tl;dr - The "intellectually disabled" claim was probably faked

Tbh I used to think that we were way too strict on the drug laws but my opinions probably shifted from seeing one too many @911roofer homeless posts...

It does feels a bit like reddit's not as antagonistic towards Singapore executing drug traffickers, I wonder why?

Malaysian drug offender Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who is on death row, was noted by the High Court to be "continuously altering his account of his education qualifications", said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Nov 5).

He did so "ostensibly to reflect lower educational qualifications each time he was interviewed", added the ministry.

The ministry said the High Court had assessed the evidence of psychiatrists who agreed that Nagaenthran was not intellectually disabled. This included a psychiatrist called by the defence, on behalf of Nagaenthran.

"The High Court considered the facts, expert evidence from four different psychiatric/psychological experts, and further submissions by the Prosecution and the Defence. The High Court held that Nagaenthran knew what he was doing, and upheld the sentence of death," said MHA.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/drug-trafficker-malaysian-nagaenthran-death-sentence-education-mha-2294621

Post on the execution: https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/ucvh7u/malaysian_man_with_intellectual_disability/?sort=controversial

Malaysian man with intellectual disability executed in Singapore over drug trafficking charges

The death of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam has been described as a tragic miscarriage of justice after being executed over trafficking 43 grams of heroin.

A Malaysian man has been executed in Singapore on Wednesday after his mother's last-ditch appeal to spare his life was dismissed.

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking 43 grams of heroin into Singapore and was placed on death row for more than a decade.

His execution sparked widespread criticism as his supporters said he had an IQ of 69, a level recognised as a disability, and was coerced into committing the crime.

"It is unbelievable that Singapore proceeded with the execution despite international appeals to spare his life," his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam said.

The 34-year-old was executed in the early hours, she said from Malaysia, leaving her family "extremely saddened" and "in a state of shock".

Nagaenthran spent more than a decade mounting legal challenges, but they were dismissed by Singapore's courts, and the city-state's president rejected appeals for clemency.

His body will be brought back to the Malaysian city of Ipoh for burial, his sister said.

Singaporean authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/malaysian-man-with-intellectual-disability-executed-in-singapore-over-drug-trafficking-charges/0wgvignh4

TIL 🚩🚩🚩 was a trend

edit: false accusation's a problem here because recently a man was cleared of sexual assault charges after spending almost half a million and 4 years to fight it, and the identity of the accuser is still sealed and no repercussions for her for perjury (https://todayonline.com/singapore/doctor-acquitted-molestation-charges-tells-humiliating-painful-experience)

An influencer made a controversial suggestion via a TikTok video on Sunday (Oct. 17): a group chat for girls in Singapore to discuss their experiences with guys on dating apps, as well as an excel sheet to collate information.

The idea was apparently executed shortly after, in the form of a Telegram group chat and a Google Sheet, which collated names of individuals, short write-ups of their alleged misdeeds, and even links to their social media profiles.

This happened even while a flurry of comments and reactions were still streaming in on the original TikTok post, both for and against the suggestion.

Group chat would "save everybody some time"

Koh Boon Ki, the influencer who first mooted the idea and a recent pharmacy graduate from the National University of Singapore, explained in her TikTok post that a group chat for women on dating apps to discuss their male counterparts would "save everybody some time", since most people were likely talking to the same dating app matches.

They would thus be able to share information about potential dates to save each other the trouble of "finding out the red flags" on their own, Koh said.

"Imagine the Excel sheet we can make", she added.

In the caption of her post, Koh asked for her viewers' thoughts, and remarked that "the guys have worse tele groups anyway".

The post attracted both support and criticism.

Support for the idea

Those in favour of the idea pointed to the truth of Koh's caption that "guys have worse tele groups".

There were also several users who said that they would be happy to share their past experiences for others' benefit.

Many appeared to be asking for a link to join the group, or for an update when the group was actually created.

Other supporters suggested that Google docs could be used for the purpose so that contributions could be accepted from "everyone".

Criticism of the idea

However, many voiced concerns about such an initiative, saying that there was potential for biased or false accusations to be made anonymously, as it would be difficult to verify some of the claims made.

Another critique of the idea was that it did not leave room for people who had genuinely changed for the better.

Others said that something similar, where guys discussed their experiences with girls, would definitely be unacceptable.

The risk of things escalating into harassment and defamation were also raised as reasons why the idea should not be carried out.

Group chat and Google sheet appear

Hours later, links to a Telegram group chat and a Google sheet were circulated on messaging apps and social media in the evening on Oct. 17.

The Google sheet was titled, "Dating Guide SG", and had two separate tabs labelled "Blacklist" and "Avoid", and each tab contained fields for names, reasons why they were listed, as well as links to their social media profiles.

The reasons provided were quite varied, and included accounts of sexual assault, abuse, voyeurism, and infidelity on the "Blacklist" tab.

On the "Avoid" tab, other misdemeanours were listed, including staying on multiple dating apps while dating someone, being "desperate asf" and clingy, sending inappropriate sexual messages, only talking about themselves or cryptocurrency, or even being an "avid g*mer".

Viewers of the sheet were able to remain anonymous to one another.

"What if the guy got falsely accused?"

One recipient of a link to the Google sheet took to TikTok, calling it "toxic".

"yes girls shud unite together, esp against trashy guys but like this is q toxic imo cuz what if the guy got falsely accused..💀" wrote a TikToker in her TikTok post's caption.

This, however, did not deter commenters from seeking out a link to the document, with many asking for it so that they could share their own experiences.

The sheet appeared to have been taken offline sometime in the late evening on Oct. 17, however.

Meanwhile, a Telegram group chat titled "f*ing 🚩🚩🚩" gained over 100 followers.

Conversations in the group included the sharing of experiences with particular guys, similar to what was found in the Google sheet.

The group appears to have been closed down as of Oct. 18.

The name of the group is an apparent reference to a recent trend where social media users share examples of what they consider to be red flags in various interpersonal interactions, accompanied by the "🚩" emoji.

Koh's original suggestion, as well as a similar Telegram group, apparently named "sg dating adventures ☕", was spotlighted by TikTok user @g1ennice, who said that it was a "great idea" in theory, that she predicted would "go south really really fast" as the group grew.

She acknowledged that men had created groups like SG Nasi Lemak, where explicit photos were shared, often without consent, but contended that creating a group chat for girls to talk about their experiences with guys could seem hypocritical, when much had been done to stand against the practice of guys talking about their experiences with girls.

She said:

"Creating such a damaging group chat, even when it's not on the same level, it just makes it seem like we are condoning this behaviour because we are doing something similar."

She also highlighted the potential for innocent guys to be falsely accused using doctored screenshots, while not having the opportunity to defend themselves.

"I think it's important [for girls] to stick together and be a strong community, [but] not in this way," she said.

It is not clear whether Koh was the creator of either group.

However, on her Instagram page (@bimbiboon), Koh posted a story on Oct. 17 at around 3pm, saying that she was "now a GC [Group Chat] admin".

An update on Oct. 18 at around 3am stated that the group was "now closed", along with the statement that "talking about guys is as problematic as talking to them".

https://mothership.sg/2021/10/dating-guide-sg-circulating/

/r/Singapore thread: https://old.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/14ch72k/they_risk_their_life_to_keep_us_safe/?sort=controversial

SDAs are Safe Distancing Ambassadors or fricking snitches that are employed by the Singapore Government to ensure Covid safety measures, and they were filmed in a restaurant measuring if the seats were a safe distance apart

Nobody really likes them because they're like IRL jannies who can annoy the heck out of you or your businesses by taking pictures of you or your workplace to send to the giga jannies

Next are the Safe Distancing Enforcement Officers or IRL giga jannies who have the legal rights to:

• At any time without warrant and with such force as may be necessary, stop, board, enter, inspect and search any premises or conveyance

• Require any person to furnish any information within his knowledge

• Demand that any person provide his or her name and address and other proof of identity

Prior to this incident there have been controversial cases involving the jannies or giga jannies:

1. Giga Jannies inspecting some dude's home without a warrant: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/ura-refutes-man-who-claimed-warrant-needed-authorities-inspect-homes-potential-covid-19

2. Ex-military woman filmed scolding a janny when a janny told her to wear a mask: https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/woman-who-challenged-sda-mbs-shows-court-without-mask

SHOW MORE

I'm not a particularly culturally 'in-tuned' Malayalee, but the more I volunteer in ethnic Indian spaces in Singapore, the more I feel like non-Tamils are there just to be token minority-minorities.

— Arun (@lordarunm) October 18, 2022

Lmfao idk why twitter is still recommending tweets about singapore to me

@chiobu @Sasanka_of_Gauda Tamils are the darker Indians right?

Maybe 2022 was the outlier with "patchy rain" (still rain I guess) but after just getting caught in the fricking heavy rain (the big-butt gay umbrella I was using didn't work because the rain was relentless) I seemed to remember how every Christmas was the same shitty weather every year so I decided to check if I was right and

Maybe if we had freezing weather I'd be seeing snow here

Source: https://www.worldweatheronline.com/singapore-weather-history/sg.aspx

I know the end of the year is the monsoon season here but that's still quite the record

And I left my home when it was so sunny and hot out fricking tropical weather

Anyway have a blessed and happy Christmas dramatards, just ranting because I'm soaked

wtf is happening!?! A cabinet minister was arrested and under investigation for corruption last week and now this hahahaha

If you were ever in doubt of the here in Singapore, leaks of the main opposition party members behaving inappropriately dropped very coincidentally at the same time

Workers' Party looking into video of 'inappropriate exchange' between Leon Perera and Nicole Seah

The PM sounds mad lmfao

SINGAPORE: Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui have resigned from parliament and the People's Action Party (PAP) after having an affair.

Their resignations were announced by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Monday (Jul 17), although it did not specify in its statements the reasons behind the resignations.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong later said at a press conference that Mr Tan and Ms Cheng had an "inappropriate relationship" and continued with it despite being told to stop.

Mr Lee said he was alerted to the relationship in 2020. The pair were spoken to and counselled, most recently in February, but went on with the affair.

Mr Tan, 54, is married with two children.

In his letter of resignation, Mr Tan said the recent incident involving his use of unparliamentary language in the House has added to the hurt he has caused his family.

"I have let them down. We have spoken about my personal conduct before," he wrote in his letter to the Prime Minister, dated Jul 17.

"There are areas where I have fallen short. I need to take responsibility for them and help heal my family. We need space to recover and work through the issues. I have discussed the matter with my wife and agreed I must step away from politics and devote myself to my family," he added.

Ms Cheng, 47, is not married.

The MP for Tampines GRC, said in her letter to the Prime Minister that she is "very sorry to be resigning in these circumstances".

"(I) would like to apologise to the party, as well as to my residents and volunteers."

Ms Cheng has been MP for Tampines GRC since 2015 when she made her political debut.

Replying to their resignation letters, Mr Lee wrote that the decisions were necessary to "maintain the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years".

TAN CHUAN-JIN'S RESIGNATION

Mr Tan entered politics in 2011 when he was part of a five-member PAP team contesting Marine Parade GRC.

Before he became Speaker of Parliament in 2017, he was Minister for Manpower from 2014 to 2014, as well as Minister for Social and Family Development from 2015 to 2017.

Mr Tan made headlines last week when he apologised for using "unparliamentary language" during a parliament sitting in April. According to a Reddit thread, he muttered "f****** populist" after he called for MP Vikram Nair (PAP-Sembawang) to speak, following a speech by Workers' Party MP Jamus Lim.

Mr Tan said in his letter to the Prime Minister that he should have known better and held himself to higher standards.

"The issue at hand isn't just about the mistake itself. My mistake raised broader questions over my neutrality and impartiality as Speaker. The credibility of Parliament and the Chair is critical and cannot be compromised," he added.

The Prime Minister noted in his reply that Mr Tan had apologised both publicly and to Assoc Prof Lim.

"But your uttering them as Speaker in the Chair made this a more serious matter," Mr Lee said.

"I am saddened that you are not leaving politics in happier circumstances. But your resignation is necessary, to maintain the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years," he added.

"I thank you for having been a member of my PAP team, and wish you and your family all the best in your next phase of life."

Mr Lee said at a press conference on Monday that he will nominate a new Speaker by the next sitting of parliament on Aug 1.

Mr Edwin Tong - who is Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Second Minister for Law and MP for Marine Parade GRC - will take charge of residents in the Kembangan‐Chai Chee ward in Marine Parade GRC where Mr Tan was MP.

In place of Ms Cheng, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, Second Minister for Health and MP for Tampines GRC will take care of the residents in Tampines East ward.

The profiles of Mr Tan and Ms Cheng have been removed from the PAP's website. Their Facebook pages were also no longer available online on Monday.

CHENG LI HUI'S RESIGNATION

According to her previous profile on the PAP website, Ms Cheng started volunteering in the community in 2003 before she was elected as an MP in 2015.

During her political career, she advocated for active ageing and better support for seniors as well as for stronger community-based support for children from lower-income families. She has also spoken in parliament about in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing.

In her brief letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Cheng apologised to the PAP and to her residents and volunteers.

Mr Lee said: "I regret the circumstances in which you are resigning from your positions. But your resignation is necessary, to maintain the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years.

"I thank you for having been a member of my PAP team, and wish you well in your future endeavours."

Context for Monday's drama: https://rdrama.net/h/singapore/post/188427/marseychingchongitsover-gussy-causes-singapores-speaker-of

I love how when scandals erupt in the ruling party the same thing surfaces very coincidentally at the same time in the main opposition party here

I voted for her

SINGAPORE: Workers' Party (WP) senior members Leon Perera and Nicole Seah have resigned from the opposition party after having an extramarital affair, secretary-general Pritam Singh announced on Wednesday (Jul 19).

He also said that Mr Perera has informed the acting Speaker of Parliament that he will be resigning as a Member of Parliament (MP).

"Both of them admitted that they had an affair, which started after the General Election of 2020, but that it had stopped some time ago," said Mr Singh at a press conference, adding that they had previously told the party that there was no truth to the allegations when they surfaced in 2021.

"Leon's conduct and not being truthful when asked by the party leadership about the allegations fell short of the standards expected of Workers' Party MPs. This is unacceptable," Mr Singh added.

This comes two days after a video clip apparently showing the pair surfaced on Facebook, prompting the party to say that it was looking into an "inappropriate exchange between two senior Party members".

It added then that the party "expects all its members to fully own and account for their behaviour".

The silent 15-second clip appeared to show Mr Perera -- an MP for Aljunied -- dining with 2020 General Election candidate Ms Seah while holding and stroking her hands.

It is not known when or where the video was shot. It was first posted by Facebook user "Victoria Wang" and as of Tuesday evening, the video and the account were no longer available.

AFFAIR ALLEGATIONS SURFACED IN 2021

Mr Singh said they saw the video for the first time on Monday.

Prior to this, the party leader was approached by Mr Perera's driver in early 2021. The driver said in a WhatsApp message that Mr Perera and Ms Seah were meeting "very often" at restaurants and hotels, and that they were seen hugging and holding hands.

Mr Singh said on Wednesday that there was no evidence or corroborating information at that time to support the allegation.

He asked Mr Perera about the allegations, and he refuted the claims.

"Leon also shared with me that he was in an ongoing dispute with his driver and was about to terminate his services and had sought legal advice on the allegations of his driver," Mr Singh said.

"Over the course of the next few months, Leon's driver also shared substantively the same information with other members of the party," he said. These members -- Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Gerald Giam, Mr Dennis Tan and Mr Jamus Lim -- have been named in several media reports.

"When they received these messages from Leon's driver, all of them sought to verify these allegations with Leon. Leon told them that there was no truth to these allegations," Mr Singh added.

Several members of the central executive committee also separately approached Ms Seah about the allegations, which she also refuted.

"When the video of Nicole and Leon emerged on Monday, that was the first time all of us saw it," said Mr Singh.

Both Mr Perera and Ms Seah are married.

Mr Perera, who turns 53 this year, has two children. Ms Seah, 36, had her second child in April last year.

The pair sat on the WP's central executive committee. Mr Perera headed the media team while Ms Seah was the youth wing president.

Mr Perera first emerged onto Singapore's political scene when he ran as a candidate for East Coast during the 2015 general election. He subsequently became a Non-Constituency MP, before joining the WP's winning slate for its Aljunied stronghold at the 2020 polls.

Prior to politics, he was a civil servant and later co-founder and chief executive officer of a business research and consulting agency.

Ms Seah joined the WP in 2015, contesting in East Coast GRC at the 2020 polls, after earlier stints with the Reform Party and National Solidarity Party. She shot to online fame as the youngest female candidate at the 2011 General Election, when she was 24.

Ms Seah was last reported in 2020 to be working at a multinational marketing firm.

In 2012, the WP expelled then-Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong following rumours of an extramarital affair. The incident resurfaced in 2021 when the party refuted claims by Mr Yaw that he was told to stay silent after the alleged affair.

On Monday, former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin - who had been MP for Marine Parade GRC since 2011 - resigned from parliament and the ruling People's Action Party.

He had been having an affair with fellow PAP MP Cheng Li Hui, who also resigned from the party.

Context:

Singapore's Speaker of Parliament was caught in a hot-mic moment using "unparliamentary language" by spouting "fricking populist" after an opposition MP's speech: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tan-chuan-jin-apologises-jamus-lim-2208791

And the next week his extra-marital affair with another MP was revealed which led to his resignation: https://rdrama.net/h/singapore/post/188427/marseychingchongitsover-gussy-causes-singapores-speaker-of

Now the leader of the Opposition is sus about the hot-mic leak because of the coincidences

SINGAPORE: Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on Wednesday (Aug 2) questioned whether the circumstances around the release of an online video of former Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin's hot-mic incident were suspicious.

A Reddit post on Jul 11 pointed to a video where Mr Tan can be heard muttering "f****** populist" following a speech by Workers' Party Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim during a parliamentary sitting on Apr 17.

After the post was made, Mr Tan apologised to Assoc Prof Lim. About a week later, Mr Tan resigned as an MP and from the People's Action Party over an extramarital affair with a fellow MP.

Wednesday's parliamentary sitting was the first since the hot mic incident came to light, and Leader of the House Indranee Rajah raised a point of order to address the matter.

Mr Tan's remark "was not fully audible on the normal livestream, save for a slight burble of sound at the end; and, as far as I'm aware, it was not audible to members in the chamber at the time the words were uttered", she said.

"However, that burble of sound on the livestream was obviously noticed. It was amplified and circulated some three months later, which then brought the incident to the attention of members and the public."

POLICE INVESTIGATION?

Mr Singh asked if Ms Indranee would refer the video to the police to investigate who had released it.

Ms Indranee said that the police investigate criminal offences, and that this question had not occurred to her as it was not clear that amplifying audio was an offence.

Mr Singh said his question was about the duration of time that it took for the hot-mic video to become public.

"I'm not sure whether the Leader considers there to be something suspicious about that. There is also the matter of what we came to know later, of a long-running affair between (Mr Tan) and another MP," he said.

Ms Indranee reiterated that she was unsure if releasing the video after Mr Tan had already made the comments constituted an offence, but added that individuals can make a police report if they consider it to be so.

Mr Singh then said that he was referring to "the total circumstances of the timing of this video coming out", and added that the police sometimes investigate before concluding whether there was an offence.

"I'm just asking in the case of the personality involved, the Speaker of the House, a very senior member of government, whether there would be some thought placed on the circumstances of how that video came to be circulated in public.

"I wasn't speaking of a specific disclosure of an offence, but the total circumstances -- that query whether there could be something more to it."

Mr Singh added that some individuals had come to him with questions of whether it was a "false flag" incident, referring to an act that is designed to pin blame or responsibility on another party.

Ms Indranee replied: "I think Mr Singh is aware that one only refers matters for investigation by the police if an offence has been committed. The police do not generally investigate things which are not offences.

"At the moment, it is not apparent to me that there is an offence. But should ... something further come up which indicates that an offence may have occurred, then the matter can be reconsidered at that time."

FORMAL APOLOGY BY TAN CHUAN-JIN

Before the exchange with Mr Singh, Ms Indranee read out a formal apology by Mr Tan to the House, in which he "unreservedly" withdrew the comment directed at Assoc Prof Lim.

Ms Indranee said that the usual approach to unparliamentary language is to require a withdrawal and an apology, and that Mr Tan had agreed to this after she communicated to him that it was necessary.

She also highlighted two precedents involving the use of unparliamentary language in the House.

After a sitting in November 1995, a complaint was made against then MP Ling How Doong for "(describing) the speech made by another MP in vulgar terms, (calling) the other MP a word questioning the legitimacy of his birth, and (referring) to him using an anatomical term".

The matter was closed when Mr Ling, at a subsequent sitting, withdrew his remarks and apologised to the House.

At another sitting in March 2005, Nominated MP Associate Professor Ong Soh Khim uttered unparliamentary words that were not captured in the official record. Several complaints were made against her.

The matter similarly ended when Assoc Prof Ong apologised to the House for using unparliamentary language.

Turning back to the present incident, Mr Indranee said that Mr Tan had apologised three times -- to the public, to Assoc Prof Lim and to parliament.

"As such, my view is that the specific matter of Mr Tan's use of unparliamentary language does not require any further action, and this regrettable incident can be brought to a close," she said.

SYLVIA LIM, LEONG MUN WAI QUESTION INDRANEE

MP Sylvia Lim (WP-Aljunied) asked Ms Indranee to clarify whether she was exercising any authority as Leader of the House when she communicated to Mr Tan that an apology was necessary.

"The Speaker is the master of the chamber, he has the power to punish us. But it's a question mark as to who has the power to punish him if there is any unparliamentary conduct," she said.

Ms Lim said that from her research into other jurisdictions, a motion of regret filed by backbencher MPs was the usual practice.

Ms Indranee replied that she was not exercising any authority over Mr Tan, and had only indicated her view to him as Leader of the House.

She added that she did not have the power to conclude the matter, and that if any MP had another view, it was up to them to pursue it.

Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai asked why the Leader of the House did not think it necessary for Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to formally apologise when he was caught making comments about Mr Leong on a hot mic.

Mr Leong was referring to a previous incident in which a voice was heard saying "he's illiterate" and "seriously, how did he get into (Raffles Institution)? Must have been a lousy school" during a livestream of a parliamentary sitting.

Dr Balakrishnan later apologised to the Progress Singapore Party politician in a call.

Ms Indranee said that typically, the Speaker rules on such matters and it is for the person who has the right to complain -- in that case, Mr Leong -- to raise the issue.

"I have raised it here simply because it is the Speaker who had uttered the words, and other members can raise a complaint if they wish," she said.

"But I felt that it was appropriate that as Leader, I should address it. And of course, he's no longer here in parliament to deal with it, so somebody has to raise it."

The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is the quota licence for owning a vehicle in the city-state of Singapore. The licence is obtained from a successful winning bid in an open bid uniform price auction which grants the legal right of the holder to register, own and use a vehicle in Singapore for a period of 10 years. When demand is high, the cost of a COE can exceed the value of the car itself.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Entitlement

COE premiums for cars continue to break records, with Category A prices topping S$100,000

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums closed mostly higher in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday (Apr 19), with prices for cars in Category A and B breaking records for the third consecutive tender.

Premiums for Category A, which is for smaller cars, closed at S$103,721 (US$77,693), up by S$7,220 from the previous high of S$96,501 on Apr 5. This is a 7.5 per cent jump - the largest increase among the categories on Wednesday.

Premiums for larger and more powerful cars in Category B rose to S$120,889 from S$118,501 - a 2 per cent increase.

Open category COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for large cars, rose to S$124,501, exceeding its previous all-time high of S$118,990 by about 4.6 per cent.

COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods vehicles and buses, fell to S$75,334 from S$76,801 in the previous bidding exercise.

Motorcycle premiums closed at S$12,179, up from S$12,001 in the last exercise.

A total of 2,181 bids were received, with a quota of 1,590 COEs available.

SHOW MORE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum_sales_ban_in_Singapore

Just don't sell it

From https://www.commonsense.news/p/the-cynical-exploitation-of-brittney/comment/8917828

Marlion maybe?

https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2021/08/singapore-merlion-real-anatomy/i/intro-proposed/1.jpg?v=62dce0b6

SINGAPORE - Fifteen-year-olds here have emerged top performers in an international benchmarking study to measure how well students use their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems.

Based on the performance of 6,606 students from 149 secondary schools and 15 private schools, including international schools and madrasahs, Singapore was ranked No. 1 for mathematics, science and reading in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2022.

The study, which is done every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the last Pisa study in 2018, Singapore was ranked second after China, which did not participate in the latest study because its schools were closed when the study was being conducted.

Compared with 2018, Singapore students who took part in Pisa 2022 maintained their performance in mathematics and improved substantially in science, but their performance declined slightly in reading.

The Education Ministry said the decline in reading for Singapore students is similar to that of their peers in many other countries and may reflect the impact of a global change in reading habits.

The latest Pisa cycle also showed that Singapore continued to have high proportions of students who did well.

In reading, for instance, 23 per cent of students in Singapore were top performers. For mathematics and science, the figures were 41 per cent and 24 per cent respectively. Top performers achieve proficiency of level five and six.

Similarly, Singapore had fewer students who were low performers in reading at 11 per cent and in mathematics and science at 8 per cent. Such students achieve proficiency below level two.

MOE said in a press release that the Pisa 2022 results, taken together with the results of another international benchmarking study, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), affirm the resilience of Singapore's education system.

In the Pirls study released in May, Primary 4 pupils in Singapore emerged as the top readers in the world.

MOE paid tribute to teachers here and said the results reflect the dedicated efforts of schools and teachers in supporting the learning and well-being of students throughout the pandemic.

Noting that Pisa tests students' ability to apply what they have learnt to unfamiliar settings and real-world contexts, MOE said: "Singapore students have shown that they are good in mathematical reasoning, can distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, and use computational thinking (for example, pattern recognition, defining algorithms) as they solve complex problems in a variety of modern contexts."

These are critical skills that will prepare students well for global changes like digitalisation, the emergence of new technologies and the advent of new professions.

MOE also said “Singapore students continue strong performance despite Covid-19 disruptions, including those from lower socio-economic status homes”, based on figures that showed students from disadvantaged homes did better than the OECD average in all three domains tested.

The Pisa 2022 survey highlighted a few problem spots for Singapore students.

One was their perception of a lack of support from their parents, and another was the lack of physical activity among them, with 29 per cent reporting that they do not exercise at all after school.

Commenting on the results, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said on his Instagram page: "Great job to our students for persevering with their learning despite disruptions caused by the pandemic.

"My deepest gratitude to our educators too, who adapted quickly when learning pivoted online, and came up with many innovative teaching methods to ensure that learning continued."

He added: "We will not rest on our laurels and continue to work closely with schools, parents and partners to support our students in their education journey.

"Let us always strive to surpass ourselves, rather than focusing on outperforming others."

Dr Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills and special adviser on education policy to OECD's secretary-general, praised Singapore for continuing to lead the global league tables in Pisa.

"It has been one of the few countries that saw no negative effects on learning outcomes during the pandemic," he said, adding that there are many factors at play, including the consistent and high expectations on students and an instructional system that provides rigour in terms of cognitive demand and focus.

He said another factor is the push to teach fewer things in greater depth, and coherence -- in terms of modelling learning progressions carefully, for example, in Singapore mathematics.

Noting some areas of concern, he said: "Social disparities in learning outcomes remain clearly visible in Singapore. Also, in terms of students' sense of belonging, Singapore is more an average rather than a high performer.

"Not least, we have seen a decline in parental support and engagement in Singapore, an area in which Singapore used to be strong."

Are you as smart as Singapore's 15-year-olds?

Try answering these four maths questions. Tap the image to enlarge.

i saw that view and thought it looked familiar

and yes it's a fellow Singaporean

wish you would have dunked on the plebbitors instead of this