The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Couple fined for staining neighbour’s car
- HDB moves to curb properties speculation
- More parents pay private eyes to spy on kids
| Couple fined for staining neighbour’s car Posted: A COUPLE poured soya sauce, chilli sauce and dumped rubbish on a neighbour's car in an attempt to force him to change his parking space. Lau Kin Kee and husband Ng Choon Meng, both 40, were caught in the act by surveillance video. Both pleaded guilty to committing mischief. She was fined S$2,000 (RM5,017), while her husband was fined S$1,000 (RM2,509) yesterday. They told the district court that the car's headlights would shine into their flat whenever the neighbour, a drug enforcement officer, parked his Honda Jazz in that particular parking space at night. They admitted that it was not prolonged but it bothered them and they poured chilli sauce on the car on March 27. At about 12.15am on March 31, the couple threw tissue paper soaked with dark soya sauce and a white plastic bag containing rubbish onto the car at the multi-storey car park in Punggol Central. Four days later, she poured soya sauce on the car. Ng, a factory worker, pleaded for leniency saying that they were expecting their first child in December. His wife is unemployed. Deputy Public Prosecutor Carene Poh said that offences were "very anti-social and unneighbourly". — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network |
| HDB moves to curb properties speculation Posted: THE Housing Board (HDB) has moved to curb speculation in its commercial and industrial properties, in a bid to prevent the costs from being passed on to customers. Starting tomorrow, all new tenants will need to tender for premises direct from HDB. This is a switch up from current practices, where an outgoing tenant can transfer the property to an incoming tenant, for a fee or cash premium that is negotiated between the two. Business owners "assign" their properties to others typically because they are either not doing well and need to recoup losses, or a place has become so popular that a profit could be made from transferring. According to HDB, the average assignment fee and rental has seen an upward trend. "High assignment fees and tendered rents contribute to higher operating costs, which may be passed on to residents and consumers. Assignment may also encourage unhealthy speculation," it said in a statement yesterday. To help existing tenants adjust however, HDB said it will allow these businesses to transfer their property once within a three year window which ends on Oct 15 in 2016. Meanwhile, HDB also announced the construction of four new neighbourhood centres in Punggol, Hougang and Sembawang. Details will be announced at a later date, HDB said. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network |
| More parents pay private eyes to spy on kids Posted: A GROWING number of parents are sending private investigators to check whether their children have gone astray, sometimes even overseas. Eight out of 10 private eye agencies said they have seen a rise in such cases. David Ng, 37, director of private investigation firm DP Quest, said his company has seen a 20% year-on-year increase in such requests. "Parents get worried when they see changes in their children's behaviour – for example, if they get a tattoo, or start staying out late," he said, explaining the reasons his clients usually cite. The children are usually in their teens or polytechnic. Private eyes usually follow their subjects for up to five days and parents' suspicions are often proven right. Their children have been discovered to be involved in illegal activities like drugs or gambling. Video or photographic evidence is then presented to the parents, who decide what to do next. Such services do not come cheap. Three days of tracking, which is usually sufficient, may cost about S$3,000 (RM7,525). Private investigators said they start tailing the children as early as when they go to school in the morning. Joe Koh, 41, from Justice Investigations, a private investigator for 13 years, and sees one or two such cases a month, said that usually both parents are working and too busy to monitor their children. He encountered a case where a Secondary 1 student would bring friends home in the day to sniff glue, then leave to hang out with friends till late at night. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network |
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