Pimp jailed for charging clients $2,500 to deflower teenage Vietnamese virgins

A 42 year old Singaporean pimp Seng Swee Meng was jailed for five years on Wednesday after pleading guilty to 15 counts of violating the Women’s Charter Act.

Seng operated a brothel together with his Vietnamese wife Ngo Tien at a Geylang apartment where they would procure young Vietnamese girls between 16 and 17 years old and ‘coach’ them how to ‘service’ men in bed.

He reportedly charged S$2,500 for clients to ‘deflower’ those who were still virgins. One seventeen year old Vietnamese prostitute complained of lower abdominal pain after being ‘inserted’ violently by a client and wanted to quit, but Seng refused to let her go and assaulted her.

The duo would take a cut of the girls’ earnings, varying between S$300 and S$700 each time. The girls also have to pay them a ‘processing fee’ of between $500 and $1,200 should they decide to quite the sex trade and return to Vietnam.

Nine of Seng’s clients were already charged in court for having sex with the underage Vietnamese prostitutes, including businessmen and company directors.

Seng’s wife has escaped to Vietnam with their three year old daughter and remains at large. In mitigation, Seng said he was ‘lured’ into the running the prostitution ring by his wife.

For receiving the women in Singapore and living off their earnings, Seng could have been jailed up to five years and fined a maximum of S$10,000 for each offence.

Lee Yi Shyan: We must be ‘careful’ in raising the wages of low income Singaporeans

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan has expressed skepticism at a proposal mooted by NTU economics professor Lim Chong Yah to increase the wages of low income workers in Singapore.

Prof Lim had suggested increasing the wages of those earning below S$1,500 a month over the next three years while freezing the wages of those earning S$15,000 or more a month in the same period as part of a wider plan to restructure Singapore’s economy which remains heavily reliant on cheap foreign labor.

However, Mr Lee felt there would be ‘consequences’ if the wages of low income workers are artificially raised by ‘too much’.

In an interview with the media on the sideline of a community event, Mr Lee said:

“In a free market system, for it to work well, we have to be very mindful of the interventions we introduce and if you artificially raise it too much… there are consequences and some of these consequences are not what you want to see.”

He added that Prof Lim’s proposal “is a very drastic way of raising the wages without corresponding increase in productivity and that will have a wide impact on the economy.”

Singapore has the highest income gap between the rich and the poor among the thirty most developed economies in the world after Hong Kong.

Serious lapses in procurement in Singapore Police Force – Public Accounts Committee

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is besieged by broad-based weaknesses in procurement management which led to it being grossly overcharged in some public projects, said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

As such, it has called upon the Ministry of Home Affairs’ permanent secretary to present oral evidence.

Serious lapses in procurement in the SPF had been reported in the last two Reports of the Auditor-General.

In financial year 2009/10, lapses were found in the management of a contract for the maintenance of surveillance camera systems of the Traffic Police resulting in SPF paying, over many years, for maintenance work which was not done.

In financial year 2010/2011, the Auditor-General observed irregularities at every stage of the management of two projects undertaken by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) which resulted in SPF being grossly overcharged.

Besides SPF, other ministries which have been asked by the PAC to submit written explanations on the procurement and contract management lapses include the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Transport.

PHOTO: Tampines residents present PAP MP Baey Yam Keng with banner

PAP MP Baey Yam Keng may be unpopular among netizens with his staunch defence of NUS PRC scholar Sun Xu for calling Singaporeans ‘dogs’, but he is still very much well liked by his constituents in Tampines North.

Here, his residents presented him with a banner wishing him ‘success in all his endeavors’:

[Source: Baey Yam Keng’s Facebook]

PRC man request contact number of MP to seek help in applying for Singapore PR

A PRC man has posted a thread on the Lion City Forum asking for the contact number of a MP to seek his assistance in applying for Singapore PR.

The PRC man noted that he read on the same forum last year about a MP who has been ‘enthusiastically’ helping PRC nationals and he wants the MP to help him write a letter to support his PR application.

One fellow PRC netizen asked him to find out more from the nearby Community Club:

“Go to your constituency’s Community Club to find the date for your MP’s Meet-the-People’s session.”

(去你所在区的民众联络所问一下议员的民众接待日。)

The PRC man can consider seeking the help of Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng who has a stellar ‘track record’ of helping foreigners obtain Singapore PRs, one of whom is Indonesian Agusetiawarman who posted on her Facebook to thank her in person:

[Source: Irene Ng’s Facebook]

PHOTO: NUS Sports Club Homepage HACKED!

The homepage of the NUS Sports Club was hacked yesterday:

The problem has since been rectified.

Police reports filed over use of Taoist robes in fashion show

Two separate police reports were filed against the organizers of a fashion show organized by the Floral Designers Society Singapore (FDSS) last month over the use of a Taoist robe at the event.

In the event hosted at Furama RiverFront Hotel on 30 March, one model was reportedly dressed in a red Taoist robe and held a ‘Ru Yi’, to match her floral hair accessories and theatrical makeup.

Mr Chung Kwang Tong, secretary-general of the Taoist Federation Youth Group, said the robe had been “exactly the same” as the sacred ceremonial robe worn by Taoist priests when they conduct religious ceremonies and important rituals, “and only ordained Taoist priests can wear it” while the ’Ru Yi’ is considered a sacred Taoist artifact.

The photo of the model was posted on the internet and went viral on social media, triggering a massive public backlash from the Taoist community in Singapore.

In an interview with the media, one businessman Chua Kuan Ting, who lodged the police report, said he felt ‘extremely offended’ when he saw the robe being used at the fashion show.

The incident came one week after police reports were lodged against the organizers of the ‘Escape Chapel Party’ for ‘offending’ the Catholic community for using models dressed in short nun habits in its publicity materials.

PAP MP Dr Lam Pin Min wants MOH to set up special fund to help PRs who cannot afford their medical bills

The recent announcement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to reduce the healthcare subsidies for Singapore PRs have brought mixed reactions from Singaporeans.

While some welcome the move, others felt the subsidies for Singaporean citizens should be increased instead.

However, at least one PAP MP Dr Lam Pin Min is extremely worried about the impact of the new measures on PRs.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, GPC Chair for Health Dr Lam Pin Min feels some PRs may need help to adjust to the changes and hopes the Ministry can set up a special fund to help PRs who cannot afford their medical bills and have no where to turn to for support.

His comments triggered a chorus of disapproval from netizens who lampooned him for ‘helping’ foreigners instead of locals.

Some responses on Hardwarezone forum:

“Is he afraid that the PRs cannot afford to pay for his services? His main clients all PRS izzi??” – singpat

“Why are our elected MPs using their parliamentary time to discuss the needs of foreigners? If my employee spends his time talking about how to benefit my competitors, i’ll fire him in a sec.” – vicodin

“my MP, xiasuay, speaking up for PR in parliarment when he shd be speaking for sinkies” – veryhungryboy

 

Trapped passenger’s leg in Clementi MRT station caused delay along East-West line last night

SMRT trains along the East-West line were delayed for between 10 to 15 minutes due to a passenger’s leg being trapped in gap between the train and the platform at Clementi MRT station.

The incident happened at around 6.50pm in the evening. According to eye-witnesses, the 13 year old teenager was alighting from a west-bound MRT train when his right leg was stuck in the gap between the train and the platform.

One alert passenger pressed the emergency button on the train and SMRT staff called the SCDF which arrived in time to help rescue the distressed passenger who suffered abrasions to his right knee.

Some responses on Facebook:

“The train I took at ard 8pm overshot & missed tamp station & went to Pasir Ris. As usual they blamed it to the “TECHNICAL FAULT” CRAP!~” – Connie Yeo

“just alighted clementi awhile ago, i think got people fall or kanna giap by the mrt door trying to chiong in. too bloody crowded.. “ – Pak Ru Bo

“Alighted at Outram at 7pm due to a train fault..” – Sherry Teo

 

Singaporean asks why he paid more than PRs in public hospitals

看了3月31日《联合早报》交流站上陈晓燕女士的文章后, 想知道为什么外国人能够享有65％的政府补贴?

我是新加坡公民, 在2008KK医院的医疗费用为$40.10 (总账单$81.60), 政府补贴51%。在2010TTS医院的医疗费用为$471.06 (总账单$1056.16), 政府补贴55%。

在这里, 我想请问卫生部为什么新加坡人的医疗政府补贴低于外国人?

读者: 陈保瑜

*The letter was initially sent to Zaobao.com and was not published.