Singapore President Halimah Yacob said in a Facebook post that she finds the recent spate of cases where children were raped at home by their male relatives, very disturbing and sickening.

She said that it is “our duty to protect our young and we must not fail them”, and added that “rapists should not be spared the cane just because they are fifty years old.”

Here is what she said

I find the recent spate of cases involving rapes of children in their own homes by their male relatives highly disturbing and sickening. We need to better protect our children from such predators. Severe punishments for convicted offenders are important but not sufficient by itself. We need to look at other ways to help our children and stop them from falling prey to such rapists. I worry that there could be many more unreported cases. I can’t even begin to imagine how much pain and damage these young victims had to suffer.

The reported cases follow a certain pattern.

The victims had been groomed by the predators who were either their fathers, stepfathers or other male relatives from a very young age so that they thought that the sickening acts committed against them, for years in some cases, were normal.

Quite a number of the victims only discovered that such acts were wrong when they attended education classes much later in school. The predators had preyed on their innocence to persuade the victims that the perversion was alright.

Some victims were reluctant to complain about the rapes for fear of breaking up the family or losing the main breadwinner. Others were threatened and intimidated into silence.

Imagine the terror and vulnerability of a child stuck in a home that’s supposed to be a sanctuary but became a living hell instead.

We have organisations that deal with domestic violence such as PAVE which are doing good work. I hope that together with the relevant government agencies they could look at ways to better protect our children in the home.

Also, rapists should not be spared the cane just because they are fifty years old. It’s ironic that they could escape from the pain caused by caning despite the lifetime of severe trauma and irreparable damage that they cruelly inflicted on their victims which will last a lifetime. In some cases, the rapes were committed earlier but reported only after the perpetrator reached fifty years old. It’s timely that we review this law.

It’s our duty to protect our young and we must not fail them.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said that he was recently asked whether a family can buy a BTO flat from HDB and not live or move into it for 5 years, then sell it on the resale market as “almost brand new”.

He said that it may be a breach of HDB rules and HDB will investigate accordingly.

Desmond Lee’s Facebook post

I was asked whether a family can buy an HDB BTO flat, not live in it or move into it for 5 years, and then sell it as “almost brand new” on the resale market.

The answer is no. A BTO flat must be owner-occupied for the full MOP period. If the owners are unable to fulfil the MOP, then the flat needs to be returned to HDB. HDB will then put up as a balance flat for other home buyers to apply for.

Otherwise, it may be a breach of HDB rules and HDB will investigate accordingly. Suspected misuse of flats can be highlighted to HDB at Toll-Free Hotline: 1800-555-6370.

MOP according to HDB

The MOP is calculated from the date you collect the keys to your flat and excludes any period where you do not occupy the flat, e.g. when the whole flat is rented out or when there has been an infringement of the flat lease.

You can login to My HDBPage with your Singpass and check if you have met the MOP to sell your flat, under My Flat > Purchased Flat > Flat Details and Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).

The MOP duration depends on the purchase mode, flat type, and date of flat application:

Rescue efforts have been ongoing since the Genting Highlands landslide, with victims will missing from the tragedy.

Rescue teams have been working around the close to search for victims who are buried under the dislodged earth, and among the rescuers are the K9 unit of the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department.

One of the sniffer dogs, Blake, who has been working tirelessly to find buried victims after a two-day search, reportedly passed out from exhaustion.

Blake has since been rested, and the fire department said that they will be rotating the K9 unit to prevent this from happening again.

According to Bernama on 18 December, Black was one of the sniffer dogs working in the search and rescue operation.

The English Springer Spaniel had been working hard for 2 days straight before keeling over in exhaustion.

There are about 11 tracker dogs at the moment standing by at the scene, with 6 belonging to the Fire and Rescue Department, 4 from the Royal Malaysian Police, and 1 from the army.

Bernama also reported that there are 9 more victims missing, as the search efforts continue.

Image source: Bernama

On December 19, Gojek publicly announced that it will be adjusting its service fee for drivers on its platform from 10% to 15%.

The company had previously reduced the fee from 20% to 10% in June 2021 to support its drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after taking into account feedback from drivers and considering rising fuel prices and operating costs, Gojek has decided not to return the fee to its pre-pandemic rate of 20%.

1 Feb 2023

Instead, the fee will remain at 10% throughout January 2023, before increasing to 15% on February 1, 2023. The fee will remain at this rate for at least 12 months.

In addition to this change, Gojek’s “driver fee,” which is paid by customers and goes directly to supporting driver earnings, will be extended until at least June 30, 2023.

In other words, your rides are going to get slightly more expensive.

The platform will also be making changes to its driver incentive scheme to reward loyal drivers, with some eligible drivers incurring a service fee as low as 0%.

Gojek stated that this revision is “aligned to post-pandemic recovery” and reflects “current market conditions” in Singapore, where ride-hailing services are seeing increased usage as the country recovers from the pandemic.

Ahead of the World Cup final last night between Argentina and France (which Argentina ultimately won via a penalty shootout after the score was tied 3-3 at the end of extra time), Adidas confirmed that they were facing a stock shortage due to the extraordinary demand for Argentina Jerseys.

Capitalising on the stock shortage, scalpers have taken to Carousell in Singapore to resell Argentina jerseys for up to $5,000.

Reuters reported that Adidas was facing an extraordinary demand for the jerseys and have very low stock available in some countries.

For context, an Argentina jersey for youths costs north of S$89 and S$115 for adults, according to Weston Corp’s prices.

However, prices on Carousell by resellers hoping to take advantage of the low stocks, are listed between $300 to $4,989.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is on leave from today (19 December) until the end of the year )31 December 2022).

Meanwhile, the Acting Prime Minister who will be taking the place of PM Lee while he’s momentarily gone will be Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Teo Chee Hean.

PM Lee said in a Facebook post that he will be updating his page if he comes across anything interesting, as he wishes everyone a safe and healthy festive season.

PM Office’s press release

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be on leave from 19 to 31 December 2022. Mr Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, will be Acting Prime Minister throughout this period.

PM Lee’s Facebook statement

I’ll be on leave till the end of the year. Will update should I come across anything interesting. Meanwhile, enjoy the festive season with your friends and family, and please stay safe and healthy while celebrating. – LHL