Review age limit for caning sentences

[I've been sitting on this for a whole year. Time to "publish" it.]

Today Voices

Liew Kai Khiun
January 6, 2017

I refer to the report “Ex-teacher, 66, jailed for molesting girl, 7”; Jan 4). It is always saddening to read about child victims of molestation, especially by teachers.

What angers me is that by dint of the culprit’s age, he was spared the caning punishment and given an extra six weeks of jail in lieu.

Besides serving as a deterrence, the purpose of judicial caning in Singapore has evolved since its codification in 1871 into an additional punishment to underscore the enormity of the crimes committed, particularly those involving bodily harm.

A love-hate relationship with the mobile phone

TODAY VOICES

By Thow Chun Meng

A reader says people are so dependent on the mobile phone that he wonders how much people are enslaved by it. 

28 December, 2017

During this time of the year, we get many phone text messages from people wishing us a good year ahead and such. The mobile phone has changed the way that people interact tremendously.

Instead of calling each other for a chit-chat or to catch up, we simply drop a short message.

We are so dependent on this piece of gadget that I sometimes wonder how much we are enslaved by it.

Parents with premature babies need more financial support

[A well-intentioned writer who is not aware of Medishield Life.]


By Ng Chee Kheon

19 December, 2017


Whenever the subject of how to raise Singapore’s total fertility rate is being discussed, the focus is invariably on things like increasing maternity and paternity leave, providing affordable childcare services and education, and enhancing work-life balance.

However, the emotional trauma experienced by parents with pre-mature babies, as well as their financial plight, have not been highlighted enough.

Pre-mature babies need to be warded in an intensive care unit for weeks, if not months. The resulting total medical bills could run into tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Give illegal hawkers a chance to make honest living

[A letter from almost 3 years ago. I sometimes draft blogposts and then feel that they are not good enough, or that I want to write more and I put the post in draft, and never publish them. Sometimes it is because I am trying to be more... critical? nasty? sarcastic? Yeah. One of the above. So here is a "mediocre" post. Not very nasty. Though I do think the letter was not thought through.]

Jan 02, 2015

I SYMPATHISE with the food hawkers who continue to ply their trade despite being fined ("Complaints rising against illegal food hawkers"; Tuesday).

Are there any statistics to show how many people have suffered food poisoning after consuming food from unlicensed hawkers?

If the authorities feel that these hawkers' food is not prepared in accordance with proper hygiene procedures or has not undergone quality control checks, perhaps they could send these hawkers for food hygiene courses or do random quality checks on their food.

[Of course! That is precisely why they should be registered and licensed and... you don't know what you are talking about, do you?]

I propose that the National Environment Agency give such Singaporean hawkers a chance to make an honest living, by giving them a licence to peddle their wares, just like how some seniors are allowed to sell ice cream along Orchard Road and in parks.

I believe some unlicensed hawkers are truly unable to find jobs, for various reasons. It is good that they do not steal or peddle drugs.

[So these were the only two alternatives you can think of? So illegal hawkers other options are to steal or push drugs? I love your perspective. And what you think of the less fortunate.]

I admire their strong determination and perseverance in wanting to make a living on their own, instead of depending on government assistance and handouts.

Instead of playing a cat and mouse game, why not legalise their trade in a way that is acceptable to the public?

Allocating designated spots for them to ply their trade will make routine checks easier.

The smell of fresh and piping hot chestnuts sold by street hawkers reminds me of my childhood days, when my father would buy roasted chestnuts from these hawkers.


[So, only roasted chestnuts? kari-pok? Otah-otah? nasi lemak? kueh-kueh? Or just those that remind you of your childhood?]

They will continue to add colour to our Singapore culture.

Lim Chye Hai

Sarcasm, rudeness and personal attacks on social media

By Teo Kueh Liang

TODAY/VOICES

23 November, 2017

In today’s context, technology has made it instant and convenient for people to get information and news.

Everyone is able to read news online, and readers may express his or her views on any particular issue or topic on social media.

However, on these platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, the common but unhealthy experience for anyone reading or taking part is that when online users do not agree with someone’s opinions, they often resort to personal attacks by using sarcastic comments and vulgarities on the other party.

[That's because your opinion is STUPID! Oh. Was that rude?]

To me, it is not necessary and meaningless to use such an approach in any discussion or debate. It only reflects the person’s character, personality and his or her level of civility.

It seems that people have lost their emotional intelligence (EQ) or even just their intelligence (IQ) in these public spaces.

[No. I suspect they lost their patience with unthinking boors who have an over-inflated sense of the importance and intelligence of their half-baked opinions and who think nothing of inflicting their ignorance and ignorantly-conceived opinions on others and expect others to be unthinkingly grateful for their "pearls" of swine droppings. Oh. Was that rude too?

Did wild boar in Punggol die needlessly?

By Sivarajah Nathan


TODAY/VOICES

25 November, 2017

I refer to the report, “'Rampaging' wild boar in Punggol euthanised after gunshot wound to neck” (23 Nov).

More could have been done to save the wild boar before it was shot by a police officer. Was the animal sufficiently tasered?

As the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said, the boar could have been stressed and became defensive after sustaining injuries from the road accident and then found itself cornered.

I am not sure that the police have the right training to handle wildlife and the right specialists should have been called in instead.

Offer public transport subsidies to help S’pore become car-lite

[I am beginning to suspect a conspiracy. But let's go with the Forum Letter to TODAY first.]

Francis Cheng

March 11, 2017

If Singapore is aiming to be a car-lite nation where Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike, regardless of class, travel on public transport, then subsidies to ensure affordability may be a necessary element (“Khaw signals that transport fares will go up in future, TODAY March 9”).

Subsidies to public transport are common in many countries. A shift towards greater use of public transport can help reduce emissions and congestion. Public transport subsidies are all the more necessary for low-income households and the elderly.

Provide Raw Water for non-drinking purposes.

NORMAN WEE SIN CHUAN
Mar 6 2017

TodayOnline

My letter to Today in full:

Water has not reach crisis level, but the debate on pending price increase has.

As a long-term measure, I think to save precious treated water, another tap should be laid to pipe in direct cheap raw water from Singapore reservoirs and Johor for general purpose like flushing toilet and cleaning premises.

Then the treated water for drinking and cooking can be as expensive as bottled drinking water and no one need to complain as water for drinking and cooking constitute only a very small portion of water used.

As it is expensive treated Singapore water which can be drank direct from tap, is wasted and go down the drain for general purpose.

We know there are rich households that buy bottled water for drinking and cooking and use tap only for other purpose.

Some fear the flouride and other bacteria killing chemicals in the treated water.

A cheaper way instead of having to lay another pipe, is to use existing tap for raw water and bottled water for drinking and cooking.

Who knows the raw water could turn out to be health craze water!

Water a necessity - shouldn't Govt bear cost for it?

[Water tariffs are increasing. Let the complaints begin!

Oh here's one!]

ST Forum

Forum writer Ng Chun Jin has not heard of many countries or cities that would raise water charges by so much.

23 Feb 2017

The Government, by proposing a 30 per cent tax hike, clearly views water as an economic good rather than a basic necessity. This is a disconnect in principle that requires further examination.

The United Nations, on July 28, 2010, acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights.

Don't overburden escalators by walking on them

[I had this in Draft for a few weeks. then this letter in defence of his "right" to use the escalator as an assisted "Stair Master" appeared yesterday. But here's the background - an earlier letter and a researched article.]

Here’s why ST forum letter about not walking on escalators may actually be a logical one

December 21, 2016
TL;DR walking on the escalator is wearing it out, and is also a potential safety hazard. 

Guan Zhen Tan
We are pretty familiar with the onslaught of outrageous forum letters sent to The Straits Times.
However, a forum letter that received some traction on Dec. 21, and subsequently panned, might actually be, for once, quite logical.
In case you haven’t seen it, ST’s letter online is titled, “Don’t overburden escalators by walking on them”.
On hindsight, this sounds like yet another classic case of Singaporeans grumbling to the mainstream press for nothing. 

Stand aside: Walking up and down escalators benefits health, brain age

W SHON LAIRD
TODAY ONLINE

JANUARY 12, 2017

I am writing in response to Mr Timothy Tang’s letter, “Rushing on escalators a bad habit that should be discouraged” (Jan 10), where he mentions that moving quickly on the steps of escalators is stressful to the joints, and should be avoided by those with weak legs. And the practice of keeping left on escalators to clear a path for those who wish to move faster should be reconsidered.

However, my opinion is that walking on escalators is good for you.

I am encouraged to exercise vigorously for a few minutes several times a day, and since I have a desk-bound job, the escalators at MRT stations and malls serve to keep me active to a small degree — exercising my heart, legs and lungs. Surely, this is better than standing still on the moving steps?

[You know what would be even better? Taking the FREAKING STAIRS, YOU LAZY EXCUSE MAKING ASS!]

In Sweden, they turned a staircase [Note: Staircase. Not Escalator. Lazy ass!] into a giant working piano keyboard, so that people can make musical notes while moving up and down, promoting exercise. In Singapore, then, our modern transport network could not possibly be actively encouraging inertia?

My body was tested to the extreme last week on the Holborn, the undergound line in central London. There were four long escalators with a vertical height of 24m to reach street level.

A 2002 study on the London Underground’s escalators found that the standing-only side of an escalator can carry a maximum of 54 people per minute, while the walking side can carry a maximum of 66 people per minute.

A further report found that brain age improves by 0.58 years in individuals who climb at least one extra flight of stairs a day [Again, "stairs" not "escalator", lazy ass!] — perhaps not relevant in my advancing years. To those on the escalators, please keep to the left (or right, if you are in London) as I whizz past — do not stand in the way of (my health’s) progress.


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8b/00/9d/8b009d2e2c472a6a35bdb454849f1a50.jpg

[So if you are going to the gym, do you take the escalator or the stairs in the picture above?

Below, the letter he was replying to.]

Rushing on escalators a bad habit that should be discouraged

TIMOTHY TANG

JANUARY 10, 2017

The practice of keeping left on escalators to clear a path for those who wish to move faster should be reconsidered. Rushing on escalators is a bad habit and should not be encouraged.

Keeping left can cause unnecessary crowding at the entrance of escalators, while standing on both sides can ease the congestion.

Rushing on escalators can also put other commuters at risk if someone falls. It can also cause escalators to wear out more easily from the impact. Why not be more punctual, rather than rush up and down?

Walking down steps is also stressful for the joints, and should be avoided by those with weak legs. Even world-class tennis players suffer from joint pain due to overuse of their joints.

We should take our time and not rush, especially on shopping mall escalators, where we are supposed to relax.