Jonal Chong - the Liar and the Cheat?

Welcome to 2011! First we have Gary Ng cheating and stealing from all the whores, and now we have a self-confessed liar and crook called Jonal Chong, using Photoshop to cheat celebrities and foolish customers who just wanted an expensive celebrity haircut.

We wonder what else is fake about this guy. I won't be surprise if his name and surname are also fake, just like our dear Gary Ng whose IC name is Chen Guilin.


Asiaone reports...
MR JONAL Chong has come clean about his claims as a hairstylist for Nicole Kidman - he has never been near the superstar's golden locks before, a report said on Saturday.

The 48-year-old managing director of Jonal Chong Hair Couture apologised to the public and also said that he would stop using the actress' name in advertisements for his Orchard Central hairdressing salon, The Straits Times reported.

He also admitted to lying about American actress Katherine Heigl and British actor Hugh Grant being his clients.

The report said Mr Chong clammed up when he was asked what was the reason for lying and whether the photo of Kidman and him standing together was doctored.

But Mr Chong asked the public to give him another chance, saying that he had not ridden on Kidman's fame to charge high prices. Haircuts at his salon start at $13.

The admission came on the heels of a my paper report on Friday which mentioned that Case would be looking into Mr Chong's Kidman claims. Case executive director told my paper that they would want to speak with Mr Chong on the concern that consumers might be misled. Case is Singapore's consumer watchdog.

To date, it seems Case would not pursue the matter further. ST reported that the watchdog would drop the matter if Mr Chong stops his misleading advertisements.
Related stories

The admission comes in the wake of a report that put two photographs of Kidman - one with Mr Chong and the other with Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar - side by side.

The pictures look almost the same, except for the faces of the two men.

The photograph of Mr Chong and Kidman is also printed on one side of all his business cards. Under his title of "managing director" on the card's reverse side are the words: "Nicole Kidman Exclusively appointed hairstylist".

When asked on Wednesday to explain the similarity between the two photographs, Mr Chong told my paper: "I don't know... I can't explain it. I don't know why Nicole's head is facing the same direction. I don't know why the background looks similar."

"Banned" Video of Dr Lim Hock Siew

By Dr Wong Wee Nam
I first met him at the wake of the late Dr Lee Siew Choh in July 2002. That was 20 years after he was released from an almost 20-year detention. I saw a friend sitting at another table and went up to say “hello” to her. He happened to be sitting at the same table and she introduced us.

That was the first time I saw how he looked like.

I had heard of him when I was a young boy. He was the son of a famous fishmonger in the market where I had lived. The father was famous because he had a clever son. Not a lot of poor people then had children who were doctors.

I also heard of him as a young boy because of his reputation as a doctor. Not only did his clinic dispense free medicine for the needy and the real indigent, he also gave them transport money to go home. This is not surprising from a doctor who believes that the most common cause of anaemia is not iron deficiency but poverty.
It was understandable I did not recognize him. After all, his pictures had never been splashed in the newspapers or over television. Nothing much was heard about him when he was incarcerated and nothing was heard about him after his release.

In spite of the news blackout and the low profile he has kept, he is still a political legend, being the second longest political detainee after Chia Thye Poh. Therefore, my reaction was one of excitement mixed with surprise and discomfort when I was introduced.

He put me totally at ease when he asked in a very soft and friendly voice if I was the same one who wrote letters to the press. I was humbled by his sincerity and modesty.

Subsequently, I met him occasionally at medical seminars and talks. We only exchanged some pleasant words and never discussed current affairs. He told me he reads my articles on the blogs but never did he once try to engage me on those topics. At this stage of his life, I suppose he has transcended all these.
Remarkably, in my encounters with him, not once did he express any hatred for anyone or any organization for having deprived him of living a normal life for 20 years.

In 1963, he was arrested because he was deemed a security threat to the interests of Singapore. To have been kept in prison for 20 years, he must have had a pre-detention life that is more colourful or at least equal to that of Mas Selamat. Yet when I looked up as many books (even books written by his ex-comrades) as I could on the era, I could find very little mention of him. Surely a security threat who warrants 20 years of detention would have enough open records of his activities for any movie director to make an equal number of political thrillers. Maybe one day the archives will let us know of his clandestine or subversive activities, if any.

Recently at a launch of the book The Fajar Generation, he made a speech. Martyn See, the filmmaker, recorded the speech and put it on Youtube. The video is now banned by the Singapore authorities. [Read about the ban here.] It cannot be for security reasons that the video is banned. The speech was not fiery, there was no angry condemnation of government, no incitement to violence, no call to arms, no cry to overthrow anyone and no rousing appeal to unite and rally the audience for a cause. Indeed the speech was milder than any election rally speech by a mile.
For months after the speech was made and aired, no investors pulled out of Singapore for security concerns and in fact, the economy recovered. Yet for inexplicable reason, the video was banned and remains so.

Perhaps there is a reason. The video is in danger of changing people’s perception of Dr Lim Hock Siew. He comes off as a very calm and dignified person. There is no anger or bitterness. His intellect is intact and his mind is very clear. Beneath the frail frame is a man with strength of character. He looks so kind and fatherly that one wouldn’t see him as capable of swapping a fly or killing a mosquito, let alone hurting a fellow human being. Behind a soft-spoken exterior one can discern a man full of indomitable courage.

Watching him talk reminds me of a story written by Zhuang Zi （庄子）in his chapter “Autumn Water” （秋水）:

When Confucius was traveling in the State of Kuang, he was surrounded by the troops of Sung. Nevertheless he continued singing and playing his lute, totally unfazed. Zi Lu, his disciple, asked, “Master, why are you enjoying yourself?”
Confucius said, “For a long time, I’ve tried to stay out of hardship but failed. This is due to fate. I’ve tried to succeed but failed. This is due to times.
“During times of Yao or Shun, there is no hardship. This has nothing to do with a person’s wisdom. During the reign of King Jie and King Zhou, people do not achieve success but this is not due to lack of wisdom. It is due to time and circumstance.

“To travel across the water and not shrink from the sea serpent or the dragon is to have the courage of a fisherman. To travel on land and not be afraid of the rhinoceros or tiger is to have the courage of a hunter. To meet clashing blades and face death unflinchingly is to have the courage of a martyr.

“To understand that hardship is a matter of fate and success is a matter of times; and to able to face enormous difficulties without fear or terror is to have the courage of a sage.”

知穷之有命，知通之有时，临大难而不惧者，圣人之勇也。

Dr Lim Hock Siew may or may not be a sage but he must be a remarkable man. He was stored away for 20 years and then led a quiet life for the next 28 years. Yet when he made his speech at a book launch, he created enough anxiety for the video to be banned.

Truly remarkable!
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This is the documentary entitled "Dr Lim Hock Siew", made by Singaporean film-maker Martyn See, which has been banned in Singapore. It consists of a recording of Dr Lim Hock Siew, a local communist who was a political prisoner for 19 years and 8 months, speaking before an audience about his long imprisonment, and the torture which he suffered while in prison.

As Mr Martyn See has been compelled by the authorities in Singapore to remove this film his website, I upload this film here in the interest of the freedom of information, and both the local and international public's right to know what is going on in Singapore. Mr Martyn See's website can be found at
http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com

I am, for the record, not in any way affiliated with or endorsed by either Mr Martyn See or Dr Lim Hock Siew. My name is Vickreman Chettiar, and I can be contacted at vickreman@gmail.com

Iphone 4 Alarm Clock Not Working - Here is the fix

According to some source we came to know that the alarm clock of the iPhone is not working this morning, 1st January, 2011. As we know in November we face similar type of bug in the alarm clock of the iPhone. In that time iPhone had trouble with repeating alarms back during the change to Standard Time and single alarm failures. At the midnight, one off alarms will cease to sing out. According to a TiPB reader, You will be able to fix this bug by following the steps posted below.

There are simply too many Iphone users in Singapore not to post this.

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1. First you have to tap clock.

STEP 2. Then you have to tap Edit.

STEP 3. Now you have to tap your alarm.

STEP 4. Now you have to tap Repeat.

STEP 5. Now you have to set a repeat interval.

STEP 6. Now tap save.

That’s it. In this way you can fix the iPhone Alarm bug. According to 9to5mac, this alarm bug will fix itself on 3rd January 2011. According to Engadget, It is one time alarms that are causing the problem, not repeats. Don’t forget to share your views in the comment section below. As usual stay tuned with us for more updates. Wish you a very very Happy New Year.

UBS: Singaporeans are Poorer than before

Singaporeans are becoming poorer and having less disposable income after 4 years of PAP rule, according to the latest release of the authoritative international study ‘Prices and Earnings’ conducted by UBS.

Singapore is now ranked the 11th most expensive city in the world, but Singaporeans are only ranked a pathetic 43th and 49th in domestic wages and purchasing power respectively, along the likes of developing countries like Turkey, Slovakia and Qatar and far below the capitals of other Asian Tigers – Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.

Even the Malaysians now have a higher domestic purchasing power than Singaporeans though their wages are lower than ours.

The mismatch between the GDP growth of the state and the relative poverty of Singaporeans is caused largely by the PAP’s immigration and labor policies which have allowed foreigners from all over the world to come and work in Singapore with little screening or control which is almost unheard of in other First World countries.

A Wall Street Journal editorial last year reported that the relentless influx of foreigners has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living and led to an overall decline in the standard of living.

Latest statistics from the Manpower Ministry showed a gradual decline of the average monthly income of Singaporeans while inflation hit a record high of 3.8 percent in November 2010.

Prices of resale HDB flats have grown by 13.3 percent in 2010 and a shocking 51.3 percent since 2007, pricing many ordinary Singaporeans out of the open market.

Despite the statistics showing that Singaporeans have fared worse after 4 years of PAP rule, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong continued to harp on Singapore’s ’spectacular’ GDP growth last year which is artificially inflated by a ‘rebound’ from a low baseline in the previous year and by the massive import of cheap foreign workers which boost demand in services and decrease labor costs.

The multi-million dollar salaries of PAP ministers is pegged to GDP growth – the higher the growth, the more money they bring home though the rest of the population may not be enjoying the fruits from the growth.
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Singapore's record 14.7% growth for 2010....
By Shamim Adam

Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s economy may be supported by a “strong” Asia as growth cools in 2011 from a record pace last year, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Gross domestic product rose 14.7 percent in 2010, Lee, 58, said in his New Year message released in Singapore yesterday. That compares with the government’s November forecast of a 15 percent expansion. The trade ministry predicts the economy will expand 4 percent to 6 percent this year, an estimate reiterated by Lee.

“In Asia, growth momentum is strong,” Lee said. “China and India are forging ahead, and countries in Southeast Asia are growing steadily. Hopefully Asia will continue to do well despite the weakness in developed countries, and create a favorable regional environment for Singapore.”

Asia led a global recovery last year as growth in developed markets was restrained by Europe’s sovereign credit woes and U.S. unemployment that remains above 9 percent. Singapore’s rebound has fueled inflation, prompting the central bank to allow faster currency gains and leading the government to implement measures to cool the property market.

“Inflation risks for Singapore appear to be tilted toward the upside,” Alvin Liew, a Singapore-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc, said before Lee’s message. After getting a boost from manufacturing last year, Singapore’s tourism and financial services industries will increasingly drive growth in 2011, spurred by “rising regional domestic demand from China and Southeast Asia,” he said.

Currency Appreciation

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said in October it will steepen and widen the currency’s trading band while continuing to seek a “modest and gradual appreciation,” after undertaking a one-time revaluation in April. The central bank, which uses the exchange rate rather than a benchmark interest rate as its main tool to manage inflation, guides the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies within an undisclosed band.

The Singapore dollar climbed more than 9 percent against the U.S. currency last year, marking its biggest one-year gain since 1994 and the fourth-best performance in Asia excluding Japan. The currency, which rose 0.6 percent to S$1.2823 versus the U.S. dollar yesterday, may strengthen to S$1.24 at the end of 2011, according to a central bank survey of economists published last month.

Inflation will average between 2 percent and 3 percent this year, the central bank predicts. Consumer prices rose 3.8 percent in November, the biggest increase in 22 months.

Fastest Growing

Singapore’s estimated expansion for 2010 would make the city of 5 million people the fastest-growing economy in the world after Qatar’s, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.

“The outlook for the world economy is mixed,” Lee said. “The U.S. economy is still weak. Europe faces serious debt crises in Greece, Ireland and a few other countries.”

The economy grew 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, Lee said. That compares with the 13.2 percent median estimate of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

GDP probably increased about 6.5 percent last quarter from the previous three months, based on the year-on-year number given by Lee, said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB Research Pte in Singapore. Liew at Standard Chartered estimates growth of 6.3 percent. That compares with the median forecast for an annualized 9.4 percent expansion in a Bloomberg survey of eight economists.

The economy contracted 18.7 percent from July to September. The trade ministry will release the fourth-quarter economic report at 8 a.m. on Jan. 3.

Companies Expand

The island’s biggest companies are boosting operations or expanding overseas as the global economy recovers from a slump in 2009. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, said last month it will take over Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.’s retail and commercial banking businesses in China.

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., owner of Asia’s second-largest container line and controlled by Singapore state-investment fund Temasek Holdings Pte, in July signed a $1.2 billion contract for as many as 12 vessels with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.

Singapore, the second-busiest container port globally, is located at the southern end of the 600-mile (966-kilometer) Malacca Strait, the world’s busiest sea lane. The island has remained vulnerable to fluctuations in overseas demand for manufactured goods even after the government boosted financial services and tourism.

Lure of Casinos

The country’s first casinos opened last year as part of so- called integrated resorts run by Genting Singapore Plc and Las Vegas Sands Corp., luring tourists to their gambling centers, restaurants, malls and a Universal Studios theme park.

“The tourism-related sectors continued to do well as Singapore continued to hit record tourist arrivals month after month so far in 2010, with a significant role played by the integrated resorts,” said Liew of Standard Chartered. The casino-resorts “may have added 1 percentage point to headline GDP growth in 2010, excluding the potential spillover impact to other tourism-related industries such as hotels, food and beverage and even the real estate market.”

The city state added 82,000 jobs in the nine months through September, pushing the unemployment rate to 2.1 percent, the lowest level in 2 1/2 years. Average wages before adjusting for inflation rose 5.4 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.

“Singapore is not without challenges and problems,” Lee said. “We have to manage the inflow of foreign workers and immigrants, keep home ownership affordable to all, and help low- income Singaporeans cope with the cost of living.”
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By Topsage...
Consider the following statistics of life in Singapore:

1. Singaporeans work the most number of hours per week in the world.
2. Most Singaporeans will never own a car because COEs are limited.
3. The Average home of a Singapore has fallen from 1660 sq feet to about 1000 sq feet in the past decades.
4. Fertility rate in Singapore has fallen to below Japan among the lowest in the world.
5. Less half the Singaporeans can meet the minimum sum for CPF retirement accounts. Meaning many will never retire.
6. 17% of Singaporeans do not have medical insurance. The highest in the developed world give and take a few % compared with USA.
7. Singapore has the fastest growing foreigner population per capita in the world. Within a decade, the majority of people in Singapore will be foreign born.
8. Singapore has the highest paid political leaders in the world....
9. Singapore has the highest income gap of all developed countries.
10. More than one person kills himself/herself everyday. Yesterday a woman killing herself fell on another woman to give a death toll of 2.
11. Singaporeans have the highest savings rate in the world due to CPF but many still can't retire.
12. The Singapore parliament has the fewest opposition in terms of % of seats in the world among countries that claim to be democratic...of course we are also democratic.
13. Singapore bans chewing gum but legalise casinos. Casinos are legalised in only 2 of the 50 American states.
14. Singapore hangs the most people per capita in the world. Even more than China....don't believe as this feller called Shadrake.
15. Singapore cars are the most expensive in the world.
16. Singaporeans have the lowest purchasing power among all developed countries according the UBS...even Malaysians have higher purchasing power.
17. Singapore govt has the highest sovereign wealth fund per capita. ..and among the top few in absolute terms.
18. Singapore spends more on defense than Malaysia and Indonesia combined - so I guess we don't need too much diplomacy and or diplomats
can afford to badmouth them according to wikileaks. Now that they know, we better spend a $100M extra this year on defense.
17. Singapore has the No.1 civil service in the world according to Minister Lim Swee Say. I want to add we also have No.1 civil service in terms of pay for the top echelon. Some can afford french cooking lessons.
18. Singapore has only one news paper company called SPH that produces hoard of quality papers such as Straits Times, Sin Miin and other reading delights. We had 5 newspaper companies a few decades ago, I guess this business is in decline even as the population increases.
19. Singaporeans serve NS for 2-2.5 years, this is the longest in the world after Israel. We do it because we can afford the time. Many Singaporean workers will work their whole life without retirement anyway so what is the diff. putting aside 2 years.
20. Singapore has the world's oldest and wisest politician. His name is Lee Kuan Yew. As long as he is around, the good life for Singaporeans will continue. He will make sure of that.
21. Lee Kuan Yew's son is Lee Hsien Loong who coincidentally became PM due to his own merit. His New Year Message this year asks Singaporeans to be more RESILIENT. I guess we better be given all the points I wrote above.
22. Singapore has the most expensive public housing in the world....but according to Minister Mah, it is still affordable.

Wikileaks vs Singi-blockade

In characteristic fashion nothing of the uproar felt in other countries over the WikiLeaks revelations has surfaced in Singapore.

Nor has there been condemnation over what Singapore leaders and officials said of their neighbours, particularly of Malaysia and the wrath it caused to Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Though nobody has come forth to lend credence to the bombshell revelations, the disclosures over the weekend are now the grist to the republic’s chattering classes.

For neutral observers the “calm” in Singapore is yet another instance of a tightly controlled media which disallowed discussions.

For those wanting to hear and know more about all that has been revealed, their quests are best served reading foreign papers about what is happening in their own country! It may look ridiculous but is true nonetheless.

Yet there is everything to suggest that in Singapore all the gaggling of the press and spewing of the “venom” abroad, particularly those concerning Anwar, are taken in the best interests of maintaining peace.

In fact, this has always been the driving credo of Singapore authorities as in the case of former Israeli president Chaim Herzog who caused a furore when he visited Singapore in 1986.

(Malaysian politicians vehemently objected to Herzog's visit and urged the government to break off diplomatic ties with Singapore for hosting Herzog. The uproar was mostly happening across the causeway.)

Adversarial press

But as always is the case, press freedom is not what it actually means in the city-state.

Even way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Singapore former prime minister Goh Chok Tong inveighed against the adversarial (foreign) press, telling his parliamentary colleagues that “if the offshore press meddles in our affairs, we will confront them”.

Hence, when the infamous whistle-blower WikiLeads dropped its bombshell revelations in the name of crusading journalism, it is not all uncharacteristic that Singapore felt none of the fury that swept the United States and elsewhere.

For as long as the press in the city-state remains under the vice-like grip of the authorities, none of what is happening outside its borders will ever be given wide coverage.

Yet for all the rancour created by references to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and of the incendiary remarks directed at Anwar, it is hard to see how bilateral relations can be adversely affected.

After all, Singapore and Malaysia have endured far worse “skirmishes” than the WikiLeaks furore. And they have even survived the cable leaks storm because what is more imporant, as pointed out by the Republic’s Foreign Minister George Yeo, is the national interests of both countries than some revelations based on hearsay.

Sure, there is plenty of commercial and strategic interests working for both nations. The republic ranks as the largest investor in Malaysia, mainly in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.

And both nations mirror one another in almost all cultural and religious aspects that it is almost hard to see why some leaked cables would cause to unravel all the work that had been done over the years.

In fact, if one were to look at the steady stream of visitors from Singapore to Malaysia, it is “business as usual”. This has always been the standard response whenever hiccups break out between both countries.

WikiLeaks should have done “better” if had it wanted a diplomatic rupture.

By Maxwell Coopers

Li Hong Yan 李洪艳 drowned in Sentosa Cove

PRC woman in Sentosa Cove death was paid $800 to have sex
December 28th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent

The 24 year old PRC woman Li Hongyan, whose naked body was found lying in a pool at Sentosa this year March was paid $800 to have sex and spent the night with businessman Adrian Chua.

The sensational case made the headlines this year. A Coroner’s Inquiry this morning ruled out foul play in her death.

It was revealed in court that Ms Li met 39 year old Adrian Chua at a Havelock Road nightclub and agreed to have sex with him for $800.

Mr Chua testified in court that he did not use ‘force’ on Ms Li when they were having sex at his Sentosa Cove home and was notified of her death by two Sentosa rangers.

It is not known if Ms Li is a Singapore PR, a student on student pass or a tourist on social visit pass.

The beautiful Li HongYan...

The unlucky Adrian Chua....

The haunted house at Sentosa Cove....
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By Rachel Chan - Dec 29, 2010
AS THE verdict on his daughter's death was read out yesterday at a Coroner's Inquiry at the Subordinate Courts, Mr Li Kui You, 58, could only lay his head on the table.

The soya-bean farmer, who arrived in Singapore with two relatives on Christmas night, was too despondent to raise his head when State Coroner Victor Yeo ruled that there was no foul play and that Ms Li Hong Yan's death was an accident. Evidence from police investigations showed that Ms Li, 24, whose naked body was found submerged in a Sentosa Cove bungalow pool in March, did not take her own life.

Mr Yeo concluded that the freelance KTV hostess drowned accidentally as she swam in the pre-dawn hours of March 24 this year.

Wearing a dark blue Mao jacket, Mr Li looked tired and sombre. He broke down when answering journalists' questions about his daughter.

Prior to Ms Li's death, her family and relatives had been under the impression that she had come to Singapore to be a hairdresser, for which she received training in China.

"She was such a sweet girl who never lost her temper. She got along with everyone," said Madam Fang Shu Hui, 57, who accompanied Mr Li to court yesterday. Madam Fang is the mother-in-law of Ms Li's elder sister.

Ms Li arrived from Heilongjiang province in China last year and was employed as an assistant supervisor at an Indian eatery in Jalan Besar. Meanwhile, she moonlighted as a KTV hostess at a nightclub in Outram Road.

She quit her supervisor job in early March to become a full-time hostess.

It was at the nightclub that she hooked up with Mr Adrian Chua, 39, chief executive realty-investment firm Roundhill Capital. He affectionately called her "Wawa", or "doll" in Mandarin and had taken her to his multi-million-dollar home in Sentosa Cove at least twice previously, each time paying her $800 for an evening's companionship.

On March 24, they had sex and at about 7am, Mr Chua's 26-year-old maid, Myanmar national Aye Aye Tun, found Ms Li floating face down in his pool. Yesterday, Mr Chua and his maid came forward for the first time to talk about the events that transpired prior to the discovery of Ms Li's body.

Mr Chua said he had sex with Ms Li, after which he fell asleep at around 4am.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed images of Ms Li unlocking the sliding doors leading to the pool at 3.48am. She was alone and fully clothed.

Mr Yeo said: "I am of the view that, at the pool-deck area, she removed her clothes so as not to get them wet." There was no CCTV camera installed in the outdoor area.

Mr Yeo surmised that Ms Li, who could not swim, had difficulty keeping her head above water after stepping into the pool. He added that she could also have slipped on the steps leading into the pool as it was dark.

Ms Li is 1.54m tall and the pool's maximum depth is 1.5m. The lights inside and around the pool were not switched on. As Mr Chua had previously taken her to the pool deck to chat and smoke, Mr Yeo said Ms Li probably went there again to smoke, adding that Ms Aye Aye Tun found Mr Chua's cigarettes and lighter with Ms Li's clothes before making her grisly discovery.

Mr Chua said he was woken up by two Sentosa Cove security personnel at 8am. "I was shocked to hear that a naked woman was found drowned in my pool," he said.

He has since sold the Sentosa property. He appeared calm yesterday as he took the stand, looking steadily at Mr Li and his relatives when Mr Yeo asked them if they had any questions for him. Mr Li could only shake his head and bury his face in his folded arms, saying in Mandarin that he was confused.

He was similarly dazed when two members of the public handed him about $500 in cash.

His eyes moist with tears, Mr Li could only utter: "Thank you."

Bangkok Kid wrote:
THE n-a-k-e-d body of a young Chinese woman was found drowned in a lap pool of a bungalow in an exclusive residential estate in Sentosa Cove on Wednesday morning.

The body of Ms Li Hong Yan, 24, was found by a maid who was cleaning the three-storey house along Ocean Drive at about 8.30am.

Paramedics pronounced her dead at about 9.30am.

Ms Li is believed to have spent the night at the house with its owner, after they met at a party.

While little is known about how she drowned, police said that there was no indication of injuries on her body.

Police have classified the case as an unnatural death.

On the evening of the accident, Li Hong Yan who is in Singapore to work in an Indian restaurant, had been moonlighting in a KTV night club. The night club Li Hong Yan was working in is one of the many KTV clubs found along Havelock Road, which catered to well-to-do businessmen with their bevy of pretty KTV hostesses girls. Li Hong Yan had allegedly met a customer, Adrian Chua, at the night club. After they finished their partying night, Adrian Chua had brought her home to his brand new multi-million dollar Sentosa Cove bungalow.

The next day, Li Hong Yan was found naked and drowned in the swimming pool within the luxurious and ultra-expensive Sentosa Cove bungalow. The Singapore police is currently still investigating the case and the owner, Adrian Chua, has not spoken to the media.

There are many online speculations as to why Li Hong Yan was not wearing anything when they found her in the pool in Sentosa. Some netizens thought that there were some hidden conspiracies, but a Channel News Asia forumer, ISylvia shared these more logical thoughts:

This is how I see it. First of all, when the girls are booked at any KTV, they are only wearing their working clothes. So this girl went with this rich Adrain guy to his house clad in this manner as expected. After they made love, usually the booked girl ended up in a half-wet towel or without any clothes when she is in bed. Surely you don’t expect her to pull out her pyjamas or nightie from her tiny handbag. Since wearing a half-wet towel to bed is not a very good idea and will give the girl hong-sip or rheumatism etc, and moreover it’s hard to fall asleep half-wet, she is likely to be naked sleeping. As have been previously mentioned, the man is likely to fall asleep first due to his alcohol intoxication and exhaustion. The poor girl who found herself lying on an unfamiliar bed with a snoring man is most probably trying to fall in sleep in vain. So she decided to get up to do something instead of enduring this situation for hours and hours. And that was why she was walking naked all over this house.

The house where Ms Li Hong Yan died belongs to Mr Adrian Chua Boon Chye.

Mr Adrian Chua Boon Chye, 39, is the founder and chief executive officer of Roundhill Capital, a real estate investment advisory firm, registered here under his residential address.

He is unmarried and is said to have lived at the three-storey house along Ocean Drive for over a year. Calls made to both his home and mobile phone yesterday went unanswered.

Ms Li Hong Yan had arrived in Singapore on Nov 10 last year and started working the following month as a catering supervisor at a restaurant and catering business in Tuas.

Paramedics pronounced her dead over an hour later. She is believed to have spent the night at the house with its owner, Mr Adrian Chua Boon Chye, after they met at a party on Tuesday evening.
--------------------------------------------
A DAY OF DROWNINGS.....
SINGAPORE - There were three cases of drownings yesterday, one of which happened at the exclusive Sentosa Cove development.

The other two were at Kranji Reservoir and at a canal near Block 137, Potong Pasir Ave 3, although the body of the third victim had not been found at press time.

In the Sentosa Cove drowning, a naked Chinese woman was found dead in the pool of a bungalow on Ocean Drive that belongs to Mr Adrian Chua Boon Chye.

A police spokesman said they received a call at 8.05am yesterday about a woman found at a residential unit.

She was in her mid-20s and local Chinese newspapers have reported that she and Mr Chua, 39, had met in a nightspot the night before.

They described her as having long hair and attractive, and him as the chief executive officer and founder of a property investment firm.

She had apparently gone home with him and the last time he saw her alive was when they retired for the night. It is believed that his maid found her floating in the pool and alerted a neighbour, who had been walking her dog. There were no reported injuries on the victim's body.

She was pronounced dead at 9.35am and police have classified the case as one of unnatural death.

Just over two hours later, the police received a call that Mr Yap Kok Wooi was found facedown in Kranji Reservoir.

The security guard, who was about 55 years old and worked for Royal Security was stationed at an industrial building at Sungei Kadut Street 3. He was found fully clothed near Car Park B.

At 5pm, the police got another call about someone falling into the canal at Potong Pasir Avenue 3, next to St Andrew's Junior College.

Four family members had been playing ball when it fell into the canal. One of them, Mr Hasif Hamid, was trying to pick the ball up when he fell in. His sister saw him fall. Divers SCDF and the Naval Diving Unit were still trying to locate him last night.

Mr Hasif, 20, was believed to be a student with the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore.

The police are investigating the cases.

Vote Buying Begins....$50million

Expect more goodies coming your way my fellow Singaporeans...

This is only the start!!!

****************************************************************

SINGAPORE: About 800,000 Singaporean HDB households can expect to receive about S$50m worth of Utilities-Save (U-Save) rebates in January 2011.

The payout is part of the S$80m of U-Save rebates which the government will give out in 2011.

The second tranche of S$30 million of rebates will be paid out in July 2011.

A Singaporean household may receive up to S$190 worth of U-Save rebates in 2011, depending on HDB flat type.

Those living in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats, for example, will get U-Save rebates which will offset approximately 20% of their annual utility bills on average.

The U-Save rebates are part of the S$4 billion GST Offset Package to help Singaporeans, especially low and middle-income households, cope with the higher cost of living.

These rebates can be used to offset utility charges directly. The amount of rebates will be reflected in the utility bills for January and July 2011 for all eligible households.

- CNA/ir

Ministers Holding 8 Directorships - legalised corruption

Most Singaporeans are against their MPs holding directorships in multiple companies and want them to serve their constituencies full time.

The age-old issue surfaced again after a NUS economics professor wrote a scathing letter to TODAY questioning the committment of some MPs who held multiple directorships.

Former PAP MPs John Chen and Wang Kai Yuen (photo) reportedly held 8 and 11 directorships while ’serving’ as MPs at the same time. When asked about his ‘extra-curricular activities’ by the media, John retorted:

“Do you want me to work for free?”

Though John Chen is no longer a PAP MP, the issue certainly still resonates among Singaporeans with nearly 100 comments posted so far on TR Facebook.

Irene Ho wrote:

“People who want to be MP shouldn’t be in it for the money. If they want to make big money, they shouldn’t be an MP or Minister.”

Ramesh felt some Singapore MPs are too ‘materialistic’:

“MP’s… here in Singapore are really well taken care of ( probably the best in the world) and I wonder why SOME are still after the dosh…as for me I clearly don’t like the fact that a public leader has an BIG attitude of ” getting money” instead of service and helping people – that is a worry!”

Zailani opined they are paid too much:

“‎14k for spending 3 hours at meet the people sessions once a week? And sometimes not turning up at all? Scandalous! And ‘Meet-the-People” is actually a misnomer as I only get to see the PAP volunteers to explain my problems and not the MP personally.”

Bhaskaran Kunju concurred:

“The point is they are not doing anything that extraordinary. If they are doing anything at all. An MP’s main task is to be the voice of the people he or she represents, but most of these chaps don’t even attend their mee…t-the-people sessions. of course there are exceptions, like ho peng kee who actually shows up at every session and walks around listening in to as many people as he can. But most others you do not even know of their existence. And even if you do get a chance to meet them, nothing fruitful ever comes out of it. It’s just an exercise in futility.”

When the Malaysian opposition captured the states of Selangor and Penang in the 2008 election, they made it compulsory for state officials to reveal their salaries, perks and assets owned online.

Perhaps the candidates in the coming general election should reveal the number of directorships they intend to continue holding after they are elected or ‘ushered’ into parliament to the public to enable Singaporeans to make an informed decision if they are able to serve them dutifully and faithfully.

A netizen Kojakbt is compiling a list of PAP MPs holding directorships in public-listed companies. Please post whatever information you have here.

Misplaced Patriotism by the Singapore Waterpolo Team

The trunks sported by Singapore's water polo team at the Asian Games are causing red faces back home, with many embarrassed by their design. Singapore government reprimanded its national men's water polo team for wearing swim trunks that feature an "inappropriate" likeness of the nation's flag. The government deemed the banana hammocks "inappropriate," and some of its citizens found them "disgusting," "nauseating," and "disgraceful." The trunks, which were designed by members of the men's team, debuted by the team while competing in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, show the flag's white crescent moon jutting up from the groin area with five stars to the side on a red background. Basically a curved phallus with five stars on speedos.

But Asian Games rules stipulate that a team's uniform cannot be changed in the middle of the tournament. "Unfortunately the team did not seek our advice on the use of the crescent moon and stars when they designed their swim trunks," the Information Ministry said in a statement last week. "We would have told them that their design is inappropriate as we want elements of the flag to be treated with dignity." The ministry, which normally evaluates the use of the flag on uniforms on a case-by-case basis, declined to specify which part of the design was objectionable. The team apologized and said it would retire the trunks after the Asian Games.

Singapore the next Las Vegas?

"CLSA estimates gaming revenues will hit US$6.5B (S$8.4B) next year
matching Las Vegas and rise to about US$8.5B" - Straits Times, 28 Dec 2010.

When I visited the Singapore museum a few months ago, I read this
interesting story. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles left the administration of
Singapore to his deputy, William Farquhar giving him strict instructions on
how to develop the island. When he came back 4 years later, he was
horrified. Farquhar had taken the easy way to economic development by
allowing vices such as gambling dens to spring up to fill govt coffers.
Raffles upset at the economic short cuts taken by his deputy[Read the story
here] sacked him a few years later.
.
I will keep posting about the casinos because I feel strongly that the harm
it brings will far exceed any benefits. The govt enjoys the tax revenue it
collects from this casinos while churches, temples and social workers are
left to help the the broken families. The problem with the casinos is the
same as cigarettes. When cigarettes were introduced many years ago, its
cancer-causing properties were not known. If cigarettes are invented today,
the authorities would have banned them outright. By the time scientists were
sure that cigarettes cause cancer, millions were already addicted, companies
selling them were rich, powerful and influential and millions of people
dependent on the tobacco industry for jobs.....it becomes difficult to shut
them down. Once the casinos are here, they take up a large amount of
resources that could have been used for productive healthy economic
activities. As the govt becomes dependent on the tax revenue, regulating the
industrial becomes harder due to conflicts of interests - much of the social
wreckage it simply passes to churches & social workers. The NCPG (National
Council on Problem Gambling) has an annual budget of $2.5M[Link] vs the
hundreds of millions the govt collect as tax revenue from this activity vs
the hundreds of millions the casinos spend to entice gamblers to grow its
business.

It has been almost 200 years since Raffles gave strict instructions to his
deputy Farquhar not to allow gambling dens in Singapore. Instinctively, he
knew that the harm caused by gambling will outweigh the short term economic
benefits. When the PAP govt wanted to legalise casino gambling, they sold
the idea by telling us we can easily exclude family members if we find out
they have a problem. Today, families with problem gamblers faced plenty of
red tape[Link] [Link] including the need to get the problem gambler to agree
to the exclusion. We were also told that the main intention of having the
casinos is to create jobs for Singaporeans - but Singapore is not short of
jobs that is why we have hundreds of thousands of foreign workers here. The
actual problem we have is structural unemployment and shortage of good
quality jobs - judging from complaints from Singapore workers at the
casinos, the casino solves neither of these[Link].

"My brother called the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) helpline
and left his contact details. When no reply came, I called a week later,
only to be informed that there were more than 300 applications still waiting
to be processed and a counsellor had to be assigned to each case.

We were told that only one place, the Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre,
processed all applications and the NCPG would start considering a ban only
after it had received a lengthy report of some 24 to 27 pages from the
centre.

What's more, the hearing to determine the ban would involve the addicted
gambler as well as the family members to argue their case.

When I sought clarification, such as the need to seek the addicted gambler's
approval in applying for the exclusion, the reply was that those were the
rules."

- Casino Exclusion : Family Frustrated by Red Tape[Link]

The PAP govt was just thinking like William Farquhar 200 years ago when they
allowed those casinos to be built - short term economic gains and tax
revenues. Ordinary Singaporeans pay the price for the casinos as social
costs mount.