Police investigating case of phone theft in Yishun

SINGAPORE - A police report was made after a man allegedly stole his cell phone on Friday night (July 13).  The alleged theft occurred at the SK Telecom mobile phone shop on Block 101 on Yishun Avenue 5 around 9 pm. In a video seen by The Straits Times, a man with black hats and a shirt is seen walking into the store and picking up the phone from the counter unattended before leaving.

The people in the shop, including two staff and three customers, did not notice that the man had left the phone. The store manager, Mr. Andrew Goh, 36, told his colleague and he both attended the customer and was unaware that the phone was lost until their customers confirmed it.

 "Two people will buy the phone, and when we turn around, they realize it's gone," said Mr. Goh. "That's when I checked the CCTV footage and realized someone picked it up." This phone is a golden iPhone 6S Plus, which according to Goh is worth about $ 400. To his surprise, he said:

 "I have been working here for four years, and this is the first time something has been stolen." Police said the investigation was under way

2 men jailed for helping Chew Eng Han flee Singapore by boat

SINGAPORE: Two men who helped former City Harvest Church leader Chew Eng Han in his attempt to escape Singapore by boat were sentenced to jail on Friday (Jul 13).Tan Poh Teck, 53, was the boatman piloting the motorised sampan in Chew's escape bid on Feb 21, a day before Chew was to start his jail term for his role in the City Harvest saga. He was sentenced to 27 weeks' jail.
Tan Kim Ho, a 42-year-old Malaysian man also known as Rayson, made arrangements for Chew to leave Singapore for Malaysia by boat. He was sentenced to a jail term of six months.

The boatman was arrested on Feb 21 along with the former City Harvest fund manager when the Police Coast Guard intercepted the sampan following a tip-off, while Malaysian authorities handed Rayson over to the Singapore police in April.On Friday, Tan Poh Teck pleaded guilty to one charge of abetting Chew, 58, to leave Singapore from Pulau Ubin's jetty, which is not an authorised place of departure or embarkation.He had intended to take Chew to the north-east part of Pulau Ubin, where Chew would take another boat to Malaysia.

District Judge Ng Peng Hong agreed with the prosecution’s request for a sentence higher than the minimum six months for Tan, as he has also been charged with abetting two other people to leave Singapore by boat.

Rayson also pleaded guilty to a single charge of abetting Chew in his bid to leave Singapore illegally, by making arrangements for the boat.​​​​​​​Chew began serving his jail term of three years and four months for criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts on Mar 1.Of the six City Harvest leaders who were convicted of misusing church funds, Chew was the last to begin serving his sentence. He had asked for multiple deferments, including asking to defer his sentence until after Chinese New Year.

After his attempt to flee, Chew was given two additional charges: One of trying to leave Singapore illegally and another of attempting to intentionally defeat the course of justice by trying to leave the country a day before he was to serve his sentence.

He is scheduled to attend a pre-trial conference for the new charges on Jul 19.
Another man, Malaysian driver Khoo Kea Leng, was jailed for six months in April for his role in the escape plan. He had linked Chew up with Rayson.

Maid jailed 9 months for hurting baby with knife, sending videos of abuse to lover

SINGAPORE: A married Filipino maid who physically abused her employer's baby, recorded the acts on her mobile phone and sent videos of the child crying in pain to her lover, was sentenced to nine months' jail on Friday (Jul 13).

Leslie Ann Belmonte Dieza, 36, arrived in Singapore to work as a domestic helper in 2016.
She is married to a logistics coordinator, who also works in Singapore, but the couple had a strained relationship as Dieza was having an affair with another man, known only as Raymond.Dieza committed the offences on Apr 11 this year, at the condominium unit her Australian employer lived in.

She was looking after her employer's son, who was just over a year old at that time, when she got into a heated argument with Raymond during a video call on Facebook between 2pm and 3pm.
She then decided to record videos of herself abusing the boy - who cannot be named due to a gag order - in order to show Raymond what she was capable of when angry, court documents said.
The boy was lying on the bed getting ready for a nap when Dieza placed her mobile phone on the side of the bed with the camera angled at him and started recording.

The recording, which was 1 minute 34 seconds long, showed Dieza press the boy's face into the mattress, smother him with a pillow and shake him. She also pulled and lifted the boy up by his hair, and threw him against a pillow.Throughout the ordeal, the boy screamed and cried in pain.
Later that day, Dieza was with the boy in the kitchen when she again decided to record herself abusing the child.

This time, Dieza grabbed the boy's arm and used the broad side of a kitchen knife to repeatedly smack him on his buttocks.The video clip was 35 seconds long, in which the boy was screaming and crying.

VIDEO CLIPS FORWARDED TO ACCUSED'S HUSBAND

Dieza sent the two videos to Raymond, who asked his sister to contact Dieza's husband. The video clips were forwarded to Dieza's husband, who then went to meet Dieza.The couple had an argument during their meeting.Dieza's husband later called the police, stating that he believed his wife was not in a position to look after a child.

He said: "My wife Leslie Ann is working here as a domestic helper. She is taking care of a kid. With her state of mind, she is not in the right capacity to take care of a kid."He added that Dieza told him that she had just been scolded by her employer and "she can't take it".

"I am worried for the safety of the kid and also worried of losing my job here because of her," he said.Dieza was arrested at the condominium that night, and the child was taken to hospital for a check-up.

The boy had a 1cm-long abrasion on his foot and two small old scabs on his back.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur sentenced Dieza to nine months' jail for two charges of ill-treating a child.Dieza could have been jailed for up to four years and fined up to S$4,000 for each charge.

Singapore's Ben Davis signs professional deal with newly promoted Premier League club Fulham

SINGAPORE: Singaporean footballer Benjamin Davis has signed the first professional deal of his career with newly promoted Premier League club Fulham FC. Benjamin, 17, joined Fulham on a two-year scholarship deal in July last year. However, his performances for the Fulham Under-18 side were so impressive that the club decided to hand him a new deal.

He is the first Singaporean to sign a professional contract with a top-tier English club.
In an announcement on the club website on Friday (Jul 13), Fulham said that the midfielder "accrued a pass accuracy of over 90 per cent" for the U-18s.

"I was so happy and then excited. I really didn't expect it as I am still in the first year of my two-year scholarship deal although I did have a good second half of the season," the teenager said of his reaction when he learned that the club was offering him a deal.

"I will enjoy the achievement and success so far, but now it gives me the motivation, drive and desire to push on to achieve the ultimate goal of playing in the Fulham first team in the Premier League."
Benjamin said his immediate goals are to establish himself as a regular for the U-18 and U-23 team, and push himself to earn a call-up to train with the senior team.

The former Singapore Sports School student is also yearning for his first full international cap, having already earned a call-up to the Singapore national team earlier in the year. Harvey Davis, Benjamin's father, said that he is "proud" of his son's achievements.He told Channel NewsAsia: "It's fantastic news for Singapore football ... It shows that Singapore can produce footballers who can play at the highest level in the UK.

"He did very well in the second half of last season which led to him being called up for the U-23s.
"It's amazing for Ben to achieve a pro contract only after 12 months of his scholarship. I'm happy he has achieved this and potentially go on and play in the Premier League," the senior Davis added.

Kevin Tsai, Dee Hsu’s new variety show fails to impress

Tears were shed when Taiwanese variety series Here Comes Kangxi, helmed by Kevin Tsai and Dee Hsu, ended its run after 12 years in 2015. Naturally, fans rejoiced when it was announced that the duo will be pairing up again to host a brand new variety series in China called Zhen Xiang Ba! Hua Hua Wan Wu.

The China-produced internet programme was revealed to have a production value of RMB 60 million (approximately S$12.2 million) and boasts a stellar lineup of special guests such as Lin Chi-ling, Lin Gengxin, Ouyang Nana, and Barbie Hsu and her husband Wang Xiaofei, to name a few.

However, the show failed to live up to its hype despite a strong debut of more than a million clicks for its first episode which featured Chinese comedienne Xie Na.

Chinese microblogging platform Weibo was rife with discussions about the talk show – and not in a good way, after its debut episode aired. Some netizens remarked that it was “awkward” to watch while some felt that Dee, a Taiwanese, was not suitable to host a programme in China owing to the differences in both countries’ cultures.

Another netizen felt that the additional special effects and gags were unnecessary frills with both Kevin and Dee at helm. “It’s like having an Alessandro Michele design and inviting dozens of celebs to walk the runway. It’s unnecessary and takes away the attention [from the hosts]. It’s a pity,” said netizen expressed.

Photos: PBE Media

Stefanie Sun shares a snap of her baby bump

After weeks of speculation that she was pregnant, Stefanie Sun confirmed in late January that she is expecting her second child. As neither Stefanie nor her management has revealed the exact due date for the songbird’s little one, netizens have continued to guess at when Stefanie will be giving birth.
Netizens were treated to an update yesterday as the 39-year-old posted three selfies on her Facebook page, which she captioned with, “Getting a selfie with my belly in the picture is really difficult! #IGiveUp #HeresAPhoto”.

They were quick to notice that Stefanie looks as slim as ever, with many praising her for her beauty and unchanging youthful looks. Fans were also excited to see a clear photo of her baby bump for the first time, with many asking her when they can expect to see another addition to her brood.

The singer married businessman Nadim Van Der Ros in 2011 and welcomed her firstborn, a son, the following year.

Photos: PBE Media

Man who stabbed his wife to death sentenced to 10 years' jail

SINGAPORE: Suspecting that his wife was going out with another man, Mohamad Jonit Adnan, 39, stabbed his wife at least 30 times in her Yishun flat.Paramedics tried to save Ms Sri Idayu Ghazali, 29, as she lay on a bed covered with blood, but she died in hospital the next day, on Aug 14, 2016.
On Thursday (Jul 12) , the High Court sentenced Jonit to 10 years' jail for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Court documents stated that the couple, who got married in 2007, had a rocky relationship. They have two daughters together aged 10 and 11.Jonit did not have a stable job and was unemployed at the time of the incident. He had an affair with another woman and had a son with her.Ms Idayu applied for a divorce in March 2016. In July, the month before the stabbing incident, she applied for a personal protection order against her husband. He later moved out of the flat.
On the day of the incident, Jonit visited the flat and took his daughters to a playground nearby. That was when he learned that his wife had stayed out late the day before.He later admitted that he was angry with his wife as he suspected that she was going out with another man.

At about 8.15pm that day, he took his children home. His wife was sleeping in the master bedroom, while her sister, father and maid were in the living room.

HE PLACED A KNIFE IN HIS BACK POCKET

Jonit took a knife from the kitchen and put it in the back pocket of his jeans.
After Ms Idayu's sister left the flat with Jonit's older daughter, Jonit entered the master bedroom and saw his wife using her handphone on the bed.
He asked her if she had gone out the previous night. According to him, she answered that it was none of his "****ing problem".

Hearing this, Jonit took the knife from his pocket and began stabbing her. His younger daughter rushed into the bedroom when her mother shouted "sakit", or "pain" in Malay.
Jonit stopped stabbing his wife when he saw his daughter. He ran out of the room, threw the knife out of the kitchen window and left the flat.

The girl ran to tell her aunt and sister what happened. They rushed back to the flat and saw Ms Idayu bleeding badly. Ms Idayu's sister called the police.

AT LEAST 30 STAB WOUNDS ON WIFE'S BODY

An autopsy report certified Ms Idayu's cause of death as extensive haemorrhage from stab injuries to her neck, shoulder, chest and abdomen. There were at least 30 stab wounds found on her body. Eight of these were sufficient to cause death.

Jonit was later arrested and the knife recovered.In the High Court on Thursday, Jonit's assigned lawyer Ms Sadhana Rai asked for five to seven years' jail, saying that the act was spontaneous. She also said that Jonit suffered from major depressive disorder and had expressed suicidal thoughts in written notes.

However, the prosecution argued that he was able to think rationally before, during and after the act as he hid a knife in his pocket and later threw it away.

Justice Chua Lee Ming agreed with the prosecution and sentenced Jonit to 10 years' jail for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.He could have been jailed for life and caned.

SIA to launch world's longest commercial flights on Oct 11

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) will launch the world's longest commercial flights on Oct 11 between Singapore and the New York area, the airline said in a news release on Wednesday (May 30).

The 161-seat flights to Newark Liberty International Airport on the new Airbus A350-900ULR will cover about 15,329km, and travelling time will be up to 18 hours and 45 minutes.These will eclipse the 14,525km Qatar Airways flights from Doha to Auckland as the world's longest, according to airline data provider OAG.

The Singapore-Newark flight marks the return of a popular route for Singapore Airlines. The carrier had flown the marathon flights until 2013, when high fuel prices made the use of four-engine Airbus SE A340-500 jets uneconomic. It has since flown to New York's JFK Airport via Frankfurt.

For a start, the Singapore-Newark flight will operate three times a week from Changi Airport on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Daily operations will start from Oct 18 when an additional aircraft comes into service.

The aircraft will have two cabin classes - Business and Premium Economy. Tickets will be made available for sale progressively across various booking channels starting from Thursday, said SIA.

“We are pleased to be leading the way with these new non-stop flights using the latest-technology, ultralong-range Airbus A350-900ULR,” said SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong.The new Airbus range features higher ceilings, larger windows and better air quality, said SIA.It is the world's first customer for the new A350-900ULR, an ultra-long range version of the fuel-efficient twin-engine A350 jet, and SIA expects the first aircraft to be delivered in September. Seven more such aircraft are due for delivery by the end of the year. Changi Airport Group (CAG) welcomed this announcement as well on Wednesday, noting that the new service is Southeast Asia’s only non-stop connection to the North American east coast.
"With the advent of ultra long range aircraft, non-stop long haul routes are now more efficient and viable," said CAG’s managing director, air hub development, Mr Lim Ching Kiat.
"I’m confident it will be well-received by Changi Airport’s passengers, especially time-pressed business travellers.

"With strong traffic growth between the North America and Southeast Asia regions, there are growth opportunities to be tapped," he added.With the new Singapore-Newark service, there will be 72 weekly passenger services between Changi Airport and the United States, said CAG.
It added that there were 692,800 passenger movements recorded on direct flights between Singapore and the United States last year.There are also plans for non-stop Singapore-Los Angeles flights that will be announced later, said SIA.

Aside from Singapore Airlines, other airlines including Qantas Airways and United Airlines are adding ultra-long haul flights that can capture an airfare premium of around 20 per cent versus flights involving one or more stops.Qantas has said it is considering the purchase of the A350-900ULR or Boeing Co's 777X to allow it to fly non-stop from Sydney to London from 2022, an even longer 17,038km journey.

Thailand's Tham Luang cave to become museum to showcase boys' rescue

MAE SAI, Thailand: A cave complex in Thailand where 12 schoolboys and their football coach were trapped for more than two weeks before they were safely brought out will be turned into a museum to showcase the rescue, the head of the operation said on Wednesday (Jul 11).
Two British divers found the 12 boys and their coach in a cavern in the flooded Tham Luang cave system in the northern province of Chiang Rai on Monday last week, nine days after they went missing during an excursion.

They were all brought safely following a mission fraught with obstacles that ended late on Tuesday. A Thai rescue diver died last Friday, highlighting the dangers."This area will become a living museum, to show how the operation unfolded," the head of rescue mission, Narongsak Osottanakorn, told a news conference."An interactive data base will be set up" he said. "It will become another major attraction for Thailand."

Thai officials say the fate of the boys and the multinational rescue has put the cave firmly on the map and plans are in place to develop it into a tourist destination.But Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday extra precautions would have be implemented both inside and outside the cave to safeguard tourists.A guide book describes the relatively unexplored Tham Luang cave as having an "impressive entrance chamber" leading to a marked path and then a series of chambers and boulders.
Villagers say it is known to be prone to flooding and many have urged authorities to post clearer warnings.

Chongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the cave would be closed from Thursday but did not say for how long.
He said plans were in place to "revive" an adjacent national park where hundreds of rescue workers and military personnel set up camp during the search and rescue.Superstitious Thais have been gripped by a legend about the cave - the full name of which is Tham Luang Nang Non or "cave of the reclining lady".

Legend has it that a beautiful princess ran away to the cave with her commoner lover. Her father sent soldiers to kill the lover, prompting the princess to commit suicide.Surrounding mountains took on the shape of her body.

Japanese nurse may have killed 20 elderly patients

TOKYO - A former nurse who allegedly killed as many as 20 elderly patients by injecting their intravenous drips with chemicals is in police custody, Japanese media have reported.The suspect reportedly said she wanted to control when her patients died.

Police said on Wednesday (July 11) that 31-year-old Ayumi Kuboki was in custody over the alleged murder of an 88-year-old man at a hospital in suburban Tokyo. They declined to confirm the broader investigation.She was arrested on Saturday over the alleged murder of the elderly patient in 2016, but she has told police she may have killed up to 20 people, local media said.

It is believed the suspect has not worked as a nurse since the 2016 death.Kuboki allegedly killed the 88-year-old man by injecting a disinfectant into his drip, it was reported.The suspect has told police she mixed disinfectant into the intravenous drips of around 20 patients, Jiji Press reported, citing an unnamed police source.Kuboki reportedly denied any specific grudge against her patients, but said she found it difficult to deal with deaths on her shift, and injecting the drips allowed her to control when her patients died.

"Explaining to family members about deaths was cumbersome if a patient died during my working hours," she told investigators, Jiji said.The Asahi Shimbun also reported she had admitted injecting the drips of around 20 patients with disinfectant.Police were already investigating the deaths of two patients, including the 88-year-old.

Jiji reported that after the 2016 murder, police found surfactant - a chemical used for products including detergent and cosmetics - in 50 unused bags for intravenous drips at the hospital.The same chemical has been found in the bodies of two other patients who died aged 78 and 89, the news agency said.

Najib: Cheque for daughter's medical bill bounced due to 'draconian' freeze

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has criticised the move to freeze accounts belonging to him and his children as draconian.Najib said he only realised that his personal non-political account was frozen when a cheque for his daughter's medical bill did not go through.

"I only realised my account was frozen when my personal cheque issued for the payment of my daughter’s medical treatment bounced."The undue conduct of the relevant agency and the timing of the freezing of my account is uncalled for. I am dismayed at the conduct, the timing and exercise of such draconian actions by the government of the day," he said in a Facebook post.

Previously it was reported that Najib's eldest daughter, Puteri Norlisa, is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.She receives treatment once a week, and the freeze has put stress on her and her family, her younger brother Nazifuddin told Utusan Malaysia.

Najib said the frozen account had nothing to do with ongoing investigations and was only used to receive his salary as an MP, and his pension as former Pahang menteri besar.

'I have bills to pay too'

Najib is being probed over the 1MDB scandal. Last week he was arrested and charged over a related case involving alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International.

He was released on bail, a move the former premier said should allow him personal liberties pending the completion of his trial.

"The authorities need to realise that I am an ordinary citizen too. As the head of my household, I too have bills to pay, medical bills to attend to and a household to run.

"The authorities freezing my bank account has caused me hardship and difficulties in performing this role.

"Like any other citizen, I deserve to be given access to my personal freedom until my trial is completed. I am pleading with all concerned to stick to the rules of a fair and impartial investigation," he said.
Besides Najib's accounts, the authorities had also frozen accounts linked to his other daughter Nooryana Najwa (photo), Norashman, and Mohd Nizar.
Meanwhile, he said the freeze on his children's accounts has now been lifted, "proving that the initial order to freeze their accounts were without basis."
Write in to gain access to funds
Meanwhile, in a statement later, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said that if indeed Najib's claims on difficulties paying his bills were true, he should write in, to the authorities, seeking to get access to his account.
"If what was reported is true, there shouldn't be a problem for the former premier to instruct his lawyers to write to the relevant parties, to withdraw a certain amount of money from his account, to pay bills.
"I'm not sure if he has done that. If he has, he has to push (for further action), and can even write a letter to me, or the minister in the Prime Minister's Department. God willing, I will discuss with the MACC on the matter.
"If he has not done so, then better don't accuse Harapan of being 'draconian'," he said.

Singapore Airlines to launch non-stop flight to Los Angeles in November

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines on Wednesday (Jul 11) announced that it will launch non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles in November this year.
The route will use the new Airbus A350-900ULR (ultra-long-range) aircraft, SIA said in a media release.

Flight SQ38 from Singapore to Los Angeles will commence on Nov 2, with an initial three flights a week departing Singapore on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Daily operations will commence from Nov 9, after an additional A350-900ULR aircraft enters service.

A further three services a week will be added as SQ36 from Dec 7 this year. With this, the airline will fly non-stop from Singapore to Los Angeles 10 times a week, SIA said.
"With the introduction of non-stop services between Singapore and Los Angeles, SIA’s existing one-stop service to Los Angeles via Seoul will cease after Nov 30, 2018," the airline said.

"Singapore-Seoul frequency will be maintained at four flights per day with the introduction of a new Singapore-Seoul return flight from Dec 1, 2018, operating as flight SQ612."Together with SIA's current daily one-stop service to Los Angeles via Tokyo, the airline will then fly to Los Angeles 17 times a week, it said.

MORE FLIGHTS ON SINGAPORE-SAN FRANCISCO ROUTE

Additionally, the airline said will increase daily non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco from seven to 10 times a week, with effect from Nov 28 this year.

"The three additional services will operate as SQ34, departing every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to San Francisco and will complement existing daily SQ32 non-stop services. Together with SIA’s current daily one-stop service to San Francisco via Hong Kong, San Francisco will also be served 17 times per week," SIA said.

With the new flights, the total frequency of SIA flights between Singapore and the US will increase to from 40 to 53 per week by December, the airline said.

“Our US services have always been popular with our customers and we are pleased to be able to provide even more travel options,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong.

Source: CNA/dl(hm)

Singapore says Hong Kong declined 2016 request to arrest Jho Low

SINGAPORE: Singapore said its request to Hong Kong authorities in 2016 to arrest Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, for alleged money laundering and dealing with stolen property wasn’t acted on, refuting media reports that said it didn’t ask for the Malaysian financier to be apprehended.

The request for assistance to provisionally arrest Low – a central figure in a global multi-billion dollar probe related to Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB – was sent to the Hong Kong Department of Justice in April 2016, a representative for Singapore’s police said Wednesday in response to Bloomberg News queries.

“Singapore’s request was declined by the Hong Kong authorities,” the Singapore police said, without elaborating on why it was denied. The request was made under an agreement for the surrender of fugitive offenders between both territories, it said.

The Department of Justice in Hong Kong didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Low’s representative didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.ow was in Hong Kong and Macau recently, according to media reports. The South China Morning Post said in a July 7 article that Low was free to recently leave Hong Kong for Macau because neither Malaysia nor Singapore had formally requested his arrest. He left Macau, the world’s biggest casino hub, for an unknown destination, the Malaysiakini news website reported Wednesday.

1MDB is at the heart of a scandal which allegedly saw US$4.5 billion misappropriated from the fund. Switzerland’s top prosecutor on Tuesday said 1MDB was used as a Ponzi scheme. Low, described by Malaysian authorities as the “best witness” in the probe, is a wanted man in his home country and Singapore.

Low said in June that he would help in the probe and instructed his lawyers to make contact with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission after he was made aware they were seeking him for assistance. He has previously denied wrongdoing. Malaysia has said it has enough evidence on Low’s crimes.

“We issued a warrant of arrest for Low in April 2016, following investigations and charges against him for offences of money-laundering and dishonestly receiving stolen property,” the Singapore police said Wednesday. “Low remains a key person of interest to Singapore in ongoing 1MDB-related investigations.”

At Singapore’s request, Interpol published a red notice – a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person – for Low in 2016. Both Singapore’s warrant of arrest for Low and the Interpol Red Notice against him are in force, the police said.