Singapore Tonight - May 2025 - CNA Singapore Tonight Wed 7 May 2025
48:04 Min
Singapore Tonight
From business to politics, health to technology, we bring you up-to-date with the latest news on Singapore and analyze how these events may affect you tomorrow.
Singapore Tonight
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From business to politics, health to technology, we bring you up-to-date with the latest news on Singapore and analyze how these events may affect you tomorrow.
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24 minutes ago
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Theatre group's CEO awarded S$30,000 in defamation suit against Oxley Bizhub's building management
SINGAPORE: A registered proprietor of a unit in Oxley Bizhub, an industrial building, was awarded S$30,000 (US$23,300) in damages on Wednesday (Jun 11) after he successfully sued its management corporation for defamation. Mr Koh Chong Chiah, 71, the chief executive officer of Arts Theatre of Singapore, a Chinese drama charity organisation, sued the Oxley Bizhub's Management Corporation Strata Title over a letter it sent to all its subsidiary proprietors alleging bullying behaviour by Mr Koh. In his judgment, District Judge Seah Chi-Ling assessed the overall defamation to be "moderately severe" and awarded less than the S$150,000 that Mr Koh sought in general damages. He also rejected Mr Koh's claim for aggravated damages of S$100,000, finding that this was not warranted. Arts Theatre of Singapore occupies a unit in Oxley Bizhub, which has a total of 728 units and is located along Ubi Road 1. Mr Koh was represented by lawyer Clarence Lun from Fervent Chambers, while Oxley Bizhub's management corporation was represented by lawyers Nicholas Leong and Nichol Yeo from Nine Yard Chambers. EVENTS IN THE LEAD-UP TO DEFAMATION SUIT The judge noted that Mr Koh, formerly a senior banker, and the incumbent management council members had been "far from cordial" over the years. Mr Koh and a number of subsidiary proprietors were critical of the way the management council managed Oxley Bizhub and had tried to take the council to task for the way it handled various matters. The dissenting group had also tried to replace council members at annual general meetings, but they failed to get enough votes to get themselves elected into the council. In June 2021, a letter allegedly issued under the management corporation's letterhead was placed into the letterboxes of all the subsidiary proprietors at Oxley Bizhub. The letter was addressed to government agencies, including the Prime Minister's Office, the People's Association, and the Building and Construction Authority. This letter contained libellous statements, including how Mr Koh supposedly bullied and threatened those at Oxley Bizhub, how he "harassed" the council by lodging complaints with public service agencies, and how he was 'using his PBM title' to put pressure on these agencies. PBM refers to the Public Service Medal, which Mr Koh received in 2000 for his service to the arts community in Singapore. The letter also referred to how Mr Koh organised the group, loosely known as "Oxley Task Force", and how he allegedly vandalised Oxley Bizhub's facilities to make the management corporation "look bad". On Jun 10, 2021, an email referring to this letter was sent from the email address of the management corporation to all owners and occupiers of units within Oxley Bizhub. The email requested that the subsidiary proprietors sign a petition to support the letter being sent to the government agencies. Mr Koh argued that five statements within the letter disparaged his standing within Oxley Bizhub and the wider community. In its defence, the management corporation argued that the statements were not defamatory, and that Mr Koh failed to prove that it had sent the letter to the government agencies and the subsidiary proprietors. Although the management corporation put forward the defences of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege at first, it abandoned these arguments towards the close of the case. The case went to trial over six days with as many witnesses giving evidence. The witnesses were Mr Koh himself, two subsidiary proprietors he asked to take the stand - who were also members of the "Oxley Task Force" - a member of the management council, its current chairman and a consultant of the management agent. Judge Seah found four of the five statements defamatory, saying that they suggested malfeasance (dishonest and illegal acts), misconduct, bad character and unethical conduct on Mr Koh's part. He ruled that the letter was sent to all subsidiary proprietors based on the evidence presented, but that Mr Koh had not proven that the letter was sent to the government agencies. It was unclear if enough support had been garnered to send the letter to the government agencies and if it was indeed sent, Judge Seah said, noting a lack of receipt or acknowledgement by the agencies who would have received the letter. DAMAGES Turning to the amount of damages to be awarded, the judge said an aggravating factor in the case was that "the sting of the defamation here casts an adverse imputation on (Mr Koh's) standing as a PBM, a title that is given to persons in recognition of their good character and service to the nation". "The PBM title thus has the effect of elevating Mr Koh's standing in society somewhat. The sting of the defamation also relates to the misuse of Mr Koh's PBM title, suggesting that he has abused the title conferred on him, is of bad character and underserving of the title. "In this regard, I also note that the (management corporation) has made deliberate efforts to emphasise the fact that Mr Koh is a 'PBM' in the impugned letter, by referring to his 'PBM' title in bold throughout the letter," the judge added. However, unlike past cases presented by Mr Koh that involved professionals, office bearers or business persons of high standing, Mr Koh did not fall into the same category in spite of his PBM title, Judge Seah said. He also considered the extent of the publication, noting that even though the letter was sent to all subsidiary proprietors, it did not mean that 728 individuals received the letter, since subsidiary proprietors may own multiple units. He found that there was no malice displayed by the management corporation. The purpose of the letter was to seek the government's help to arrange for a mediation between the management corporation and Mr Koh, he noted. He also said there was evidence of past instances in which Mr Koh wrote to various government or regulatory authorities to complain about issues related to the management council. "The complaints, by their sheer number of occasions, could reasonably be viewed by the MCST as having a harassing and threatening effect," the judge said. In 2019 itself, around 94 emails were exchanged between the two sides. Mr Koh and members of the "Oxley Task Force" on one side, and members of the management council or its management agent – or both – on the other. These were complaints on a range of issues. Judge Seah dismissed the argument for aggravated damages, finding that these were awarded to compensate for added injuries caused to a claimant's feelings by a defendant's conduct. These would include allegations of bad behaviour during mitigation and a repetition of defamatory remarks, which were absent in this case. For the same reason, the judge did not grant Mr Koh's injunction to stop the management corporation from publishing or repeating the libellous statements, because he noted that there had been no republication in the four years since the letter came to Mr Koh's attention.
Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Jetstar Asia to cease operations from July 31: A timeline of the airline's ‘challenged history'
Jetstar Asia ground staff assisting passengers with check-in at the airline's counter in Changi Airport Terminal 4 on June 11. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Jetstar Asia to cease operations from July 31: A timeline of the airline's 'challenged history' SINGAPORE – Singapore-based low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia will cease operations after July 31, citing rising costs and tough competition in the region. Australian flag carrier Qantas, which is Jetstar Asia's parent company, said rising costs and stiff competition in the region had 'fundamentally challenged' the budget airline's ability to offer low fares. Jetstar Asia has been profitable for six out of the 20 years it has been operating, said Jetstar Group chief executive Stephanie Tully. She described the airline as having had 'a challenged history', particularly in the last two years. Here's a look back at Jetstar Asia since it took off in 2004: 2004 Qantas announced the launch of a low-cost carrier based in Singapore in April. The $100 million carrier, later named Jetstar Asia, was Singapore's third budget airline after privately owned Valuair and Singapore Airlines-backed Tiger. The airline was owned by Qantas (49.9 per cent), Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings (19 per cent) as well as Singaporean businessmen Tony Chew (21.1 per cent) and Wong Fong Fui (10 per cent). It started out with seven regional destinations - Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Pattaya in Thailand, Shanghai in China, Surabaya in Indonesia, and Taipei. Jetstar Asia made its maiden flight to Hong Kong in December. 2005 Jetstar Asia and Valuair announced a merger, which doubled their existing fleet size to eight Airbus A320 planes. The carriers came together under a single holding company called Orangestar, while retaining their maiden names. Both had struggled to make money in the face of rising fuel costs and reluctance by regional governments to open up their skies to foreign carriers. 2006 Orangestar sought fresh funding of $36 million, having almost exhausted the $60 million that was pumped in at the time of the merger. It said business had suffered from the lack of viable routes and an aggressive competitive landscape with new entrants. 2009 Temasek sold its stake in Jetstar Asia and Valuair to Qantas and Singaporean businessman Dennis Choo, a travel industry veteran. The ownership revamp centred on Orangestar, which was a specially created entity that owned Jetstar Asia and Valuair. Qantas had owned 45 per cent of the firm, with Temasek having a 33.5 per cent stake alongside minority shareholders. The acquisition of Orangestar shares was done via a new holding company, Newstar Investment Holdings. Under the new ownership structure, Qantas owned 49 per cent of the airlines. Mr Choo held 51 per cent via his wholly-owned Singapore-based firm Westbrook Investments, and his share was believed to be worth about $35 million . 2010 Jetstar picked Singapore over rivals Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City as its home in Asia, in a coup for Changi Airport. The carrier nudged into Singapore's long-haul market, previously dominated by full-service carriers such as Singapore Airlines. The new Singapore-Melbourne route was the first long-haul flight offered by a low-cost carrier out of Singapore. 2011 Increased passenger numbers and a wider regional network sent profits soaring, with earnings increasing from $6.9 million for the previous financial year to $18 million for the 12 months ended June 30, 2011. During this period, Jetstar Asia's capacity grew by 46 per cent as it extended its reach to more cities in the region. 2020 Jetstar Asia grounded all of its 18 A 320s in March , as the aviation sector was hammered by the Covid-19 outbreak. The airline asked its 800 employees to take paid and unpaid leave, on top of cancelling bonuses. In June, Jetstar Asia let go about 180 people - 26 per cent of its employees. Most of its remaining staff would stay furloughed until the end of the year. The carrier also retired five aircraft, reducing the total fleet to 13 A320s. 2022 Jetstar Asia agrees in November to relocate its operations to from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 by March 25, 2023. This came after months of talks between both parties, after the carrier initially rejected Changi Airport's decision to shift its flights to T4. 2023 Jetstar Asia shared plans to hire more than 200 pilots and cabin crew as part of efforts to rebuild capacity post-Covid-19. It also said two more A320 aircraft would join its fleet of seven by the end of 2023. Between 2020 and 2022, the carrier had shed 11 A320s, reducing its fleet size from 18 to seven. 2025 Jetstar Asia announced on June 11 that it would cease operations on July 31 as part of a 'strategic restructure' by its parent company Qantas. Vanessa Paige Chelvan is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes about all things transport and pens the occasional commentary. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
