Singapore Local News, 2013-02-25

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Mendaki SENSE praises Budget 2013 for initiatives on productivity Singapore: A training arm of Malay-Muslim self-help group, Mendaki, has praised Budget 2013 for its focus on rewarding improved productivity, assisting workers and reducing the income gap......     MAS imposes restrictions on private car loans The Monetary Authority of Singapore is imposing restrictions on loans for private cars to safeguard against borrowers defaulting on their repayments...... Fewer students taking Full Literature at 'O' Level The introduction of new subjects and the option to take Combined Humanities have led to a drop in the number of students taking Full Literature at the 'O' Level, said Senior Minister of State for Education Indranee Rajah...... Budget 2013: $200 Medisave top-up, more money for Medifund & ElderCare Fund There will be a S$200 top-up to the CPF Medisave accounts of all Singaporeans aged 45 and above...... Budget 2013: Govt to spend S$1.7b to help households cope with rising cost of living The government is helping households cope with increases in the cost of living by doling out some S$1.7 billion in direct handouts...... Budget 2013: More cash in assistance & higher allowance for pensioners The public assistance scheme, which provides a basic level of financial assistance to those who are unable to work, will be enhanced...... Budget 2013: More progressive tax structure for properties and cars A more progressive tax structure will be introduced for properties and cars to achieve greater social equity without hurting Singapore's competitiveness...... Eradicate mosquito breeding to fight dengue: Balakrishnan The only long term resolution against dengue is a vaccine but until that is ready to be rolled out to the public, the strategy is to keep buying time by eradicating mosquito breeding at its source, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Bala..... Singapore doctor to testify via videolink in gang-rape case NEW DELHI: A Singapore doctor who performed the autopsy on an Indian gang-rape victim testified via videolink on Monday in the trial of five men accused of her murder, a defence lawyer said......

Budget 2013: Higher income cap, bigger payouts for WIS scheme The Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme will now cover workers earning up to S$1,900 a month. This is S$200 more than the previous cap......     Revisit issue of investigation into police brutality after proceedings end: Indranee Issues relating to the investigation of claims of police brutality by former SMRT bus drivers will be dealt with once relevant proceedings are over...... Budget 2013: Govt to spend S$3b on pre-school sector over next 5 years The government will more than double its spending on the pre-school sector over the next five years to more than $3 billion...... Budget 2013: 1-year rebate of 30% in road tax for goods vehicles, buses & taxis The government will do more to help ease the cash flow of companies, with a road tax rebate for commercial vehicles...... Budget 2013: New PIC bonus scheme to encourage companies raise productivity The government will enhance its Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme to encourage more companies to improve productivity...... Budget 2013: Tax rebate of 30% to help companies cope with higher rental costs Companies will get help in coping with higher rental costs, through a special Corporate Income Tax rebate...... Budget 2013: S$3.6b scheme to co-fund wage increases for S'porean workers The government will provide more help to businesses to enable them to pay their employees more, with a new Wage Credit Scheme (WCS)...... TriCom also focuses on improving working conditions for low-wage workers The Tripartite Committee for Low-Wage Workers and Inclusive Growth (TriCom) is not just focused on raising wages...... Two-thirds of families which employ FDWs benefit from concessionary levy rate Close to two-thirds of families who employ foreign domestic workers (FDW) benefit from the concessionary levy rate...... 4 ex-SMRT bus drivers involved in illegal strike sentenced to jail Four former SMRT bus drivers have been jailed for inciting and participating in last November's illegal bus strike...... More than 20,000 Singapore Citizenship applications approved in 2012 20,693 Singapore Citizenship applications were approved last year...... Singapore expects FY2012 Budget surplus of S$3.9b Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam says Singapore's Budget FY2012 is expected to have a surplus exceeding that estimated a year ago...... Former lawyer jailed for criminal breach of trust A former lawyer has been sentenced to six years' jail for unauthorised transfers and misappropriation of monies from his firm's client account amounting to almost S$1.5 million...... Corruption trial of ex-SCDF chief extended by 4 days The corruption trial of former chief of the Singapore Civil Defence Force, Peter Lim, has been extended by four days...... GCE 'A' Level results out on Friday The 2012 Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level Examination results will be released on Friday......