Singapore Local News, 2012-03-07

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Stronger action against domestic violence: AWARE Women's rights group, AWARE, has called for stronger action to put the brakes on domestic violence in Singapore. AWARE, which stands for Association of Women for Action and Research, said domestic violence is becoming an area of........     COE premiums closed mostly lower Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums closed mostly lower at the end of bidding today. The COE price for small cars was down by S$458 at S$56,551, compared with S$57,009 in the previous exercise. That of big cars........ MediShield premiums could rise, Health Minister says Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said MediShield premiums are due for an increase soon. Mr Gan, speaking in Parliament at the Committee of Supply debates today, said the premiums "need to be adequate to sustain MediShield members'........ Singapore, a tobacco-free nation? Maybe one day The Republic is rolling out further efforts to lower the smoking rate here, with a vision of "eliminating tobacco from Singapore one day". Speaking today in Parliament at the Committee of Supply debates, Minister of State for Health........ Health Ministry stepping up the war on trans fat Minister of State for Health Amy Khor has said it's time the authorities in Singapore got tougher on trans fat in food. Noting that three in ten adults here exceed the World Health Organisation's daily limit of trans fat intake -........ Accountant fined S$270,983 for helping company evade tax A certified public accountant (CPA) has paid a heavy penalty for helping a company evade tax. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) said today that Ong Boon Lee, who owns Benedict & Associates, has to pay a total of........ AWARE launches campaign as part of IWD celebrations Women's rights group Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) has launched Facebook campaign, I AM AWARE, as part of International Women's Day (IWD) celebrations this year. AWARE said today that the initiative aims to........ Piracy remains key concern in Asia despite progress: Lui Singapore's Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said piracy remains a concern even though there has been progress in the fight against the threat. Mr Lui said recent events suggest an upswing in piracy incidents in Asia, but said on the........ Teen maid jailed for strangling elderly employer to death A teenage Indonesian has been sentenced to 10 years' jail for strangling her elderly employer. Vitria Depsi Wahyuni, 19, could have been put behind bars for 20 years or given life imprisonment. She pleaded guilty in........

Mercer received S$860,000 for work with Ministerial salaries review committee: DPM Teo The Government paid S$860,000 to human resource company Mercer for its work with the Ministerial Salaries Review Committee, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in a written answer to Parliament yesterday. This was in response to a........     Pair charged in Internet love scam further remanded The young couple charged in court last week for extorting S$6,000 from a 22-year-old man will be remanded for another week...... Police bust illegal gambling den Police have busted an illegal gambling den operating under the guise of a commercial unit...... More bicycle parking racks at MRT stations Those who cycle to MRT stations will be getting more bicycle parking space soon...... MOH invests S$32m to support ILTC sector To ensure there is adequate manpower to care for an ageing population, the Ministry of Health is investing S$32 million this year to support the intermediate and long-term care (ILTC) sector in staffing and salary enhancements...... Steering committee set up to chart Changi Airport's future development Changi Airport's overall capacity will be raised by 16 per cent within this decade - from the present 73 million to 85 million passengers per year...... New carbon emissions scheme for vehicles From July next year, those registering new cars with higher carbon emissions will pay between S$5,000 and S$20,000 more...... AWARE calls for stronger action against domestic violence Women's rights group, AWARE, has called for stronger action to put the brakes on domestic violence in Singapore...... New rules to minimise misuse of taxi "on-call" signs The Land Transport Authority is imposing tighter licence requirements on operators to improve taxi services...... No public transport fare adjustments this year There will be no public transport fare adjustments this year, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew...... Building a "health-promoting ecosystem" Forty more Healthier Coffee Shops and Hawker Centres will be set up in different parts of Singapore next year...... Bus financing framework to be refined The bus financing framework will be refined, to help achieve greater level of parity with the rail financing framework...... Commuters less satisfied with public transport, says survey Commuters are more dissatisfied with the public transport network, compared to before...... Better MediShield coverage, more subsidies for elderly & sandwiched class A key focus of the new Healthcare 2020 Masterplan is to make healthcare affordable for all Singaporeans...... Public transport operators to deliver higher service levels With the government set to inject 550 new buses into the system, public transport operators will be expected to deliver higher service levels - beyond what current standards require...... Man jailed for infecting another man with HIV A 53-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months' jail for infecting another man with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)...... Inter-ministerial workgroup to look into flexi-travel/work arrangements More initiatives to better distribute travel demand and encourage off-peak travel during peak hours could be rolled out...... Better train services coming your way Train commuters can look forward to shorter waiting times and less crowding on MRT trains...... 2011 Presidential Election ballot papers to be destroyed All sealed boxes containing ballot papers and other documents used in the Presidential Election on 27 August 2011 will be destroyed on 10 March...... COE prices fall in all categories but one Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums for vehicles ended lower for all categories except for the big cars on Wednesday...... MBS to host two international boxing matches in May Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will showcase two international fights in May this year...... Health Ministry plans to limit amount of trans fat used The Health Ministry plans to limit trans fat in food and in fats and oils sold at the retail outlets, as announced in Parliament on Wednesday...... S'pore environment awards open to firms in Southeast Asia The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) is casting its net to a wider pool, by opening its annual awards to other countries in Southeast Asia...... Health Ministry to improve access to care for mental health patients One area which the Health Ministry will be focusing on over the next few years is in the area of developing a new community-based mental health plan to complement the hospital-based services...... Affordable health care for all: Gan Kim Yong The Health Ministry is looking to make sure that health care remains affordable for all...... MediShield premiums to increase soon: health minister Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said MediShield premiums are due for an increase soon...... TravelRave promises more insightful content Asia's mega travel and tourism festival, TravelRave, is set to return to Singapore in October with renewed vigour and more insightful content for delegates...... New Pitch to SHINE grant to fund youth causes Organisations with innovative plans to promote worthy youth causes can turn to a new grant, Pitch to SHINE, for funds...... Republic poly launches Problem-based Learning Institute Republic Polytechnic launched an institute to support growing interest in problem-based learning (PBL) or "learning by doing" in the Asia-Pacific...... Accountant pays S$270,983 for helping company evade tax A certified public accountant (CPA) has paid a heavy penalty for helping a company evade tax...... Teen maid jailed for strangling elderly employer to death A teenage Indonesian has been sentenced to 10 years' jail for strangling her elderly employer...... AWARE launches campaign as part of IWD celebrations Women's rights group Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) has launched Facebook campaign, I AM AWARE, as part of International Women's Day (IWD) celebrations this year...... Police looking for 2 men to help with loanshark investigations Police are looking for two men to assist with investigations into two separate cases of loanshark harassment...... Piracy remains key concern in Asia despite progress: Lui Singapore's Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said piracy remains a concern even though there has been progress in the fight against the threat......