The Police have arrested 19 men and one woman, aged between 24 and 78, for their suspected involvement in conducting unlawful remote betting operations.

In an operation conducted on 6 December 2022, Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department, and Special Operations Command mounted simultaneous raids at multiple locations island-wide, including Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Punggol, Serangoon and Tampines, resulting in the arrests.

$118,000

During the operation, cash amounting to more than $118,000 and electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones, and gambling-related documents were seized. The Police also froze 70 related bank accounts for investigations and to prevent dissipation of suspected criminal proceeds.

Three men, aged between 26 and 40, will be charged in court on 7 December 2022 with offences under the Gambling Control Act 2022 and the Police will seek a court order to remand them for further investigations.

Under Section 18(2) of the Gambling Control Act 2022, any person who is found to be involved in conducting an unlawful betting operation as an operator shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000 and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

Under Section 18(3) of the Gambling Control Act 2022, any person who is found to be involved in conducting an unlawful betting operation as an agent shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200,000 and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Under Section 20(3) of the Gambling Control Act 2022, any person who gambles with an unlawful gambling service provider shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.

The Police will continue to clamp down on criminal activities, such as those conducting unlawful remote betting operations. Those found engaging in illicit activities will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law. Members of the public are advised to steer clear of all forms of illegal gambling activities.

I sign up for DPC with this company *company name redacted*

been doing DPC with this person Renuka for the past 6 sessions my last 2 session she burn my skin, but no service recovery from her.

She blame me for moving 1 time but burn 5 area near my chin & lips… Please this woman can be rude @ times also…

I still have 1 more session with her I’m not goin to go & asking her for refund… Till now no reply from her for refund…

Netizens’ comments

1. Is this done by a doctor or medically trained professional?.
2. Invoice without the co’s header?
3. What is DPC?
   • (OP) Intense Pulse Light- Dynamic Pulse Control. By emitting a light beam into the hair follicle, this treatment coagulates the melanin when the light beam turns into heat energy. This sort-of-speak zaps the hair follicle, leaving it unable to grow

[Criticism of Qatar Hosting the World Cup]

The World Cup in Qatar has been the subject of criticism in some media.

Their articles repeatedly say that Qatar has a poor human rights record, it treats foreign workers poorly, discriminates against LGBTQ persons, and more. Some persons will be quoted, so as to have a veneer of ‘independent’ comments. The comments would however be entirely predictable, given the choice of the commentators.

I had four thoughts about such articles on Qatar.

First, such articles are often quite sensational, but skinny on the facts underlying the allegations. I found that the reports also usually omit the steps which Qatar says it has taken, on several fronts, including improving the welfare of the workers. Qatar has put out its record, introduced reforms. Foreign workers go there, because they believe that they get better opportunities than what they have at home. One doesn’t usually get to read about these things. Objective reporting has been in short supply.

Second, to come to some sensible conclusions, it will be relevant to compare the situation in Qatar with that in other countries.

There are many countries with foreign workers. Is the situation in Qatar worse than in many other places, particularly in comparison with countries where much of the criticism comes from?

The US, for example, is said to have around 11 million illegal immigrants, many of whom perform jobs that Americans don’t want to do (Pew Research Centre – link below). The context is slightly different in that the US Government is not officially sanctioning the import of these workers. Nevertheless is it fair that that these workers get exploited badly? They are vulnerable, without basic legal rights, proper health care, may not even get paid properly. Could Government agencies do more to prevent this situation or at least improve the situation? There are similar situations in Europe too. How much attention do these workers get from the media?

Third, there is more than a hint of cultural superiority, when Qatar gets criticised for having norms and values which are different from Western norms and values. Qatari norms and values are consistent with its religious beliefs, and are similar to that of many other Gulf countries. The norms and values were there, when Qatar was first chosen to host the World Cup.

Fourth, many Governments and businesses have been courting Qatar, for years, for its wealth and resources. Governments and businesses from where much of the criticism against Qatar is coming from. This year, countries have been making a beeline to Qatar to ask Qatar to supply gas, because Russian gas supply has been restricted. Some have even asked Qatar to break its existing contracts to other buyers, so that they can get the supplies – i.e. they want Qatar to break its contractual obligations so that they can benefit. They also want Qatar’s billions of dollars in investments, and want to sell arms to it – which is lucrative for the sellers. Those who want Qatar’s gas, and its money (so that their people can be comfortable in the winter, and richer overall) should reflect on whether it is principled to at the same time deliver sermons on Qatar’s values and norms? But often it’s easier to moralise, but keep such moralisation cost-free, keep mum about their countries getting benefits from Qatar.

Apart from a handful of opinions (links below), the general discourse in the West, on Qatar hosting the World Cup, has avoided these questions.

It smacks of hypocrisy. Virtue signalling. With racial undertones.

Qatar is a young nation (independent since 1971), with a small citizen population (around 300,000). It does not have the leverage, on the world stage, of larger powers. That makes it an easy, cost-free target for criticism.

Russia did not face the same hostility, when it hosted the last World Cup in 2018. There are many other countries with records which can be criticised (not that the criticisms will always be justified). They have hosted major sporting events, without receiving such biased coverage.

This is not just “whataboutism”. It is about questioning what the true motives are for targeting Qatar, while keeping relatively quiet about others. It raises questions – are the critics really as concerned about the underlying issues? Or is there a large dose of sanctimonious hypocrisy allied with a disregard for the facts.

It will be interesting to see if the media applies similar scrutiny to future hosts of the World Cup, and other sporting events.

Image source: K Shanmugam on Facebook and Johnny Harris on YouTube

NEA Urges Continued Vigilance To Prevent Dengue Cases From Rising At Year-End

05 Dec 2022

Collective efforts have brought the dengue outbreak in Singapore this year under control.

Singapore, 5 December 2022 – While the weekly dengue cases declined about 80 per cent from the peak in May, the current weekly case number of between 200 and 300 is still high for this time of the year. It is about 20 per cent more than the average number of cases reported for the same period in the preceding three years (2019 to 2021). As the year-end holiday season approaches, the National Environment Agency (NEA) urges everyone to mosquito-proof their homes before they travel and stay vigilant against the continuing dengue threat.

2          A rise in the high number of dengue cases this time of year could result in Singapore entering the following year with an atypically large number of dengue cases. This was the situation experienced in 2019 and 2021 when the year-end dengue numbers were high, and the following years saw large outbreaks in Singapore. We urge vigilance and for everyone to remove stagnant water and maintain good housekeeping to deprive mosquitoes of potential breeding habitats.

Dengue Situation in 2022

3          The total number of dengue cases reported in 2022 is 30,969 (as of 2 December 2022). This is almost six times the total number of cases recorded in the whole of 2021, and about 90 per cent of the number of cases recorded in 2020.

4          As of 2 December 2022, NEA has closed about 97 per cent, or 2,959 of 3,028, of the dengue clusters notified since the start of this year. However, 69 dengue clusters remained. Clusters with a relatively fast rate of dengue transmission continued to surface – such as the 37-case cluster at Pasir Ris Street 71 and 19-case cluster at Jurong East Avenue 1. Most mosquito breeding habitats at these dengue clusters were found within residential premises. NEA continues to work closely with Grassroots Advisers and community volunteers, to reach out to and advise residents on dengue prevention efforts.

5          From January to November 2022, NEA conducted about 841,000 dengue inspections islandwide, including about 5,200 checks at construction sites. About 21,300 Aedes mosquito breeding habitats [1] were uncovered. During the same period, NEA issued fines to 3,500 households for mosquito breeding. Since implementation of the heavier penalties against homes on 15 July 2020, NEA has detected multiple mosquito breeding in 1,470 of the residential premises inspected, and repeated mosquito breeding in about 1,890 of the residential premises inspected. NEA also issued 119 Stop Work Orders to construction sites, and charged 61 contractors in court for poor housekeeping and mosquito breeding. Additionally, 16 contractors have been issued with repeated Stop Work Orders, due to poor upkeep of the sites (refer to NEA website https://www.nea.gov.sg/dengue-zika/dengue/stop-work-orders for a list of the sites). 

Mosquito-Proof Homes Before Going on Vacation

6          NEA urges everyone to maintain good housekeeping and ensure that essential vector control measures are undertaken at all premises under their responsibility. Residents, especially those residing in dengue cluster areas, should do their part and carry out the following ‘S-A-W’ protective actions:

·       Spray insecticide in dark corners around the house

·       Apply insect repellent regularly

·       Wear long-sleeve tops and long pants

7          Everyone should also take immediate action to suppress the Aedes mosquito population and break disease transmission, by regularly practising the following Mozzie Wipeout ‘B-L-O-C-K’ steps:

·       Break up hardened soil

·       Lift and empty flowerpot plates

·       Overturn pails and wipe their rims

·       Change water in vases

·       Keep roof gutters clear and place BTI insecticide inside

8          As there is a higher tendency for water to remain stagnant at unused premises, those planning to go away on vacation should take the following extra steps to prevent mosquito breeding:

·       Cover/seal all toilet bowls in their home, and seal off overflow pipes of flushing cisterns

·       Cover/seal all floor traps

·       Add BTI insecticide to places where mosquitoes could potentially breed, and places where stagnant water cannot be removed

·       Clear debris and blockages, and place BTI insecticide in roof gutters and drains within compounds

·       Turn over all water storage containers and wipe dry the rims

·       Ensure that flowerpots, plates and trays do not collect water, after watering plants

·       Ask a relative or close friend to check their home regularly for stagnant water, if they will be away for a long period of time

·       Leave their contact details with their neighbours, so that they can be easily reached if needed

[1] Dengue inspection figures provisional as of 26 November 2022

Former Night Owl Cinematics CEO and co-founder Sylvia Chan, who was embroiled in a scandal where she was exposed for mistreating her employees, has since moved on from NOC to work at Gushcloud and a new media company that she started, Savour 365.

She posted on her Instagram that she was looking for new staff to join her companies, as she touched on the type of boss that she is.

Come join us anytime

On her Instagram story, she received a question via the “ask me anything” feature, where a follower said “not a question, but I would love to work for you in the future.”

Sylvia then replied “Come join us anytime! We are on the lookout on both fronts – @savour365.media & @gushcloudsg from ops manager to BD to account manager to podcast interns to freelance writers to content interns to media strategists! Phew!”

I’m not a nice boss

Another follower then referenced the NOC scandal and asked Chan “have you really change for the better? I know one person who work with you after the saga.”

She then replied, “what does ‘better’ look like? I think my community here values my honesty, willpower, drive towards my purpose.”

She added: “Will I walk away from my strengths? Never. Will I ever be a nice boss who hangs out for drinks after work and listens to your breakup stories and tell you to submit your overdue report next week instead? Never.”

“Am I a boss who sends you articles to read, books to discuss, workshops and events to attend together? Absolutely.”

“Join my team only if you are driver, self initiated, love learning, love opportunities. Otherwise, you will hate it here, 100%”

A study conducted by psychologists Viren Swami and Martin Tovee showed that rich men love women with smaller busts, while poor men prefer bigger ones.

For their first experiment, they recruited 266 men from Malaysia that varied in three different socio-economic statuses.

Each of the men were shown animated female figures with varying chest sizes, which they rated out of 5 for their physical attractiveness.

And the results showed that the men with a lower socio-economic status preferred the larger busts while those with a higher economic status leaned towards the smaller ones.

In the second experiment, they compared those ratings to reflect upon the evolutionary perspective of bust size, which is a woman’s ability to bear and nurture a child – they based it on a full stomach.

In order to determine whether food security had an impact on participants’ choices, 66 hungry male university students and 55 satisfied participants were recruited. Participants were either entering or exiting the campus cafeteria between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m.

The participants were shown 5 women with different bust sizes, and the hungry ones preferred the women with bigger busts over the men who were full.

32-year-old Malaysian Tan Xinyu was charged on 6 December for allegedly performing cosmetic surgeries without a proper medical license at an apartment in River Valley, according to Shin Min Daily News.

She is facing 4 charges under the Medical Registration Act, where she allegedly did nose and cheek thread lifts, and double eyelid procedures at the unit on 27 and 28 July.

Tan had allegedly conducted cosmetic procedures on 4 people at a unit in River Valley Road.

The prosecution said that they need time to prepare the case and other documents as they sought an adjournment.

Meanwhile, the authorities are proceeding with 2 charges.

The adjournment application has been approved by the court and the next hearing has since been scheduled for 20 December.

Denied doing anything wrong

In a Facebook post, Tan has denied doing anything wrong, as she blamed the situation on her “bad fortune”.

She said that the crux of the issue is that she is not a doctor, but “my customers knew that and were satisfied with my work.”

She also added that she didn’t mess up anyone’s faces, and apologised to her customers for keeping them in the dark about her situation, and she assured that she will be back soon.