PM Wong unveils what he calls his 'strongest team' in new government line-up
Singapore has unveiled its new Cabinet line-up for its 15th term of Government, in what Prime Minister Lawrence Wong calls his "strongest team" for the country. He says the core team of his Cabinet will comprise Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and three new coordinating ministers. It is what he describes as a "solid team" behind him when a new term of government begins on May 23. Reuben Ng, Assistant Professor from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, talks about what the changes signal about the overall tone and agenda of PM Wong's government. He also talks about the reasoning behind specific dual ministerial appointments.
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CNA
31 minutes ago
- CNA
South Korea's presidential candidates rally in final campaign stretch
SEOUL: Candidates running in South Korea's snap presidential election stage made a last push for votes on Monday (Jun 2), the eve of a poll triggered by the ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration. South Koreans are desperate to draw a line under six months of political turmoil sparked by Yoon's brief suspension of civilian rule in December, for which he was impeached and removed from office. All major polls put liberal Lee Jae-myung well ahead in the presidential race, with the latest Gallup survey showing 49 per cent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate. Conservative Kim Moon-soo, from the People Power Party (PPP) – Yoon's former party – trailed Lee on 35 per cent. Both candidates have framed the campaign as a fight for the soul of the nation. Lee is set to spend much of his final day of campaigning in his old stomping grounds of Gyeonggi Province – where he previously served as governor and built much of his support base. He will then head to Seoul's Yeouido, where the "revolution of light began", according to his party – a reference to a standoff between lawmakers and soldiers during the ill-fated martial law declaration. "From the place where the revolution of light began, we envision a future for South Korea, one that ends internal strife, overcomes insurrection, and emerges as a leading global economic power," a spokeswoman for Lee's Democratic Party said. He also vowed to mend the social division that deepened in the aftermath of Yoon's martial law, but said his opponent and Yoon's People Power Party must be held accountable, branding them "insurrection sympathisers". "We are at a historic inflection point of whether we go on as a democratic republic or become a country of dictators," Lee told a campaign rally in the battleground capital. Conservative Kim began his final campaign push from the southernmost tip of the country, Jeju Island, before making his way north. He called Lee a "dangerous man" who would abuse the office of president and the parliament controlled by his Democratic Party in an unchecked manner. He will then wrap up in Seoul's hip Gangnam district, where he is set to meet with young voters. Dominating the headlines of the last day of campaigning are allegations that the Democratic Party fabricated an endorsement of Lee by veteran Singapore-based investor Jim Rogers. The Democratic Party said on Friday that Rogers described Lee as "a leader who can open a new chapter of peace, prosperity, and global leadership". But local media quoted him as telling them he had "not endorsed anyone in Korea ever", saying "Mr Lee is making things up". Rogers did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. The conservative candidate also apologised on Monday for Yoon's martial law and pledged to undertake political reform. The two leading candidates were scheduled to wrap up three weeks of official campaigning at midnight in Seoul, with polls set to open at 6am (5am, Singapore time) on Tuesday across the country. The winner, who will be certified on Wednesday, will have just a few short hours before taking office without the usual two-month transition as Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court on Apr 4 for grave violation of his lawful duties. "DARK CAMPAIGN" Despite the controversy, experts say Lee remains the strong favourite to win. "The presidential race has effectively become a contest between Lee Jae-myung and those rallying against him," Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women's University, told AFP. "The most recent polls show that Lee has consistently maintained a lead near or just below the majority threshold," she added. South Korea has entered a so-called "dark campaign period" – meaning the results of public opinion polls are barred from being disclosed although pollsters are still conducting surveys. Over a third of voters have already cast their ballots, taking advantage of two days of early voting last week, according to the National Election Commission.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Jail, caning for man who extorted money from girl after she backed out of 'sugar daddy' arrangement
SINGAPORE: A man who bullied a 16-year-old girl into performing sexual acts and giving him money by falsely claiming he was taking legal action against her was sentenced to jail and caning on Monday (Jun 6). Marc Justine Landrio Chandramohan, 27, had pressured the girl after she backed out of a "sugar daddy" arrangement with him. Chandramohan will serve two years, 11 months and 10 weeks in jail from Friday after he was given a few days to settle his debts. He was also ordered to be given three strokes of the cane. The Singaporean earlier pleaded guilty to seven charges. These consist of communicating with another person for the purpose of obtaining commercial sex, abetting by distributing obscene images and videos, extortion, cheating, making obscene films, and abetting another person to perform a computer function without authority. Another nine charges, mostly related to making obscene films, were taken into consideration by Principal District Judge Victor Yeo Khee Eng for sentencing. Apart from the victim of the extortion, two other victims were filmed by Chandramohan during sex acts. All three victims cannot be named to protect their identities. Echoing what the prosecution had said in Chandramohan's earlier hearing where he pleaded guilty, Judge Yeo said in his sentencing remarks that the accused had preyed on a young and naive victim. He noted how Chandramohan had persisted with his "premeditated and predatory behaviour" to message and pressure the victim for sexual favours and money even though she owed him "absolutely nothing". Judge Yeo said the court could not ignore the adverse impact Chandramohan's acts had on the victim, who said her relationship with her family was affected by the incident. She said she felt her body was "dirty" and became sensitive to physical touch. The victim also worried about bumping into Chandramohan outside and would panic when she sees someone who resembles him. The District Judge said that the predominant sentencing consideration in this case was deterrence, both for Chandramohan and other like-minded potential offenders. Touching on Chandramohan's mitigation, Judge Yeo said he accepted that the accused regretted his offences and is prepared to accept responsibility and face punishment. THE OFFENCES The court previously heard that Chandramohan began chatting with the victim via the Instagram app in July 2021. He suggested paying her S$900 (US$700) in exchange for sexual favours in a "sugar daddy" arrangement. The victim initially agreed and sent Chandramohan four photos of herself in varying states of undress, with her face captured. She also sent a video of herself removing her school uniform, at Chandramohan's instruction. Chandramohan sent the victim S$100 on Jul 24, 2021. However, in the early hours of the next morning, the victim regretted the agreement. She told Chandramohan via text that she did not want to continue with it, deleted her chat with him and blocked him. But he began badgering her about the S$100 he gave her, creating new Instagram accounts to speak to her repeatedly, then threatened legal action against her. He insisted on sexual favours and said he would not stop pursuing legal action against her, even after the victim managed to ask a friend to transfer Chandramohan the S$100. Believing this to be true, the victim gave in and performed a sexual act in early 2022. Chandramohan agreed to withdraw his purported lawsuit against her. But he later pretended that legal proceedings were still ongoing and asked her for S$1,350 - allegedly half the sum of the legal fee - to pay his lawyer. He suggested again that the two return to their initial sexual arrangement. Eventually, the victim consulted her friends, who told her that Chandramohan was likely lying. She then lodged a police report. Separately, in 2023, Chandramohan applied for a Standard Chartered bank account at the behest of a friend, who asked him if he wanted to make fast cash by relinquishing control of his account. He provided his friend details relating to that bank account and received S$330 in exchange. A total of S$304,817.76 flowed through this bank account. Chandramohan was also sentenced over these offences and will have to pay a fine of S$330 in addition to his jail term. Extortion carries a jail term of between two and seven years with caning.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
NewJeans responds to latest court ruling on independent activities
The legal representatives of K-pop girl group NewJeans have responded to a recent court ruling which stipulated that each of the group's five members would have to pay 1 billion won (US$726,800) every time they engage in activities without the approval of South Korean music label Ador. After unilaterally ending their contracts in November 2024, citing workplace harassment and other issues, NewJeans carried out numerous independent activities, including opening a separate Instagram page, providing free food to protestors in South Korea last December, rebranding to NJZ and performing at the pop culture festival ComplexCon Hong Kong in March this year. In January this year, Ador filed an injunction to halt NewJeans' independent activities, which the Seoul Central District Court granted on Mar 21 – days before the group's ComplexCon Hong Kong performance. After their ComplexCon performance, NewJeans declared that the group will go on a hiatus to respect the court's ruling. NewJeans is currently appealing against the injunction. View this post on Instagram A post shared by COMPLEX 中文 (@complexchinese) On May 30, the Seoul Central District Court announced that it had accepted Ador's application for an indirect compulsory enforcement – a type of penalty imposed for not complying with a court order – against NewJeans. As such, the court declared that each NewJeans member will have to pay 1 billion won for every unauthorised activity performed from May 30 onwards. In response, NewJeans' legal team said the recent court ruling is "not related to the ongoing appeal of the original injunction decision". 'Today's indirect compulsory enforcement decision is only temporary until a ruling is made on the injunction appeal,' wrote the team. 'If the NewJeans members win the appeal, both the injunction and the indirect compulsory enforcement decision will become null and void. In practice, when an injunction is granted, a corresponding indirect compulsory enforcement order is typically issued as well.'
