MICA (P) 191/11/2008 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 2009 A SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS PUBLICATION ESTABLISHED 1845 $ 1.

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Purple gold, INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE YEO

What’s causing
drinks, coffins So worried HDB flat
and the on Esplanade’s prices to rise
polytechnic link openig night INSIGHT,
SATURDAY, PAGES D1-9 LIFE! PAGES E4&5 PAGES A32,35&36
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NINE PARTS
GPs fined, suspended
THREE general practitioners have
been fined and suspended for
prescribing sleeping pills and other
drugs too freely.
Of the three, one – Dr Wong
Cheng Yiew – is a repeat offender. He
was fined $10,000 and suspended
from practising for 30 months. The
other two were Dr Ng Chee Keong
and Dr Sim Tiong Puay.
쐽 PRIME PAGE A3
Laguna Park sale fails
OWNERS of East Coast condo Laguna
Park have failed in their bid to sell the
property en bloc for $1.2 billion
through a tender process. They
received interest from two parties:
one had submitted a bid for $1.728
billion, only to withdraw the offer,
while the other named a price that
was lower than the reserve price.
쐽 MONEY PAGE C30
Guilty of terror plot
FIVE Muslim men were found guilty
in a Sydney court yesterday of
plotting a terror attack using guns
and explosives to protest against
Australia’s involvement in the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
WINNERS ALL: This year’s Cultural Medallion Award
winners received their awards last night from President S R
Nathan at the Istana. They are, from left, Singapore
Symphony Orchestra conductor Shui Lan, 52, landscape
artist Ang Ah Tee, 66, choreographer and dancer Angela
AGC steps in
to stop swim
club cases
BY SELINA LUM & ELENA CHONG
THE Attorney-General’s Chambers
(AGC) sent a clear signal yesterday
that taking someone to court for crimi-
nal defamation is not an action to be
taken lightly.
In a highly unusual move, it stepped
in to end a series of private prosecu-
tions taken by and against Singapore
Swimming Club members for criminal
defamation.
It followed the action with a state-
ment, which said: “The cases are not
sufficiently serious to warrant prosecu-
tion for criminal defamation.”
It said the complainants had re-
course to the civil courts, and that the
prospect of jail time or a fine was not
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM appropriate for the cases they wanted
to bring.
Liong, 57, and prolific Chinese writer Tham Yew Chin, 59, The criminal defamation prosecu-
better known as You Jin. tions were initiated by the club’s
ON PRIME 6: You Jin, author of 140 books and counting. former vice-president Robin Tan and
IN LIFE!: Medallion heroes, and reports on this year’s Young
former general manager Richard Phua
Artist Award winners. against nine other members, including
the management committee.
The AGC’s statement noted that
there was no limiting mechanism for

A name change, and

The five, who range in age from 25 those who want to bring criminal defa-
to 44, now face possible life mation suits, which carry a maximum
sentences. The guilty verdict came punishment of two years’ jail and a
after a 10-month trial, Australia’s fine.
longest terror proceedings. This is unlike civil cases, where the
쐽 PRIME PAGE A8 prospect of paying legal costs ensures

Financial help portal
THE investing public will soon have a
new and dedicated financial Internet
site featuring a wide range of free
content to help them make informed
decisions.
The content will be jointly
provided by media group Singapore
Press Holdings and local bourse
operator Singapore Exchange. The
portal is expected to be launched in
the second half of next year.
쐽 PRIME PAGE A10
Language overhaul
FOR years, the French have fought
long and hard to promote their native
tongue, especially in competition with
the English language.
But this week, President Nicolas
Sarkozy announced an emergency
plan to promote foreign language
learning in schools. Lamenting their
poor scores in international English
tests, he aims to get all high school
students to become bilingual, if not
trilingual.
쐽 WORLD PAGE C1
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matchmaker to all
Govt agency will work
with dating services and
pick up part of the tab
BY ANG YIYING
THE Government’s matchmaker has a
new name.
Gone is the SDU-SDS moniker, which
combined the graduates-only Social De-
velopment Unit and the Social Develop-
ment Service for non-gradu-
ates.
In its place: The Social De-
velopment Network, or SDN,
which will be a one-stop cen-
tre for dating information, rela-
tionship courses and services.
It will also partner profes-
sional dating services, such as
Champagne JSG and Exclusive
Match, to fulfil its mission of
getting singles to meet and,
eventually, marry, and will
pay some of the cost for
those who want to try such
services.
In another break from the past,
the SDN will not be a members-on-
ly outfit.
Instead, it will be open to all resident
singles aged 20 and above, regardless of
educational level. They will not have to
sign up to join the organisation or pay an-
nual membership fees.
Those who are interested in its activi-
ties need simply check SDN’s website to
identify suitable events and join in.
This will open up the unit’s activities
to the more than 600,000 singles aged
20 and above in Singapore. The
SDU-SDS had only 75,000 members.
But the biggest change is that the SDN
will act less as a club of singles and more
as an adviser to those who want to get
hitched.
Speaking at a dating in-
dustry event yesterday,
Minister of State for
Community Develop-
ment, Youth and Sports
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon said
feedback from young
people showed they were
wary of being stigma-
tised if they signed up
as SDU or SDS mem-
bers.
She said: “Singles
should regard SDN
as a facilitator
and a friend,
that defamation suits are not institut-
ed lightly.
If the complainant wins his case,
the court will award damages and
CONTINUED
ON PAGE A4
and not a membership organisation, ac-
companying them on their journey to find
their potential partners, and pointing
them to relevant resources at various stag-
es of this journey,” she said.
The Government has been fine-tuning
this new approach over the past three
years, professionalising dating agencies
and playing a more active role in schools
and workplaces.
A big change occurred in January,
when the SDU and SDS were merged.
This was an acknowledgment that things
had to change to cater to singles who are
more receptive to meeting others with dif-
ferent educational backgrounds.
It has also accredited nine commercial
dating agencies and 13 dating practition-
ers – people who make one-to-one intro-
ductions or act as facilitators at events.
The agencies and their staff have been PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
given training and have undergone an as-
sessment to make sure they are reliable
and abide by a code of professional con-
duct. This includes being truthful in ad-
Deepavali
vertising and promotions, and maintain-
ing confidentiality and the security of a
greetings
client’s information.
SDN will pay part of the cost for those THE Prime Minister sends all
Hindus greetings for Deepavali.
CONTINUED The Straits Times wishes its
ON PAGE A6 Hindu readers Happy Deepavali.