A man was trying to use PayNow to make payment for a pack of cigarettes at a minimart when his transaction couldn’t go through.

Unhappy, the man then allegedly spat at the owner of the store, Mr Lee and cursed at his pregnant wife, and was later arrested by the police, according to Shin Min Daily News.

The incident took place at 332 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 on 10 December at about 8am, and the minimart owner’s wife was manning the store at the counter, while her husband was upstairs resting.

The man entered the store with a beer in his hand and went to the counter to buy some cigarettes, but he couldn’t specify what kind of cigarettes he wanted, as he started losing patience.

Lee’s wife then recommended a cigarette flavour to the man and he then tried to use PayNow to pay for it, but as he scanned the QR code, the transaction wouldn’t go through.

The man then shouted at the woman, and she then called her husband for help.

Lee then heard the man shouting at his wife and he smelled alcohol on the man, as well as noticing the he couldn’t stand properly.

Lee then asked the man to calm down but he refused and Lee then asked him to leave after refusing to sell him anything.

The man then threatened Lee and allegedly reached out his arms towards him, waving his fist at him and saying “don’t think I don’t dare to hit you, I can kill you with one punch.”

Lee then returned the cigarettes that the man failed to buy and called the police, and when he turned back around to face the man, the man allegedly spat on him.

Lee’s wife then took a photo as evidence as the man then finally left the scene after 10 minutes.

Lee then followed the man to a nearby coffeeshop where he tried to buy beer via PayNow and failed as well, before he went to the park as he continue provoking Lee.

The man continued being aggressive when the police arrived and was talking loudly on the phone and slamming his mobile on the table at a coffeeshop, according to the coffeeshop owner Mr Xie.

He was subsequently arrested by the police.

On one hand, having a maid can be incredibly convenient, since they can help with household chores and provide childcare.

On the other hand, it can be expensive and the process of hiring a maid can be difficult and time-consuming. Sometimes it gets so ‘expensive’ that they turn to a life of crime.

Stealing from the elderly

Elderly people are particularly vulnerable to theft due to their age and physical frailty. They may not be able to respond quickly to theft and may be more trusting than someone who is younger such as her maid.

According to Shin Min Daily News, a 76-year-old woman became a victim of such a crime.

A 41-year-old Maid by the name of Faridah was employed to take care of the elderly woman, every now and then the elderly employer instruct Faridah to go withdraw money from her card.

Instead of just helping the elderly draw money, she was drawing more for her own.

The first time she drew $500 for herself and got more and more brazen and eventually drew a total of $12,000 from her employer.

How she was caught?

The elderly woman started to notice that her maid was making expensive purchases such as clothing and even steaks.

The maid lied to the elderly woman claiming that she had won the lottery. The maid even started to grow an appetite and refused to eat ‘non-premium’ food.

In September 2022, the elder woman tried to withdraw $300 from her bank account but it was rejected as she had less than $300 left in her account.

She immediately confronted her maid who beg for mercy.

However, the family members urged the elderly woman to make a report and the maid was arrested the following day.

She was eventually sentenced to 7 months in jail.

Theft

The offence of theft under Section 379 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224 carries a jail term of up to 3 years, or a fine, or both.

Image Source: Farida Catur Lestari’s Tik Tok and Unsplash

An 85-year-old retired civil servant who was hit by a reversing van in Serangoon Garden on Thursday (8 December), died the next day on Friday, according to The Straits Times.

The elderly man had alighted from bus 317 along Berwick Drive, and he was on his way home at the time of the accident.

He was looking out for traffic while crossing the road when he got hit by a van that was reversing.

The elderly man suffered injuries on the left side of his body, and he was subsequently conveyed to the hospital conscious.

He succumbed to his injuries the next day and died at Tan Tock Seng Hospital on 9 December.

The Singapore Police Force said that they were alerted to the accident on Thursday at about 5pm and that the 25-year-old driver of the van is currently assisting them with investigations.

The deceased’s daughter, Ms Lim, spoke to The Straits Times and said that her family is very shocked and that her mother is very distraught, adding that her parents had been married for 59 years.

Lim added that her mother feels that she cannot move on until she finds the truth, and they hope that those who saw what happened can step forward and tell the police what happened.

Singapore Customs arrests three men and seizes more than 600 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes

Singapore Customs arrested three men, comprising one Malaysian, one Singapore Permanent Resident and one Singaporean, and seized 618 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes during an operation conducted on 7 December 2022.

Case information

During the operation conducted in the vicinity of Sungei Kadut Drive, Singapore Customs officers observed a man transferring slabs in black wrappings from a Malaysia-registered truck to a Singapore-registered van parked alongside the road. Officers moved in and arrested the man, as well as another man who had jumped off
from the truck’s cargo compartment. Another man, who was allegedly the driver of the truck, was subsequently arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on 8 December 2022. A total of 434 cartons and 184 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were uncovered in a modified compartment in the floorboard of the truck and the van respectively.

The duty-unpaid cigarettes and the two vehicles were seized. The total duty and Goods and Services tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $52,770 and $4,200 respectively. Investigations are ongoing.

Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences are liable to be forfeited.

Members of public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of duty or GST can call the Singapore Customs hotline on 1800-2330000 or email [email protected] to report these illegal activities.

Singapore Customs
9 December 2022

The parents of a 14-month-old child who is suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), have started a fundraiser on Ray of Hope to crowdfund treatment for their sick baby, according to MustShareNews.

The treatment costs about SGD$3 million, and they have raised about S$148,609 so far.

Here is what they said on Ray of Hope

We suspected something was seriously wrong when our little angel Shamel showed signs of floppiness and low muscle tone. Although he was fully alert and happy, he was missing his motor milestones. Even at 1, when his peers started to walk, Shamel could not sit independently, crawl, stand or bear weight on his legs. He began to fall quickly and flop forward without control, even when seated — shortly after, he lost the ability to kick. 

As first-time parents, we could not understand why Shamel seemed hungry yet rejected his food. We now know that he has difficulties swallowing, and eating is hard for him. During this time, we also saw an apparent reduction in his food intake, progressively making him thinner and weaker. Then, on 15 November 2022, our hearts broke. After several tests, our 14-month-old baby was diagnosed with type 2 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

SMA is a rare neuromuscular condition that causes muscles to become weak and damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It leads to progressive muscular weakness and affects the ability to independently sit, crawl, stand, walk, swallow and even breathe. Shamel is currently in a position where he can only sit with support, and that too, not for long minutes. It is very hard for us as parents to see him struggle to move around and exhaust himself from trying to take a toy. Every child should be able to play. Without medication, further deterioration and eventual death of his motor neurones will lead him to total immobility and weakness. 

Despite this debilitating news, we hope that Shamel can live a life as normal as possible and run, walk and play with other kids. Shamel’s hope lies in Zolgensma, a one-time gene therapy acting on the gene by replacing the function of the missing or non-working Survival Motor Neurone (SMN1) gene. Shamel needs to receive Zolgensma before he turns 2. 

The cost of Zolgensma is USD 2.125 million/SGD 3 million (depending on the current exchange rate). We know this is a big ask and achieving the target will be an ardent task. But as his parents, we must try everything we can. Therefore, we are humbly turning towards the generous community for help securing the treatment for our baby Shamel. It will take more than a village to help Shamel, and no donation is too small. Nevertheless, there is hope for Shamel, and we thank you in advance for your generosity. 

We are most grateful to Ray of Hope for extending their help. As a crowdfunding charity, they will handle all the payments directly to the hospital, so you can be sure that the funds are going directly to Shamel’s treatment. In addition, Ray of Hope does not take a cut from the donations, and 100% of your donations will go to Shamel’s treatment. 

Please share this campaign with as many friends as possible. Should you know of any community, organisation or sponsor willing to support us, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected]. Follow us on Instagram (@hope_for_shamel) and on Facebook ‘Hope for Shamel’, for updates on Shamel’s progress and his journey with SMA. 

May God bless you abundantly and we cannot thank you enough for your help and support.

Yours, 

Shamel, Achintha and Dula