Dear A.S.S. Editor

4 teens were arrested by the police for allegedly committing a series of thefts in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. The teens are aged between 14 to 16 years old, with one of them believed to be a female. A 37 year old man had made a police report on 28 August, indicating that his cash card was missing from his motorcycle, which he had parked at Yishun Avenue 11.

The suspects were identified by the police, and were all arrested on Monday. Initial investigations revealed that they are possibly involved in a series of thefts in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. Two of them are also believed to be linked to a case of snatch theft at Block 240 Yishun Ring Road.

If convicted, they can be jailed one to seven years and will also be liable to caning.

Calvin Oh

A.S.S. Contributor

However you call it, as a matter of fact, Tan Chuan-Jin's appointment as Speaker of Parliament us nothing short of a demotion and a removal from cabinet.

The Speaker of Parliament in the Westminster system has no role in policymaking. His/her role is only to facilitate debate. Unlike the House Speaker in the USA, the Speaker of Parliament has zero powers to check the incumbent. In short, he/she us no different from the elected president - a puppet in place with no control over the currents. At least the president has power to block and relinquish key appointments. But the Speaker's job at best is to only act as policeman and one who runs the risk of falling foul of the establishment if he/she even dares to enforce the law against them in parliament.

At the same time, it also makes sense to demote Tan Chuan-Jin. Love him or hate him let's give credit where its due. His comments about the elderly selling cardboards are at worst comments from a technocratic (albeit insensitive) perspective and nowhere as close to Khaw's butterfly lover, Chan Chun Sing's challenge to the WP to sue the government over the elected presidency, or Goh Chok Tong's "not my brother".

Tan Chuan-Jin is one of the few cabinet ministers who has largely refrained from engaging in Opposition fixing and mud slinging bar an occasion in the Bukit Batok by-election when he jibed at Chee Soon Juan's line (though it was nowhere close to a personal attack) and a Facebook clash with Png Eng Huat over a Second Link incident which can be said to an extent that his hand was twisted into doing so because of the high profile nature of the incident. Other than that, he has stayed out of the entire AHTC saga when other ministers such as Shanmugam and Heng Swee Keat jumped in although it was none of their business. And he refused to engage in the dirty politics of GE 2015 despite facing a strong WP team. He was the minister responsible for strengthening the social safety nets.

On top of that, he was one of the few ministers who refused to defend the government's case on 38 Oxley Road. In short, he is a person in government with the only aim to serve the people, and he believes that, rightly or wrongly, that the best way to do so is to join the PAP. Other then that, he is not one who is there to bow down and worship the cult of Lee or for his own gain. Unlike his successor Desmond Lee who refused to recuse himself from the AHTC case, responded to concerns on the overreach and skewed oversight by the latest amendments to the Town Council Act by making attacks on the WP and giving support to the cult of Lee by supporting the government's position on 38 Oxley Road. That is why his Marine Parade team did pretty well despite coming up against a strong WP team. Let's think about it, if he wasn't on the team, at best the PAP would have scored a high 50 in the contest.

What this means right now is this. Tan Chuan-Jin is no lackey or stooge but at the same time he is the PAP's poster boy. He is one of the biggest cause for the swing back to the PAP in GE 2015 and a plain removal from cabinet would be sure way to incur the public's wrath. So instead why not put him in the charade of an appointment of the Speaker which sounds glamourous on the surface but other then that a paper tiger position that would keep him out of the cabinet? In short, his appointment is nothing short of killing a monkey to scare the forest - subject yourself to the cult of Lee and the Lee Hsien Loong Way and be rewarded with million dollar salaries, glamour and power. If not, be prepared to lose everything, even if you are a PAP member, like the way Tan Cheng Bock is treated by the establishment right now.

Moving forward, Tan Chuan-Jin's appointment must be opposed. Parliament exists as a check on the executive and as a show of that symbolism the Speaker must be someone not aligned with any of the parties, nominated and elected on a secret ballot.

And most importantly it is a message to the incumbent that lackeyism in the government is unacceptable. Cabinet ministers should not be removed at the whim of the PM to be filled with yes-men and women who would carry out every whim of the PM. It has to be a place filled with people whose passion is to serve the people, not the political masters of the day. A no vote to Tan Chuan Jin's speakership would send that message clear.

N Chan
A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Every single day, trains going south from Bishan to Orchard face all kinds of issues. 'Congestion ahead', 'train ahead is still at the next station', and what other stupid reasons. Trains pause for two or three minutes in between stations with jerky brakes.

What is the maintenance team doing? Just check using eye power? Or simply just go through the motion of checking without actually checking.

An independent audit team must step in and audit the maintenance team. Cannot everyday got faults.

Prem Raj

A.S.S. Contributor

A lot of forumners and others in the general public view TCJ's speaker nomination as a demotion. Yes, on the external point, it does look like a demotion. For sure, he will earn substantially less money as a Speaker gets paid $550K while a Minister will get over $1.5 million salary a year. His role in govt is also reduced and some say that he is just a figure head in a parliament with an overwhelming majority of PAP MPs. Even with a low profile Ministry like the Ministry of Social and Family Development, he would still have had more power. Many say he is on the out as a 4th generation leader.

I differ on this point of view, in fact, I view his appointment as Speaker a strategic move by the PAP for the long term. The PAP has plans for TCJ. They had to get him out of MSF because he was a walking time bomb. This moron could not keep his mouth shut and kept shooting himself in the foot. He is one of the most active poster on FB and social media. He could not be reined in, and his handlers are too stupid to keep him out of harm’s way. Some say he was taken out of the high profile and volatile Ministry of Manpower because he could not handle it and is once again being demoted from even this Ministry. Some past examples of his missteps include:

1) Some people collect cardboard not because they need the money, but for exercise. Really? Coming from a Minister of Social Welfare?

2) Accused cancer stricken family of “playing up” their sob story while claiming his Ministry giving them $400 every 3 month is generous. He family subsequently raised $27K on crowdfund, hence making TCJ and his Ministry look like misers.

3) Last Year, it was revealed that Immigration opened up special lanes for TCJ and his grassroot entourage coming back from a Johor durian trip, and bypass passport and security control. He never apologized, and even claimed that oppo MP Png Eng Huat was stirring hate and anger by pointing this out. If the opposite had happened and an oppo MP accused a PAP MP of stirring hate and anger, he would have been sued for libel.

4) A few years ago, he showed his religious nuttism by publishing the entire text of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 on his official Facebook page. There were many people who criticized this as the govt of Singapore is a secular govt and not a religious one. Hence a Minister cannot be seen to favour one religion over any other. If Halimah Yacob were to constantly quote long passages of the Koran on her official Facebook page, do you think she would have been nominated President?

Consider the following. Halimah Yacob is already 63 years old. By the time her impending Presidential term ends, she will be 68 years or older depending on when they call the next PE. By that time, she will almost certainly step down and a new Presidential candidate will be put up. Who better for the PAP to fly the flag then TCJ? He would have been Speaker for 5 years or so. Away from the bright lights and lightning rods of whatever Ministry he is in. As Speaker, he is automatically qualified to run in the PE, and as a 100% Chinese candidate, he will also fulfill the ethnicity requirement. Most important, being parked in the post of Speaker will prevent him from shooting himself in the foot with stupid comments relating to his Ministry and other activities. I think he will most likely be the next President after Halimah.

This post first appeared on a popular local forum.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

The Johor authorities are looking at allegations about a group of Singaporeans who got into an accident and were allegedly told to pay up at a hospital here before they could receive treatment. Johor Health, Environment, Education and Information Committee said that the investigations into the case are already underway.

This comes after victims and netizens taking to social media to vent their anger over the issue, which many believed to have indirectly led to the death of one of the accident victim, for not receiving immediate medical attention. The committee chairman, Datuk Ayub Rahmat has urged the public to allow investigations to proceed "before accusing any parties of anything". It was claimed that upon reaching the hospital, the accident victims were asked to pay RM1,350 (S$429) each before its staff could start giving them treatment.

Attempts made by the local media to obtain a comment from the hospital failed as the telephone operator said that the person in charge was on a break and could not be reached.

Kalvin Ow

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

The authorities have announced that already 27 drivers have been caught for flouting the new regulations governing the private hire car industry. On July 1, laws requiring all private-hire drivers, such as those driving for the Uber and Grab apps, to obtain a Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL) kicked in. Drivers have to attend and pass a 10-hour course.

The LTA confirmed that four drivers were nabbed for operating without the required vocational licence or the concession letter allowing them to pick up fares while they await their licence or vocational course. Another 23 individuals were found obscuring or altering the decals that identify them as private-hire cars or were caught driving without one.

The LTA have given the private hire drivers a grace period of up to one year to pass and obtain the PDVL, provided they sent in their applications by June 30. As of July 31, LTA received 50,600 PDVL applications. Among them, 4,900 applications were made after the June 30 deadline, although LTA did not say whether these applications will be afforded hte one year grace period.

About 42,000 chauffeur-driven private-hire cars have also been affixed with tamper-evident decals - a requirement under the new regulations. For operating a private-hire car without a decal or vocational licence or for making use of taxi stands, first-time offenders can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to three months or both. Repeat offenders may face a fine of up to $2,000, or a jail term of up to six months or both.

57 year-old Mr Alias Ismail was struck from behind by a Malaysian car near Batu Pahat on Sunday evening, which left him in severe pain with 3 broken ribs and a bleeding stomach.

A Singaporean Aetos officer, Mr Hid, said he passed by Mr Alias lying on the ground at about 8.40PM while on his way back to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur. Speaking to other passersby in the crowd that gathered around Mr Alias, he gathered that Mr Alias had been riding on the left of the road when the car hit him.

He recalled that Mr Alias was conscious and tried to speak, but everyone told him to lie down and wait for the ambulance to arrive.

Mr Hid subsequently posted Mr Alias' passport and motorcycle on Facebook to inform his family members of Mr Alias' situation. Mr Alias' nephew caught sight of the post and informed the family.

Mr Alias is the process of being transferred to the National University of Singapore hospital.

This follows another case of a Singaporean who met his demise last week from his injuries after he was hit by another Malaysian car in Johor Bahru. The driver of that hit and run vehicle was arrested by the police and is now out on bail.

<Facebook post by James>

Hi everyone, I appreciate if you could take time to read/share this post.

***My grandfather got into a motorbike accident and I am helping to spread the word in hopes to find witnesses for the accident.***

On 3rd September 2017 (Sunday) at about 1330 hrs, a car with the registration plate of: SJM437L collided into my grandfather’s motorbike (FW5947T) from the rear along Tampines Expressway (TPE) towards Pan Island Expressway (PIE) after Jalan Kayu exit, on the extreme left lane.

Due to the impact, my grandfather fell off his motorbike resulting in serious head injuries and was conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital by the ambulance.

Please contact this number- 97716310 if there's any information. Thank you

<Credits: Reddit>

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/national-...

Ranked 22 in da world if u r lazy to click on da link. Also important to note the difference between the Times and the QS ranking methodology. QS is more heavily weighted on the reputation of the institution amongst academics and employers, whereas Times uses a set of performance indicators including teaching, and institution income earned.

Sauce: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-unive...

Another netizen shared his job interview experience while in the US.

"when i got offered a job in the US the NUS recognition helped immensely: my employer knew it was the 'best' university in asia. He then consulted me the following year when he received a resume from NTU and asked me if it was any good.

Just a personal anecdote"

Malaysian netizen Ting Ting shared online a fine she received from Singapore Customs officials for bringing in just one pack of undeclared Malaysian cigarettes.

She warned fellow Malaysians who enter Singapore on a daily basis to be aware of this strict enforcement and said that taking out 1 stick from the pack does not allow you to escape from Singapore's strict custom laws.

The SDP has been mentioned in the WP's Defence in the suit brought by the Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC). We wish to set the record straight over the statement made by Mr Low Thia Kiang who is also the 2nd Defendant in the proceedings.

Before we do that, however, we would like to clarify that the SDP had approached a WP official as well as the WP's counsel, Tan Rajah & Cheah, to try to resolve the matter but was not successful.

Specifically, the issue involves the statement made in Annex A (Considerations of the 2nd Defendant in respect of past experiences and lessons learnt), paragraph 2 of the Defence which states:

“At that time, the newly elected MPs in the Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central SMCs, Mr Ling How Doong and Mr Cheo Chai Chen from the Singapore Democratic Party (“SDP”), also faced similar challenges when they took over the running of their respective town councils. Based on feedback the 2nd defendant received from the ground, poor town council management was part of the reason why the SDP lost both seats at the next General Elections in 1997.”

The “poor town council management” is, in Mr Low's words, “based on feedback...from the ground”. Such a statement is unsubstantiated, and cannot and does not give a factual indication of reality. One can cite such kind of feedback to make any conclusion one wants. Such inaccuracies detract from the case that he is trying to make.

Contrary to Mr Low's claim, the said town councils were run in a sound manner during the period of SDP's management from 1991 to 1997. Annual reports showed that yearly accumulated budget surpluses were recorded, maintenance and repairs of the estates were duly and efficiently conducted, and financial audits of the accounts did not flag any major problems.

In fact, the Nee Soon Central Town Council had managed the budget well enough to accumulate enough surplus funds for investments as well as to make improvements to the town. The PAP candidate who contested the seat in the 1997 General Election even acknowledged that the SDP-run Town Council had made improvements to the town. Similarly, the Bukit Gombak Town Council had managed the estate prudently and accumulated enough savings to beautify and upgrade the housing estate. It built a clock tower and carillon for residents to enjoy, a town landmark which still stands today.

In light of the above, it is manifestly unfair to say, or give the impression, that the Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central Town Councils were poorly managed.

Already, government-controlled newspapers like Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao have inaccurately reported the matter in the following manner:

"With regards to the hasty takeover of the town council from PAP after the opposition has won it, Low has already anticipated this and pointed out that other opposition MPs face similar issues. The SDP lost the 1997 elections because their management of the town council was poor." (LHZB, 17 August 2017)

As can be seen, the newspaper did not mention that this was only a perception that Mr Low received from the ground (which, as mentioned in preceding paragraphs, is inaccurate in the first place). Such misperception has been transformed, in the two newspapers at least, into undisputed fact. This cannot be left unaddressed.

In addition, Mr Low's statement seems to imply that the takeover of town councils from the PAP is fraught with difficulties which contribute to the poor quality of management by opposition parties.

This is untrue. While there will always issues during the handover process when town councils change management, these problems are not insurmountable. As described above, the Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central Town Councils eventually managed to resolve the issues with the PAP agents during the takeover process and then moved on to run productive and efficient town councils.

In truth, it does not take exceptional talent to run a town council. There is nothing that PAP MPs can do that opposition MPs cannot.

In fact, in A Promise to the Residents: SDP's Town Council Management Plan which we launched in 2015, the SDP spell out specifically how we will run town councils more effectively than the PAP by being transparent, accountable and genuinely consultative with the residents.

Regardless of whether they belong in SMCs or GRCs, our town councils will be managed with fiscal prudence and administrative efficiency.

In fact, the SDP not only welcomes the job of managing housing estates, we also relish the opportunity provided to interact with the residents and form strong community bonds with them. Our goal is to become effective community leaders by earning the trust and confidence of the people.

We also recognise that the primary function of an MP is that of a legislator. To this end, SDP MPs, once elected, will discharge our duties in a responsible manner: Unflinching when it comes to taking the government to task and holding it accountable for its failures, but also working with the ruling party in a constructive manner to better our nation whenever the situation calls for it.

It is only when MPs are responsible legislators, effective administrators and caring community leaders that they can eventually make good ministers to lead the country.

The SDP has thus far refrained from commenting on the WP Town Council's matter even though it has been going on for years. We make this statement now only because we have been implicated in the WP's Defence. We do it only to defend our record of running town councils (and only after approaching the WP away from the public spotlight).

It is important that we clear up any misperception that may have arisen from WP's Defence because one can count on the PAP to use such misperceptions to attack the SDP during elections and scare voters from electing us.

We do not wish to be involved in the suit between the WP and AHTC in any manner, and we intend to stay focused on the important job of speaking up for the people.

That said, we wish the WP well in the suit and all its future endeavours.

<Facebook post by Terry Xu>

So today as I was going across the Woodlands Checkpoint, my passport for the first time in my life, failed to be processed and the immigration officer had to bring me to the office at the sixth floor.

At the office, I spoke with Jason Tan -- the inspector who had sent letters to all those who were present at the 13 July vigil for Prabagaran Srivijayan who was to be executed on the morning of 14 July -- via phone and he asked if I wanted to leave the country.

See video of the event here - https://www.facebook.com/theonlinecitizen/videos/10155744438306383/

I said, "Yes, just for a few hours." He then said sorry and stated that I cannot leave the country because I have yet complete my interview with the police.

So in the letter that was sent two months after the event has taken place, it stated that an investigation is being conducted into an offence of Taking Part in a Public Assembly without a Permit under Section 16(2)(a) of the Public Order Act, Chapter 257A and that I "may be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case".

The letter also states that the officer had invoked the powers bestowed upon him via the virtue of Section 21(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code to compel me to turn up at the station and I read the section in full,

"Power to require attendance of witnesses. 21(1) In conducting an investigation under this Part, a police officer may issue a written order requiring anyone within the limits of Singapore, who appears to be acquainted with any of the facts and circumstances of the case, to attend before him, and that person must attend as required."

http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/…/view.w3p;ident=51c5baf2-0714-4….

Nowhere in the letter did it state that I was not allowed to leave the country and I have already scheduled an interview with the officer at 11am on Thursday.

When the officer was asked what law or regulation am I being prevented from leaving the country, he said that I will only be allowed to leave after I have taken my statement. And he can take my statement today and then I can travel.

It is only after insisting that he explain the reason why I am prevented from leaving even for a few hours, that he revealed I am being investigated for taking part in an illegal public assembly -- An "illegal public assembly" to grieve over an individual who was put to death under the state law, and insisted that he is innocent till the point he was hanged at the gallows. It was also an "illegal public assembly" where the Police officers turned up at the scene and said it was ok to gather so long there is no candles placed.

So I took up the offer and asked him to come over to the immigration checkpoint for my statement to be taken. However, after checking with someone, he requested me to go over to Bedok Police Station to be interviewed when I am at Woodlands Checkpoint.

I then asked if it is certain that I can travel once I have my statement taken, it was then where he said that it will still be up to the Police to decide whether or not I can travel after the statement has been taken.

So the thing is here, even if I am being investigated for an "illegal public assembly" which the Police said it was ok at the time they turned up, what powers does the Police possess to restrict my travel without any specific mention in the law? If travel restriction is being imposed, why is it not indicated anywhere in the letter to me?

If this is not harassment, I don't know what else can be considered as one.

And it is only upon reading that I realised Singapore did not ratify the "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" which guarantees the right of movement. In fact, Singapore is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the number of UN human rights bills ratified, putting the country the same level of Myanmar and worse than China.

A drunk 44 year-old Australian man, Jason Peter Darragh, has been jailed 6 months and 2 weeks for fighting with several police officers in Changi Airport early this year.

Darragh was charged for his altercation with police officers who were trying to perform their duties, hurling expletives at them and trying to resist arrest. He also pleaded guilty of verbally abusing a police officer who brought him to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on 26 April after he was found to be too drunk to take care of himself.

According to court documents, Darragh arrived in Changi Airport from Perth on 19 April. Just after midnight on 20 April, Darragh was already too drunk to find the check-in counter for his flight to Cebu, so he asked a member of public for directions to Terminal 2, who showed him the way.

However, the drunken Caucasian became agitated and hurled vulgarities at the member of public, who walked away. The drunken man reacted by grabbing the kind samaritan's mobile phone and threw it on the floor before walking away.

The victim sought help from police at Terminal 2. Police later spotted Darragh and engaged the raging drunk man, who became aggressive and fought to resist arrest. During the altercation, he punched a police officer in the face while causing a large commotion.

It took 6 officers to subdue Darragh.

“(Darragh) verbally abused and threatened the police officers loudly. He challenged their authority and taunted them by dancing. (Darragh) subjected them to physical violence,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Nim told the court.

<Facebook post by Kirsten Han>

13 July was the night we gathered outside Changi Prison for a candlelight vigil for Prabagaran Srivijayan, a convicted drug trafficker whose execution was imminent. This was not the first time people gathered for a vigil before an imminent execution. We were a small group of about 15 people, including members of Prabagaran’s family. It was important to us to be there with them and to support them through a very difficult time.

We complied with the police's orders when they said we couldn't have candles. When they said they had to confiscate the tea lights and photos of Praba, we complied. We were then told that it would be all right for us to stay, as long as we did not light any more candles. We did not light any more candles.

This vigil has now been deemed an illegal assembly. A group of us were visited by the police last Sunday and served letters summoning us for questioning. Now, we discover that we have been slapped with travel restrictions barring us from leaving Singapore until after we have been questioned. This was not communicated to us by the police officers who came to our homes, nor was it written in the letters we received.

According to the investigating officer, an offence under the Public Order Act is an arrestable offence. However, they have chosen not to arrest us (yet; he naturally couldn't rule out this possibility), but "we have decided you all will not be allowed to leave [the] state." He pointed out that if we had been arrested, we would be allowed bail, and the bail conditions would not allow us to leave the country.

I asked him, "So we've not been arrested, but we are still under the bail conditions?" He said yes.

(He also said that they will "make assessment" after we've given our statements, and confirmed that this means there's a chance we still won't be allowed to leave Singapore even after being questioned.)

Two government statutory boards that most Singaporeans have never heard of will be merging into a single government agency called Enterprise Singapore in the middle of next year.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), which oversees both stat boards International Enterprise (IE) and Spring Singapore, they hope the merger will help local firms grow their businesses and expand overseas.

The new scope of work for the unified stat board will involve working with trade associations, chambers, unions and educational institutions to facilitate enterprise growth and promote trade. It will also have a role in standardization and accreditation. It will work with the Economic Development Board to chart Singapore's future economy and forge close cooperation between local enterprises, start ups and multinational companies.

Spring Singapore, which used to oversee consumer protection in Singapore, will transfer this function to the Competition Commission of Singapore.

Netizens who were asked whether they knew what Spring Singapore and International Enterprise did gave nonchalant answers, with many admitting that they had never heard of the two government bodies before.

Many were even surprised that Spring Singapore was the body in charge of Consumer protection as many had a very dim view of Singapore's consumer protection laws.

"I didn't even know that there was a government agency looking at consumer rights in Singapore! This goes to show just how successful they were in their jobs," wrote one netizen, Joey Goh.

2 Singaporean aunties got into a violent tussle after one auntie allegedly took away the other's seat, which was close to a stage where a getai performance was being held at a temple along Arumugam Road.

The incident took place at 10.15PM on 3 September.

Reporters who arrived on the scene found the auntie who removed the seat with a bloodied face.

One of the witnesses recounted that the fight had started when one auntie had attempted to place the chair back in a stack of chairs for housekeeping as the show was ending soon. This descended into fighting when the spectator insisted that she wanted to continue watching.

“The auntie’s intention to help show organisers clear up the chairs is good, but her attitude towards others was not," said the spectator. “Many of the audiences could have been offended.”

Some selfish individuals who wanted to burn offerings for the Hungry Ghost Festival have resorted to using a supermarket trolley that they illegally brought home.

The aftermath of their actions was captured on a video from where this screenshot is taken from.

The netizen shared that this incident happened along Mugliston Road, just behind Katong Shopping Center.

I am the mother of Baby Yujia and we are raising funds for Yujia to get treatment at Boston Children's Hospital to fix her Esophagus.

Baby Yujia is born with esophageal atresia and multiple anomalies. It is a rare birth defect that unfortunately happens to her. She is not able to eat anything since her birth til now because her esophagus is not connected to her stomach. This requires definite surgery to join them together. It may sound simple but unfortunately it is not as easy as it seemed. She has been staying in hospital pretty much most of her life and recently just discharged but this is not the end of the story.

To help you understand more about her condition and why we need your donation, we have made a video (you can view it below) that self explains our current situation.

To be honest , we never thought we would be able to go for it. As soon as we know about the cost of the hospital bills, we didn't even dare to think about it. Because the fees are just too high for us. But everyday when I suction my baby (I need to suction her every 2-3hours), each time when I see her suffer, I felt I needed to do something. If today her saliva can flow down but cannot eat, I thought I could live with it. But the problem is she cannot even swallow her own saliva, not to mention any water and food. I thought we needed to do something. The determination grows stronger each day and finally I came across a similar case in Australia. I saw that the mummy is raising funds for her daughter to go to Boston Children's hospital and that is what really put me to set my mind on starting this campaign. I need to say that seeing them making so much effort to raise funds for their daughter gave us strength and hope too.

The Surgery medical bills is estimated at SGD 1.75 million. As we are not US citizen, we are not covered by any insurance should we go to Boston Children's Hospital for treatment. We hope to raise enough funds to her our baby girl to get her esophagus fixed and we really hope to see her eat by her mouth soon.

We really appreciate your kindness and hope that you can help us share our story and reach our goal. Your kind donation will help Baby Yujia to finally be able to eat by her mouth.

We just hope that our baby can be free from physical suffering and be happy. She has been through too much for her age. Yujia medical case is rare and complicated and our doctors here had already done their best. In Singapore, there is probably less than 10 known cases in the last 20 years. We searched online and found boston children's hospital and they specialised in treating such conditions. It seemed like our best choice and only way out. However the bills are too huge for us to bear therefore we decided to give it a shot through this fundraising platform and hope for the best.

All I hope is to see my daughter be free from physical suffering. And that's the least and the only thing I wish for. To help her solve the esophagus issue is definitely going to be life changing for her and for us. She cannot be like a normal kid right now , she cannot go out for too long, she cannot eat normally. And this can be treated. I really hope that this day will come when I can bring her out without bringing out the suction machine or worry she will get choke when she is sleeping at night and most importantly eat by mouth like you and I.

We still stand strong and supportive for each other and we will move on as a family. On behalf of her, Thank you all very much.

Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) looks set to be cut by 1% to 2% yearly if the demographic downtrend for its labor force continues unabated.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Singapore will face a similar fate as Japan, which has seen its biggest slump in the workforce in the past 10 years.

The predictions estimate that Singapore will face both pressures from a shrinking workforce and slower progress than its Asian neighbors in attracting labor to its market, which will likely cause it to shrink by 1.7% in the next 10 years through 2026 and by 2.5 percentage points in the next 10 years after that.

That's the worst in a dozen economies according to a report by Louis Kuijs, the Hong Kong head of Asia economics at Oxford.

Immigration restrictions only partially explain why Singapore is experiencing a labor crunch.

Japan can keep its labor supply constant with efforts to bring women back into the workforce and by higher participation among senior citizens, but these effects will be short lived and will run out by 2027. It remains to be seen how Singapore, which already encourages maximum labor participation from both sexes and its senior citizens, can face the challenge.