bunks nor any of the offices.

On Monday the 20th of April when I arrived back in ______ Camp for work, I confirmed with both the guard commander and the duty officer for Saturday the 28th of April, that at white Mitsubishi lancer had indeed driven out of camp at about 0030 hours on the 29th of April. This latest information was told to our OC.

When confronted by our OC, LTA X told him that indeed it was his car driving out of camp, he claimed however, that it was not him driving the car but that he had lent it to friend to drive out of camp. After checking with the person in question this was established to be untrue. Finally, LTA X admitted that he had lied, and that is was he who had left camp.
I have been informed that LTA X was to be given 10 extra duties, though this may be considered an extremely light punishment there is a further problem. To date, which is to say, 2 months from the incidents, none of the duties have been published in the battalion RO, in addition, LTA X has not served any of the extra duties he was supposedly awarded. In addition, this system of leniency is not consistent throughout the battalion, or even the company. The following was published in the RO on 1 1th of June 2007:
SXXXXXXXX CPL _____ ________ Non-compliance with a lawful duty or order. stoppage of Leave for 7 days

This was the punishment for CPL ______ for leaving camp an hour before he was supposed to. This was published less than a week after his infringement. If you were to calculate the time AWOL alone, LTA X was missing for a minimum of over 20 hours. This does not take into the account the fact that he repeated the crime less than a week after being reprimanded the first time. This does not take into account the lying to his superior officer. This does not take into account the fact that he is an officer, and thus should be even more liable than corporal.

Absence without leave22. -(1) Every person subject to military law who is absent without leave from service in the Singapore Armed Forces or from the place where he is lawfully required for the time being to be shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a subordinate military court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or any less punishment authorised by this Act.(2) It shall be a defence for any person charged under this section to prove that his absence was a result of circumstances over which he had no control.
this is where the report ends and the editorial begins. LTA X's continued service in the SAF is an embarrassment the entire officer corps. In the SAF we are constantly being told that we have very high standards expected from our officers. As an officer cadet any one of these actions would have you put immediately out of course. Here you have a person who lied to his subordinates, went AWOL, attempted to bribe a civil servant, went AWOL again not even a week after being reprimanded, then lied to cover himself, and tried to implicate another person in these lies. He discarded his second chance just days after being given it because he thought he could get away with it. I how ask you what exactly are these high standard that we speak of? I am realistically asking you how much worse than this can an officer really go? Does a person have to commit armed robbery or murder before he fails these supposedly "high" standards of officers in the SAF? I simply fail to understand how someone who would undeniably fail the standards expected of a cadet or even a private can continue to be an officer.

The decisions of the battalion HQ are equally saddening. How can a lower standard of discipline be expected of officers than of men? In the our society, when a police officer commits a crime he is held to an even higher standard, and given even greater punishment than a normal citizen, this is because he has betrayed the very values it is his duty to uphold.

I was told that one of the reasons this was so was that they did not wish to ruin his career with a summary trial. However the SAF is not a charity organisation and does not owe anyone a career. I feel that as a regular his status as an officer and his career should be under even closer scrutiny than that of an NSF, to intentionally withhold such information is effectively tricking the SAF into continuing to pay someone whom if all is known, has no place in the organisation.
Another reason told to me for LTA X's lighter punishment was that it is in light of the work he has done for the battalion, I feel this is unacceptable for several reasons. Firstly in our country we do not mitigate punishments based on past achievements, Durai was not excused despite the amount of money he helped NKF raise, and a doctor would not be excused from molestation no matter how many lives he has helped save. Secondly such mitigation is nothing more than justified corruption and no different from a criminal paying off the police to escape arrest, the very thing we fight so hard to keep out of our society, Finally even if the previous two points are conceded, what LTA X did was not a mistake, mistakes are done by accident. What he has demonstrated is a systematic failure of character and unacceptable as an officer.
Even if you attribute the lack of punishment to extreme leniency, the decision to not inform the battalion is even more suspicious. Especially in a _____ unit such as _________ where the importance of being on duty cannot be over emphasized, to not even inform the battalion of the occurrence is to send a signal that there is nothing wrong with his actions. If it was unintentional it shows gross negligence for something which is clearly an important matter, and if intentional shows a level of corruption that I need not elaborate on.
While some might say this is just a small matter, a story of a single bad officer, the fact that it was not dealt with more severely is indicative of a bigger problem. It shows the lack of quality control being practiced for the leaders of the SAF. The following quote was taken from the army's own intranet homepage:
"In the 3rd Generation SAF, the quality and commitment of our people will continue to be the most important determinant for advancement" - Member of Parliament Ms Indranee Rajah
We can take criticism about having second hand equipment, outdated training methods, and even questionable relevance to modern day operations. But one thing that cannot be tolerated is a reputation for having bad leaders. Such a reputation would compromise Singapore's defence credibility far more than using refurbished tanks or old training manuals.
While I may only be a 2nd lieutenant, I am a citizen of this country. And as a citizen I have the right to demand high standards from the leaders of the SAF While it is true that high standards are hard to come by and even harder to enforce, for such events to come to light and yet nothing be done about it is to say the very least, unacceptable and disappointing.
Yours Sincerely,
2LT Li Hongyi -___________ Commander

HSA must banish trans fats

2007-11-13T04:23:00.000-08:00

HSA must banish trans fats
Thursday • October 5, 2006

Letter from Heng Cho Choon
Mr Richard Seah's article "We know fat lot about trans fats" (Oct 3) should sound alarm bells in the minds of readers who were blissfully ignorant about the dangers of trans fats in common items like margarine and pastries.
In 2003, BanTransFats.com Inc, a United States non-profit organisation, filed a lawsuit against food manufacturer Kraft Foods, in an attempt to force Kraft to remove trans fats from the Oreo cookie. The lawsuit was withdrawn when Kraft agreed to work on ways to find a substitute for the trans fat. This brought the trans fat issue to public attention.

Trans fat is an artery-clogging fat formed when vegetable oils harden into margarine. It is found in foods like fried chicken, doughnuts and cookies.
Food companies are not all required to list on nutrition labels so consumers have no way of knowing how much trans fat is in the food they are consuming. So far, Lipton and Nestle have taken steps to eliminate trans fat in their products.
Cadbury is also considering doing so in the near future.

The Health Sciences Authority's (HSA) vision is to be the leading innovative authority protecting and advancing national health and safety. I hope HSA will ensure our local food companies do away with trans fats in their products.T
he Health Promotion Board (HPB) in its section "Health at School" says that it is concerned with children who are exposed to smoking, obesity, sedentary behaviour, myopia, mental health and Aids. Nowhere is it stated on its website that the HPB is actively promoting the removal of trans fats from the food our kids are consuming in schools.

ST: Man who pushed girlfriend onto MRT track gets 2 more years

2007-11-13T03:29:00.000-08:00

"'Who is the real Mr Kwong?' Justice Rajah asked at least three times"
-This is a bad joke... how can prosecution take >1yr to file appeal, resentencing someone after his release from prision? Has criminal justice system become a circus, waste of $$$ n wayang show?Any decent defence lawyer should cite:
http://consumer-protection1.blogspot.com/2007/10/police-at-fault-so-discount-for-convict.html as a mitigating factor and totally embarass the police/ justice system!!!

Home > Latest News > Courts and Crime
Nov 13, 2007
Man who pushed girlfriend onto MRT track gets 2 more years
Court of Appeal ups his jail term from one to three years after prosecution appealed. By Selina Lum THE man who had been handed one year in jail in May for pushing his former girlfriend into the path of an oncoming MRT train
on Tuesday had his sentence upped to three years after an appeal by the prosecution. But 26-year-old Kwong Kok Hing, a permanent resident who returned to Malaysia after being released from prison, was not in
court to hear his increased sentence.
Kwong now has up till Dec 3 to surrender to the authorities, failing which the prosecution can apply for a warrant of arrest
to be issued against him.
The Court of Appeal - Justices Andrew Phang, V. K. Rajah and Tan Lee Meng - will deliver detailed reasons for their decision
at a later date.
One issue that is likely to factor in their judgment is how two different pictures have been painted of Kwong - but the High
Court judge who sentenced him appeared to have been influenced only by one.
'Who is the real Mr Kwong?' Justice Rajah asked at least three times.
On Sept 14 last year, Kwong pushed Ms Jenny Low Siew Mui, 26, off the platform just as a train was pulling into the Clementi
MRT station.
She had ended their turbulent two-year relationship a few days earlier but he wanted to patch things up.
Ms Low narrowly escaped death when she made a dash for safety just a split second before the train hurtled past her. Her feat
of agility was captured by a closed-circuit television camera and played in court .
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Courts%2Band%2BCrime/STIStory_176392.html

TNP: HARASSED BY LOAN SHARKS

2007-11-13T02:59:00.000-08:00

"Debtors' neighbours feel loan sharks' fury"- Terrible...

HARASSED BY LOAN SHARKS
10,000 cases last year That makes it 27 police reports daily
By Joyce Lim November 11, 2007

THINK the 10,000 figure is startling? It gets even worse.
In this case in 2003, Mr Raymond Leng allowed the previous owner of the flat to stay for another month after he bought the flat, but then had to face the wrath of loan sharks. -- File pictures
On one busted loan shark syndicate's database, there were 1,000 debtors. These ah longs (loan sharks) were dealing in $500,000 every month.
Another had 500 debtors, with a turnover of $80,000 a month.
The loan sharks' tactics are also getting bolder - they use debtors to do the dirty work.
And they harass the debtors' neighbours.
The notorious Ah Long San (former loan shark Chua Tiong Tiong) was jailed in 2001, but three equally dangerous characters who go by the nicknames Tiger, Carlsberg and Rolex have taken his place.
These three men run loan sharking syndicates and have groups of runners helping them.
The police have nabbed some of their henchmen in recent months.
The cops are taking a tough stance because the number of loan shark related harassment cases has gone up.
(Above) The door of this debtor resembles a colour palette, as he owes at least 18 loan sharks. In 2005, there were 8,568 police reports lodged, before the figure shot past 10,000 last year.
In the first half of this year, four major intelligence-driven operations were conducted, resulting in the arrest of 32 suspects, police spokesman assistant superintendent Toh Boon Ngee told The New Paper.
'In April, police busted a syndicate (with 1,000 debtors)... that was responsible for at least 230 cases of harassment island-wide,' added ASPToh.
Last month, police said they had conducted raids against loan sharks at Yishun, Hougang and Eunos and arrested three men between 32 and 39 years old.
Over $100,000 in cash and other items such as computer storage devices and handphones were seized.
RECRUITING YOUTHS
From the arrests made, the police noticed a worrying trend of loan sharks recruiting youths and debtors to assist them in their unlicensed moneylending and harassment activities.
The debtors-turned-runners are forced to open bank accounts under their names for illegal money transactions.
This means the loan sharks can stay out of the picture if the police discover the accounts.
The police said that three months ago, one of Tiger's runners was arrested. This man has since been sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and 2 strokes of the cane.
(Above) In this file picture, the warning from loan sharks were found on the fourth floor of this flat although the debtor lives on the 10th floor. The 32-year-old had taken a loan from Tiger last November, which he could not repay.
To clear his debt, he worked as Tiger's runner, assisting the man to withdraw and transfer money through ATMs.
In another operation in June, a 19-year-old national serviceman was arrested for abetment of unlicensed moneylending. He had been working for both Carlsberg and Rolex.
Between February and June this year, he helped to collect repayments from debtors and performed ATM transactions for Rolex. Earlier, he was also helping Carlsberg collect repayments.
If the debtors could not pay, he would harass them by splashing coffee at their homes.
He has been sentenced to two years supervised probation and 150 hours of community service.
ASP Toh said: 'Police take a serious view of unlicensed moneylending and harassment offences and will continue to act against the offenders.
Police will not hesitate to take action against debtors who are found to be assisting unlicensed moneylenders in their illegal activities.'
Those who harass or intimidate anyone in connection with loans by an unlicensed moneylender face a maximum fine of $40,000, or up to three years in jail, or both.
Those who damage property as part of the harassment can also be caned.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Debtors' neighbours feel loan sharks' fury
HE owes nothing to loan sharks, yet his door has been splashed with paint on numerous occasions.
Mr Tan is the victim of the loanshark's new tactic of harassing the neighbours of debtors.
He found out that a neighbour had once borrowed money from loan sharks.
The retiree said in Mandarin: 'I know she feels bad about what happened. I never scold her. What for? It's beyond her control.
'She did apologise to us and told us that she has already cleared the debt so many years ago. But the loan sharks still return to vandalise.
'We have already informed the police. We can only leave it to the police to do their job.'
Others in Mr Tan's Bedok Reservoir Road neighbourhood have also been harassed by loan sharks.
Mr Low, 59, who lives one floor below Mr Tan, has also found fresh paint on his door on a few occasions.
Last week, another neighbour returned home after work to find the grille gate locked with a bicycle chain.
LOCKED INSIDE FLAT
Said the neighbour, Mr Ng Cheng Heng: 'My son was locked inside the flat. What if something happened and he was trapped?
'The loan shark should go after the person who owed them money, not the neighbours.'
The 48-year-old marketing executive lives with his wife and son in a four-room flat below the resident who had borrowed from the loan sharks.
When approached, the resident, who declined to be named, admitted that her husband had taken a loan from a loan shark five years ago. But they claimed they have since cleared the debt.
Said the middle-aged woman: 'I don't know why the loan sharks keep harassing my neighbours. Now when I see them I feel very malu (Malay for embarrassed).
'We don't know which loanshark is doing this. My husband even took a day off work and stayed home, hoping to catch the loan shark who vandalised my neighbours' flats. But they did not turn up.'
Her neighbour, Mr Tan, joked: 'We're no longer disturbed by the loan sharks. When they splash red paint, I'll paint my door red. And if the paint is black, my new door colour will be black.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,147381,00.html?

Why so long to decide on ICT deferment, SAF?

2007-11-13T02:40:00.000-08:00

Mismanaged Soldier, demoralized Army...
The letter, the short discussion as follows.
Home > Free > Story
Nov 12, 2007
Why so long to decide on ICT deferment, SAF?
I AM a national serviceman with HQ 26 Singapore Infantry Brigade and I had applied for deferment from my in-camp training (ICT) scheduled from today to Nov23.
My application was submitted on Oct 2 and I should have received a reply within 14 working days.
However, on Oct 22, I received an e-mail to tell me my application was still being processed. After that, I received two calls from the National Servicemen Services Centre (NSSC) to tell me my deferment was still being processed.
I was not the only one. None of the other deferment applications in my unit had received a response.
Last Friday, I called the NSSC and learnt that my application had been rejected and my status updated that very day - more than a month after I had applied and only one working day before the start of my ICT.
According to the NSSC, the approving authority for deferment had transferred from the unit operations officer to the commanding officer and that could have caused the delay.
To me, it is disingenuous to use transfer of authority as an excuse to sit on applications until the last minute. Applications submitted in a timely manner should be given a timely response.
For the record, my deferment application was for overseas work reasons and a timely response was needed to make contingency plans. I hope the Singapore Armed Forces understands that in the Singapore economy of today, many companies and jobs are regional in nature and require travel at short notice.
Steven Chan Kee-Lin
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_175766.html

------
(#1) STTeam, Administrator
: Why so long to decide on ICT deferment, SAF? - Yesterday, 06:19 AM
"I AM a national serviceman with HQ 26 Singapore Infantry Brigade and I had applied for deferment from my in-camp training (ICT) scheduled from today to Nov23".Full Story
------
(#2)bladevan
: More and more cases lately of NS reservist becomeing a significant liability for male Singaporean workers. Especially for professionals who are working in environment that are regional or global in job coverage. We have sacrificed our time and sweat in the protecting of Singapore, but are we being recognised enough for our effort?
------
(#3)AndyMike, 11:24 AM
: What can you expect from such an organisation and their "boh chap" attitude? Afterall it's your rice bowl not theirs!
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(#4)0517elias, 01:09 PM
: wait wait.. why don't we anticipate the reply from the SAF folks.. let's see now.. will go something along the lines of serving the country is more important than overseas work?
------
(#5)hongchris, 02:10 PM
: Probably NSSC has to handle many deferment cases. Some rejected cases appealed again and again, sometimes with the help of their MPs. This creates unnecessary work for NSSC, slowing down the progress of some genuine cases.
------
(#6)agooddaytodie, 03:13 PM
: In response to the last post, you have to appeal several times. When I was still in NUS, my call up was scheduled during my exams, I sent in a deferral application with documentary proof of the exam dates and was rejected. I called to find out why and the NSSC response / reason for rejection was: "You only wrote in once. You have to appeal and then we know you are serious". Ridiculous.
------
(#7)leefamily, 10:33 PM
: "We have sacrificed our time and sweat in the protecting of Singapore, but are we being recognised enough for our effort?"
refer to bladevan's posting, answer is NO. just compare their current NSF payscale with those back in the 90s. how to be equal??? from wad i know, an 2LT's pay at tat time matches a current 3SG pay. good life u know? take 95% pay and do 5% work...
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(#8)unewolke, 12.11.07, 05:02 AM
: #6 - is that exactly what they wrote?! you can't be serious! *appalled*
------
(#9)unewolke, 05:03 AM
: #6 - i've reread, you mean that's what they told you? well...not surprising i suppose considering how screwed up gahmen svc can be.------

Penalised for delay caused by CPF Board

2007-11-13T02:24:00.000-08:00

"By not taking responsibility for its actions, there is nothing to keep the CPF Board from making the same mistake again. "

Home > Free > Story
Oct 22, 2007
Penalised for delay caused by CPF Board
WITH the current property craze, I want to share with other home buyers my experience when dealing with the CPF Board. In May last year, my husband and I bought an apartment. I wanted to use my CPF funds as part of the first 20 per cent payment.
My lawyer, Drew & Napier (D&N), assisted us with the paperwork, including requesting the release of my CPF funds to the developer. All went well and we waited in anticipation as our dream apartment is being built.
A week ago, we received a letter from the developer charging us interest on late payment of the instalment under our sales and purchase agreement.
After much investigation and clarification with D&N, it has been determined that while all papers were prepared and handed in on time, the CPF Board did not release my CPF funds to the developer in accordance with the payment schedule.
The payment was made two days late and as a result, we were charged interest at the base rate of 6.75 per cent.

RESPONSIBILITY DENIED
When D&N contacted the Board, its response was that there is no service-level agreement in place so the CPF Board will not be held responsible.
As a consequence, we were penalised for its lack of due diligence in handling my CPF funds.
By not taking responsibility for its actions, there is nothing to keep the CPF Board from making the same mistake again.
Jennifer Ho Shu Yun (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_169173.html

Reuters: Singapore income gap widens with economic boom

2007-11-13T01:55:00.000-08:00

3rd world Government for a 1st world people?

"...Singapore has an income inequality profile more in line with third-world countries..."

"...Singapore's Gini coefficient, ... ... is now in league with the Philippines (46.1) and Guatemala (48.3), and worse than China (44.7), data from Singapore's Household Survey and the World Bank show. ..."
Singapore income gap widens with economic boom
Monday, November 12, 2007
By Melanie Lee, Reuters
SINGAPORE -- Carol John, 27, doesn't own a bed. Every night she sleeps on thin mattresses which she shares with her three young children. Outside her one-room flat, a smell of sewage lingers in the common corridor.Just a few kilometers away, on Singapore's Sentosa island, Madhupati Singhania relaxes on his US$435,000 yacht berthed at the city-state's swanky One 15 Marina Club.
Income inequality is nothing new in free-market Singapore, but two years of blistering economic growth and a government policy of attracting wealthy expatriates have created a new class of super-rich, while a string of price increases for everything from bread to bus fares have made life harder for the poor.
"I can't save anything, it's so difficult for me," John told Reuters. John, who is unemployed, relies on her husband's S$600 (US$420) monthly salary and a S$100 government handout.
"We don't benefit at all from the economy. As far as I know, my husband's pay hasn't gone up," she said.
Singapore's economy is firing on all cylinders, with a booming construction sector, record tourist arrivals and a fast-growing financial sector all contributing to a gross domestic product set to grow nearly 8 percent in 2007. But the rising tide is not lifting every boat.
The proportion of Singapore residents earning less than S$1,000 (US$690) a month rose to 18 percent last year, from 16 percent in 2002, central bank data released late last month show.
At the same time, the proportion of those earning S$8,000 and above rose from 4.7 percent to 6 percent in the same period.
"When a country becomes richer, you tend to see a widening of income inequality. Over the last few years it has been worse," said econometrics professor Anthony Tay at SMU university.
Despite sporting a first-world GDP per capita of US$29,000 -- second only to Japan in Asia -- Singapore has an income inequality profile more in line with third-world countries. Singapore's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, has worsened from 42.5 in 1998 to 47.2 in 2006, and is now in league with the Philippines (46.1) and Guatemala (48.3), and worse than China (44.7), data from Singapore's Household Survey and the World Bank show.
Other wealthy Asian nations such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan have more European-style Ginis of 24.9, 31.6 and 32.6. CIMB-GK Research economist Song Seng Wun believes that growth itself partly explains the widening income gap.
"In an environment where growth is huge, there are lots of opportunities for risk takers, and inevitably, you will get this widening (of the income gap)," he said, adding that those in stable jobs will also benefit, but to a lesser extent.
Opportunity is what attracted Singhania to Singapore. He intends to buy a new 47-foot yacht for US$1.3 million.
"You've got everything you want in Singapore. You want to buy a fast car, you want to buy a big boat, you want to buy an aeroplane, whatever you need, you can get in this country."
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/2007/11/12/130587/Singapore-income.htm

Taxman raises HDB property value, most unaffected for now

2007-11-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

But this does nothing to alleviate the fact that 106,181 freehold properties enjoy unnecessary $2.03B 'property appreciation' p.a.
http://moral-property.blogspot.com/2007/09/s203b-pa-naughty-business.html

Taxman raises HDB property value, most unaffected for now
Tuesday • November 13, 2007

The annual values of most properties — including HDB flats — are going up, but while owners of most private homes will be paying more taxes on their properties next year, HDB flat owners will largely be insulated from the taxman's move.

The annual value is the estimated annual rent of a property if it were to be let. In determining the annual value of a property, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) is guided by prevailing market rents.
The property tax rate is currently set at 10 per cent of the annual value of the property. For owner-occupied homes, a concessionary rate of 4 per cent applies.

The Iras said the average increase in the annual value of private residential properties is about 20 per cent. This is broadly in line with the rise in real estate prices reflected in data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

According to the URA, private home prices were up an average 8.3 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three months. Compared to the end of last year, private home prices averaged 22.9 per cent higher.

"Every year the Iras will assess the situation … They are increasing it because rentals have gone up," said Mr Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president at real estate agency ERA.

"We are already seeing a trend of HDB owners renting their flats out and the rental market has picked up. In that sense, the Government will look at ways to ensure those who benefit pay their dues," said Mr Donald Han, managing director of property consultancy firm Cushman and Wakefield.

The Housing Development Board (HDB) Resale Price Index rose 6.6 per cent in the third quarter and was up 11 per cent from the end of last year.

However, most HDB flat owners will enjoy a two-year reprieve from higher property taxes, even though the Iras will be raising the annual values of all HDB flats from Jan 1.

"The amount does impact the dwellers, but because there is a system of rebates and preferential rates applied to home owners, the tax increase will be mitigated," Mr Han said. "The increase will only be felt by those who lease out their premises."

As part of the offset package for the Goods and Services Tax announced in Budget 2007, all owner-occupied residential properties will be given an additional tax rebate of up to $100 per year in 2008 and 2009. As a result, 90 per cent of all HDB flat owners will not be paying more property tax next year, the Iras said.

According to the Iras, one and two-room HDB flat owners will not have to pay property tax next year, as well as 60 per cent of three-room flat owners. The other 40 per cent of three-room flat owners will pay less tax than they did this year.

For the four- and five-room HDB flat owners, 15 per cent will have to pay higher taxes but the increase will be less than $40, the Iras said.

Meanwhile, in Parliament yesterday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the Government would not be taking further action to cool the property market.

Last month, the Government announced that it would scrap the deferred payment scheme for private property purchases in a move to reduce speculative buying and stabilise the red-hot real estate market. Mr Mah said removing the scheme would not affect genuine home buyers.

Mr Mah also assured Singaporeans that there would be enough new housing to meet the demands of a growing economy and population.

"At the end of the third quarter of 2007, there was a supply stock in the pipeline of 65,000 units. This, in fact, is higher than the supply at the end of the second quarter of 56,000 units. If Singaporeans are aware of these figures — and these are numbers that we put out regularly — there is no reason for Singaporeans to panic and feel that there is a real shortage in the medium term."

Mr Mah added that while the Government would seek to balance the supply and demand in the long term, its "bias is not to over-regulate or interfere" with the market.

"We monitor the growth rate of the market in relation to the growth of the economy and growth is supported by economic fundamentals," he said.

The National Development Minister added that more sites would be put up in the Government Land Sales Programme in the first half of next year if necessary. But this will be done carefully so as not to create an oversupply situation in the longer term.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/221827.asp

TNP: Crooked lawyer made brothers' lives a mess

2007-11-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Electric New Paper :
Crooked lawyer made brothers' lives a mess
OWNERS DUPED, BANK ALSO DUPED
Judge rules there was nothing to show that bank was at fault for approving loan
By Crystal Chan: 09 October 2007
THEIR former lawyer forged their signatures and made herself a co-owner of their $1 million property in Senang Crescent.
Using forged documents, she then got a bank to lend her $700,000 by mortgaging the property.
Sivakolunthu Thirunavukarasu then disappeared with the money.
As if that was not enough, the court recently ruled that Maybank has the right to sell the property and get the money owed to it.
The three brothers have appealed against the ruling.
One brother, Mr Sim Chiang Lee, a businessman in his 50s, said: 'We're in this mess because of that crooked lawyer.
'But she has fled and there's nothing we can do.'
Another brother, Mr Sim Sien Tiong, who is in his 50s, told The New Paper: 'The lawyer has run away so she won't have to face the music.
'What's important now is to see if there's any way to stop the bank from selling the property.'
If they don't pay up more than $750,000 owed (including interest), they risk having the property auctioned off by the bank.
Mr Chiang Lee said: 'The worst thing was that the property had been 'sold' to that lawyer and I didn't know about it until March 2004.
'We confronted the lawyer, but she merely apologised without explaining, so we went to the police.
'My brothers and I wrote to Maybank to state that we own the property and we don't recognise the mortgage, which was taken out behind our backs.'
They told The New Paper that their main beef is that they will not get the full profit if Maybank sells the property, as the bank will first deduct the amount owed to it.

SYMPATHY
The case even elicited sympathy from the High Court judge who heard the matter.
In his written judgment late last month, Justice Kan Ting Chiu said: 'This is yet another case where a fraud is committed, the prime suspect flees, and the victims are left to dispute over who is to bear the loss.'
In this case, he noted that although the brothers were duped by their lawyer, there was nothing to show that the bank was at fault for approving the loan, which was an ordinary banking transaction.
Therefore he upheld the mortgage as valid.
The ruling means that in the event of a sale, the owners - brothers Sim Sien Tiong, Sim Ah Ban and Sim Chiang Lee - will get only what is left after the loan amount has been deducted.
The brothers' woes began in March 2004, when the Singapore Land Authority informed Mr Sim Chiang Lee that a Maybank mortgage had been taken on the property, a tenanted warehouse at 23, Senang Crescent.
The brothers suspected Sivakolunthu of fraud and made a police report.
Investigations showed that she had forged her clients' signatures to transfer the property to herself.
She had earlier acted for the three brothers in another case.

CONFRONTED LAWYER
Little did they expect that the lawyer would later use the documents to get herself that bank loan.
In addition, she used more than $13,000, supposedly stamp fees for the transfer of the properties in the agreement, to pay for expenses unrelated to the brothers.
After the brothers found out about the loan, they confronted the lawyer who supposedly confessed to the deed and apologised for her action.
The brothers later made a police report but before she could be taken to task, she absconded.
In her absence, the Law Society moved to have her struck off the rolls on 29 Mar last year.
In 2005, Maybank began legal proceedings against Sivakolunthu and the brothers - it wanted the High Court to declare the mortgage valid and that it is entitled to any profits from the property.
In their defence, the brothers claimed they too, were victims of Sivakolunthu's fraud and that they had no knowledge of the mortgage.
Their lawyer, Mr Philip Fong of Harry Elias Partnership, argued that the mortgage should be declared invalid as it was obtained through fraud, wilful blindness and voluntary ignorance.
However, Maybank, represented by Mr Ng Yeow Khoon of Shook Lin & Bok, argued that the mortgage had been obtained fairly.
The bank had disbursed the money to Sivakolunthu in the belief that the mortgage was honest.
Justice Kan agreed that the brothers had not proven their case, and awarded judgment to Maybank.
He referred to an earlier precedent on a banking fraud case that was handed down by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong last year.
Then, CJ Chan noted that in ordinary banking transactions, there is no reason for the bank to act dishonestly or to seek to defraud the customer of his property that has been put up as security.
Unless it can be shown that bank's own employees or agents have acted fraudulently or dishonestly against the bank's customers, he ruled that 'court actions against lending banks on the ground of fraud have little chance of success'.

The Sim siblings' case is expected to be heard in the Court of Appeal next January.

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Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,144260-1191967140,00.html?

DRAWN-OUT MOTOR ACCIDENT DISPUTE

2007-11-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

SG law/ arbitration ctr that good?

DRAWN-OUT MOTOR ACCIDENT DISPUTE
- NOVEMBER 2004: Traffic accident involving Mr Lock's motorcycle and Ms Jessiline Goh's car.
- MARCH 2006: Case brought before the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre. Mr Lock awarded $188; Ms Goh ordered to pay $1,200 in costs.
- MAY 2007: Ms Goh wins appeal against PDRC ruling. Mr Lock made to pay appeal costs.
- JULY 2007: After assessment of costs, Mr Lock ordered to pay $63,000. This was later brought down to $45,000 upon Mr Lock's appeal
- AUGUST 2007: Mr Lock dismisses his first lawyer, Mr Andrew Hanam. Mr Hanam bills him $80,000 in fees.
- SEPT 3, 2007: NTUC Income serves writ of seizure on Mr Lock.
- SEPT 14,2007: It offers to waive $45k legal bill and to give him $25k as goodwill money.

Home Sep 26, 2007
Teacher rejects Income's deal
He wants court to settle status of e@dr Centre before second suit
By Carolyn Quek

ABOUT TURN: Mr Lock said accepting NTUC Income's offer would leave the problem half-solved. -- ST PHOTO: EDWIN KOO
THE deal's off.
Primary school teacher Mr Jonathan Lock has turned down insurer NTUC Income's offer to waive a $45,000 legal bill and to give a goodwill payment of $25,000.
Instead, he wants the Appeals Court to decide whether an earlier court decision which made him ultimately liable for Income's legal bills still holds.
The turn-around has taken NTUC Income by surprise. Just two weeks ago, Mr Lock, 35, and his wife declared themselves 'overjoyed' at its offer.
Mr Lock's legal tangle arose from an accident he was involved in in November 2004.
In March last year, the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre awarded him $188 and ordered the other vehicle owner Jessiline Goh to pay $1,200 in costs.

But Ms Goh took the case to the High Court and argued that the centre - now known as the e@dr Centre - was not a court.
It agreed, and later this year, Mr Lock found himself saddled with a $45,000 bill from Income, Ms Goh's insurer, and an $80,000 bill from his own former lawyer, Mr Andrew Hanam.
He was waiting for a visit from the court baliff to seize items from his home when his story was made public on Sept 8.
NTUC Income, on learning the situation, held out the olive branch. Its chief executive officer Tan Suee Chieh said the case had been a 'misapplication' of its internal rules. The insurer also offered $25,000 to help Mr Lock.
Mr Tan had said it was the company's way of helping someone who had 'found himself caught in the middle of a protracted and unnecessary legal process'.
But a condition attached to Income's offer was that Mr Lock drop his case that was pending in the Appeals Court.
Now, Mr Lock has had a change of heart: His case is up for hearing on Oct 2.
He also has to appear in court two days later, on Oct 4, as Mr Hanam is asking the court to assess his legal fees.
Mr Lock, in turn, is counter-suing his former lawyer for allegedly inadequate services.
As he explained it, an issue of public interest was at stake: whether the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre was indeed a court.
Winning the appeal, said his lawyer Joseph Chen, would void the NTUC Income bill, and strengthen his case against Mr Hanam.
'Therefore the point of law will have to be addressed first to guide the court in its subsequent adjudication on Oct 4,' said Mr Chen.
Lawyer Chandra Mohan Nair from Tan Rajah & Cheah said Mr Lock's move appears to be a positive one because now the Court of Appeal is 'given the opportunity to clarify the status of the e@dr Centre - once and for all'.

Asked why he had been so delighted with the Income offer earlier, Mr Lock said that they were 'initally relieved' because of all the tension that he and his family had been facing.
But accepting the offer would only leave the problem half-solved, he said.
'When the offer was made, NTUC Income's CEO Tan Suee Chieh said that the $25,000 was for us to start our family. But, realistically it would have been used to fight another case.
'So I am taking up the appeal in the hope that the Court of Appeal will do justice,' Mr Lock added.
Income found out about Mr Lock's decision on Monday, when legal papers were served on its lawyers, Assomull & Partners.
'We are taken aback by the turn of events and are discussing our next move,' said its spokesman yesterday.
carolynq@sph.com.sg

ST: $1,064 shock SingTel bill: Why no warning trigger?

2007-11-07T14:41:00.001-08:00

Terrible...
"How can a bill for a 'student account' run up to over $1,000 without even a warning triggered?"
Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Nov 5, 2007
$1,064 shock SingTel bill: Why no warning trigger?
I RECEIVED a shock when I saw my daughter's latest SingTel mobile phone bill this month - a whopping $1,064.46 was charged to a single item called 'GPRS Data Usage Charges'.
There was no breakdown except an indication of '212892K bytes usage'.
I know I can't blame SingTel for the charges but what I would like to know as a parent and consumer are:
1. Why is the GPRS usage so expensive?
2. How does SingTel and other mobile operators inform their customers of the charges involved? For many, the indication of KB usage makes little sense. Do the operators alert the user after each session the amount that has been charged so that consumers (especially younger children) are aware of the implications of cost due to their actions?
3. How can a bill for a 'student account' run up to over $1,000 without even a warning triggered?
I am now waiting anxiously for my next bill, and I wonder how many parents are in the same predicament as me.
Chai Lee Fung (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_173546.html
------
The reply:
"we will be introducing a feature to alert them of their data usage when they reach a certain data download threshold. "

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Nov 8, 2007

Feature to alert users of their data usage soon: SingTel
I REFER to the letter by Ms Chai Lee Fung, '$1,064 shock SingTel bill: Why no warning trigger?' (Online forum, Nov 5).
We have contacted Ms Chai to explain to her the charging scheme of SingTel's General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). We have since resolved the matter with her.
Like other telecommunication companies, we currently offer two schemes for data services either on a Pay-Per-Use basis or a monthly subscription basis.
The Pay-Per-Use service allows users to access the Internet and data such as e-mail with their GPRS devices (like mobile phones and laptops). There are no registration and monthly subscription fees. GPRS usage is charged in blocks of 2 kilobytes (KB) at $0.0054 per KB for 2G network; $0.0038 per KB for 3G/3.5G networks.
For customers on a monthly subscription basis, they pay a monthly subscription fee ranging from $10.70 to $101.65, which is bundled with free data value.
For example, SingTel's Broadband on Mobile allows our 3G customers to enjoy data downloads of up to 10GB for a monthly subscription of $22.42. They also enjoy a 50 per cent discount for excess data download, paying only $0.0019 per kilobyte in 2KB blocks. Typically, 10GB is more than sufficient to meet the mobile data needs of most of our customers. As a guide, 10GB is about 200,000 e-mails, 30,000 WAP pages and 5,000 songs. This is based on an estimated average file size of 50KB per text-based e-mail, 30KB per WAP page, 300KB per web page, 2MB per song and 10MB per video.
There are two ways the customers could incur GPRS data costs - file downloads and surfing the Internet. For file downloads, customers are normally able to view the file size and gauge the cost of the download. The cost of surfing the Internet is dependent on the customer's usage pattern and previous bills would provide these customers with an indication of their next GPRS data bill.
Our customers will be pleased to know that we will be introducing a feature to alert them of their data usage when they reach a certain data download threshold.
We thank Ms Chai for her feedback and suggestions.
Cheam Tze Hui (Ms)
Corporate Communications Manager
SingTel

ST: Coerced to pay up $355 for lotus candles in China temples

2007-11-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Terrible...

"Fearing our safety, we were left with no choice yet again, but to pay up so as to 'escape' from further bullying."

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Nov 5, 2007

Coerced to pay up $355 for lotus candles in China temples
MY HUSBAND, friends and I were on a 10-day package tour from Oct 11 to 20 to Jiuzhaigou and the Three Gorges (China) booked with Super Travel Pte Ltd.
We were in awe of the breathtaking scenic beauty of Jiuzhaigou and the Three Gorges, but our enjoyment was marred by what I deemed as undue harassment in two of the famed temples we visited.
On the second day of our tour, we visited a reputable temple in Jiuzhaigou with our China-based guide conducting the visit. After a tour of the temple's grounds, we were segregated into groups and brought to different chambers, with individual monks assigned to each group to read our 'fortunes'. Thereafter, we were asked if we wanted to pay our respects by partaking in the ritual of lighting up lotus candles with the monk showering 'blessings' upon us. We were instructed to answer in the affirmative to questions posed to us. For example, to the 'blessing' of 'Would you like to have a long life?', we would say 'yes'. This line of questioning went on for about four times. The questions were innocuous enough, and did not warrant anything less than 'yes' answers.
Just as we let down our guard after a series of four 'yes' answers, the punchline was delivered - 'Would you like to light up lotus candles for RMB1,699 (about S$355)?' The rigmarole of a series of 'yes' answers coupled with the fact that we were in a house of worship led us to instinctively answer 'yes', and we 'dutifully' paid up. After we re-congregated, we shared our experiences, and expressed disgust that we were pressured into succumbing.
Leaving the matter behind us, we continued on our tour of the scenic Three Gorges, only to encounter another similar coercive episode. The same old tactics were employed on us on another temple visit. This time, we thought we were wiser, and refused to be conned yet again. We questioned the temple's practice of dictating a fixed price for joss stick oil (RMB199) as we had understood it to be a voluntary tithe. However, as we resisted, the temple monks resorted to intimidation tactics like shoutings and bangings on tables so much so that some of us were reduced to tears.
Fearing our safety, we were left with no choice yet again, but to pay up so as to 'escape' from further bullying.
I am writing this letter to express abhorrence to what we had to undergo in two reputable places of worship in China. As Jiuzhaigou and the Three Gorges are famed tourist spots popular with Singaporeans, I cannot imagine that my tour group was the first to experience such 'treatment'.
At no time were we warned pre-tour that there was a minimum tithe that we were expected to contribute. I hope Super Travel can clarify this matter. This letter is also to forewarn Singaporeans travelling to China of what possibly awaits them in some places of worship.
Angie Chua Kee Koon (Ms)

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_173548.html

ST: SIA losing the fight in the air and on the ground

2007-11-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

Oh no...

The pierre de a la resistance recently was when I was in London this month booking a flight home and they would not confirm an Economy seat with a Business Class ticket.

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Nov 7, 2007
SIA losing the fight in the air and on the ground
HAVE you tried calling SIA reservations recently? How many times did you have to call before you finally got through? It is easier to get through to CitiCab at 5pm on a Friday than SIA on a Sunday at 6am these days.
I guess you could call me a frequent flyer. On average, I travel every three days and I have been Solitaire for the last few years. I am a fan of Singapore Airlines, not only because they used to pay my salary (working at SQ Centre) but because they have a very high reliability of taking off on time and I always know that I am guaranteed a seat on the class below, if the flight is full. With multiple meetings in multiple cities over a short period of time, these two factors are of high importance.
Unfortunately in many other areas, SIA is losing ground over the competition. Allow me to give a few examples. Remember the slogan 'the Youngest Fleet'? This is now being challenged. I travel to the Middle East once a month every month and Emirates, Qatar and Ethiad Airways are using new aircraft with flat seats and large movie choices.
Flying SIA is now an expensive privilege. Every eight weeks, I am in Europe. SIA is double the cost of a Business Class ticket compared to Qatar Airways and I sometimes have difficulty justifying the difference. Now hang on, before you get the idea I am a fan of Qatar Airways, I am not. I had my worst ever delays with them. SIA has always prided itself on its service in the air but the difference between other Asian and the fast growing Middle East competitors has all but squandered the difference. The blankets, for example, on other airlines leave SIA's looking old and thin.
And whatever happened to OSG - 'Outstanding Service on the Ground' - another of SIA's differentiators? Those of us who fly through Hong Kong all know that there First and Business Class boarding is much faster and easier. Heathrow Airport offers a fast track service on both departures and arrivals for Business and First Class. I was in Glasgow airport last month and they were very proud of their brand new hand-luggage scanner that was very fast and the only one in the world that automatically sends high-risk bags on a different exit track and the containers back round to the waiting passengers. This dramatically reduced the security waiting time. I know, when Terminal Three opens everything will be different.
SIA has always wanted to provide service on the ground that matched the high excellence in the air. Does that not begin with being able to call to book my flight? Is that not what the industry calls a 'moment of truth'? Now you might tell me to use the Internet but, hang on, I am Solitaire. Should I not be able to choose how I want to book my flight and when I am in the back of a car between meetings I do not have Internet access to change a flight.
The pierre de a la resistance recently was when I was in London this month booking a flight home and they would not confirm an Economy seat with a Business Class ticket. I tried my best to explain to them the Solitaire privileges but alas to no avail. This is only topped by my friend who just gave birth. During her pregnancy, she called SIA and asked for an extension on her PPS until after she gave birth as she would not be flying and she did not want to lose her PPS status. Our friendly carrier considered her request and then gave her a point-blank 'no'.
I write this letter in the hope that others who are finding it harder and harder to give our national carrier their business will cry out and the small voice of the passenger will be heard.
Robin Speculand

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_174242.html

ST: Aunt died of lung cancer from secondhand smoke

2007-11-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Good advice:

JACK UP CIG PRICES
"Higher cigarette prices may not convince all smokers to quit but they will deter younger people from picking up smoking."

Home > ST Forum > Story
Nov 6, 2007
Aunt died of lung cancer from secondhand smoke
MY AUNT, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer - her husband was a heavy smoker - and I applaud the Singapore Cancer Society and the National Cancer Centre for organising the inaugural Lung Cancer Awareness month.
I hope that more smokers will finally take seriously the health risks they expose themselves (and their loved ones) to, with each cigarette that they light.
On the other hand, friends and families of smokers must also understand that nicotine dependency is not only physical but also deeply psychological. Hence, breaking the addiction is immensely difficult for most smokers.
Yet, on their end, smokers must stop deluding themselves or give excuses to continue to smoke. They must not be afraid to stop. More needs to be done and I believe two measures must be emphasised, one non-punitive and the other punitive.
First, smoking-cessation clinics must be made as accessible as possible to smokers. The Health Promotion Board website presently lists fewer than 30 locations that provide such services.
General practitioners should also strive to persuade their patients who smoke to sign up with cessation clinics.
Even though such clinics generally charge a nominal fee, the services should ideally be made free-of-charge.
Second, there is still room for cigarette prices to increase. For example, a pack of cigarettes in Norway costs US$11 (S$16).
While the price increase may not convince all smokers to quit, it will definitely deter younger people from picking up smoking.
There is no other way to see it: smoking is a terrible addiction that enslaves people. Those who believe that smoking is pleasurable and relaxes them are really no different from crystal meth users who claim that the drug makes them alert and happy.
In a different time and a different place where tobacco companies do not wield so much economic clout and where the fatal health effects of smoking are known, few governments would have allowed the sale of cigarettes.
Harvey Neo Choong Tiong
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_174032.html

ST: Warrant officer asked to retire 5 years earlier

2007-11-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

SAF work = health hazard? ...

"Till today, I am still somewhat in a state of depression at how the organisation had overlooked all my years of loyal and dedicated service...I have a wife and two young children still attending school. "

Home > ST Forum > Story
Nov 6, 2007
Warrant officer asked to retire 5 years earlier
I WAS a regular serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). I served a total of 32 years, comprising full-time national service, reservist and regular service, from 1974-2006.
I was one of more than 200 regular servicemen and women in the Army who were notified in May last year that we would be given Special Early Transition. Some of the reasons cited included difficulty in offering us 'suitable jobs' in the long run, restructuring and possible 'stagnation'. We were given only six months to transit.
Having attained the rank of a warrant officer in 2001, it meant that I was able to serve till the compulsory retirement age (CRA) of 55. I transitted last November after just turning 50, five years short of the CRA.
The Control of Personnel Centre announced that we were not under-performers. I was still PES 'B' and I received my performance bonuses annually without fail. I had also met all other requirements, i.e., Individual Physical Proficiency Tests, Annual Trainfire Programme, Body Mass Index, and Annual Proficiency Knowledge Test.
I also did not have any discipline or medical problems. The latter meant that I was still combat fit and still deployable. There are some who have not conformed to one or more of these requirements and yet are still serving in the organisation.
Till today, I am still somewhat in a state of depression at how the organisation had overlooked all my years of loyal and dedicated service.
The SAF Management Philosophy states:
'The SAF is concerned with the well-being of its people and their families, the SAF values its people, looks after them and their families so that they can give wholehearted attention to their assigned duties.'
The Defence Minister himself said last year:
'Every soldier is precious to us. Every national serviceman, every operationally ready national serviceman, every regular who serves with us is a precious and valuable person.'
The organisation failed to honour its word to allow me and many others to serve till the CRA of 55. I have a wife and two young children still attending school.
Second Warrant Officer (Retired)
Henry Minjoot
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_174031.html

ST: Parents' dilemma over mental patient

2007-11-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

The usual u 'cannot downgrade' problem...

"Because of the urgency and seriousness of her condition two years ago, I took her to IMH for treatment without referral. Hence, at the moment she is still a full-paying, non-subsidised patient at IMH. Does it mean TTSH has stopped taking subsidised patients? She will be accepted as a full-paying patient."

Home > ST Forum > Story
Nov 5, 2007
Parents' dilemma over mental patient
MY DAUGHTER has suffered from depression for a number of years. Two weeks ago, we went to see a polyclinic doctor to get a referral to see a psychiatrist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). We were told this was not possible. The reason given by TTSH - it has too many subsidised psychiatric patients - is unacceptable.
My daughter was asked to go back to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for treatment. She has been there for a number of years. Most of the time, as parent and caregiver, I have to ensure she follows up on her treatment. She intensely dislikes travelling the long distance because of lethargy arising from her illness. I have to spend many frustrating hours persuading her to go to IMH but she always resists. It is frustrating to take her there, even by taxi which is costly. Often, the parent has to go to IMH on her behalf. Besides the patient, the caregiver is also under tremendous stress. My daughter prefers to go to a nearer place. Because of the urgency and seriousness of her condition two years ago, I took her to IMH for treatment without referral. Hence, at the moment she is still a full-paying, non-subsidised patient at IMH.
Does it mean TTSH has stopped taking subsidised patients? She will be accepted as a full-paying patient. But she has not been in full employment since she graduated and came down with depression. Only her parents as caregivers can take care of her, but what if we are not around?
The healthy minds campaign is on, but it defeats the purpose as there are sufferers out there besides my daughter.
Catherine Tham Kuen (Mdm)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_173608.html

M'sia: Girl, 9, beaten, raped, sodomised and killed

2007-11-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

M'sia: a land of lawlessness?

News @ AsiaOne
Girl, 9, beaten, raped, sodomised and killed
Another young Malaysian child was sexually ravaged and murdered. -NST
Lee Shi-Ian, Sonia Ramachandran and K. Harinderan
Sun, Nov 04, 2007The New Straits Times
Another young child was sexually ravaged and murdered leaving her grief-stricken parents crying for justice.
Preeshena Varshiny, 9, was alone in her condo unit when she was believed to have been abducted. Photo/ NST
Preeshena Varshiny, 9, was believed to have been raped, sodomised and thrown down from the balcony of one of the units at the up-market Casa Mila Tower Condominium in Jalan Bukit Idaman 3/1, Selayang, on Thursday.
Her body was found sprawled on the ground by a security guard about 4pm on Thursday. She was clad in a blue T-shirt and shorts and the keys to her condominium were found next to her body.
Her father who is a marketing and technical manager and her mother, who works in a human resource department, suspect that Preeshena was abducted from their unit on the ninth floor.
Her 40-year-old father, who declined to be named, said his daughter called him on Wednesday afternoon claiming someone was knocking loudly on the front door.
Preeshena was alone at home. Her elder brother was away at a boarding school while her younger sister was sent to a baby-sitter.
"I told her not to open the door. I reminded her that we have the keys to the unit and we would open and let ourselves in after work," he told the New Straits Times at his condo last night.
Her father's nightmare came true on Thursday afternoon when he got a call from police. He rushed to the condominium and saw his daughter's broken body.
The parents suspect that Preeshena was forcibly taken when she opened the door to the assailant on Thursday.
"She never leaves her house without her slippers. Her slippers are still here.
"The condominium keys were also found next to her body."
Preeshena's mother looked dazed.
"Her body looked peaceful. I am sure she is in heaven.
"I promised her that I will fight till the end to find her killer."
Her mother said it was so sad that this had to happen right after Nurin Jazlin Jazimin's case.
Preeshena is a Year Three pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan St Marie in Selayang. Neighbours described her as a bubbly and friendly child.
The family stays in a posh, gated community with 24-hour security.
Police investigations revealed that the victim's condominium unit was locked and there were no signs of forced entry.
They were looking at the possibility that Preeshena was taken to a vacant unit on the second floor where she was attacked and murdered. The back window of the unit was open when police checked the premises.
The post-mortem report revealed she had been raped and sodomised. There were bruises on her chest, back and private parts. Her right arm was also broken.
The body, which was sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem, was claimed at 1am yesterday by her family and cremated at the City Hall crematorium in Jalan Kuari later in the morning.
Gombak police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Abdullah appealed to members of the public who have information to assist the police.
This is the most brutal child murder since the Nurin case on Aug 20.
In Nurin's case, she was held captive for almost a month before her body was stuffed in a sports bag and left at the foot of a staircase at a building in PJS1/48.
Eight-year-old Nurin, who went missing after going to a night market near her house in Wangsa Maju, was also sexually assaulted. To date, no one has been charged for her murder. Copyright ©2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement Conditions of Access Advertise
http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20071104-34086.html

CAN information from the rubbish in your bin be used against you in a civil case?

2007-10-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

Justice at the crossroads: 'Trash' in court hoopla...

Why the big hoopla?(see disclaimer below), exerps are from article below.Because a Judge has judged not on substance but the book by its cover...

A simple analogy will help :A robber 'breaks into' a mafia boss's home, tying up his 2 maids at (fake)gunpoint. Having found nothing substantive to steal upstairs, he explores the basement wine cellar, only to discover a woman gagged and tied to the staircase railing outside the cellar door. She motions him to enter the cooled cellar where in a fresh corpse is seen. A burglar alarm sounds, but before escape, the robber videotapes his findings, ostensibly with the intent of blackmailing the rich man/ releasing the captive (s). The rich man refuses to pay blackmail$ nor release his captives and the photographs of the scene, deceased and captive are extremely incriminating. (Victims are persons on the police 'missing persons' files).
The robber then posts his pictures and video on U-tube...
Shouldn't the police investigate the matter?Is the (criminally obtained) evidence admissible in the court of law?
Who is this High Court judge Andrew Ang i wonder...And how does this episode differentiate Singapore from other parts of the world where $$$ influences the judgement: where Judges are corrupt, greased by the provision of $$?
Who then upholds the law of justice?
Why crossroads:There is justice and there is Justice.Some judges are plain corrupt.Some are incompetent/ lazy, prefering dice/ expediency for convenience.But the Golden few, they judge on substance. And it is because of such good men that our lives are a pleasure today. And where does Singapore stand?

- "this is a grey area in Singapore law"- so I infer: the Mafia Boss is protected, police cannot investigate illegal footage?

- "Lawyer Adrian Tan said: 'Many multi-national companies... ...come from places where their laws are more stringent. ...So, if we want to attract them here... ...We need to make a stand that personal information should be protected.'"- so Mafia Boss is welcomed to SG and its IRs?

"CJ Chan says during appeal hearing last month that this is a serious issue as people often leave their trash bins outside their homes. CJ Chan allows appeal, says issue of who owns garbage should be decided in separate trial."

The issue is one of case fact, and the court must address all relevant evidences of fact as the case so presents, eventually upholding the justice of the matter; if necessary, the Judge should make his judgement contigent upon the addressing of other pertinent issues, e.g.:- Directing police/ lower court to investigate issue of trespass/ willful damage of pte property/ intimidation/ harassment and prosecute/ order eventual return of such property (after all material fact is admitted to the higher court) etc.- informing defendents about restitutive means should plaintiffs have caused injury during any illegal actions.- using such 'plaintiff violations' as mitigating factors in judgement where approprate but NOT disregarding any evidences of fact.

So I conclude that Singapore High court would have made a judgement of convenience, not a judgement of substance (having omitted essential material facts), in doing so, the SG high court has betrayed the cause of Justice.
Same problem in many enblock processes... (which riles me)

Disclaimer:(comments are solely based upon substance of report and accurate only to the extent of personal observation for the purpose of forum discussion; I cannot gurantee the accuracy of the quoted newspaper report).

-----------
The Electric New Paper :

Can trash be used in court? Clear legislation on issue may help draw more MNCs to set up shop here, says one lawyer

CAN information from the rubbish in your bin be used against you in a civil case?

By Andre Yeo 18 October 2007

CAN information from the rubbish in your bin be used against you in a civil case?
Right now this is a grey area in Singapore law.
But it is allowed in the US state of Florida, said a lawyer who is here for the International Bar Association (IBA) Conference. He gave details of how a debtor was caught concealing his assets.
In Singapore, the issue came up when the High Court ruled in February that information from your rubbish bin can't be used against you.
But Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong allowed an appeal against the ruling, saying the issue would have 'serious repercussions for everybody'.
However, he said the issue of who owns the rubbish should be decided in a separate trial.
Lawyer Adrian Tan said: 'Many multi-national companies would be comforted to know if there is clear legislation on this topic. They come from places where their laws are more stringent.
'So, if we want to attract them here, we need to offer them the same level of protection that they get in their own countries.
'We need to make a stand that personal information should be protected.'
Criminal lawyer Mark Goh said there were some hurdles to overcome when dealing with garbage ownership.
Said Mr Goh: 'Information can be confidential and must be separated from the physical piece of paper.
'So a person can argue that while he threw away the piece of paper because he did not want it anymore, he can also argue that the information contained on that piece of paper was confidential and he did not intend to give it away.
'So, the confidential information would still be his property.
'If I deliberately shred a piece of paper, that indicates I treat the information as confidential and want to deny public access to it.
'But if you retrieve it and piece it back together, how can you argue that it was in the public domain?'
FLORIDA CASE
Mr Martin Kenney, one of more than 4,000 participants from 120 countries at the IBA Conference, said in Monday's session on business intelligence and industrial espionage, that for 18 months, his law firm monitored a fraud suspect's movements at home.
He said his clients had accused the man in Florida of owing them US$21.9 million ($32m), which he had borrowed in a business deal.
He was also found to be involved in Medicare (a medical insurance programme for the elderly) fraud and was made a bankrupt.
Before Mr Kenney's agents began the sting operation, they had to make sure taking the man's trash was allowed there.
He said: 'We had to make sure it was not illegal in the state of Florida.
'It wasn't. It was by the side of a public road.
'As long as the trash was outside the person's property, it was considered 'abandoned property'.'
He said they found documents from the man's lawyers and other incriminating information showing he had had an elaborate plan to conceal his assets.
A settlement was reached, but Mr Kenney said he could not reveal its details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE question was posed last month in a case before Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong.
Creditors who use private investigators to sift through debtor's bin want to use it against debtor in court.
High Court judge Andrew Ang says improper and/or illegal to do this, in February last year. Rules against creditors, but they appeal.
CJ Chan says during appeal hearing last month that this is a serious issue as people often leave their trash bins outside their homes. CJ Chan allows appeal, says issue of who owns garbage should be decided in separate trial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,145106,00.html?

Ad discrimination: How do we draw the line between bias and practicality?

2007-10-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

"... she went on to put an ad in The Straits Times' Classifieds, but was told she could not put in these race and sex requirements"

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Oct 23, 2007

Ad discrimination: How do we draw the line between bias and practicality?
I REFER to Ms Radha Basu's article, 'Time to amend the Constitution' (ST, Oct 12), and many other commentaries that fight against the discrimination of women and/or races.
It appears that sex and race are becoming more touchy issues as Singapore is more willing to recognise that minorities such as females, local non-Chinese and gays have been subject to discrimination.
These changing attitudes are reflected - and also brought about - by changes in the Penal Code.
While I laud no matter how slight changes that to me reflect a maturing society, I believe there are some tricky issues at hand.
My mother wishes to employ a clerk for her company currently consisting of a female clerk and herself.
Her office space is small and crowded with furniture and office supplies.
She specifically wants a female worker because it would be awkward for these two women to share such a tight physical space with a man.
She specifically, too, wants a Chinese worker because the job requires conversing with Mandarin and dialect-speaking clients.
(Of course, one might argue that race does not dictate the language spoken, but while we are in Singapore, these two are still very much closely correlated.)
Furthermore, she has her lunches in the office and is afraid of making a Muslim clerk uncomfortable with the smell of Chinese food, which also includes pork, in the poorly-ventilated office.
Hence, she went on to put an ad in The Straits Times' Classifieds, but was told she could not put in these race and sex requirements.
Consequently, she had to politely turn down many ad respondents who did not fall in these categories, which was a waste of both these jobseekers' and my mother's time.
I believe there are many other arguments for employers who have a preference for one sex and/or race over another.
Some of these reasons could also be biologically-related (for example, men are generally physically stronger than women, as well as the very controversial issue of the need for pregnancy and post-natal leave which men are most unlikely to require).
Then how?
How do we institutionally draw this line so as to serve practical needs without tipping onto the side of sex/racial bigotry?
Chen Weiling (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_169376.html

Taxi woes: Reduce surcharges, raise fares

2007-10-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum > Story
Oct 22, 2007

Taxi woes: Reduce surcharges, raise fares
LATELY, there was quite some coverage in The Straits Times (articles as well as readers' letters) about Singapore's taxi situation.
The problems mentioned are not new, but they are 'uniquely Singapore'.
I have travelled to many countries, from well developed to less developed ones, but none seems so helpless at getting a proper taxi system organised. As Singapore plans to aggressively increase its population, improvements are really called for.
This cannot be very difficult and I think the answer lies in simplicity. The current system is too complex with so many surcharges, which gives cabbies a lot of room for abuse. Some suggestions:

Abolish all time-based surcharges and implement one standard flag-fall and kilometre rate 24-7, including weekends and public holidays; and
Increase standard fares and booking charges to cover the resulting loss of revenue.
Another issue quite unique to Singapore is the quality of cabbies.

I use taxis on average twice a day when in town (and when I manage to get one), but often I wonder how some drivers obtain a taxi licence.
Many would fail a standard driving test in other countries, but here they are allowed to drive a taxi.
Most notable, apart from little knowledge of the city and ignoring traffic rules, is their bad handling of a manual car. Why not give them automatic ones so they have one task less to worry about?
Stefan Erich Hirt
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_169177.html

Demand-management policies required

2007-10-23T04:47:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum > Story
Oct 23, 2007
SOARING PROPERTY PRICES
Demand-management policies required
AT A Singapore Economic Policy Forum organised by the Department of Economics of the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Oct 18, I presented a paper with the title, 'Singapore's property market and the macroeconomy'. This was reported in The Straits Times the following day under the headline, 'No bubble in property market: NUS study'.
The title of the report may have created the misperception that current increases in property prices are all fundamental and policy intervention is not necessary. Some clarification is necessary with regard to the findings of the research and its policy implications.
In our analysis, the long-run demand for housing is determined by the growth of resident population, foreign population, per-capita disposable income, per-capita CPF balances (a proxy for financial wealth) and an adjustment factor to account for what is known as the user cost of housing. If the housing stock grows in line with the growth of the long-run demand, house prices should stay the same in the long run.
The current surge in house prices is largely a result of the housing shortage that was caused by the crash of the price bubble in 1996 and the prolonged slump in the property sector. Large imbalances in demand and supply create conditions for bubbles and subsequent crashes.
Based on data available up to the second quarter of this year, our model predicted that house prices should increase by 18 per cent in 2007 purely due to the fundamental demand-supply imbalance. We know that house prices by now have increased well above this rate. In the third quarter of this year the average price level had gone up by at least 27 per cent over the third quarter of 2006. Price persistence (panic buying when prices rise and waiting when prices fall) and speculation are the key drivers of the short-run price acceleration.
Although price bubbles are usually attributed to speculation, large gyrations in property prices are unhealthy for the economy. As housing supply cannot keep pace with demand because of construction delays and land scarcity, demand-management policies, especially with respect to investment demand, have to be in place.
Associate Prof Tilak Abeysinghe
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_169583.html

Means testing put on hold and People will be consulted first: Minister Khaw

2007-10-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

www.pap.org.sg : 2May06.
Means testing put on hold and People will be consulted first: Minister Khaw
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has announced that MEANS testing will not be implemented within the next two years as originally planned. He said that it will only be implemented after he has consulted the people.
Mr Khaw said he is not going to rush through without consulting people but will take his time discussing it with the community, and find practical ways to implement it.
Instead, Mr Khaw said he would focus on revamping the MediShield national health insurance system and on improving healthcare for the chronically-ill.

Said Mr Khaw: "I will do it only if it is practical, because the theory may be sound but if the implementation is more costly ... then it's not worth the effort. "So whether to do it or not, I don't know. It depends on whether we can come up with practical ideas."

He accused the WP of trying to score political points by proposing populist healthcare solutions that have proved disastrous in Britain, Europe and elsewhere. In Britain, he said, patients wait for months for even simple procedures.

And ideas such as reducing GST for medical bills, which is already being done for subsidised patients, would benefit the rich more than the poor. Private hospital bills are many times the size of Class C hospital bills. "Instead, our solution is to provide Class C with the greatest subsidy (at 80 per cent of cost)," he said.

Responding to the opposition’s idea to reduce GST for medical bills, Mr Khaw said that would benefit the rich more than the poor. Private hospital bills are many times the size of Class C hospital bills. “Instead, our solution is to provide Class C with the greatest subsidy (at 80% of cost),”

Source: Extracted from The Straits Times and TODAY 2 May 2006
WWW www.pap.org.sg Published by and at the directions of People's Action Party PAP HQ, Block 57B New Upper Changi Road, #01-1402 Singapore 463057. Copyright © 2006 People's Action Party. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.pap.org.sg/articleview.php?id=894&mode=&cid=23

This bitter pill is why I won't work in Singapore

2007-10-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

This bitter pill is why I won't work in Singapore
Friday • October 19, 2007
EMILY POH
I AM a Singaporean pharmacist trained and qualified in the United Kingdom, where I have been working for the last two years.
I have considered coming back but feel that the industry is not ready for me. Apart from a demoralising environment due to poor staff retention, there is also little recognition of the pharmacist's role as a drug expert.
The choice of medicine prescribed for a patient may be driven by the amount of incentives given to doctors by drug company representatives, instead of a guideline of what drugs are clinically proven to be efficient and cost-effective.
I have spent four years at university getting my degree and another doing my pre-registration year learning about clinical pharmacology, pharmaceutics and therapeutics. Yet I've noticed that Singaporeans would rather go to a doctor than a pharmacist for advice on their medications.
They feel they should get advice from the person who has written the prescription. But when they see a general practitioner (GP), they get their medications at the dispensary from someone who is not even a qualified dispenser. There is no one to pick up any drug interactions and dispensing errors at that point. Besides, the patient might be forgoing some professional advice regarding his/her medication.
How many patients have spent more than 15 minutes speaking to their pharmacists about their medication? Do the pharmacists even explain how the medicines work or suggest having their medicine use reviewed?
Being a pharmacist is not only about keeping the waiting time down. It is also about how to reduce drug-dispensing errors, picking up drug interaction as well as giving best advice about the medication and possible lifestyle changes to go with the treatment.
Most pharmacists are not given a chance to use their expertise. Most of the time — under pressure to keep down the long waiting times at clinics — the most they do is dispense the correct medication according to the prescription and not question it. They only have the time to tell you the dose and frequency of the medication to be taken — all of which is already printed on the label.
That is certainly not what pharmacy is all about. If that is the practice of pharmacy, it would be easier to get an accuracy-checking technician rather than a pharmacist. It would be far cheaper, too!
With the growing number of ageing Singaporeans, we have to look into problems with increasing drug interactions due to increasing aliments.
Furthermore, GPs, polyclinics and hospitals are not linked up properly to create a seamless access to the medical history of patients. As a result, some patients may end up in hospital due to polypharmacy, or taking too many different drugs.
The system is far from mature. The salary, other incentives and opportunities are just not attractive enough to woo me back to Singapore. It will take a long time for the pharmacist profession to be respected in the Republic. Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/217509.asp

Worker caught on webcam stealing alcohol from guests

2007-10-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

'We were convinced that someone was taking our alcohol.'
'We were shocked as it is a five-star hotel in Singapore, a country known for its high standards of service.
'They immediately alerted the management, who refunded their three night's hotel stay of $597 and waived their Internet charges.

The Electric New Paper : Hotel housekeeper cleans up... ...in more ways than one
Worker caught on webcam stealing alcohol from guests
She picks up bottle... unscrews the cap... ...and pours out the booze
THEY suspected that someone might be stealing alcohol from their whisky bottle.
By Veema Bharwani 16 October 2007
THEY suspected that someone might be stealing alcohol from their whisky bottle.
So three Hong Kong tourists staying at the Hilton Singapore set up a webcam to see if they could catch the culprit on camera.
The result?
A 20-second video clip of a hotel housekeeper pouring whisky from the guests' bottle into an empty water bottle.
She repeats the process by pouring more whisky from another bottle into a separate water bottle.
The video was recorded on a webcam attached to one of the tourist's laptops.
This was the last thing the trio from Hong Kong was expecting on their weekend getaway in Singapore.
'We didn't expect this to happen in Singapore. We were looking to have a good time here,' said Mr Manoj Budhrani, a 28-year-old businessman.
The three men were in town for a weekend getaway from 28 Sep to 1 Oct and stayed at the Hilton Singapore.
They started their weekend by popping open a one-litre bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky in their hotel room on Friday night. They said they had bought it for $237 from the airport duty-free shop. They also had a bottle of the less expensive Johnnie Walker Black Label.
They left the bottle in the room and went out clubbing later that night.
The next day, just before stepping out to lunch, one of the three men, MrJai Chulani, 28, remarked to the other two: 'Wow, we drank a quarter of a bottle last night. Not bad.'
But when they returned to the room at 5pm the same day, they noticed the level of alcohol in the bottle had dropped from the three-quarter mark to the half-way mark.
'We would not have noticed it if Jai hadn't remarked how much we drank before we left for lunch,' said MrBudhrani.
He said the others teased him saying he must have been drinking the alcohol on the sly.
'I told them it wasn't me,' MrBudhrani said with a laugh.
'We knew something was up because when we came back the room was clean. So someone had been there in our absence.
'We were convinced that someone was taking our alcohol.'
Not willing to let the incident rest, Mr Chulani suggested that since he had a laptop with a built-in webcam, they could leave it on to record what was going on in the room.
So on Sunday morning, just before leaving the room for the afternoon, the three men created the perfect setup.
They turned on the laptop and its camera, pointed it towards the side table on which the whisky bottles rested and pressed the record button.
They made sure that the laptop had its screen-saver on, so it couldn't be seen that it was recording.
Also, since they had almost finished the first whisky bottle, they opened a second and drank a bit out of it.
'We thought if someone was taking the whisky, they were trying to be careful about it and wouldn't take it if it was obvious - like when the bottle was too empty or too full,' said MrNavin Gaba.
Later that Sunday, when the trio came back to the room, they got a shock when they scanned through the five-hour long video recording.
CULPRIT CAUGHT
The camera caught a housekeeper, who looked to be in her late 40s, swiftly pouring some 20 per cent of the whisky from the first and second bottles into separate empty water bottles.
She did this without hesitation.
Added Mr Budhrani: 'We were shocked as it is a five-star hotel in Singapore, a country known for its high standards of service.'
Added Mr Gaba, 28: 'It's not how much she stole but the principle behind it.'
They immediately alerted the management, who refunded their three night's hotel stay of $597 and waived their Internet charges.
The hotel's general manager, MrAlain Mahillon said they had reprimanded the employee involved when asked what action was taken.
The hotel would not confirm if they have or are planning to file a police report against the housekeeper, or if the housekeeper had been dismissed.
They also declined to comment on whether they run background checks on staff before employing them.
He would only say: 'Guest satisfaction is key to our business and we strive to ensure all team members receive regular training and development to ensure they deliver the quality of service that our hotel name is renowned for. We regret that this isolated incident occurred.'
But the guests are not entirely satisfied.
Said Mr Budhrani: 'We are seriously considering filing a police report as we don't want other guests to go through what we went through.'
On complaints of theft and similar incidents in hotels, The Singapore Tourism Board's director of communications, Mr Muhammad Rostam Umar, said: 'STB does receive feedback from all sectors, including hotels. The Board is committed to providing prompt assistance to affected visitors by channelling their complaints to the relevant agencies for their necessary action.'
For example, if a tourist complained of a theft while staying here, STB could advise the tourist to file a police report.
Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon said that while it had not received complaints on thefts in hotels, there had been other complaints like unsatisfactory service and hotels over-charging for bookings made over the phone, among other things.
'The complaints were usually resolved by means of refunds, discounts or complimentary vouchers,' he added.
The irony in this case is that the staff may have got the liquor anyway.
Said Mr Budhrani: 'We would have never been able to finish the two bottles of whisky on our own. We would have left the unfinished bottles in the room for the staff.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sanctions against Myanmar will be counter-productive: PM Lee

2007-10-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

[treating the morally bankrupt] (artc. below) ... …whether you want to do petty indignities to individuals, which is really against human nature.
'Somebody who is sick, he wants to come to Singapore, he needs treatment and you're telling me that I shouldn't treat him because he is not a good man? It goes against the Hippocratic oath of doctors.'…

The temptation of convenience, the path of disaster.

Who really runs this country, is it PM Lee or the Drs (Hippocratic oath)? Admitting despotic rulers to SG govt hosp? "Myanmar junta leader's family reportedly in Singapore "
To promote medical tourism the Hippocratic oath of doctors is quoted,
And during elections, then buying votes becomes okay… …
Mana ada moral mandate?

Sanctions against Myanmar will be counter-productive: PM Lee
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 05 October 2007 2045 hrs

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that sanctions against Myanmar will be counter-productive.
He also stressed that ASEAN alone cannot solve the problem in Myanmar, and called on the international community to weigh in as well.
Mr Lee said this in an interview with the CNN, which was aired on Friday evening.
He was responding to the presenter who asked if ASEAN could do more besides issuing strong statements against the unrest in Myanmar.
ASEAN has to take a clear stand on Myanmar because what happens there affects the group's reputation, said PM Lee.
What ASEAN wishes to see is developments that will lead progressively to a Myanmar government that has more legitimacy at home and greater acceptance internationally, added Mr Lee.
But ASEAN, he stressed, does not have the leverage to solve the problems in Myanmar.
Mr Lee also explained why economic sanctions against the military-ruled country may not be productive.
He said: "First of all, this is a country which wants to isolate itself from the world, so they are not afraid of you cutting them off.
"Secondly, if you want to have sanctions, it cannot just be Singapore or even ASEAN, but all of the countries in the world have to do that, and that includes the Western countries, investors in Myanmar and its neighbours like China with big stake in Myanmar.
"And thirdly, if you do have sanction and it worked, I think the people who will be hurt by the sanctions will not be the regime or the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council), the government, but the people of Myanmar, so it will be counter productive."
Mr Lee added that the United Nations will play an important role, and the recent visit to Myanmar by UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari is the first step to improving the situation there.

Mr Lee also responded to a question on whether Singapore should prevent members of the Myanmar government from coming to Singapore for medical treatment.
He said: "I think we have to decide whether we're trying to influence the policy of a government or whether you want to do petty indignities to individuals, which is really against human nature.
"Somebody who is sick, he wants to come to Singapore, he needs treatment and you're telling me that I shouldn't treat him because he is not a good man? It goes against the Hippocratic oath of doctors."
Separately, Mr Lee spoke on the phone with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.
The UN chief invited Singapore, in its capacity as the current ASEAN chair, to make a statement at a UN Security Council meeting on developments in Myanmar.
PM Lee told Mr Ban that he has written to China, India and Japan to work together with ASEAN and the UN to help the parties in Myanmar find a way towards national reconciliation. - CNA/ir

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/304073/1/.html

[http://disgruntledsporean.blogspot.com/2007/10/not-treating-burmese-murderous-junta-is.html#comments : another view pt.]

PM Lee says countries worldwide respect and admire Singapore's proven system

2007-10-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

LHL: It's OK to buy votes...

"Right now we have Low Thia Khiang, Chiam See Tong, Steve Chia. We can deal with them. Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. ... ...I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?"

PM Lee says countries worldwide respect and admire Singapore's proven system
By Sharon Tong/S. Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 03 May 2006 1839 hrs
SINGAPORE : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore is at the top of its game because of a strong political system and quality leadership.
Speaking at the first lunchtime election rally in Singapore in nine years, Mr Lee says the PAP has a proven system that works.
He says countries the world over respect and admire Singapore's system.
Mr Lee says what the PAP wants for Singapore is something special and precious that's worth fighting for.
So Singaporeans must put their hearts and souls into working together as a team to realise and create this special Singapore.
Raffles Place - in the heart of Singapore's financial district - was the venue of the election's first lunchtime rally.
Lunchtime rallies, which were absent in the last General Election, have made a comeback this year.
The target is to reach out to the professionals, managers, executives and businessmen.
Nine PAP candidates took to the stage to explain the importance of maintaining good policies and programmes for Singapore, and why the PAP is the right party to deliver the right essentials.
Mr Lee says: "Deep capabilities in our population, in our government, in our leadership and deep values in our people to understand, to support, to work together, to make it work. Our system is different, it's good, it's good for Singapore and it works."
He says some Singaporeans want a more open, multi-party system.
Mr Lee says the opposition parties are capitalising on this by asking for their votes, not because of their abilities or policies, but because then, the opposition would exist.
But he questioned if this would make things better for Singapore.
Mr Lee says: "What is the opposition's job? It's not to help the PAP do a better job ... because if they help the PAP do a better job, you're going to vote for me again and they're going to be out of a job for a long time. So their job is to make life miserable for me.
"Right now we have Low Thia Khiang, Chiam See Tong, Steve Chia. We can deal with them. Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?"
Mr Lee says while any Singaporean can enter politics, the quality needed to get elected must be very high.
He says this is why the PAP has assembled a strong, national team with a long term view - one that would work together and fight to realise its vision for Singapore.
At the rally, Mr Lee also named four potential office bearers, whom he will appoint after the elections.
They are Grace Fu, Lee Yi Shyan, Masagos Zulkifli and Lui Tuck Yew.
Mr Lee says if they are elected, they will be appointed parliamentary secretaries and ministers of state, adding that some of them have potential to go higher.
He described them as "big people with broad shoulders" who could deal with big issues and would serve the people well.
As to whether there would be more office-holders, Mr Lee says only time will tell as he learns more about the new candidates and their abilities.
Earlier, Mr Lee says he is especially proud of the bicultural candidates - those who are equally comfortable speaking Chinese and English, like former IE Singapore CEO Lee Yi Shyan. - CNA/de
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/206313/1/.html

Compulsory annuity scheme unfair to the poor, sick and those without longevity genes

2007-10-21T03:42:00.000-07:00

"a compulsory annuity scheme, which pays out only to those after the age of 85, would be depending on the poor, the sick and those without longevity genes to support the healthier and better off"

Path of convenience, a future of despair...
Rich enjoy free hold properties [link], old have magical calculation to afford food forever...
Ministers enjoy high salary, all fine and dandy...

Sounds like the weak subsidising the strong to me, no morals, just law of the (concrete) jungle...
Singapore is afterall, just another cowboy country; we have no dignity.

Sep 29, 2007
Compulsory annuity scheme unfair to the poor, sick and those without longevity genes
AS SINGAPOREANS begin to live longer and as our society begins to age, there is this fear that this would put a great strain on the taxpayers and other resources.
To alleviate this problem, the conventional thinking is that the aged should have enough money to take care of themselves. Hence, the idea of a compulsory annuity scheme has been mooted where a pooled contribution would allow any survivor beyond 85 years of age to draw out a monthly sum of income.

Though the Government does not believe in giving out handouts because this would mean having to tax the people more, a compulsory annuity or compulsory longevity insurance would actually be doing just that. Once we strip off the veneer of fanciful names, we will see that as long as it is compulsory and non-refundable, such a scheme would, in fact, be a kind of taxation to finance a handout that will be given to those who have managed to live beyond 85 years old.

A scheme like this would have been laudable if it is not so inequitable. Statistics have shown that the poor, the people with chronic illnesses and those in the lower social class and without a family tend to die earlier than those in the higher social class.

This means that such a compulsory annuity scheme, which pays out only to those after the age of 85, would be depending on the poor, the sick and those without longevity genes to support the healthier and better off.

Furthermore, many of those who live beyond 85 are likely to be those who really do not need the 'handouts'.

The problem of a bulging population of dependents is not something new. After World War II, a baby boom did give governments such a headache. The pressure on governments then was even greater, given the depleted resources of a post-war economy. There were no reserves to fall back on.

In Singapore then, the rate of unemployment was high. Half the population was illiterate and there were not enough schools for the young. Living conditions were appalling. In other words, the majority of the population lived in poverty and filth and always under threat of disease and crime.

The government then had to build standpipes for people to have free water to bathe, wash their clothes and cook their food. It had to provide free health care, free mass vaccinations, free mobile X-rays and free hospitalisation for the poor. Money was not only spent on building schools, it was also spent on free milk to nourish the children who were suffering from poor nutrition and free textbooks for those who could not afford them. Cheap housing had to be built to provide decent living quarters for a growing population and recreation facilities for youths to keep them off the streets.

The problem then, if not more, was no less severe than what we will be facing in future. Statistics projected to 2030 showing only four people who are able to support one aged person are often quoted to show the gravity of the future problem. Is this figure any worse than the number of dependents that had to be supported by one provider in the period after the war?

These same baby boomers who had given governments problems when they were growing up are now part of the elderly boomers who are growing old.

What are the issues facing the governments then and now? Is the problem going to be greater in future than then?

In the past, the need for employment, housing, education, health care, utilities, transport and social facilities was urgent. They were all major items. Now the only big-ticket item is health care. There is no reason why with sensible health-care policies, the high cost of health care could not be overcome. In the past, the Maternal and Child Health Clinics and the School Health Clinics provided very good health care to both the growing baby boomers and their mothers. There is no reason why a similar basic health-care system could not be developed to care for the elderly. Good health care does not necessarily mean executive-class health care.

One of the reasons why many elderly boomers do not have enough money for their retirement is that a lot of their savings was eaten away by expensive health care, some of which may merely be adding a bit of quantity to life without giving it any quality.

Thus, the approach that was used to tackle the problems of the baby boomers should be transposed to tackle the problems of the elderly boomers. We cannot expect a paltry monthly annuity payout to do this. There is no way to avoid government interventions, the involvement of the state agencies and society to deal with the problem.

We need to rationalise health care, especially for chronic diseases and end-of-life care, so as not to make health care a burden to the patient, the family or the state. We have to develop greater social support for the elderly. As with child care, we now need government-subsidised day-care centres, nursing homes and community hospitals. We need to introduce parent-care leave and no-pay leave for people who want to take time off to look after an ailing parent. Instead of the Baby Bonus scheme, we can have elderly-parent bonus scheme and exemption of maid levy for the totally-dependent elderly. A similar scheme like health education and home visits that nurses used to do for rural Singapore could be used for home-bound elderly.

A compulsory annuity scheme that is non-refundable is not only inequitable. By implicitly telling the very old that they have to take care of themselves, we are giving out the signal that the old aged no longer need the family and the society to take care of them. What kind of society would we be if families and society try to wash their hands off the old elderly?

There is no reason why we cannot overcome that problem of the elderly boomers if families, society and the Government put their shoulders together against the wheel. Even if some money is spent, it is worth every cent if what we get in the end is a more compassionate and enlightened society.

After all, with all the prosperity generated by the elderly boomers during their prime, whatever programme would merely be a gesture of gratitude from a country to the people who have served it well.

Dr Wong Wee Nam

Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_162177.html

What makes these two tick?

2007-10-21T03:12:00.001-07:00

KBW stressed, looses his Karma powers... His wavering in the means testing issue is showing... Will he resign soon?

But who wouldn't with an unsolved $2.03B p.a. 'economic albatross' around the govt's neck; LHL's parliament's moral weaknesses, Ng EH's policy of weak subsidising the strong, the continually increasing rich poor divide, the pressure of such prejudices will surely make any dignified Health Minister jump to his grave!

May his Karma be strong.

"In Mr Khaw's case, his spirituality is often cited as a key to his success."
"last November, Mr Khaw dropped hints of retiring as he recalled how entering politics was never his wish. He had said this might be his last term in the Health Ministry, a "very meaningful portfolio" from which he would like to retire from politics. ..."

What makes these two tick?
Weekend • October 20, 2007
Christie Lohchristie@mediacorp.com.sg
EVEN in a centralised, collegiate and behind-the-scenes style of leadership like Singapore's, a few individuals do stand out.
They may not be seen as possessing the giant stature of past ministers such as Dr Goh Keng Swee and Mr S Rajaratnam — yet. But the qualities of an agent of change, helping to shape a nation's future, are already surfacing in a couple of today's ministers.
One does it with his Zen-like nature; the other, with his business-like mien.
Beyond these qualities, what is it that makes ministers Khaw Boon Wan and Tharman Shanmugaratnam tick?
The two career civil servants were among the so-called "Super Seven" to have risen rapidly within the ranks — joining the Cabinet in August 2003, just two years after making their political debut in the 2001 general elections.
Since then, the two names have become synonymous with the national agendas for health and education.
Mr Khaw, 54, is a man fighting to keep medical costs low. Hence the online posting of charges by private and public hospitals to make it easier for patients to compare prices and choose the kind of treatment that best suits their pockets.
Then, there's the ongoing reform of the 3Ms (Medisave, MediShield, Medifund) — aimed at ensuring that Singaporeans will have sufficient enforced savings for medical contingencies — an issue which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong once said Mr Khaw "lives and sleeps with every day".
In education, Mr Shanmugaratnam, 49, has tackled areas that have long troubled parents and their children. Among the lauded efforts to make education less rote and less based on academic results are the scrapping of the 29-year-old system of primary school streaming and the introduction of more fun ways to learn the Chinese language.
In short, what the two men set in motion concerns everyone from the cradle to the grave.
"It is the importance of the ministry that defines the importance of the man," said political scientist Ho Khai Leong from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
While health and education are big issues in any country, they have become major preoccupations in Singapore, where concerns over affordable health care for the elderly have grown in tandem with the ever-growing number of senior citizens; and where education is seen as the key to keeping Singapore a step ahead of competitors who are catching up faster than ever.
But while the portfolios in themselves are high profile, the leaders put in charge have also certainly excelled in their jobs, observers said.
"They answered the call," Assoc Prof Ho said of Mr Khaw and Mr Shanmugaratnam, who became Senior Ministers of State immediately after the 2001 elections. "They are meticulous, knowing the details of the issues."
Such understanding is seen as closely linked to two things: The individual's mental agility and his pre-politics experience in policy-making.
During Mr Khaw's 23 years as a civil servant, he spent 14 years in the Ministry of Health (MOH). There, he had conceived the idea of Medisave in 1983 when he was an administrative service officer working for then-Health Minister Goh Chok Tong, said a former colleague.
After that, the high-flier went on from 1985 to 1992 to head three hospitals: National University Hospital, Kandang Kerbau Hospital (now known as KK Women's and Children's Hospital) and Singapore General Hospital.
While the engineer-trained Colombo Plan scholar had never expected such a healthcare-centred career, the experience has certainly revealed his flexibility and given him the "intimate knowledge" necessary for him to "make things happen" as Health Minister, said an industry insider.
The experience probably also played a big part in imparting the necessary confidence to act firmly as minister.
Looking at his track record in MOH, it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that Mr Khaw had impressed Mr Goh enough to be invited to join the 2001 campaigning team of Singapore's second Prime Minister.
For Mr Shanmugaratnam, his career at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) provided him with a similar opportunity to prove his mettle to another future Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong.
The MAS was where Mr Shanmugaratnam, a London School of Economics graduate, spent nearly his entire professional life, working as an economist. It was only from 1995 to 1997 that he hopped over to the Education Ministry as its Deputy Secretary (Policy).
So, although he had not spent much time in education circles, Mr Shanmugaratnam was, like Mr Khaw, an old hand at crafting big plans for the nation.
The chance to shine before one of the country's top men came in 1997 when Mr Shanmugaratnam returned to MAS at a higher position than before: Deputy managing director. It was from then that he had ample opportunities to work with and impress Mr Lee, who was Deputy Prime Minister at the time and concurrently appointed head of MAS in 1998.
Mr Shanmugaratnam was later promoted to managing director and then invited to join the People's Action Party.
Prof Ho believes Mr Shanmugaratnam's "professorial" quality is one reason why he has been an effective Education Minister — he is able to break down complex issues and policies such that the public understands him. It is a trait that Mr Khaw shares, Prof Ho said.
Another of Mr Shanmugaratnam's strong points is the "ability to empathise with the anxieties, concerns and aspirations of the people", noted Mr Viswa Sadasivan, chief executive of public relations firm Strategic Moves.
Such empathy may have something to do with the fact that this is one minister who knows what it is like to be on the wrong side of the law.
In 1992, Mr Shanmugaratnam, an MAS economist at the time, came under intense public scrutiny when he was charged for breaching the Official Secrets Act. Because he had brought a confidential report — containing an advance estimate of Singapore's quarterly economic growth — into a meeting with journalists who went on to publish the figure ahead of its official release, the courts fined him $1,500 in 1994.
"All these experiences have made him a well-rounded person," said Mr Viswa.
In Mr Khaw's case, his spirituality is often cited as a key to his success.
Several commentators have said before that the Buddhist never appears ruffled. He is always calm and, like Senior Minister Goh, is able to connect with people on a grassroots level.
Mr Viswa puts it down to the Zen belief that people on the ground should be treated with fairness and dignity, thus lending Mr Khaw a certain "moral courage" to act.
Perhaps, Mr Khaw's readiness to act — in terms of pushing for far-reaching changes in Singapore's health landscape — may also be related to his desire to retire from politics sooner, rather than later.
In a Today interview last November, Mr Khaw dropped hints of retiring as he recalled how entering politics was never his wish.
He had said this might be his last term in the Health Ministry, a "very meaningful portfolio" from which he would like to retire from politics.
And for a minister, what can be more meaningful than to put in place reforms that would benefit the whole nation long after he is gone?
No matter when he makes his exit, there is little doubt that Mr Khaw has left his mark in the ministry. Ditto for Mr Shanmugaratnam.
But for all their outstanding performances, one thing should not be forgotten: That no minister, or his ministry, is an island.
As Prime Minister Lee once said, his Cabinet is "a collegiate team", where ministers jointly work on issues, such as dengue or labour, which touch their portfolios.
At the same time, those who oversee ministries that deal with more sensitive information, such as Home Affairs and Defence, may be less in the public eye, but they too are making big contributions behind the scenes, said political commentator Zulkifli Baharudin.
The businessman and former Nominated Member of Parliament added : "The Singapore system emphasises less on personality."
Except that of the Prime Minister.
Said Assoc Prof Ho: "PM is the first among equals. He's the one making policy and the rest are overshadowed by his presence." Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved http://www.todayonline.com/articles/217671.asp

SG govt expenditure2006

2007-10-21T02:38:00.000-07:00

Fr 'SG in fig 07': http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/reference/sif2007.pdf
In short:2006:
Tot Opr expenditure: $23,463M
Edu spend: $5,684M
Health: $1,764M
Defence: $11,973M

$5,600 psf for penthouse new high in property price here

2007-10-21T02:26:00.000-07:00

$297,000p.a. for the next 99yrs (every-yr),

Dear 'foreigner', (if your $$ is legitimate): thank you for your faith in Singapore's ability to contribute to your future.

I think:
1) You are a responsible person, understanding that SG's defence costs $11B p.a. and are willing to play your part through investing in a leasehold property that depreciates @ $297K p.a. In return for your interest in Singapore, I'm sure our citizens (trough various NS liabilities) will safeguard your property like their own- with their lives.

2) I salute your vision and integrity.
- -

Rich Singaporeans should realize that they are 'Defrauding' the govt of $2.03B p.a. through their support for freehold property laws in a land scarce developed country.
ERP, COE, water conservation taxes, GST, medisave etc are all well established pay per use systems.
SLA has already legislated that new 99yr-leasehold land shall be valued at 96% its freehold worth.
Can SG afford $2.03B p.a. annual subsidy to the rich?

Why hurry to implement means testing, annuity schemes?
$2.03B donation to the rich?
***FREEHOLD HAS NO PLACE IN A LAND SCARCE DEVELOPED CITY***

& MBT must stop copying the British crappy property laws...

Anyhow, thank you foreigner, given your contribution, I hope the next GST increase can be delayed by a short while...

($297k pa= $280k +4%prop tax, 1% bc 99yr, 1% maintenance fee )

------
$5,600 psf for penthouse new high in property price here
BT 12.10.2007
53rd-storey Orchard Residences unit fetches over $28m

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

A NEW record property price for Singapore has been set, even though fewer sales are being made in high-end residential projects since the time of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai Properties are said to have sold earlier this week a penthouse on the 53rd storey of The Orchard Residences for about $5,600 per square foot (psf), or over $28 million. This surpasses the previous benchmark of $5,500 psf set in August when a 54th storey penthouse fetched about $27.8 million.

This means that all four penthouses in the 99-year leasehold development are now sold.

The developers are said to have sold about 73 per cent of the total 175 units in the condo. The buyer of the final penthouse sold this week is believed to be a foreigner. The 5,048 sq ft unit has five bedrooms, a study and a family room.

A stone's throw away, Wheelock Properties (Singapore) is said to have sold more than 30 apartments at its freehold Scotts Square since the official launch of the project on Sept 28.

The developer is said to have largely maintained its average price at around the $4,000 psf mark from its preview in July, when it sold about half of the project's 338 apartments.

Over in Sentosa Cove, Ho Bee has sold 38 of the 50 units it has released so far in its 91-unit condo, Turquoise, since late September. The units have been sold at prices ranging from nearly $2,500 psf to $2,770 psf.

The average price is about $2,600 psf, Ho Bee Investment executive director Ong Chong Hua said when contacted by BT yesterday. Buyers of the 38 units - which include four penthouses - were an equal mix of foreigners and Singaporeans, he said.

Apartments at the 99-year leasehold Turquoise typically cost around $5.3 million for a three-bedroom unit, $6.4 million for a four-bedder and around $9.3 million for a penthouse.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director (residential) Margaret Thean acknowledges that buyers, both local and foreign, have been more cautious after the stock market setback at the time of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

'But we still see activity going on. For the high-end projects, we've not noticed any withdrawal of liquidity. The only difference is that prospective buyers are more cautious, doing more calculations and being more selective in their choice of investment before making a commitment,' she said.

Market watchers also say that the recovery in the stock market in recent weeks has led to a return of confidence in the property market, as seen in a pick-up in subsales activity lately.

Over in the Seletar Hills area, Tong Eng Brothers unit Fairview Developments is launching two landed developments. One is the freehold 8 @ Stratton, comprising eight cluster semi-detached houses priced at $1.98 million to $2.2 million.

The houses have built-up areas ranging from 3,595 sq ft to 3,649 sq ft and strata areas of 4,930 sq ft to 5,145 sq ft. The second project is Nim Green, a collection of just three terrace houses - a corner unit with an asking price of $2.5 million and two intermediate units with a price tag of about $2 million.

Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://forums.condosingapore.com/showthread.php?t=2758

No need to raise GST if land sales seen as revenue

2007-10-21T02:17:00.000-07:00

STI Home > ST Forum > Story > Print
Feb 3, 2007
No need to raise GST if land sales seen as revenue
THERE has been much debate in the media about the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike.
The crux of the official argument is that the hike is needed to fund Workfare, and a cut in corporate-tax rates for Singapore to remain attractive to investors.
I am all in favour of a balanced Budget but we have unfortunately adopted a super- conservative approach in budgeting that fails to present a fair view of the true economics of the numbers. Government land 'sales', which contribute a huge chunk of revenue, have been ignored.
I am convinced that the Budget can be balanced without a GST hike if land 'sales', which are a true cash inflow, are included in Budget calculations.
The Government does not actually sell land; it sells leases, most of which are 99 years or less. In due course, the land reverts to the state or the leases are topped up, for example, the Marina Bay integrated resort has delivered $1 billion to the Treasury on a 30-year lease.
Hence, the cash inflow is similar to rental income and thus recurring in nature. Indeed, not including government land sales in Budget calculations as part of operating revenue is an economic distortion.
The impending two-point hike in GST will raise an additional $1.5 billion in revenue but data from the Ministry of Finance website shows that proceeds from land sales are in excess of this amount. At $4 billion per annum, revenue from land sales is about 2 per cent of GDP or about 14 per cent of government expenditure.
Ignoring the value of land sales is like a household with an income of $100,000 per annum refusing to bank $14,000 cheques.
The GST hike is also expected to further stunt the domestic economy which, despite its small size relative to GDP, employs the majority of the workforce. We need a vibrant domestic economy for local entrepreneurship to flourish. Also, virtually all the MNCs that we court today and local big boys were once small companies selling to the domestic community.
Joseph Chong Thiam Fook

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Rise in land development charge will allow fair sharing of property gains

2007-10-21T02:13:00.001-07:00

MBT "Rise in land development charge will allow fair sharing of property gains "

22 July 2007 2106 hrs
SINGAPORE : The primary intention of the land development charge increase is not to slow down the frenzied property market.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan says the aim is to facilitate a fair sharing of the enhancement in the value of the land.
Last Wednesday, the government announced an increase in the land development charge from 50 to 70 per cent.
Experts were split, with some saying it would slow down the en bloc sales frenzy as developers would have to fork out more for land.
This would in turn stem rising rental costs as fewer redevelopments mean fewer apartments torn down.
But others said the bullish market sentiments would override that.
Weighing in, the National Development Minister says the impact on en bloc sales will be minimal and underlines the rationale behind the charge.
He says: "The development charge is to take some of that increase in value to go and improve the infrastructure. Roads, rail, power, whatever. Because you know when you increase the plot ratio - build more flats, build to a higher level - you need to provide the infrastructure. So that's what the development charge is. You could say it's a tax on the increase in the value as a result of government action."
So depending on the stipulated land use, some projects may not be affected.
Mr Mah says: "When you look at the different en bloc sales you'll realise that some en bloc sales actually do not incur development charge at all, partly because they are actually able already to develop up to a higher intensity. So, the government doesn't have to go in and change the planning parameters."
He notes that a recession in 1985 led to the downward revision of the land development charge.
But now that the property market has more than recovered, it is time to reinstate things.
Mr Mah says: "It's what we feel to be a fair share of the enhancement of the value of the land. So that's why during this time, the market is healthy, we decided it's timely for us to go back to the original."
He says the current squeeze will only last a short while as he expects ample supply to come in over the next 2 or 3 years in various categories.
And to further ensure smooth functioning of the market, there should be comprehensive information sharing by analysts and developers.
He says: "This is not just government coming out with such information. I think developers and analysts should also make it a point when they put out information that they should put it out based on facts, not based on speculation. And if they do publish information based on their own analysis of the situation, I think it's important for them to upfront say so, so that people know."
"It's not just the government agencies putting out information. It's very important to make sure that you keep publishing out this information so everybody knows, so they don't get spooked, panicked by one particular headline, one report in the papers about record prices here or record rentals there."
In all, Mr Mah says the property market will continue to be monitored with sustainable growth in mind, and more land will be released through the government land sales programme if necessary
http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showpost.php?p=24747096&postcount=65

Singapore's Rich-Poor Divide

2007-10-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

HOW COME THE RICH-POOR DIVIDE DOES NOT CLOSE DESPITE BEING THERE BEFORE AND CORRECTING THE PROBLEM? WHAT ARE WE MISSING?
Singapore Swing
The island's economy is booming. So why are so many citizens worse off than they were 10 years ago?
- Singapore's Rich-Poor Divide
By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop (Newsweek International)
Jan. 29, 2007 issue - Tiny Singapore, with its population of 4.3 million, is often lauded for the way it has embraced globalization to maximum advantage. In the last decade, the city-state has opened its doors wide to foreign investment and talent, slashed corporate taxes, offered incentives to nurture strategic industries (such as biotech, pharmaceuticals and financial services) and cut free-trade deals with a host of other countries. The payoff has seemed clear: over the past three years, Singapore's economy has averaged 7.6 percent growth—a staggering pace for an industrialized state—and created new jobs at a rate any European government would envy.
There's only one problem: average citizens have yet to reap the benefits. New statistics reveal that middle-class households have tasted none of Singapore's spectacular growth, and that the island's poorest 30 percent are worse off than they were five years ago. "Although we have seen very strong growth, we're experiencing this new phenomenon of median real-wage stagnation and low-income decline," says Yeoh Lam Keong, vice president of the Economic Society of Singapore. This predicament is hardly unique. Wages and salaries are stagnating across the industrial world. What's surprising is that even a country famous for its smart and transparent leadership has been unable to prevent the gains of globalization from flowing mostly to rich individuals and multinational corporations. In its bid to adapt Singapore's economy to international competition, the government has tried hard to reduce business costs. This has meant slashing labor prices, which has helped push wages down. According to official figures, over the past five years Singapore's wealthiest 10 percent have seen their income rise by 2.3 percent annually (and that doesn't include nonwage earnings such as capital gains or dividends). At the same time, the poorest 10 percent have suffered a staggering 4.3 percent drop in their salaries each year. The government has also allowed employers to cut their contributions to Singapore's Central Provident Fund, which pays for pensions, public housing, medical expenses and educatn on.
Together, these factors have led to lower-than-expected private consumption, which has risen by just 3 percent in the past two years. "Private consumer spending has been the weak link in this current expansion," says Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Citigroup Global Markets in Singapore. This has, in turn, stung Singapore's large retail sector. "It is evident that [they] are not the big winners from high growth," says Manu Bhaskaran, a director of the U.S.-based Centennial Group.
Foreign competition is also hurting. Contractor Tan Boon Soo is one of many Singaporeans feeling the pinch. He installs windows for a living but laments "cutthroat competition" from contract laborers, who have flooded the island from places such as Indonesia and Bangladesh. Unskilled workers like street sweepers and security guards are also finding themselves undercut by immigrants willing to work for less. This is forcing native Singaporeans to change occupations or work harder for less money. "They talk about growth, but I don't see it," says Tan. "Maybe the bankers are doing well, but construction has not been. I'm worse off now than I was in 1997."
All this could spell big trouble. "If these trends continue unchecked," warns Yeoh, "we could begin to get the formation of an underclass [and] the makings of social instability." Such an underclass was never part of Singapore's grand plan. Now its leaders must figure out how to prevent one from emerging without relying on the kind of welfare programs they often deride. Last year the government launched an experimental workfare program that gave low-wage earners bonus pay of up to $780. Now Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's government is con- sidering making the program permanent in an effort to thin the ranks of the working poor.
"We will try out different forms, but the principle will be the same—help yourself [and] we will help you," the prime minister told lawmakers last November. "It's essential for us to tilt the balance in favor of lower-income Singaporeans because globalization is going to strain our social compact."
Lee has already announced that he'll make Singapore's rich-poor divide a major focus of his annual budget speech next month.
If knowing is half the battle, it could be an important first step.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
http://www.lopn.net/ST_Casestudy22_Richpoor.html

Overcharged by cabbies twice in a week

2007-10-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Oct 18, 2007
Overcharged by cabbies twice in a week
ON OCT 6, I took a Comfort taxi from Marina Bay outside Superbowl Country Club to Tagore Avenue.
The driver told me that he would use the PIE and pass by Yio Chu Kang. The fare was $24.60, including peak hour surcharge.
But just last week, around the same time and at the same location, the journey in a Transcab taxi cost me less than $15, including peak hour surcharge.
I called Comfort to lodge a complaint. The following week, somebody called me to say that the driver had been given a warning. I was slightly appeased.
But to my dismay, on Oct 16 at 6.19pm, I boarded a Comfort cab - this time, I was going from Tagore Ave to Compassvale Crescent Block 295A.
The driver used a route unfamiliar to me, so I asked him whether he knew the way. He assured me that he knew the place and told me it was a short cut.
Upon reaching somewhere near the Layar LRT station, he asked me if I knew the way. How could he claim earlier that he knew where he was going? Eventually, after circling around the area for a while, he reached the destination.
The total fare was $10.80, including peak-hour surcharge. The same journey previously cost me only $8.
Yes, two cabs can get to the same place in the end but what consumers are looking for is a cheaper and faster journey to our destination.
Warning the drivers is one thing, but we have already been overcharged.
Chen Zhenzuan (Miss)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_167944.html

Court orders a stay on Phoenix Court en bloc sale

2007-10-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

It's a real mess: Judge
Court orders a stay on Phoenix Court en bloc sale
Weekend • September 8, 2007

Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg
IT HAD seemed like a walk in the park for Phoenix Court residents en route to a windfall, when the owners of all but one of the units agreed to sell off their apartments collectively for $88.1 million.
But just 11 days to go before the owners were due to pocket $1.8 million each, the sale has been stalled indefinitely — in a complicated legal saga that demonstrates why impending sweeping changes to the en bloc legislation, unveiled just two weeks ago in Parliament, are desperately needed.
On Friday, High Court Judge Andrew Ang, after hearing an appeal by the dissenting co-owners ordered that the sale be put on hold as he reserved judgement.
The tussle began in April last year when owners of freehold Phoenix Court (picture), a 13-storey apartment block in River Valley, inked the Collective Sale Agreement (CSA). Out of the 47 units, the only dissenting co-owners were an elderly couple, Mr Yip Hoi Thong and Madam Ng Swee Lang.
Six months later, a deal was sealed with Bukit Panjang Plaza for $88.1 million. The sale committee went on to apply for a Strata Titles Board (STB) order to proceed with the sale in January. After the Board dismissed the couple's objection, they took the matter to the High Court, demanding that the sale be annulled due to "defective" procedures.
Their lawyer, Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, argued that two of the three majority owners who had applied to the STB for the sale order, were not authorised to do so.
He also took issue with the fact that the valuation report by Savills was done six weeks after the CSA was signed — which while in line with current legislation, would flout new laws which are expected to kick in next month.
Furthermore, the method of distribution of the sale proceeds was also omitted from the sale and purchase (S&P) agreement.
Lawyer Christopher Yong, who was acting for the sale committee, pointed out that it was common industry practice to set out the method in the CSA only, adding that it was "at worst a technical error" that should not jeopardise the whole sale.
But Mr Hwang argued that the S&P agreement must define the contractual obligations between a buyer and the individual owners — since members of sale committee "lose interest very quickly, especially if they have gotten their money".
The prevalent practice of treating the owners as one collective entity has resulted in many problems arising from "post-completion issues", including the deadline for each owner to vacate.
Mr Yong maintained that what mattered was for the STB to be satisfied that the deal was done in "good faith" . He said the statutory requirements "are not absolute" and a deal must be allowed to go through as long as the procedural lapses are immaterial.
But Mr Hwang disagreed: "This is in effect a compulsory acquisition. The onus is on those who acquire my clients' properties to adhere strictly to the requirements set out by the law."
With the sale due to go through on Sept 18 and with many owners already committed to their new properties, Justice Ang did not hide his unease at ordering a stay on the deal — a move that could potentially result in further lawsuits by the buyers.
"Aptly summed up, it's a real mess," the judge said as he shook his head.
This is not the only "mess" for Phoenix Court residents. In a separate development, a group of 13 majority owners — who had turned their backs on the sale — have filed an appeal after their case was dismissed by the High Court. The group argued that the extension to the CSA — which had already expired — was not valid.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/210030.asp

Put specialists and GPs under one roof

2007-10-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

HEALTH-CARE COSTS
Put specialists and GPs under one roof
By SALMA KHALIK, Health Correspondent
ST Oct 19, 2007
Today, the provision of chronic care is divided between specialists in their specialist clinics and general practitioners in their private clinics or polyclinics.
The best way to treat the growing group of patients with chronic ailments is a holistic approach specialist care when needed, GP or polyclinic care at other times, and even care by nurse practitioners in between for patients whose conditions are stable.
Such "right-siting" of care has been the buzzword in health-care circles here for some years. Giving the Proper level of care and no more than that is the best way to keep health-care costs down.
In theory, everyone agrees with this. In practice, it is more difficult to implement.
Part of the problem is that patients do not want to move down the expertise ladder once they are being treated by a specialist.
This is partly due to the belief that specialists give better care. But specialists are the first to admit that not: all patients need the level of care they give.
Many sick people whose conditions are not severe, or are stable, can be treated by their family or poly-clinic doctor. But public-sector specialists complain that they have a hard time discharging patients who refuse to leave their care especially subsidised patients, who fear that once they are discharged from the Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC), they might have difficulty getting back in as subsidised patients should their condition deteriorate.
Add to that the very modest consultation fee of $20-$25 for subsidised patients seeing a specialist. This is close to what a private GP would charge. While polyclinics cost less, at $8 per visit, and half that for the elderly, the difference may not be too significant today.
Furthermore, patients, especially elderly ones who are more prone to chronic illnesses, are creatures of habit. Those who have been going to an SOC will want to keep doing so.
The solution appears obvious. Instead of moving patients from polyclinics to SOCs and back to polyclinic why not have both specialists and family doctors operating from the same place?
Instead of keeping SOCs hospital based, where the cost of space is high, why not move them out?
Similarly, polyclinics originally meant to treat the poorest 20 per cent of the population for acute illness are seeing increasing numbers of chronic acute patients.
Chronic-care centers housing both specialists and polyclinic doctors would solve several problems at the same time.
It would leave the polyclinics free to deal with acute illness and thus get rid of the long queues seen today.
Subsidised patients no longer need to decide whether to stick to a specialist or return to the polyclinic.
They go to this centre, get a quick check from the triage nurse who then gives them an appointment with either a general doctor or a specialist, according to the patient's need at the time of visit.
This way, fewer specialists will be needed to care for a larger pool of patients.
Even better yet, train more nurse practitioners who can see patients on alternate visits. Some polyclinics are already doing this. This practice should be extended to bring specialists into the loop as well.

Moving SOCs out of hospitals will have another benefit. It frees up expensive hospital space for inpatient care. Instead of expanding existing hospitals, build these chronic-care centres in large housing estates.
Specialists who have inpatients could spend half a day at the hospital and the other half at the chronic-care centre. Should the patient need to be hospitalised, he would be treated by the same specialist.
For patients, having a chronic-care centre that treats various ailments such as diabetes, hypertension and heart problems means going to just one place for all their needs.
The patient's files would be shared by all the doctors he sees at the centre, so they would know what other medicines he is taking.
This way, a patient who needs specialist care for a short period need not have to get a referral from a polyclinic doctor then make an extra trip to a hospital to see the specialists. It can all be done during that one visit. The pharmacy would also be able to double check to ensure that he is not given any medicine that would react adversely with something else he is taking.
Peripheral health-care services, such as podiatric care for diabetics, rehabilitation centres for recovering stroke patients or a gym for heart patients to get back into shape, could: all be housed in the same place.
As the population ages, number of people with chronic ailments will go up. If Singapore continues with its current pigeon-hole system, health care will remain fragmented.
Bringing the various services under one roof will give patients holistic care and free specialists to look after those who really need their level of expertise. It should also he keep a cap on rising health-care costs.
salma@sph.com.sg

http://www.straitstimes.com/Review/Others/STIStory_168324.html

MOH deserves a hand for the 'reality' check

2007-10-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ok... some good feedback for MOH.... (I'm impartial)

MOH deserves a hand for the 'reality' check
Friday • September 21, 2007
Letter from Jeffrey Yeo
I REFER to the letter, "Give more thought to new ideas" (Sept 18). The issue of long waiting times at polyclinics has been around for some time. But due compliments have to be given to all healthcare workers and the Ministry of Health (MOH) in coming up with initiatives and ideas to arrest the pain of these agonising long waits.
The polyclinic is an important institution to many heartlanders like myself, as they offer affordable and quality medical services. While there is currently no perfect solution, it is comforting to know that agencies have taken the first step in bringing "reality" to members of the public.
The webcam system allowing members of the public to know the length of the queue will improve with time, as I believe MOH and the two healthcare groups will come up with a better framework.
Members of the public could and should play an active role in suggesting innovative and constructive ideas to help improve the process. Good healthcare involves both you and I. We, too, can help bring it to the next higher level.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/212482.asp

Why pharmacists resign ...

2007-10-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Now we know why...

Why pharmacists resign ...
Better work conditions, pay may help stem high turnover rate of these professionals
Friday • September 21, 2007
Letter from Darren Chong
I refer to the report, "MOH to recruit more pharmacists from overseas" (Sept 17). It was reported that of the 1,482 pharmacists on the register here, less than half are involved in direct patient care, such as practising in hospitals, polyclinics and retail pharmacies.
This is a worrying figure. While I applaud the ministry's efforts to recruit more pharmacists from overseas, it should also delve further into why pharmacists are not practising and find ways to stem the drain.
I know a pharmacist who has worked in a retail pharmacy and in one of the restructured hospitals. During her stint with the retail pharmacy, she worked from 10am to 10pm, with only half an hour's break for lunch and dinner. This included Saturdays and Sundays, when business is most brisk. Most times, she was the only pharmacist during that 12-hour stretch.
When she was working at a hospital, it was common to see her and her colleagues having lunch at 3pm, after they attended to the last patient from the morning crowd.
At times, she was called back to the hospital even though she was on leave. She worked till 3pm on Saturdays, even though the official knock-off time was 12.30pm. Sundays could become working days when duty called — working one Sunday per month is common.
Such is the life of a pharmacist, be it in hospitals, retail pharmacies or polyclinics.
Increasing demands on pharmacists without adequate compensation leads to many leaving the profession.
Perhaps it is time to review pharmacists' salaries. They are, after all, highly-trained medical professionals who run specialised clinics and make rounds with the doctors to ensure patients fully benefit from treatment.
Until we address the concerns of pharmacists and plug the outflow, increasing the number of pharmacists will not ease the crunch. Sourcing from foreign supply is but a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/212495.asp

Means testing a minefield

2007-10-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Means testing a minefield
ST: April 19, 2007 Thu

MEANS testing to allocate subsidy for using the public hospital system appears imminent. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has gone so far as to suggest that, for a start, a limited form of sorting to steer more aid towards low-income patients could be the five-day threshold.
Patients who have stayed longer than five days in B and C class wards will have their finances checked to determine how much or how little support they should receive, based on their means. It is important that the basis of evaluation is understood.
There is no quarrel with the thinking that rationing of state-funded health-care resources is necessary since these are limited by the Government's fiscal priorities. An unequal shareout among patients can be defended if done with fairness. It is unlike subsidised education, which is not means-tested as it is an inalienable right of citizens. There is a political dimension to the issue as well, in that the Government has to demonstrate its seriousness in minimising the bad effects of the wealth gap.
Implementation is the tricky part. Devising the yardsticks to make the means test least objectionable is going to challenge the most imaginative of ministry bureaucrats.
Should it be the income or assets test or something else? On income, the ministry can expect to run into a thicket of exceptions and objections. Patients of the middle-income bracket and upwards will reasonably expect undiscounted subsidised care, if they choose to, as they pay tax. Two-thirds of the workforce do not pay tax but receive the most state benefits.
The middle-income group will not begrudge non-taxpayers receiving the full subsidy, but will resent the means test as discriminatory of them. There are other inherent weaknesses. People of 'means' could be supporting aged or ailing parents. Assets test then? Assets can be hidden in trusts or are simply undeclared. Statutory declarations are intrusive, which will invite more resentment.
Retirees living in private housing but on limited savings would be most fearful of the cost of falling ill. They are a large group of health-care consumers. The assets test will probably penalise them.
In the end, the Government will come under pressure to increase its Budget allocation for health. Careful thought must go into the means exercise so that the system does not end up alienating one segment of the citizenry while helping another. The best neutral advice: Those who can afford it should consider taking out private medical insurance. It is the soundest bet against an inexorable trend of ever costlier treatment and husbanded resources.
http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/...e:1177019940000 http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1590174&page=2&pp=15
------

Have disease-specific time limits for means testing
I REFER to the editorial, 'Means testing a minefield' (ST, April 19). Most people would agree with the principle that the less well-off should receive more subsidies. However, follow-up questioning would likely reveal that none of them would consider themselves as 'well-off', and therefore they, too, should be deserving of subsidies.
Therein lies the difficulty of means testing - everyone agrees with the principle, but the devil is in the details of the implementation. I would like to make the following suggestions for the public and Health Ministry to consider.
Firstly, on the qualifying criteria for subsidy, no matter how the cut-off line is drawn, there will be unhappiness among those above the line. The use of a sliding scale, so that everyone enjoys at least some subsidy, is to be commended.
Furthermore, the criteria should keep pace with healthcare inflation. For example, the current maximum of $500 per capita family income for downgrading to C class was implemented in 2001. Data from Statistics Singapore shows that health-care costs have risen by almost 10 per cent since then, and only 238,000 households met this limit in 2005.
Secondly, the proposed limit of five days' stay in a public hospital is too simplistic. Certain conditions, by their very nature, necessitate a stay of more than five days, e.g., colon-cancer operation. It is also for these very conditions that we worry about chalking up large bills, rather than one-off admissions like childbirth, hernia surgery or knee replacement. With disease-specific data readily available from Casemix, the ministry should instead set disease-specific time limits.
Lastly, the public is apt to view this exercise as a cost-cutting measure. To assure us otherwise, the Government should channel the projected savings back to us, especially to those who will be affected adversely by means testing. This could be in the form of an upgrade of our MediShield packages, to assure us that although we may no longer qualify for C-class subsidies, we would still be able to afford the necessary health care when the need arises.
Gerald Tan Jit Shen
http://angrydr.blogspot.com/2007/04/subsidy-and-other-preoccupations-11.html

Means testing put on hold

2007-10-20T15:17:00.001-07:00

2May06: "Means testing itself is not wrong, but how to do it properly is tricky and needs time. Originally, I was more ambitious when I returned to (the Health Ministry) three years ago. I thought we could do means testing."
Nov2006: "Mr Khaw dropped hints of retiring as he recalled how entering politics was never his wish"
7April07: Means testing may kick in within next 12 months

Oh... KBW has become ambitious again? Why the flip flop? ... oh, right, Kharma comes in waves...

Means testing put on hold
By : Tor Ching Li, TODAY
Date : 02 May 2006 0657 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/206005/1/.html
SINGAPORE: Means testing - which would see public healthcare patients being charged according to what they can afford - will not be implemented within the next two years as originally planned, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Monday morning.
"Means testing itself is not wrong, but how to do it properly is tricky and needs time. Originally, I was more ambitious when I returned to (the Health Ministry) three years ago. I thought we could do means testing.
"But after discussion with people, I think let us do other proposals first," Mr Khaw told reporters during a Sembawang walkabout.
Instead, Mr Khaw said he would focus on revamping the MediShield national health insurance system and on improving healthcare for the chronically-ill.
He was responding to Workers' Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim's questions on how means testing for healthcare would be carried out.
She had raised the issue during a WP rally at Hougang on Sunday night, stating that present indicators such as house size and household income may not be accurate or appropriate benchmarks for how much a person could afford to pay.
"If we make the same amount of money, it does not mean we have the same amount of money to spend," said Ms Lim.
Mr Khaw stressed that nobody can fault the principle of means testing. This included WP chief Low Thia Khiang who, according to Mr Khaw, had raised in Parliament the idea of means testing for Government polyclinic patients because Mr Low felt that rich patients were "overcrowding" the heavily-subsidised polyclinics.
However, whether means testing will eventually be carried out will depend on whether it is practical to do so.
Said Mr Khaw: "I will do it only if it is practical, because the theory may be sound but if the implementation is more costly ... then it's not worth the effort.
"So whether to do it or not, I don't know. It depends on whether we can come up with practical ideas."
As for how long it would take to work this out, Mr Khaw replied: "I don't know. You know my attitude to work, I am single-minded about things and I focus my energy on a particular issue. Right now, my big issue - besides Sembawang - is the chronically-sick. I think they can get better healthcare than they are receiving now."
When asked for his response to WP candidate Perry Tong's proposal for the Government to scrap the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on drugs - as well as to charge at cost medication for chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes - Mr Khaw said the answer to rising healthcare costs was not so simple.
"If it was so simple that just one or two simple ideas from Perry Tong and the whole healthcare issue disappears, we would not have healthcare problems around the world being such a major political issue, not just here," said Mr Khaw.
He accused the WP of trying to score political points by proposing populist healthcare solutions that have proved disastrous in Britain, Europe and elsewhere. In Britain, he said, patients wait for months for even simple procedures.
And ideas such as reducing GST for medical bills, which is already being done for subsidised patients, would benefit the rich more than the poor. Private hospital bills are many times the size of Class C hospital bills.
"Instead, our solution is to provide Class C with the greatest subsidy (at 80 per cent of cost)," he said. - TODAY /dt
Copyright © 2006 MCN International Pte Ltd

Means testing may kick in within next 12 months

2007-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Reducing subsidies to the middle class...
But:
"complexity of means testing"... ..." waiting time is already very long... ... We will end up doing only means testing and no treatment. So it's not practical unfortunately."

Means testing may kick in within next 12 months
Channel News Asia7 Apr 07
Means testing may kick in within the next 12 months, says Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
And the first to be affected will be patients in C-class wards who stay more than five days in hospital.
Patients in C-class wards now enjoy an 80 percent subsidy. But the Health Ministry realised that not all patients need such a subsidy, as there are some in the high income bracket who choose to be hospitalised in such wards.
To ensure that there is no abuse of the system, the Health Minister says means testing must be done on those who stay more than five days in hospital - the average length of stay. Means testing, which is a way to determine how much subsidy a patient should get, is already done in nursing homes and community hospitals.
Mr Khaw says: "We are in this business where all of us want to constantly improve our service level. But if your prices are wrong, if they are heavily subsidised or free or whatever, you are going to attract more and more patients to you, including those who can go to Gleneagles Hospital and Mount Elizabeth and so on. And we have very good doctors, very good specialists. So we know that at the end of the day, means testing are important.
"And until you introduce proper means testing, I'm afraid all these problems will remain, will simmer. I'm seriously thinking about all those who are long stay, who should now be discharged to community hospital, we should do means testing on them. Now they are saying that if they go to nursing homes they will be means tested but if they remain at SGH they are not means tested, therefore it's cheaper - then we will never solve this problem."
Mr Khaw says for those who can afford to pay more, their subsidy may be reduced to less than 80 percent but they will not be asked to move to a higher class ward.
However, he is not keen to extend means testing at the polyclinic level for practical reasons. Mr Khaw says: "It's not just looking at your personal income - we are talking about family income here. The whole family should be supporting the patient. So therefore I need to know how many children you have and how much are they earning. And we cannot have self-declaration because everybody will say they are poor, they earn $800 when actually it may not be so. So you begin to see the complexity of means testing.
"We know that at our polyclinics, waiting time is already very long. If at the counter we are going to start asking all these questions, you know, I think we cannot do business. We will end up doing only means testing and no treatment. So it's not practical unfortunately."
Mr Khaw was speaking at a dialogue session on on Saturday with unionists in the healthcare sector, where he answered several questions.
[Abridged]
http://www.geraldtan.com/medaffairs/meanstest.html#C16

Bride-to-be killed in accident 6 days before wedding

2007-10-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

SAF: our enemies will die laughing.
"Just before the accident, she had informed her family that she was feeling dizzy".
"She and her fiance were heading towards camp to hand the MC to her supervisor when she was killed".

Still cannot get over this incident...Dis is just so stupid!!!, either superior in charge an idiot, or the employee's a robot. Either way, a totally tragic yet stupid outcome has occured.
As I know, Ms Siti will be fully compensated by SAF because travelling to camp is considered 'service'. (Full workman com, salary 1 yr, insurance etc)- total waste of taxpayers $$.
And to add salt, the Army's recruitment website is totally idiotic i must say: " http://www.mindef.gov.sg/arc/intro.asp ": (is probably out to entice techno freaks); furthermore, like this one, the 2Lt Li Hongyi case simply typifies the fact that attention to HR, safety and dicipline best practises is seriously lacking. Thus shouldn't a formal inquiry be conducted?

Similar:
Warrant officer complaint
Reservist complaint

Home > Most Read Stories
Oct 19, 2007
Bride-to-be killed in accident 6 days before wedding
She was thrown off her motorcycle and landed in drain
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
Investigation showed that Ms Nur Baidura had apparently lost control of her 125cc motorcycle.

The bride-to-be, Ms Siti Nur Baidura Mohd Yusof, 22, was on her way with her fiance, full-time national serviceman Fareed Serlan, 20, to hand over her medical certificate at Maju Camp at Clementi Road on July 23 when the accident happened. No other vehicle was involved.
The couple were to wed in six days and invitation cards had been sent out.
An inquiry into her death heard that her fiance, who was riding pillion, was warded for five days for injuries to his face, knees and left elbow.
Investigation showed that Ms Nur Baidura had apparently lost control of her 125cc motorcycle along the right-most lane with intermittent gouge marks. She was thrown off from the motorcycle and landed in the drain.
Just before the accident, she had informed her family that she was feeling dizzy. She consulted a doctor at Bedok Polyclinic and was given a day's MC. She and her fiance were heading towards camp to hand the MC to her supervisor when she was killed.
State Coroner Ronald Gwee recorded a verdict of misadventure.
Her elder brother, Mr Mohammad Noor Azhar, 24, who attended the inquiry, is now riding her motorcycle which she had bought about six months before the accident.
He described her as a talkative, sporty and very active person, who loved karaoke.
'I miss her so much,'' he told reporters outside court.
www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Courts+and+Crime/STIStory_168465.html

Legal eagles recall old days to mark Law Society's 40th year

2007-10-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

A committed and good journalist, salute him...
"Mr Hwang acquired a reputation for short but incisive court reporting that showed up a lawyer's or judge's competence or otherwise."

ST> Home>
Legal eagles recall old days to mark Law Society's 40th year
19 Oct07.

CJ and top counsel share personal reflections in special issue of Law Gazette
By K.C. VIJAYAN (Law Correspondent )
MENTION the name TF Hwang, and lawyers who cut their teeth in the 1960s and 70s will smile.
One or two might even scowl. "TF" was a journalist who could make or break a lawyer's day with his reporting.
Mr Hwang acquired a reputation for short but incisive court reporting that showed up a lawyer's or judge's competence or otherwise.
Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong fondly recalled the then Straits Times court reporter's regular post-retirement column, "Down Memory Lane".
Mr Hwang died in April last year.
CJ Chan added that, given Mr Hwang's knowledge of the law, "magistrates would become reticent whenever he was in the courtroom".
Writing in the latest issue of the La~ Gazette, he recalled other nuggets about what law practice was like in Singapore from 1963 to 1986. He was then in private practice.
He and other luminaries were asked to write about the era by the Law Society to mark its 40th anniversary.
The other personal reflections included those from Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh and Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah and Michael Hwang.
Among other things, CJ Chan reminisced about professional ethics, compensation for solicitors' frauds and the founding of tile Law Society.
He noted a lawyer's trade in the 1960s was "generally slow and easy going' and he did "everything that came along".
This was "unlike today when young lawyers had to specialise", and there is lack of opportunities for lawyers in large firms "to get into the act".
He said the changes in law practice have "been vast and in some areas unrecognisably so".
"If I were to start practice today, it is most unlikely that I will end my legal career in public service, such are the current and future economic and social forces that bear, and will bear, on law practice," he said.
Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah, who started work as a deputy public prosecutor in 1963, said in those days, "trade unions, students and secret societies were in defiant mood but prosecutors were expected to be fair, reasonable and present their cases fairly to court".
Among other things, he said as DPP, he would direct a police officer to produce an accused person before a magistrate when told the latter wanted to make a confession.
He noted that in the Gold Bars murder case in 1973, seven confessions were taken this way.
Mr Rajah noted that the procedure adopted by magistrates then was different from the current practice of the police in recording confessions at police stations.
Senior Counsel Michael Hwang said lawyers in the 1970s led an eventful life and had "time for each other".
"We were certainly a lot poorer than lawyers are now, but (arguably) we enjoyed our lives a little more," he said.
Writing in a personal capacity on law and diplomacy in the same commemorative issue, Professor Tommy Koh said the "Singapore's school of diplomacy is a fusion of hard-headed realpolitik and pragmatic idealism".
"Singapore's leaders and diplomats are known and respected for their unsentimental and logical analysis of international situations and regional trends," he observed.
vijayan@sph.com.sg

The NHS wins when its patients die

2007-10-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

"each dead patient is an administrative convenience."
"The NHS is run from top to bottom, and therefore, from top to bottom, it is bad."

The NHS wins when its patients die
By Charles Moore
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 13/10/2007
Florence Nightingale's famous Notes on Nursing, published in 1859, state that "the greater part of nursing consists in cleanliness". In my edition, the foreword points out that much of Miss Nightingale's writing, excellent though it is, is now out of date. In particular, the need for cleanliness is well understood. That foreword was written in 1946.
Now it is 2007, and we learn that nurses in the hospitals run by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust told patients suffering from diarrhoea to "go in their beds". Between 2004 and 2006, 90 patients treated in those hospitals died from Clostridium difficile, and the disease was a factor in the death of a further 241.
Were it not for bad nursing, bad medical attention and bad administration, none of these patients need have died. Indeed, they would not have contracted C. difficile at all unless they had gone into hospital. So, after 150 years' advance of education, technology, prosperity and science, we have lost what Florence Nightingale taught.
advertisementIt was the distressing subject of diarrhoea, indeed, that provoked Miss Nightingale to one of her most trenchant footnotes. She gave the example of how, if a bedpan with a lid were changed only once a day ("As well might you have a sewer under the room"), by a maid rather than a nurse, the problem might go undetected. he bedpan must be changed frequently, inspected, and all of it, including its lid, properly cleaned.
I notice that the Healthcare Commission's report on Maidstone says that stool charts, i.e. recorded inspections of the diarrhoea, were made in fewer than 15 per cent of cases.
Florence Nightingale adds: "If a nurse declines to do these kinds of things for her patient, 'because it is not her business', I should say that nursing is not her calling." It is a "waste of power", she says, for nurses to do things such as scouring floors, but if it needs doing, they must do it: "the true nurse-calling" puts "the good of their sick first, and second only the consideration what is their 'place'?".
The testimony of the families from the Maidstone area is that their relations who died were often humiliated, left in filth, and ignored. The weakest — the old — were treated the worst. It was a failure of systems, yes, but also of individual professionals and of common humanity.
Every year, as a journalist, I go to party conferences and hear politicians of all parties make speeches about how wonderful the National Health Service is. Gordon Brown got all weepy this year about how it saved one of his eyes.
Last year, David Cameron said that where Tony Blair had spoken of three words — "Education, education, education" — he would emphasise three letters — "N-H-S".
The point our leaders are constantly making is not medical, but moral. It is that the NHS embodies organised altruism. It proves that we, as a nation, care for one another. It makes us "the envy of the world", and it makes us good.
One naturally wants to agree. We all like to think that matters of life and death are well looked after. And most of us will have direct experience of NHS nurses and doctors who have treated us with great kindness, care and skill.
Nevertheless, the basic proposition is not true. The National Health Service is not, morally, or in any other way, the best system of healthcare in the world. Indeed, it is morally defective at its very root, because it does not — cannot — put the sick first. Until this is recognised, it cannot be reformed.
The NHS is, with our state school system, the last major survival in this country of the idea of the 1940s that government can decide what is best for us and make sure that it is done. Aneurin Bevan, who invented the thing, once said that not a bed-pan (that object again) should fall to the ground without the minister knowing about it.
A colleague of mine, who investigated alternative healthcare systems when the extreme dirtiness of many British hospitals first became an issue, went to France to compare. In hospital after hospital, he found floors so clean that you could have eaten your lunch off them. Did the Health Minister order them to clean them, he asked an administrator.
He was met with a look of incredulity. "Of course not. We run ourselves. Patients have a choice of hospital. If they do not choose us, we get no money. No hospital can survive if it is not clean."
Two weeks ago in Bournemouth, Gordon Brown was on to the subject of C. difficile, babbling about ordering "deep clean" and more than doubling the number of hospital matrons to 5,000.
"Bring back matron" has become a party conference cry, like "Bring back the rope" used to be. But matron will be only a name so long as Mr Brown (or whoever is Prime Minister) ultimately decides who should have what where.
We all know that a Minister for Industry could not possibly decide how many computers we produce or how many investment banks we should have. We all know that a Minister for Food could not wisely decree what vegetables should be sold in which shops.
But we cling to the idea that a single organisation employing 1.4 million people, with the GDP of an entire Scandinavian country, run by politicians, can meet our health needs.
Suppose Sainsbury's cold meat counter was found to have helped kill more than 300 people, would the company survive? Yet the NHS sails on, dealing death. According to a report four years ago by Professor Karol Sikora, we could save 10,000 deaths a year from cancer, just by hitting the European average; but we don't, and nobody takes the blame.
The boyfriend of the chief executive of the death-dealing Maidstone trust tells the press: "No way is she going to talk to you. Why should she?" The trust has arranged her severance pay of £250,000.
We all complain about the "target culture" that made administrators in Maidstone ignore actual human suffering before their eyes. But if you have a top-down system of healthcare, targets are the inevitable response to whatever is the latest disaster.
In this case, one of the targets was to cut waiting times in Accident and Emergency to four hours (four hours! You wouldn't put up with that to buy a cinema ticket, yet we have been brainwashed into thinking that it's not too bad for your child with a broken arm). In this world without choice, each claim of need jostles against another: either faster A&E, or cleaner bed-pans, but not both.
This is all, morally, wrong. It turns the patient from being the entity for which the service exists into a nuisance. Each new patient is just an added cost and each dead patient is an administrative convenience.
Under systems of social insurance, such as exist in Germany, Belgium or France, many problems remain, but this most basic one disappears. Money goes with each patient, who can choose who treats him. Therefore every doctor, hospital and nurse wants patients.
Our system also turns the nurse and doctor away from their duty, and therefore attacks their moral sense. It tells them to ignore "the habit of observation", which, said Florence Nightingale, was the key skill of nursing, in favour of through-put or targets or — for human nature reasserts its worse side when badly led — sneaking off home exhausted and disillusioned.
The NHS is run from top to bottom, and therefore, from top to bottom, it is bad.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/10/13/do1302.xml

Docs learn to avert patient disputes

2007-10-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

"Doctors have to meet higher patient expectations to minimise the risks of complaints and even lawsuits."

Docs learn to avert patient disputes
Weekend • October 20, 2007
Sheralyn Tay sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg
Dogged by rising numbers of complaints and lawsuits and the escalating costs of healthcare indemnity premiums, doctors in many countries have been leaving the profession in droves.
While this trend has not taken hold in Singapore, the Government is keen to take steps to forestall this — especially as the number of claims reported to the Medical Protection Society (MPS), a leading indemnifier of health professionals here, is expected to rise here too.
MPS, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation, has been in Singapore for more than 30 years and covers 90 per cent of doctors here.
"It is increasingly more difficult for doctors to practise medicine today as compared to, perhaps, a decade ago," said Minister of State for Health Heng Chee How on Friday at the launch of MPS' Risk Consulting Service and Educational Services, which aim to teach doctors how better to prevent and resolve disputes.
"Doctors have to meet higher patient expectations to minimise the risks of complaints and even lawsuits."
As such, Mr Heng welcomed the entrance of MPS' training programmes which, among other things, teach better doctor-patient communication.
Dr Priya Singh, medical director of MPS, said: "Our experience is that where there is good doctor-patient communication, patients feel they have a good understanding of what went wrong.
"They continue to have trust in the doctor and are more likely to want to resolve things."
While the Subordinate Courts here handled only about 10 medical negligence cases a year between 2004 and 2006, the threat of lawsuits has driven up the costs of healthcare significantly.
Doctors find themselves having to pay higher liability insurance premiums over the years, and may conduct a battery of medical tests on patients to protect themselves against potential legal action.
For example, obstetricians pay $24,555 for annual MPS membership this year, up from $5,250 just six years ago.
According to Dr Ming Keng Teoh, International Medicolegal Advisor at MPS, there "may be a slight increase" in fees next year. Details are expected by November, he added.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/217699.asp

Fear of the law makes victims cough up cash

2007-10-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Fear of the law makes victims cough up cash
Posted: 19 October 2007 1100 hrs
SINGAPORE: First, they used their victims' greed and the lure of fictitious lottery winnings to con money from them. Now, phone scam artists have found a new tack: Exploiting their prey's fear of the law.
Over the past three weeks, Singapore police have received 35 reports from people who got calls from persons posing as police officers or Supreme Court staff.
The impersonators would tell them to attend court or ask for money to be transferred. They would try to get their victims to part with money in exchange for being exonerated from involvement in criminal cases or the failure to attend court hearings.
In reality, none of the victims were involved in any such criminal or court proceedings - but even so, worry led at least one victim to part with about S$10,000.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the police said that investigators do sometimes inform members of the public over the phone about court dates and appointments at the police station.
"However, police will never ask for money to be deposited into a bank account. If such requests for property deposits or personal information disclosure are received, they should be reported to the police immediately," said the police.
Likewise, the Supreme Court, in a separate email to the media, said its staff members do not ask for payment verbally over the phone.
"Any request for payment of monies to third parties in respect of court proceedings should be made only if supported by an official court order," the court said.
Anyone who do not have a pending case in the Supreme Court should "exercise caution" with callers who identify themselves as court staff, and who direct them to attend court or transfer money, said the email. In case of doubt, verify the source of the call with the Supreme Court at 1800-338-1034.
More generally, phone scams can take different forms and the public should be wary, said the police, advising the public to check the caller's identity with the organisation he or she claims to be from.
Last month, it was reported that 122 people had been deceived to the tune of S$1.5 million in total, in lottery or lucky draw scams so far this year. They were instructed to hand over money after receiving phone calls or SMSes claiming that they had won prizes in overseas lucky draws. - TODAY/ym
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/306555/1/.html

New mediation scheme launched to resolve healthcare complaints

2007-10-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

New mediation scheme launched to resolve healthcare complaints
By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia

Posted: 20 October 2007 0000 hrs

SINGAPORE : Minister of State for Health Heng Chee How said his ministry has started a Medical Mediation Scheme.
Still running as a pilot, it incorporates mediation into the way public healthcare complaints are managed.
He noted that this is an added avenue for aggrieved patients and their families to get clear explanations from the medical institutions and arrive at a fair settlement.
At the same time, the world body protecting medical professionals has organised a training programme to help doctors improve on their doctor-patient communication skills.
Mr Heng was speaking at the official opening of the 11th Singapore Medical Association Ethics and Professionalism Convention.
"Studies have shown that patients often claim or sue because they are poorly informed about the benefits and risks of treatment, and are not given satisfactory explanations following adverse outcomes of treatment. Patients also sue because they perceive their doctors as uncaring or insensitive to their needs," said the Minister of State for Health.
Mr Heng added that ultimately a holistic approach is needed, and healthcare providers should review their processes regularly to fix any weaknesses. - CNA /ls
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/306693/1/.html

Pharmacists urged to help keep drug costs low

2007-10-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Home > Latest News > Singapore
Oct 19, 2007
Pharmacists urged to help keep drug costs low
By Judith Tan
PHARMACISTS, with their knowledge and expertise in drugs, should act as the bridge between doctors and patients by offering cheaper but equally effective alternatives.
This, said the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, Madam Halimah Yacob, will help keep drug costs down.
She said drug use will increase with the ageing population, and more people will resort to self-treatment for minor ailments.
Pharmacists can play a role by helping to determine what medicines are needed, and what are not.
Speaking at the opening of the 19th Singapore Pharmacy Congress on Friday night, Madam Halimah said by doing this, medical bills will be cut and mistreatment or over-treatment can be avoided.
Citing the example of the drug used in treating high blood pressure, she said patients in a public hospital pay only 55 cents for a 60mg tablet of Nifedipine, compared to $1.63 a tablet for the original brand Adalat.
'This translates into a saving of $32.40 per patient per month - or $6.2 million in savings a year for patients in public sector institutions alone,' she noted.
According to the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore, in 2006 alone, there were at least 100,000 documented interventions by pharmacists in public sector institutions.
These ranged from inappropriate dosage and duplication of therapy to advice on drug interactions.
This check and balance is critical in ensuring appropriate use of medicines.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_168516.html

Why is there no standardisation in the definition of 'critical illness'?

2007-10-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Oct 20, 2007
Why is there no standardisation in the definition of 'critical illness'?
I HAVE some very puzzling issues that I need to clarify but was unable to get a satisfactory answer from Life Insurance Association (LIA).
Recently, I bought two insurance plans for myself pertaining to critical illnesses and female illness from two insurers, Aviva and TM Asia Life.
Both plans were taken up at the same time in June this year. However, one policy had already been issued (Aviva) but the other apparently only after an underwriting process lasting five months.
I would like to know if there is any association that regulates the industry with regards to premium deductions.
When I highlighted my cyst issue to both insurers, Aviva was able to cover me without any exclusion but TM Asia Life wanted to exclude me for critical illness.
Isn't LIA supposed to ensure that all definitions of claims under critical illness should be the same (for example, claims against cancer can only be made if it is malignant, cancerous and spreading)? And hence, the underwriting process should be the same since the risks assumed would be the same for both insurers?
During this period of underwriting, who would be liable should anything happen to me or if my policy was delayed by the insurer by five months? If critical illness should strike me within the waiting period of 90 days despite the policy being issued five months late, would I be able to file a claim? Would the waiting period include their underwriting period since I have paid promptly?
I am concerned as I understand that medical costs in Singapore are rising and the Government encourages us to be more responsible for our medical coverage. It would seem that there is not enough transparency as consumers will only know of the differences in underwriting after we sign up for the plans.
Would any regulatory body or government association be able to assist and ensure that all consumers would be adequately covered in a fair manner?
Jane Bay May Ling (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_168568.html

Medical claim - insurer blames doctor for late report

2007-10-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Oct 20, 2007
Medical claim - insurer blames doctor for late report
I AM a common man, citizen of Singapore, NTUC member, NTUC coop member and policy holder of NTUC Income.
I am medically insured as our enlightened government would like its citizens to be personally responsible for their health issues.
Unfortunately, in a medical claim still not settled since June 29, my cooperative insurer NTUC Income has delivered zero service other than conveniently blaming my good doctor for a late report when they did not even bother to ask for one despite being informed of his treating me within two days of my illness.
The only good service I received was from NTUC agent Ronald Lim Heng Kway and my financial planner, Mr Patrick Lim of Promiseland Independent.
Has anyone else faced similar issues with medical insurance?
I am sure the public, press and government would be interested. ...
... I was recovering well, being insured and initially free from financial distress but non-deliverance of service from the insurer is making me more sick than ever.
Chew Sung Lock
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5493188219921312142

Male customers can also shop in privacy for two hours every last Friday of the month, as part of Triumph's 'Guys-only'

2007-10-19T15:56:00.001-07:00

Home > Latest News > Singapore Oct 19, 2007

New 'bra-zen' service to perk up shopping for underwear

By Melissa Kok
LEADING undergarments retailer Triumph is seducing its customers with a new slew of service initiatives that go the extra mile - part of an ongoing nationwide drive to up Singapore's service standards. With fresh outside-the-box ideas, Triumph is targeting a new audience that they've never considered before - men.
To help male shoppers overcome their shyness when buying underwear for their girlfriends or wives, the lingerie company has started a special 'Guys-only' workshop where they can pick up tips on choosing the right lingerie.
Male customers can also shop in privacy for two hours every last Friday of the month, as part of Triumph's 'Guys-only' shopping.
Not forgetting their female customers, Triumph has also started special 'Cleavage Creation' workshops for ladies, and has arranged for educational talks to be held in schools.
For Triumph's two standalone boutiques at OUB Centre and Ang Mo Kio Hub, shoppers have the luxury of changing in plush fitting rooms so husbands, boyfriends or girlfriends can join in their lingerie selection. In addition, Triumph has rolled out a new service charter for its staff to follow, which ensures employees trained and skilled to offer friendly and professional service at all times.
The spanking new innovations are part of Triumph's Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) launched last June, to perk up its customer service.
CCI is part of the Go-the-Extra-Mile for Service (GEMS) movement to transform Singapore's service quality in the retail sector.
And Triumphs efforts have certainly paid off. The company has seen sales grow up to 28 per cent at stores which have undergone CCI.
Going forward, Triumph said consumers can expect more innovative service concepts as they continue to expand their business in Singapore.
On the cards? Possibly an in-house cafe, and birthday parties for customers.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Singapore/STIStory_168468.html
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ST Discussion Board > Singapore

(#2)unewolke: i thot the bra was for burning??!
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(#3)dingdang8: Men would support a campaign to go bra-less
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(#4)unewolke: it would have ramifications on the shape and size...prepared to handle?
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(#5)Lobo1976: #3. I am not so sure. That would make a lot of women go saggy... wouldn't it?
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(#6)unewolke: #5 - if it makes yours, why not?

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(#7)joecool51: Wah, that one also can ah

Shortage of Drs in SG

2007-10-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

Feb 21, 2007
MOH teams sent to Australia, Britain to scout for doctors Missions led by top officials to address future shortage concerns
By Health Correspondent, Salma Khalik
HEALTH Ministry officials have been sent on scouting trips to Britain and Australia to help attract doctors for the public sector, which could be facing a severe shortage soon.
Towards the end of last year, Permanent Secretary Yong Ying I was sent to London and director of medical services Professor K. Satku to Australia to persuade Singaporean doctors studying or working overseas to return here, as well as lure top regional doctors to the island.
The duo were dispatched by their boss, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is concerned that unless the ministry starts ramping up recruitment now, a shortage could follow.
Returning to a theme he has voiced several times, the minister told The Straits Times in an interview that there will be a 'significant increase in demand for doctors' in the coming years.
This will be fuelled by a combination of factors, including an ageing population, higher numbers of foreign patients, including medical tourists, and greater demand from the local population.
Said Mr Khaw: 'We must prepare for this increase in demand, or we will be swamped and patient care will suffer.'
Singapore has 6,482 registered doctors.
Last month, the Health Ministry announced several initiatives to increase the number of doctors in the public sector here. Singapore's goal is to have one doctor per patient in public hospitals, up from the current ratio of 1:2.
More than 200 doctors are trained locally every year but this is not enough, as there is a need for 400 or even 600, he has said.
To cope with the anticipated need, the National University of Singapore increased its student intake from 230 to 250 last year.
The second medical school at Duke University opens its doors later this year, but it will be four years before the first batch graduates and several more years after that for them to have gained enough experience to practise on their own.
Mr Khaw has already agreed to expand the list of medical schools whose degrees are recognised here and shorten the probation period for doctors who graduate from them.
Even then, the minister added, 'much as we will try to recruit as many as we can, we will be lucky to half-succeed'.
This is why he sent his top two ministry officials on scouting trips.
Ms Yong, who crammed 24 meetings into her week in London, said non-Singaporean doctors see Australia as an attractive alternative and are looking outside Britain because of new regulations that favour doctors from the European Union.
Accompanying her were senior doctors from the two public clusters, who were actively recruiting during those meetings.
Ms Yong said Singapore has the worst patient-to-doctor ratio among developed countries.
She said: 'We have very efficient doctors and they work very hard. But somewhere along the way, we also don't have enough.
'If you want to bring down waiting times, we need to recruit more doctors, much more than a few per cent.'
A spokesman for SingHealth - which runs three hospitals, five national specialist centres and nine polyclinics - said the number of doctors the cluster employs has risen by more than 30 per cent from 2003 and now stands at 1,700.
Last year, however, it lost 7 per cent of its specialists.
The other cluster, the National Healthcare Group, lost 8 per cent of its doctors last year. It now has 1,400 doctors, 12.5 per cent more than in 2003, and plans to take on about 100 young recruits this year.
salma@sph.com.sg
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'If you want to bring down waiting times, we need to recruit more doctors, much more than a few per cent.' MS YONG YING I, Permanent Secretary in the Health Ministry
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access

http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:3221127259fd0110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD

Singapore has worst patient-doctor ratio: AFP

2007-10-19T04:41:00.000-07:00

Singapore has worst patient-doctor ratio: AFP

21 Feb 07

Singapore has the worst patient-to-doctor ratio among developed countries and has embarked on a global effort to entice doctors, a report said Wednesday.
Top health ministry officials went to Australia and London last year to convince Singaporean doctors studying or working there to return, and to encourage top foreign doctors to practise in Singapore, the Straits Times said.It quoted the health ministry's permanent secretary Yong Ying I, who was dispatched to London last year, as saying Singapore has the worst patient-to-doctor ratio among developed countries."We have very efficient doctors and they work very hard. But somewhere along the way we also don't have enough," the newspaper quoted Yong as saying."If you want to bring down waiting times, we need to recruit more doctors, much more than a few percent."The city-state is faced with an ageing population but is also seeking to bolster its role as a top provider of quality healthcare services for patients from abroad.Singapore, Southeast Asia's most advanced economy, had a population of about 4.4 million with 6,748 doctors registered in 2005, according to official statistics.The goal is to have one doctor per patient in public hospitals, up from a ratio of one per every two, the report said.The country needs to produce 400-600 locally trained doctors annually, up from the current level of more than 200, the paper quoted Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan as saying.
Khaw cautioned that "much as we will try to recruit as many as we can, we will be lucky to half-succeed," which was why he sent his top two ministry officials to scout for doctors abroad, the report said.

www.singaporedemocrat.org/articlesghealthcare.html

Worst stroke possible but dad made to wait 6 hours

2007-10-19T04:35:00.000-07:00

Aug 18, 2005
FULL HOUSE AT HOSPITALS
Worst stroke possible but dad made to wait 6 hours
I CAN empathise fully with Ms Rodziah Shaari ('Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad'; ST, Aug 13).
I had similar encounters in Singapore General Hospital (SGH). My dad was sent to the A&E department three times in two months because of stroke and, each time, my family had to wait at least six hours before he was pushed to a ward.
I can understand that the hospital is short of staff and we have to wait for everything. But to make a patient wait hours for a bed is unforgiveable, especially when the patient is in critical condition.
The third time my dad was taken to SGH was also his last. When I drove him to SGH, he was already paralysed and could not speak. The A&E doctors were quick to attend to him because of the urgency of his condition.
They ordered an immediate scan to see how badly his brain had been affected by the stroke, after which he was left unattended in a corner to await the results.
I could see that my dad was getting weaker as time went by. About two to three hours later, when the results came out, the doctors confirmed that he had suffered a stroke again and had to be admitted.
It took another hour or two for the admission staff to tell us that my dad had to wait as no bed was available in the neurology ward.
When we checked on him in the observation area, he was in a serious state. He was having fits and barely conscious, and his mouth was foaming. No one attended to him.
It was only when we cried that a patient service officer quickly picked up my dad's file and called for someone to push him away.
When my dad finally got to the ward, it was past 2am. And we had arrived at the A&E department about 7pm; it took more than six hours before my dad was seen by a neurologist.
If my dad had been taken to the ward earlier and been treated by a neurologist, his chances of living might be higher.
The neurologist told us that my dad had the worst kind of stroke anyone could get. He also told my family to quickly consider having a special injection administered as his condition was deteriorating by the minute since the onset of stroke at 5.45pm at home.
We took no more than 10 minutes to reach a decision. And to think that six hours were wasted in the A&E department.
The image of my father lying there foaming and having seizures, with no one to attend to him, has been haunting me since. Sadly, he was pronounced brain dead the next day.
I appreciate the doctors in the A&E department for their sense of urgency, and the doctors in the neurology ward who tried their best to save my father.
But I did not detect the same sense of urgency in hospital staff who were at the front line, doing admission administration and ferrying of patients. I saw faces filled with weariness and reluctance rather than urgency and compassion.
I agree with Ms Rodziah that it seemed acceptable to the hospital for patients to wait hours for a bed - and specialised treatment and care. If Singapore wants to be a top-notch medical hub, how can we condone this kind of work attitude, and hours of waiting in the emergency department?
Tan Tze Yee (Ms)
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=80079.50

Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad

2007-10-19T04:19:00.000-07:00

The Straits Times (Singapore)
August 13, 2005 Saturday
ST Forum
Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad
RECENTLY, my father, who is in his late 70s and has multiple illnessesand end-stage renal failure, had to wait seven hours for a bed at theSingapore General Hospital (SGH).
My father, who underwent a heart bypass last October, had developed afever on the night of July 7. The next morning, when we noticed thathis AV graft site (access site for dialysis) was reddish - a sign ofpossible infection - we rushed him to the A & E Department at SGH.
We were concerned about what an infection could do to someone in aweakened state and were hoping that early intervention would helparrest the infection. We reached the A & E Department at about 9.45amand as there were not many patients, he was seen quite quickly and thedoctor confirmed that there was an infection and he needed to beadmitted.
We were told that as no bed was available, he would be placed in theobservation ward first. This had happened many times before and wewere prepared to wait for one to two hours for a bed for him.
However, it was not until seven hours later that he was wheeled intothe ward. During this time, no doctor came to see him. Only the nursescame to take his temperature and blood pressure regularly.
By then, the reddish area around the AV graft site had grown to thesize of an egg and begun to swell. At 4.45pm, my dad became delirious.He tried to jump from the bed and only the presence of my maidprevented him from doing so.
A doctor finally attended to him at about 5pm, the first one to seehim since he was placed in the observation ward. Only then was a bloodtest done and a plug inserted.
At about 4pm, I called the service quality department and spoke to aNicole who informed me that SGH was facing an acute shortage of beds.
After checking the system, she told me that a bed had been assigned at3-plus. Asked why my dad was still in the observation area, she saidit might be because they were waiting for the staff to wheel him tothe ward.
At 5-plus, I asked the nurses why my dad was still in the observationward. They told me that they were shorthanded and there was no one towheel him to the ward. My dad was finally wheeled there at about6.30pm.
Imagine a four-hour wait for a bed to be assigned and another threehours for staff to wheel him there! Our objective in rushing my fatherto the hospital for early treatment was defeated. By the time he wasin the ward, his fever was 38.5 deg C.
What irked me throughout the ordeal was that there was no apology orexplanation. It seemed to be accepted that patients have to wait sevenhours before being wheeled into the ward.
Rodziah Shaari (Ms)
http://chlim01.blogspot.com/2005/08/our-world-class-hospital-system-7-hour.html
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=80079.1
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Aug 18, 2005
SGH, REPLY
Shortage of 'specialty' beds delayed admission
I REFER to Ms Rodziah Shaari's letter, 'Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad' (ST, Aug 13).
We would like to apologise to Ms Rodziah and her father for the discomfort and distress that they experienced while waiting for admission at our Department of Emergency Medicine on July 8.
When patients arrive at our Emergency Department, they are triaged and given the necessary attention, depending on the urgency of their medical condition.
Our doctor saw Ms Rodziah's father within 30 minutes of his arrival. When he was assessed to require admission, he was sent to the Observation Ward, where patients are observed before discharge, or subsequently admitted as an in-patient. Patients at the Observation Ward have their medical conditions monitored regularly and carefully.
SGH has an operating philosophy of not turning away patients who present themselves at our doors. Over the last two years, the hospital has seen a trend of increasing attendances and admissions through our Emergency Department. Patients who are unable to seek medical attention elsewhere will invariably turn to SGH.
We admit patients to the wards according to the specialty treatment needed so that they can be cared by doctors and nurses who are specially trained to handle their condition.
Notwithstanding this, when the occupancy rate is high, we will admit patients to any available ward, if necessary.
On the day of Ms Rodziah's father's admission, we saw about 100 emergency admissions, out of which 61 patients were critically ill and were major emergencies. This affected the response time of our staff.
However, we would like to assure Ms Rodziah that her father was monitored regularly. He had waited a longer time for admission because there was a shortage of beds in the specialty ward he was to be admitted and in the other wards.
SGH is taking concrete steps to optimise the use of our capacity in view of rising demand so that inconvenience and discomfort to our patients and their families are minimised.
Every patient is important to us and we seek the understanding of the public when our waiting times are longer than expected.
Foo Hee Jug
Chief Operating OfficerSingapore General Hospital
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=80079.51

Police at fault... so 'discount' for convict.

2007-10-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

5 years' jail cut to 2 days
Appeal judge cites police 'error' in cheating case
Wednesday • October 17, 2007
Ansley Ng ansley@mediacorp.com.sg
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AN UNUSUAL CASE
- 1997 to 2001: Chan used a car scam started by him and his accomplices.
- Aug 2002: Chan is jailed after confessing and pleading guilty to three charges
- March 2003: Chan released. Found a job as an aircon repairman
- 2003 to 2007: Chan helps various police divisions with probe. Changes job and gets promoted. Remarries and wins custody of his sons.
- March 2007: Slapped with 27 more charges
- July 2007: Sentenced to five years’ jail after pleading guilty to eight charges.
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Randy Chan Kum Hong was sentenced to five years in jail for cheating and forgery, but an appeal judge slashed the jail term to just two days, citing an "error" on the part of the police in their handling of the case.
For his role in a used car scam in the late '90s, Chan was jailed for nine months in 2002 after a protracted probe by several police divisions.
But just as he was rebuilding his life after his release — first as an aircon technician, then as an employee in a mobile phone firm, where he climbed to the position of general manager — the police called him up again to help in more investigations. In March this year, authorities slapped 27 more charges on Chan.
In July, the 39-year-old pleaded guilty to seven charges of cheating and one charge of forgery and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment — his second incarceration.
Chan's lawyer, Mr Abraham Vergis, appealed, saying the jail term was excessive for someone who had confessed to the crimes before the first imprisonment and who had turned over a new leaf.
Mr Vergis said that even after his release from prison, Chan had the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over his head and had been "unfairly and unnecessarily prejudiced" by the delay in prosecution.

At a Magistrate's Appeal hearing yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Ming Kwang told Justice V K Rajah that Chan had not informed the investigation officer (IO) of the other cases when he was dealt with in October 2002. The trial judge, District Judge Liew Thiam Leng, had also held that the delay was caused by Chan not informing the various IOs of the other offences that were being investigated, he said.
Giving his take on the delay in prosecution, Mr Vergis said one of the four police divisions investigating Chan went ahead and pressed charges without informing the other three. Chan was eventually jailed without their knowledge and investigations in these divisions were delayed when they couldn't find Chan.
"This lack of coordination between the various police divisions and the lack of a centralised database was a systematic problem within the police force for which the appellant cannot be held responsible," said Mr Vergis.

Justice Rajah agreed with Mr Vergis there had been an "error" on the part of police carrying out the probe. The judge was also convinced that Chan — the general manager of mobile phone company, Inbox — had shown that he was rehabilitated. Chan had recently remarried and had won custody of his two sons, aged 11 and 14, from an earlier marriage.
Calling it "an unusual case, which would require an unusual response", Justice Rajah ordered Chan to be jailed for two days on the eight charges.
When contacted by Today, a police spokesman said the police has "modernised" its computer monitoring system to improve the process since the incident ... It occurred in 2002, when the accused was first charged and not all charges were preferred against him, resulting in the current situation." Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/217033.asp

NHS: One in four hospital trusts 'fails to meet hygiene standards'

2007-10-19T02:42:00.000-07:00

from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday 19 October 2007 17:35
Home > News > Health
One in four hospital trusts 'fails to meet hygiene standards'
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Published: 18 October 2007
The independent NHS watchdog, the Healthcare Commission, has pledged to crack down on dirty hospitals after official figures showed one in four trusts had failed to meet minimum hygiene standards.
Annual performance ratings for every NHS trust, published today, show 44 hospital trusts out of 172 (25 per cent) failed at least one of three core standards on infection control. Overall, hygiene was the area where compliance with the core standards set by the Commission for the NHS was lowest.
The finding is the first official confirmation of the poor state of hygiene in the NHS. It follows an investigation by the Commission published last week which revealed that at least 90 people died at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust between 2004 and 2006 from the C. Difficile bug as a result of failures in infection control.
Today's report, the second annual health check by the Commission, shows the situation is worse than the trusts themselves admitted in June. Then, 99 trusts overall – including primary care trusts, mental health trusts and ambulance trusts, as well as hospital trusts – said they had failed at least one infection control standard. This has since been revised to 111 trusts, following spot checks by the Commission.
Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: "Healthcare-associated infections really matter to patients. Trusts have got to meet the hygiene standards."
The Hygiene Code, introduced in October 2006, ushered in tougher standards for the NHS and 87 spot checks had so far been carried out by the Commission with 33 more planned by the end of the year, said Ms Walker. From next year every trust would be inspected for hygiene at least once every year.
But she dismissed suggestions that hospitals were unsafe even though at least 20 trusts had higher rates of infection with C. Diff than Maidstone. "The question is how well trusts deal with infection, not the infection rate itself," she said. "The issue in Maidstone related to deaths – there is a huge difference."
Overall, the performance ratings show the NHS is improving with one in three trusts recording a higher score on measures including waiting times, cancelled operations and financial standing than last year. Nineteen trusts were rated excellent for both quality of care and use of resources, up from two last year. But 33 trusts were rated weak on quality of services, and 20 were also weak on use of resources.
The results show a clear north-south divide with patients getting better care in the North than in the South. Three-quarters of trusts in the North-east were rated excellent or good, whereas three-quarters were rated fair or weak in the South-east. Suggested reasons for the difference include extra resources going into the the North, lower cost of living in the North, and difficulties faced by failing organisations in the South in attracting high-quality staff. Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the Healthcare Commission, said: "One of the successes of a regulatory system is it helps us to get to grips with these issues."
The worst performer
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has been rated the worst in the country – for the second year running. Based in one of England's most sought-after counties, it should be fighting off applications from top quality staff. Instead, it is blighted – scoring "weak" on quality of services and "weak" on use of resources.
It has had problems for a decade, and some have suggested its low turnover of staff could be the source of its downfall. Applicants have been put off for fear of becoming tarred by its image– and its position off the beaten track is less appealing to ambitious young doctors and managers who want to be at the cutting edge in a teaching institution.
A hospital that becomes a comfortable back water, where people are left to get on with their work, is in danger of losing its way. No institution in the NHS can afford to separate itself from the mainstream. The Royal Cornwall has become an outpost of the NHS, run according to its own rules. The safety of patients demands it is now brought in from the cold.
© 2007 Independent News and Media Limited
http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article3070588.ece

NHS: Why can't we keep our hospitals clean and protect patients from infection?

2007-10-19T02:36:00.000-07:00

Home > News > Health
The Big Question: Why can't we keep our hospitals clean and protect patients from infection? By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor Published: 12 October 2007

Why are we asking this now?
- Yesterday an investigation by the Healthcare Commission revealed an astonishing litany of failings at three hospitals in Kent run by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust which allowed the lethal bug Clostridium Difficile to spread unchecked. Between 2004 and 2006 it infected more than 1,100 patients, directly causing the deaths of 90 and contributing to the deaths of 345. The commission found appalling standards, akin to a Third World health service, including beds crammed together, wards dirty and understaffed, and patients with urgent diarrhoea told to "go in the bed" because nurses were too busy to take them to the lavatory.
Is this just an isolated case?
Sadly not – though it is the worst to have come to light. Last year an investigation into a similar outbreak at Stoke Mandeville hospital, where 334 patients were infected and 33 died from C Difficile between 2003 and 2005, painted a very similar picture of a poorly run hospital operating under extreme pressure where doctors and managers had failed to heed warnings about the threat from the bug. Last July, the 900-bed Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust in north London became the first in the country to receive an official warning from the commission for putting patients at risk of infection. Serious breaches of the Hygiene Code, introduced in October 2006, which sets minimum standards for all trusts were found at the hospital.

But can we assume that hospitals are generally clean?
No. In June the Healthcare Commission reported that 99 NHS trusts admitted failing to meet minimum hygiene standards. That is one in four of the total in England. Worryingly, Barnet and Chase Farm was not among the 99. It had claimed it was meeting minimum standards but a spot check revealed poor provision of gels for cleaning hands, inconsistent and confusing messages to staff and inadequate isolation facilities. If other trusts are similarly deceived about their performance then hygiene problems may be even more widespread than the one in four figure suggests.

Will Gordon Brown's 'deep-clean' directive make any difference?
It depends whether we are talking politically or scientifically. Scientifically, it will make little difference unless it is done on a regular basis. Patients and visitors are constantly bringing new bugs such as MRSA and C Difficile into hospitals. It may also mean wards being closed while they are cleaned. However, the battle against hospital infections is as much political as medical – raising its profile and getting the NHS to take it seriously. One of the key defences against hospital infection is to get staff to wash their hands between patients - but they don't. On that score measures such as this can help.

Have doctors ignored the problem?
This goes to the crux of the issue. Doctors have regarded their main task as treating patients, and seen hospital infections as an unfortunate but inevitable complication of medical care. The bugs thrive in people whose immune systems are weak – and advances in medicine and the ageing of the population mean that older and sicker patients are being treated. Managers have gone along with this view because their interest is in getting patients through the hospital rapidly and cutting waiting lists. The result has been a fatalistic attitude to the occurrence of infections and an over-reliance on antibiotics to deal with them when they happen. In the case of MRSA, more and more powerful antibiotics have been required to shift it. In the case of C Difficile, antibiotics are themselves a key cause of the infection. They knock out "healthy" bacteria in the gut, allowing the C Difficile bacteria, which are normally held in check, to gain the upper hand.

Is the threat growing?
Yes. According to the OECD, hospital acquired infections now account for more days spent in hospitals in Europe than all other causes of infectious disease – flu, pneumonia, tuberculosis, Aids - combined. In the UK, the National Audit Office estimates they cost the NHS over £1 billion a year to treat. Cases of MRSA have grown from less than 100 a year in the early 1990s to 6,378 cases in 2006-7. The infection is linked with more than 1,000 deaths a year. C Difficile case have grown from a few hundred in the early 1990s to 55,681 in 2006-7 and causes around 4,000 deaths a year. Much of the rise in recent years has been because of greater awareness rather than hospitals getting dirtier. In the last couple of years, cases of MRSA have begun to fall, as tighter infection control procedures have taken effect, having peaked at 7,684 cases in 2003-4. Cases of C Difficile are still rising, but the rate of growth has slowed.

Are targets to blame?
Yes – at least in part – despite health secretary Alan Johnson's denials on BBC Radio 4s Today programme yesterday. His own department produced a report by its chief economist, Professor Barry McCormick, which blamed Government targets for increasing the risk. That found that the most crowded hospitals, with bed occupancy rates over 90 per cent, had MRSA rates 42 per cent higher than average. The report, obtained by The Independent last year, has never been published. The Healthcare commission said managers at both Maidstone and Stoke Mandeville were unduly fixated on hitting their targets, under pressure from their ministerial overlords, to the exclusion of considerations about patient safety.

Isn't proper cleaning the answer?
It is not that simple. Proper cleaning is essential, and there should be a bottle of alcohol gel beside every hospital bed for doctors and nurses to use. Screening of all patients for MRSA, announced by the health department last week, will allow those carrying the bug to be isolated on admission. Such measures can reduce infections, but they will not eliminate them. In the case of C Difficile, the main problem is over use of antibiotics. C Difficile also creates spores which are difficult to destroy and require soap and water to shift them. Alcohol gels are not up to job.

What will it take to reduce infections?
A change in the culture of medicine. Cleaning up diarrhoea, washing down wards and monitoring antibiotic prescribing are not glamorous activities. They will not yield breakthroughs, claim headlines or win Nobel prizes. But they will save more lives than a clutch of miracle cures.
Can hospital infections be beaten and patients protected?
Yes...
* Some hospitals have infection rates that are up to six times lower than others
* Consistent handwashing and proper standards of hygiene can reduce the bugs
* Spot-checks of hygiene standards are raising awareness and concentrating minds
No...
* Patients are older and sicker and infections thrive where immune systems are weak
* Hygiene is not the only answer to C Difficile, which is caused by overuse of antibiotics
* Doctors and nurses believe they are there to treat patients and regard washing their hands as an irritating distraction
© 2007 Independent News and Media Limited
http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article3052327.ece

US judge allows 3 lawsuits over DVT to proceed

2007-10-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Home > Free > Story Oct 19, 2007
US judge allows 3 lawsuits over DVT to proceed

Passengers claim cramped seating on SIA, US Airways and Delta gave them blood clots SAN FRANCISCO - A JUDGE in the United States has ruled that three airline passengers who say cramped seating gave them blood clots can continue their lawsuits against the international carriers on which they flew - one of which is Singapore Airlines. US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker had previously tossed out 37 similar lawsuits, citing an international treaty protecting airlines from having to pay damages for injuries passengers suffer during routine travel.
But Judge Walker said the three remaining lawsuits claiming deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, could proceed because they allege injuries that could have been prevented if the airlines - SIA, US Airways and Delta - had let passengers complaining of pain switch to open seats with more leg room.
DVT is a relatively common and potentially fatal blood clot caused by prolonged immobility.
Lawyers believe airlines are taking insufficient precautions to prevent DVT, according to legal website law.com, which reported on Judge Walker's decision.
In the SIA case, a passenger named Ms Marsha Dabulis developed a clot which required surgery, said law.com.
After she asked for a transfer from her seat, which had a metal bar obstructing her foot room, SIA flight attendants offered only a seat that did not recline, according to law.com.
'The idea that SIA somehow discharged its duty by offering Dabulis a seat that was even more restrictive than her original seat is hardly beyond dispute,' the judge wrote.
SIA declined to comment yesterday.
'As a matter of policy, we do not comment on matters which are before the courts,' said a spokesman.
The second case allowed to proceed by the judge involved a passenger who developed a clot after being confined to his seat during a two-hour delay without flight attendants offering water or any time to get up and stretch.
Judge Walker wrote that dismissing the case 'would give airlines carte blanche to force passengers to remain seated without reason'.
He also refused to dismiss a case in which a woman died after collapsing on a flight, saying that a jury should decide whether the airline acted quickly enough to allow medical professionals onto the plane.
Judge Walker's ruling had the lawyers for the plaintiffs cheering.
'It is a wonderful victory for us,' said Ms Brenda Posada, a California lawyer representing Ms Dabulis.
The Warsaw Convention governing international air travel says airlines are liable for passenger injury only if it is due to an accident, rather than in the normal course of travel.
The US Supreme Court, Judge Walker wrote, defines an accident for the purposes of the Warsaw Convention as 'an unexpected or unusual event or happening that is external to the passenger'.
Therefore, he said, while the simple development of a DVT clot is not an accident, a DVT clot which develops after a passenger complains of pain from a cramped seat and is denied the opportunity to move to a less-cramped space is, said law.com.
An appeals court has ordered Judge Walker to separately reconsider whether the airlines are providing enough seating space or would raise fares if forced to remove seats to make cabins roomier.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_168317.html

M1 sales gimmick

2007-10-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

M1 sales gimmick
Home > ST Forum > Online Story Oct 18, 2007
$0 deal for cellphone advertised, but told only at shop counter that a trade-in was involved

I HAD wanted to apply for a new line with M1 for a while. But so far all the prices of those mobile phones I am looking for are higher than those offered by StarHub (I had not compared them with SingTel because the customer service hotline is difficult to get through).

However, on Saturday, Oct 13, I saw an advertisement by an M1 exclusive distributor that has a $0 deal for the new model Nokia 6500 classic (The Straits Times, Page 2).
This was cheaper than what was offered by StarHub on Page 9. At the same time, there was a big advertisement by M1 on Page 19 boasting the lowest price for this phone.
I thought this was a good time to get one and, despite the anticipated weekend crowd, I made my way to the M1 shop at Parkway Parade. But to my disappointment, it seemed that the advertisements were merely a sales gimmick.
The $0 deal was applicable only if you trade in a $300 phone. I was told that it was in the fine print. I went back home and looked through the advertisement again but nowhere could I find this condition, even in fine print. Are such sales gimmick acceptable?
Lynn Chua Say Khiang (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_167945.html