I have a habit of keeping the best for last in a meal - just like the fried wanton of the wanton mee, or the hums (cockles) in the laksa, or finishing everything else (leafy vegetable, potato, carrots) except the main dish (ahh…. like fois gras… yum yum, slurp!)… and I believe that the best is yet to be at the library@orchard.

If you take a look at the programme listing for the library@orchard, there are still talks and workshops going on throughout the month, including a film screening on the 24th November 2007. It is still a fantastic place to have a laid back Sunday against the backdrop of rushing water, coupled with slow jazzy music to make it the perfect weekend getaway from work and studies. =)

In addition, there’s still Galilee that serves out helpings of sandwiches and drinks, to complement a casual browse of the books from the library; but above all, it’s a good place to hang out with some friends for a slow and easy day - that’s what Mr Said, a frequent user at the library@orchard likes to do.

“I like to hang out here at the library to catch up on the news”, said Mr Said, who frequents the library during lunch time. “It’s very convenient and I can come here with my colleagues too.” He found out about the impending closure from the papers and felt that it was really a shame that the library had to close as that meant not having anywhere else to frequent or to catch up during his free time.

Like Mr Said, Sharon also knew about the closure from the papers. She frequents the library as it was centralised and near to Kinokuniya - a Japan-based bookstore that operates on the 3rd level of the same building. “It’s a bit sad that they can’t maintain it and it’s probably down to cost”. Sharing the same sentiments as Mr Said, the closure of the library will mean lesser visits to the other libraries because she feels that the Central Lending Library, located along Victoria Street, is too far to travel from where she currently resides.

However, not everyone are knew about the impending closure. Andreana and her friend, both preparing for their O-levels this year, were surprised by news of the library’s closure at the end of the month. They had been using the library@orchard for their school work and preparations of the examinations since their N-levels and both expressed disbelief by the news.

“It’s really a surprise because we do not know about it. They should really keep this place.”

However, unlike Mr Said and Sharon, they would be looking for an alternative library to study at, such as the Bishan Community Library, although they will miss the centralised location that the library@orchard now enjoys.

While most may miss the library@orchard while it transits to a new location, users like Pamela, who also frequents the library feels that all the libraries have similar facilities and it may not matter which library she uses. Pamela intends to frequent the Central Lending Library when the library@orchard ceases operations as it is the most convenient and nearest to where she is currently residing.

When told of plans to have a library at the *scape youth park next to Cineleisure, all expressed interests of possibly bringing their reading habits to the new branch. However, this would also depend on the segment of readers that the National Library Board intends to target. There are also plans to have another library within the town area, which when completed in 2010, may have a total space 1.5 times that of the current library.

The library@orchard was opened on 21st October 1999 and was the first “niche lifestyle” outlet and aimed to revive reading among youth. Come 30th November, all collections will be redistributed to the Central Lending Library as well as the library@esplanade before the lease expires in February 2008.

Oh, so it seemed like they do have enforcement officers, but apparently there are not enough to go round the block. While I understand that the taxi companies are meant to be profitable, but does this mean that they can leave the integrity of their cab drivers (hirers) outside at the laundry lines?

Perhaps at the end of the day, it’s just a matter of dollars and cents, but I guess it doesn’t help much that the taxi companies are taking the lead in increasing surcharges.

Few enforcement officers, so ‘how many can they catch?’

WITH 23,348 taxis on the road, the Land Transport Authority’s enforcement officers and taxi companies are heavily outnumbered.

While the LTA declined to say how many officers they have, ComfortDelGro, the largest operator with 15,000 taxis, has only eight.

When The Sunday Times joined the LTA on a crackdown three weeks ago, only 10 officers were present.

Commuter C.K. Phua, 42, asked: ‘How many can they catch if it’s just that handful against thousands of cabs?’

ComfortDelGro has already fired five cabbies caught touting this year, with 20 others warned.

The LTA penalised 287 errant cabbies between January and September, surpassing the 202 drivers punished over the whole of last year.

Taxi firms also conduct operations to keep touting cabbies in check while at times they join forces with the LTA. ComfortDelGro fleet administrative manager Lee Choo Kin heads a team of eight officers who conduct regular checks on its 32,000 drivers.

They work in pairs or threes at touting hot spots such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay at least three times a month. Officers will pose as passengers and discreetly record the details of a cabby who offers a flat rate without using the meter. Other officers keep an eye on loitering touts.

The LTA said a typical investigation into an errant cabby takes about ’several weeks’.

Mr Cedric Foo, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, wants the LTA to step up enforcement.

‘Touting does not sit well with the Singapore Tourism Board’s mission to draw more tourists to Singapore.’  

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 4th November 2007

I read a previous uncut version of the following post early this morning here and below is the officially published version. I was wondering if the editors are really going to publish the original version in the papers because I am not sure how many people who had been conned don’t mind being called a sucker.

Lottery scams: At least 1 case a day

179 cases reported in last 2 months alone; victims told to pay ‘admin fees’ in order to receive prizes

IF IT sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It’s an old saying but it has been getting a new lease of life here recently.

Gullible Singaporeans seem to be queuing up to fall victim to a lottery scam that has claimed more than $2 million this year. There has been about one victim a day over the past month and more than 210 so far this year.

The sharp increase in the number of victims has been startling. Up till August, only 31 people had been duped this year. But 91 people were conned in September - the last time police raised the alert - alone, with a spike of another 88 cases last month.

The scam centres on the premise that victims have won a pile of cash.

Conmen send text messages to mobile phones notifying people that they have won big in the lottery.

Victims are told to call an overseas number to claim their prize. They are then asked to make payments in advance to cover ‘administrative’ or ‘processing’ fees.

The fraudsters have another trick up their sleeves: calling victims on the pretext of conducting a survey or inviting them to an overseas event.

A few days later, the target is called again and told that he has won a cash prize through a lucky draw that was entered on his behalf.

He is asked to remit money to a local bank account, or one in China. Once the victims part with their cash, the swindlers disappear without a trace.

Marketing executive Jonathan Goh received a suspicious overseas call two weeks ago from a person with a strong Chinese accent asking him to take part in a survey.

Mr Goh, 25, hung up when the man failed to come up with a plausible reason for obtaining his phone number.

‘It seemed dubious. Besides, I had heard about such scams so I told them to stop contacting me,’ he said.

‘People should ignore such senseless messages. How can you win and still need to pay?’

If you have been a victim of one of these lottery scams, or know someone who is, please e-mail stlocal@sph.com.sg to share your experience.  

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 4th November 2007

I remembered when I was at Vivocity waiting for cabs, I saw many limo cabs (usually mercedes cabs) that are empty, are not on call and their hirers seem to be waiting for some customers. The queue at Vivocity wasn’t particularly long but it usually meant a 30 to 45 minutes wait at the taxi stand. After 5 minutes, my friend gave up waiting and decided to call a cab.

Of course, none of the limo cabs bidded for the call (that only happens at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal), but I quickly saw some action taking place - taxi drivers were touting for customers, particularly Indonesian visitors. I wanted to take a photo of it, but by then I have to move off. That impression was left in my head for quite a long time.

Today, I realised why.

TAXI touts might look like lone operators trying their luck every now and then but the business is a slick, well-organised racket, with teamwork the key.

The touts operate in groups, from the small-timers with fewer than 10 members to the more established ones with up to 170 or more in their ranks.

They could be from different taxi firms but they all carry a walkie-talkie tuned to the same frequency and used for sharing customers.

They pay a monthly fee, nominate their own leaders and have regular meetings, according to 10 taxi drivers The Sunday Times spoke to. There is even a special ‘walkie-talkie lingo’ that has evolved to keep any eavesdroppers guessing.

ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest taxi firm, said it was aware of such groups and is working with the authorities to ’stop their prevalence’.

Cabbies told The Sunday Times that the groups were initially formed about 10 years ago for more social purposes.

Drivers would alert one another if business was brisk at certain spots or if traffic police were on patrol. But in recent years, they have found a new use for the network.

Assignments come crackling through their walkie-talkies, either from their operators or fellow group members specifying the fixed rate for the ride and the amount of commission they want.

Passengers can be charged a flat fare of between $25 and $50 during peak hours or $8 plus the metered fee for non-peak periods.

The bigger touting clubs station operators at a call centre. These operators take calls from passengers who do not mind the higher fares. Once a customer has been lined up, the job is assigned to member cabbies on the roads.

Clubs publicise hotlines by distributing fliers and cards in neighbourhoods like Bukit Timah where cabs are hard to come by.

‘Those tired of staying on hold for a cab on the official taxi hotlines will then turn to us,’ said a Comfort limousine cabby who has been driving for 11 years and who wanted to be known only as MrGoh. ‘But, of course, they have to pay a higher price.’

The more brazen operators loiter outside hotels and nightspots, approaching foreigners reluctant to join the snaking taxi queues.

Deal struck, they page for a member willing to take the passenger - but not before bargaining for a cut.

‘If he says: ‘Member, 25.5 Clarke Quay to Bishan’, that means he’s going to take a $5 cut out of the $25 fare,’ said Mr Goh, who has been in a club for 10 years.

These street operators could also be cabbies but some no longer drive.

While the bigger clubs have their own operators, cabbies in humbler groups just use their walkie-talkies to pass on jobs - for a cut.

Another Comfort limo driver said: ‘If my regular customer calls and I’m not in the area, I pass it on to my members. But, of course, I get between $1 and $5 in commission.’

Every month, some clubs hold meetings at hawker centres where members ’settle each others’ commissions’, said Mr Goh.

While getting into a club through recommendation is relatively easy, staying in one means behaving well.

‘If you don’t pay up or are always late for jobs, you can be banned or suspended for three days and no jobs will be passed to you,’ he said.

Cabbies also pay monthly membership fees of between $28 and $40. Besides paying the street operators, the fund is used for weddings and funerals, and during festive occasions such as the Hungry Ghost Festival.

A walkie-talkie lingo has also developed with terms such as ‘there’s a monkey’, ‘can tell’ and ‘good bite’.

‘Monkey’ refers to a policeman while ‘can tell’ and ‘good bite’ signal the presence of ignorant tourists who are easy prey.

While group members fatten their wallets with high fares, cabbies out to make an honest living are fed up.

One Trans-Cab cabby said: ‘It’s unfair as we’re getting a bad name because of them, yet the taxi companies are not taking action.’

Another cabby, who drives a Comfort limo, said he did not report the touting drivers because ’some of them are my friends’.

Meanwhile, Mr Goh carries on touting, unafraid of getting caught.

He said: ‘The taxi companies don’t care what we do, as long as we pay the rent!’

Article from straitstimes.com on 4th November 2007

What’s particularly interesting was what Mr Goh, a taxi driver said, “… the taxi companies don’t care what we do, as long as we pay the rent…”. So, does this mean that as long as the cab companies get their daily rents from all their cabbies, they probably won’t bother much about the peak hour rush and the apparent insufficient number of cabs on the roads? Is this why the solution to solving peak hour rush is always to increase peak hour surcharges for the customers before increasing rent for the cabbies (according to a few drivers that I have spoken to)?

Hmm… pondering.

I was reading through the latest news on straitstimes.com when I came across an article on the rise of scam victims. While reading the article, I was a little amused by the use of the term “sucker” in the article, and this was referenced a few times in the entire article:

There has been about one sucker a day over the past month and more than 210 so far this year.

And

The fraudsters have another racket in their arsenal: Calling victims on the pretext of conducting a survey or inviting them to an overseas event.

A few days later, the sucker is called again and told that he has won a cash prize through a lucky draw that was entered on his behalf.

Hmm… curious to find out what exactly a sucker is, I found that:

suck·er /ˈsʌkər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[suhk-er] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. a person or thing that sucks.
2. Informal. a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon.
3. an infant or a young animal that is suckled, esp. a suckling pig.
4. a part or organ of an animal adapted for sucking nourishment, or for adhering to an object as by suction.
5. any of several freshwater, mostly North American food fishes of the family Catostomidae, having thick lips: some are now rare.
6. Informal. a lollipop.
7. the piston of a pump that works by suction, or the valve of such a piston.
8. a pipe or tube through which something is drawn or sucked.
9. Botany. a shoot rising from a subterranean stem or root.
10. Informal. a person attracted to something as indicated: He’s a sucker for new clothes.
11. Slang. any person or thing: He’s one of those smart, handsome suckers everybody likes. They’re good boots, but the suckers pinch my feet.
–verb (used with object) 12. Slang. to make a sucker of; fool; hoodwink: another person suckered by a con artist.
–verb (used without object) 13. to send out suckers or shoots, as a plant.

So, it is a word that’s what I thought it was; but to read it from the national papers feels a little funny and somehow feels a little inappropriate. Oh well, perhaps I am just backdated.

Scam victims on the rise

IF IT sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It’s an old saying but it has a been getting a new lease of life here recently.

Gullible Singaporeans seem to be queuing up to fall victim to a lottery scam that has claimed more than $2 million this year.

There has been about one sucker a day over the past month and more than 210 so far this year.

The sharp increase in the number of victims has been startling. By August only 31 people had been sucked in.

That had shot up to 122 in September, the last time police raised the alert, with a further spike last month.

The scam centres around the premise that victims have won a pile of cash.

Conmen send SMSes to mobile phones notifying people that they have won big in the lottery.

Victims are told to call an overseas number to claim their prize. They are then asked to make payments in advance to cover ‘administrative’ or ‘processing’ fees.

The fraudsters have another racket in their arsenal: Calling victims on the pretext of conducting a survey or inviting them to an overseas event.

A few days later, the sucker is called again and told that he has won a cash prize through a lucky draw that was entered on his behalf.

He is asked to remit money to a local bank account, or one in China. Once the victims part with their cash, the swindlers disappear without a trace.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 4th November 2007; and just to make sure that I saw what I thought I saw, I did a screen capture. Like I said, maybe I’m just a country pumpkin.

 Someone pinch me, please?

I have finally taken some time off to prepare a rather small (oops!) poster for my kittens. I think someone recommended 350×500 pixels and I am not sure how it’d look like until I post it up online. It’s been quite a while since I was this hardworking in creativity and learnt quite a fair bit in the process of doing it up. So, here it is. The poster for the missing kittens. It’d really be nice if you could help put it up too to spread the word? I’d really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Just to clear up a little - the kittens were handed over to the caregiver at about 1130pm on 10th October 2007 at the taxi stand outside The Cathay. We never did see the caregiver got onto anyone’s car - and so it could be his friend’s or just a taxi. 13th October 2007 is when we officially lost contact with the caregiver via MSN, gtalk or SMS.

The kittens were approximately 12 weeks old as of 13th October 2007 and should have probably grown a little more if they are still alive. If you have any information pertaining to the kittens or caregiver, please do not hesitate to email us. We are also intending to pass this around the pet shops, although it’s quite unlikely that they will identify the kittens. Well, no harm trying, we guess. Thanks for helping to pass the word around.