Now no need scare no money pay for petrol or your shopping in Johor Bahru. The nightmare of looking for a money changer when you are out of cash will end soon.

Merchants who accept DBS bank’s PayLah! will display a Union Pay logo

Scan to pay at UnionPay QR Code-enabled merchants with PayLah! both locally and internationally.

Avoid the inconvenience of exchanging currency before your journey by scanning to pay with DBS PayLah service, which takes care of the conversion process for you.

UnionPay QR Code-enabled merchants worldwide now accept PayLah!. This implies that the cashless ease you appreciate with your Ultimate Everyday App can now be used abroad.

Gone are the days of struggling with notes and coins while travelling. With just a few clicks, take out your phone and safely scan to pay!

45 countries accepting Paylah!

DBS Paylah! users can now make purchases in 45 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia

This service, which was launched on Jun 21, is a collaboration between DBS, electronic payment provider NETS, and UnionPay, a global payment network. It leverages UnionPay’s payment network, which includes 31 million retailers worldwide, and uses QR codes.

To pay using the app, customers must either scan the code provided by merchants or generate their own UnionPay QR code at supported merchants. Furthermore, the app automatically manages currency conversion.

2 ways to pay with UnionPay QR Code

• Scan to Pay
• Generate a QR Code for the merchant to scan

MAN AND WOMAN INVESTIGATED FOR IMPORTING REPLICA GUNS

The Police have arrested a 42-year-old man for his suspected involvement in importing 20 replica guns and 54 magazines. A 61-year-old woman is also assisting in investigations.

Arising from anomalies detected in scanned images of an import container at Tuas Port, officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) proceeded to unstuff the said container on 13 March 2023. They then uncovered a shipment of replica guns intended for delivery in Singapore. The shipment, for which there was no licence, contained 20 replica guns and 54 magazines. The case was classified as a breach of Regulation 3(6) read with Regulation 45 of the Regulation of Imports and Exports Regulations (RIER), punishable under Section 3(3) of the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act 1995, and was referred to the Singapore Police Force for investigations.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from Woodlands Police Division established that the shipment was intended to be delivered to a 42-year-old man, and arrested him on 13 March 2023. Another two replica guns were seized during the arrest. A 61-year-old woman was also allegedly found to be involved in the operation. She was also believed to have assisted to import similar items on previous occasions. Another two replica guns were seized from the woman.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Replica guns

Replica toy guns are controlled items under the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act 1995. Under Section 3(3) of the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act 1995, any persons who is in contravention of subsidiary legislations such as the RIER shall, on the first conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or three times the value of the goods in respect of which the offence was committed, whichever is greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

Items such as replica toy guns may be deemed as offensive weapons depending on the circumstances in which they are found. If the person carrying the item is unable to provide a reasonable explanation for the item, the person may also be liable for an offence under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.

Photograph of seized shipment of replica guns and magazines

MAN ARRESTED FOR USING CRIMINAL FORCE TO DETER A PUBLIC SERVANT FROM DISCHARGE OF HIS DUTY AND DRIVING WITHOUT A VALID DRIVING LICENCE AND INSURANCE

The Police have arrested a 26-year-old man for his alleged involvement in a case of using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty, failing to stop as required by a police officer in uniform, driving without a valid driving licence and insurance and failing to conform to red light signal.

Background

On 14 March 2023 at 2:58am, police officers were patrolling along Solomon Street when they approached a man in a stationary car, to advise him against driving if he had consumed alcohol. When the officer asked him to alight from his vehicle, he allegedly refused to comply with the officer’s instructions and sped off. Police officers gave chase but lost sight of him after a distance. Police officers islandwide were immediately alerted to look out for the vehicle.

On the same day at about 3:20am, the vehicle was spotted by another group of police officers at a carpark along Jurong West Street 81. When the officers approached the man and instructed him to pull over, he purportedly refused to comply with the officers’ instructions, reversed and sped off. During the pursuit, the man was seen allegedly failing to conform to red light signals. An intense manhunt was conducted for both the man and the vehicle. At about 3:15pm on the same day, the vehicle was found abandoned along Kian Teck Road.

Through ground enquires and with the aid of images from CCTV and Police cameras, officers from the Central Police Division, Traffic Police and Bedok Police Division arrested the man along Jalan Eunos at about 4:30pm on the same day. No one was injured during the incident.

Charged in court

The man will be charged in court on 16 March 2023 for the following offences:

• Using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty under Section 353 of the Penal Code 1871
• 2 counts of failing to stop as required by a police officer in uniform under Section 127(5) of the Road Traffic Act 1961
• Driving without a valid driving license under Section 35(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1961
• Driving without a valid insurance under Section 3(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act 1960
• Failing to conform to red light under Section 120(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1961

Potential penalties

The offence of using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty under Section 353 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment for a term which may extend to four years, a fine, or both.

The offence of failing to stop as required by a police officer in uniform under Section 127(5) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 carries a fine not exceeding $1,000 or an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.

The offence of driving without a valid driving license under Section 35(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 carries a fine not exceeding $10,000, an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.

The offence of driving without a valid insurance under Section 3(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act 1960 carries a fine not exceeding $1,000, an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.

The offence of failing to conform to red light under Section 120(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 carries a fine not exceeding $1,000, or an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.

Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine Corp was previously in the news for giving their employees up to 52 months’ salary worth of bonuses last year.

This year, the company is planning to reward their employees with a mid-year bonus of up to 11 months’ worth of salary, spending NT$1.918 billion (or SGD$84 million) on the bonuses.

This comes in the wake of Evergreen Marine raking in NT$627.284 billion in revenue last year, an increase of 28.17% from the previous year.

The company saw a year-on-year increase of 39.82% in revenue, according to the shipping company’s financial report that was released on Tuesday.

The company’s revenue and profits hit a record high, with the company’s after-tax earnings per share (EPS) amounting to NT$87.07.

Evergreen marine announced in their financial report release that they will be giving their employees a mid-year bonus of between 10-11 months worth of salary as a reward for their contributions to the company.

The company currently has about 3,100 employees on an average monthly salary of NT$60,000 (SGD $2644.72). Which means that for those ezrning NT$60,000 per month, they would be receiving around NT$3.66 million (SGD$160,600) in total, if they get the bonus pay of 61 months.

In the first two months of this year, the company’s consolidated revenue stood at NT44.922 billion, which is a decline of about 59.94 percent from the previous year because of the Lunar New Year holiday and the impact of the pandemic on production lines.

Cargo volumes were decreased and freight rates were on a downward spiral, according to the president of the company Hsieh Huey-chuan.

Hsieh said that looking to the future market prospects, the market could suffer in the off-season first quarter of this year. However, the market is expected to improve in the second quarter of the year.

Singapore Changi Airport is voted the World’s Best Airport at the 2023 World Airport Awards

Singapore Changi Airport has been named as the World’s Best Airport 2023 at the World Airport Awards that were held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 15^th March 2023.

Singapore Changi Airport also received the 2023 awards for the World’s Best Airport Dining, the Best Airport for Leisure Amenities and the Best Airport in Asia.

Mr Lee Seow Hiang, Chief Executive Officer of Changi Airport Group said: “Changi Airport is honoured to be named World’s Best Airport for the 12^th time. This recognition is great encouragement to our airport community, who stood firmly together to battle the challenges of Covid-19 over the past two years. We thank them for their dedication to serve Changi’s passengers and the perseverance to keep Singapore connected to the world. To our passengers, we are deeply grateful for your vote of confidence. Your continued support encourages us to keep pursuing service excellence as we expand our offerings to redefine the Changi Experience. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Changi Airport as we rediscover the magic of travel again.”

Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said: “We congratulate Singapore Changi Airport on being named the World’s Best Airport for 2023. After being severely hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is pleasing to note that passenger numbers at Changi Airport are now at about 80 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, and expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. This recognition for Changi Airport is from the airport customers and serves to underline the airport’s popularity with international air travellers. Winning this award as the World’s Best Airport is a very clear recognition of the team effort amongst all staff at the airport who contribute to Changi Airport’s success”.

THE WORLD AIRPORT AWARDS

The World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey.

Operating since 2000, the World Airport Awards are independent and impartial, and provide a customer satisfaction study that is truly global in scope and coverage. They are regarded as the quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across over 550 airports. The survey and awards process is provided to airports at no cost, to ensure true credibility of results.

The Awards are based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires completed by over 60 nationalities of airport customers during the survey period, which operated from August 2022 to February 2023. The survey evaluated the customer experience across airport service and product key performance indicators – from check in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security / immigration through to departure at the gate.