Facebook user Ronald H K Chong shared how he was allegedly cheated by a Thai amulet dealer on Facebook and lost $1,228.

He said that the seller told him that his parcel was wrongly sent to the US, and has not been answering his calls after receiving the money.

Here is what he said

Beware of this amulet dealer – Baramee Amulet! He cheated me by saying that the amulet I bought was wrongly sent to USA. He cheated me for S$1,228/- !

I don’t think I can get back my money as he does not answer my calls.

Brothers out there be careful.

This is the CK Udom Nawak Rian encased in gold casing that the Thai guy wanted to sell me. But he said it was wrongly sent to his customer in USA.

Netizens’ comments

• Next time you want buy amulet from Thai people, Pm me, as I hv dealer in Thai that can help you collect the amulet and sent to you, with bit extra charges, but far more safe
• I also often brought from thai dealers last time. But i always request video call to chat and ask for his thai id card and bank account to verify. This is one of my ways to check if opposite party is scammer. Best is to deal with those thai dealer that… 
• Say bye bye to your money

Facebook user Umesh Kishore Tekani shared how he had mailed his SmartPac parcel out on 4 August via Singapore post and it wasn’t delivered, and he was told that it was “returned to sender”.

However, he claims that more than 1 month later (13 September), he still has yet to receive his return mail.

here is what he said

Dear Singapore Post

I mail my smartpac on 4th August and it wasn’t delivered and afters many phonecalls and email exchange, i was informed that it was return to sender! Its already 13th September and till now I have not received the return mail !

Please don’t outsourced the customer service to foreigners because when asking me about the local address details via phonecalls. I realized they are not familiar with our local address which causes more issues.

Please kindly help bring my smartpac home or please let me know where can i collect it back.

我等着你回来 (translated: “I’m waiting for you to come back”)

I attached some of our email exchange. (see bottom of post)

Singpost responds

• (SingPost) HI Umesh, thank you for sharing your concerns. We apologize for the experience you had faced and the non follow up. Please allow us to look into your case, and one of our colleagues will be in touch to follow up with you accordingly. Thank you for your kind understanding.
  • (OP) Singapore Post just return my smartpac, stop the big round chasing. Telephone number was written on it for both receiver and sender, why can’t the staff on the ground call n settle? If it cannot be done why bother having the slot to filled our telephone numbers 
    • (SingPost) HI Umesh, the team will look into this on priority and keep you posted. We acknowledge the delay and we apologize for the experience.

Email correspondence with Singpost

Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing spoke in Parliament on 12 September and addressed the importance of parents and teachers working together to build a healthy partnership in the education and growth of students.

He said that parents should have realistic expectations of the role that teachers play, and if they expect too much from the teachers, it can prove to be an obstacle to their children’s development and capability in facing challenges and their resilience.

Chan was answering a question posed to him by Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng, who asked him if MOE could draw clear boundaries on what matters parents are allowed to bring up to the teachers.

Chan said that “it is useful for us to take a step back and ask ourselves what is the kind of environment we want in the schools in order for us to bring up our children who are independent, resilient and creative.”

And by removing all difficulties for their kids, it may not be the best way to help a child develop.

Seah added that many teachers are facing direct and indirect expectations from parents, which is one of the factors causing them stress.

Chan answered that the schools have guidelines and rules on the issues that parents can reach out to the teachers about, which are communicated to the parents.

He also added that although not all parents are crossing these boundaries, a fair number of them are still doing it, explaining that “one difficult parent can take up a substantial amount of time from the teachers.

Chan said that there are parent support groups that help facilitate positive relations between the teachers and parents, but some parents are still not following MOE’s guidelines, with an example being teachers from an unnamed school patrolling the corridors to watch out for kids falling down, to make sure they can inform the parents of the exact circumstances of accidents, should they occur.

He added that there is a need to have clear expectations of the teachers’ responsibilities, and it would help them manage their time better.

On 13 September 2022, Soon Kok Khoon (“Soon”), the operator of Club Posh Entertainment LLP (“CPE”) and West Palace Entertainment (“WPE”) (collectively, the “Clubs”), has been sentenced by the Court to six months and 34 weeks’ imprisonment and was ordered to pay penalties totalling $630,861,

He was convicted of offences involving Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion and money laundering.

For three counts of GST evasion under the Goods and Services Tax Act and punishable under Section 62(1) of the GSTA read with Section 109 of the PC for evasion of Goods and Services Tax (“GST”), involving $210,287 of tax undercharged.

Soon was sentenced to 34 weeks’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a penalty of $630,861, which is three times the GST amount he evaded. Five other GST evasion charges were taken into consideration for this sentencing.

For three counts of money laundering of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (Chapter 65A, 2000 Revised Edition) (“CDSA”) punishable under Section 47(6)(a) of the CDSA, involving the disguise of property amounting to $3,214,389, Soon was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

Five other money-laundering charges were taken into consideration for this sentencing.

Manipulate Flower Sales

Investigations revealed that Soon had aided the Clubs to make false entries in their GST returns, with wilful intent to evade GST, by instructing the Clubs’ accountants (the “Accountants”) to omit reporting sales revenue of the Clubs (mainly from the sale of flower-garlands) and the output tax thereon in 2016.

Investigations also revealed that Soon had instructed his staff to divert the sales revenue of the Clubs, which were GST-registered, to two other entities (“Shell Entities”) using separate point-of-sale (“POS”) terminals linked to the Shell Entities.

These Shell Entities were not GST-registered and had no actual business activities. The undeclared revenue from the sales of the flower garlands was recorded as proceeds from fictitious sales of souvenirs in the accounts of the Shell Entities.

By doing so, Soon had thereby disguised monies which, in part, directly represented the benefits of his criminal conduct from GST evasion.

61-year-old Jeswindar Singh Dilbara Singh, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and was sentenced to 6 weeks imprisonment on 13 September for stealing 3 cans of Coca-Cola from a minimart in Bukit Merah.

He was walking past the minimart on 26 August when he decided to steal the drinks, opening the refrigerator door and taking three cans of Coke with him and leaving without paying.

The shop owner was preparing for business later that morning when his wife noticed that the refrigerator door was slightly open, and they then went to their CCTV to check the footage.

The couple then saw Singh stealing three cans of Coke, and they then called the police.

Singh was then arrested on the same day after he was identified by the police via the police camera footage, and his home was then raided and the police found 2 cans of coke from his fridge, which were then returned to the minimart.

The third can had already been drunk by him and there was no restitution made to the minimart, with the 3 cans being valued at $3.

History of theft convictions

The Attorney-General’s Chambers spoke to CNA and told them that Singh was “heavily traced” with convictions for more than 4 decades, since 1977.

He was convicted of housebreaking in 1977 as well as fraudulent possession of property, and his recent convictions include stealing and voluntarily causing hurt in 2012, theft in dwelling in 2019 and 2020, and committing a rash act in 2019.

Singapore Minister of Defence said in Parliament that the Singapore Armed Forces allowed their servicement to confess to using illegal drugs without punishments, and they will be counselled and rehabilitated instead under the SAF Amnesty Scheme.

Ng Eng Hen’s Statement

The SAF maintains a policy that is aligned to our national policy of zero tolerance against illegal drug use. The key planks of implementation are prevention and strict enforcement against illegal drug users through testing, appropriate punishment and rehabilitation. Both planks are necessary to ensure a drug free culture within the SAF.

Prevention of illegal drug use is achieved through education and encouraging those who have consumed illegal drugs to seek help to stop or treat their addiction. All recruits attend talks conducted by the SAF Counselling Centre (SCC) during their Basic Military Training (BMT) on the harmful effects of drugs. After BMT, anti-drug talks are conducted periodically by the SCC and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) at SAF camps and units. Before overseas exercises or postings, SAF personnel are briefed on and sternly reminded of the consequences for taking drugs overseas.

To avoid the harsh penalties of illegal drug use, those who have consumed illegal drugs can choose to confess without being punished under the SAF Amnesty Scheme. Instead, these personnel will receive counselling and rehabilitation support to help them kick their habit and undergo regular testing. This scheme is only available to SAF soldiers once, after which normal penalties will apply for drug offences.

To monitor for illegal drug use, urine tests are conducted across the SAF extensively. All enlistees undergo these urine tests during their BMT. UT are also conducted without notice in units, overseas bases and training locations, as well as on returning service personnel The SAF Military Police also conducts routine spot checks to ensure that illegal products, including controlled drugs, are not brought into SAF premises. The CNB also informs the SAF Military Police Command when SAF Personnel are arrested for drug offences.

Enforcement against SAF soldiers who are illegal drug users is strict for deterrence. Any servicemen or women who test positive during urine screening will be charged. They are typically sentenced by the military courts to a minimum of 8 to 9 months detention in the SAF Detention Barracks. Known or suspected illegal drug users who have self-confessed or had recent drug convictions, will be put on the Urine Test Regime (UTR) and drug counselling sessions, during which they will be screened up to three times a week for a period of up to six months. If they test positive during the period, they will be investigated for drug offences and potentially charged in court martial. This serves as both a deterrence and a form of rehabilitation to help them stay away from drugs.

Minister of State for Manpower, Gan Siow Huang, was asked in Parliament yesterday (13 September) by MP Melvin Yong Yik Chye about if MOM is aware of any third-party studies in Singapore examining the feasibility of a four-day work week in Singapore.

He also asked if MOM considers this a core issue and whether they will prioritise the commission of their own study to look at the benefits and challenges of a 4-day work week here in Singapore.

Gan Siow Huang’s response

MP: Melvin Yong Yik Chye

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry is aware of any ongoing studies being conducted by third parties to examine the feasibility of a four-day work week in Singapore; and (b) if not, whether the Ministry will consider this as a core issue and prioritise the commission of its own study to examine the benefits and challenges of a four-day work week.

Answer:

1. The Ministry is not aware of any ongoing studies conducted by third parties to examine the feasibility of a four-day work-week in Singapore.

2. We have noted reports of four-day work-week pilots in other countries such as Ireland, Japan, and Spain. Elsewhere, such as in Belgium, employees have the right-to-request for a four-day work-week, but with daily work hours extended so that the total number of hours worked per week remains the same. So far, results appear to be mixed. Some of the key concerns that stakeholders have include the impact on productivity, business costs, and employee well-being. While productivity improvements have been reported in some cases, this depends on sector and job type. In some instances, reduced work hours have had to be compensated by hiring more labour. At the same time, employees are concerned that their salaries could be reduced due to fewer hours worked, while some could face increased stress when they work more hours than usual in a day to complete their work.

3. As with any work arrangement, a four-day work-week may work well for some employers and employees but not others. We should adopt a flexible mindset. A four-day work week is one of many types of Flexible Work Arrangements, and the Ministry, together with tripartite partners, strongly encourage employers to be open to Flexible Work Arrangements in all its various forms to identify and adopt those that best meet their unique business and workers’ needs.