The Star Online: Metro: South & East

Girlfriend lookalikes molested
Singaporeans not 'emotionless' after all
Two workers killed after crane collapses at art gallery site

Posted:

A Certis Cisco inspector was so enraptured with his online girlfriend that he molested a 12-year-old and a 22-year-old who looked like her.

Neo Chip Wei, 28, now unemployed, was jailed for three years yesterday and ordered to be caned three times.

After midnight on June 24, he followed a 22-year-old executive from a bus stop to her block in Woodlands.

As she was about to walk out of the lift, he hugged her from behind. She screamed and he fled.

Two days later, he followed the younger victim from Paya Lebar MRT station to the block of flats in Geylang Serai where she lived.

Then, while they were in the lift, he grabbed her and carried her to the lift landing of the 15th floor where he molested her. She started crying and Ng fled.

Neo told psychiatrists that he had been involved in an online relationship with a girl since 2010 whom he knew as "Cheryl".

He said he had only seen pictures of her and she only wanted to meet him when she turns 18 next year.

He said that the victims looked like her.

Pleading for a lenient sentence, defence counsel Rajan Supramaniam said that Neo has a degree in electronic commerce from the National University of Singapore.

He was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2011 and also has a personality disorder. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Singaporeans not 'emotionless' after all

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Just a year ago, Singapore was ranked the world's most emotionless society by a Gallup survey.

In a major turnaround, it has now been singled out as the country which has recorded the biggest surge in "positive emotions" in the latest edition of the same survey.

According to the findings released yesterday, 70% of respondents here reported more positive emotions last year, compared to 46% the year before – the biggest jump among the 143 countries and areas surveyed by the international polling firm.

That catapulted the republic from the bottom of the table in the 2011 study to the top half of the "positive" league of nations. Gallup attributed the upswing in positive emotions to the "unprecedented attention" given to the 2011 study, which could have influenced how Singaporeans responded to the latest survey.

"The rise (in positive emotions) took place among all demographic groups, even as other societal measures remained steady," Gallup noted.

The survey polled about 1,000 people aged 15 and above from each of the 143 countries and areas in 2012. They were asked if they had felt five positive and five negative emotions the day before they were polled.

Questions included whether they felt well-rested and respected, if they laughed and smiled a lot, and if they had done or learnt something interesting. The "yes" results were then compiled into a Positive Experience Index score.

Latin American nations Paraguay and Venezuela continued to top the index, while places like Syria and Iraq were ranked the lowest. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Two workers killed after crane collapses at art gallery site

Posted:

At least two construction workers were killed and another three seriously injured after an accident at the worksite for the future National Art Gallery Singapore on Supreme Court Lane. It was earlier reported that one only worker had died.

According to workers, the crane collapsed at 10.50am along with its concrete counterbalance weights, partially crushing scaffolding within the worksite. The site's main contractor is Takenaka.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that of the two men who were pronounced dead on arrival, one was trapped at a five-storey height in the scaffolding and had to be hoisted down using rescue ropes.

The injured workers have been taken to Singapore General Hospital and Raffles Hospital. The SCDF, which came to determine if there are other fatalities or injuries, said it sent one fire engine, two fire bikes, four ambulances and three supporting vehicles to the scene.

One worker Sen Thil, 36, said that the crane had been lifting a load at the time and may have become overloaded. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Selasa, 1 Oktober 2013