The authorities have announced that already 27 drivers have been caught for flouting the new regulations governing the private hire car industry. On July 1, laws requiring all private-hire drivers, such as those driving for the Uber and Grab apps, to obtain a Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL) kicked in. Drivers have to attend and pass a 10-hour course.

The LTA confirmed that four drivers were nabbed for operating without the required vocational licence or the concession letter allowing them to pick up fares while they await their licence or vocational course. Another 23 individuals were found obscuring or altering the decals that identify them as private-hire cars or were caught driving without one.

The LTA have given the private hire drivers a grace period of up to one year to pass and obtain the PDVL, provided they sent in their applications by June 30. As of July 31, LTA received 50,600 PDVL applications. Among them, 4,900 applications were made after the June 30 deadline, although LTA did not say whether these applications will be afforded hte one year grace period.

About 42,000 chauffeur-driven private-hire cars have also been affixed with tamper-evident decals – a requirement under the new regulations. For operating a private-hire car without a decal or vocational licence or for making use of taxi stands, first-time offenders can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to three months or both. Repeat offenders may face a fine of up to $2,000, or a jail term of up to six months or both.

I am a father of two and I have a lot of my old VCD hidden in the storeroom as I can’t bear to throw away, one of which is the young and dangerous VCD also known as Gu Huo Zai. A famous Hong Kong movie about the Triads.

My elder son found the VCD and watch it with my 11-year-old son while I was away. Days after my son came to me and said he wanted to be Chen Hao Nan( the lead character of the film) when he grows up. I asked him how you get to know this name. He said he found the VCD in the storeroom and now he wants to become a member of secret society when he grows up.

I had a hard time explaining to him that this is just a movie. The last time it took me days to explain why he cannot be Superman.

Time to throw away all the CDs!

Concerned Father.

The monkey that had made the news in Punggol over the weekend has been captured by the AVA. The monkey was seen in the evenings at Punggol’s Waterway Sunbeam estate, according to residents who stay there.

Some pictures and videos of the monkey eating oranges and eggs that it had snatched from a passer-by, as well as hanging out at a playground were taken by a resident there. The resident also claimed that the monkey scratched the leg of a boy who is four or five years old and also climbed up outside the units of some flats. Acres and AVA were both highlighted.

A spokesman for AVA told The Straits Times yesterday that the agency has received “15 pieces of feedback from the public on monkey-related issues at Punggol Waterway” since Sept 1, and has been working with the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council to monitor and conduct surveillance of the area. Some cited safety concerns because the monkey snatched things from children and scratched a boy. “The monkey has been caught to safeguard public safety and we are exploring relocation options,” said AVA.

AVA advised the public not to feed monkeys as this alters their natural behaviour and causes them to become reliant on humans for food.

4 teens were arrested by the police for allegedly committing a series of thefts in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. The teens are aged between 14 to 16 years old, with one of them believed to be a female. A 37-year-old man had made a police report on 28 August, indicating that his cash card was missing from his motorcycle, which he had parked at Yishun Avenue 11.

The suspects were identified by the police and were all arrested on Monday. Initial investigations revealed that they are possibly involved in a series of thefts in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. Two of them are also believed to be linked to a case of snatch theft at Block 240 Yishun Ring Road.

If convicted, they can be jailed one to seven years and will also be liable to caning.