A man in Singapore, Mr Shen, placed an order for a 32-inch television from Lazada for $138, and instead of the television, he received a packet of tissues instead.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Shen shared that his previous television set had broken down, and he decided to buy a brand new 32-inch television set from Lazada to replace it.

He shared that it was his first time shopping on Lazada, and that he received a notification about 4 days after placing his order, that the delivery has been made.

Shen then returned home and found a pink-coloured package of tissue paper, instead of his television set, waiting for him at his door.

He then got in touch with Lazada for a refund, but added that it was a time-consuming process that would take up to 2 months to get a refund.

The whole process encompasses several steps and each step takes about 3 to 5 working days for it to come to fruition.

Shen eventually requested a refund from Lazada but the fraudulent seller had already disappeared, and when then approached the local police for help and was told to wait for Lazada to confirm the refund as he could only file a police report if he didn’t get his refund.

Shen eventually got his refund on 14 November from Lazada, and urged others to exercise due caution when shopping online.

Lazada has also disabled the fraudulent seller.

A netizen shared how he came over to Singapore from Malaysia to work, and immediately regretted his decision as the working culture in Singapore is too toxic.

Here is what he said

He was originally working in Malaysia for about 3 years but couldn’t save much money due to the high inflation rate and a lower salary.

He then decided to come over to find work in Singapore because he didn’t want to still be in the “moonlight generation” in his 30s (referring to people who are struggling to earn a proper living).

He then got a white-collar job where the salary wasn’t bad, and flew over to Singapore without hesitating.

The netizen then shared that he immediately regretted his decision, saying that the work environment in Singapore is very toxic and that the Singaporeans that he came across spoke to him harshly.

He also added that his colleagues love to gossip behind people’s backs, while his Malaysian co-workers were friendlier and patient, and that he misses his Malaysian colleagues the longer he remained in Singapore

He also added that he can’t quit as he is under contract, but when the contract ends in 6 months he will quit and find a better job, and he might even return to Malaysia where the people are more “loveable”.

A 50-year-old man was arrested in Malaysia in relation to the alleged murder of a 27-year-old woman, who was reported missing by her family before being found dead at a shop in Beach Road.

The victim and the man were reportedly business partners, and TODAY reported that the man had left on 10 November for Malaysia, according to the police.

27-year-old Rachael Ang was then reported missing on the same day.

The man was detained in Johor on 15 November for his suspected involvement in Ang’s death, after the Singapore Police Force sought help from the Malaysian police.

He was then extradited back to Singapore yesterday (16 November) and is set to be charged with murder tomorrow (18 November).

Reported missing

Ang disappeared on 9 November, and her family and friends had tried to seek information on her whereabouts on social media.

Ang’s mother recalled getting a call from her daughter on 9 November at 7pm saying that she would be home soon, but it was the last time she heard from her daughter, according to Straits Times.

Her body was later found by the police on 13 November at a shop along Beach Road, and she was then pronounced dead at the scene.

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Singaporeans who are eligible will be receiving up to $700 cash next month (December) as part of the Assurance Package that was previously announced by DPM Lawrence Wong back in February.

Some 2.9 million Singaporeans will receive a cash payout of up to $200 in December 2022, while another 2.5 million will receive another cash payout of up to $500, as part of a one-off Cost of Living (COL) special payment.

The COL is part of the $1.5 billion support package announced by DPM Wong last month, to provide further relief on the rising cost of living.

This effectively means that those who are eligible will receive up to $700 in cash in December.

Eligibility

Assurance Package (AP) Cash

Every Singaporean aged 21 years and above will receive cash benefits of $700 to $1,600, depending on his/her income and property ownership. The payment will be disbursed over five years, from 2022 to 2026.

To receive the AP Cash , you must fulfill the following criteria:

i. You must be a Singapore citizen, residing in Singapore;
ii. You must be aged 21 and above in the reference year.

* As part of the $1.5billion support package announced in Oct 2022 to provide further cost-of-living (COL) relief, eligible citizens will receive a one-off COL Special Payment of up to $500 to be paid in Dec 2022, together with AP Cash. More details are found in our FAQs.

You may login to the e-services to view your eligibility for the AP Cash.

Common terms related to the AP Cash eligibility criteria

Expansion Of ICA’s Role in Border Security: First Responders to Security Incidents at The Land Checkpoints

               From 3 January 2023, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will take over from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), protective security (PS) functions at Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints. With this transition, ICA officers will be the first responders to security incidents at the land checkpoints.

2.             The taking over of the PS functions is the culmination of the transformation of ICA’s role in border security at the land checkpoints. It would enable ICA to achieve greater operational coordination and provide clearer lines of responsibility and command and control in border security incidents.

3.             In the past few years, ICA has been laying the foundation for this expanded role, by training ICA officers to respond to security incidents, and leveraging technology. 

Equipping Officers with the Necessary Powers and Skills

4.             In April 2018, the Immigration Act (IA) was amended to allow ICA officers to conduct searches and arrest suspicious people within and in the vicinity of the checkpoints. Previously, ICA officers were only allowed to conduct searches within authorised areas, and had to wait for the arrival of police officers to attend to security incidents (e.g. to deal with persons in possession of arms or explosives). With the amendments to the IA, ICA officers have been empowered to intervene more decisively during a security incident and quickly contain the situation, without having to wait for the arrival of supporting forces.

5.             To date, more than 300 ICA officers at the land checkpoints have undergone PS training, to acquire skills that will enable them to be effective first responders to security incidents. The officers are trained in tactical movement, as well as interview and search techniques. They also undergo on-the-job training with their SPF counterparts. Refresher scenario-based trainings are conducted periodically to ensure officers’ skillsets are kept current.

Leveraging Technology  

6.             ICA has been leveraging technology to strengthen its command and control (C2) capabilities and enable its officers to better manage security incidents at the land checkpoints. ICA has collaborated with DSTA (Defence Science and Technology Agency) as the overall programme manager, and HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency), to equip the integrated operations centres (IOCs) at both land checkpoints with enhanced tactical, sense-making and decision support tools.

7.             The key features of the ICA C2 system include:

• Single Integrated C2 System: All relevant data from multiple systems and sensors (e.g. CCTV systems) have been integrated into a single platform. Ground commanders thus have a better appreciation of the situation and are better equipped to make timely and well-informed decisions, when managing daily operations and security incidents.

Prior to this, they had to manually retrieve data from disparate sources.

• Intelligent Video Management System: More than 3,000 surveillance cameras have been deployed at both land checkpoints. The cameras are equipped with video analytics capabilities to flag out anomalies to the IOCs in real-time, such as unattended baggage, abandoned vehicle and intrusion attempts. Officers will then deploy ground resources to attend to the situation.

Previously, identification of anomalies was dependent on manual monitoring of CCTVs and patrolling of the checkpoint premises. The camera feeds also had to be manually retrieved.

• Real-Time Tracking of Ground Forces: This capability allows ground commanders at IOCs to view the real-time location of ground officers and deploy the nearest officers to the incident site for a swifter response. Officers are equipped with a mobile device and body-worn camera to provide instant situational updates via texts/images/videos and allow live streaming to the IOCs. With better appreciation of the ground situation, commanders can better determine the actions to take as the situation evolves.

Previously, ground commanders could only rely on voice communications to ascertain the location of officers and for situation updates. 

8.             To validate the response plan in the event of a security incident, a multi-agency ground deployment exercise codenamed “Genesis” was conducted at Tuas Checkpoint on 16 November 2022. More details of the exercise can be found in Annex A.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
16 NOVEMBER 2022

Annex A: Exercise Genesis: Validating ICA’s Operational Readiness

              To validate the response plan in the event of a security incident, a multi-agency ground deployment exercise codenamed “Genesis” was conducted at Tuas Checkpoint on 16 November 2022.

2.             More than 200 personnel from ICA, SPF and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) participated. Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam, and key appointment holders from the Home Team observed the exercise.

3.             The exercise scenarios depicted coordinated armed attacks with active shooters at the Arrival Car Zone and Arrival Bus Zone, resulting in multiple      casualties and injuries to both officers and travellers. ICA’s First Response Team officers moved in quickly to engage the gunmen and contain the threat.

4.             The second wave forces from SPF’s Ground Response Forces and Emergency Response Teams, as well as the Armed Strike Teams from the Gurkha Contingent, also responded, providing additional firepower to neutralise the remaining gunmen. SCDF’s emergency responders conducted rescue and evacuation of the casualties once the area had been secured.

A 43-year-old Bangladeshi worker previously fell from a height of 10m on 3 October after the false ceiling that he was standing on broke.

His employer, Nakano Singapore Ltd has since been debarred from hiring new foreign employees and their Managing Director was summoned to MOM to account for the accident.

MOM’s statement’

On 3 October 2022, a 43-year-old Bangladeshi worker was standing on a false ceiling when it broke, resulting in him falling from a height of about 10m.

The injured worker was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he is now recuperating. The occupier of the worksite and employer of the worker is Nakano Singapore (Pte) Ltd.

MOM’s investigations found that the worksite had multiple unsafe issues with scaffolds and working at heights. We had issued Nakano an order to stop all works involving scaffolds and working at heights. The Stop Work Order has since been lifted, after Nakano rectified the safety lapses.

As part of the #HeightenedSafety period measures, Nakano has also been debarred from employing new foreign employees for three months. In addition, Nakano’s Managing Director was summoned to MOM to personally account for the accident and outline the rectification measures that will be taken.

All employers must view workplace safety and health as a fundamental and non-negotiable responsibility. MOM will not hesitate to take stern enforcement actions against errant companies.