The Public Transport Council (PTC) has announced that public transport fares will increase by 2.9%.

This means that bus and train rides will cost four to five cents more for adults who pay by card starting on December 26

Half of the Singaporeans will see a small fare increase of 1 cent for every journey 

Concessionary fares for seniors, students, people with disabilities, and low-wage workers will also increase by one cent per trip.

The Public Transport Council (PTC) has decided to grant a fare increase of 2.9% for the 2022 Fare Review Exercise (FRE), balancing the need to keep fares affordable for commuters in a period of rising inflation, while ensuring the sustainability of Singapore’s public transport system amidst rising costs.

The cost drivers for public transport rose significantly from 2020 to 2021. The global energy crunch in 2021 caused energy prices to increase by 117%. This, together with increased manpower costs and inflation, led to a maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum of 13.5%, according to the PTC’s fare adjustment formula. PTC has decided to apply the same principle as FRE 2021 and continue to exclude the Network Capacity Factor from the computation of this year’s fare adjustment quantum.

The fare increase is 2.9% this year, and the remaining 10.6% of this year’s fare adjustment quantum will be carried over to future FREs. This is made possible by the Government’s provision of an additional subsidy of about $200 million in 2023. This will help to mitigate the impact of the fare increase on commuters. 

Adult card fares will increase by 4 to 5 cents per journey depending on distance travelled. The increase in concession card fares will be capped at 1 cent per journey to keep fares lower for students, senior citizens, lower-wage workers, and persons with disabilities. This means that around two million commuters, or half of Singaporeans, will see a small fare increase if they pay per journey. There will be no change to the prices of monthly concession passes and adult monthly travel passes. 

POLICE ADVISORY ON FAKE RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS

The Police would like to remind the public of fake restaurant reservation scams during the festive season. Businesses are advised to remain vigilant as scammers may ask for bulk orders of off-menu items under the pretext of making reservations, (e.g. expensive wine, seafood) to defraud victims.

Scammers, pretending to be “customers” may call up food and beverage (F&B) operators to reserve numerous tables and ask for expensive off-menu items. The victim would be provided with the contact details of a fake supplier for these off-menu items and would be informed that a deposit or payment had already been made by the “customer” to the victim’s bank account. In some instances, the “customers” would send a forged screenshot showing funds being transferred to the F&B operator’s bank account. Victims would then be directed to contact the fake supplier, where they would make payments to order the items requested by the “customer”. Victims would only realise that they had been scammed when they discovered that they did not receive any funds from the “customer”, or when the off-menu items were not delivered and/or the “customer” becomes uncontactable.

F&B operators are advised to be cautious and take the following precautions:

When dealing with new suppliers, avoid making payments or deposits in advance. Arrange to meet the supplier and pay only upon delivery of the goods.

Search online for reviews of suppliers to establish their legitimacy before committing to a purchase.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Together, we can help stop scams and prevent our loved ones from falling prey to scams.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
13 December 2022 @ 11:50 AM

MAN ARRESTED FOR OUTRAGE OF MODESTY

The Police have arrested a 40-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of outrage of modesty.

On 9 December 2022, at about 10.15am, the Police received a report that a woman was allegedly molested by an unknown man along Yishun Ring Road in the vicinity of Chong Pang Market & Food Centre.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from Police cameras and CCTVs, officers from Woodlands Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on 12 December 2022.

The man will be charged in court on 14 December 2022 with outrage of modesty, punishable under Section 354(1) of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, caning, a fine, or any combination of such punishments.

The Police have zero tolerance towards sexual offenders who threaten the personal safety of the community. Offenders will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law. The Police would also like to urge members of the public to remain vigilant and to report the matter to the Police immediately, if they witnessed an incident of outrage of modesty, or are aware of someone being a victim of outrage of modesty.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
13 December 2022 @ 10:50 PM

59-year-old Tan Soh Kwan, an odd job labourer, was sentenced to 1-year imprisonment on 8 December after molesting female students at Fort Canning Park.

He pleaded guilty to 2 counts of molestation, with 3 other charges being taken into consideration during his sentencing.

He had claimed to have the “Buddha” inside him, and touched the victims on their chests in order to feel the “unhappiness inside them”, according to Channel NewsAsia.

What happened?

on 12 September 2021, a 20-year-old French girl who was a student in Singapore, was at Fort Canning Park, and Tan then introduced himself to her and they had a conversation.

Tan showed her around the park and told her that he had visited Thailand and taught Buddhist teachers, and he then brought her to a bench where he said that he had Buddha inside him.

The two then sat on the bench with their legs crossed while facing each other and Tan then pressed their palms together and started chanting.

Tan said that the girl was having a “love problem” and the girl then started talking to him about it because she did have that problem.

Tan then asked her to follow him to another bench, where they continued their conversation.

Tan then hugged her, touched her neck and eyebrows and put his hand on her chest as he chanted for 2 minutes, before massaging her shoulders and her back.

He then told her to stand up and he then hugged her from behind, touching her backside with his lower body.

The girl then moved away as she felt uncomfortable and told Tan that she was afraid of him, to which Tan told her not to be scared as the Buddha was inside him,

He then hugged the woman again and pressed his chest against hers, saying that he wanted to crack her back, adding that she needs to sit on his lap.

The girl refused and Tan told her to lie down on the bench, where he then touched her face and neck before kissing her, and pressing his palms on her chest over her clothes, belly and leg.

The girl then reported him to the police later that day.

2nd victim

On 13 December, Tan went to Fort Canning park and met 2 Singaporean students.

He introduced himself to one of the 18-year-old girl and offered to show them around the park, as he shared a story of himself learning massage techniques in Thailand, which he claimed to be able to heal their medical ailments.

Tan brought them to a nearby bench where he asked one of the students to sit on his lap, with her back facing him, and he then held her waist and massaged her back upwards.

He used his hands to touch the sides of her chest, before placing his hand across her chest and touching her breasts over her cropped top.

He then told her that she had “women’s problems” and touched her abdomen, which was exposed, without her permission.

He then brought the two students to a hut nearby and molested the same victim again.

The students then reported the incident to the police the next morning at Bukit Merah Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Facebook user Richard Goh shared a photo of a cup of water that he bought from a coffeeshop in Serangoon, saying that it costs 50 cents.

He captioned his photo:

“Kimly coffee shop Blk 237 Serangoon Avenue 3, #01-130, S’Pore 550237. Just plain water cost $0.50 cents. Your say ………expensive or not ?”

The owner of the coffeeshop, Zhang, then poke to Shin Min Daily News and explained that “prices have increased by a lot recently”, saying that they only recently upped the price of hot water from 40 cents to 50 cents.

He added that “everyone knows that the water and electricity bills are increasing, and workers need to be paid for boiling the water and washing the cups.”

He added that he didn’t have a choice but to charge 50 cents for the water.