It was reported on Thu (16 May) that Singapore PR, Amos Paul Gabriel, who is a Nigerian was sentenced to three years’ jail and fined S$4,200 for money laundering and other offences. He also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence, and was handed a one-year driving ban. Mr Gabriel was earlier involved in a scheme to swindle Citibank in …

Bloomberg reported on Tue (14 May) that Bayer AG was ordered to pay more than US$2 billion in damages to a Californian couple that claimed they got cancer as a result of using its Roundup weedkiller for about three decades. The jury agreed that Alva and Alberta Pilliod’s exposure to Roundup used for residential landscaping was a “substantial factor” in …

It was reported in the media that after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat came back from his Switzerland “study trip”, he wants to look to the Swiss for lessons to take care of the welfare of Singaporean workers. Wrapping up his five-day work trip there, Heng said Singapore companies can learn from their Swiss counterparts when it comes to …

It was reported in the media today (‘Look to Swiss for lessons in worker welfare: DPM Heng’, 11 May) that Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat wants to look to the Swiss for lessons to take care of the welfare of Singaporean workers. Wrapping up his five-day work trip to Switzerland, Heng said Singapore companies can learn from their Swiss …

The government announced yesterday (9 May) changes to CPF (Central Provident Fund) and Housing Development Board (HDB) rules, which will enable buyers to use more of their CPF to buy the older flats with shorter lease. The changes, which apply to the purchase of HDB flats, private properties and executive condominiums, take effect today (10 May). Under the current rules, …

In Parliament yesterday (8 May), WP MP Png Eng Huat specifically tabled 2 questions to ask the new DPM and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat with regard to remuneration paid to key management of GIC and Temasek. Mr Png asked: (a) whether there is a remuneration cap for key management staff of Fifth Schedule companies like GIC and Temasek (b) …

A member of the public Andrew Seow Chwee Guan wrote to ST Forum on 27 Apr asking the government to consider giving grants for the elderly to get key vaccinations, especially the pneumococcal jabs to prevent pneumonia. Pneumonia is known to have caused complications in elderly leading to life-threatening conditions like from low blood pressure and kidney failure to bacteremia, …

Senior Minister of State for Law and Health Edwin Tong wrote an article for ST today (‘Small group crying wolf, but most citizens want strong laws‘, 6 May 2019). In the article, he claimed that only a small group of people are “crying wolf” over the recently proposed Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill (POFMA), which the government is …

In his first interview with the local media after he was appointed the new Deputy Prime Minister on 1 May, Heng Swee Keat spelt out some of the challenges Singapore may face. And the biggest “unknown” challenge is the “nature of politics” in Singapore, he said. He noted that Singapore has had “very constructive politics” for the past 50 years …

It has been reported that a Chinese pharmaceutical billionaire Zhao Tao who got his daughter into Stanford University with the help of US$6.5 million payment turns out to be a new citizen of Singapore, holding a Singapore passport. He was reported to have paid the money to college counselor William Singer, to help secure his daughter’s admission into Stanford. She …