Princeling (太子), that’s what the author in the online forum called him. Personally, I found it strange that for someone to AWOL that often (2x), he’s still holding his rank and moving about. I am aware that these things happen within an organization, but I’d have thought that the SAF is rather regiment about such things and it’s a place where insubordination gets you charged before you are demoted or fired. In the private sector, you probably can just turn your back and leave. Hmm…

REPRIMAND FOR PM’S NS SON
Was officer who went AWOL a ‘princeling’?

I REFER to the article, ‘PM Lee’s son in NS reprimanded by SAF’ (ST, July 13).
The question some readers like me would want to ask is who is the officer from the same unit as Second Lieutenant Li Hongyi who went absent without leave, or AWOL, not once but twice, and yet his supervising officers did not take appropriate disciplinary action against him.

Reading the article, one is troubled by whether the officer is the son of some hotshot who thought he could get away with such a serious matter as AWOL. And were the supervising officers so concerned about their careers that they rendered ‘poor judgment in administering inappropriate action’? So much so that it took the Prime Minister’s son to stick his neck out and expose such goings-on, even though in the end he was himself ‘formally charged and administered a reprimand after a summary trial’.

While it is understandable that the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) would not want to divulge names, still it should say whether the AWOL officer is the son of some high-level politician, big-shot businessman or some other very important person - in other words, a ‘princeling’. This is so that the public can be satisfied, and senior officers in the SAF will take to heart, that no matter how privileged one’s background is, such a serious transgression as AWOL will not go unpunished, and that it shouldn’t take a prime minister’s son going to great lengths in order for such things to be exposed. If it were an ordinary soldier, he would have been charged and put under detention for AWOL without anyone batting an eyelid.

If indeed the AWOL officer is a ‘princeling’, I am sure readers will join me in commending 2nd Lt Li for taking a courageous stand in ensuring that justice is done, even though at much trouble to himself. If the officer had got away with AWOL twice, what else would he have tried getting away with in future?

So, even though 2nd Lt Li himself is from a privileged background, he has contributed significantly to ensuring that Singapore does not go the way of India and China, as well as other countries, where it is reported that the sons of big shots could get away with blatant abuses. He is the kind of people we need in Singapore’s next generation of political leaders.

Chan Hwa Loon

And oh, for some reasons, no comments were showed after this letter in the forums.

I have de-stickified all the posts with regards to 2Lt Li and the SAF incident, if you would like to:

• read about what happened to LTA X, please go here 
• read about what the vineyards told me, please go here 
• read about the ST Internet Buzz over PM Lee’s son, please go here
• read about the Snap Poll: Do you think it’s fair for PM Lee’s son to be punished?, please go here
• read about the article ST: PM Lee’s son reprimanded by SAF for misconduct and the email that was the talk of the town, please go here 
• vote, please look at the snap poll on the right bar

Thank you!

Good morning SFO! I’m leaving on a jet plane… don’t know when I’ll be back again…

In the black market, the Singapore Passport is a very precious commodity (citation needed) and in view of this, the Singapore government decided to impose stricter penalties on the loss of passports. The article below was reproduced from straitstimes.com (consider getting a subscription? ):

STIFFER penalties await those who misuse the Singapore passport under a new law passed on Monday.

And a person who has lost two passports or more may be denied a new one by the Controller of Immigration.

Explaining the move, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said it was necessary to safeguard the security and integrity of the highly-regarded Singapore passport in today’s security environment.

‘As the Singapore passport provides easy visa-free access to many countries, it is also an attractive document for abuse,’ Mr Wong told Parliament.

He said criminals and terrorists have used altered or fake passports to travel: Suspected Bali bombing mastermind Hambali, caught in 2003, reportedly used a fake Spanish passport.

Current efforts against passport abuse have put a lid on the crime, with 74 cases last year against 116 in 2003, added Mr Wong.

But if such abuse was left unchecked, Singaporeans who travel could be inconvenienced as foreign authorities might doubt the authenticity of Singapore passports.

Singapore also had to minimise such abuse as a responsible member of the international community, he said.

Mr Wong cited a case to show existing penalties were ‘grossly inadequate’.

A Singaporean arrested last year for selling lost or stolen local and foreign passports to a syndicate was jailed for 15 months for fraudulent possession of property.

The law did not provide for the offence of selling passports.

With the new law, a jail term and fine is mandatory for a person who is in the business of selling Singapore passports.

The jail term is from two years up to 15 years and the fine, up to $20,000.

For other types of offences involving a Singapore passport, they can be jailed up to 10 years, fined up to $10,000 or given both penalities.

The offences include: improper use or possession of a Singapore passport, falsifying a Singapore passport, giving false information to get a passport and the unauthorised issuing of a passport by government officers.

Offenders caught tampering or misusing foreign passports here will also be taken to court.

Likewise, misuse of the Singapore passport abroad will be an offence.

There will also be tighter controls on passports: A passport can be denied to someone for law enforcement or national security reasons, to prevent him from doing harm overseas.

While I am aware of the severity of losing one’s passport, I am a little shocked (and to a certain extent, appalled) about the denial of issue of passport. It’s like a house arrest in your own country and there’s nowhere else that you can go to besides Sentosa or Pulau Tekong (for your ICT? ). But hey, it really isn’t that bad because your travel destination will still include exotic places like Chek Jawa @ Pulau Ubin, Tua Pekong Temple @ Kusu Island and diving spots @ Pulau Biola. Occasionally, you may still go to the breakwaters @ Lower Seletar Reservoir where you will be able to admire an smell the sea on one side and the reservoir on the other. Moreover, you may see some “fireworks” at JB on some nights. After enjoying the sea breeze, you can top that up with prata @ Jln Kayu!

Oh wait, wasn’t this entry about Singapore Passport?

When I first read the header, I was thinking… who did the church pay and why did they want to pay that amount just to abuse the poor victims? This was the same reaction that I had when I saw a header that read “WHO’s Margaret to come to Singapore”.

Yes, I was wondering why Straits Times was so hostile towards this person called Margaret and why are they questioning who is Margaret to come here.

In copywriting, such confusions are best avoid. A statement like the one in this entries title can be paraphrased to “Abuse victims to receive US$660m from LA Catholic church” and the latter to “Singapore to receive WHO’s Margaret”. Haha.. come to think of it, the arrangement of these 2 statements are actually nicely swopped.

I don’t have a BA in English, but if a statement causes a person to think twice about what it actually means, then perhaps it’s time to think about paraphrasing it.

Another uniquely Singapore trait? I hope not.

News article here.

Venue: Canteen 13 (because there is Korean food there! Haha)

Will be meeting with the outgoing and incoming Presidents of the KCS. It’d be an interesting meetup because we have quite a fair bit installed for AY 07/08. This is a 1-year-long plan to get about 30 students to prepare for their trip to Korea in June/July 08, and this includes finding them jobs during winter term. I’m not sure how easy it’d be because winter term is rather short.

There’s apparently an ad that the VP is looking into. He seems to be having problems with accessing the account. Hmm… maybe we can all clear this up next week. And oh, did I mention that I am the new webmaster for AY 07/08. Sigh… next academic year seems to be piling up.