Yes, M1 finally started to provide home broadband services - but lo and behold, it’s tapping on Starhub’s infrastructure, which means it probably utilizes the same cable modem that is already serving Starhub Cable Modem customers. There’s however, no news if the existing Starhub cable modem is compatible with the M1 service.

Besides lower pricing plans, existing M1 cellular phone customers (editor: I nearly typed existing M1 cellular customers, which has a different meaning altogether) will also enjoy additional discounts.

In the midst of such competition, it is not known if the ISPs in Singapore will switch to a volume-based price tier, which "penalises" heavy users in their monthly charges. These are potentially users who make use of online services such as BitTorrent, online radio stations and possibly online gaming. As M1 is new to the home broadband service, it is not known if they will be able to manage the monstrous appetite of bandwidth by the heavy users.

While M1 may be offering lower prices, it’s not known if they will be matching freebies that’s traditionally hung as a carrot to bring in new subscribers. This is something which subscribers - both new and old, have to factor in while doing their maths.

M1 offers cut-price deals for home broadband users

By Alfred Siew, Technology Correspondent

MOBILEONE (M1) just raised the stakes in the race for speed, in a move that may give users here better bundle deals for broadband and mobile services.

Yesterday, it became the latest home broadband provider offering cut-price deals that could stoke up a new round of competition for broadband services.

The cellphone operator’s cable modem service to homes is similar to StarHub’s existing service because M1 is leasing the cable modem network from StarHub to connect up homes. Internet users can hook up the modem to the Internet using a cable point.

However, the new entrant is offering lower prices - a boon for home users looking for better deals. The fastest broadband service in town, a 100 megabits per second (Mbps) offering, costs $88.50 a month from M1. StarHub charges $99.29 and offers freebies, while SingTel does not yet have a 100Mbps service.

A slower service, at 10mbps, costs $43.50 a month from M1, while SingTel charges $58. StarHub, which does not have a 10Mbps service, charges $65.06 for a 12Mbps offering.

Faster services enable more users at home to use the Internet for multiple purposes. They may, for instance, download files and surf the Internet at the same time.

Experts say M1’s entrance could mean better deals ahead for consumers - especially those already using the operator’s cellphone services. M1 said its cellphone customers will get an additional 5 to 10 per cent off its new home broadband services.

The move is aimed at keeping customers who may be tempted to buy a bundle of pay-TV, mobile and home broadband services offered at a discount by rivals SingTel and StarHub.

In a statement yesterday, M1 chief executive officer Neil Montefiore said that its home broadband offering will turn M1 into a ‘multi-play’ operator instead of being just a cellphone player.

Analysts are not surprised by the move. Research director Foong King Yew from IT consultancy firm Gartner said M1 could not afford to offer just cellphone services while its rivals roll out attractive bundle deals.

‘M1 has no choice, because the world is moving towards multi-play offerings,’ he added.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_264648.html

Article extracted on straitstimes.com on 5th August 2008

With such a record turn out, it’s hard to convince anyone looking at the figures that Singaporeans are indeed suffering from a high inflation this year. A record 65,000 people spent almost $40 million on packages going to places like Europe and US last weekend at the NATAS fair - a rise of 14% from last year’s 58,000. Anyone may be skeptical if Singaporeans are indeed going through a hard time. I am not sure about the others, but I sure know that I am beginning to be be digging at the linings of my pockets.

Natas bags record sales as travel bug spreads

Record 65,000 spend $40million, with Europe, US among top spots

By Lim Wei Chean

THE bite of the travel bug is tough to resist. Even a slowing economy and rising costs were not enough to keep bargain hunters from setting new records at a weekend travel fair.

More than 65,000 people headed to Singapore Expo to check out the best holiday deals at the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) travel fair - a rise of some 14per cent from last year’s more than 58,000.

Queues to enter the exhibition area at Halls4 and 5 stretched as far back as the exit of the MRT station at Hall6, keeping retiree Tan Lye Teck, 62, in line for two hours just to get in.

The strong turnout pleased Natas chief executive officer Robert Khoo, who had been worried that inflation woes would curtail people’s wanderlust.

By 6pm yesterday, the show had set a new record - and not just for visitors.

Mr Khoo estimated that travel agents had sold $40million worth of holiday packages over the three days, another 14per cent increase over last year’s performance.

He expected the final tally to be even higher as more deals will be closed in the weeks following the fair.

Chan Brothers spokesman Ivy Tan said that despite the downturn and credit crunch, long-haul destinations such as Europe and the United States were still immensely popular.

Her company saw a 50per cent increase in bookings to the US compared with the same period last year.

It expects to collect around $13million in sales, an 8per cent increase on last year’s bumper sales of $12million.

ASA Holidays spokesman Eileen Oh said it had enjoyed $13million worth of sales, some $3million more than its initial target of $10million - last year’s total.

It was a similar story at CTC Holidays, which chalked up 35per cent more sales compared with last year.

The US and Europe were among the top destinations, along with Japan and South Korea.

China, a previously popular destination, seemed to have fallen into disfavour - possibly due to a recent spate of natural disasters as well as hassle over visa requirements ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing, travel agents said.

Besides the trend of booking early to prevent last year’s airline seat crunch, travel agents said that people were booking more short trips to take advantage of long weekends.

Next year will see Singaporeans enjoying eight long weekends, double this year’s four.

But holidaymakers were not entirely immune to inflation.

Some, such as teacher Harbachan Singh, 45, have decided to take one instead of two annual holidays.

Mrs Singh said she had given up an annual trip to India in June so she could make a December trip to Canada with her four children.

‘Otherwise, it would have been too expensive,’ she said.

Yet others did not seem to be feeling the pinch, and aimed to stick to their regular travel plans of at least one long trip and several shorter regional hops.

In 2006, Singapore residents made more than 5.5million trips out of the country by air and sea. Last year also saw Singaporeans making 10.4million trips by air, land and sea to Malaysia.

weichean@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_264297.html?sunwMethod=GET

Article extracted on 5th August 2008

Well, it seems like the down trend is here to stay for a while - overstaying, if I may add salt to the wound. For the 5th time, fuel prices have dropped, hitting $1.770 for diesel at Shell after discounts. In fact, the last dip is the steepest dip that has ever occurred in the last 5 years. This is probably also compounded by the strengthening of the US dollar, which means that lesser US$ is required to purchase fuel.

Meanwhile, CNG prices remained unchanged at S$1.80 a kg, and this is likely to rise next month; although Smart Energy, which operates Singapore’s biggest CNG refuelling station in Mandai, will reduce prices "purely for goodwill".

People who have converted to CNG will definitely not be pleased to know that CNG prices will be going upwards while that of petrol is spiralling down. The "goodwill gesture" is probably made because the companies are expecting fuel prices to take a turn for the sky some time soon. However, before that happens, I am wondering when the taxi companies will suspend the fuel surcharge. I am beginning to feel like a flight passenger.

Forth fuel price dip:

Petrol and diesel pump prices fall by three cents

Fourth drop in two weeks but it’s just a respite for motorists: Analysts

By Maria Almenoar

PUMP prices headed south yesterday for the fourth time in a fortnight, but analysts are warning that the good news could be short-lived.

With northern countries stocking up on winter heating fuel and bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico, prices could rise in the near future.

‘Consumers can enjoy a breather for now but it is unlikely to last long. For every high jump, there is a short correction period, but within no time, it will shoot up again,’ said Mr Ng Weng Hoong, editor of energy news portal EnergyAsia.com

Still, drivers are relishing the second drop in petrol prices this week.

Petrol retailers lowered rates by three cents a litre yesterday. Prices have dropped 11 cents since July 9.

Though petrol rates are now at their lowest since May, prices are still about 13 cents higher than at the start of the year.

The latest adjustment brings a litre of 92-octane petrol to $2.103 a litre, 95-octane to $2.136 a litre and 98-octane to $2.210 a litre - all before discount.

Ultra-premium petrol like Shell’s V-Power is $2.339 a litre while Caltex’s Platinum is $2.336 a litre.

The latest fall in petrol rates followed a drop in crude prices. Light sweet crude for August delivery ended last week at US$128.88 (S$175.40) a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A week earlier, it had hit a record US$147.27.

Prices also fell by three cents a litre at diesel pumps to hit $1.963 a litre. The fuel is still about 70 per cent more expensive than at the start of the year.

Cab companies - which mostly use diesel-run vehicles - recently introduced a 30-cent fuel surcharge in a bid to defray costs for their drivers.

The largest cab company here - ComfortDelGro - said that it was good news that diesel prices were heading downwards but added that prices were still volatile.

‘It should be noted that despite the recent decline in prices, fuel prices are still trading at record highs,’ said spokesman Tammy Tan.

The surcharge would be removed when diesel falls back to $1.19, which was the market price in December last year, she said.

While pump prices fell, the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) remained at $1.73 per kg as of yesterday.

CNG is used by some taxi companies and car owners who have added CNG tanks to their petrol-driven cars.

Smart Energy, which sells CNG, said it would review its rates closer to the end of the month when it gets billed by its supplier.

mariaa@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_261025.html

Fifth fuel price dip:

Pump prices down 10cents, sharpest drop in 5 years

Fifth cut in three weeks, in the wake of plunging crude oil prices

By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

PUMP prices fell across the board by 10 cents a litre yesterday, the single sharpest drop since 2003.

It was the fifth consecutive slide in three weeks, and it came amid plummeting crude oil prices, which slumped to US$123 a barrel last week. That was down from a record high of more than US$147 a barrel earlier this month.

Mr Ng Weng Hoong, editor of energy news portal EnergyAsia.com, called the drop in oil prices a blip, saying it was triggered by concerns with credit, jobs and inflation.

With northern countries poised to stock up on heating oil for the winter, low prices are unlikely to last, he said. ‘You will see some short-term volatility. Prices could well fall further, but the long-term picture is still bullish.’

The 10-cent drop at Singapore’s pumps yesterday pulled a litre of 92-octane petrol to $2.003 before discount, 95-octane to $2.036, and 98-octane to $2.11.

The so-called ultra-premium petrol is 10 cents cheaper, too. Shell’s V-Power is now at $2.239 a litre, while Caltex’s Platinum retails for $2.236. Diesel is at $1.863.

Light sweet crude ended last week at US$123.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange - US$24.01 lower than two weeks earlier.

The downward spiral has been attributed to lower demand, as drivers cut back on trips and car buyers shy away from petrol guzzlers like sport utility vehicles. The recent strengthening of the US dollar, which is used to trade oil, has also helped to drive prices down.

Compressed natural gas (CNG), meanwhile, remained unchanged in Singapore at close to $1.80 a kg.

Mr Johnny Harjantho, the managing director of Smart Energy, which operates Singapore’s biggest CNG refuelling station in Mandai, said the wholesale price of CNG is likely to rise further next month.

The company will, nevertheless, reduce pump prices ‘purely for goodwill’, he added.

He said Smart would add more hoses at its station by December to cope with rising demand. It also aims to open a new station in Serangoon North by early next year.

Even though petrol and diesel prices have fallen by around 10 per cent since early this month, they are still 30 per cent and 50 per cent higher than they were in January last year.

christan@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_262293.html

Article extracted on 25th July 2008

Approximately 1,000 Singaporeans give up their citizenship every year - and this is only based on data that’s derived from Singaporeans who denounced their citizenship and left Singapore is the past 3 years. I am not sure of their decision to give up the citizenship, but I suspect that it’s got something to do with Singapore’s stance on dual citizenship.

The country does not allow dual citizenship and Singaporeans who want to take up a second citizenship is supposedly forced to make a decision to give up one of the citizenship. Needless to say, if the Singaporean goes through all the effort to get the second citizenship, guess what he’ll choose? =) Nonetheless, it’s been rumoured that such declarations had been relaxed recently and there’s just a slight chance that the government might contemplate to allow for dual citizenship - although it’s something that won’t come in my life time.

With all the hearsay going around, perhaps it’s a good time to straighten out some… "facts". Apparently, if you decide to give up your citizenship, you’d be given some time to consider it. If you are bent on giving it up, then you’d be able to withdraw your CPF in full within 2 weeks. For male Singaporeans, I am not sure how things go, but I presume that it spells the end of the 10-year reservist cycle.

Anyone gone through such a process? =)

1,000 S’poreans give up citizenship each year

AN AVERAGE of about 1,000 Singapore gave up their citizenship each year in the last three years, said Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng on Monday.

The reasons they renounced their Singapore citizenship ranged from marriage to foreigners to yearning for a different environment, he said in his written reply to a question from from Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, who wanted to know how many Singaporeans had emigrated in the last three years.

Most of them took up new citizenship in countries in Southeast-Asia, the United States of America and Australia.

Mr Wong said Singaporeans who emigrate generally do not declare this to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) when they leave.

The only available data which gives an indication of the number of emigrants from Singapore is the number of Singaporeans who have given up their citizenship and left Singapore.

Article extracted on 22nd July 2008

In what seems like a change of heart, Mr Khaw said that the Ministry of Health will be looking into the possibility of legalizing organ trading; with a catch. Any payment made to the donor must come from a third party. The rationale behind this idea is to distant the recipient as far away as possible from the donor, hence diminishing direct contact and exploitation from the poor.

Essentially, it feels like pushing the duty of responsibility of accountability to the organizations which are willing to help. If money is involved, then the organization will help to ensure that whatever comes in on the left hand goes out of the right hand - although I suspect that there may be some form of an "administrative fee" involved. In the event if anything untoward happens, the organization may be the first to be informed who will then have to investigate and notify the ministry.

So what kind of organizations will be involved? I am thinking organizations of religions, charitable organizations and other left-winged organizations. I am not sure why, but I feel that in times of need, everyone suddenly turns religious and start approaching these institutions for help. Otherwise, a government agency may be set up to manage this. They may also charge a lesser administrative fee. =)

Perhaps this idea is still too immatured to be discussed at this point in time since we have no idea where the government is heading towards. However, I do laud the government for doing something instead of just criminalizing everything and feeding the black market indirectly. 

Changes to organ transplant law to meet demand for transplants

SINGAPORE is considering legalising kidney trading to help meet demand for kidney transplants, the city-state’s health minister said on Monday.

The Health Ministry will examine the feasibility of providing payments to unrelated donors to augment the supply of kidneys, Mr Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament, acknowledging that the suggestion has stirred controversy.

‘We should not reject any idea just because it is radical or controversial,’ Mr Khaw said. ‘We may be able to find an acceptable way to allow a meaningful compensation for some living, unrelated kidney donors, without breaching ethical principles or hurting the sensitivities of others.’

Mr Khaw said the ministry would review possible changes to current legislation to allow payments for donations from third parties such as those from the charity and religious sectors. Under the proposal, which would need to be approved by Parliament to become law, patients would also get help in finding donors.

‘There are desperate patients out there wishing to live and desperately poor people willing to exchange a kidney for a hopefully improved life,’ he said. ‘Criminalising organ trading does not eliminate it … it merely breeds a black market.’

Mr Khaw also said the Health Ministry would push to amend existing laws on organ transplants to remove an age limit on deceased donors, currently set at 60 years, because ‘the suitability of the organ depends on its condition rather than the age of the donor’.

The two initiatives should enable Singapore to carry out 70 per cent of the kidney transplants needed every year - up from 50 per cent currently, the minister said.

The two initiatives should raise Singapore’s sufficiency in kidney transplants from 50 per cent to 70 per cent, the minister said.

He said about 1,000 new cases of kidney failure are diagnosed every year, with nearly 40 per cent unable to survive the first year.

Mr Khaw’s comments follow the cases of two Indonesian men who were jailed and fined by a Singapore court earlier this month after being convicted of agreeing to sell their kidneys to two patients in Singapore.

Selling or buying organs or blood is illegal in Singapore, as in many other countries, and carries a penalty of up to 12 months’ jail, or a fine of up to S$10,000 or both. — AP

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_259881.html

Consideration of a 3rd party to foot the bill:

Compensation for organ donors: Idea under study

Solution may lie in a third party making the payment, thus distancing donor and recipient

By Lee Hui Chieh

THE giving of compensation to some organ donors is set to emerge on the horizon. But there will be a catch.

The compensation for the donors is to come from a third party, like a charity or religious group, and not directly from organ recipients.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan indicated the prospect of such an outcome yesterday when he highlighted three ways the Government is considering for augmenting the supply of kidneys.

But he foresees the other two measures doing better in raising the supply.

They are: removing altogether the 60-year age limit when getting organs from a person who had died; and setting up a registry that will find a match among donors who are unrelated to the patient.

These two measures could raise the transplant rate within 10 years to 70 per cent of the demand from eligible kidney patients, said Mr Khaw. Currently, only half the demand is met.

The Health Ministry hopes to implement these changes over the next one year.

Organ trading has been the subject of heated debate in Singapore this month, since well-known retailer Tang Wee Sung was named for allegedly trying to buy a kidney. He has been charged.

The controversy led MPs like Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) and Dr Lam Pin Min (Ang Mo Kio GRC) to ask about safeguards against illegal organ trading and legalising such trading. Madam Halimah chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee on Health and Dr Lam is the deputy.

Mr Khaw’s suggestion yesterday to allow compensation for some donors stems from requests made by charities and religious groups.

They had asked him if they could provide compensation - in cash or kind - to organ donors and their families to acknowledge the altruistic act of the donation.

The move is likely to stir controversy. However, Mr Khaw believes the solution lies in distancing the donor from the patient.

‘The more you can break the direct relationship between the donor and the recipient, (the more) the unethical considerations can be minimised.

‘So I think this is a possible option that we should explore, and certainly I’m studying this carefully, with a view to doing so.’

Exploitation of the poor, Mr Khaw has previously said, is his biggest worry. He believes that if a way can be found to minimise such exploitation, paying for organs may be acceptable to people.

He urged Singaporeans yesterday to ‘not reject any idea just because it is radical or controversial’.

‘The reality is…there are many desperate patients out there wishing to live, and desperately poor people willing to exchange a kidney for a hopefully improved life.

‘This is the stark reality and the dilemma confronted by many in such desperate situations.

‘We must therefore take a practical approach. Criminalising organ trading does not eliminate it…it merely breeds a black market.’

Most countries are short of kidneys, except for two: Norway and Spain, which are almost self-sufficient.

But what is perhaps most striking to Mr Khaw is that they rely on altruistic organ donations.

‘In Singapore, we have not yet maximised the yield through altruistic organ donations. Let us emulate them and push altruistic organ donations to their maximum potential,’ he said.

Attitudes towards compensating kidney donors have also been gradually changing, Mr Khaw pointed out.

He cited the views of Singapore Medical Association past president Arthur Lim and Nobel laureate Gary Becker.

Prof Becker, an American professor in economics and sociology, had argued that markets in organs are the best available way for a patient to get organ transplants more quickly than under the present system.

But this may be arguable in the light of the situation in Iran.

It is the only country in the world where organ trading is legal. Yet its transplant rate remains low.

huichieh@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Prime%2BNews/Story/STIStory_259986.html

Article extracted on 22nd July 2008

About 2 weeks ago, taxi companies came together to lobby for a 30 cents fuel surcharge in light of raising diesel prices. Ironically, on the first day that the surcharge was implemented, diesel price dropped, but still remained about $2 per litre. Since then prices dropped 2 more times which returned the price of diesel to sub-$2 again at $1.993 per litre. This is a result of a drop in crude oil prices, which is now trading at US$128.88 a barrel.

Now that diesel prices are going down, are the taxi companies going to scrape the 30 cents surcharge? Or is it here to stay? If it is, then this effectively means that there is now a flag-down rate of $3.10, up from the normal taxi rates of $2.80 but masqueraded as a fuel surcharge. I wonder how long the taxi companies will want to keep the surcharge, or will they just openly get it absorbed into the flag-down rate eventually.

Pump prices fall again - third time in fortnight

By Christopher Tan

PUMP prices fell for the third time in a fortnight, led again by Shell on Monday.

The reductions were two cents a litre for diesel and four cents for petrol, except for so-called ultra-premium petrols, which fell by three cents.

The latest adjustment brings a litre of 92-octane petrol to $2.133 a litre before discount; 95-octane to $2.166; and 98-octane to $2.24.

Shell’s V-Power is now $2.369, while Caltex’s Platinum is $2.366.

Diesel returned to sub-$2 level to $1.993.

The slide follows a sustained drop in international crude oil prices. Light, sweet crude for August delivery ended last week at US$128.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A week earlier, it hit a record US$147.27.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_259923.html

Article extracted on 21st July 2008

The increase has started. Fares on 11 SBS Transit premium bus services will be going up from 21st July 2008. The fare increase ranges from 30 cents to 60 cents. The affected bus services are 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 538, 539, 542, 543, 544 and 545. In addition, bus services 537, 540, 551, 575, 577 and 580 will be removed due to low demand. This is probably an expected move with the increase in diesel prices - even though it had just gone down yesterday. With this increase in premium services, fares on normal bus services, including those of SMRT buses will probably be increased soon. With this, fares for SMRT and SBS Transit trains will probably go up as well since increase in oil prices will affect electricity costs.

From the way things are going, public transport - including taxis, will be more expensive even as more people are giving up their cars. This is probably expected since the transport companies now have to spend more on maintaining and upgrading their buses and trains. At the end of the day, commuters are losers and the real winners are the transport companies. We should just be glad that it is still somewhat affordable now.

Higher fares on 11 premium bus services

By Yeo Ghim Lay

FARES on 11 SBS Transit premium bus services will go up from Monday.

The increases, ranging from 30 cents to 60 cents, come as transport operators are feeling the pinch from rising fuel costs.

New fares on the 11 services will cost $3.30 to $3.60, up from $2.70 to $3 previously.

These services serve residents in areas like Jurong, Clementi, Yio Chu Kang, Toa Payoh, Pasir Ris and Bedok.

They each run one trip during the weekday morning peak hour, ferrying commuters from the heartland to the Central Business District.

The fare increases come on the back of higher electricity and fuel costs for operators. SBS said these have gone up by more than 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year.

The 11 routes that will see fares go up are: premium services 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 538, 539, 542, 543, 544 and 545.

Besides the fare increases, SBS will also cancel six premium bus services starting from Monday because of low demand.

These are: premium services 537 and 540, which serve Jurong West and Yuan Ching Road respectively, and CityShopper services 551, 575, 577 and 580, which ferry shoppers from the heartland to town.

Surging diesel prices have also hit private bus operators, some of which plan to charge higher fares on their premium services.

There are currently more than 70 premium bus services running in Singapore, and half of these are operated by SBS.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_259021.html

Article extracted on 18th July 2008

Today is the first day of the taxi fuel surcharge kicking in and according to preliminary reports, commuters are sticking with taxi drivers through thick and thin - although some are concerned if the surcharge will start going up in the future. Cabby Ken Chian mentioned that some commuters sounded quite resigned but I guess that’s quite natural. Apparently, most commuters said that they understand the predicament that the taxi drivers are in and are most willing to pay the additional 30 cents.

Ironically, the prices of fuel, including diesel, went down today as the price of crude oil went below US$140. On the other hand, CNG prices have been going up steadily. In February 2008, the price difference between CNG and petrol is 70 cents per litre. Today, it’s merely 30 cents per litre - costing about 40% more than in February.

It seems like CNG doesn’t quite live up to its name that some have given - Cheap n’ Good.

Commuters stick to cabs on Day 1 of fuel surcharge

By Yeo Ghim Lay

A NEW, 30-cent fuel charge levied by Singapore’s biggest cab company does not seem to have turned commuters off taxis.

The surcharge, imposed on the back of rising diesel prices, came into effect yesterday on all of ComfortDelGro’s cabs. Its drivers told The Straits Times that the increase has not hurt business.

Cabby Ken Chian, 39, said that while some passengers asked about the extra 30 cents, there were no complaints. ‘A few sounded quite resigned and said they don’t have a choice,’ said Mr Chian.

Diesel prices have jumped by more than 50 per cent in the last six months, putting pressure on cabbies and bus operators.

Commuters said they understand the predicament taxi drivers are in, and most did not mind paying the extra 30 cents.

Mr Devdutt Sridharan, 23, an air force pilot, said: ‘It’s a reasonable increase, especially with the rise in oil prices these days.’

Some commuters, however, were concerned that they would have to pay more in the future.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_258630.html

And pump prices doing down…

Pump prices down after crude oil tumbles

By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

PUMP prices fell on Thursday after crude oil tumbled below US$140 a barrel on Tuesday.

Petrol rates dropped by four cents a litre while diesel slid by two - just a week after the first reduction in 18 months.

A litre of 92, 95 and 98-octane petrol now costs $2.173, $2.206 and $2.28 before discount. So-called ultra-premium grades, Shells’ V-Power and Caltex’s Platinum, are now $2.399 and $2.396 respectively.

Diesel is $2.013.

The lower rates followed swiftly the plunge in crude prices, when news broke early this week that the US had larger oil reserves than expected.

Industry watchers noted that pump prices seem to be moving more closely in tandem with oil prices in recent months.

Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon said: ‘Consumers will welcome such quick response on the part of the oil companies. We believe oil companies are able to adjust pump price promptly and the latest move shows that such action is possible.’

Compressed natural gas (CNG) prices, meanwhile, have been rising sharply. They are now over 40 per cent costlier than six months ago.

With this, the gap between CNG and petrol has narrowed considerably.

Today, a kilogram of CNG is about 35 cents cheaper than a litre of petrol. The difference was 70 cents as recently in February.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_258620.html

Article extracted on 17th July 2008

Reverend Ming Yi, chief of the Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, who is a public and well-known figure in charity shows that were held for the past few years, had been charged in court for several offences concerning the hospital’s financial affairs. Amongst the charges include fraud, forgery and falsification of accounts. He allegedly forged documents to cheat auditors and provided false information to the Commissioner of Charities.

Due to this probe, the hospital has lost its status to provide tax exemptions to donors. 2 other staff were also charged with Reverend Ming Yi. A 4th person, who is not involved in the financial affairs of the hospital, was also charged for possession of obscene films at a residence that is co-owned by the abbot and the Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery.

Reverend Ming Yi is currently out on bail and his case will be heard again on 4th August 2008.

10 Charges against Ming Yi

Defrauding the charity

Helping to falsify accounts

Forgery

Giving false information

Sum involved: $300,000

By Chong Chee Kin

BUDDHIST monk Ming Yi, the flamboyant chief of the Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, was accused yesterday of several offences concerning its financial affairs.

The 46-year-old, whose real name is Goh Kah Heng, was charged with defrauding the charity, forgery and helping to falsify its accounts, all offences under the Penal Code.

He was also accused of forging documents to cheat auditors and giving false information to the Commissioner of Charities, both before and after a probe was initiated last November by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which is in charge of medical charities. These are breaches of the Charities Act and Penal Code.

The sums involved totalled about $300,000. Ming Yi faces up to a year’s jail for providing false information to the Commissioner, and up to seven years’ jail for forgery.

Accompanied by a few friends and a team of three lawyers headed by Senior Counsel Andre Yeap, the saffron-robed monk had the 10 charges read to him in English in a district court.

Ren Ci is the second large charity involved in court proceedings following the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) scandal that ended with its former chief T.T. Durai going to jail.

Like the NKF, Ren Ci ran big annual fund-raising shows which reaped millions of dollars in donations, and the highlight every year was a stunt performed by Ming Yi.

In the wake of the probe, Ren Ci, which runs a hospital for the chronically ill, lost its right to promise its donors tax exemptions.

Yesterday, a solemn Ming Yi found himself accused of fiddling with the charity’s accounts by re-classifying personal loans he took from it.

He is said to have moved those loans to the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre, a business he had a share in, or categorised them as part of advances given to him to invest on behalf of Ren Ci.

He is also accused of trying to cover his tracks by showing investigators fake documents to back his claims.

He is said to have conspired with two others to produce the false documents to mislead the Commissioner of Charities.

Raymond Yeung Chi Hang, 33, Ming Yi’s former personal executive, and David Phua Seow Hwa, 47, a manager at Ren Ci, were named as his co-conspirators and charged yesterday too.

Other charges relate to a $50,000 loan Ming Yi allegedly made to Yeung while he was Ren Ci’s chief executive, and a $300,000 donation. Court documents accuse him of dishonestly misappropriating these sums.

The MOH said in a statement yesterday that the Commissioner of Charities had suspended Ming Yi from his office as the charity’s chief executive officer and executive positions in five other charities including Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery where he was abbot.

But Ren Ci said Ming Yi had resigned voluntarily.

He was freed on bail of $200,000 and is due back in court on Aug 4.

cheekin@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Prime%2BNews/Story/STIStory_258042.html

The crux of the case:

Accused of lying

Ming Yi allegedly claimed half of a $600,000 donation was a personal loan

He allegedly falsified papers to cover up a $50,000 loan to his helper

He allegedly said $300k in loans from charity was to invest for Ren Ci

By Chong Chee Kin

THE Buddhist monk who used to head Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre has been accused of trying to cover his tracks.

When auditors opened the charity’s books and began asking questions, Ming Yi allegedly told them that a $50,000 sum paid out by Ren Ci was a loan to Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre to buy wood.

He also purportedly claimed that half of a $600,000 donation to Ren Ci was actually a loan to him.

The prosecution believes these two claims to be untrue.

With regard to the $50,000, it will try to prove that this was the sum the monk misappropriated in 2004 to grant a loan to his helper, Raymond Yeung.

The prosecution believes that Ming Yi conspired with Yeung in May 2004 to pass off the amount as a loan to Mandala, a shop which deals in Buddhist artefacts.

To do this, the monk was said to have worked with Yeung to forge a document; a Ren Ci clerk, acting on this, prepared a payment voucher from Ren Ci to Mandala.

When the auditors started poring through Ren Ci’s books last December on behalf of the Commissioner of Charities, the monk allegedly stuck to this story.

Questioned by the auditors from Ernst and Young Associates, Ming Yi apparently told them that Mandala was to use the $50,000 to buy wood.

And to show the commissioner proof of the purchase, the monk allegedly conspired with Yeung to come up with a letter, supposedly from a company in China, about the transaction.

Ming Yi is also accused of forging the minutes of a meeting he had with the Ren Ci management committee in July 2001.

In the minutes, he was said to have reclassified his personal loans from Ren Ci, amounting to nearly $300,000, as part of loans to Mandala, in which he has a stake.

This would have duped the charity’s auditors into thinking that the committee had approved of the change in the status of his loans.

The monk now also stands accused of misappropriating the $300,000 from Ren Ci and using it as part repayment for outstanding loans Mandala owed the charity last year.

To explain the amount when the probe started this year, he apparently conspired with Phua Seow Hwa, a manager in Ren Ci, to show the Commissioner that half of a $600,000 donation from a businessman was actually a personal loan to him.

He faces separate charges for allegedly reclassifying his personal loans in 1998 and 1999, when he is alleged to have signed off on Ren Ci’s audited financial statements, stating that his personal loans from Ren Ci were part of advances to him for investments on behalf of the charity.

The monk, represented by Senior Counsel Andre Yeap, is out on $200,000 bail. He is due back in court on Aug 4.

cheekin@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_258166.html

And the article on the 4th person being charged:

Charged: Man with obscene films in monk’s condo

A FOURTH man charged yesterday appeared to have nothing to do with the financial affairs of Ren Ci Hospital.

Pang Leong Chuan, 27, was charged with having 138 obscene and uncertified films.

He used to be the former personal assistant of monk Ming Yi, and was caught with most of the illegal films in an upscale apartment where the monk sometimes stayed.

Ming Yi is one of five listed owners of the apartment in The Cornwall, a condominium off Holland Road. Checks showed that the other owners included the Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery, where Ming Yi was the abbot.

Monastery staff were said to live in the fourth-floor unit, valued at about $2 million. Pang is believed to have lived there too.

Commercial Affairs Department officers confiscated 95 films at the apartment on Feb18, and another 43 from Pang’s listed address in Tampines.

A resident said three men, including Ming Yi, lived there. Others said they had seen him returning at night in a car with two men.

Pang, a university student, was the monk’s personal executive for more than a year.

No one was at his Tampines flat when The Straits Times checked yesterday. He is believed to have lived with his mother, though he was seldom home.

He faces six charges - four for possessing obscene films and two for having films uncertified for screening - and may be fined and jailed if found guilty.

He has engaged a lawyer.

TEH JOO LIN

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Prime+News/Story/STIStory_258044.html?sunwMethod=GET

Article extracted on 16th July 2008

Blogger Ng E-Jay of SgPolitics.net had been charged in court for his participation in an illegal assembly outside the Parliament House on 15th March 2008. Amongst them was veteran opposition Chee Soon Juan and his sister, who was also charged for biting an officer. I read into the circumstances they were charged for and found out that they were protesting for the problems of the common man - inflation, GST, education and health care; and I thought to myself, "Was I too rash to condemn them of their acts in some of my earlier posts".

In fact, one of my readers even commented that my feet isn’t even big enough to fit into the socks of Chee Soon Juan’s.

So, here’s my piece. While I do share the problems that were brought up, and I do suffer from the problems of the common man, I however, did not voice out because I either:

1. have complete faith in the government; or
2. believe that someone will do something about it; or
3. I am just being apathetic; or
4. I might just move out of here soon; or perhaps
5. I am just too afraid to speak up

Perhaps most of us know almost for a certainty that there’s nothing much that a normal citizen like myself can do. We can probably voice out as much as we want through "proper channels" and we can wait till the cows come home and nothing may be done yet. Perhaps we need mavericks like Chee Soon Juan to do stuffs like he did before "anything can happen". Perhaps we need people who are good in verbal arguments to challenge the people in politics now. Perhaps… I should just do nothing.

Or maybe, I am just a coward who is afraid of spending time in jail for a cause I know will never be fulfilled.

Illegal assembly: Chees among 18 charged

SDP chief’s sister accused of biting an officer; the siblings among five charged with taking part in an illegal march

By Goh Chin Lian

EIGHTEEN people were charged in court yesterday for their involvement in an illegal assembly outside Parliament House on March 15 and for taking part in a subsequent march.

All are claiming trial.

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan set July18 as the date for a pre-trial conference. This is when a judge, lawyers and the accused discuss matters before actual court hearings begin.

The 18 charged included Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan, his sister Chee Siok Chin, SDP chairman Gandhi Ambalam, blogger Ng E-Jay and film-maker Seelan Palay.

Chee Siok Chin was also charged with using criminal force on a police officer when she was arrested on March 15. The police said she tried to bite a female officer.

She was released on bail of $5,000.

Separately, Chee Siok Chin, Ambalam and three others were also charged yesterday with taking part in another illegal march on Sept 16 last year.

A sixth person allegedly involved in that Sept 16 march, Charles Tan, 28, was not in court yesterday. It is understood he is abroad.

Following yesterday’s court appearance, lawyer Chia Ti Lik - who was among those charged with involvement in the March 15 incident - read a statement on behalf of the group outside the Subordinate Courts building.

Standing with him was a group of about 30 SDP members, supporters and activists, many of whom wore red as a sign of unity.

The statement said the March 15 gathering was to protest against ‘ill-timed price hikes initiated by the Government, directly and indirectly, in areas ranging from the goods and services tax and public transport to education and health care’.

The group charged that further increases since March 15 showed that the Government was ‘unwilling to take active steps to make life less unbearable for all Singaporeans’.

They said their protest was ‘justified’ and that they had a right as citizens to assemble and express themselves freely.

A similar point was made in court by former Workers’ Party member Jufrie Mahmood after charges were read to him. But Judge Shaiffudin told him yesterday’s proceedings were to have the charges read and to record any plea - not to go into the merits of the case.

Separately, Chia told reporters that as he was among those charged, he could not represent the group. As such, the group wanted ‘Singaporean lawyers to come forward to represent us in these proceedings’.

chinlian@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_256990.html

Article extracted on 13th July 2008