Jailed for four months for bribing traffic offense

This is a constant reminder to always follow the law in Singapore:

This man accepted a bribe in return for taking the rap for a traffic offence was jailed for four months on Wednesday.



Tan Poh Heng, 29, now unemployed, pleaded guilty to corruptly receiving $1,200 from housing agent Huang Yongjie, 27, to assume criminal liability for the latter's speeding offence along Upper Thomson Road in December 2007.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Christine Liu said Mr Huang was caught speeding by a speed camera along Upper Thomson Road on Dec 4 that year.

He did not know that he had been caught speeding and was overseas when a traffic offence notice was sent to him around mid-December.

He then decided to look for someone to 'take the rap'' as he did not want to have a further six demerit points on top of his current balance of 12 demerit points.

Later that month, he approached his colleague, Ms Doreen Yap Xiao Ping, 24, and said he was willing to pay a 'market rate'' for someone to take the rap for his offence.

After being informed that the going rate was $200 per demerit point, Mr Huang said he was willing to pay $1,200, in addition to the fine of $150.

Ms Yap then recommended her boyfriend, Tan, to Mr Huang.

Mr Huang issued a cheque for $1,350 to Tan, who deposited $1,000 into his account and spent the rest.

Tan went to the Traffic Police department to pay the fine of $150 after claiming to be the driver.

He has surrendered the $1,200 to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

He could have been fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed for up to five years for corruption.

Mr Huang and Ms Yap have not been charged.

via StraitsTimes

Use and Top-Up your ez-link card at McDonalds and Old Chang Kee

By the end of this months, retail outlets like McDonalds and Old Chang Kee, which accept ez-link cards for payment, will also become automatic top-up points.

EZ-Link, which makes the cards that are widely used for payment on the public transport system here, is consolidating its top-up service under a new name EZ-Reload.

Now, people with an auto top-up service linked to their cards will get their cards 'recharged' with cash when the value inside them hits zero, as they pass their cards over readers on buses and at train stations.

Besides retail points, EZ-Link will extend this to cars with the second generation of In-Vehicle Units (the cards are topped up on passing under Electronic Road Pricing gantries). The new IUs are able to read both CashCards, which are used now, as well as the new Cepas-compliant ez-link cards.

There is a 25-cent service charge for each top-up, though EZ-Link's executive director Nicholas Lee hopes to reduce the cost or do away with it in the future, he said at a launch today (Wed).

For now, top-ups are linked to credit cards, though a Giro bank version will be introduced towards the end of August.

The move is seen as a way of giving ez-link an edge in the transport space over its competitor Nets or Network for Electronic Transfers (Singapore).

Nets CashCards are unable to do such automatic top-ups at the moment, although it has plans to introduce a card that can do so this year.

Crime Advisory: Increased Bicycle Theft Around Hougang Area

According to Hougang Neighborhood Police Centre, there has been an increasing bicycle theft reported around Hougang Public Housing Estate. Most of the thefts occurred around common public areas such as void decks and corridors.

Here are some of the preventions measures as advised by the Police:

• Keep your bicycle indoors when not in use. If not possible, secure it to a designated bicycle bay.
• Use durable locks made of 100% steel. "U-Locks" provides better protection compared to a chain or cable lock.
• Lock your bicycle at a well-lit place with high human traffic.

If you witness any crime or theft, report it by calling 999.

 

A Chance to win “Shinjuku Incident” movie passes, premiums and City Chain voucher

8 Days, a subsidiary of MediaCorp Publishing, has these great prizes to give away:

20 Movie goodie bags, each containing a $50 City Chain voucher, a pair of movie passes, and a notepad.

80 notepads. -.-

Try your luck with this question:

Q: Shinjuku Incident opens in theatres here on Apr 2. True/False?
A: True

and SMS to 73388 in the following format:

<8E> <Answer> <NRIC> <Name> <Sex> <Email>
e.g. 8E True 1234567Z Mandy Gibson F mgibson@mail.com

Each SMS costs 20 cents.
Multiple entries are not allowed.
Winners of 8 Days promotions in the past 2 months are not eligible for this contest.

It’s Tax Season Time

Well ladies and gentleman, it's time to file your Income Tax Return before the deadline . You are required to send in your tax return if you have received an IRAS notice regardless of your income.

I have just e-filed my B1 form today. I have been anticipating this since two weeks back when IRAS announced the availability of e-filing. Apparently, our company already transmitted the employees' remuneration details and deductions (e.g. CPF contributions and donations) to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore ("IRAS") electronically. However the data is still in pending queue and will not be viewable from IRAS.

If your is employer is participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme, you can still proceed with individual filing without seeing the income data.

According to IRAS "Employees who proceed to e-file (without seeing their employment income details) have to select "option 2" and to tick the box in Section A. "Tick the box if your employer is  participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income and details are not known in the Income, Deduction and Reliefs Statement".

How to find out if your company is in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme? That question has been anticipated and you can find it here - “List of Employers Filing Employment Income Electronically From the Year of Assessment 2009”.

IRAS is providing a free SMS service to allow you to check whether your tax filing has been received by IRAS. You can do this 2-3 days after your successful filing.

Simply key in “filetax<space>NRIC/FIN Number” and send your SMS to 9116 4900. They will respond to you by SMS.

[e.g. filetax S1234567A]

For those who are filing their ITR for the first, these information may be able to help you understand the process:

• Guide To Completing Form B1
• How To e-file
• Quick Guide For e-filers
• Individual Income Tax

Maids freelancing as sex-for-hire during their free time

I stumbled upon this article from AsiaOne news regarding some maids suspicious activity during their free time like for example during morning after sending their employer's child to kindergarten school.

They are supposedly freelancing as sex-for-hire.

I have heard similar stories regarding "some" Filipina maids doing this kind of stuff during Sundays in Orchard.  This is not to incriminate and degrade our kababayan in the domestic service industry. In fact I am against some of them doing it and this sometime leads to corrupting the perception of other nationalities that all Filipinas are probably the same.

Disclaimer: I have not witnessed anything, I just heard it which might not be true so take it with a grain of salt.

Under the law, a maid is not allowed to perform other work outside the employer's home. Employers can also be penalized if they are aware of their maids' illegal activities and have 'a part in encouraging it', according to lawyer Satwant Singh.

As per the Women's Charter, an employer who takes a cut from a 'freelancing' maid, can be jailed up to five years and fined up to $10,000.

But how will employers know what their maids are up to when they are at work?

Read on the story from an investigative reporter on how his encounter with one maid and share your thoughts on this issue......

--
By Appointment Only

In Bukit Batok, a few maids have given 'extra' work a new meaning.

One of them, Rose (not her real name), an Indonesian, is allegedly selling sexual favours to middle-aged men in the neighborhood.

Rose and her friends charge between $40 and $60 for sex, and would also leave their contact  numbers for men in the estate.

This reporter called Rose for an appointment.

Rose was willing to meet, though I was not recommended by any of her previous clients.

Rose, 40, said in English: 'I don't go to hotels. I'm usually busy (with my other appointments). You must live nearby so that we can do it at your home.'

Then she added: 'Darling, do you have condoms?'

Rose stressed that our date would depend on whether her boss was working that day.

She has worked in Singapore for five years and revealed that her customers were usually older men.

One of her regulars, who paid her well and bought her gifts, had recently relocated overseas.

Rose added: 'If you like my services, you can call me any time. In the future, you don't have to pay me all the time. I just want to make you happy.'

When it was time to proceed to the flat upstairs, my handphone rang, as planned.

The call from a colleague was my excuse to call off our 'liaison'. I told Rose that a family member had called to say he was coming over.

Rose agreed to postpone the session and assured me that she would fulfill her contract and 'not run'.

The next day, I called Rose, revealed my identity and asked her why she was engaging in such activities.

After a few moments of silence, she said: 'After my husband died (in 2000), I was the only one left to support my family. My $350 salary is not enough to send back home.'

She then hung up.

Source: original story here

Weekly OPM NITE @ Gotham Penthouse

If you're looking for a place to wind-up after a week of pure hard work, check out
Gotham Penthouse.

This Bar is located in Clarke Quay with an area 7500 square feet space. The place is beautifully designed with an array of visual delights and an eclectic style of music and entertainment.

If you decide to visit, check out these areas within the bar:

• Shag Room
  Elevated VIP area complemented by lush shag carpet.
• Liquid Loft
  An elevated island bar with a fine view of the dance floor and stage.
• Merlot Lounge
  An extraordinary stimulating chill out area
• Show Floor
  Dance floor and performance area
• The Groom Room
  Zen like bathroom

They have a special event called OPM NITE where they play Pinoy Music every Sunday starting from 8pm onwards

Bands:
"Live band Brown Inc. & guest band artist " MAMBURATS" .

Their recent promo was:
1 4 1 JUGS & 20% Off Bottles + Free Entry!

 

Other Promos: