The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
Saturday, Feb 08, 2014

INDONESIA - Officials at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, say they detected several Singapore Air Force fighter jets trespassing in Indonesian airspace.

The airport's flight safety head, Indah Irwansyah, said several unidentified aircraft were tracked flying over Batam.

According to the report, the aircraft had come from Singapore and had flown through Sekupang district airspace toward Nipah Island.

"According to intelligence from the Indonesian Air Force and Indonesian Navy, the aircraft could be of the F-16 or F-4 type. We suspect they are from the Singaporean military," Indah said on Saturday.

Nipah Island has long been on Singapore's radar as it lies on the border between Batam and Singapore.

Indah said foreign militaries should notify the authorities of such flight activities, notification of which would then be given to local airport officials who would in turn inform commercial carriers.

"We weren't notified and there was no official statement published in advance," said Indah.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, who at the time was in Batam, was made aware of the incident but refused to comment.

Reuters

Saturday, Feb 08, 2014


LONDON - Britain's stock market is set to enjoy 10-15 years of growth as an economic recovery builds, according to one of London's most closely-watched money managers who built a reputation for outperformance over a decade of market crashes and volatility.

Old Mutual Global Investors' Richard Buxton said progress this year was likely to be choppy, however, due in part to instability in emerging markets, where many major British firms derive a large proportion of their revenues.

"I'm not anticipating this is a year where it's a slam-dunk and you're going to make 15-20 percent," he told Reuters in an interview, several months after defecting from rival Schroders.

Buxton is one of a handful of money men dubbed "stars" for their ability to consistently outshine peers and who become brands in their own right, attracting billions to their funds.

Buxton left Schroders in June after more than a decade managing the 3.5 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) UK Alpha Plus fund.

Much of the money he ran there has since followed him to Old Mutual where his fund has grown from 160 million pounds just before he arrived, to around 1.1 billion pounds.

"I've been really humbled and pleased by how many clients have followed and we'll do our utmost to justify their faith,"he said, pointing to a track record of beating the stock market index by an average of 4.4 percent every year.

Investors who followed him will find little changed in his investment style, characterised by focusing on a relatively small number of individual companies with, in his view, strong management and good prospects. Buxton said he had made several changes to his portfolio in recent months.

He has bought HSBC shares, warming to the lender because it was "pulling flags up where there's no prospect of making a decent return" and looking to lend more in key markets such as Hong Kong.

He has also taken a position in insurer Aviva, currently undergoing a group-wide revamp under a new management team.

So far, his bets appear to be paying off. The Old Mutual UK Alpha fund was up nearly a third in 2013, comfortably outpacing Britain's FTSE 100 blue chip index which rose 14 percent.

Given the fact that cash-rich S-chips' share price trading at below per share net cash value is a perennial problem, would audit professionals from the Big 4 audit firm care to enlighten us on how S-chips' cash balances are being verified?

The 2 main areas of concern are:

1) how are bank confirmation currently being done?
2) how does the Big 4 audit firm avoid management corrupting the bank reconciliation process via generation of fake bank statements?

Hi all,

I just checked my share balance in CDP and noticed that one of my counters has got some lots missing. On checking the movement, they are shown as "TT- Transfer to". Ok I didn't do anything to them so what is going on here?

Anyone knows?

http://sgtalk.org/mybb/Thread-Wow-Enrage...oad?page=2

Another Ang Moh challenged our Law .

Hongkong food supply from China, very dangerous...

From what I know H7N9 influenza A is about 2% more lethal than SARS Coronavirus. Poor chickens, what a waste of food...


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia...69900.html

the island's most prized flat on fire today..

SINGAPORE: A fire broke out in a flat at The Pinnacle@Duxton on Sunday afternoon at 3.30pm.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the incident happened at a unit on the 29th floor of Block 1E.

SCDF immediately despatched three fire engine trucks and one supporting vehicle to the site.

The firefighters managed to put out the fire using two hose wheels and one water jet. The furniture in the living room were damaged in the blaze.

SCDF said 10 residents had self-evacuated to the 26th floor, which has a holding area for residents during a fire.

Another 30 residents went to an open deck on the third floor, prior to SCDF's arrival.

Alex Eng, a resident from Blk 1E, said: "We saw smoke coming out from one of the windows and (there were) a lot of smoke. We went downstairs where the police and all the other residents were waiting and they told us not to go up."

The SCDF said no one was injured and that they are investigating the cause of the fire.

- CNA/fa

my respect to our local star & chow yun fat. thumb up for frugal lifestyle

Multi-millionaire Superstar Chow Yun-fat 900 million net worth go out to crowded buses. Did not wear sunglasses, not Chinese clothes wrapped in a simple, no assistant peers, sitting on 900 million (HK $, the same below) net worth of Chow Yun-fat, has been witnessed to go out to take 50 cents for the bus 'Parade', a few days and then seen alone by bus to the car on the spot the entire vehicle is surprising, a passenger told him, the brother politely back to laugh. In fact, the brother in Hong Kong in recent years often travel by public transport running around, many people have in Hong Kong Rail station and the busy street witnessed the actor style.

Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 07:46
Charlene Chua
The New Paper

SINGAPORE - When it comes to social issues, expect no less than a brutally honest comment from Tay Ping Hui.

The local actor has slammed British expatriate Anton Casey on Twitter, calling him "a half-wit and pompous fool".

This was in response to Mr Casey's recent Facebook posts which sparked outrage in Singapore.

Mr Casey had recently posted two pictures of his five-year-old son, one on the MRT and the other in his Porsche, juxtaposing Mr Casey's perspective of what constitutes the "poor people" here with his luxurious lifestyle.

Tay, who heard about the posts from his friend, hit out on his Twitter account.

He wrote: "When a half-wit like Anton Casey thinks he can... insult us in our own country and get away with it, it is only right that we make an example out of this pompous fool."

Mr Casey, who is married to Miss Singapore Universe 2003 Bernice Wong, later apologised for his actions through a public relations firm, and said that he and his family are suffering from abuse online.

Tay, 43, told The New Paper that he felt Mr Casey was not sincere in his apology. "He has made himself a victim by talking about what he and his family are going through," Tay said.

Forgiving

"How can he be innocent when he was the one who put his son in the pictures? I don't feel a sense of repentance.

"I'm normally a forgiving guy.

"The only thing he can do now, and I believe I speak for many Singaporeans, is to leave.

"Why should we welcome people like him, give him a job and PR (permanent residency) only for him to bite the hand that feeds (him)?

So where does one draw the line at brutal honesty on social media?

Tay himself is after all known for calling a spade a spade.

He said: "I have strong opinions about things and people are aware that they are mine and my opinions alone and I don't need to sugarcoat them.

"I'm mindful of respecting people's race, religion and social status. We have no right to look down on other people and criticise them for their lot in life.

"My criticism is centred on people's actions so it's about what they have done, not who they are."

In that spirit, Tay said netizens should stop hurling abuse online at Mr Casey's wife and son because they are innocent parties who had unwittingly been dragged into the debacle.

To cause them pain and hurt would be no different than what Mr Casey had done to the people that he insulted, Tay said.

Tay said his wife, family and friends all appreciate his candour.

"As a celebrity, I'm aware that whatever I say spans a wider area so I think before I speak," he said. "Anton didn't express himself intelligently. I know tons of rich people who take public transport."

amid property fever/fear, a worker laying the prefab toilet/concrete for the island's thrist for property has died.

Yeo Sam Jo
The Straits Times

Friday, Jan 24, 2014


SINGAPORE - The accident took place at the worksite of Qingjian International (South Pacific) Group Development Co. at Fernvale Street at about 2.45pm on Thursday.


Get the full story from The Straits Times.

A worker from China fell 19 storeys to his death from a building under construction in Sengkang, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The accident took place at about 2.45pm on Thursday afternoon, said Shin Min.

The Chinese evening daily reported that the victim, Liu Debao, 40, was among a group of workers who were lifting a pre-fabricated bathroom unit by using a tower crane.

Strong winds were suspected to have fiercely rocked the unit, which hit Liu and caused his tragic fall, said Shin Min.

The paper added that police are investigating the case as unnatural death.

This was translated from Shin Min Daily News.

SINGAPORE: An assistant director with the Media Development Authority (MDA) was on Friday charged with multiple counts of corruption and forgery.

Lai Wai Khuen, 37, is accused of obtaining loans totalling S$23,565 from 12 people on 27 occasions.

He faces another count of attempting to obtain a loan of S$3,000 without success.

He committed the alleged offences between 2010 and 2013.

Lai was responsible for evaluating projects to determine if they fit the criteria for the application of various MDA grants before asking the companies to send in their applications.

He was also responsible for the disbursement of the grants.

Investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) revealed that Lai allegedly obtained loans from grant applicants as an inducement or reward for facilitating the approval and disbursement of grants.

Lai is also accused of forging documents by fraudulently signing off as Thomas Lim, who is a director with the MDA.

Lai, who was unrepresented, has indicated that he will plead guilty.

If he pleads guilty, the prosecution has indicated it will proceed on seven charges, and take the remaining 24 into consideration.

Lai has asked for his case to be adjourned till after the Lunar New Year for him to settle some matters.

His police bail of S$20,000 was raised to court bail of S$30,000.

Lai will be back in court for a bail review on January 21, and his case has been adjourned to February 17.

MDA said Lai is currently suspended from duty.

He joined MDA in October 2009.

MDA said it took immediate action and reported the matter to the CPIB when apparent irregularities were discovered.

MDA said it cooperated fully with the CPIB in its investigations.

It added that as criminal charges are now before the court, it is unable to comment any further.

MDA said it would await the outcome of the case before it starts disciplinary action against Lai.