Today I stumbled upon a good thread in NextInsight.net and I'd like to share with forummers.
QUOTE:
Hi, whether you post on Facebook, Twitter or any forum, be careful that you do not get yourself into hot soup later.
Don't post, for example:

1. CEO ABC is a crook who has been siphoning off the company's $.

2. The company's cash is non-existent, it's a fraud.

Clearly, these are defamatory. If there is a legal demand for the particulars of the poster, any website owner will be obliged to hand over the particulars.

We are comfortable with 99.9% of the posts we have sighted on this forum so far and have not moderated them at all. So please, collectively we should uphold the insightful / balanced / interesting sharing of views -- and avert the possibility of a legal letter being shot from an aggrieved listed company.

Thank you!
UNQUOTE

For more detail, please visit :
http://nextinsight.net/index.php/forum/4...tory-stuff

I'd also like to add other examples :
3. Management XYZ is in cahoots with ABCD to do unscrupulous things.
4. Director EFGH wants to 'run road' with the money.

Your admin has deleted several of this kind of posts.
Please speak based on facts. We are a value-based investment forum. Thanks.

seems like a tight measure?

AsiaOne

Monday, Sep 30, 2013

SINGAPORE - The Public Service Division (PSD) today announced new measures to strengthen integrity in public service.

These measures include restrictions on officers visiting casinos, as well as mandatory job rotation and block leave.

This follows a review, started in September last year, by the PSD to reduce the risk of public officers' indebtedness from gambling. As part of the review, it also took the opportunity to look into strengthening measures to reduce the risk of fraud and corruption.

From Oct 1, 2013, all public officers will need to declare within 7 days whenever they visit the local casinos more than 4 times a month or if they purchase an annual pass.

Stricter rules will apply for certain types of officers.

Those who are in positions that expose them to the risk of being persuaded to do something illegal and exploited, or whose misconduct will have significant risk to the reputation of the public service, will have to declare every visit to a local casino within seven calendar days.

Meanwhile, officers who enforce operations in the local casinos, or regulate the activities of or negotiate business arrangements with the local casino operators will be prohibited from visiting the local casinos, unless they are doing so as part of their official duties.

Officers remain prohibited from gambling during working hours or on official premises.

From Jan 1 next year, job rotation and block leave will be enforced for officers holding positions which are more susceptible to being suborned and exploited if the incumbent were to remain in the same job for too long.

One or both measures are in place for these officers, depending on the nature of their work.

Under the new rules, these officers should not remain in the same position for more than five years.

Some of these officers whose work is more transactional in nature will also be subject to block leave of at least five consecutive working days per calendar year.

ellenja@sph.com.sg

is it just more vigilance required from public or should they revisit the white paper on population growth target?

or did they not know the bigger pic that risk of dengue outbreak being a domestic disease due to overcrowding and together with today forecasted news on wetter and hotter weather in sg for the next century due to climate change, will increase.

Joyce Lim
The Straits Times

Monday, Sep 30, 2013

The deceased, who lived in Yishun Ring Road, had experienced chest pain and intermittent fever for the past three weeks. When her condition did not improve, she went to the Accident and Emergency unit at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Saturday. There, she was diagnosed with dengue and warded at the Intensive Care Unit, the hospital said in a statement.


Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Read the full statement from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) here:

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been notified of the death of a dengue patient who lived at Yishun Ring Road. This is the sixth local dengue death case this year. MOH and NEA wish to express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased patient.

The patient was a 35-year-old Chinese woman who went to the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) Emergency Department (ED) on 28 Sep 2013 with a history of fever, chest pain, lethargy, nausea and loss of appetite. She was diagnosed with Dengue Fever and admitted. Her condition deteriorated after admission and she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit on the same day. She subsequently passed away on 30 Sep 2013.

The patient's residence was in a dengue cluster of three cases. NEA inspectors will continue with checks and conduct vector control operations in the area and residents are encouraged to cooperate fully. The public should also remain vigilant and clear any stagnant water in their homes and the vicinity. The key to effective dengue control is to eliminate all mosquito breeding habitats.

We are still in the midst of the dengue season in Singapore. We urge everyone to continue maintaining vigilance and prevent mosquito breeding by doing the Mozzie Wipeout weekly.

More details on the latest dengue situation can be found at www.dengue.gov.sg. Persons who suspect they may have dengue should consult their doctors as early as possible and use mosquito repellents in order to reduce the risk of spreading the infection further.

effective august 2014, one year to go. by then five yearly election coming.
national conversation hear your 'complaints'?


Monday, Sep 23, 2013
Toh Yong Chuan

SINGAPORE - From August next year, firms that want to hire foreign professionals must prove that they have tried to hire Singaporeans.

These employers have to advertise for Singaporeans to fill the vacancies in a national job bank administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the Manpower Ministry said on Monday. Firms with less than 25 staff will be exempted from advertising rule, or those hiring for jobs paying above $12,000 a month.


Those who do not advertise in the national job bank will have the foreigners' Employment Pass (EP) applications rejected. The move is part of a Fair Consideration Framework announced by the ministry that requires employers to consider Singaporeans fairly before hiring foreigners.

Besides the advertising rule, firms that have "disproportionately low concentration of Singaporeans" holding profession, managerial and executives jobs will have their hiring practices come under greater scrutiny by the ministry. The MOM will however not name these firms.

Said Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin: "These changes are part of a broader effort to ensure that good jobs continue to be created for Singaporeans. Many Singaporeans we spoke to understand the need for a diverse workforce. They recognise the need to compete for jobs on the basis of merit. The framework is not about 'Hire Singaporeans First, or Hire Singaporeans Only'. What the government is doing is to help them get a fair opportunity."

The MOM also announced on Monday a higher minimum salary for EP applications. From January next year, the qualifying salaries for all new EP applications will be raised to $3,300 from $3,000, in line with rising salaries.

The move is not part of the Fair Consideration Framework.

Here is a press release on the Fair Consideration Framework from MOM:

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) today announced new rules that require employers to consider Singaporeans fairly before hiring Employment Pass (EP) holders. Firms with discriminatory hiring practices will be subject to additional scrutiny and may have their work pass privileges curtailed. These changes will reinforce expectations for employers to consider Singaporeans fairly for job opportunities and enhance job market transparency.

"Providing better jobs and diverse opportunities to meet Singaporeans' aspirations are the ultimate objectives of economic growth. Even as we remain open to foreign manpower to complement our local workforce, all firms must make an effort to consider Singaporeans fairly. 'Hiring-own-kind' and other discriminatory practices that unfairly exclude Singaporeans run against our fundamental values of fairness and meritocracy", said Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin.

The new rules, known as the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), draw on feedback from Singaporeans who have submitted their views to MOM, through MOM's Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) on Jobs1, and from key stakeholders such as the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and employer groups.

Elaborating, Acting Minister Tan said, "What we are doing is to put in place measures to nudge employers to give Singaporeans - especially our young graduates and Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) - a fair chance at both job and development opportunities. But fair consideration is fundamentally about attitudes and mindsets. It is neither possible to change mindsets overnight nor legislate the problem away. We must set expectations about what is acceptable and what is not. It requires persuasion, explanation, and leading by example. The worst employers must be taken to task. This is the context for the Fair Consideration Framework."

A. Key features of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF)

Considering Singaporeans fairly and improving job matching

MOM expects all firms to consider Singaporeans fairly for jobs, based on merit. All firms are strongly encouraged to advertise their job vacancies and must ensure that jobs advertised are open to Singaporeans.

Firms making new EP applications2 must advertise the job vacancy on a new jobs bank administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA). The advertisement must be open to Singaporeans, comply with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, and run for at least 14 calendar days.

These requirements must be met before an EP application is submitted to MOM. These new rules will come into effect on 1 August 2014.

Advertising on the jobs bank will benefit both employers and Singaporean job-seekers, as it facilitates better matching of vacancies with job-seekers. Employers will have access to a larger pool of potential candidates. It will also increase the visibility of job openings to all Singaporeans, and will help more to benefit from the better jobs created.

Additional scrutiny for firms which may have discriminatory HR practices

MOM and other government agencies will also identify firms that may have scope to improve their hiring and career development practices. For example, these firms may have a disproportionately low concentration of Singaporeans at the PME level compared to others in their industry or have had repeated complaints of nationality-based or other discriminatory HR practices. Such firms will be asked to provide additional information to MOM such as:

Organisation charts with nationality information;
•Recruitment processes;
•Staff grievance handling procedures;
•Framework for staff progression; and
•Plans to develop local internal staff to take on higher roles or reduce reliance on EP holders.

If firms are not responsive towards improving their recruitment and training practices, MOM may impose additional requirements, such as requiring the firm to:

Attest that the firm will not displace any similarly employed Singaporean within 60 calendar days before or after applying or renewing EPs; and

Display a factsheet containing key information submitted to MOM at its workplace.

Unresponsive firms should expect greater scrutiny and a longer review period for their EP applications. They may also have their work pass privileges curtailed.

Some practical exemptions are needed, especially at the start. Small firms with 25 or fewer employees, and those jobs which pay a fixed monthly salary of $12,000 and above, will be exempted from the advertising requirement in paragraph 6 for practical reasons. However, if complaints are received of nationality-based or other discriminatory HR practices, these firms will attract additional scrutiny and may have their work pass privileges curtailed.

Acting Minister Tan said, "Singapore has and will remain open to skills and workers from overseas. This has benefited Singaporeans because it allows firms to set up and create jobs in Singapore. But this must not come at the expense of fair HR practices. For Singaporeans to continue to benefit from economic growth, employers must consider Singaporeans fairly not only when hiring but also for career development opportunities. For example, our younger PMEs should be given the guidance and exposure that they need to develop."

He described how the FCF would signal acceptable norms in HR practices by:

Requiring firms to advertise on the jobs bank before submitting an EP application; and Scrutinising firms that have a low proportion of Singaporeans at the PME level compared to others in their industry, or that have repeated complaints made against them.

Acting Minister Tan added, "If firms are unable to find suitable Singaporeans, they will still be able to hire and bring in the skills they need from overseas in order to build a strong team in Singapore of both local and foreign workers."

B. Enhanced EP qualifying requirements

From January 2014, the qualifying salary for new EP applications will be raised from $3,000 to $3,300, in line with rising salaries. Applicants will have to earn a salary of at least $3,300 a month or more, depending on qualifications and experience:

Young graduates from good educational institutions can qualify if they earn at least $3,300; and Older applicants will have to command higher salaries to qualify, commensurate with the work experience and quality they are expected to bring.

MOM will continue to raise the quality of our foreign workforce and encourage businesses to reduce their reliance on manpower. The government is committed to helping businesses restructure with various schemes available. We will provide lead time for firms to make adjustments to comply with the new EP requirements. Raising the EP qualifying salaries at the various experience levels is also an important effort to keep the playing field fair for Singaporeans of different ages.

C. What the new rules signal

Acting Minister Tan said, "These changes are part of a broader effort to ensure that good jobs continue to be created for Singaporeans. Many Singaporeans we spoke to understand the need for a diverse workforce. They recognise the need to compete for jobs on the basis of merit. The framework is not about 'Hire Singaporeans First, or Hire Singaporeans Only'. What the government is doing is to help them get a fair opportunity. Singaporeans must still prove themselves able and competitive to take on the higher jobs that they aspire to. We will continue investing in our continuing education and training infrastructure so that Singaporeans can upgrade their skills and remain competitive in the workplace. With better skills and fair hiring practices, Singaporeans will have good jobs and fulfil their career aspirations."

is this a joke?

Tom Hancock
AFP

Sunday, Sep 22, 2013


QINCHENG, China - Fallen high-flyer Bo Xilai can expect hotel-style treatment at a jail for China's political elite, where he will enjoy comfortable surroundings but be constantly monitored by government agents, former prisoners say.

Hidden in wooded hills north of Beijing, guards stand outside the red gate of Qincheng prison, where the once-powerful Bo is widely expected to begin his life sentence after being convicted Sunday of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The jail has high grey walls, but there are no obvious signs of barbed wire or watchtowers.

"It's like a five-star hotel," said Bao Tong, a former secretary to the ruling Communist Party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee who spent seven years in the prison for opposing the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Inmates at the facility - which has housed almost all the high-ranking politicians jailed in China since the 1960s - are given large private cells equipped with soft beds, sofas, desks and an en-suite bathroom, former residents said.

"I was pleasantly surprised the first time I saw my room," Dai Qing, the adopted daughter of a Chinese commander, wrote in a description to AFP.

Dai, who spent 10 months in the prison for supporting the Tiananmen demonstrators, described her cell as about 30 square metres large (320 square feet) and coming "with high ceilings... and even a bathroom", while prison guards treated her with "warmth and care".

"The head of the prison let me put on better clothes before I left," she recalled of one occasion when she was let out to visit a sick relative. "He reminded me of my old school headmaster."

Prisoners can choose their clothes, drink milk for breakfast and eat selections of soups and meat dishes for lunch and dinner, they said.

Some of the jail chefs used to work in one of Beijing's top hotels and prepare food to "ministry chief level", according to a recent report by the Beijing Times.

SINGAPORE: Two Singaporean men were sentenced to jail by a United States federal court in Washington, District of Columbia on Friday for the unlawful export of military antennae from the US to Singapore and Hong Kong.


44-year-old Lim Kow Seng was handed a 37-month prison sentence. 46-year-old Hia Soo Gan Benson was given a 34-month jail sentence.


The two men had pleaded guilty on 26 June this year to conspiracy to defraud the US by dishonest means.


They were arrested in Singapore in October 2011 and extradited to the US, where they have been detained since.


According to court documents, Lim and Hia conspired to defraud the US by causing a total of 55 cavity-backed spiral antennae and biconical antennae to be illegally exported from a Massachusetts company to Singapore and Hong Kong without the required State Department licence.


These military antennae are controlled for export as US munitions and are used in airborne and shipboard environments.


Lim and Hia conspired to undervalue the antennae to circumvent US regulations on the filing of shipper's export declarations to the US government.


Lim and Hia also allegedly used false names and front companies to obtain the antennae illegally from the US.


Corezing International, a company based in Singapore, was also charged in Columbia in connection with the export of these military antennae to Singapore and Hong Kong.


Corezing and its principals have also been charged in connection with the export of 6,000 radio frequency modules from the US to Iran via Singapore.


Some of these modules were later found in improvised explosive devices in Iraq.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-19...kinis.html

By William Pesek Sep 20, 2013 6:00 AM GMT+0700

Indonesians are taking to the streets to demand the government heed their complaints. Are they livid about corruption? No. Fed up with poverty? Not really. Angry over political gridlock? Not so much. It’s those damn bikinis.

In recent days, the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population has been consumed by protests against the Miss World pageant finale Sept. 28, originally scheduled to be held near Jakarta. Muslim groups, including radical ones, have threatened violent attacks. The government has responded by moving the event to Bali -- the Hindu-majority island popular with Westerners -- increasing security, and hoping for the best.

This column isn’t a defense of beauty contests. My question is, why the misplaced anger? Where’s the outrage over obscene levels of graft, which eats up national wealth and forces 115 million Indonesians to live on less than $2 a day? Where are the placards condemning policies that have made the rupiah Asia’s most pathetic currency? Why don’t we hear chants demanding greater accountability from leaders?

It’s great that Indonesians are worked up, but their ire would be more constructive if it were focused on the right target. Investors know the trouble. And that’s the biggest problem of all.

Deep Breath

First, let’s all take a deep breath. The risk of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy plummeting into free fall, as it did in 1997, is quite small. Its banks are much healthier. The government is far more transparent, and the central bank is sitting on $93 billion of currency reserves. That might seem like a paltry amount compared with, say, South Korea’s $331 billion, but it’s more than twice the size of the International Monetary Fund-led bailout Indonesia (LQ45) received 16 years ago. Also, short-term foreign-currency debt levels are manageable.

The political stability that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has established since 2004 has won investment-grade ratings from Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service. The former general is now taking aim at Standard & Poor’s, which rates the economy at the highest junk level.

Foreign-direct investment trends, meanwhile, show that Indonesia’s domestic market is still wooing considerable long-term money. The total rose 18.9 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter to $6 billion. Although that’s the slowest pace since 2010, it’s still suggestive of a nation that, for all its warts, has a bright future. Long-term investors remain enthusiastic about Indonesia’s vast store of natural resources and the fact that 26 percent of its 250 million people are younger than 15.

Yet short-term investors are focusing ever more intently on those warts, which Yudhoyono’s government must urgently address. The most immediate worry is a trade deficit that widened to a record $2.3 billion in July, weighing on a current account that’s been in shortfall for seven straight quarters. That’s prompting waves of hot money to flee and creating a sense of crisis.

The bigger problem is the government’s failure to use the good times to accelerate infrastructure upgrades and institutional reforms. Inadequate ports, highways, refineries and power grids are squandering Indonesia’s chances of attracting manufacturing jobs that are now going to China, the Philippines and Vietnam. The government has been remiss about making Jakarta’s bureaucracy more efficient, building more credible judicial and tax systems, rolling back unaffordable subsidies, and scrapping limits on mining exports that smack more of nationalism than good economics.

Enriching Cronies

Corruption remains rampant. Early on, Yudhoyono scored some headline-grabbing victories over graft. But the campaign lost focus and urgency. In 2012, Indonesia slipped 18 places in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, falling behind Egypt. Yudhoyono can’t run in next year’s election. What if his successor cares more about enriching cronies than moving Indonesia forward?

The Miss World controversy raises another concern: the democratically elected leader of a secular government caving to the whims of an ultraconservative minority of Muslims. One of Yudhoyono’s most important tasks is to hold the forces of creeping Islamization at bay. Last year, radicals prompted Lady Gaga to scrap a sold-out concert in Jakarta, making for damaging headlines overseas.

The last few months have shown how fickle markets can be about Indonesia and how vital it is for the government to head off negative sentiment before it overwhelms the economy. Yudhoyono must use his last 10 months in office to cement the sweeping changes that originally made Indonesia an investment darling. He must accelerate plans to spend $125 billion on infrastructure by 2025. He should empower an independent anticorruption ministry with full subpoena powers. The country needs a grand blueprint and timeline for the strengthening of democratic institutions. The former general must insulate the government further from military influence, as well as contain extremism.

But Indonesians need to do their part, too. Their voices can keep Yudhoyono focused on the real obscenity. It’s not beauty contests or scantily clad pop stars but a vast kleptocracy that thrives off the masses being distracted by the small stuff. The more voters obsess about exposed skin, the less the fraudulent class has to worry about being exposed. That’s the real travesty here, not Miss World’s bikini.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg View columnist.)

To contact the writer of this article: William Pesek in Tokyo at wpesek@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this article: Nisid Hajari at nhajari@bloomberg.net.

who is the smelly owner of jem? so much for mall milking more

Thursday, Sep 19, 2013


SINGAPORE - A leak in a water-pipe led to the Wednesday night collapse of a portion of the false ceiling at JEM Shopping Mall.

According to its Facebook page on Thursday, the mall is closed "until further notice". OCBC Singapore also posted a notice on its page informing customers of the closure of its branch at the mall.

OCBC added in the post: "We’re not certain when the mall will re-open as repairs may take a few days. We’ll keep you posted!"


Three injured after ceiling at Jem mall collapses
Shoppers and workers evacuated as fire breaks out at JEM
3 hurt at FairPrice store as deep fryer catches fire

Site inspections by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) engineers early Thursday morning revealed that there was a leak in the water-pipe and the weight of the water, which collected on the false ceiling, was a likely cause of the false ceiling collapse.

The BCA said that the structural integrity of the building is not affected.

Nevertheless, in the interest of public safety, BCA has ordered the building owner to close off the affected area and to get a professional engineer to check all the false ceilings in the mall and investigate the nature of the false ceiling collapse. The building owner has also asked its consultants to check the water pipes for any other signs of leakage.

Eye-witnesses who wrote in to citizen journalism website Stomp said that water gushed out from a pipe after the ceiling fell, causing the mall to be flooded.

One reader known as Jansen said that he was at JEM with a friend when they saw the ceiling crash to the first floor of the mall.

He said: "Thankfully no one was killed. I wonder why the ceiling collapsed and how safe the building is."

Another contributor, Ee Ming, said that flooding in shops occurred after the collapse. "One of the affected shops was Fossil," he said.

Shin Min Daily News reported that the closure affected 241 business owners.

A Japanese restaurant owner told the paper that he received a notification about the incident on Thursday morning, and managed to remove perishable food ingredients from the restaurant.

He told the Chinese daily that the restaurant is contact with the management to decide on when their business can re-open.

A manager of another restaurant at JEM said the restaurant will stand to lose about $6,000 daily.

Shin Min also reported that three women in their 30s were injured in the accident. They suffered cuts and bruises and were ferried by ambulance to the National University Hospital.

According to a spokesperson from JEM's developer Lend Lease, staff are investigating the incident and will announce the mall's re-opening once all safety measures are in place.

candicec@sph.com.sg

As "Cityfarmer", naturally it is an interesting article to me. Looking forward for a positive result from him...

Making farming foolproof

SINGAPORE — As one of the key engineers behind Singapore-based video-streaming and subtitling website Viki, Hungary-born Andras Kristof is no stranger to the allure of the conventional tech start-up.

His work at Viki no doubt contributed to the success of the company, which was recently bought by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten for a reported US$200 million (S$251.9 million).

But now, Mr Kristoff, 43, is focused on making his very own start-up a success too. Instead of social media, however, the Singapore PR has turned his attention to aquaponics, a combination of hydroponics (growing plants in water instead of soil) and raising freshwater fish and animals in tanks.

In an aquaponics ecosystem, waste deposited in the water by the fish becomes a nutrient source for the plants which, in turn, act as cleaning mechanism for the water. This method of farming is environmentally friendly because it utilises no chemical fertilisers and much less water than traditional agriculture.

However, because these are closed ecosystems, any slight mistake can throw the whole farm off-balance.

“There is a saying — until you kill your first 1,000 fish, you can’t call yourself an aquaponics farmer,” said Mr Kristof, who is confident he can improve those odds.

His business, Homegrw, designs equipment and data collection systems to help aquaponics become foolproof farming systems. The goal, he said, is to “take out the learning curve, and create turnkey aquaponics systems that anybody can run, thus making it easier to do urban farming”.

Homegrw was launched last year with S$50,000 of Mr Kristof’s own savings and additional funds from a group of investors he jokingly calls “friends, family and fools”.

He has designed sensors that can capture and send data from aquaponics systems to a cloud system for analysis. Relevant instructions are then sent to farmers via smartphone apps — if the pH level is trailing, for example, they will be told to clean the filter or change the ratio of fish to plants.

Mr Kristof is currently building a prototype aquaponics system on a 300 square metre Choa Chu Kang plot that will utilise his inventions. “We want to collect about six months’ worth of data, produce 200kg of vegetables a week, and prove that this is a financially viable system.”

Building this system will cost about S$50,000, while maintenance costs may come up to about S$500 a week, Mr Kristof said, adding that these estimates are based on similar models in Australia.

Getting more investors on board for this next phase may prove tricky, but Mr Kristof has no doubt about the value of his inventions. “Investors here still want to stick to the traditional start-up model, where you build something, it captures the attention of a large audience, then you sell the business,” he said. “But I want to build something tangible that can change people’s lives, that solves a real-world problem, not just a first-world problem.”

His interest in farming happens to be very personal. “My son is four-and-a-half years old and my daughter is three. I am worried about feeding them healthy food,” said Mr Kristof, who has lived in Singapore for six years. “More people are losing trust in big-factory food and even organic labels. The world’s population is increasing, and farmable land is not. We are messing up a lot of arable land with toxins. Aquaponics can become a system that is easily reproducible, scalable, and managed. It has potential for worldwide application.”
http://www.todayonline.com/business/sme/...-foolproof

K. C. Vijayan | The Straits Times | Friday, Sep 6, 2013 SINGAPORE - Rather than cruising the streets of Singapore, Mr William Ashlock's 1800cc Harley-Davidson has spent the last three months left locked in a wheel clamp at his condo. The management council of the Metropolitan Condominium took action after he parked that and another large bike in spots meant for cars. Mr Ashlock claims the bike parking spaces provided are too narrow, as is a gap between a car space and a pillar that is used to access them. He said he was afraid of damaging his bike and other cars if he parked there. Now the 58-year-old has put his foot down - and taken the matter to court. He is seeking a court order to get the council to re-mark or relocate its spaces for motorcycles and ensure safe access to them. The financial services executive discovered that his Harley and BMW K1330GT bikes had been clamped on June 5. He paid a $341 release fee for the BMW but the Harley is still locked up. Since June, he claims, talks between himself and the management council have been deadlocked and he has turned to the courts in a bid to find the council's actions unjust, as well as to seek a refund plus damages. In a case partly heard before District Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong on Monday, the council is contesting his claims. It countered that it was adhering to by-laws passed at a general meeting last year. Council chairman Chan Yeok Pheng said such rules are governed by the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, which obliges the council to control and manage common property - such as the carpark spaces - for the benefit of all residents. At issue in the case is whether the council's action is reasonable and whether the allotted motorcycle spots allow safe access. The council argued it had first put Mr Ashlock on notice of his breach in November 2011. Various warning letters and notices followed. The wheel clamp action was undertaken in accordance with by-laws after he persisted in parking in the car spaces, it said. Mr Ashlock is arguing that his bikes are up to 75 per cent bigger than usual motorcycles. He claims his 1300cc BMW measures about 95cm by 255cm while the motorcycle parking space at the Alexandra View condo is 70cm by 220cm. He is also arguing that the motorbike parking spots are only accessible through a narrow route flanked by a supporting pillar and car spot - making it difficult to steer his pride and joy in and out. A blind spot, he adds, makes it difficult for the exiting motorcyclist to see vehicles or pedestrians around the corner. Indian-born Mr Ashlock, who has lived in Singapore, the US and Britain, says these issues forced him into using the car parking spaces. He argues that 80 per cent of those in the second level basement are empty most of the time. However the council denied that photographs shown in evidence proved that large motorcycles would have difficulty in accessing the spaces. It added that riders had a duty to check to avoid dangers posed by the blind spots before turning the corner. The hearing will continue on a day to be fixed. vijayan@sph.com.sg