For using a pestle and a heated ladle to abuse her domestic helper at her Woodlands Drive flat, District Judge Christopher Goh sentenced Suganthi Jayaraman, 34 to a total of 15 months' jail, on top of making her pay $4,900 as compensation to her Myanmar national helper, Ms Naw Mu Den Paw.

Judge Goh described her actions as "deliberate, malicious and also showed a profound lack of basic respect for the domestic maid's welfare and dignity".

He added: "In my view, you seem to treat the victim as a chattel rather than a fellow human being."

The maid Ms Naw was punished for the smallest of mistakes. On 20 September 2013, as Suganthi was unsatisfied with Naw's frying of an Indian snack called vadai, she hit the back of Naw's head and right eyebrow with a metal pestle.

A week late on 28 September 2013, Suganthi was unhappy with the curry Ms Naw cooked and used a heated ladle to burn her back and calf.

The last straw came two days later when the maid failed to wake up early to take her daughter to school and for that Suganthi punched Ms Naw in the left eye, causing heavy bleeding. Despite Naw's pleas for medication, Suganthi told Naw to wear long pants to cover her wounds instead.

No longer able to tolerate the abuse, Naw ran away on 3 October 2013.

Suganthi's lawyer, Mr Louis Joseph, said his client was remorseful and regretted her actions.

After the sentence was read out, both Suganthi and her mother started crying and the wailing elderly woman had to be escorted out by the police.

A horrifying murder plot was uncovered this week (21 Jun) at Blk 747A of Pasir Ris St 71, multi-storey car park. The victim, a Burmese engineer, Ayw Maung Maung Thet, 28 years old, Singapore PR, was suddenly attacked by two assailants at the car park. He put up an all-out struggle and managed to escape from the attack to call the Police.

Upon receiving the report, officers from Bedok Police Division conducted the investigation immediately and managed to establish the identities of the assailants.

The next day at about 1pm, the Police arrested the mastermind, Burmese Aw Min Hlaing. He is a 37-year-old Singapore PR, working in the marine industry. Later at about 9.50 pm, two other Burmese suspects Yae Wynnt Oaung, 32, and Phyo Min Naing, 31, were also arrested by the Police at Aloha Changi.

During the arrest, meat mincer, electric saw, kitchen knives, LPG gas cylinder, gas cooker, cutters, trolley bags, cable ties, meat cleavers, aprons, cutting boards and boots were seized as case exhibits:

One of the accomplices, Win Kyaw Kyaw Aung @ Aung Aung, 29, is said to have left Singapore.

According to the Chinese media report, it is alleged that the mastermind and the victim have both fallen in love with the same woman. Out of jealously or envy, he hatched a heinous plot and enlisted three of his good friends from his home country to help him.

Four of them, all Burmese, are alleged to have plotted to abduct the victim with the intention to murder him and cut-up the dead body before cooking the pieces. They planned to abduct the victim from the car park and bring him to the chalet at Aloha Changi to kill him. They would then dispose the body by dismembering and cooking it at the chalet.

Fortunately, with the swift actions from the Police, a horrendous murder plot reminiscent of the sensational ‘Human flesh Char Siew Bao’ murder case that happened in Macau in 1985, was prevented.

In that horrifying 1985 episode, the accused Wong Chi Hang murdered the owner of Eight Immortals Restaurant in Macau, his eight other family members and an employee. Thereafter, the bodies were cut and made into ‘Char Siew Bao’, a type of Chinese bun with pork fillings marinated in sweet sauce.

Using PR status to vouch for his own character and conduct

It was also reported that the mastermind and one of his accomplices went to a vehicle rental company in Balestier to rent a light weight van for three days. Whilst handing over the keys of the van to them, the owner of the vehicle rental company specifically advised them to be careful in driving and not to do ‘anything silly’ with the van. Arrogantly, the mastermind retorted, “I am a Permanent Resident and I will not do anything silly.”

Indeed, it is mind-boggling to say the least, that such a heinous murder plot devoid of any humanity could be planned and executed in Singapore.

Has our society fallen so sick to incubate such unthinkable inhuman plot?

The most worrying is foreign ‘contract killers’ can seem to be easily hired to come to Singapore to kill someone before heading back home.

Why has Singapore deteriorated into this state?

What do you think?

Former president S R Nathan had talent spotted now disgraced former PAP member and NTUC chief Phey Yew Kok in 1963, the former president told the media, and added that he was "surprised" and disappointed when Phey was charged with criminal breach of trust for misusing union funds.

In December 1979, Phey was charged in court for misusing more than $100,000 in union funds. He fled the country by 31st December 1979. Phey was then chairman of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as well as chief of two omnibus unions: Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation (Silo) and Pioneer Industries Employees' Union (Pieu).

"I just wondered, what prompted him to do it? It surprised me that somebody like him could have committed such an offence," said the 90 year-old Mr Nathan.

Back then, Mr Nathan was director of the NTUC's Labour Research Unit.

He recalled: "The first time I met him, he was a representative of the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines Union. He came with a Eurasian lady who was the head of it. They had some dispute. He was quiet. She did all the talking."

But something about the soft-spoken Phey caught his attention, and Mr Nathan chose to have him seconded to the NTUC as an industrial relations officer (IRO).

"It was just a gut feeling that when he's made up his mind, he can do it," said Mr Nathan, adding that he saw Phey display these leadership qualities and people skills in his time at NTUC.

Phey was part of a new team of Mandarin-speaking IROs tasked with recruiting members from Jurong's new factories, to thwart efforts by pro-communists who were trying to do the same.

He did well, but chose to leave after a year because some in the NTUC viewed him as a competitor, Mr Nathan said.

Later, when the late NTUC co-founder Devan Nair wanted someone to strengthen the NTUC's presence in Jurong industrial estate, Mr Nathan thought of Phey. "The NTUC leadership had many persons of Indian origin. And they couldn't reach them," he said, referring to the workers who were mostly Chinese. "I told Devan that he (Phey) might be the best, because he was in fact, the best."

Mr Nair agreed and Mr Nathan asked Phey to return to the NTUC. Phey agreed and did very well in the labour movement.

"Jurong was difficult. The left wing was really strong and he went in to try and organise workers to join him. He and his band of helpers worked really hard. He got the ground completely on his side," Mr Nathan said.

Under Phey, membership in Silo and Pieu swelled. Silo, for instance, went from 5,300 members in 1970 to 60,000 by 1979.

After Mr Nathan left the NTUC for the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1965, he watched Phey's rise and fall from a distance.

Asked if he had one question for the now 81-year-old Phey, he replied: "Why did you do it?"

Dear Editors,

We order our food frm McDonalds at 3am plus.. cause we have to eat before we fast in islam we call it "sahur" meaning to fill up your stomach before the fasting day start..

We were loitering around outside in a group of about 30 worker and.. around 4am plus came a taxi.. someone cracked a joke.. says that our mac came by taxi.. so we just laugh..

When the taxi stop.. it was really the mac delivery.. so we laugh out loud.. we ask what happened to your bike..

they say.. order too much so they have to travel by cab..

so kuddos to the outlet who make the fast decision for us who want to "sahur" .. even though a bit late but the effort counts..

El Casper

A.S.S. Contributor

Young adults with blood pressure near the high end of the "normal blood pressure" range might need to start watching what they eat, exercise and take medication.

According to a new US study, patients whose blood pressure fall below 140/90 - the benchmark for a diagnosis for hyperextension - still face significant risk of heart failure if their blood pressure is on the high end of 130/80.

The top number, or systolic pressure, measures the force from the heart as it contracts; the bottom diastolic number measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes between contractions. Desired blood pressure is less than 130/80 and a person with a reading that tops 140/90 is considered to have hypertension.

The study of 2,479 young adults over a 25-year period was published this week in the Journal Of The American College Of Cardiology.

"A number of patients in our study had high-normal blood pressure in their 20s and 30s, but by the time they were 45, they had the heart function of a 75-year-old," said the study's principal investigatr Professor Joao Lima of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study suggested that "long-term blood pressure control in early young adulthood may be important to prevent coronary heart disease".

Cardiologists in Singapore were not surprised by the findings, saying that hypertension is a known major risk factor for heart problems.

They said it was expected that damage to the heart increases as blood pressure goes up.

In remarks that are bound to ruffle some feathers in Malaysia, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed said that Malaysians should stop fussing over women's dress codes like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia or risk "sliding backwards".

He said it was a person's right to wear shorts in public, and, "as long as they aren't naked", they should be allowed to enter a government building or hospital.

"In government offices, certainly there is a dress code. But that is an office matter. Public matters are different. We shouldn't be telling others what to do, they aren't Muslim," Dr Mahathir told a press conference after a buka puasa event with Perkasa in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

He says dress codes in government buildings should only apply to its staff, and not visitors, especially those who are not Muslim.‎

"We are now sliding backwards. Soon, not only shorts will be an issue. If a woman leaves a house without a burqa, it will be considered wrong... We are acting like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia. That's their culture. When we try to turn it into our culture, it becomes a problem," He added.

This comes in the wake of a spate of cases where non-Muslims have been told to wear proper attire before government officials would serve them. Earlier this month, a Road Transport Department guard ordered a Malaysian Chinese woman who had gone to the department’s Gombak office to wear a sarong because she wore a skirt which ended above her knees.

On June 16, another woman was told to cover her legs before she was allowed into the Sungai Buloh hospital. She was not given a sarong to wear but wrapped herself in a borrowed towel.

About a week later, two women were barred from entering the Selangor government headquarters in Shah Alam for wearing skirts that ended above their knees.

The RTD and hospital have issued apologies to the women involved in the three incidents.

This evening, however, the umbrella union of the Malaysian civil service, Cuepacs, announced that it was giving special recognition to colleagues who had been enforcing the dress code in government departments.

Cuepacs president Datuk Azih Muda said a certificate of appreciation would be given to the Rela (People's Volunteer Corp) member who told the woman visitor at the Sungai Buloh hospital to cover her legs.

He said a letter of thanks had already been given to the RTD guard at the Gombak office who gave the woman customer a sarong.

Thank you for publishing this.

I have a confession to make, I have live for more than 5 and a half decade here, by birth and by education. I have gone through the days of where our country was still a swamped area. Our kampong days we have had was in a very bad conditions, till late LKY makes the impossible possible.

I have witnessed how Singapore had grew to a beautiful and recognized country, where nobody in this world will asked "Singapore? Where the hell is this place " Today, every one in this world knows where Singapore is.

Late MM LKY was no GOD, he is just a normal person with great foresight. I remembered him as person whom admitted his mistakes, e.g the one child policy and the second language policy. But today, I have not heard a single word from our present leaders the same thing. Every time, when I see FT flooding to our country, taking our jobs, bullying us, I can't help myself by asking, "What will Late MM LKY would have done, to solve this situation?"

But the answer that I gave to myself is always ended with tears. Even while writing this, I am tearing. I missed him badly.

I know some readers may disagree with me or even call me by some names but is okay, this is the way I am feeling. It doesn't matter that I have people who call me names or describe me as a pro-pap.

I am pro only to late MM LKY, but I do have complains about the present ones. The New Generation had make me feel like an orphan (including my children ) deserted by our "parents ".

Anne Phang

The National Solidarity Party (NSP) made an announcement on its Facebook page yesterday to inform supporters about its decision to appoint Hazel Poa Koon Koon as acting Secretary-General of the party. This comes after the resignation of former secretary-general Tan Lam Siong, who left the party to pursue other interests.

According to the party's president, Sebastian Teo, the party was in the midst of preparing for the General Elections and felt it better to delay the election of a new Secretary-General at a later time.

Hazel Poa joined the NSP with her husband, Tony Tan Lay Thiam, in 2011, where they ran for the Choa Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency but lost to the ruling People's Action Party team there. Poa had attended Cambridge University on a Public Service Commission scholarship and completed her degree in Mathematics with first class honours. She met her husband, Tony Tan Lay Thiam, also a government scholar, at Cambridge. As former government scholars, Tan and Poa drew notable media attention during the election campaign.

In June 2011, Poa was elected as the Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party by the majority of the Central Executive Council following the resignation of Goh Meng Seng. She was the first woman to be elected as Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party and the second woman to occupy one of the highest positions in political parties in Singapore after Sylvia Lim of the Workers' Party.

NSP's full announcement:

Announcement from The 16th CEC of National Solidary Party:

In view of the need to focus on preparations for the next GE, the CEC felt this would not be an appropriate time to call for a Party Congress to elect a new Secretary-General (SG). Hence, the CEC has decided to appoint Hazel Poa Koon Koon as acting Secretary-General, to carry out the duties of the SG until such time a Party Congress is called by the CEC.

For and on behalf of the 16th CEC
Sebastian Teo
President
National Solidarity Party

5 companies had their Accredited Training Provider (ATP) status revoked by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday after the ministry found that their training was found to have "compromised the integrity and robustness" of Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) courses. These courses are largely catered to foreign laborers who form the bulk of the country's construction and infrastructure industry.

The firms had failed to conduct courses according to stipulated durations, ensure trainees’ language proficiency for the courses and uphold the integrity of examination procedures, the MOM statement said. MOM had acted on tip offs from members of the public and its own regular audits.

The firms that have been barred for "malpractices" are Work Safe Academy; Propel Consultants; Regent Global Consultants; Bright Training Centre; and Ark HSE Management Solutions. They will no longer be able to teach MOM-accredited courses. Their directors will also not be able to apply for positions as ATP Directors, Principals or Trainers with MOM for 2 years from the date of the ban.

According to the media, many of these companies had vacated their physical offices.

Since 2010, MOM has only cancelled the accreditation status of 11 training providers for similar malpractices.

I just read some things about the Medishield Life a while ago. In news report, they say that Singaporeans or PRs who live overseas are also required to pay Medishield Life premiums!?

I am overseas now, and probably will be residing there for a long term. I will not likely benefit from whatever this Medishield Life thing because I am overseas and I have my own private insurance to cover.

Yet I am being forced to make payment for insurance that will only benefit other people? How can like this one?

What's worse is that I may face jail or be unable to leave Singapore if I fail to make payment for the premiums. Apparently I can be fined $5000 or jailed 1 year or both under the law. And the government who collects the insurance premiums will have the power to automatically deduct the premium from my wages and bank accounts if I refuse to pay. Simi lanjiao!?

This is bloody communism! Forget about the CCP, the PAP is the true version of a blood sucking communist state! At least China doesn't make any pretensions of being a democracy!

Boon Seng

The Covenants Watch group together with many non-governmental organisations from Taiwanese civil society organised a protest outside the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei today (26 Jun).

They were protesting against the continued detention of Amos Yee. Representatives from the various organisations of the Taiwanese civil society have demanded the immediate release of 16-year-old Amos Yee.

During the demonstration, a letter of protest was handed over to the Singapore Trade Office. Mr Sean Bai, Senior Assistant Trade Representative, accepted the letter on behalf of the trade office. In response to media query, Mr Bai said that the matter is currently under the judicial review and declined to make further comments.

In a statement by the Covenants Watch Group, the Taiwanese civil society said that it has specifically chosen this day, 26 June, to act in support of Amos Yee, as it is the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

The group felt that no person should be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments or punishments, especially for Amos Yee who is still a child. It should not have happened to Amos, the group said.

Unfortunately, Amos has been undergoing long period of trial. At the moment, he has been remanded for 2 more weeks at the IMH for further psychiatric assessments (‘Amos Yee to be remanded for 2 more weeks in IMH‘). This came after he was remanded earlier for 3 weeks for the reformative training review. His remand at IMH made worlds news this week (‘Amos Yee case makes world news again‘).

According to his lawyer, Dodwell & Co LLC, Amos was “mentally tortured” as a result of being “imprisoned at a psychiatric ward” while undergoing suitability assessment for reformative training during the 3 weeks. The lawyer added that the boy is suffering from depression and he attempted suicide because of the “inhumane treatment” [Link].

The lawyer revealed that Amos told the prison psychiatrists he had suicidal thoughts on the third day of imprisonment (4 Jun). He was then taken to a mental asylum ward with “one of his hands and legs strapped to bed”. The position is said to cause him great difficulty in urinating and passing motion thus his bed “stank with the smell of urine”. The ward’s light is on for 24/7, which constitutes a kind of mental torture. Amos is also forbidden access to books, unlike other prisoners, the lawyer said.

Singapore is a signatory of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Covenants Watch Group also asked Singapore to abide by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Singapore has ratified on 5 October 1995. In particularly, Article 37(c), which states that:

“Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;”

and Article 40(1) states:

“Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society.”

This International law obliges the government of Singapore to ensure that Amos Yee is adequately protected, in particularly with regard to his safety and health.

The group asked that Amos be released immediately and called upon Taiwanese politicians not to visit Singapore unless there is a change of attitude by the Singapore authority to release Amos Yee, a young political prisoner of conscience.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) issued a statement on 22 Jun, urging the Singapore government to consider the best interests of Amos Yee as a child and releasing him immediately (‘UN agency calls for immediate release of Amos‘).

“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,” the UN agency said. “OHCHR calls for the immediate release of Amos in line with its commitment under the UN Convention on the Rights of Child.”

Indeed, the Amos Yee saga has truly travelled the globe, generating a lot of interests in the international community. With such strong statements made by civil societies in Taiwan, it’s not known how much damage is done to our longstanding cordial bilateral relationship between Singapore and Taiwan.

Will it result in the re-thinking of the military assistance that the Taiwanese authority has been granting us in the provision of military training facilities? In the larger picture, what will be the negative impact to our international standing over the handling of Amos Yee case by the PAP government?

What do you think?

For half a month, I worked at 3 different part time jobs, but had to quit because my employers were trying to cheat me of my rightfully earned CPF contributions.

What I don't understand is why they would want to sour relations with us employees over what they say is "a small sum of money".

Thinking that we would not check our CPF accounts, these employers would try to save by not making any CPF contributions to their employees. When confronted, they would give a sour look and say, "It's only a small sum!", which makes us employees angrier because of their nonchalant attitude towards us.

I suspect that one of my former companies, which hires cleaners, had been trying to find loopholes in the legal system. When I first took a job there, I saw a few local part time cleaners being fired because the company says they do not need so many part time cleaners. Yet the hiring of full time foreign cleaners did not stop.

I was curious, but I could not understand what the company was doing. A short while later, I saw that they started hiring a small number of local part time cleaners again. It was not until I read a recent news report about companies trying to hire local part timers to meet a government quota for locals to foreigner staff that I realized what the company was doing.

I wonder which agency should I report such matters to?

Qiu Huilan

Dear Editors,

I was so ashamed when I see Taiwanese protesting in support of Amos Yee. It breaks my heart that many Singaporeans still holds a grudge against him and wants to see him jailed for exercising his Freedom of Speech.

He, a 16 year old boy has been through more than 40 days of remand in prison. Is this how a First World Singapore treats our children? Even Taiwan has more compassion and democracy than Singapore.

I hope that places with real Democracy like Taiwan where people can protest freely will offer Amos Yee safe passage and grant him citizenship so that he will not have to suffer anymore such ridiculous indignation and persecution in Singapore.

Amos Yee is a talented boy and Singapore is not a place for him. He needs a place where he has the freedom to grow, express himself and stretch himself to the limits. Shame on you Singapore, even Taiwan is a much better place than you are.

Such a shameful day to be Singaporean, where Singaporeans turn their back on their own and Foreigners need to teach us what it means to be human.

William Lim

A.S.S. Contributor

Wow. Happening right now.

More than 700 (and counting) Taiwanese protesting against the Singapore government to release Amos Yee - outside the Singapore Trade office in Taipei. (The Singapore Trade office is the official Singapore Overseas Mission in Taiwan.)

The Taiwanese are protesting for our Singapore child! Will you do it too, Singaporeans?

‪#‎FreeAmosYee‬

Organised by these advocacy groups in Taiwan (Translated via Google Translate, pardon mistakes in translation):

Sun Union Taiwan Labor Front Secretary-General Speakers: Qiu Yi Ling, Taiwan Human Rights Association Secretary-General Wu Yi Cheng Hsinchu, Mackay Memorial Hospital Psychiatry Branch Director, Taiwan Right'll Executive Committee

Wu Zheng Zhe, Taiwan Juvenile Rights and Welfare Promotion Alliance Steering

yellow怡碧supervise the implementation of the Convention on Human Rights Alliance Executive Committee, Chen Mei instrument Taiwan parent-child Education Association Executive Secretary

Supported by these advocacy groups in Taiwan:

Alliance for the purposes of the Convention on Human Rights, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Taiwan Labor Front, Taiwan International Medical Alliance, Taiwan abolition of the death, Criminal promote alliances, Taiwan Juvenile Rights and Benefits, Promote alliances, environmental law associations, Taiwan, Health Human Rights Action, Taiwan Labor and Social affairs, Policy Research Institute, Taiwan guardian of democracy platform, Civil Judicial Reform Foundation, the Taiwan parent-child Education Association, Taiwan Yong Club, with Taiwan, Chi Hotline Association, the National Union of Teachers total Federation (more groups will be announced at press conference, happening now)

Okay so this happened on 16 June .

I am alone shopping, my friend celebrated my advanced birthday with me and left early cause she has something to do.

She gave me a ballon and left so I was alone. Then I went to IMM, wanting to order some cheesy fries from Burger King.

On seeing I had a balloon with me, one of he staff asked if its my birthday and I nodded. She then started singing the birthday song for me!

She asked for my name and wrote short messages on my order ! How sweet! She make my day.

To the Burger King staff with long hair and no specs, thank you!

Yeo Aien

23 Singapore Civil Defence Force officers who had damaged property in their dormitory at the Civil Defence Academy are facing disciplinary action after one of the officers uploaded 2 videos of their misdeeds online late in April. The clips spread quickly through social media, which prompted the SCDF to launch investigations into the officers' misbehavior.

The SCDF told the media today that 9 regular and 14 National Service Full-time (NSF) officers had been involved in the incident on 24th April this year.

The 9 regulars will be liable for punishments ranging from letters of warning to dismissal, while the NSFs will be cahrged with fines, detention or demotion, depending on their level of involvement.

In addition to the 23 officers who face disciplinary action, five other SCDF regular officers with supervisory roles face letters of warning or advice, the SCDF said.

One of the videos, which was uploaded onto Facebook by a user named Han Din on April 27, showed the group in a messy room with toppled bedframes and cupboards.

Cupboards, bedframes, mattresses and other items were also strewn at a corner of the room. One SCDF personnel could be seen pouring liquid from a packet onto the floor, before flinging the packet onto the mess.

Shortly after, another officer, dressed in a black T-shirt and brown shorts, picked up an ironing board and flung it onto the floor. Some were smoking in the dormitory, which is an offence.

"It's the last day, man, look at the dorm. It's a ruckus, it's a ruckus - the dorm is in a ruckus, man," the person filming the dormitory could be heard saying.

See the video here: http://www.facebook.com/1993145654159487/posts/2094192120721506

Wish to share what happene din the MRT from Jurong East towards Marina South PIer this evening around 9PM.

There was an elderly Chinese man who sat down on the reserved seat at JE. A young Indian worker accidentally touched this Chinese guy's arm while sitting down next to him. We all know how people usually rush to enter the train when they switch trains at JE.

When the Indian worker accidentally touched him, the Chinese man started scolding him with all kinds of vulgarities and yelling at him that he is a "Singapore man" and how could that guy push him. He behaved in a totally unacceptable manner, using vulgarities and threatened to bash the Indian worker and that he will send the worker back to India.

All this time the Indian worker was listening to everything and repetitively apologized to the older Chinese man.

Now tell me my fellow Singaporean friends, is this acceptable?

Sarawathi Subramaniam

In a historical ruling on the rights of homosexuals in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry nationwide.

In a tight 5-4 ruling, U.S. justices said that states lack legitimate reason to deprive gay couples of the freedom to marry. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican appointee, had jumped ship and voted with the four Democratic appointees in the majority in favor of gay marriage, thus effectively legalizing gay marriages in the 14 states where they are still banned.

Gay couples “ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law,” Kennedy wrote. “The Constitution grants them that right.”

The ruling is a legal landmark, on par with the 1967 Supreme Court decision that guaranteed interracial couples the right to wed. It punctuates a period of sweeping change in the rights of gays, coming only 11 years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriages.

The Singapore Armed Forces has appointed their first female Brigadier-General (BG), Col. Gan Siow Huang. She was among 7 other Colonels who were given the rank of BG and RADM (One-Star) at the annual SAF promotion ceremony today. She assumes the rank on 1st July.

Col. Gan was among the first four female scholars to receive the SAF merit scholarship in 1993 and is now chief of the Joint Manpower Department. In her capacity, she has been pushing for more women to join the SAF.

Almost 1,500 women hold combat vocations in the SAF, which accounts for less than 10% of the SAF's regular personnel. Only 60 women joined the army per year.

Although their numbers are few, confidence is rising in women's abilities to perform as soldiers, Col. Gan says.

When asked if her appointment would make it easier for women to advance in the SAF, she said "Every individual still has to put in their best. (At the end of the day,) it is still which individual is best for the job."