Dear A.S.S. Editor

The scammers getting more and more creative nowadays, and also getting younger and younger. Makes me wonder why young people turn to scamming others in order to make a quick buck.

Is there no such thing as hard work anymore? Two tertiary students were yesterday sentenced to 21 months probation for cheating their victims in a scam involving a Jay Chou concert. They apparently worked together to cheat 11 people a total of $7,670. One is from NTU, while another is from SIM. Between the two, they had only one valid ticket, but they hatched a scam to print bogus tickets, taking advantage of Jay Chou fans who were looking for the sold out tickets.

Both are university students, which means academically, they could not be doing too badly for themselves. Why stoop to scamming people of their money, only these two young men can answer. Good thing for them is that they would not sepnd time behind bars. Just probation and community service, so their lives can continue as usual.

Ling YK

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Only a few days ago there was a news report of a sinkhole appearing in Edgefield at Punggol. On Thursday, a man apparently lost control of his car and hte car ended up wedged between a concrete roadside barrier and the walkway railing.

The car also uprooted a Stop Sign at the accident scene at Edgefield Plains. Seems like Edgefield getting into the news for the wrong reasons again. The man was apparently a private-hire driver, but thankfully escaped serious injury.

A case of driving private hire car to make ends meet, but too tired until accident? High cost of living, if that applies here, is really driving someone off the road.

Tired Driver

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear ASS,

the people of Singapore deserve to know more about a monster called Josh Robinson (USA), who has been lurking in Singapore for 7 years.
https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/sex-crazed-ft-jailed-underaged...

A quick Google search (with cache), revealed that Josh is not only an MMA instructor. He initially came to Singapore in 2010/11 as a lead asset artist on The Clone Wars at Lucasfilm Singapore.

"'It’s surprisingly easy to live in Singapore.' - Josh Robinson, Lead Assets Artist, LucasFilm."

Is Josh referring to the easy-and-free sex he gets on a daily basis in Singapore?

"Josh is in Singapore as Lead Assets Artist for LucasFilm Singapore. Two years ago he was in Los Angeles finishing off work on Terminator Salvation for his ..."
http://www.3dartistonline.com/news/2011/03/sneak-peek-inside-lucasfilm-s...

Further searching unearthed that "Contact Singapore", an alliance of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) featured Joshua Robinson as a 'advocate story' on their main page! Attached is a screenshot. This is Google's cache of https://www.contactsingapore.sg/?id=913.

It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 2 Mar 2017 07:03:09 GMT."

With the breaking news on 2 Mar 2017 (2pm) of Josh's 4 year sentence for sex
assault, its evident that the EDB and MOM swiftly gave instructions to delete
his 'success story', which is no longer online. QUESTION: Why did EDB and MOM
continue to promote Josh as a 'sucess story', even during his trial and while
on bail?

"'I'm more used to people being a little intimidated by me,' Josh Robinson
laments mischievously."
https://www.contactsingapore.sg/en/professionals/why-singapore/resources...

Contact Singapore is a pro-foreigner agency, started by the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) and came under the Ministry of Manpower in 1998. In
April 2008, an alliance was formed between the Economic Development Board and
the Ministry of Manpower to leverage the business network and investment
promotion capability of the Economic Development Board and the talent
outreach of the Ministry of Manpower. They claim to "actively link
Singapore-based employers with professionals to support the growth of our key
industries" and "work with investors to realise their business and investment
interests in Singapore."

Is this MONSTER the type of 'professional', 'global talent' that public funds
from EDB and MOM be spent on engaging and promoting? Isn't it ridiculous that
we pour money to invite to pervs to come rape and sexually assault our
daughters and women?!?

If you are upset about this, let Contact Singapore know your displeasure:
Tel: (65) 6508 3508, singapore@contactsingapore.sg

Savile Seah
Parents Against Pedos

#EDB #MOM #FT #Pedo #Monster #Sexposed #ContactSingapore #JoshRobinson #MMA

Dear A.S.S. Editor

The incident happened yesterday 1 March 17. My Wife boarded the grab taxi from the house drop off porch which is a roundabout. When the driver was moving off he is looking at gps and accelerating. Another car driving past and he jammed break to prevent the accident. My Wife then msg me to inform me of the incident.

Upon reaching the destination, I walked up to the driver and told him off to drive carefully and don't look at the gps while driving. Instead of feeling apologetic, he answered me back saying " you don't have to tell me what to do. I know what I am doing"

What kind of driver is this? People taking GrabCar, taxi or Uber, please ensure your driver is not looking at the gps while driving. It's very dangerous. If you happen to book this taxi comfort delgro SHB 4XX4 G, cancel ur booking immediately for your own safety.

Chan

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear ASS,

I am not sure if this is the right platform but just want to share my insight of the recent water hikes with my fellow Singaporeans. First of all, before any grammar nazi comes slapping me, i will admit my
english is poor. Edit this if you will like.

Now comes the main focus. I believe many people especially those who supporter the idea of the price hike do not fully understand the fundamental principle of why more water production is needed given that over the years the government had already added in place a few water desalination plant to help in the production of filtered clean water.

Let me do some rocket science explanation here. If one person consume about 8 glasses of water a day, how many does 10 people drink per day? If a person shower twice daily, how many time will that be for 10 people? Let me put it this way, from the current 3.9 millions resident in Singapore which is soon increasing to 6.9 millions, of course more water production is needed. its rocket science. Thats not the only thing, your housing will continue to increase, your wages will continue to depress because if I can hire a cheaper management with a degree certificate vs a local diploma holder, its obvious who i will be hiring. but well, thats another issue entirely. (Sic)

Many argue the costs involved does not comes from air and the Government have been subsidizing the cost of production. Some also argue that the increase is not a big amount without looking into the depth as a whole that it will not only affect the household but also everything around us. Your foods, your drinks, swimming pool and all, who is going to pay for the increase of costs? The government? The company? nah, its going to be all of you here.

Now here comes the part where netizen will go, all talk but no solution? Here is the solution: If as per some source, there will be an average increase of $12 dollars per household, $120 per 10 household, how much can we cover if we have 1million dollars? Yeah. where do we get the money from? your most welfare minister's salary of course. 2.3 million for our pm. how about we cut all the high ranking official by half to cover that cost? afterall, it is their fail policy that cost us the increase, no? improper planning?

If everytime the solution to an issue is to raise tax or raise $ elsewhere, how about we cut their salary everytime they cant comes up with something other than "lets raise the bill again". In all seriousness, i am not being paid millions for coming up with solution. A more feasible alternative is to use the national reserve to produce more water treatment plant to substain the cost in the long run, rather than raising the cost as a better solution. Does it mean if I am bill gates, a billionare, I can use up all the water if i can afford to pay? Educating is definitely better than "punishing".

Or the real question is, are there anything left in the reserve? (Sic) Thank you. I really do this do get publish and edited if necessary.

Wake up singaporeans before its too late!

Anonymous

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear Editor

I refer to the article “Water fees ‘cover only PUB ops and asset depreciation’” (Straits Times, Mar 3).

It states that “The money that people pay for using water is enough to cover only the operations of national water agency PUB and the depreciation of its water works, pipelines and water reclamation plants, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday. The annual surpluses PUB gets are transferred to its reserves to finance its plants and equipment, he told the House, addressing the issue of the water price hike that surfaced throughout the Budget debate. “The Government pays for part of the total cost of securing a safe and clean supply of water for our people and businesses,” he added, as he underlined the strategic value of water and updated members on plans for investments in the water system.

PUB intends to invest $4 billion on additional water infrastructure in the next five years. The sewerage network will be improved as well. A deep tunnel sewerage system, costing more than $4 billion, will be completed in 2025. Another $3 billion will be spent on other sewerage network projects, and to strengthen the resilience of the water supply, in the next five years. These expenses exceed the revenue from the water conservation tax, which is expected to be about $1.6 billion in the five-year period, he added.”

Water revenue pay for sewerage development? Since when did the price that the people pay for water has to also cover for the cost of sewerage infrastructure development? Has this ever been mentioned in Parliament, in the media, or for that matter – anywhere in the world? Do other countries do this? Do other countries price their water to cover sewerage infrastructure development?

A new reason everyday? The Government seems to be coming out with new reasons to justify the price increase, almost on a daily basis – since the price increase was announced. Why weren’t Singaporeans told in the first instance?

Anyway, to put the numbers in perspective – the “$4 billion on additional water infrastructure in the next five years” and “$3 billion ($1.4 billion net – less the $1.6 billion water conservation tax) will be spent on other sewerage network projects, and to strengthen the resilience of the water supply, in the next five years” – giving a net total of about $5.4 billion in the next five years, is only just about equal to one year’s (FY2016) Budget surplus of $5.2 billion. If we add back the $3.6 billion transfers to trust and endowment funds (which should not be charged as a one time expenditure according to IMF fiscal reporting guidelines) – the surplus is $8.8 billion. The estimated Budget Cash Surplus (under the full IMF guidelines) may be about $20 billion like in the previous years. And we have not even talked about the PUB’s projected profits of $1.1 billion in the next five years after the price increase (last year’s $167 million profits x 132% x 5 years).

With regard to “A deep tunnel sewerage system, costing more than $4 billion, will be completed in 2025” – is part of this cost already included in the “$3 billion in the next five years” and since it will only be completed in 2025 – what is the cost from now till the next five years?

Leong Sze Hian

In a scathing response to the PAP's plans to raise water prices by 30% despite the gloomy economic outlook for Singapore and mounting retrenchments faced by Singaporeans, Dr Chee posted a internet meme which called for PAP Minister's salaries to be cut to raise these elite's awareness of the average Singaporeans hardships.

In less than a day, Dr Chee's cheeky suggestion garnered more than 3,000 shares and likes online and struck a chord with Singaporeans. Should Singaporeans petition the PAP govt to cut their salaries in half to raise their awareness of our daily sufferings?

I want to let you know about this silly woman on Facebook. The lady get into accident with a Malay or Indian man named Shaik who was driving a BMW, and this man conned her of the repair job. Now she kpkb says that she should not have trust Malay or Indian driver.

https://www.facebook.com/WendyAlyssia/posts/422817694717278

What logic is this, woman?

Here is what she said in her post. She wrote that the BMW driver, Shaik, hit her car while it was stationary. He asked her not to report insurance so he could use his mechanic. She said OK.

After she discovered that the repair job was very badly done, she got into an argument with the driver. For no reason she start to scold Malay and Indian driver, say that her friends told her not to believe Malay and Indian drivers because they should not be trusted. When the man scold her back, she write this.

"Well well well.. I m not sure but I didn't believe in judging by color even when everyone warns me, it's not the color but it's the traits they say .. I dunno but I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of becos I m just highlight that perhaps I shld have believe my frens becos he had just proven their words thru n thru.."

You be the judge who is the in wrong here.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Government so happy, they announced extra four weeks of unpaid child-care leave for civil servants! The civil servants must be damn happy, right? Among all the goodies, another one comes along the way, all thanks to the thoughtful Government.

But wait! What;s this? Unpaid child-care leave of four weeks! Already when you give birth, all the hospital bills, doctor bills and what nots, run up to the thousands. Haven't even counted the money you need to buy diapers, milk and baby clothes. Plus other unscheduled doctor appointments, because, let's face it, babies are not healthy 24-7, 365 days. So, all these needs money, lots of it. So, unpaid leave for a month? Who is going to give you back the wages you lost for that one month?

Seems like the government want to make people think they are giving a lot of thought to our struggles. But, no money for one month? No thanks!

Stephanie C

A.S.S. Contributor

I have just graduated from NTU in the second week of December (Unofficially graduated after my Final Year Project Presentation). I have heard that the economic is very bad, and it will only get worst for the entire year of 2017. Hence, I spammed my job hunting, and engaging in many job agency to help me to land into a job (I literally just spammed all sorts of jobs, as I am worried that I may end up jobless for several months, so unfortunately a year long).

Eventually, I found and land into a job through job agency (I was VERY happy, as the Company is very well-known to people who are in my industry too). BUT, the first day I went to work, which was about 2 months ago, it felt like I was not in the right place (Company). The work environment and culture is SUPER different from school.

Everyone there is very individualistic and until today (Almost 2 months), I have not interact with other colleagues except my direct supervisor on just work-related issues that I am facing. There was no proper training given, all they did was just to pass me real work to do.

Have they forgotten I am freshly out of the school? I am not some elite that I could understand everything from head to toe just by passing me documents of the project. I was not given a work email address account, I used my personal email account for work for almost 1.5 months long. I am not given any access card (I have to knock on the door until someone opens the door for me, be it after visiting the toilet or early morning when I come for work). The feeling went worst when there was times (Quite often) that I was knocking at the door LOUDLY for a good 20 minutes for the next person to come and open the door so that I could follow into the office (When I entered the office, I saw there was other people inside the office, which she did not open the door for me, WHY?!).

I was the only local in the project excluding the person who is in-charge of the Project Manager (Who is only around for few hours per week, as he has multiple project sites to handle). I am also the only Chinese, there is no local, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc Chinese around at all. No local Malays or Indians too. I felt so outcast in that office (project).

But, this Company has a very good branding, and is very famous. I have consulted many people with regards to this issue.

I do not feel good everyday I go to work, but whenever I think of the 'branding' of the Company has which will definitely looks good on my CV if I have years of experience with the Company. I am very lost, very down and very depressed. I am just like a lost soul dreading to go work every single day.

What should I do? I tried to open myself up to them, but it seems that there is a transparent 'wall' in between me and all my colleagues in the project.

Surrounded by FTs
A.S.S. Contributor

Taxi commuters in Singapore will be getting the short end of the stick soon as taxi giant ComfortDelGro will introduce Uber-style dynamic pricing, also known as surge pricing, where fares can possible skyrocket to five times the usual rate.

60% of cabs on the roads today are owned by ComfortDelGro.

This follows moves by Premier Taxi and Trans-Cab to introduce similar surge pricing. Both companies have informed the Public Transport Council of their plans.

BEWARE THIS ROAD BULLY, WHO ATTACKS SOMEONE OVER A PARKING LOT!

This took place in a HDB Multi-Storey Carpark a few nights ago. I was reversing my car halfway into the carpark lot, when the driver of car plate number SKU5555S stopped his car, and proceeded to stand behind my car to stop me from reversing. He insisted that it was his parking lot. I attempted to reason with him but to no avail.

When I was trying to take out an item from my car booth, he attacked me. At that point in time, I was so fearful for my life, as everything happened in a blur and I couldn’t see because my spectacles got knocked off in the attack. The car next to mine got dented in the process as well, as you can see at the video’s 23 second mark.

Credits: Rage Tan

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Petition to PAP government to make 23 March as a public holiday

As all Singaporean knows that in few weeks time is LKY death day with is in 23 March and at that day our government is going to talk about LKY over and over again about how good is he etc. So what I think is if our government is going to commemorate LKY again why don't every year 23 March make it into a public holiday.

Better and I think that Singaporean deserve a public holiday too as they kept on working long hours everyday and they deserve a off day too.

W

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear Editors,

I am actually quite worried about taxi companies following grab and uber's surge method to cope with demand and they claimed that this is to allow taxi drivers to earn more, however, I find that they are doing it all wrong!

By doing so, it will only make taxi drivers go and camp at a high surge area and wait for calls and these drivers will not be doing street hails, reason being, high surge is more worth it given the fact that they earn more doing lesser trips. To make matters worse, taxis are not required to clock the 250 daily mileage anymore!

I hope all taxi drivers will work smart and not being money minded, yes, they may be given the opportunity to earn more, but they should not be so greedy and money minded that they avoid street hailed jobs because there is no surge. Because if they do so, the one losing out will be them, not us, the commuters. They have to serve the public first as taxis are also public transport.

Pat

A.S.S. Contributor

Singapore's High Court has increased PRC national Yang Yin's jail term from 6 to 9 years after the AGC appealed for a longer jail term of 10 to 11 years. Yang was convicted of cheating a rich Singaporean old lady of $1.1 million by pretending to be her "son".

In September 2016, Yang Yin was convicted of criminal breach of trust and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for stealing money from 90 year old Madam Chung Khin Chun.

Since November 2016, Yang Yin's Singapore Permanent Residency (SPR) status has been revoked by the ICA.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Why does the PAP continue to INCREASE the cost of living in Singapore during a recession? In times of economic uncertainty, they raise the cost of water, the most important resource to keep on living, all while maintaining their high salaries.

With the recent increase in motorbike COE and introduction of more ERPs, I wonder what will be the next decree that will drill holes in our pockets.

Jeol

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Came across this photo while I was surfing online. This is what i think is People's Park Complex in Chinatown.

Look at the picture closely. Do you think the floor marked in red is a bit warped? Wonder if this means danger or not? How to report this? Better check the building,since this is quite an old building? Or is it just because of the camera angle, that makes it look bad, when in fact, this is just normal?

Quite worried though.

Tan J P

A.S.S.Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Second Minister for Defence, Ong Ye Kung, said in Parliament today that the new Cyber Security vocation in Mindef will be made up of highly trained individual with a high level of skills, and this vocation is comparable to the Commandos and Navel Divers!

Wah, this is no joking matter! Compared to the Commandos and Naval Divers, who are long thought of as the most elite soldiers around. And these elite cyber forces will number about 2,600. Men who possess cyber skills will be "rigorously selected and identified" before they are enlisted, Mr Ong said. This can be done through established local cyber competitions, camps and activities, as well as selection tests.

Ok, for those who cannot make it to Commandos and Naval Diving unit because of physical or racial limitations, then can consider aiming for the other elite force, the Cyber Security Forces! Not bad, now really can become a cyber warrior!

Rahman M

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Minister for Home Affairs has announced that the authorities will take to task the NUS professor Khairudin Aljunied, who has openly criticised an individual who made public what the imam who had allegedly insulted Christians and Jews.

Minister Shanmugam also reminded everyone that religious preaching that encourages violence or seeks to pit one religion against another will not be tolerated. Minister Shanmugam's statement in full reads:

"Dr Khairudin has “encouraged vilification” of the individual who brought the matter into the public eye. Describing Dr Khairudin’s conduct as “wrong and unacceptable”, “He seems to suggest that it is okay for the imam to have said what he said, including that Jews and Christians should be defeated. He assumes that the imam intended to say that, and sees nothing wrong with that. He has jumped into this, without verifying the facts, without checking the context. And supports a position that is quite contrary to the norms, values and laws in Singapore.”

That's it for Prof Khairudin then. Getting embroiled in this kind of issues cannot be good to his career progression, especially for someone who is in the public spotlight. Always be mindful when commenting on religious issues, we cannot afford to be giving out the wrong signals. Always uphold the good of our own religions, but never celebrate violence or pitting one religion against another. That is a whole new dangerous ground.

Charlie Ho

A.S.S. Contributor

Salaam.

There is much talk from people about the imam from Masjid Jamae speaking of the battle against Christians and Jews. Many non-believer are quick to judge and worried about the "radicalized" Muslims in Singapore.

This response is a disappointment to me. As a community, Muslims lived here as brothers and sisters for many generations. We are considerate to the need of our neighbours, just like they are considerate to ours most of the time. Now a preacher who does not understand the context of our community's good relations with non-believers comes in, everyone is quick to condemn.

What many people do not understand is he is more of an exception than a rule here. Ask any preachers, they will say that whatever the religion, whatever the holy book and whatever the quotation, they must follow the context of the country.

Do we need to ask MUIS or other imam about their position? Everyone knows that we do not incite unnecessary friction or pass judgement on others, or even worse incite violence against non-believers. That is what the Prophet teaches us, it is inbuilt in us and we don't need anyone else to tell us how to do it.

As a Muslim, I am disappointed that we are out throwing judgement on each other just because of one small incident. Even opposition Faisal Manap and PAP must jump in and comment on this? This is not national issue, keep politics out of our religion, thank you!

M. Firdaus
A.S.S. Contributor