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Straits Times
2 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
8 Singapore mosques to have 3 sessions for Hari Raya Haji prayers
Eight mosques will offer three prayer sessions, 37 will offer two sessions, and 24 will hold one session on the morning of Hari Raya Haji. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG SINGAPORE – Forty-five mosques will be offering more than one prayer session for congregants on the morning of Hari Raya Aidiladha, which falls on June 7 in Singapore. Out of these mosques, 37 will offer two sessions and eight will have three sessions, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) on May 29. Another 24 mosques will hold one session on the morning of the festival, which is also known as Hari Raya Haji. The only session where booking is required is the first session at Darul Ghufran Mosque in Tampines, which is at 7.20am. Booking will open at 10am on June 3 at A full list of the mosques and details on the sessions they are offering can be found on Muis' website. Additionally, 36 mosque-affiliated qaryahs, or community groups, are slated to offer supplementary spaces to Muslims seeking prayer sessions closer to their homes. There is only one qaryah session that will be at 8.30am. The list of venues for the supplementary spaces can be found on Muis' website. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Woman jailed for offering $50 bribe to ICA officer after being caught with contraband cigarettes
Chinese national Sun Song was sentenced to four weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to offering the bribe. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Woman jailed for offering $50 bribe to ICA officer after being caught with contraband cigarettes SINGAPORE – A Singapore-based foreign student, who was caught with contraband cigarettes at the Woodlands Checkpoint, tried to get off the hook by offering a bribe of least $50 to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. The officer did not take the money that Chinese national Sun Song had offered her, and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was alerted soon after. On May 30, the 29-year-old offender was sentenced to four weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to offering the bribe. She has since paid a composition of $650 for failing to declare the cigarettes which have been disposed of. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei said that Sun had travelled from Malaysia and was at the Woodlands Checkpoint in a private hire vehicle when two ICA officers stopped it for a routine search at around 6.40pm on Nov 23, 2024. Sun was sitting on the rear passenger seat when one of the officers, Sergeant (2) Nurliana Mohamad Sufian spotted a white plastic bag containing cigarettes beside her. Sun did not give a verbal answer when asked if she had anything to declare and the ICA officers told the driver to drive to the side of the road. As he did so, Sun slipped the white plastic bag into the car boot through the passenger seats. Sgt Nurliana asked for the car boot to be opened, and she found that the plastic bag contained 10 packs of cigarettes. The driver denied owning these items when questioned, the court heard. Sgt Nurliana then turned her attention to Sun, who pleaded by saying 'please' and 'help me' in English while running her palms together. DPP Tan said: 'The accused then said 'I give you money', took out not less than $50 in cash from her purse and proffered it to Sgt Nurliana. The accused did this as she was worried about being arrested and wanted Sgt Nurliana to let her off. 'The driver immediately grabbed the accused's arm upon seeing this. Sgt Nurliana also warned the accused that she had a body-worn camera (and) the accused did not persist.' ICA reported the matter to the police at around 7pm that day and the case was later referred to the CPIB, which arrested Sun on Dec 10, 2024. Pleading for leniency, defence lawyer Foo Ho Chew told the court that his client is remorseful, adding: 'While the form gratification offered is of low value, a mere $50 in cash, she now realises the significance and severity of her actions.' Mr Foo also said that Sun had cooperated with the authorities during their investigation into the case. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
995 calls to go to medical triage helpline for non-life-threatening cases from June 1 under trial
The triage helpline, known as NurseFirst, will be manned by trained nurses who will advise callers on their symptoms and guide them to the appropriate treatment option. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG 995 calls to go to medical triage helpline for non-life-threatening cases from June 1 under trial SINGAPORE - From June 1, callers using the emergency 995 hotline for non-life threatening conditions will be transferred to a medical triage helpline under a 6-month trial. The triage helpline, known as NurseFirst, will be manned by trained nurses who will advise callers on their symptoms and guide them to the appropriate treatment option, said the Health and Home Affairs ministries in a joint statement on May 30. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Woodlands Health will pilot the trial, which is aimed at helping the SCDF prioritise timely responses to critical emergencies and public hospital emergency departments to focus resources on patients in need of urgent care. Similar helplines are already in use in countries like Britain, Japan, Denmark and Finland. SCDF has had to grapple with the rapid rise in demand for its emergency medical services over the last few years, the statement said. In 2024, it responded to over 245,000 995 calls, averaging 672 a day - a 57 per cent increase from 2014. The partnership with NurseFirst's helpline will help trim the dispatch of ambulances for non-emergency cases, enabling SCDF and hospital resources to focus on life-threatening cases like cardiac arrest or breathing difficulties, the statement added. NurseFirst helpline, operated by Woodlands Health, launched as a pilot in northern Singapore in 2022, with funding from MOH. From June, its services will be expanded to serve callers islandwide from 8am to 11pm daily. Trained nurses with medical oversight from emergency physicians will assess callers' symptoms and direct them to alternative care options in case of non-life threatening conditions, like a general practitioner. An SCDF officer will share key patient details with the nurse on the helpline before transferring calls. Beyond NurseFirst's operating hours, the usual SCDF protocols will apply, even in non-emergency situations, the statement said. Non-life threatening conditions include headache, diarrhoea, vomiting, and strains and sprains. The public is also encouraged to call the NurseFirst helpline directly at 62626262 when not in a medical emergency, for timely medical advice at no cost. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Straits Times
Jail for man who obtained $900 in bribes from 3 cleaning firm staff when he was an NEA inspector
Ruzdiman Salhan Mohamed Salim also attempted to obtain another $1,800 in bribes from two of the three people. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Jail for man who obtained $900 in bribes from 3 cleaning firm staff when he was an NEA inspector SINGAPORE - A National Environment Agency (NEA) route inspector obtained bribes totalling $900 from three employees of a company in the public cleaning business. Ruzdiman Salhan Mohamed Salim, whose duties included inspecting routes that such companies had cleaned in public places, also attempted to obtain another $1,800 in bribes from two of the three people. He had made the requests for the money as he knew the trio – an operations manager, an operations executive and a cleaning supervisor – would be pressured to give in as he was the inspector for the routes they oversaw. Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Teong said: (The trio) would be concerned about him showing disfavour in his inspections of the routes.' On May 22, the 44-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to 24 weeks' jail and ordered to pay a penalty of $2,420 after he pleaded guilty to five graft charges. Another 10 charges were considered during his sentencing. The Straits Times has reached out to NEA to find out his current employment status with it. DPP Teong said that to ensure public cleanliness, NEA would engage various service providers, like the trio's employer YS Yong Services, to clean public spaces. Route inspectors were tasked to walk the routes at such areas within four hours of a cleaning session to check if the job had been properly done. If there were any issues during such checks, the route inspector would indicate the lapses observed in NEA's internal system, which would in turn churn out a 'defect notice' for the relevant service provider. Depending on the number of lapses indicated, the notice would either set out an advisory or inform the service provider of the number of default points they had been issued. The number of default points would correlate to the number of negative observations indicated by the route inspector, and these points would directly translate into monetary damages for the service provider. A greater number of default points would lead to a larger sum that had to be paid to NEA. Between 2017 and 2022, Ruzdiman was deployed to be the route inspector in the south-west region, and some of the places there were handled by YS Yong. He then got to know the trio, the court heard. On May 21, 2019, he called the operations manager to ask for a loan to settle his divorce fees and to pay for his children's necessities. He initially asked for $1,000 and the woman was taken aback at his request as she knew that she should not loan him the money given his role as an NEA route inspector. The DPP said: '(However) she was concerned that if she simply rejected his request, he would make trouble for her team of operation executives and the cleaning crew by issuing more default points through nitpicking unnecessarily on the cleaning works they performed.' The woman then agreed to loan him a reduced sum of $350 and transferred the amount to him via the PayNow service . Ruzdiman contacted her again through WhatsApp about three months later and asked for a loan of $300, claiming that he needed to pay some bills. She rejected this request, telling him that she had just given birth and did not have spare cash. On Aug 8, 2019, Ruzdiman contacted the male operations executive to ask for a loan of $300, claiming that he was going through divorce proceedings and needed money. The latter's first instinct was to reject the request as they were not close and because they also had a 'sensitive relationship' as Ruzdiman was the inspector of the routes the executive oversaw. However, the executive later gave in and transferred the $300 via PayNow as he did not want Ruzdiman to 'create problems' for him and his team. Ruzdiman later asked for another $50 from the executive, who complied and transferred the amount. In April 2022, Ruzdiman contacted him through WhatsApp, asking for a loan of $1,500. DPP Teong said: '(The executive) told the accused that he did not have that much money left and offered to lend the accused $100 instead. The accused however did not accept this counter-offer .' Separately, on April 17, 2022, Ruzdiman contacted the male cleaning supervisor to ask for a loan of $2,000, claiming that he was going through a divorce and had no money to buy Hari Raya clothes for his children. The supervisor replied that he did not have that much to spare and offered $200 instead. Ruzdiman accepted the offer and later received $200 from the man via PayNow. The DPP said: '(The supervisor had) felt pressured to accede to the accused's request as he was concerned that the accused may make things difficult for him by issuing a higher number of default points during route inspections.' Ruzdiman did not repay the loans he had taken from the trio and he was later charged in court in 2023. His bail was set at $15,000 on May 22 and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on May 29. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
15-05-2025
- Straits Times
3 weeks' jail for man who molested stewardess on SIA flight
Indian national Rajat pleaded guilty to one charge of using criminal force with the intent to outrage modesty. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG SINGAPORE - A 20-year-old man who molested a stewardess while on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight has been sentenced to three weeks' jail. On May 14, Indian national Rajat , who goes by only one name, pleaded guilty to one charge of using criminal force with the intent to outrage modesty. The offence took place on Feb 28 , when Rajat, who was studying at a university in Australia, was flying from Perth to Singapore. The victim was working on the flight which was scheduled to land at Changi Airport at around 11.45am. At 11.20am, the stewardess was cleaning one of the restrooms and bent down to pick up a piece of toilet paper on the floor. 'As she did so, (Rajat) approached her and placed both his hands on her hips, near her buttocks. He then pushed his way into the toilet, causing the victim to enter the toilet as well,' said Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Lau. A female passenger who saw what happened quickly pulled the stewardess out of the restroom and took her to the back of plane to recompose herself and to avoid Rajat. Despite what happened, Rajat requested to speak to her privately, said the prosecutor. He was arrested after the plane landed in Changi Airport. Seeking a jail term of three to six weeks, DPP Lau said the stewardess had suffered some degree of psychological harm, noting that she felt afraid, disgusted and humiliated by what Rajat had done. The DPP highlighted that it was aggravating that the offence was committed on an aircraft, saying: 'Commercial air travel is a high-pressure environment involving close physical proximity, and it is harder to detect undesired physical contact. 'In addition, there is no ready means of escape for the victim (and) no way to obtain law enforcement mid-flight.' In mitigation, defence lawyer Ranjit Singh noted his client's clean record and good conduct at school. Highlighting that the offence was committed some 27 minutes before the flight landed, Mr Singh told the judge: 'A fine should suffice, but if your honour is not with me on that, then I seek a short custodial sentence of one week.' Those convicted of molestation can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
