Monday, July 30, 2007

Singapore Penal Code

I like to recommend this website. It is the Penal Code for our country.

http://agcvldb4.agc.gov.sg/non_version/cgi-bin/cgi_retrieve.pl?actno=REVED-224&doctitle=PENAL+CODE%0A&date=latest&method=part

It could be an interesting read and it is also good to know some law which interest you.

Check out Penal Code 121B

121B. Whoever compasses, imagines, invests, devises or intends the deprivation or deposition of the President from the sovereignty of Singapore, or the overawing by criminal force of the Government, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to a fine.

You could be imprisoned for life just by imagine the deprivation of the President!


Penal Code 277

Fouling the water of a public spring or reservoir.
277. Whoever voluntarily corrupts or fouls the water of any public spring or reservoir, so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 months, or with fine which may extend to $500, or with both.

Careful next time when you want to pee into the reservoir!


Penal Code 279

Rash driving or riding on a public way.
279. Whoever drives any vehicle, or rides, on any public way, in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life, or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months, or with fine which may extend to $1,000, or with both.

Good for all the drivers to know about this.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Graciousness in Singapore?

ST Forum 27th July
What's become of our youth? Many young people don't care to give up seats to a pregnant woman

THE most uncomfortable moment of the day comes when I am on board the MRT train.
The passengers of the whole cabin would instantly close their eyes. You may have guessed it, they saw me, a pregnant lady, boarding the train.


There is a thread in a 'motherhood" forum that discusses the topic of the difficulty in getting a seat on the train. I was mentally prepared for all what I had experienced, but the fire in me pushed me to put my feelings into writing.

Wouldn't it be comforting if someone could graciously stand up and volunteer his/her seat to me?

Through the experiences over the last few months, the sad truth is that such a probability is extremely low.

Surprisingly, students and women are the people who do not bother to lift their eyes to look at you, what more giving up their precious seats.

If Singapore could put great emphasis on encouraging childbirth, I believe an equal amount of effort should be made to educate our next generation of young leaders on how to be gracious.

I was standing right in front of a student one evening in the train cabin. She looked blankly at me and closed her eyes. When it was time for her to alight, she did all she could to hide her school badge from me.

How can we depend on such people as future leaders? Even if they achieve No. 1 in all aspects, they score zero in compassion.

Since young, my parents had taught me the right values of greeting the elderly and giving up my seat to those who need it more. I also put myself in other people's shoes and console myself that the women around me in the train cabin may be pregnant in their first trimester. It is not convincing, but I feel better thinking this way. Give them a reason to justify their behaviour, I thought.

But what about the students? I cannot seem to convince myself. Tiredness? I was a student before but being considerate was of a higher importance than given the opportunity to rest at the expense of another person's comfort.

What a great difference the new generation is. In other words, great disappointment.

Chai Juwin (Ms)



I would recommend you to read the Straits Time Forum online instead of reading them from the paper. Not only does it has a additional Online Forum section for letters who are not published.
They also have new feature for reader to post their comments with regard to a certain letter and some are quite good.

See some of the response to Miss Chai letter below:

I think if Ms Chai looks like she needed the seat, there will be those who would offer it to her. In most cases, I have seen pregnant ladies or old people who actually do not expect to have a seat.
Some of them prefers to stand, maybe. But most of them do not have the attitude of "I am pregnant, it is my right", or "I am old, you stand up".
While I think it is a gracious thing to give up my seat if I see a pregnant lady, I do not think it is mandatory. I have very bad chronic headaches, and sometime, I just need to seat and close my eyes on the train to rest. But if someone needs the seat more than me, I would stand up for him or her, if he or she would ask politely.I am not defending the selfish people. But I think that instead of pouting over it, try something else. Do not push all responsibilities to others unless you have make an effort too.Maybe next time, if you feel that you need a seat, ask politely. You will be surprise how many people would give up their seat. As the saying goes, " Ask, and you shall be given".
Posted by: jasoncbk at Fri Jul 27 11:57:16 SGT 2007


Lets be open about it. Being pregnant is difficult but it does not neccessarily mean that you have to sit all day. In Singapore, the MRT/LRT longest ride would be about 40mins? (sorry hv been overseas too long) So that 40mins, would be an alternate to some exercise that doctors encourage pregnant women to have esp closer to delivery date. I guess look at things on the positive side, at least you have some exercise rather then stand 40mins fuming about who is giving up a seat to you. Your baby will be affected by your mood.Cheers!!
Posted by: tony1971 at Fri Jul 27 11:31:22 SGT 2007


Maybe the sitting passenger was tired? Sick? Leg hurts?What disturbs me more is the tendency of people to jump into a 'moral-police' mode and judge a person guilty by default. The sitting person may or may not have valid reason, he could jolly well be simply selfish, I don't know. Since I do not know, I shall not judge. The sitting passenger is not obliged to explain to anyone also.
Posted by: John.Hooi at Fri Jul 27 11:21:39 SGT 2007


I shared the sentiment of some of the readers here.

Being pregnant does not give you the rights to have a seat. Everyone on the train paid for the tickets and although it would be a nice gesture if someone offer you his or her seats but they have no obligation to.

Personally I think old folks have more rights to be offered seat rather then pregnant women.

Being pregnant is a choice and we all should know by now that Singapore is not really a Family friendly place.

The government want people to give birth, but they don’t re-look at a flexible working environment.

Owning a car too expensive for normal Singaporean, Taxi companies sucks and MRT and Buses are there to rack up profit which result in the long waits for over crowded buses and trains.

In school we are taught it’s the survival of the fittest and in society where we needed to be reminded to flush our toilets, I don’t think there is much social grace left in us.

Its every man for himself out there, even our goverment told us they cannot take care for us forever. (But somehow they like to keep our CPF for us.)

Cosmetic Solution

We all know how notorious the waiting times are at Singapore Polyclinics.

They acknowledged it and instead of tackling the root cause by introducing more staff to speed up the diagnosis times, they decided to add in cameras at waiting area.

http://polyclinic.singhealth.com.sg/OurServices/Queue/

This way you could go online and choose to check on the waiting time before you decide where and when you want to go down to you “friendly” polyclinics.

Firstly, most people who visit polyclinics are the older and the poor Singaporeans.

Do you think the majority of them are internet savvy?

Secondly, I don’t need to go to the web to find out that queue are the polyclinics are long.

What a waste of tax payer money again this time….must be another scholar’s project.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Transfomers the Movie

Went to watch Transformers last Friday. Was actually quite surprise that it was a full house despite it had been showing for close to a month.

If you are not a Transformer Fan then this movie is quite entertaining with lots of actions but for a Transformer Fan like me this is actually quite disappointing.

I felt that the producer should not change the design of the Autobots and Decepticons.

Optimus Prime look like cock with his human face but did saw a bit of the shielded face mode when he was doing his final battle with Megatron.

Starscream still look ok as he maintained his fighters look. (Upgraded to F22 from F15)

And yes, Megatron look like a big COCK. Wau lau… look like a bloody gorilla.

I am also Bumble Bee ended up as a Chevrolet Camero and not his original Volkwagen Beetle. I guess the American try to make all cars theirs. (SAD!) Take a look at the chart below!

Bumble Bee Chevrolet Camaro(Movie) Volkwagen Beetle(Original Form)
Jazz Pontiac Solstice (Movie) Porche 925 Turbo (Original Form)
IronHide GMC C4500 Pickup (Movie) Nissan C20 (Original Form)
Ratchet Hummer H2 (Movie) Nissan C20 (Original Form)

Found the reason! "The other Autobots also became GM-owned vehicles in a product placement deal that saved $3 million"

The transfomation of the Transformers are quite cool but again the camera was panning all over the places making it difficult to see. I guess Michael Baywas trying too hard?

I think this is a movie not for Fans but are more appealing to the general public.

Anyway for information, there already plan for 2 sequels of the movie and I hope they change the director for the new two movies.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

National Flag

I was just wondering a few days ago, when I saw the National Flags being displayed by the RC all over the island, why are they are flying the flags so early this year?

I remember the government did states only to fly the flags in the month of Aug.

Well look like they just amended the law this year, now you can even wear the national flag!!


From http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/20070717984.htm

To keep pace with these changes, and to encourage Singaporeans to display their pride and loyalty to Singapore, MICA has taken steps to amend the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act. The notifications were published in the e-Gazette, Subsidiary Legislation Supplement on 16 July 2007 and take immediate effect.

Flying the Flag during the National Day Celebrations period

a) The National Day Celebrations period will be extended from 1 July to 30 September each year (instead of 1- 31 August currently in force), during which the Flag may be flown without a flagpole and night illumination.

b) National Flag decals and stickers, posters or other visual images may be displayed freely. Additionally, the National Flag may be flown on vehicles (both private and commercial) during the National Day celebrations period.

c) The National Flag may also be displayed on costumes and personal attire during the period with the requirement only that the Flag be treated with respect at all times.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

SBS Response

SBS replied on 13th July:


1.Please refer to your feedback regarding Service 89.

2.We are sorry to learn of the inconvenience caused while waiting for this service.

3. The Manager has noted your concern on the frequency of the service and is monitoring the situation closely. Rest assured that, where it is within our control, we will ensure that buses arrive at regular intervals.

4. Bus captains have also been reminded to try their best to adhere strictly to their time schedules to ensure service reliability.

5. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Yours sincerely
Tang May May
for Deputy DirectorCorporate Communications
SBS Transit Ltd


To me this letter is so lame..

It did not state whether was there any investigation done nor does it answer any of my questions.

Just a standard template I guess. A give away is at point 2. (this service, can't she just response service 89?)

May May just have to fill in the service number and also note these point form answers can be used to reply to any compliants.

Sad... a service corporation should take customer feedback more seriously since they bother to give feedbacks.

But again I guess SBS Transit has not much of a competition in the market so they can affort to give you such a lousy response.


Friday, July 06, 2007

Day Light Robbers

A sample of how the price of some food in my office canteen post 1st July. Remember GST is only up by 2 percentage point.

Hum chin Pan up from $0.50 to $0.55 (10% increment)

Chapti up from $1.50 to $1.60 (6.6% increment)

Coffe-Si up from $0.50 to $0.60 (20% increment)

Breakfast set up from $1.50 to $1.60 (6.6% increment)

My letter to SBS Transit today

I must congratulate SBS Transit for making it to the top on my list of worst public transport operator in Singapore.

I commute to work from Pasir ris Bus stop 77019 to Air Freight Terminal daily by Service number 89 in the morning.

I reach Bus Stop 77019 daily at about 7.40am and trying to get on board Service 89 has always turn out to be an impossible mission at that time.

However thing had improved as there are a fairly empty bus arriving at about 7.40am daily to pick up passengers stranded in Pasir Ris as I believe this bus does not start its journey from Hougang.

But as good thing never last long. For the whole of this week, service No.89 at 7.40am disappeared miraculously with the introduction of GST increment on 1st July.

Service No.89 is impossible to get on board at Bus stop 77019 between 7.40am till 8.15am with passengers packed the brim. Worst still SBS Transit had changed one of the service bus to a single deck. Please explain the logic of introducing a single deck bus at peak hour.

The situation of Service No.89 had become even worst with the introduction of No.89E. Hooray for passengers living in Hougang and Sengkang but as the bus does not stop at Pasir Ris and these 89E had made the wait for Service 89 even longer.

SBS Transit must be grateful that pubic bus routes in Singapore are heavily regulated as no 2 bus company are allows to service the same route. As I certainly will not take and SBS transit service if I have the choice.

Please published the time table for service No.89 as this was no where to be found on your website.

Please explain why there are only 2 frequency of No.89 are Pasir Ris between 7.40am and 8.25am.

Please advice is a wait of 45min at peak hour for a passenger within SBS transit KPI.