Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr Mahathir Mohamad is back with more attacks against his successor, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak. According to Dr. Mahathir, if Najib contiues to stay in power in Malaysia, the Malays in Malaysia could become just as marginalized as their Singapore counterparts.

Dr. Mahathir also claimed that Najib is refusing to resign from power because he fears being hauled up to court on "criminal charges".

Dr. Mahathir made all these statements in an online video yesterday, where he was filmed speaking to non-governmental organizations in a closed-door forum at the Perdana Foundation. In the forum, he said that Malaysia should not be struggling for the sake of the personal goals of one man, but for the survival of the nation, its race and its religion.

“I think we are smart people. Do we want to protect Najib? Or do we want to protect the Malays and the country? This is what we have to ask ourselves,” he said.

Dr. Mahathir also launched another attack on Najib over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy. “It’s hard to even imagine RM1 billion (S$357 million) ... even RM1 million, some Malays don’t recognise ... this is RM42 billion [of debt]."

“But if we don’t acknowledge the crime that is happening here, there is a high likelihood that we will lose and we will be divided ... And we will suffer the fate of the Malays in Singapore, in southern Thailand and other places,” Dr Mahathir said.

Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister of Malaysia, and even after he stepped down from power, Dr. Mahathir has been known to make strong statements about his views on the Malay community in Singapore. His remarks in the past have drawn heated exchanges of words between Malaysian and Singaporean politicians, including from the late Lee Kuan Yew himself.

In Amos Yee's latest updates about his life in prison on his Facebook, he wrote about being placed in a special "monitored" cell and how 2 other inmates were transferred to his cell because there must always be 3 prisoners to 1 cell.

A post on his Facebook page at 7.06PM yesterday wrote: "Now for some reasons that the police don’t want to reveal, I am put in what is known as a ‘special cell’. And in this ‘special cell’ there is that little ball-like CCTV you usually find in HDBs. The police will be able to observe all the actions and the movements of my cellmates and me, all day long. They’ll be watching you when you’re sleeping, taking a shit, you can’t even masturbate in private (which I still do in the cell by the way)."

Shockingly, Amos's Facebook posts also revealed that his cell mates were unhappy that they had to be transferred to his cell because it was monitored. One of the unhappy cell mates had even threatened to punch him in the face!

"You need at least 3 people living in your cell, at all times. So when I was put into a special cell, 2 people from the normal cells had to come down. They don’t like it because now they aren’t able to exercise or paste pictures on their walls, because the camera above would catch them. My cellmates are extremely angry that they had to be transferred from the normal cell to this special cell because of me, one even threatened to punch me in the face."

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is investigating its 3rd case of "unnatural death" in 5 days. According to eye witnesses, the SPF were called in after passersby alerted them to the floating body of a 64 year-old woman in Jurong Lake.

Jurong Lake is located inside Jurong Lakeside Park, which is surrounded by greenery and condominiums.

On Wednesday and Friday last week, the police attended to similar cases where members of the public had reported finding badly decomposing bodies of elderly citizens.

Early this morning at about 7AM, one of our readers saw a large police cordon along Corporation Road. The center of the scene was a blue tent that presumably covered the body of someone who had died on a grass patch along the road.

"It was nearby block 211, opposite Jurong JC. I saw some slippers and bags at the scene," said the eye witnesses. "I saw blood as well."

According to the police, they received a call at about 5.35AM today asking for police officers to come down to the scene. When they arrived, they found a 44 year-old man lying motionless at the location. He was pronounced dead by paramedics at scene.

Police are investigating the case as "unnnatural death".

Dear ASS, Please help us share this article, we need an explanation from Scoot. Scoot Flight Delayed over 22hours, Scoot stewardess Says we should have taken SQ instead if we want better services!

Related Article
http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/passengers-fume-over-scoot-flig...

Dear ASS and fellow mates that missed the scoot flight earlier on 20th June,

After a long 24hours of waiting at the airport due to “technical difficulties” by Airline scoot, I happen to chance upon the most irresponsible comment made by one of their Air stewardess!

Scoot Air stewardess commented that Singaporeans only know how to complain, she says that the navigation system had problem, YOU COME OPERATE THE PLANE LA.
I’m sorry, what else can we do besides complaining? We all have plans for the day and there we are, sitting aimlessly at the airport. I’m going to Perth solely to attend my daughter’s Concert and now I’ve completely missed it. My schedule it tight, my trip is only 3days, and I squeezed every single minute to make this trip happen. Do you think it is abnormal for me to be unhappy about it?

The flight was delayed 6times, we had false hope for 6times. Won’t anyone be annoyed? And yet you give the most irresponsible comment ever.

“It’s a budget plane leh. Air ticket so cheap already still want compensation? Take SQ plane lor!” – Felicia Camille Toh

Scoot gave reasons like Plane tires were worn out. Felicia Toh, you think budget airline don’t need basic standard? You think cheaper means we’ve to wait longer and expect delays to occur? Navigation problems so is not the airlines fault?
Customers still pay for their flight, we still expect the service that were initially promised to us.

Felicia says cheap so don’t need compensation? If you’re selling $1 bread and customers got food poisoning from your $1 bread, you gonna compensate them 50cents because the price of the bread is already so cheap?

Eg. If you’re working at Pizza Hut, equipment breaks down
Customer: Why is our pizza taking so long?
Felicia: OVEN GOT PROBLEM LEH
Customer: But we waited for An hour already
Felicia: EH you want to eat Cold pizza or you want to wait 1hour? Stop complaining!

This is what you’re implying? How did you get into scoot airline? You have no basic customer service and EQ. Your looks are off too. You must be new in the working force.

Scoot, we demand full explanation from your fellow crewmate. This is the worst post that can come from a Scoot crew after so much disappointment earlier on. Totally irresponsible words!!

Jayden
A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S.

I am disturbed at the news that the young man Muhammad Iskandar Sa'at who shot the police officer at KhooTeckPuat hospital faces the death penalty under Unlawful Discharge of Firearms Section 4(1) of the Arms Offences Act Chapter 14. Just because of his initial motor theft offence and subsequent action, he now got himself the dealth penalty. He's just 23 years old, somebody's kid, he doesn't deserve death for his mistakes. 

Considering that the police officer is alive and and recovering well, I feel incredibly upset for this foolish young man whose life now hang in the balance. I hope this incident can be ruled an accident and he would not have to die for this.  

I hate to think that LIFE is so cheap in this country. Everyone will commit stupid mistakes at least once in their lifetime. We don't know what the suspect is going through at the time and desperation makes people commit mistakes without thinking clearly. Give him a chance. 

To the officer, get well soon. To the suspect, I hope you get a fair sentence. Anyway hope nobody judge both the suspect and victim because we don't know the full story or what went on in the holding room. 

Norah Affendi
A.S.S. Contributor

24-year-old Singaporean man Muhammad Iskandar bin Sa’at was charged in court on Monday under Section 4(1) of the Arms Offences Act. He had allegedly fired a police revolver while trying to escape custody at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. If found guilty, he will mandatory death penalty.

According to the Police:
"The suspect, a 24-year-old Singaporean man, was arrested for motor vehicle theft on 19 June 2015 and under remand for further investigations. On 20 June 2015, the suspect complained of chest pains and was escorted by Police officers to KTPH to seek medical attention. While inside one of the hospital’s examination rooms, which are not accessible to the public, the suspect attempted to escape but was stopped by one of the Police officers. A struggle ensued during which the suspect snatched the Police officer’s revolver. Shots were fired from the 31-year-old officer’s revolver. The subject was subsequently subdued and the situation brought under control. The suspect sustained superficial injuries while the Police officer suffered gunshot wounds to his left thumb and right foot. The officer was subsequently conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He has since undergone surgery and is currently in a stable condition."

Firstly, the mandatory death penalty is obsolete in today's standard of a fair justice system. The Singapore government has already moved in the right direction in 2012 when it removed the mandatory death sentence for drug-related and murder offences.

Furthermore, the mandatory death sentence deprives the judge of using his discretionary powers to exercise compassion should he find extenuating circumstances to pardon the accused of the mandatory death penalty.

However, presently, we still find the draconian mandatory death penalty being used in Singapore as seen in the Arms Offences Act. While we may debate about the intention of Muhammad Iskandar to harm the police officer, it is clear that the death penalty does not and did not deter the individual from committing a crime even though he knows that Singapore has strict laws with regards to the discharge of a firearm.

This is evident again in the kidnapping case of the mother of Sheng Shiong Supermarket boss, who was abducted in Hougang. Similarly, kidnapping is a capital crime but that did not deter Lee Sze Yong or Heng Chen Boon.

If we look at the details of this case, we find more points of doubt. Why was Muhammad Iskandar left alone with just one officer? Leaving a suspect with just one police officer makes it enticing for the suspect as he may think he is powerful enough to overpower one other person. Also, why wasn't Muhammad Iskandar handcuffed behind his back? What are the SOPs when transporting a suspect?

I know we shouldn't rush to judge the hardworking police but these are just questions that the public would think of, and I hope the police would seek to address these concerns in their own investigations.

Going by what we know, it is very likely that Muhammad Iskandar would be sentenced to death for the illegal discharge of firearm, unless the defence is able to prove that it was the cop's finger that was on the trigger (even that may not suffice). While it may be too late to amend the law, let's hope that for the sake of humanity and the rights of the individual, the mandatory death penalty would one day be removed from all laws of Singapore.

Seng Khiang
ASS Contributor

In March last year, a PRC-born Ministry of Education (MOE) Chinese language teacher, Mr. Du Tao, lured a 12 year-old girl to his Punggol flat and sexually penetrated her with his fingers.

For this act, the former Naval Base Primary School teacher was charged in court today, along with 3 additional charges of allegedly trying to kiss and hug the girl, touch her breasts and perform a sex act on her. He was also charged with trying to force the young girl to perform a sex act on him.

According to the Naval Base Primary School website, Du Tao was the Community Involvement Programme representative for the Chinese Language department. He was also tagged in some photos still openly available on the Naval Base Primary School Facebook page.

Du's case has been postponed to 13th July. He says he intends to hire a lawyer and is currently out on $15,000 bail.

He faces up to 10 years in jail, a fine or both for sexually penetrating a minor. For the charge of sexual exploitation of a child, he faces up to 5 years jail, a fine of $10,000 or both.

Dear Admin,

I would like to warn fellow readers to be careful of what they are eating.

I bought some dumplings from Eastern dumplings at Rivervale mall on 20th June. While eating the Dumpling, i bit onto something hard which caused my gums to bleed. Feeling horrified, I immediately spat the food out and I was astonished to find a piece of sharp and rusty razor blade in my food. I can't fathom what will happen if a child has consumed this dumpling. The results may be disastrous.

The boss was informed and instead of feeling apologetic, he made sarcastic comments and even said "you also never swallow it so what's the big deal." No sense of remorse was shown at all. I wonder where his moral ethics have gone to. This will definitely be the last time I'm patronizing their stall. I urge everyone to think twice and be careful making purchases with them.

I have contacted NEA and filed a complaint. I was told that the officers will be looking into this issue. Once again I urge everyone to be careful while eating dumplings or whatnot.

Warmest Regards,
Joshua
A.S.S. Contributor

India's "District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum of South Chennai" has ordered Singapore Airlines to pay 35,000 rupees (S$735) to compensate Indian businessman Mr G.R.K. Reddy, for downgrading his business class seat to economy class without informing him.

According to Indian media, Reddy had flown on an SIA flight from Chennai to Singapore on 19th April 2011 but although Reddy booked a business class seat, he was told at the check-in counter that he had to fly economy class as business was overbooked and he was the last person to make the booking and arrived last for check-in. As part of a good will gesture, SIA offered Reddy a S$600 cash voucher, which is the difference between the business and economy class ticket price, and an S$150 in-flight voucher.

Unhappy that he had been downgraded, Reddy went on to sue SIA for S$41,000 for causing him "mental agony and hardship". The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum of South Chennai ruled in favor of Reddy, stating that the downgrade, without prior notification, had amounted to defiency in service.

“Considering the situation where Reddy was compelled to travel in economy class it is acceptable that he underwent mental agony and hardship,” the forum said.

Singapore Airlines was thus directed to pay 30,000 rupees (S$630) to compensate for mental agony and hardship, and to pay 5,000 rupees (S$105) for the cost of the proceedings within six weeks, or face a 9 per cent interest rate on the compensation amount after.

According to its spokesperson, SIA has made the compensation to Reddy.

According to Global workforce expert ManpowerGroup, the top 5 hardest job positions to fill in Singapore are accounting and finance staff; sales representatives; engineers; secretaries (including receptionists and administrative assistants); and, marketing, public relations and communications specialists.

In their report today, Ms Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup Singapore's country manager, said that 40% of the 234 respondents here to its 2015 Talent Shortage Survey found it very hard to fill these positions. ManpowerGroup says the problem is "widespread restructuring that is sending tremors across sectors, with shocks being added from a tightening labour market".

Worldwide, the hardest jobs to fill are skilled trade positions (especially chefs, bakers, butchers, mechanics and electricians), sales representatives, engineers (mechanical, electrical and civil), technicians and drivers (particularly of heavy vehicles).

Manpower Group conducted the survey with 41,700 hiring managers in 42 countries and territories.

Niya County government, which i located in the Muslim south of China's Xinjiang region, held a beer festival in the run-up to the Holy month of Ramadan, in a move that exiled Xinjiang poliical activists have called an "open provocation to the Islamic faith".

Ramadan is an especially sensitive time in Xinjiang, which has seen an increase in extremist attacks over the past 3 years. Beijing has blamed many of these attacks on Islamic militants.

To make matters worse, PRC state media and Xinjiang government websites have published notices and reminders demanding that Communist Party members, civil servants, students and teachers do not fast or observe Ramadan.

The Niya government website says the "Beer Competition" was attended by over 60 young farmers and herders. There were pictures of women dancing in front of a stage and men downing alcohol in front of cameras.

"This beer competition was varied and entertaining," the government website wrote. It also added that cash rewards of up to 1,000 yuan (S$217) were given to competition winners.

Xinjiang's regional state mouth piece picked up this website article last week. It described the aim of the festival as "to use modern culture to brighten up the village's cultural life, squeeze the space for illegal religious promotion ... and guarantee the village's harmony and stability."

It also quoted one villager as saying: "This activity that's been organised is great, livening up the busy farming seasons and banishing our tiredness. I'm going to drink up, and I'll definitely get a top prize to take home and make my wife happy."

The United Nations Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) released a statement yesterday expressing concern about the sentencing of teenage blogger Amos Yee, who was convicted last month of uploading remarks and images critical of Lee Kuan Yew and Christianity.

According to the OHCHR, the Singapore government should "give special consideration" to Amos' "juvenile status" by releasing Amos Yee instead and dropping all recommendations to sentence Amos to Reformative Training.

Amos is due to be sentenced on 23rd June, Amos has been in remand at Changi Prison since 2nd June for 3 weeks because he had refused probation. According to Amos Yee's lawyers, his physical and psychological status is in decline.

UN's full statement:

United Nations Human Rights Office urges the Singapore Government to consider the best interests of the child in Amos Yee court case

BANGKOK (22 JUNE 2015) - The United Nations Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) is concerned about the conviction of 16 year-old Amos Yee for uploading remarks and images critical of the late Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime-Minister of Singapore. He is due to be sentenced on 23 June 2015. Amos was remanded on 2 June for three weeks after he refused probation and is currently detained in Changi prison where, according to his lawyer, his physical and psychological status is deteriorating.

Amos was convicted on 12 May 2015 on two charges, one of wounding religious feelings under section 298 of the penal code and another for circulating obscene imagery under 292 (1) of the Penal Code. Amos had pleaded not guilty to both offences.

OHCHR understands that at the request of the prosecution, Amos is currently being assessed for his suitability for the Reformative Training Centre for a period of at least 18 months. OHCHR is concerned that the Reformative Training Centre is akin to detention and usually applied to juvenile offenders involved in serious crimes. The District Court of Singapore in a recent case involving a juvenile recognized that the Reformative Training Centre is incarcerative in nature and should be imposed cautiously.

While recognizing the Singapore authorities concern with public morality and social harmony, OHCHR is concerned that the criminal sanctions considered in this case seem disproportionate and inappropriate in terms of the international protections for freedom of expression and opinion.

While Amos himself has refused the option of probation, OHCHR appeals to the Singapore authorities to give special consideration to his juvenile status and ensure his treatment is consistent with the best interests of the child, the principle that lies at the heart of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Singapore is a party.

OHCHR urges the Government to review the conviction of Amos Yee and the prosecutors to drop the demand for sentencing him to the Reformative Training Centre. OHCHR calls for the immediate release of Amos in line with its commitment under the UN Convention on the Rights of Child. OHCHR also hopes that the judiciary will exercise its authority in the protection of human rights including the rights of the child.

ENDS

The Regional Office for South-East Asia in Bangkok represents the High Commissioner for Human Rights within South East Asia. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is the principal human rights official of the United Nations and heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which spearheads the United Nations' human rights efforts .

The local chapter of a non-governmental organisation promoting the use of Internet has lodged a complaint with the Law Society, against lawyers from the legal firm representing the United States film studio Dallas Buyers Club LLC.

The studio is going after people in Singapore who allegedly downloaded the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club illegally, and the first batch of demand letters issued to 77 M1 subscribers by the lawyers from Samuel Seow Law Corporation had used threats of criminal proceedings to advance civil claims, thus breaching the Law Society’s ethical guidelines for legal practitioners, said the Internet Society (Singapore)’s president Harish Pillay, who personally handed the written complaint to the Law Society last week.

The complaint is against Mr Robert Raj Joseph and Mr Lee Heng Eam from Samuel Seow Law Corp’s litigation and dispute resolution practice group. Mr Raj is the director of the group while Mr Lee is an associate. When contacted, Mr Raj said he is on leave and referred this newspaper to the firm’s managing director Samuel Seow.

Mr Seow told TODAY he has no knowledge of the complaint. He added that the demand letters, which were first sent out in April, were issued by Mr Raj, who is leaving the company and has been placed on gardening leave. Mr Raj’s departure is not linked to the handling of the case, Mr Seow said. He added that he and a “new team” took over the case file from Mr Raj just last week.

Mr Seow said his law firm recently sent out a new batch of letters, which were worded differently, to StarHub and Singtel subscribers who allegedly downloaded the movie illegally.

The demand letters issued to the M1 subscribers had asked for a written offer of damages and costs, and Mr Raj said in April the studio had received and accepted “quite a number of” offers of compensation. These letters had spelt out a maximum fine of S$50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years for a conviction under Section 136(3) of the Copyright Act, and a maximum S$20,000 fine and six months’ jail term under Section 136(3A) of the Act.

Mr Pillay, who works in the information technology industry, said the demand letters were worded in the manner of a “big bully”, and the law firm had engaged in a “bad bullying tactic”.

“These words make people panic, especially those who are not legally trained ... They are blaming people of alleged transgression without proof ... Those who are a bit naive will settle,” said Mr Pillay. He noted that some alleged offenders may have made compensations without seeking legal help.

The Law Society’s Practice Directions and Rulings Guide 2013 states that it is improper for a solicitor to “communicate in writing or otherwise a threat of criminal proceedings in order to achieve a stated objective in any circumstance, for example, to compel a witness to attend at the solicitor’s office to give a statement or to sign a written statement despatched to him”.

Contacted by TODAY, the Law Society declined to comment on the complaint. Its spokesperson said the society was bound by the Legal Profession Act to maintain confidentiality of proceedings that are being conducted.

“The Law Society is therefore unable to comment if it has or has not received a complaint against any named lawyer or the status of any complaint received,” said the spokesperson.

Apart from Singapore, Dallas Buyers Club LLC has also started legal action in Australia and the US, where it is going after more than 4,700 and 1,000 Internet users, respectively. It had reportedly identified more than 500 Singapore IP addresses here through which the movie was said to have been downloaded illegally.

The Internet Society (Singapore) said there are alternative ways of encouraging legitimate content distribution. Lawyer Bryan Tan, who is the chapter’s treasurer, said that with the prevalence of the Internet, work will be copied and shared, and the question is how to legitimise such practices. The Creative Commons licensing system, which allows content creators to decide if their work can be modified or shared under commercial or non-commercial grounds, was set up to address this problem, Mr Pillay pointed out. “In this day and age, everything is a remix,” he said.