Drug
abuse is viewed seriously in Singapore. The death penalty is mandatory
for those convicted of trafficking, manufacturing, importing or
exporting more than any one of the following:
- 15g of
heroin
30g of cocaine
- 30g of
morphine
500g of cannabis
- 1.2kg of
opium
200g of cannabis resin
Possession of such quantities is deemed as prima facie evidence of
trafficking.
Those convicted of unauthorised drug consumption face maximum
imprisonment of 10 years, fine of S$20,000 or both.
Littering
There are laws in place to discourage
littering. A carelessly thrown tissue could result in a S$1,000 fine for
first offenders, and up to S$2,000 fine and a stint of corrective work
order cleaning a public place for repeat offenders.
Smoking
Smoking is banned on public buses, in
taxis, lifts, theatres, government offices, cinemas, shopping centres
and covered areas. First time offenders may be fined up to a maximum of
S$1000. Smoking is not prohibited in air-conditioned pubs, discos,
karaoke bars and nightspots.
Excerpt of a
letter by Billy CHEW, signing for Permanent Secretary, Ministry
of the Environment, to The Straits Times of 29 Sep 2000
"..It is an offence
under the law to take a lighted cigarette into the lift, even if
the person is not smoking it.
"To state this
clearly, the Ministry of the Environment is in the process of
standardising all smoking signs in lifts to that which shows a
lighted cigarette with a slash across.
"This year, so far,
our officers have apprehended 400 offenders who smoked in places
where smoking is prohibited. Our officers will continue to be on
the lookout for those who blatantly flout the law...."
Common
Driving Offences & their prescribed punishment
TYPE OF
OFFENCE
APPLICABLE
LAW
PUNISHMENT
Speeding
Section 63 of the
Road Traffic Act
Fine up to S$1000
or jail up to 3 months; and on subsequent conviction, fine up to
S$2000 or jail up to 6 months. Disqualification from driving.
Reckless/dangerous
driving
Section 64 of the
Road Traffic Act
Fine up to S$3000
or jail up to 12 months, or both. Subsequently, fine up to
S$5000 or jail up to 2 years, or both. Disqualification from
driving.
Driving without due
care and attention, or without reasonable consideration
Section 65 of the
Road Traffic Act
Fine up to S$1000
or jail up to 6 months, or both. Subsequently, fine up to S$2000
or jail up to 12 months, or both. Disqualification from driving.
Use of mobile phone
while driving
Section 65B of the
Road Traffic Act
Fine up to S$1000
or jail up to 6 months, or both. Subsequently, fine up to S$2000
or jail up to 12 months, or both. Disqualification from driving.
Causing death by
reckless or dangerous driving
Section 66 of the
Road Traffic Act
Jail up to 5 years.
Disqualification from driving.
Drink driving
Section 67 of the
Road Traffic Act
Fine between S$1000
and S$5000, or jail up to 6 months. Subsequently, fine between
S$3000 and S$10000, and jail up to 12 months. Disqualification
from driving.
Causing the death
of any person by a rash or negligent act
Section 304A of the
Penal Code
Jail up to 2 years
or fine or both. Disqualification from driving.
Rash or negligent
driving
Section 279 of the
Penal Code
Jail up to 6 months
or fine up to S$1000, or both. Disqualification from driving.
To give more priority to buses on our
roads the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will introduce a pilot
scheme to make it mandatory to give way to all buses exiting at 23
selected bus stops located along three roads...
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will place
tuberculosis (TB) under the Sixth Schedule of the Infectious
Diseases Act (IDA) with effect from 1 December 2008, This will
further strengthen public health measures against the spread of the
disease, especially amongst air travellers...
There were 700[2]new cases of TB
notified among Singapore residents in the first 6 months of 2008, as
compared to 1,256 cases last year. The projected incidence of TB in
2008 is 38.4 per 100,000, which is higher than the 35.1 per 100,000
in 2007...
More than 10,100 Singaporeans have
signed Advance Medical Directives (AMDs). Over the years, 19 AMDs
have been revoked and 6 have been put into effect...
Our AMD rate of 0.4% is low. But this is
the experience in many other countries too. For example, in
Australia the sign-up rate is even lower, at 0.2%. The US is unique
in having a much higher sign-up rate compared to the rest of the
world. Their rate is around 20% in adult population...
Euthanasia is only allowed in Belgium
and the Netherlands. In Switzerland and the states of Oregon and
Washington in the U.S., doctor-assisted suicide is permissible, but
not euthanasia...
My Ministry is promoting Advance Medical
Directive (AMD) and palliative care. AMD is about letting nature
takes its course for the terminally ill at the last stage of their
lives; AMD is about not mindlessly postponing death through futile
medical interventions. AMD is not euthanasia or doctor-assisted
suicide. I do not think that Singaporeans are ready to accept
euthanasia...
The three-year time frame for school
buses to retrofit seat belts is to minimise the disruption to the
transport of these children that are displaced...
The five-year timeframe for the
remaining small buses takes into consideration the fact that
priority will be given to school buses during the first three years,
and the capacity of the workshops to handle the retrofitting work.
Police arrested eight Chinese male subjects,
aged between 14 and 27 years old, for unlicensed moneylending related
harassment activities in Hougang, Sengkang and Pasir Ris in a 20-hour
operation which ended on the morning of 27 December 2007...
MediaCorp Radio has paid a $5,000 fine
imposed by the Media Development Authority (MDA) for airing a discussion
on a sex-related topic during Class 95FM's "The Morning Express"
programme in August this year.
The programme, aired between 7am to 8am
on 21 August 2007, contained a prolonged discussion between the DJs
on "whether men and women should make noise during sex" and "whether
noisy men turn women off"...
Confidence tricksters continue to use the
"Kidnap Hoax Scam" with 9 cases reported between 1 and 29 November 07
and 19 cases reported between 1 and 6 Dec 07...
Another ruse used by the cheats is to
impersonate themselves as police officers or staff from the Supreme
Court...
This method of cheating surfaced in
September 07 which prompted police to alert members of public. As of 6
December 07, a total of 224 reports were received. The culprits were
unsuccessful in 195 cases, but in 29 cases the victims were cheated of
more than S$275,500 cash...
With effect from 1 January 2008, the S Pass
quota for all sectors will be increased from 15% to 25%. The new S Pass
quota will come entirely from companies' Work Permit quota which will be
increased for all sectors. Companies can therefore employ more S Pass
holders, in lieu of Work Permit holders, hence improving the quality of
their foreign workforce...
To strengthen our
global talent attraction and retention efforts, refinements will be made
to the PEP scheme. Foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed monthly
salary overseas was at least S$7,000 will be eligible for a PEP. The PEP
will also be granted to former P1 Employment Pass holders upon
application.
These changes
will take effect from 1 March 2008. Existing and new P1 pass holders
working in Singapore that apply for the PEP ahead of the 2-year
requirement will be accorded in-principle approval. They can apply to
take up the PEP at the end of 2 years on their current P1 pass...
Since 17 Oct 07, HDB, SCDF and NEA have been
mounting joint inspections with the Town Councils to enforce the ODA
guidelines. Sixteen joint inspections, one in each of the 16 Town
Councils, involving a total of 1,180 commercial units, have been carried
out to-date.
Upon the first joint inspection, an average
of 41% of the shops at each site were found to have infringed the ODA
guidelines. Some of the common infringements include installation of
drop-down screens and lack of 1-metre distance between rows of goods...
Effective from 1 January 2008, all new
products must comply with the ACD requirements and notify HSA prior to
sale.
All existing products that are currently
sold in the local market will be given 12 months to notify HSA and to
fully comply with the requirements by 1 Jan 2011...
Between 24 October to 18 November 2007,
Singapore police conducted a series of island-wide raids targeted at
illegal soccer bookmaking activities and arrested a total of 20 persons
for illegal soccer bookmaking and gambling activities...
In his Opening Address, Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan announced the increase of up to 25 per cent in funding for
the 17 social service agencies that are running the Guidance Programme
(GP) - a six-month programme for first-time young offenders to divert
them away from being charged in Court...
Towards the end of the 6-month
programme, the social worker will assess the youth’s overall
progress and make an appropriate recommendation to the Police
Investigation Officer.
Depending on the risks and needs of the
youth, the programme may be extended for up to
six months. The youth, if he completes the programme successfully,
may be let off with a stern Police warning in lieu of prosecution...
The Board of Film Censors (BFC) will be
launching a video games classification system next year to provide more
choice for adults while protecting the young.
In the interim period, the BFC has decided
to selectively use games rating to enable highly anticipated games to be
launched in Singapore...
At about 6.00 pm today, Chee Siok Chin and
John Tan had walked into Orange Grove Road, which is an area gazetted as
a Protected Area.
Police officers deployed along the
stretch of road first engaged the pair at the junction of Orange
Grove Road and Orchard Rd and advised them that they were about to
enter the protected area and that they should not do so...
They were warned repeatedly that they had
entered the protected area, and should they refuse to leave, they would
be removed. When they ignored the repeated warnings, and still refused
to leave and continued to move forward, police officers led them into a
police vehicle to bring them out of the protected area...
Part II of the Bill establishes the
National Registry of Diseases and sets out its functions. These
include the collection of information on reportable diseases,
establishment of registers, compilation and publication of
statistics, and the provision of information for supporting health
services and national public health policies...
Clause 6, in Part III of the Bill,
makes the notification of reportable diseases mandatory for
managers of all healthcare institutions. The burden is placed on
the manager as he has the management and control of the
institution. Very limited data will be required to make a
notification...
Computer gaming establishments are only
allowed to be set up at shopping, recreational or commercial centres.
This includes HDB Town Centres, which are part commercial and part
residential.
In addition, licensees of computer gaming
centres are required not to admit persons below 16 years of age before
6.30 pm on a school day.
Further, the licensee has to ensure that
students wearing school uniforms are not admitted into the establishment
at any time, and is not allowed to provide a change of clothes to
students...
Police raided 3 internet cafes at in Geylang
on 9 November 07, which resulted in the arrest of 15 men and 3 women
aged between 18 and 47 years old.
Acting on information received, Police
quickly established that three Internet cafes along Geylang Lorong 17
and 18 were involved in the provision of illegal online gambling
games...
Over a five day period from 30 October - 3
November 2007, 26 taxi drivers were found overcharging, seven were found
touting while the rest were caught for refusing to convey passengers, in
enforcement operations conducted at several spots such as Sentosa,
Clarke Quay, Orchard Towers and Boat Quay...
As the general review into Ren Ci’s past
transactions also disclosed other gaps in corporate governance and
internal controls, MOH commissioned EYA to carry out a more in-depth
evaluation.
The follow-up reviews have since identified
some possible irregularities in certain financial transactions involving
Ren Ci and certain external organisations. Hence, MOH is commencing an
Inquiry into Ren Ci to establish a fuller and better understanding of
these irregularities...
The number of people falling prey to lottery
scam fraudsters remains a concern to Police. In the past month, on
average, 1 Singaporean falls victim to it daily. So far this year, more
than 210 victims have been cheated of over S$2 million...
Since the opening of Phase 1 of the
Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) on 26 October 2007, the speed
cameras installed in the KPE tunnel have captured a total of 3,378
vehicles speeding above the prescribed road speed limit of 70km/h in the
first six days.
From 1 November 2007 onwards, persons who
move into or out of Singapore physical currency1 or bearer
negotiable instruments2 (CBNI) the total value of which
exceeds SGD 30,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) will be
required to give a report by filling up a form and submitting it to the
authorities.
The form is available at all checkpoints,
police establishments, Singapore Visitors Centres and branches of
Singapore Post...
The new section 376C (Commercial sex
with minor under 18 outside Singapore) will have extra-territorial
effect so that it would be an offence for Singapore citizens and
Permanent Residents to solicit or engage in commercial sex with
minors under 18 in other countries...
Feedback received highlighted concerns over
female sexual abuse of male minors. On further consideration, we accept
that these younger male children could be exploited by older women.
Consequently, we have decided to make it an offence for a woman to
engage in penile penetrative sexual acts with a male minor under 16 and
to have commercial sex with a male minor under 18...
Whilst prostitution per se is not an
offence, new section 376B (Commercial sex with minor under 18)
will make it an offence for a person to solicit, communicate or
obtain sexual services from a minor under 18 years of age...
In 2006, out of the 6,406 VCH cases, Police
initiated action on behalf of the victims in 468 cases, which accounted
for 7.3 % of the VCH cases reported...
Police will initiate prosecution into VCH
cases where there is harm to the public interest and safety, and when it
is assessed that the assailant is a bully who is taking advantage of the
weak and vulnerable - especially young children, senior citizens and
physically or mentally-disabled persons...
Under the new Act, only dealers who deal in
secondhand goods that are listed in the Schedule will be regulated. This
will be regardless of whether such dealings take place at a shopfront,
via a makeshift stall or over the Internet.
The list of items was drawn up based on
crime data of commonly stolen items. While the existing Act has a wider
list of items, the new regulatory regime has a reduced list which
comprises commonly stolen items. This allows a sharper regulatory focus
in preventing fencing1.
Dealers who deal in items which are not in
the new list will not be regulated. The list of items may also be
revised according to crime trends...
HSA is adopting a phased approach in
implementing the new regulations to minimise the impact to the
supply of medical devices and to provide sufficient time for the
industry to meet the new standards and requirements. The control
measures will be implemented in three phases, starting from 1
November 2007:..
Upon arrival at the Istana, Police officers
observed that Chee Soon Juan and some of his SDP supporters were staging
a demonstration with various placards at the Istana Park.
Police issued repeated warnings against Chee
Soon Juan and four persons who were part of his demonstration group, as
they have contravened the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and
Nuisance) (Prohibition of Assemblies and Processions - Istana) Order...
Despite repeated warnings to disperse, Chee
Soon Juan and the others refused to comply and persisted with his
unlawful demonstration. The Police seized the placards and arrested Chee
Soon Juan and others...
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
has issued a consultation paper proposing to exempt card issuers from
complying with the maximum credit limit when issuing credit or charge
cards to individuals with an annual income of at least $120,000 or net
personal assets exceeding $2 million[1].
With the proposed exemption, card issuers
may determine the appropriate credit limits for this higher income group
in line with their assessment of the credit worthiness of these
individuals...
Therefore, we propose to amend the IDA to
empower the Director of Medical Services (DMS) to obtain left-over
samples, and send them for the tests and examinations for the purpose of
monitoring the infectious disease situation in Singapore...
The Ministry proposes to expand the IDA to
empower DMS to close any premises as non-food establishments may also be
the source of an outbreak...
We propose to amend the IDA so that when
required, the DMS may require medical practitioners as well as other
categories of health care workers (e.g. TCM practitioners, dentists,
pharmacists, etc.) to obtain disease related information from their
patients...
MOH proposes to expand the IDA to
address the situation where an individual who, although unaware
that he is HIV-positive, has reason to believe that he has been
exposed to the risk of contracting HIV or AIDS (e.g. by having
unprotected casual sex with multiple partners)...
The profile of the population by gender and
education in the drug rehabilitation centres, penal institutions, and
juvenile homes as of Jun 2007 are set out in the tables below:...
Police have arrested five Singaporeans for
peddling pirated and counterfeit merchandise on the Internet.
The four women and a man, aged between
24 and 34 years, were arrested at various locations in a 12-hour
island-wide operation conducted on 24 September 2007...
It will
be made an offence to engage in penetrative acts
such as oral and anal sex with a minor under the age
of 16, with or without the consent of the minor;
It will
be made an offence to obtain commercial sex from a
minor under the age of 18, or communicate with any
person for such a purpose; and
A new
offence of sexual grooming of minors under the age
of 16 will be introduced...
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revoked
the licences and forfeited the security deposits of three employment
agencies (EA) - Ms Bushra Employment Agency, CM Manpower Centre Pte Ltd
and Angel Maids Agency.
These EAs have breached the Employment
Agencies Act by illegally deploying foreign domestic workers (FDWs)
to perform work at households when they have not obtained valid
work passes1...
Our laws are an expression and
reflection of the values of our society and any public discourse
in Singapore on such matters should be reserved for Singaporeans.
Foreigners will not be allowed to
interfere in our domestic political scene, whether in support of
the gay cause or against it.
Clause 11
of the Bill makes it mandatory for anyone physically
carrying currency and bearer negotiable instruments or
CBNI, above S$30,000, into or out of Singapore, to
declare this to the authorities at the checkpoints...
The threshold amount of
S$30,000 is based on the recommendation by the FATF,
and includes not only currency in circulation, but
also bearer negotiable instruments such as travellers
cheques, money orders, cheques, bonds and promissory
notes...
Hence, for clarity, a crossed cheque
made payable to a specific person with the word “bearer” deleted
is not considered a bearer negotiable instrument because only the
person named on the cheque can receive the amount stated on it.
The new measure would be
non-discriminatory and will be imposed on all travellers,
including citizens, residents and foreigners, entering and exiting
the country.
The penalties for non-declaration and false
declaration are a maximum fine of S$50,000 or a term of imprisonment of
up to 3 years or both...
In July this year, Parliament passed the
Optometrists & Opticians Act. The Act which aims to raise the standard
of eye care in Singapore will come into effect on 1 January 2008...
Applications for registration by the
Optometrists and Opticians Board have just started. Optometrists
and opticians are advised to apply for registration before 15
December 2007, in order to continue practising as optometrists or
opticians from January 2008...
The Ministry of Manpower will require
employers to purchase and maintain insurance for the medical expenses of
foreign workers from 1 January 2008.
This requirement is being implemented in
tandem with the withdrawal of healthcare subsidies for foreigners1,
which was previously announced by the Ministry of Health. The
requirement will apply to:
All new and existing foreign workers
on Work Permit or S Pass from 1 January 2008.
All new foreign domestic workers, and
existing foreign domestic workers when employers renew their Work
Permits, from 1 January 2008.
"Should a private investigator or security
officer be charged with or convicted of a prescribed offence which makes
his continued employment as a private investigator or security officer
undesirable, his licence can be suspended with immediate effect. This
power is provided in Clause 24(5) of the Bill.
"With the introduction of the licensing
schemes for security officers and private investigators, more than 500
private investigators and 30,000 security officers will need to apply
for a licence..."
"The drug addiction situation in Singapore
is under control, even though 999 drug abusers were arrested in the
first half of this year, compared to 446 over the same period last year.
"Of the total number of abusers arrested,
Buprenorphine abusers formed the majority, at 41%, with heroin abusers
at 30% and synthetic drug abusers at 25%.
"One reason for the increase of 553 abusers
is that the Central Narcotics Bureau gazetted Buprenorphine as a
controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in August last year..."
"Following the recent ruling by the Fatwa
Committee of MUIS that Muslims can be included under the Human Organ
Transplant Act (HOTA), the Ministry of Health intends to amend HOTA to
improve the access of Muslim patients to donated organs...
"MOH proposes to amend the HOTA to include,
upon death, Muslims who are Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents
(PR) between the ages of 21 and 60 years, who are of sound mind, and who
have not opted out...
"The inclusion of Muslims under HOTA is
expected to provide up to five additional organ donors per year
(yielding up to 10 kidneys, 10 corneas, 5 livers and 5 hearts)..."
"By 2012, we will require employers to offer re-employment to workers
reaching 62, up to age 65, and eventually to 67. This change will
precede the raising of the Draw Down Age (DDA). By 2012, employers
will be required to offer re-employment up to age 65 but the DDA to
65 will only be effected in 2018 – a significant time lag to help
workers and employers adjust...
"1% additional bonus interest will be
paid on the first $60,000 in a CPF member's combined accounts, with not more than
$20,000 from the OA accounts. This will enhance CPF's existing
risk-free framework...
"While our employment rates are among the highest in the world, our
residents are also among the longest living. The present DDA of 62
years is hence too early and results in the majority of members
prematurely depleting their savings. Thus, we will do the following: a.
progressively raise draw down age..
"Even after changes to DDA, there will be those who live longer than
85. We want to ensure that they have a stream of income for life. The Government will therefore be looking at making annuities
compulsory for members to protect them against outliving their
retirement savings...
On 19 August 2007 at about 3.15pm, an
Iranian man was arrested for an offence of theft by sleight of hand. The
man had earlier managed to steal money from foreigners by asking to see
their foreign currency.
"Currently, under the Mental Disorders and
Treatment Act (MDTA), the High Court can appoint a Committee of Person
or Committee of Estate to manage the personal welfare of or make
property related decisions for a person who is incapable of managing
himself or his affairs. However, the appointment can only be done after
a person has lost his mental capacity.
"One of the key features of the draft Mental
Capacity Bill is that it will provide a statutory framework to allow a
person to voluntarily make advance plans for his financial and personal
welfare..."
"While the figures for outraging of modesty
and cheating and related offences were not significantly different,
index crimes that were significantly higher in Jan-Jun 2007 from the
same period in 2006 were rape, motor vehicle theft, robbery and snatch
theft.
"However, there is no cause for alarm. For
rape, which saw the greatest percentage increase of 32%, the vast
majority of cases (90%) involved offenders who are known to their
victims..."
"Police has cancelled a licence under the
Public Entertainments and Meetings Act to organise a public forum on 7
Aug 2007 at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road on gay issues by a foreign
participant.
"A Singaporean, Mr Au Wai Pang, had applied
for the licence. He had separately applied to ICA for a professional
visit pass for the foreign national to speak at the forum..."
"All licensed dogs must be
microchipped with an ISO compliant microchip.
"Dogs that were licensed before 1 Sep
07 will be exempted from the requirement. However, owners of such
dogs are strongly encouraged to have their dogs microchipped for
better traceability...
"Under the new Rules1, the
annual licence fee for all unsterilised dogs (both male and
female) is $70 while the licence fee for sterilised dogs is
$14..."
"Upon approval by the Accreditation
Council, dating agencies and practitioners will be awarded the SDU
Trust Mark. They will also be listed in two national registries
that SDU will be setting up - Registry of Dating Agencies (www.rda.gov.sg)
and Registry of Dating Practitioners (www.rdp.gov.sg).
"Singles should see the first batch of
accredited dating agencies and practitioners by early 2008..."
"The aim
of the treatment and rehabilitation regime is to give
first and second time abusers a chance at
rehabilitation without the stigmatisation of a
criminal record...
"Recalcitrant abusers with two previous records for
consumption of cannabis or cocaine or that of opiates,
synthetic drugs or buprenorphine who are arrested
again for the consumption of any of these drugs would
be liable for long term imprisonment under the Long
Term (LT) Imprisonment Regime, if convicted..."
"For optometrists, those
with recognised qualifications and at least a year of
optometry experience will be fully registered.
Optometrists with less than a year of experience will
be provisionally registered, and will have to work
under supervision for 1 year before they become fully
registered...
"For opticians, those with
work experience of at least 5 years will be fully
registered as opticians if they pass a competency
test. Those with between 2 to 5 years of experience
will need to undergo a part-time modular upgrading
course. There may be some opticians who do not intend
to do any refraction but wish to do only dispensing;
they will need to undergo a competency test or failing
which, an upgrading programme but without the
refraction component. This will ensure that they can
uphold safe standards in dispensing.
"Opticians with less than
2 years experience and all new entrants to the
profession will need to attend a certificate course in
opticianry in order to qualify for registration.
Singapore Polytechnic has organised a course to cater
to these opticians. Such a course can be completed in
9 to 24 months..."
"There
were 124 reported cases of females becoming victims of
sex crimes as a result of them knowing the offenders
through the Internet between 2001 and 2006...
"Of these
reported cases, 80 cases (or about two-thirds)
involved victims who were below 16 years of age. Of
these 124 cases, two of them also involved the
victims’ property being stolen..."
"Thus, this Bill repeals the existing Act, and
re-enacts a new Passports Act which introduces measures against
the abuse and misuse of Singapore passports and travel documents,
as well as foreign travel documents...
"Clause 45 of the Bill makes it compulsory for
Singaporeans, or a person who has parental responsibility for a
Singaporean aged 16 and below, to report the loss or theft of a
passport within 14 days when he first knows of the fact...
"Clause 23 of the Bill allows the Controller to refuse passports to
persons for law enforcement reasons, such as to persons who have
been placed under supervision under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This
will ensure that they do not indulge in drug-related activities
overseas. Others who may be refused passports include those who
are the subject of warrants of arrest issued for seizeable
offences...
"A person who is found guilty of giving away his Singapore
passport or travel document and is reckless as to whether it will
be misused by another person for travel or for identification
purposes will face a fine of up to $5,000, a jail term of up to
three years, or both..."
"In a 13-hour island-wide operation conducted
from 9.30am to 11.00pm on 11 July 2007, Police busted a major local
distributor and a syndicate involved in the sale and distribution of
counterfeit luxury and sportswear products..."
"Police arrested two men and three women,
aged 22 - 37 at the airport yesterday after they were found with nine
pieces of luggage containing more than 350 pieces of new garments...
"Preliminary investigations revealed that
about 30 of the items in their possession were found
to be stolen from shops in the Orchard area..."
"In Feb 2007, ISD arrested and subsequently
detained one self-radicalised Singaporean under the Internal Security
Act (ISA) – Abdul Basheer s/o Abdul Kader (Abdul Basheer), aged 28...
"At the time of his arrest, he had purchased
an air ticket to Pakistan, where he intended to make contact with a
militant group – the Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) - that could help him train
for ‘militant jihad’ and to cross over into Afghanistan to fight
alongside the Taliban..."
"Under the Act,
marketers - particularly those based in Singapore or who have
operations here - who continue to spam the “not interested” group
face potential financial penalties. The statutory penalty is $25
for each electronic message, up to a total of $1 million..."
'The Media
Development Authority (MDA) has informed MediaCorp
Radio that it will be fined $15,000 for breaching the
Radio Programme Code when it broadcast exploitative
and inappropriate content in its programme “No Bra
Days with the Muttons” from 14 – 16 March 2007...'
"At about noon on 2 June 07, the culprit, a
freelance web page designer, called the SCDF control room to inform that
there was a bomb at Raffles Place. SCDF immediately reported the call to
the Police...
"Subsequently, around 2.30pm, the same
caller made a second call to the SCDF control room informing that
someone had planted bombs at Orchard Road and the Tanjong Pagar area..."
Oversight of corporate governance of listed
companies will be transferred from the Council of Corporate Disclosure
and Governance (CCDG)[1] to the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) with effect from 1
September 2007...
The Code of Corporate Governance will
continue to be implemented through the SGX Listing Rules via the “comply
or explain” approach[2], as is currently the practice...
"For the first quarter of 2007, SPF arrested
920 persons for drink driving, an increase of 22% over the same period
in 2006. Slight injury accidents related to drink driving increased from
about 200 cases in 2004 to 260 cases in 2006.
"Fatal and serious injury accidents related
to drink driving have remained stable over the past 3 years, registering
38 cases, 28 cases and 32 cases in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively..."
"In May this year, the Ministry of Health
will propose legislation, in Parliament, to regulate the practices of
optometrists and opticians. If passed in Parliament, it will be called
the Optometrists and Opticians Bill..."
"Land Transport Authority (LTA), Traffic
Police (TP) and the Tampines Grassroots Organisations (GROs) will be
conducting a study in the Tampines Town to assess the feasibility of
allowing cycling on footways with effect from 27 May 2007.
"The study will last for one year and end on
30 May 2008...
"Currently, under Rule 28 of the Road Traffic
Rules, enacted in 1981, cycling on footways is prohibited. Like any
other vehicles, bicycles are to be ridden on the roads and cyclists are
required to abide by all relevant traffic rules and regulations..."
"We support the stand that personal
information identifiable to an individual participating in human
biomedical research should be safeguarded.
"Proper rules governing the access and use of
personal information and a secure system of information protection would
re-assure research subjects on the confidentiality of personal
information.
"In this connection, MOH is drafting a
National Disease Registry Bill to provide an overarching legal framework
for the collection of epidemiological information on key diseases for
public health policy and planning purposes..."
"The New Burial System (NBS) introduced in
2002 for the re-internment of exhumed remains from the Bidadari Cemetery
will now be extended to all burials from the end of this month.
"The system will first be implemented in the
Muslim Cemetery end of May. This will be followed by the Chinese
Cemetery in August, Christian and Lawn Cemeteries in October, and Hindu
Cemetery in December..."
"Following the implementation of new
regulations governing charity registration, public fund-raising appeals
and large charities on 1 May 2007, the Commissioner of Charities (COC)
announces today the removal of three charities from the Register of
Charities with immediate effect.
"These are the Children of Singapore
Foundation, Children's Lukaemia Foundation Limited, and Club Sunshine
Limited (previously known as Kids-In-Distress Foundation Limited[1]).
"The COC has also decided not to grant
charity status to Kidney Fund Organisation..."
"Singapore will be implementing new aviation
security measures for hand-carry luggage on flights departing Singapore
from 8 May 2007 (Tuesday), 1200hrs..."
"Seventeen Chinese men aged between 17 to 38
years old believed to be members of an unlicensed moneylending (UML)
syndicate were arrested in an island-wide operation conducted on 12
April 07. More than $130,000 in cash was seized...
"Fifteen premises in Woodlands, Sengkang, Ang
Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Hougang, Yishun, Sembawang, Serangoon and Changi were
raided during the operation, which lasted from 8pm on 12 April 07 to 1am
on 13 April 07..."
"Part I of
the Bill defines spam. A message is “spam” when it is
an unsolicited commercial electronic message sent more
than 100 times, with the same or similar
subject-matter, during a 24-hour period, or more than
1,000 times during a 30-day period, or more than
10,000 times during a one-year period...
"An opt-out approach
is adopted under the Bill as it balances the need of companies and
marketers to send unsolicited messages for business reasons...
"In order to balance
between consumer interests and industry needs the Bill will
require that each message contains a valid unsubscribe facility,
an ‘<ADV>’ label to mark it out as an advertisement,
accurate header information or subject titles and functional
contact details of the sender...
"The unsubscribe
process has been structured to be consumer-friendly so that even
individuals who receive small volumes of spam have a means of
recourse, without resorting to legal action. The Bill makes it
mandatory for senders to allow recipients to unsubscribe via the
same medium through which the spam was received. This ensures that
unsubscribing from spam can be done easily and conveniently by
replying to an email or SMS..."
"When asked, the man did not declare any
items. Subsequent screening revealed images that appeared to be guns
within his baggage. A physical check of his check-in carton revealed 20
sets of pellet guns and 5 bottles of pellets. He was subsequently
detained for investigation.
"Police investigated a total of 38 cases
involving airsoft guns in 2006. Since the beginning of this year (2007),
Police have investigated 21 such cases. Most of these airsoft guns were
detected at the airport and other checkpoints, as well as the Singapore
Post Centre..."
"The Postal Services will be fully
liberalised when Singapore Post Ltd (SingPost)’s monopoly license for
Basic Mail Services expires on 31 March 2007.
"The Postal Services
(Amendment) Bill will provide the legislative framework for liberalising
Basic Mail Services...
"MICA will
take into account the comments provided during this
public consultation when finalising the draft Postal
Services (Amendment) Bill in preparation for its
consideration in Parliament..."
"Theft and related offences 2,
which accounted for more than half (61%) of overall crime
reported, fell by 2,192 cases from 22,711 to 20,519 cases in 2006.
"The overall decrease was largely due
to fewer cases of shop theft, theft from person and
other theft3 . In addition,
handphone crimes4 also dropped from 4,825 to 4,594
cases...
"Youths made up 19% of total persons
arrested in 2006, compared to 23% last year..."
"With immediate effect, HDB will be
relaxing its policy on the subletting of whole flats through a
further reduction of the MOP and delinking it from the lessees’
HDB loan status. The revised MOP is:
"5 years for owners of
subsidised flats, i.e. flats
purchased directly from HDB or from the open market with a CPF
Housing Grant; and
3 years for owners of non-subsidised flats, i.e.
flats purchased from the open market without a CPF Housing
Grant..."
"In a pilot test, Police has allowed
beer to be sold in four dormitories1, and where the
beer is then consumed at designated social areas inside the
dormitories...
"Police is now conducting a review to
assess if the sale and consumption of beer can be extended to
other dormitories..."
"In tandem with the tightening of
charity registration, the COC's office will also launch the
Charity Portal (http://www.charities.gov.sg)
to provide a convenient one-stop ''paper-less'' process for
application for charity status and institution of a public
character (IPC) status.
"The Charity Portal provides a one-stop
resource centre for the public who want to know more about
charities in Singapore, including those interested in setting up
charities and IPCs..."
In 2005, as part of Police’s overall
enforcement strategy, more resources were diverted to ensure greater
police presence on our roads to deter motorists from flouting traffic
rules.
"The public had by then become more aware of the PSLC
deployment through Traffic Police’s website and radio.
"This contributed to the number of
summonses issued for speeding falling 37% to 51,800 in 2005 as
compared to 2004. In 2006, the number of summonses issued for
speeding decreased 13% to 45,130 compared to the 51,800 summonses
issued in 2005..."
"Currently, the penalty for not filing an income tax
return is significantly less severe than the penalty
for under-declaring income. This creates an incentive
for taxpayers to avoid taxation by not submitting
their income tax returns.
"To
discourage this practice, a penalty of double the
amount of tax undercharged will be introduced for the
failure to file a tax return in respect of any year of
assessment within 3 years from the filing deadline..."
"In 2006, 294 persons were arrested for UML
offences and related harassment activities. This is an increase of 11%
as compared to 2005.
"In 2006, Police also dealt with 39
UML syndicate members under the CL(TP) Act, which is an increase
of 63% compared to 24 in 20053. In addition, Police
smashed 8 syndicates last year4 ..."
"A measured step of lowering the minimum
annual income threshold for unsecured credit facilities from $30,000 to
$20,000. A more conservative maximum credit limit of twice the
borrower's monthly income will be set for individuals in this $20,000 to
$30,000 income group, with no access to credit cards...
"Create appropriate modifications to
the moneylenders regime. For instance, for unsecured loans of
$3,000 and below, no minimum income requirement would be imposed
but such loans would be subject to an interest rate cap..."
"The
current Act does not cover dealers operating without a
shop. We recognise that many secondhand goods dealers
today actually carry on their business via other
means, such as on the Internet, or in an open-air
setting like Sungei Road. This is unacceptable, as
thieves and robbers will simply get rid of their loot
through these other dealers who do not have a
shop-front...
"MHA is
hence widening the coverage of the law to include
those dealers who do not operate within a shop.
However, in keeping with the emphasis on a sharper
regulatory focus, only dealers who trade in secondhand
goods that are listed in the Schedule will come under
the ambit of the Act..."
"The COC found that the Executive
President's total annual remuneration for the financial year ended
31 January 2006 was $248,867. Of this amount, only $53,836 was
disclosed as the Executive President's salaries in the Income and
Expenditure Statement.
"Another $164,475 was disclosed in Note
3 to the audited financial statements as salaries apportioned to
various projects/events...
"The Executive President's total
remuneration of $248,867 amounted to 56% of the total donation and
other income of $442,287 raised for the same period..."
"Entities
that have not been approved to issue credit cards in
Singapore will be prohibited from soliciting for or
accepting card applications in Singapore, and this
applies equally to third parties acting on their
behalf...
"The
proposed regime also clarifies that single party
merchant credit is exempted from regulation.
Such an arrangement, where the card is used only for
transactions with the issuer, is essentially a
deferred payment scheme offered by merchants to their
customers.
"In
addition, a new exemption for cards granting credit in
small amounts not exceeding S$500 will be introduced.
This allows flexibility in payments for small-ticket
items without raising substantial concerns about
Singaporeans spending beyond their means..."
"The Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers estimated that an
additional 140-150 legal professionals will be required each year
from 2010 until 2015 to meet the needs of Singapore’s legal
industry.
"To meet this number, the SMU School of Law will take in 90
students in AY2007, reaching a steady-state intake of 120 from
AY2008 onwards.
"The NUS Faculty of Law will also increase its intake from the
current 220 to 240 beginning in AY2007..."
"Coincidentally, on the day that Chee
stopped eating (28 Nov 06), the SDP website posted a statement “Dr
Chee Soon Juan’s health deteriorates in prison” and started to
purvey the story that Chee was unwell because of his treatment in
prison.
"Soon after that, several foreign
Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) wrote to express concerns
similar to that purveyed by the SDP over Chee’s health and his
treatment in prison.
"Then just as strangely as Chee had
stopped eating on 28 Nov 06, Chee abruptly resumed eating his
meals on 4 Dec 06. He ate his dinner ordered from a menu of
choices at Changi General Hospital...
"The culprit lured unsuspecting car
enthusiasts in an online motoring forum into parting with their money by
claiming that he was able to get bulk discounts on car parts and
accessories.
"The victims would place orders with the
culprit and make payment electronically. However, the victims never
received their goods. When the victims discovered that they had been
cheated, the culprit taunted them to catch him if they could..."
"The Bill introduces a requirement for
foreign full and wholesale bank branches to maintain a minimum
level of eligible assets in Singapore in proportion to their
liabilities...
"Such a requirement would help to
improve the recovery of assets from a failed foreign bank branch
in Singapore to meet the claims of Singapore depositors..."
"Government announced on 17 August 2006, its
in-principle acceptance of the recommendation of the Third Committee on
the Supply of Lawyers chaired by the former Attorney-General, to allow
Singaporean citizens or Permanent Residents ("PRs") who graduated from
Overseas Scheduled Universities with Second Class (Lower Division)
Honours to practise law in Singapore, provided they possessed certain
relevant work experience or qualifications..."
The Ministry of Manpower will introduce a
Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) from 1 January 2007 to help us better
attract and retain global talent...
The PEP allows the holder to remain in
Singapore for up to six months in between jobs to evaluate new
employment opportunities. This helps us to retain selected global talent
who would otherwise have to leave Singapore...
The PEP will be issued only once with a
validity of 5 years. It will be nonrenewable. A PEP holder will retain
the dependant privileges of his original EP type and the minimum annual
basic salary requirement of S$30,000 will continue to apply throughout
the 5-year duration...
"From 14
August 2006, doctors will not be permitted to
prescribe and dispense any take-home dosages for
existing patients.
"All
patients who require Subutex will have to consume their
medication under direct visual observation of the pharmacist, doctor
and/or his treatment team on a daily basis1 ..."
"To lower the minimum income threshold
for unsecured credit facilities to $20,000 from $30,000. The minimum
income requirement for credit cards remains at $30,000.
"To set the maximum aggregate credit
limit of all unsecured personal credit facilities and credit cards
granted by a financial institution at four times monthly income for
individuals with at least $30,000 in annual income. For individuals
with annual income of at least $20,000 and below $30,000, the maximum
aggregate credit limit will be twice their monthly income..."
"While some heroin addicts appeared to have
benefited from Subutex, many others seem to have merely shifted their
addiction from heroin to Subutex.
"In addition, many more who have never tried
drugs before have become new addicts. Within 4 years of introduction, we
now have at least 3800 Subutex users, 45% of them Malay, 43% Chinese and
10% Indian..."
"Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) will
henceforth be exempted from applying for exit permits for short overseas
trips of less than 3 months...
"NSmen who have completed their
Operationally-Ready National Service Training Cycle and have been
phased into the MINDEF Reserve (MR) will no longer be required to
notify the MNC of their overseas trips of more than 24 hours and
less than 6 months..."
"Crimes involving handphones being
stolen, which was one of the key concerns in 2005, decreased
significantly, from 2,423 to 1,962 cases, in the first half of
2006...
"The drop in handphone crimes, despite
the continued high mobile phone penetration rate in Singapore3
, may be in part due to enhanced public education on such crimes
as well as tighter enforcement against errant second-hand
handphone dealers..."
"When Yeo was asked if he had any drugs, Yeo volunteered to bring
drugs to the hotel where he was subsequently arrested with
Ecstasy, ‘Ice’, and Ketamine.
"Adrian Yeo was, therefore, not a law-abiding person enticed into
committing an offence by CNB.
"$In omitting to highlight the fact
that Yeo was a habitual drug abuser, the ST report has misled
readers into thinking that CNB had acted unethically when the
circumstances of the case clearly show the contrary and that CNB
had acted professionally..."
Food outlets such as hawker centres,
coffeeshops, cafes and fast food restaurants will be smoke-free from 1st
July. To protect patrons from second-hand smoke, smokers are reminded to
light up only at designated smoking corners.
Under this new regulation, smoking is banned
within the indoor refreshment areas (IRA) of all foodshops (Eg.
Coffeeshops, Cafes, Restaurants). They can designate up to 20% of the
floor area in their outdoor refreshment areas (ORA) as a smoking corner
upon NEA’s approval...
Under the new requirements,
establishments administering foot-reflexology,
physiotherapy, traditional massage or curative massage
must ensure that the massage services are conducted in
full view of the public and satisfy the following new
requirements before they are exempted from the
provisions of the Act...
Those who are currently already
operating in the industry are required to register their details by
26 Aug 2006.
To safeguard public health and safety,
masseuses, therapists and reflexologists who are working or will be
working in licensed massage establishments may be required to
undergo and pass a medical health screening before they can be
allowed to work for any licensed establishment for massage...
Smoking ban will be extended to hawker
centres, coffeeshops and cafes come 1st July.
To protect patrons from second-hand smoke, foodshop operators can set up smoking corners for
those who want to light up. To date, close to half of the affected
outlets have decided to set up smoking corners in their outdoor
refreshment areas...
MINDEF will require
pre-enlistees aged 13 to 16½ to apply for Exit Permits if they
intend to be away from Singapore for 3 months or more.
Those who require Exit Permits of 2
years or more will be required to furnish a bond...
The penalty regime for Exit Permit
offences for those aged 13 to 16˝ will be only a fine
of up to $2,000, with no custodial sentences...
We will thus be introducing a new
offence in the Enlistment Act under which parents and guardians can
be made liable for the Exit Permit offences of their children or
wards of ages 13 to 16½ so that the penalty can be imposed on their
parents or guardians when the circumstances warrant it. The penalty
regime for the offence will also be a fine of up to $2,000...
Therefore, MINDEF will only grant
deferment for pre-enlistees to gain their basic educational
qualifications of ‘A’ levels, polytechnic diploma, or below.
This is reasonable as most of our 18
year old NS enlistees would either have completed their basic
qualification programme or are about to complete it.
As university degrees are
considered higher educational qualifications,
deferments for university studies will no longer be
allowed.
This new policy for deferments has been in place from the end of
last year.
"As for snatch theft, where a person’s
belongings are forcibly snatched away from him, cases involving
handphones have increased from 160 cases in 2004 to 280 cases in
2005 and accounted for 45 per cent of the total number of snatch
theft cases in 2005.
"Of particular concern are the cases
specifically targeting the handphones of young victims, which has
increased from 50 cases in 2004 to 93 cases in 2005.
"Robbery and theft cases involving
handphones remain a key area of concern for the Police. The number
of such cases increased significantly by 42 per cent to 4,830 cases
in 2005.
"This is due to the higher mobile phone
penetration rate in Singapore, thereby giving rise to a larger pool
of potential victims. There are 4.3 million handphone subscribers in
Singapore..."
Robbery
and theft cases involving handphones taken remain a key area of
concern for the Police. The number of such cases increased
significantly by 1,414 cases, from 3,411 to 4,825 cases in 2005.
Handphone crimes increased most notably for theft in dwelling
(excluding shop theft) from 832 to 1,119 cases (+287 cases), and for
other thefts (from 1,096 to 1,837 cases in 2005).
Robbery (from 344 to 488 cases), snatch thefts (from
162 to 283 cases) and cheating and related offences
(from 275 to 343 cases) also saw notable increases.
The increase in handphone crime may be due to the rise in
mobile phone penetration rate9 in Singapore indicating a
larger pool of potential victims...
To discourage locals from developing into problem
gamblers, Section 116 of the Bill shall require the
casino operators to collect an entry levy from
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents for every
consecutive 24 hours in the casinos or $2,000 for an
annual membership.
This levy will also underscore the message that
gambling is an expense and not a means to get rich...
Section 108 of the Bill shall prohibit casino and junket
operators from extending credit to Singapore Citizens and Permanent
Residents, unless they maintain a credit balance of at least
$100,000 with the casino operator at the start of their gaming which
would qualify them as premium players.
Automated Teller Machines or ATMs shall be prohibited within the
casinos under Section 109 of the Bill so that patrons will not have
easy access to their savings accounts to gamble continuously.
Minors are also another potentially vulnerable group who may fall
prey to the glamour of the casino, without realising the possible
dangers of gambling. Sections 130 to 137 of the Bill will prohibit
persons below the age of 21 years from entering the casinos...
"Since the appeal case in the High Court in 1993,
besides Melvyn Tan there have been 13 other cases of convicted defaulters who
were sentenced only to a fine and who were not subsequently enlisted because
they were already over 40 or almost 40.
"This is something that we need to look into more
closely, especially as there may now be more defaulters who are 40 or older
coming before the courts with the passing of time...
"MINDEF will be proposing to the House to increase
the maximum fine provided for in the Enlistment Act from the current $5,000 to
$10,000...
"...from now on, MINDEF will ask the
prosecutor to press for a jail sentence in serious cases of NS defaulters, and
explain why we consider a jail sentence appropriate in a particular case..."
"The EA had failed to provide acceptable
housing for FDWs under its charge by housing them in the kitchen and
backyard of a house.
"In a separate incident, the EA also withheld
the passports of FDWs placed by them. Finally, the EA had failed to
repatriate an FDW upon the revocation of the in-principle approval of
her work permit within the Ministry’s stipulated deadline of 14 days..."
"Presently,... a nomination by a
policyholder of his spouse and/or children will
automatically create a statutory trust in favour of the spouse and/or children governed by section 73 of the
Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (CLPA).
"The creation of a statutory trust
effectively causes the policyholder to lose all rights to and control
over the policy. This means that without the consent of all the
beneficiaries, he cannot make any change to his nomination or the terms
of the policy.
"...MAS proposes to amend the Insurance Act
to bring under its purview the nomination of
beneficiaries in respect of the proceeds of insurance
policies..."
"If we let off a convicted courier because of
age, financial difficulties or distressed family background, it will
only make it easier for drug traffickers to recruit more "mules", with
the assurance that they will escape the death penalty..."
"But the number of unlicensed moneylending
and related harassment cases continues to rise: from some 1,500 cases in
1995 to almost 6,000 cases in 2004.
"In some instances, parties who did not
borrow money were also harassed; for example, new occupants of dwellings
that were formerly occupied by debtors and people who had lost or
misplaced their identity cards.
"In addition, the number of arrests made in
harassment cases more than doubled from 123 arrests in 2003 to 284
arrests in 2004..."
"Over the last 5 years, my Ministry
investigated an average of 188 complaints of alleged child abuse each
year. Only in 40% of cases did our investigations reveal real evidence
of abuse.
"Granted, the number of cases with evidence
of abuse increased by about one and a half times from 61 in 2000 to 90
in 2004. This is due largely to greater awareness among those who have
regular contact with children and who reported the incidents to the
authorities for intervention..."
"a recent survey highlighted that for small
medium enterprises, nearly a third of them are still
not fully compliant in the proper usage of software
products in their business environment. This could be
as a result of the use of illegal software or
under-licensing the use of software products...
"The survey also found that among those who
were non-compliant, a significant number were smaller
companies, averaging ten workstations or less. 47.3%
of this group were non-compliant...
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