60,000 meals distributed to migrant workers to celebrate Labour Day and SG60
(From left) Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan, and volunteers distributing meals to migrant workers in Serangoon Road. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
SINGAPORE – More than 60 Indian restaurants came together on May 18 to give out 60,000 meals to migrant workers across the island, in recognition of their contributions to Singapore's development, as part of SG60 and Labour Day celebrations.
Organised by the Indian Restaurants Association with support from the Ministry of Manpower, the initiative was Singapore's largest single-day food distribution drive for migrant workers, the ministry said.
Vegetarian, non-vegetarian and oriental cuisine packets of food were distributed at Birch Road in Little India, 28 dormitories, five recreation centres and several places of worship.
More than 160 volunteers from Millenia Institute and Peirce Secondary School, government agencies and community partners helped with the distribution.
Some 15,000 meals were given out at the Birch Road distribution centre, which was set up as a vibrant community space with interactive activity stations and cultural performances.
Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, who was the guest of honour at this venue, joined the migrant workers and volunteers for a meal at about 7pm.
Speaking at the event, Dr Tan acknowledged the efforts of the 60 restaurants involved in the initiative, which the organisers had been planning since February.
'From as early as 4am this morning, our dedicated restaurant partners started their food preparation and have been serving fresh meals for our migrant friends throughout the day.
'It is a tall order – but one that has been delivered with a generous helping of heart and a dash of delicious purpose.'
He added: 'Labour Day is a day to honour the spirit of hard work, commitment, and perseverance shown by workers across different sectors in Singapore. As we celebrate SG60 this year, it is fitting that we also remember the sacrifices and contributions of our migrant friends in the Singapore success story.
'Your contributions to building our homes, maintaining our infrastructure and keeping our city running smoothly have been invaluable. This celebration is our small way of saying 'thank you'.'
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She also gets over $52,000 as her share of the other assets. Justice Choo also agreed with the district judge's decision not to award the woman a larger sum of spousal maintenance. The district judge had said the woman is working and can support herself, and she received a fair share of the marital assets. Besides, the amount she has to contribute to their child's maintenance - $327 a month - is not high. But the district judge had also noted that the woman is a foreigner who moved to Singapore for marriage and lacked family support here, and hence chose to preserve her right to nominal maintenance of $1 a month for a transitional period of four years. The woman's lawyer, Mr Russell Thio of Emerald Law, had argued that the district judge did not adequately consider her need for accommodation in awarding her just $1 in maintenance a month. 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Straits Times
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The $1 is a symbolic sum which preserves her right to apply for monetary support from her ex-husband in the future, lawyers told ST. PHOTO: ST FILE Woman gets $1 a month in maintenance, after judge dismisses her appeal for spousal support Singapore - A High Court judge dismissed a woman's appeal for spousal maintenance of $2,500 a month, but also reduced her former husband's share of marital assets by 10 per cent, given his multiple attempts to undermine the marriage and the woman's welfare. The 39-year-old woman, an administrative assistant who takes home $2,340 a month, will continue to get a nominal maintenance of $1 a month, which was earlier awarded by a district judge. The $1 is a symbolic sum which preserves her right to apply for monetary support from her former husband in the future, lawyers told The Straits Times. The woman, who filed for divorce in 2023, was married to a 46-year-old regular serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces whose net salary is $5,212 a month. 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The woman's lawyer, Mr Russell Thio of Emerald Law, had argued that the district judge did not adequately consider her need for accommodation in awarding her just $1 in maintenance a month. This is especially since the woman – a former Indian national and Singapore permanent resident – cannot buy an HDB flat on her own, among other factors. But Justice Choo said the wife had not shown that her pay was insufficient to meet her monthly expenses, including housing, or that she has exhausted all means to find accommodation. The man was represented by Mr Sarbrinder Singh Naranjan Singh and Mr Nicholas Say of Sanders Law. In his judgment, Justice Choo said he saw no 'practical distinction' between an order for no maintenance and an order for nominal maintenance of $1. He said: 'However, as the Court of Appeal has held otherwise, I will leave the $1 order intact. It is a sum as inconsequential in substance as it is in appearance.' He was referring to another case where the Court of Appeal, which is the apex court, ruled that unless there is a maintenance order made during the divorce – such as a nominal $1 order – the spouse cannot seek maintenance in the future. Ms Angelina Hing, managing director of Integro Law Chambers, said the $1 nominal maintenance thus preserves the former spouse's right to apply for a more significant sum of maintenance if there are material changes in her financial situation or needs. In his judgment, Justice Choo was of the view that an order for no maintenance is still a 'subsisting order for maintenance' under Section 118 of the Women's Charter, meaning the order is currently in effect. And this should not prevent a former spouse from applying for maintenance in the future. He also said that under Section 113 of the Women's Charter, the court can order a man to pay maintenance to his former wife even after the divorce judgment has been granted. Ms June Lim, managing director of Eden Law Corporation, said: 'His judgment signals that this area of law might benefit from further consideration, clarification from the higher courts or through legislative reform, but until that happens, the precedent remains binding.' Judge reduces man's share of marital assets to signal disapproval of conduct Lawyers interviewed noted that Justice Choo reduced the man's share of the marital assets by 10 per cent to signal the court's disapproval of his conduct. The man received 75 per cent of the flat and 59 per cent of the other assets, with the rest going to the woman. Among other things he did, the man repeatedly denied the wife access to their daughter and he was penalised for contempt of court for having breached court orders. Such penalties involve a fine or a jail term, or both, though his penalty was not stated in the judgment. He also petitioned the HDB to acquire the flat because of his financial difficulties, and tried to send the woman back to India. He refused to let the woman add her name to the title deed of their matrimonial flat or let her repay the housing loan, which led to the forfeiture of the flat due to substantial arrears. At one point, she settled the outstanding arrears and maintained subsequent payments. Justice Choo said the HDB refunded all her payments, as she was not entitled to make such payments without her former husband's consent as the flat's sole owner. The woman was eventually evicted from the flat by the HDB and police officers. The man's actions deprived the woman of a larger sum that an open market sale of the flat would have yielded, Justice Choo said. Ms Edith Chen, a lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences and a consultant with Tan Rajah and Cheah, said marriage should be an equal cooperative partnership of efforts for the mutual benefit of both spouses. She added: 'If one spouse's conduct does not contribute to the partnership, but instead has a negative impact on the partnership, the court may take such negative impact into consideration and may reduce that spouse's share of the assets.' Ms Chen said that if a flat is considered a matrimonial asset under the Women's Charter, it is liable to be divided between the couple. This is even if one spouse fully financed the property, or the flat is under one spouse's name only. Theresa Tan is senior social affairs correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers issues that affect families, youth and vulnerable groups. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
