SATURDAY APRIL 20, 2019 SINCE 1845

Sport City v Spurs: Part 2 C14-16 Top of the News Life Singers take their
World’s tiniest music to the stage D6
baby boy going
home A6
Life
From fashion
to furnishings
D2&3
Opinion
Surrogacy still
alive in India
A33

Ex-white knight to sue Police raid sparks riots in Northern Ireland

Hyflux over deal breach A car that was set alight by a
petrol bomb thrown at policemen
in Londonderry, Northern Ireland,
on Thursday. Rioting broke out in
Former white knight SM Investments (SMI) will be tak- the city’s Creggan housing estate
ing troubled utilities company Hyflux to court for break- after police conducted a raid in
ing the terms of their scrapped $530 million rescue anticipation of militant attacks
deal, a statement by the investor group said yesterday. over the Easter weekend. An
The move follows Hyflux’s initial salvo on Monday, off-duty female journalist was
when it sued SMI for reneging on their restructuring killed when a gunman fired a
agreement. The SMI consortium, consisting of Indone- number of shots at the police
sian investors led by Mr Anthoni Salim, said breaches during the mayhem.
by Hyflux gave it the right to claim the $38.9 million de- PHOTO: DPA
posit placed in escrow for the deal.
Meanwhile, in a bourse filing yesterday, Hyflux said SEE WORLD A27
its largest creditor, Maybank, ended a deal that was
meant to give it a ringside seat to the divestment of
Tuaspring, and now intends to appoint receivers and
managers for the Hyflux subsidiary.

SEE TOP OF THE NEWS A5

Vote count in Indonesia

and calling him “president”, as he
arrived and appeared through the
sunroof of his white luxury MPV.
Speaking to the crowd from a
stage erected outside his home, Mr
stage to speak in support of Mr
Prabowo, continued into the
evening and went by peacefully.
Mr Prabowo is expected to chal-
lenge the official results if they do

elections may take a month

Tense weeks ahead as Prabowo accuses
pollsters of fabricating quick-count results
Francis Chan
Indonesia Bureau Chief
In Jakarta
Indonesia could be on tenterhooks
for more than a month until the
results of Wednesday’s elections
are revealed, setting the stage for a
tense few weeks as presidential
hopeful Prabowo Subianto yester-
day remained on the warpath
against pollsters.
The elections commission late on
Thursday said it may take up to 35
days to complete the official tally of
votes cast for Wednesday’s presi-
dential and legislative polls, which
the country held on the same day
for the first time in its history.
General Elections Commission
(KPU) chief Arief Budiman said the
“real counts” are being conducted
in stages – first at polling stations
across the country, and then consol-
idated at a national level.
“KPU is granted a maximum of 35
days,” Mr Arief said, but he added
that he was also not ruling out the
possibility that the process could be
completed more quickly.
More than 192 million Indone-
sians were eligible to vote at the si-
multaneous polls, making them ar-
guably the biggest single-day elec-
tions ever held in the world.
The surprise high turnout at the
polls means possibly 80 per cent, or
more than 150 million people,
voted for the presidency and repre-
sentatives in four other levels of
government in Indonesia.
Quick counts have put President
Joko Widodo on track for re-elec-
tion, but while he acknowledged
that the unofficial results gave him
and running mate Ma’ruf Amin 54.5
per cent of the vote, Mr Joko has re-
peatedly called on supporters to
wait for the official KPU tally.
Mr Prabowo, however, has dis-
puted the quick counts and contin-
ued to claim that his own campaign
team’s tabulation of votes shows
him winning the election, putting
the country on course for another
difficult period following a divisive
and long election campaign.
Yesterday, Mr Prabowo attended
a mass gathering held outside his
South Jakarta home after the Mus-
lim noon prayers, to mark the end
of peaceful elections.
More than a thousand people
were there to greet the former
army general, chanting his name
Prabowo again accused pollsters of
lying and fabricating the quick-
count results to favour Mr Joko.
“Hey pollsters, liars, people no
longer want to listen to you,” he
said. “Maybe you should move out
of this country. The people’s wishes
can no longer be repressed.”
Security in Jakarta was high due
to fears of a repeat of the mass
street rally that hardliners held in
the capital on Dec 2, 2016, amid the
gubernatorial election campaign.
The 2016 rally, attended by hun-
dreds of thousands of people, was
staged to protest against former
Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Pur-
nama, after he was charged with blas-
phemy. Mr Basuki, better known by
his nickname Ahok, would later lose
in his bid for re-election to his oppo-
nent Anies Baswedan – who was
backed by Mr Prabowo – and get
two years’ jail after being convicted
of insulting Islam.
Yesterday’s event, which also
saw several Islamic clerics take the
not go his way, repeating his move
back in 2014, when he lost to Mr Joko
in the previous presidential race.
At the event yesterday, Mr
Prabowo also claimed there were ef-
forts to falsely implicate him for plot-
ting “something sinister”, and re-
minded his supporters to remain
calm and not be provoked by the un-
official quick-count results. “I want
my supporters to respect the law, pri-
oritise the Constitution, and don’t
be provoked so easily,” he said.
tkchan@sph.com.sg
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A2 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A3
A4 BRIEFING
10
must-reads
for today
1 What’s hot at auto show
Global carmakers are
positioning for a brave new
world of on-demand transport
that will require a car of the
future – hyper-connected,
autonomous, and shared – and
China may become the
concept’s laboratory. The need
for such vehicles is one hot
topic among global automakers
gathered for this week’s
Shanghai motor show.
WORLD A17
2 Tense wait for official result
Indonesia could be on tenterhooks
for more than a month until the
results of Wednesday’s elections
are revealed, setting the stage for a
tense few weeks as presidential
hopeful Prabowo Subianto
yesterday remained on the warpath
against pollsters. At a gathering in
South Jakarta, he again accused
pollsters of fabricating quick-count
results. TOP OF THE NEWS A1
3 Democrats want to see it all
Congressional Democrats
yesterday demanded to see all of
United States Special Counsel
Robert Mueller’s evidence from his
inquiry into Russian interference in
the 2016 election, as they consider
how to use the probe’s findings
against President Donald Trump.
TOP OF THE NEWS A10
An Audi R8 sports car at the Auto Shanghai 2019 show, where one of the hot topics is vehicles tailored for an on-demand market. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
4 Russia eyes bigger role
With Russian President Vladimir
Putin set for his first talks with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
this month, Moscow is eyeing a
major role in yet another global
flashpoint, as Mr Putin gears up to
play a bigger role in nuclear
negotiations with Russia’s Cold
War-era ally. WORLD A16
5 Behind the casino duopoly
Some analysts think the joke is on
the operators – Las Vegas Sands
and Genting – for having to pony up
$9 billion in investments and still
pay higher taxes, but that is just
insurance to protect their duopoly
till 2030, says gaming
professional-at-large Daniel Cheng.
OPINION A32
6 Stuck with maid’s huge bill
An Indonesian maid is recuperating
after suffering a stroke three weeks
ago, but her employer does not
know how to pay her mounting
hospital bill of $60,000. Medical
fees for domestic helpers here are
not subsidised. Advocacy groups
suggest subsidising healthcare for
maids or increasing the coverage
employers must buy. HOME B1
7 The fine art of queueing
News that some people in the
queue for Shake Shack’s official
opening had been paid to stand in
line has thrown a spotlight on the
practice of hiring people to queue
on one’s behalf for anything from
concert tickets to bak kwa. Shake
Shack was unaware of the stunt,
which was for a radio show.
HOME B6
8 Chinese tech firms’ woes
India’s ban on video-sharing app
TikTok has sparked new concerns
that Chinese technology firms are
facing more curbs abroad. The ban
is the latest stumbling block for
such firms abroad, following
telecoms companies Huawei and
ZTE’s legal and regulatory woes in
the West. BUSINESS C1
9 Home United’s coach out
Home United’s poor start to the
football season has cost newly
appointed coach Saswadimata
Dasuki (right) his job, with his
contract terminated by mutual
consent. The struggling side are
seventh in the Singapore Premier
League with just two wins from six
games, owing to injuries and poor
form. SPORT C12
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
Straits Times
Digital
REACH US AT
Newsroom:
6319-5397/5206/5210
Website:
www.straitstimes.com
Facebook:
www.fb.com/thestraitstimes
Twitter: @STcom
Instagram: @Straits_Times
Also follow us on Telegram
INTERACTIVE
E-commerce waste
Online shopping leads to a lot
of packaging waste. As we
observe Earth Day on
April 22, take a closer look
at the problem and see how
we can fight it. http://str.
sg/packagingwaste
10 Singers accused of rape
A woman has accused five men,
including South Korean singers
Choi Jong-hoon and Jung
Joon-young, of raping her in 2016
and said she intends to sue them.
Choi has denied the rape allegation,
but admitted that he and the
woman were together on that day.
LIFE D8
VIDEO
High-tech checks
A trial is under way at Tuas
Checkpoint to use iris and
facial images of Singaporean
travellers for clearance at
automated lanes. Multimedia
journalist Hairianto Diman
checks it out.
http://str.sg/contactless
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
TOPOFTHENEWS A5

Investor group to sue Hyflux

pring, in exchange for not starting
any enforcement action against the
Hyflux subsidiary.
A spokesman for Maybank said
two events – PUB’s notice of take-

for breaching agreement terms

Water treatment group had wrongfully tried
to walk away from rescue deal, says SMI
Ng Jun Sen
Business Correspondent
Former white knight SM Invest-
ments (SMI) said yesterday that it
will be suing debt-laden Hyflux for
cancelling the $530 million rescue
deal that SMI had offered.
The move means both Hyflux and
SMI will be making a grab for the
$38.9 million deposit that was
placed in escrow by SMI for the
restructuring agreement.
In its statement, SMI said it had
not accepted the water treatment
group’s “purported termination” of
the investment deal on April 4,
adding that it ended the deal only
yesterday in accordance with the
terms of the agreement.
The investor group said its deci-
sion to end the deal was based on
several “termination events”.
It said Hyflux had wrongfully
tried to walk away from the rescue
deal through its actions on April 4.
“This was a repudiatory breach of
the agreement by Hyflux entitling
SMI to terminate the restructuring
agreement,” it said.
Hyflux had also failed to meet the
April 16 deadline to satisfy various
conditions, including obtaining a
sanctioned scheme of arrangement
to settle the amount owed to credi-
tors. SMI said this failure meant
that the agreement would automati-
cally cease to operate.
The arrangement was supposed
to be put to a vote by Hyflux’s stake-
holders in two days of scheme meet-
ings, but Hyflux called off the vote
before the meetings could take
place on April 5 and 8.
SMI said issues at Hyflux’s three
projects – Tuaspring, SingSpring
and its Algerian desalination plant
Magtaa – have not been remedied.
On Wednesday, national water
agency PUB issued a notice to Tua-
spring Pte Ltd saying it would take
back the desalination plant at zero
dollars after 30 days.
“Each of the termination events
entitles SMI to a refund of its de-
posit in accordance with the re-
structuring agreement,” said SMI,
adding that it rejects Hyflux’s accu-
sations made on Monday that SMI
had reneged on the deal.
Hyflux previously said it had
pulled out of the agreement because
of SMI’s “repeated refusal to commit
to making the investment necessary
for the restructuring”, and it fired
the initial salvo by suing SMI first.
Even if Hyflux is awarded the
$38.9 million deposit, it is a drop in
the ocean considering its $2.95 bil-
lion debt as of March 31 last year.
Hyflux said it could not comment
on SMI’s latest statement as the alle-
gations are part of its suit against
the investor group.
Singapore Management Univer-
sity law don Eugene Tan said it is
difficult to tell which side has a
stronger case as both have lobbed
many accusations at each other.
Associate Professor Kevin Koh of
Nanyang Business School, said that
these legal actions could also be “an
additional distraction for any poten-
tial white knight as it is uncertain
how long the lawsuits will play out”.
Yesterday, Hyflux disclosed in an
early morning filing to the Singa-
pore bourse that a collaboration
agreement with Maybank, Tuas-
pring Pte Ltd’s only secured credi-
tor, had been terminated. The agree-
ment had allowed Maybank to take
part in the divestment process with
any white knight investor of Tuas-
over as well as a missed March 31
deadline for Hyflux to carry out a
rescue deal – had prompted it to
end the collaboration agreement.
In a letter from Maybank’s solici-
tors, the bank had stated its inten-
tion to appoint receivers and man-
agers for Tuaspring assets, apart
from the desalination plant. Many
investors believe the power plant
portion of Tuaspring holds value,
given that it is still operational.
But the Maybank move could end
the retail investors’ hopes of re-
covering some of their investments
through the power plant. This is be-
cause if Tuaspring is liquidated,
Maybank has the first right to recov-
ery before other unsecured credi-
tors and retail investors.
It is unlikely there will be any ex-
cess proceeds from a distressed sale
of Tuaspring to repay anyone other
than Maybank, noted Prof Koh.
Time is running out for Hyflux as
the court-sanctioned debt morato-
rium that protects the firm from its
creditors expires on April 30.
ngjunsen@sph.com.sg

National water agency PUB, issuing a warning on Wednesday, said it was terminating its water purchase agreement with Hyflux and would take over its Tuaspring desalination plant (above) in 30 days. PHOTO: HYFLUX

Hyflux racing against time in hunt for new white knight

Tan Ee Lyn
Senior Correspondent
Embattled water desalination com-
pany Hyflux, which appointed
heavyweight debt restructuring ex-
pert nTan this week as its corporate
adviser, is in a race against time to
find a new buyer, with one week to
file for an extension of its debt
moratorium.
The bid gained more urgency
with PUB firing a warning on
Wednesday, saying it was terminat-
ing its water purchase agreement
with Hyflux and would take over its
desalination plant Tuaspring in 30
days.
Sources familiar with the situa-
tion said Hyflux is in talks with po-
tential investors, after a previous
$530 million pact with the Indone-
sian Salim-Medco Investments fell
through early this month.
“Potential investors continue to
express interest in investing in the
company,” said a source who
declined to be named as he is not
authorised to speak publicly on the
matter.
But more time beyond the mora-
torium was needed to hammer out
any rescue deal, he said.
Grappling with debts totalling
$2.95 billion, Hyflux filed for court
protection last May and is protected
from creditors by a debt morato-
rium which expires on April 30.
The company is now in discus-
sions with its major shareholders
and creditors, said sources. Their
support would be necessary in ob-
taining court approval to extend
the debt moratorium.
But the process has taken a beat-
ing. Tuaspring’s only secured credi-
tor, Maybank, intends to start en-
forcement action against its assets,
apart from the desalination plant
and shared infrastructure, said a
Singapore Exchange filing by
Hyflux yesterday.
This was after Hyflux said on
Monday that nTan Corporate Advi-
sory was coming on board, in a
move that some industry observers
saw as a renewed effort at finding a
new buyer for the beleaguered com-
pany, restructuring its debt and
avoiding liquidation.
nTan is headed by Mr Nicky Tan,
a well-known dealmaker on the lo-
cal corporate scene.
PRESSURE FROM PUB?
Some observers are sceptical about
what can be done at the eleventh
hour.
Even though the debt morato-
rium expires on April 30, any appli-
cation to extend the period of pro-
tection must be filed by next Thurs-
day – barely a week from today.
“How in the world is Nicky Tan
going to turn around the company
when PUB has now pulled the plug?
Who will come in at this stage? The
water plant is being taken away,”
said an observer, who declined to
be identified.
Other observers, however, saw
PUB’s latest missive as a move to
pressure all parties to hammer out a
deal.
They said that the national water
agency might be persuaded not to
take over Hyflux’s Tuaspring water
desalination plant if nTan finds a
new and acceptable investor.
PUB had said earlier that it would
take over the water plant for zero
dollar – and waive its compensa-
tions claims on the company –
should Tuaspring fail to keep the
plant reliably operational.
But this threat to take over the wa-
ter plant at zero cost has angered
Hyflux’s 34,000 retail investors,
who are owed $900 million in total.
These investors fear they may
hardly see anything back by the
time any repayment money trickles
down to them.
“The notice by PUB will basically
put pressure on all stakeholders to
moderate their expectations and to
quickly get a deal done and to en-
gage PUB thereafter, for it to recon-
sider its position,” said another
source who is familiar with the
saga.
Instead of taking over the water
plant at zero cost and facing the ire
of those retail investors, PUB could
be persuaded to accept a new in-
vestor if the deal is viable enough.
“If its concerns are addressed,
there would be no reason why PUB
would not reconsider its position,
given the number of investors and
lenders – both retail and otherwise
– who would be affected,” the
source said.
However, in the event that PUB
does take over the water plant,
observers said there was still re-
maining business in the company
that could be sold off to a new in-
vestor – such as the neighbouring
electricity plant in Tuas and the ser-
vices the company provides. Hyflux
offers water treatment services in
China, North Africa and the Middle
East.
“There will be still business left to
be saved,” said the source who is fa-
miliar with the saga.
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
What Hyflux has going for it as it
tries to woo other investors is the
sheer size of the debt and the fact
that it concerns a resource of
national interest, said a former
financial adviser with expertise in
debt restructuring.
“We understand that it is a com-
pany with very high upfront costs,
in capital expenditure. A distressed
sale of the company’s assets will
likely be at a very marked-down
price. So a better alternative will be
accepting a deal under debt restruc-
turing that is better than liquida-
tion,” he said.
By undergoing debt restructur-
ing, creditors hope to minimise
their losses. But where debt restruc-
turing fails and liquidation hap-
pens, assets are usually sold off at
very low prices, forcing creditors to
stomach huge losses, or even write
off their investments entirely.
Huge creditors, who may have lent
massive sums of money, try to
avoid liquidation.
“For the banks, if you write off
$10 million, it’s still okay, the per-
son at the bank may have an easier
time justifying the write-off. If you
must justify writing off say hun-
dreds of millions, then you have to
be careful, it’s a very big hit,” said
the former financial adviser.
Hyflux’s total bank debt is about
$1.84 billion, with Maybank alone
having an exposure of $658.6 mil-
lion, according to media reports.
“It is a function of the size. Big bor-
rowers tend to get away with a deal
because of the fact that banks
cannot take that type of write-off,”
he said.
Observers also noted that there
might be political pressure to put a
deal together. In this resource-chal-
lenged island state, water holds
sway and its supply cannot be dis-
rupted.
“There are political ramifications.
The pressure put on by the powers
that be to find a solution,” said the
former financial adviser.
Conversely, this also means that
unless PUB is assured that the
Tuaspring water supply will remain
reliable, it will simply take over the
plant itself and leave Hyflux and its
investors to pick up the pieces.
Retail investors, who are last in
line when the repayments materi-
alise, are hoping there will be a res-
cue deal and that the debts owed to
them will not simply be written off.
Many of them are common men
and women in the street, who now
say they were not given enough in-
formation about these investment
products they bought. One of these
products was perpetual securities
which offered them an annual re-
turn of 6 per cent “forever”.
Dr Samuel Tan, assistant profes-
sor of accounting at the Singapore
Management University, said that
while it was debatable whether
these perpetual securities were too
complex for the lay person to under-
stand, Hyflux’s financial reports
were not easy to understand.
“I can’t say how complex perpet-
ual securities are as an investment
in themselves, but the complexity
of Hyflux’s financial statements
could have made it difficult for re-
tail investors to understand the
value of its perpetual securities,” Dr
Tan said.
tanel@sph.com.sg
A6 TOPOFTHENEWS | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Study on
feasibility of
reverse flow
on PIE, KJE Tiny Ryusuke Sekiya in Nagano Children’s Hospital in central Japan in a
photo (above) taken on Oct 5 last year, just days after his birth, and pictured
with his parents yesterday (right), ahead of the six-month-old’s discharge
this weekend. He weighed 258g at birth. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

It will help LTA decide on system that allocates

lanes as per traffic demand over course of day World’s smallest apply his mother’s milk to his
mouth.
Nearly seven months later, the
Christopher Tan
Senior Transport
Correspondent
Places with similar schemes in-
clude Washington, the Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco, the Peace
Bridge between the United States
baby boy ready boy has grown 13 times in weight,
now weighing over 3kg.
He will be released from Nagano
Children’s Hospital in central

Drivers may one day drive on the

wrong side of the road to get to
their destination faster.
An advanced engineering study
to look into the feasibility of having
reverse-flow traffic schemes on the
Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and
Kranji Expressway (KJE) will con-
clude this year.
A reverse-flow scheme allows
more lanes to be allocated accord-
ing to demand over the course of a
day. For instance, opposite lanes
can be devoted to city-bound traffic
during the morning peak by a mov-
able divider. The process is reversed
during the evening peak, when flow
is highest away from the city.
The $12.5 million study will help
the Land Transport Authority (LTA)
decide whether to implement the
system, which was last used here on
the Nicoll Highway in the 1960s.
An LTA spokesman told The
Straits Times: “This scheme is ideal
for land-scarce Singapore.”
A stretch along the KJE-PIE was
selected as it “connects residential
areas in the north to jobs in the
west”, the spokesman added.
The authority “will review the
next steps” when the study is com-
pleted by this year.
The cost of the advanced engi-
neering consultancy study includes
physical works such as soil investi-
gation, topographical surveys and
trial excavations to determine the
location of any underground utili-
ties such as water pipes and electri-
cal or telecommunication wiring.
The LTA first embarked on study-
ing the feasibility of a reverse-flow
scheme in 2013 with its Land Trans-
port Master Plan, which said the sys-
tem “will help us optimise our lim-
ited road space”.
and Canada, and the Sydney Har-
bour Bridge. However, most are im-
plemented on non-expressways.
to face the world Japan at the weekend.
“When he was born, he was so
small, and it seemed as if he would
Retired traffic planner Joseph break with a touch. I was so wor-
Yee said such a scheme can be chal- ried,” his mother told reporters.
lenging over a long stretch of high- TOKYO • The world’s smallest baby the previous record holder, an- “Now he drinks milk. We can
way, noting that there will be a pe- boy, who was born last October in other Japanese boy who weighed give him a bath. I am happy that I
riod when signal lights on both Japan weighing as much as an ap- just 268g when he was born last can see him growing,” she said.
ends will have to be red to facilitate ple, is now ready for the outside year. That baby was discharged The smallest surviving girl was
a safe switchover. world, his doctor said yesterday. from a Tokyo hospital in February. born in Germany in 2015 weighing
“Nicoll Highway is short, so the Ryusuke Sekiya was delivered When Ryusuke was born on 252g, according to a registry put to-
all-red time was short,” he said. via emergency caesarean section Oct 1 last year, he measured 22cm gether by the University of Iowa of
“The longer a road is, the longer the after 24 weeks and five days of in length, and medical staff kept the world’s tiniest surviving babies.
all-red. And the longer the all-red, pregnancy as his mother Toshiko him in a neonatal intensive care For such tiny babies, the survival
the more unacceptable it becomes experienced hypertension. unit. They used tubes to feed him, rate is substantially lower for boys
for road users.” At 258g, he was even lighter than sometimes taking cotton swabs to than for girls. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
It can also be “precarious” if the
changeover is not done well.
Mr Yee added that the centre di-
vider and trees will have to be re-
moved to facilitate such a scheme. Catholics retrace Christ’s footsteps
Mr Loh Chow Kuang, president of
consultancy Singapore Urban
Transport, said: “Expressways oper-
ate at high speed, with several en-
trances and exits along the way.
Safety is a chief issue if flows on
some lanes were to be reversed, not-
withstanding many other engineer-
ing and operational issues.
“The feasibility will have to be
carefully and thoroughly studied
with all safety, engineering and op-
erational issues addressed.”
Transport literature indicates
that reverse-flow schemes were
once popular back in the 1970s and
are now making a comeback.
But they can also be hazardous.
When the reverse-flow scheme was
first implemented on the Golden
Gate Bridge, there were so many
head-on collisions in the middle
lanes that they were dubbed “sui-
cide lanes”, reported transporta-
tion publication CityLab.
christan@sph.com.sg

Advanced engineering study WOODLANDS ROAD

on feasibility of having reverse
flow on Kranji Expressway/ AY
S SW
Pan-Island Expressway RE
X P
MALAYSIA NJ IE
KRA BUKIT TIMAH
JALAN EXPRESSWAY
PA N
BAHAR -ISLAN
DE
PAN-ISLAND XP
R ESSW
Second EXPRESSWAY AY
Link Worshippers praying at the 11th Station of the Cross – which commemorates the moment when Jesus was nailed to the Cross – at St Joseph’s Church in Bukit
Timah yesterday. The Way of the Cross – also known as the Stations of the Cross – is usually observed during Lent, and most importantly on Good Friday. It is
one of the most important devotions for Roman Catholics and it involves meditating on 14 events in the passion of Jesus Christ. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

AYER RAJAH EXPR ESSWAY

AD
RO
AS
TU

Source: LTA STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS

Man hurt in Jurong West coffee-shop scuffle dies from injuries

Cheryl Teh A refuse “We have known him for over 20
collection area years. He has a wife and grown chil-
near Block 966 dren, and he owns all the stores
A man who was seriously hurt in a Jurong West near the coffee shop,” said Mr
scuffle with another man at a Ju- Street 93, where Chew, who also declined to give his
rong West coffee shop a week ago a witness saw full name.
has died from his injuries. the victim fall to Mr Chew added that fights were
Mr Huang Wen Cai, a regular pa- the ground common in the area near the coffee
tron at the coffee shop, was 51 years during a scuffle shop, especially at night.
old. with another A visit to the accused’s terraced
The accused is the proprietor of man. The home in Yunnan Gardens at around
the coffee shop, Chen Ming Jin, also accused has 7pm yesterday found it in darkness.
51, who had his charges upped to been charged A neighbour claimed he saw Chen’s
murder on Thursday. with murder. wife and a young man leaving the
The scuffle occurred near his busi- ST PHOTO: house yesterday, carrying small suit-
ness, the NT1 food court, at Block CHERYL TEH cases with them.
966 Jurong West Street 93 on An earlier report by Shin Min
April 11. Witnesses said they heard Daily News said that the accused
raised voices, and then the men was listed in the Accounting and
moved their confrontation to a Corporate Regulatory Authority’s
refuse area about 12m away from records as the owner of over 10 com-
the coffee shop. panies, the majority of them food
A witness who gave her name and beverage businesses.
only as Ms Tan, a Jurong West resi- and there was blood everywhere.” arrived. There was a man standing cal condition. The records also showed that
dent in her 40s, said one of the men A regular patron of the coffee nearby who was yelling very loudly, A store owner in his 60s, who op- Chen set up his first company in
fell to the floor during the scuffle shop, who wanted to be known while the medics put bandages erates a store near the coffee shop, 1999.
and seemed to be unconscious. only as Derek, told The Straits around the other man’s head,” he told ST that the accused also owned He most recently established a
“I saw one of them holding the Times that there was blood on the said. several stores – including a bakery new company last year, in the real
other man’s clothes, and they were walls and on the pavement when he The Straits Times understands and an Indian provision shop next estate business.
yelling at each other,” she said. walked by. that Mr Huang was taken to the Na- to the refuse area where the fight oc-
“Then one of them hit the ground, “I came when the ambulance had tional University of Hospital in criti- curred. tienli@sph.com.sg
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A7
A8 TOPOFTHENEWS | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Indonesia election

Prabowo greeted
Indonesian
presidential
hopeful Prabowo
Subianto
meeting his

by hundreds of
supporters
outside his home
in South Jakarta
yesterday. The
gathering was
organised by Mr

chanting supporters Prabowo’s

He decries quick-count pollsters at gathering to reiterate his victory
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Joko Widodo on course for re-elec-
Indonesia Correspondent tion with an eight-point lead. Mr
In Jakarta Prabowo, however, has disputed
these, claiming repeatedly that he
is the victor with 62 per cent of the
Indonesian presidential hopeful vote.
Prabowo Subianto was greeted by The General Elections Commis-
more than a thousand supporters sion has about a month to an-
chanting his name and calling him nounce official results of the elec-
“president” when he returned to his tion, in which more than 192 mil-
home in South Jakarta after noon lion people were eligible to vote. At
prayers at a mosque yesterday. the last presidential election in
The gathering was organised by 2014, it announced the results
Mr Prabowo’s supporters to mark within two weeks.
the end of Wednesday’s peaceful Mr Prabowo, who is closely
general election and for Mr aligned with several Islamist
Prabowo to repeat his claims of groups, gave a speech to the high-
victory, even though official results spirited audience, many of whom
have yet to be announced. are members of Jakarta-based or-
Unofficial quick counts by poll- ganisation Islamic Defenders’
sters have placed the incumbent Front.
He began his speech by calling
quick-count pollsters liars.
“Hey liars, people do not trust
you! Hey pollsters, liars, people no
longer want to listen to you. Maybe
you should move out of this coun-
try,” he said. “The people’s wishes
can no longer be repressed.”
He went on to say: “Our official vic-
tory is just in front of us although we
are facing various obstacles, intimi-
dation, breaches of democracy.”
According to Mr Prabowo, he had
recently been given a Muslim name
– “Ahmad” Prabowo Subianto – by
senior clerics.
“I am considering this and will
ask the people whether such a
name suits me,” he said to the cheer-
ing crowd, who shouted in unison
that the name does suit him.
A poster put up near the stage
from where he addressed the
crowd read: “Congratulations on
the victory of Prabowo-Sandi as
elected president-vice-president
for the 2019-2024 term. Don’t trust
quick counts.”
Sandi refers to Mr Prabowo’s run-
ning mate Sandiaga Uno. They had
contested against Mr Joko and his
vice-presidential candidate Ma’ruf
Amin in the presidential election.
The retired army general also ap-
pealed to his supporters, most of
whom were clad in white, to act
within the Constitution and not
breach any laws as they fought for
their cause.
One cleric who spoke after Mr
Prabowo left the stage made a
threat against TV stations that con-
supporters to
mark the end of
Wednesday’s
peaceful general
election and for
him to repeat his
claims of victory,
even though
official results
have not been
announced.
ST PHOTO:
ARIFFIN JAMAR
tinue to broadcast quick-count re-
sults, saying he would lead his fol-
lowers to descend on the stations.
“They are disadvantaging the
Muslims. They are causing the Mus-
lims to be divided,” the cleric said.
Security was high in Jakarta due
to concerns of unrest, with military
troops and police personnel on
standby near the event venue.
Indonesia’s armed forces chief,
Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, warned
that any unrest would be dealt with
sternly.
“We will not tolerate and will take
stern action against attempts to dis-
turb public order or unconstitu-
tional acts that undermine the
democratic process,” he said.
wahyudis@sph.com.sg

Six polling station

officers reportedly
died of exhaustion
JAKARTA • Six Indonesian polling station working
committee (KPPS) officers reportedly died due to
exhaustion after working long hours on the April 17
election day.
One of the officers, Mr Supriyanto, 54, head of a KPPS
in Cigalontang subdistrict, Tasikmalaya, West Java,
passed out and was rushed to a nearby community
health centre but was pronounced dead at 2pm on
Wednesday.
Cigalontang police chief Tudiman said Mr
Supriyanto may have become exhausted after working
12 hours nonstop.
“Supriyanto complained of finding it hard to breathe
before he passed out. His family said he had a history of
asthma,” Mr Tudiman said as quoted by tribunnews.
com.
Meanwhile, in Malang, East Java, KPPS officer Agus
Susanto, 40, from Lowokwaru subdistrict, died after
finishing his work at a polling station.
Malang General Elections Commission (KPU) head
Zaenudin said Mr Agus might have died of exhaustion
after working on election day.
Social media users are mourning them, using the
hashtag #MartirDemokrasi (MartyrsofDemocracy) to
honour their hard work in the election.
“I can’t imagine how tired they must have been. We
should really appreciate how hard the @KPU_ID team
has been working to prepare for this election,”
Indonesian election officials transporting ballot boxes from polling stations on a boat in a flooded part of Bandung in West Java on Thursday. The General Elections Commission has @kakaoutloud tweeted on Thursday.
about a month to announce official results of the election, in which more than 192 million people were eligible to vote. PHOTO: EPA-EFE THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

PKS may have gained support from Supporters of

the
Islamic-leaning

disbanded Islamic group: Experts Prosperous

JAKARTA • Decent gains made by
the Islamic-leaning Prosperous Jus-
tice Party (PKS) in the legislative
elections have raised eyebrows –
not only because of the internal
bickering among its leaders, but
also because it was the only Islamic
party that performed well.
PKS garnered 8.6 per cent of
votes, according to unofficial quick
counts, compared with the 6.8 per
cent it received in the 2014 polls.
This contrasts with the three
other Islamic-leaning parties that
met the parliamentary threshold,
which saw either a decline or no
change in voter support.
The fifth Islamic-leaning group,
the Moon and Crescent Party, did
not make the cut to enter Parlia-
ment.
Political experts Firman Manan of
the University of Padjadjaran and
Burhanuddin Muhtadi of state-run
Islamic university Syarif Hidayatul-
lah believe that votes from former
members of the disbanded Hizbut
Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which called
for Islamic law and wanted Muslims
to unite under a caliphate, could be
the reason for PKS’ good showing.
HTI, which has been around for
decades and is believed to have sev-
eral million members, was dis-
banded by President Joko Widodo
in mid-2017 as his administration
moved to curb the rise of Islamism.
“HTI chaps normally do not vote,
but in 2019 they most possibly
voted and went for PKS, not be-
cause their views shifted and they
believe now in democracy, but
rather because they became prag-
matic and wanted to survive,” Mr
Firman told The Straits Times.
Mr Burhanuddin agrees that PKS
might have enjoyed extra votes
from the former HTI members
amid the rise of Islamism.
“When political Islam is on the
rise, the likelihood is they join
forces with an opposition party that
is really anti-Jokowi and whose ide-
ology is not far from their aspira-
tion,” he added.
The opposition parties are the na-
tionalist Gerindra and the Islamic-
leaning PKS and the National Man-
date Party (PAN).
PAN, which recently shifted from
Mr Joko’s ruling coalition to the op-
position camp, occasionally
showed a secular face and fielded ac-
tors and models as MP candidates.
“Gerindra is not an Islamic party,
so HTI ex-members have either
PAN and PKS to pick from,” Mr
Burhanuddin noted.
PAN garnered 6.6 per cent of
votes last week, according to unoffi-
cial quick counts, a decline from 7.6
per cent in 2014.
Support for the National Awaken-
ing Party (PKB) stagnated at about
9 per cent while that for the United
Development Party (PPP) declined
by about 2 percentage points to 4.6
per cent, just above the 4 per cent
parliamentary threshold. Both Is-
lamic parties are members of Mr
Joko’s ruling coalition.
The Moon and Crescent Party gar-
nered less than 1 per cent of votes
and will not get national Parliament
seats.
Indonesia held legislative polls si-
multaneously with the presidential
election for the first time.
The race pitted the incumbent Mr
Joko, who paired up with Islamic
party PKB-affiliated senior cleric
Ma’ruf Amin, against former army
general Prabowo Subianto, who ran
with former deputy Jakarta gover-
nor Sandiaga Uno.
Mr Prabowo has widely been
seen as playing the Islam card, rub-
bing shoulders with scores of radi-
cal clerics, including Rizieq Shihab,
the leader of Islamist organisation
Islamic Defenders’ Front.
PPP’s poor showing in the legisla-
tive polls earlier this week reflects
the recent arrest of its former chair-
man Muhammad Romahurmuziy
for corruption. He is alleged to have
taken bribes to help with promo-
tions within the Religious Affairs
Ministry.
PKB’s stagnant showing con-
firmed Dr Ma’ruf’s weak associa-
tion with the Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU), according to Mr Firman, who
pointed out that the non-active
chairman of Indonesia Ulema Coun-
cil failed to create a coat-tail effect
for the political party.
NU is Indonesia’s largest Islamic
organisation, boasting around 50
million members.
While PKB was founded by NU
clerics, not all members of NU auto-
matically vote for PKB, as many go
for PPP, Golkar or the ruling Indone-
sian Democratic Party of Struggle.
Islamic parties in Indonesia are
generally more pluralistic com-
pared with Malaysia’s Parti Islam Se-
Malaysia, which promotes strict
Justice Party at
Indonesian
presidential
candidate
Prabowo
Subianto’s rally
in Solo in Central
Java last week.
The party
garnered 8.6 per
cent of votes in
the legislative
elections,
according to
unofficial quick
counts, up from
the 6.8 per cent
it got in the
2014 polls.
ST PHOTO:
ARIFFIN JAMAR
syariah laws, according to ob- and bonds. But at the headquarters
servers. level in Jakarta, several senior lead-
“Islamic parties in Indonesia are ers representing the earlier leader-
not really operating based on ideol- ship regime had not been on good
ogy. If they did, they would have terms with the current leadership
united under one coalition,” said under incumbent party chairman
Mr Firman. Sohibul Iman, creating divisions.
Among all the Islamic-leaning par- They had previously disagreed on
ties, PKS has the best recruitment party strategies, but these chal-
and development of cadre cells, lengers recently quit to form a new
and the chain of command from mass Islamic organisation, which
party top leaders to grassroots they hope will eventually become a
members works most effectively, political party.
Mr Firman added. The move has helped to smooth
PKS cadres in branches across In- out the decision-making processes
donesia meet during regular Quran in PKS.
recital gatherings and social pro-
grammes, creating strong loyalty Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
TOPOFTHENEWS A9

Indonesia election

Tallying votes a logistical

feat in simultaneous polls
It has been a whirlwind few days since Indonesia staged its first simultaneous presidential
and legislative elections. The Straits Times’ Indonesia Correspondent Nur Asyiqin
Mohamad Salleh looks at how the historic April 17 polls turned out, and what comes next.
How was the turnout? Party of Struggle looks set to hold came in second with about 13 per Other parties in Mr Joko’s coali-
Fears that abstention rates would on to the most seats in Parliament, cent, beating Golkar for that spot tion – including Golkar and the Nas-
exceed 30 per cent seem to have with pollsters pointing to it win- and making it the runner-up in Par- Dem Party – also performed well, A ballot paper being held up during the tallying of the results for the Indonesian
been unfounded. ning over 19 per cent of the vote. liament for the first time since its which could give them greater elections in Jakarta on Wednesday. The General Elections Commission predicted
The General Elections Commis- Mr Prabowo’s Gerindra Party founding in 2008. power in the next administration. that poll turnout would exceed its target of 77.5 per cent. PHOTO: REUTERS
sion (KPU) on Wednesday noted
that enthusiasm for the polls was
higher than expected, and pre-
dicted that turnout would exceed
its target of 77.5 per cent.
This was a surprise, considering
the falling participation over the
past elections and the growing fer-
vour ahead of the April 17 polls for a
movement calling for people to ab-
stain from voting.
While many expected a big
turnout to work in favour of the pop-
ular incumbent Joko Widodo, it
may have helped buoy his rival
Prabowo Subianto’s polling num-
bers instead.
Observers said a higher-than-an-
ticipated number of people could
have turned out to vote against the
President as a form of protest while
factors like growing Islamisation
and strong support for Mr Prabowo
from conservative Muslim groups
and popular preachers likely
helped him mobilise voters.
When will the official results of the
elections be announced?
KPU chief Arief Budiman said it
may take up to 35 days for “real
counts” to be completed.
These official tallies are, after all,
a logistical feat.
Ballots are first manually counted
at the more than 800,000 polling
stations. Then results at the polling
stations of each of the 7,201 sub-dis-
tricts are added up.
These sub-district numbers are
combined to give the number of
votes in each of the 514 districts and
cities. These are then tallied for
each of the country’s 34 provinces
before results are consolidated at
the national level.
Who is the real winner?
That will have to wait till the official
results are out but quick counts have
proved accurate in past elections.
These place Mr Joko on course for
a second term – and have drawn
markedly different reactions from
the two presidential hopefuls.
Mr Joko noted on Thursday that
unofficial tallies by 12 pollsters gave
him and running mate Ma’ruf Amin
54.55 per cent of the vote, but held
off declaring victory. “Our past ex-
perience in previous elections
showed that its accuracy (in rela-
tion) to the real count is 99 per
cent,” he said. “But we have to wait
for the official results from KPU.”
Mr Prabowo, just as he did in
2014, disputed quick-count results,
declaring himself victorious.
He has called out “anomalies” in
the election, dubbed independent
pollsters tasked with conducting
quick counts “liars”, and insisted
that his team’s real count has him
winning 62 per cent of the vote.
He told supporters on Wednes-
day night: “I will be and I am al-
ready the president of all Indone-
sians.”
Can the final outcome change?
Mr Prabowo tried after the 2014
presidential election and failed.
He filed a challenge in the Consti-
tutional Court after the official re-
sult, claiming that about 56,000
polling booths were tampered with,
affecting around 23 million votes,
and demanded that the court annul
election results, disqualify Mr Joko
as the winner and hold another elec-
tion.
But at the end of the two-week
hearing, the nine-judge court –
whose decisions are final and bind-
ing – said there was no proof of sig-
nificant electoral fraud and dis-
missed the challenge.
Mr Prabowo may well try again
this time around if official results
hand him another defeat – but the
odds are against him. The Constitu-
tional Court has never overturned a
national election result.
How did political parties do in the
legislative race?
The presidential battle seems to
have had an impact on the legisla-
tive race, with major parties back-
ing the two presidential contenders
benefiting from a coat-tail effect.
Mr Joko’s Indonesian Democratic
A10 TOPOFTHENEWS | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

News analysis

Neither a
smoking gun,
nor a total
exoneration

Charissa Yong
US Correspondent
In Washington

The Mueller report released on Thursday put little to

rest regarding the Trump campaign’s links with
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election
but has fuelled political agendas on both sides.
It was unable to give a conclusive answer to either of
the big questions: Was there collusion? Was there a
cover-up?
The report was neither the smoking gun hoped for by
the Democrats nor the total exoneration declared by
the President. Instead, its findings fell in a grey zone of
A Game Of Thrones-styled image from US President Donald Trump’s Twitter page. Mr Trump yesterday dismissed unfavourable testimony in the Mueller report as “fabricated” by his neither concluding that Mr Trump had engaged in
political foes. Following a probe on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump’s team was cleared of conspiring with Moscow. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE criminal conduct nor clearing him of wrongdoing.
It did not establish that the Trump campaign

Mueller report: Democrats to

coordinated with the Russian government in its
election interference activities. There was insufficient
evidence to charge any member of the Trump
campaign with conspiring with representatives of the
Russian government, it said.

continue investigating Trump

Subpoena issued giving Attorney-General till
May to submit full version of report, evidence
WASHINGTON • US Congressional
Democrats yesterday demanded to
see all of Special Counsel Robert
Mueller’s evidence from his inquiry
into Russian interference in the
2016 election, as they consider how
to use the probe’s findings against
President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump yesterday dismissed
unfavourable testimony in the re-
port as “fabricated” by his political
foes. “Statements are made about
me by certain people in the Crazy
Mueller Report, in itself written by
18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters,
which are fabricated & totally un-
true,” he tweeted.
The day before, he had pro-
claimed “Game Over” for his critics
following the long-awaited publica-
tion of the Mueller report, which
cleared him of colluding with Rus-
sia. “FOR THE HATERS AND RADI-
CAL LEFT DEMOCRATS – GAME
OVER,” said the billionaire former
showman in a message on Twitter
that, not for the first time, imitated
the iconography of acclaimed fan-
tasy series Game Of Thrones.
Not so fast, replied prominent
Democrats, as they vowed to con-
tinue investigating the Republican
President over what they said was
“dishonest” and “immoral” conduct
revealed by the two-year-long Rus-
sia probe. US House Judiciary Com-
mittee chairman Jerrold Nadler is-
sued a subpoena yesterday to ob-
tain the full investigation report by
Mr Mueller, saying he cannot ac-
cept a redacted version that “leaves
most of Congress in the dark”.
“My committee needs and is enti-
tled to the full version of the report
and the underlying evidence, con-
sistent with past practice. The
redactions appear to be significant.
We have so far seen none of the ac-
tual evidence that the Special Coun-
sel developed to make this case,”
Mr Nadler said in a statement.
The Democrats’ subpoena gives
US Attorney-General William Barr
until May 1 to produce the materials
requested.
After a 22-month probe on Rus-
sian interference in the 2016 presi-
dential election, Mr Mueller con-
cluded that Mr Trump’s team did
not conspire with Moscow.
But while Mr Trump has declared
victory and cast himself as fully ex-
onerated, the report made it clear
that investigators did not share that
conclusion when it comes to the
charge of obstruction of justice.
It is a finding that Democrats
have seized on. “Donald Trump has
spent his entire presidency en-
gaged in a non-stop campaign of ob-
struction, intimidation, and abuse
of power,” said Democratic Party
chairman Tom Perez. “No one is
above the law.”
Senator Bernie Sanders, the front
runner for the Democratic nomina-
tion for president, was equally
adamant on the need for more in-
vestigation. “It is clear that Donald
Trump wanted nothing more than
to shut down the Mueller investiga-
tion,” he said. “While we have more
detail from today’s report than
before, Congress must continue its
investigation into Trump’s conduct
and any foreign attempts to influ-
ence our election.”
With their newly acquired major-
ity in the House of Representatives,
Democrats now have the power to
launch investigations, summon wit-
nesses and subpoena documents.
As part of these investigations,
they have called on Mr Mueller to
testify before the House of Repre-
sentatives by May 23.
Mr Barr, who has come under
heavy fire from Democrats for how
he managed the publication of the
report, will face Congress on May 2.
After the report’s release, some
lawmakers from the Democratic
Party’s left wing have once again
waved the threat of impeachment.
But the party’s leaders have once
again clearly dismissed this option.
Even if the House of Representa-
tives were to embark on such a
path, it would likely be doomed to
fail in the Republican-controlled
Senate, where a two-thirds major-
ity is required to remove a sitting
president.
Eighteen months out from presi-
dential and congressional elec-
tions, the opposition must be care-
ful in how it navigates the choppy
waters of the Russia investigation.
The probe has spanned more
than half of Mr Trump’s presidency
without affecting his base. He en-
joys a 90 per cent approval rating
among Republicans.
On the other side of the aisle,
some 20 Democrats are vying for
their party’s nomination. These can-
didates exercised caution in react-
ing to the report, posting one or two
tweets before pivoting to the core is-
sues of their campaigns and the sub-
jects that are priorities for voters:
health insurance, rising inequality,
education and student debt.
It was a formula that paid divi-
dends in the midterm elections last
year, when they retook the House
after eight years of Republican rule.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
“Although the investigation established that the
Russian government perceived it would benefit from a
Trump presidency and worked to secure that
outcome... the investigation did not establish that
members of the Trump campaign conspired with the
Russian government in its election interference
activities,” said the 448-page report.
It also declined to draw ultimate conclusions on
whether Mr Trump obstructed justice.
“If we had confidence... that the President clearly did
not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.
Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards,
we are unable to reach that judgment.
“Accordingly, while this report does not conclude
that the President committed a crime, it also does not
exonerate him,” said the report’s final paragraph.
Naturally, this fuelled political spin on both sides
with Mr Trump tweeting – three times in five hours –
what has become his latest slogan: No collusion, no
obstruction.
The slogan was taken up by Vice-President Mike
Pence, who criticised Democrats for “clinging to
discredited allegations”.
Democrats, on the other hand, focused on how the
report declined to exonerate the President.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer called for the full, unredacted
report to be made available and House Judiciary
Committee chairman Jerry Nadler called on Mr Mueller
US Attorney- to testify before the committee by May 23.
General To be sure, some of the report’s details do not paint a
William Barr, pleasant picture of the Trump administration.
who has It outlined how the President tried to control the
come under investigation, from attempting to remove the Special
heavy fire Counsel to seeking to have then Attorney-General Jeff
from Sessions reverse his recusal and limit the probe.
Democrats Mr Trump also publicly attacked potential witnesses
for how he who might offer adverse information and praised those
managed the who declined to cooperate.
publication For instance, upon learning that a Special Counsel
of the had been appointed, Mr Trump “slumped back in his
Mueller chair and said, ‘Oh my God. This is the end of my
report, Presidency. I’m f****d’’’.
will face He then lambasted Mr Sessions for letting it happen,
Congress on said the report, which described Mr Sessions’
May 2. recounting of Mr Trump’s telling him, “You were
PHOTO: supposed to protect me”, or words to that effect.
AGENCE In another episode, Mr Trump directed White House
FRANCE- Counsel Donald McGahn to have the Special Counsel
PRESSE removed, said the report.
“The President’s efforts to influence the
investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is
largely because the persons who surrounded (him)
declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,”
it noted.
But the simplified bottom line of “no collusion, no
obstruction” has become something Mr Trump can
wield in campaign rallies and browbeat Democrats and
media.

Trump worried Mueller probe was end of his presidency
WASHINGTON • US President Don-
ald Trump believed the appoint-
ment of a special counsel to take
over the federal probe of Russian in-
terference in the 2016 election
would spell the end of his presi-
dency, according to the report by
Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
PRESIDENT’S REACTION IN 2017
Oh my God. This is
terrible. This is the
end of my presidency.
I’m f****d.
probe a witch-hunt and a hoax.
“Everyone tells me if you get one
of these independent counsel, it
ruins your presidency,” Mr Trump
said, according to the report.
“It takes years and years and I
won’t be able to do anything. This is
the worst thing that ever happened
urday Night Massacre,” Mr
Mueller’s report said, referring to
the Watergate-era firing of key law
enforcement officials by then Presi-
dent Richard Nixon.
Two days later, the report said,
“the President made another at-
tempt to affect the course of the
Either way, the release of the Mueller report is
unlikely to change the mind of diehards at either end of
the political spectrum.
Two-thirds of respondents in a Fox News poll
conducted from April 14 to 16 – after Mr Barr’s
summary of the report was released – said the Mueller
investigation did not change how they felt about Mr
Trump. About 10 per cent said it made them feel better,
while 17 per cent felt worse.
While calls for impeachment have resurfaced, the
likelihood of the Democrats taking this route remains
very low, out of sheer pragmatism.
“Based on what we have seen to date... impeachment
is not worthwhile at this point,” House Majority Leader

When then Attorney-General Jeff
Sessions informed Mr Trump of Mr
Mueller’s appointment in May
2017, the report said, Mr Trump
slumped back in his chair and said:
“Oh my God. This is terrible. This is
the end of my presidency. I’m
f****d.”
Mr Trump then asked Mr Ses-
sions, whom he had berated for
months for recusing himself from
the Russia probe: “How could you
let this happen, Jeff?” and told Mr
Sessions he had let him down.
Details of Mr Mueller’s investiga-
tion were released on Thursday,
showing Mr Trump tried to impede
the probe, raising questions of
’’
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, when he was
informed of Mr Robert Mueller’s
appointment in May 2017.
whether he committed the crime of
obstruction of justice.
Mr Sessions, who resigned in No-
vember, recalled that Mr Trump
said to him, “You were supposed to
protect me”, the report said.
The Republican President had
bristled at the investigation since
taking office in January 2017, belit-
tling Mr Sessions and calling the
to me.”
A month after the appointment,
in June 2017, Mr Trump tried to get
rid of Mr Mueller, according to the
report.
He called White House counsel
Donald McGahn at home twice and
told him to call Acting Attorney-
General Rod Rosenstein and say Mr
Mueller should be removed be-
cause of conflicts of interest, the re-
port said. “You gotta do this. You
gotta call Rod,” Mr McGahn re-
called Mr Trump as saying.
“McGahn did not carry out the di-
rection, however, deciding that he
would resign rather than trigger
what he regarded as a potential Sat-
Russia investigation”.
He asked former campaign man-
ager Corey Lewandowski to tell Mr
Sessions he should announce pub-
licly that the investigation was
“very unfair” to Mr Trump, that Mr
Trump had done nothing wrong
and that Mr Mueller may “move for-
ward with investigating election
meddling for future elections”.
In a separate incident, Mr Trump
screamed at Mr McGahn about how
weak Mr Sessions was, and Mr
Stephen Bannon, then the Presi-
dent’s chief strategist, thought he
was as mad as he had ever seen him,
the report said.
REUTERS, NYTIMES
Steny Hoyer said on CNN after the report’s release.
“Very frankly, there is an election in 18 months and
the American people will make a judgment.”
charyong@sph.com.sg
The simplified bottomline of “no collusion,
no obstruction” has become something Mr
Trump can wield in campaign rallies and to
browbeat Democrats and media. Either
way, the release of the Mueller report is
unlikely to change the mind of diehards at
either end of the political spectrum.
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Takeaways from
probe report
Special Counsel Robert Mueller produced a report of more than
400 pages that painted a deeply unflattering picture of President
Donald Trump, but stopped short of accusing him of criminal
wrongdoing. Here are seven takeaways.
1
Trump aides didn’t follow
through on some orders
One of the most intriguing parts of
this report is the window it pro-
vides into how Mr Trump’s aides
view him.
There have been many leaks sug-
gesting internal discord in the
White House, but here the aides
were compelled to tell the truth.
A common thread seems to be
forming: Mr Trump appears to have
asked aides to falsely deny things or
do things that made them uncom-
fortable. However, they often sim-
ply didn’t follow through.
2
Many false statements.
And many changed stories
One of the unanswered questions
of the past two years – which
helped fuel the FBI investigation,
congressional inquiries and journal-
istic scrutiny – is why so many peo-
ple lied, changed their stories and is-
sued misleading statements to both
the public and the authorities.
The report recaps one false state-
ment after another.
3
Fake news? Not so much
One of the unhelpful realities of the
Russia probe thus far has been that
so many revelations were based
upon anonymous sources.
That has allowed Mr Trump to ar-
gue to his supporters that the
stories were wrong, totally made-
up “fake news”. However, many of
them have now been confirmed by
the report. In one such example, Mr
Mueller seems to believe Mr Trump
falsely denied asking former FBI
director James Comey for loyalty.
4
Report does not
exonerate Trump
Mr Trump was quick to declare the
report a total vindication. But Mr
Mueller went out of his way not to
exonerate Mr Trump.
His report said that his conduct in
office “presents difficult issues that
prevent us from conclusively
determining that no criminal con-
duct occurred”.
Report presents no clear proof
of meddling in US polls: Russia
MOSCOW • Russia yesterday once
more dismissed the Mueller report,
saying it failed to present clear evi-
dence of any meddling by Moscow
in the 2016 US election and called
its impact on relations regrettable.
“As a whole, the report as before
does not present any reasonable
proof at all that Russia allegedly
meddled in the electoral process in
the US,” Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov told journalists,
saying it contained “no new infor-
mation”.
Russia has consistently rejected
any suggestion that it interfered in
5
Evading an FBI interview
on his lawyers’ advice
was a good strategy
Mr Trump repeatedly said he was
eager to sit for an interview with
Mr Mueller’s team, despite his
lawyers’ insistence that it was a ter-
rible idea.
The report makes clear why his
lawyers were so worried about it.
Mr Mueller had a huge cache of
unanswered questions, misleading
and conflicting statements, and un-
explained actions with which to
confront the President.
Mr Mueller said he chose not to
subpoena the President because a
court fight would delay the investi-
gation.
6
No evidence of conspiracy,
but lots of reasons
to investigate
Mr Mueller makes explicit what Mr
Trump has repeatedly cast doubt
on: Russia secretly manipulated the
the election won by Mr Donald
Trump.
The politically explosive probe by
Special Counsel Robert Mueller
ruled that Mr Trump’s campaign
did not criminally conspire with
Russians to skew the election, and
drew no conclusion on allegations
of obstruction. “We regret that doc-
uments of such quality have a direct
influence on the development of
US-Russian bilateral relations
which are not in the best shape as it
is,” Mr Peskov said.
He even suggested that US taxpay-
ers should question why their
A11
Redacted pages (above) from the
report by US Special Counsel Robert
Mueller (left). One revelation is that
President Donald Trump appears to
have asked aides to do things that
made them uncomfortable. However,
they often simply did not follow
through. PHOTOS: NYTIMES,
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
2016 presidential election.
The investigation ultimately
found no evidence that anyone
from Mr Trump’s campaign partici-
pated in that effort, but the report
reveals in stark detail the many sus-
picious interactions that had the
FBI so worried.
Many of those have been re-
ported, but the report amounts to a
compendium that helps explain the
origins of the FBI investigation,
known as Crossfire Hurricane.
7
Consequences remain
to be seen
Prosecutors describe a president
who was preoccupied with ending a
federal investigation, a White
House that told misleading and
changing stories, and a presidential
campaign that was in repeated con-
tact with Russian officials.
Even though prosecutors con-
cluded that did not amount to prov-
ably criminal conduct, the report is
astounding in its sweep.
The consequences of the report
remain to be seen, but if people are
not surprised or shocked by the rev-
elations, then Mr Trump may have
benefited from the steady drip of
news stories he has so loudly criti-
cised. WASHINGTON POST, NYTIMES
money was spent on the lengthy
probe with such a result.
“In our country, the Audit Cham-
ber would probably take an interest
in such a report: What did American
taxpayers’ money get spent on? But
let the US taxpayers themselves ask
that question,” Mr Peskov added.
After Attorney-General William
Barr released his four-page sum-
mary of the Mueller report late last
month, Americans were dug in on
their views. Nearly half of all Ameri-
cans still believe Mr Trump worked
with Russia to interfere in the 2016
presidential election, according to
a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted
shortly after the summary’s release.
Among those familiar with Mr
Barr’s summary, only 9 per cent
said it had changed their thinking
about Mr Trump’s ties to Russia, the
poll found. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
REUTERS
A12 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A13
A14 TOPOFTHENEWS | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Infidelity in S’pore – the danger years

Counsellors see a marked increase in infidelity
cases involving couples in their 30s and 40s
Melody Zaccheus
He started exercising and giving
himself a makeover. His sudden
transformation raised his wife’s
suspicions and she found out he
was having an affair.
A private investigator revealed
that he was indeed cheating on her
– not with a woman like she had
thought, but with a man. The
couple, as well as the third party,
were in their 30s and early 40s.
Counsellors and lawyers The
Straits Times spoke to in the wake
of the Hong Kong scandal, where
married singer Andy Hui, 51, was
filmed kissing actress Jacqueline
Wong, 30, in a taxi, said infidelity
cases here tend to involve couples
in their 30s and 40s.
The median ages for male and fe-
male divorcees in Singapore were
43.2 years and 39.1 years respec-
tively in 2017.
They usually have older school-
going children and elderly parents.
With attention focused on other as-
pects of family life instead of the
marriage, some might stray.
Counselling groups said they
have seen a marked increase in
cases involving infidelity over the
past three years.
Reach Counselling Centre dealt
with 193 cases of couples affected
by extramarital affairs last year,
making up 40 per cent of its total
counselling cases. The organisation
said these cases have been on the
rise over the past few years.
Such cases at Focus on the Family
Singapore more than doubled last
year compared with 2016.
Touch Family Services also re-
ported seeing more cases over the
past three years, based on the in-
quiries it received.
Many of these affairs occur with
colleagues after working or socialis-
ing in close range.
This is especially so because Sin-
gaporeans spend a lot of time in the
office and meeting clients.
Senior counsellor Winny Lu of
Reach Counselling Centre said
individuals might also be going
through a mid-life crisis.
“Typically, these affairs are a re-
sult of a lack of satisfaction in the
marriage itself, perhaps due to a
lack of quality couple time,” she
said. “Like the Hong Kong celebri-
ties, those who cheat may spend
time with another party at work
and develop feelings. What the
original relationship lacks, they
look for in a new partner.”
Senior counsellor Elysia Tan
from Touch Family Services said
weak boundaries set with the oppo-
site sex is perhaps the biggest rea-
son for infidelity.
“Not having clear physical and
emotional boundaries with the op-
posite sex, set either by themselves
or with their spouse, might lead to
them being caught in situations
where they might find themselves
being vulnerable and intimate with
the opposite sex,” she said.
What are the chances of marital
recovery?
Counsellors said couples can re-
cover if both husband and wife
have the intention to save the mar-
riage. In the case of the Hong Kong
celebrities, the partners of Mr Hui
and Ms Wong have demonstrated
an interest in continuing their re-
spective relationships.
Pop star Sammi Cheng, who is
married to Mr Hui, said in an Insta-
gram post on Thursday that they
held hands and prayed together.
Ms Cheng, 46, described the inci-
dent as “an important lesson in our
marriage”. Meanwhile, Ms Wong’s
boyfriend of three years, actor Ken-
neth Ma, 45, defended her.
This willingness to work through
the issues can be supplemented
with counselling.
Reach Counselling Centre’s Ms
Lu said: “Therapy not only helps
the spouse who has been cheated
on to process negative emotions,
but it also helps the one who
cheated to manage the spouse’s
roller-coaster of emotions during
this difficult period.”
Counsellors act as facilitators for
couples to discover the reasons be-
hind the relationship developing
into such a vulnerable state. From Sammi Cheng and Andy Hui in concert back in the 1990s. Technology and social
there, they can decide whether or media make it easier today to catch a cheating spouse – they might get tagged
not they are willing to put in the in suspicious photos or posts on Facebook or Instagram. PHOTO: APPLE DAILY

effort to improve the relationship.
Ms Lu added that the percentage
of couples who reconcile after
counselling is higher than those
who do not.
Private counsellor James Leong
of Listen Without Prejudice said
clients who have a religion, such as
in the case of Ms Cheng, the pop
star, tend to cope better. “And that
is because they don’t focus on their
identities or values as a ‘failed’ son,
husband or father, but in their iden-
tity as a child of God,” he said.
Nonetheless, while reconcilia-
tion might be successful, such dal-
liances have long-term repercus-
sions on victims. Some might not be
able to sleep at night and may suffer
from regular flashbacks of incrimi-
nating text messages and photos
they might have seen of the affair.
There were 7,578 marriages that
ended in divorce or annulment in
2017. Official statistics do not re-
flect the actual number of infidelity
cases since many couples choose to
file for divorce on the grounds of un-
reasonable behaviour instead of
adultery, where a higher level of
proof is needed to show evidence of
sexual relations outside a marriage.
This evidence might take the
form of admission from a cheating
spouse or a private investigator’s re-
port.
Mr Lim Chong Boon, head of fam-
ily law at PKWA Law Practice, said:
“The numbers do not reflect the
true situation on the ground. Both
parties usually agree to an amicable
divorce rather than go through
more sensational grounds.”
About a third of his firm’s clients
go in with suspicions of infidelity:
“People can put up with a partner’s
issues like gambling but the last
straw is usually cheating.”
Ms Michelle Woodworth, direc-
tor of law practice Quahe Woo and
Palmer, said one case stood out as
particularly distressing for her.
She was representing a woman
who discovered that her husband
had raped their maid. “It was a
heart-wrenching situation. It was
rape, there was no consent. For the
wife, it was devastating. You don’t
enter a marriage hoping this day
will ever come.”
Divorce proceedings are emotion-
ally draining but because the Singa-
pore court system is pro-mediation
and settlement, situations are usu-
ally resolved rather amicably for
the good of everyone involved.
Ms Woodworth said: “As lawyers,
we try to help the parties to, at the
very least, retain control of how
their lives are going to look like
post-divorce by helping to steer
them away from further conflict.
We are duty-bound to inform
clients of all available dispute reso-
lution options.”
Technology and social media
make it easier today to catch a
cheating spouse – they might get
tagged in suspicious photos or
posts on Facebook or Instagram,
noted Withers KhattarWong’s mat-
rimonial partner Sharanjit Kaur.
Lawyers said they have also been
noticing more women straying and
cheating on their husbands com-
pared with 15 years ago. Some re-
ported that the number of women
cheating is on a par with men, stand-
ing at 50 per cent of their clients
compared with 30 per cent in the
past.
Lawyer Gloria James-Civetta
gave the example of a husband who
found out through his homemaker
wife’s computer that she had been
streaming herself cleaning their
house in the nude for the viewing
pleasure of men for a fee.
Lawyer Rajan Chettiar added that
the rising trend of unfaithful wives
could also be attributed to the in-
creasing number of women doing
well in the corporate world. “The
chances of them meeting someone
else at work or while conducting
business is pretty high,” he said.
Ms Kaur noted there are many
support groups for adulterers and
their spouses. Counselling centres
dot the island while religious
groups, clan associations and gen-
der-based support groups also offer
aid.
Ms Lu, the senior counsellor, gave
the example of how the Torn Asun-
der Affair Recovery Programme
and Marriage Counselling, which
the Reach Counselling Centre of-
fers, was able to help a couple
where the wife had started seeing
her boss who was 10 years older
than her because she felt she could
“talk and connect intellectually
with him”. The husband and wife
pair had been dating for 11 years be-
fore getting married.
The programme, said Ms Lu, was
able to help and guide the unfaith-
ful spouse to show sincere remorse
as well as encourage both partners
to take responsibility for their own
contributions to the decline of the
marriage, seek forgiveness and
change their ways to reconnect.
melodyz@sph.com.sg
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| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Xi to host 37 world
leaders at Belt
and Road forum
PM Lee will be among the
participants at high-level
meeting in Beijing next week
Tan Dawn Wei
China Bureau Chief
In Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping will
play host to nearly 40 heads of state
and government next week at the
second Belt and Road forum, which
is expected to produce more deals
for companies and banks that want
in on the latter-day Silk Road mega-
project.
The strong showing is a testa-
ment to the project’s standing de-
spite multiple criticisms against it,
said Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi yesterday.
All 10 Asean leaders, including
Singapore Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong, will take part in a
high-level meeting at Beijing’s Na-
tional Convention Centre and a
leaders’ roundtable at Yanqi Lake
in the suburb of Huairou.
The other 27 leaders will include
Russian President Vladimir Putin;
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz;
Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras; Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orban; Italian Prime Minister
Giuseppe Conte and Pakistani
Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“We must let the facts speak for
themselves,” said Mr Wang when
asked about the controversies that
have surrounded China’s signature
In your Sunday Times tomorrow
‘
LUNCH WITH SUMIKO
In many ways I feel
like a semi-citizen
of Singapore
Moshe Safdie, the Israeli-Canadian
architect behind Marina Bay
Sands and Jewel Changi Airport,
has witnessed the changes in
the Republic since he first
stepped foot here in 1976
A15
diplomatic and economic campaign.
It has, among other things, been ac-
cused of saddling developing coun-
tries with unsustainable debt.
“Nearly 40 foreign leaders and
over 150 representatives are com-
ing. They, through their actions,
have already given the Belt and
Road Initiative a vote of confi-
dence,” he told reporters at a news
conference at the Foreign Ministry.
Based on figures released by
China’s top economic planner last
week, the total trade volume be-
tween China and Belt and Road par-
ticipating countries exceeded
US$6 trillion (S$8.1 trillion) from
2013 to last year, while China has so
far chalked up US$80 billion in di-
rect foreign investment in these
countries.
China also says it has inked 173
deals with 125 countries and 29 in-
ternational organisations.
Mr Wang said close to 5,000 partic-
ipants from over 150 countries and
90 international organisations such
as the United Nations, World Bank
and International Monetary Fund
will be at the meeting, which trumps
the first forum held two years ago.
Then, 29 leaders and representa-
tives from more than 130 countries
attended, including National Devel-
opment Minister Lawrence Wong.
This year’s event, from next
Thursday to Saturday, will feature
12 thematic sub-forums and, for the
first time, a CEO conference involv-
ing 800 business leaders, which Mr
Wang described as “a platform for
matchmaking”.
dawntan@sph.com.sg
It Changed My Life
There’s no
health without
mental health
Professor
Kua Ee Heok
has spent his
entire career
speaking up for
people with
mental llness
’
A16 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

4.38m ESTIMATED NO. OF CAESAREAN BIRTHS IN INDIA

EVERY YEAR BETWEEN 2010 AND 2016 A19

Moscow North tested

ground
eyes global combat
weapon,
role with says S. Korea

Putin-Kim
SEOUL • A weapon tested by North
Korea is thought to have been a
guided weapon for ground combat
and not a ballistic missile, South Ko-
rea’s military said, indicating it was
a conventional weapon and not one

summit subject to international sanctions.

Russian leader is gearing up to play a bigger
role in nuclear negotiations with N. Korea
MOSCOW • With Russian Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin set for his first
talks with North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un this month, Moscow
is eyeing a major role in yet an-
other global flashpoint.
Mr Kim and US President Donald
Trump held a historic meeting last
June in Singapore, during which
they both backed denuclearisation.
But a second round of talks in
Hanoi in February ended in failure,
and Pyongyang this week said it
have pushed out almost everyone
apart from North Korea and the
US, and of course nobody likes
that,” he said.
Russia has been inviting Mr Kim
for talks since last year, but he was
unwilling to spend time and re-
sources on the trip because Mos-
cow was not a major player, said
the professor of Korean studies.
But now, Mr Kim is looking for all
the allies he can get “because (the
second round of US talks) was a fail-
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to meet and discuss bilateral ties,
denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and regional cooperation before the end of this month. PHOTOS: REUTERS
tent on keeping North Korea
within its sphere of influence.
Russia’s role in any global negoti-
ations will likely be as part of a
group with China and North Korea
itself, said Dr Konstantin Asmolov,
a Korea specialist at the Moscow-
based Institute of the Far East.
Russia’s foreign policy focus re-
mains on former Soviet states and
the Middle East, particularly its
backing for the regime of Presi-
dent Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Dr
A MEASURE OF CONTROL
Russia needs some sort of
control over the situation
on the Korean peninsula.
Recent events have
pushed out almost
everyone apart from North
Korea and the US, and of
course nobody likes that.
talking about negotiations of the
heads of neighbouring states with
an extensive joint border,” Krem-
lin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
reporters. “There is no doubt that
Russia will be ready to do every-
thing to promote the process of de-
nuclearisation of the Korean penin-
sula to the best of its abilities.”
Mr Peskov said the non-disclo-
sure of information about the place
and exact date of the meeting be-
tween the two leaders is related to
South Korea and the United
States ran a joint assessment of the
test, a South Korean Defence Min-
istry spokesman said yesterday
without offering further details
about the weapon.
The Pentagon said the test did not
involve a ballistic missile and posed
no threat to the US or its allies in the
Pacific. “There was a test,” Mr
Patrick Shanahan, the Acting De-
fence Secretary, told reporters as he
met his Albanian counterpart at the
Pentagon. “There’s no change to
our posture or to our operations.”
A US official familiar with the as-
sessment told CNN that North Ko-
rea tested components for an anti-
tank weapon, rather than a fully op-
erational new weapon. The official
added that data the US has been
able to review indicated the com-
ponents were inconsequential to
any advanced North Korean mili-
tary capability.
North Korean state media an-

was testing weapons again.
Now, Mr Putin, who has long ex-
pressed his readiness to meet Mr
Kim, is gearing up to play a bigger
role in nuclear negotiations with
Moscow’s Cold War-era ally, with
which it shares a short border.
Russia’s main interest in the sum-
mit is to remind other players “that
it exists and that it has economic
and political potential” in the re-
gion, Professor Andrei Lankov at
Seoul’s Kookmin University said.
“Russia needs some sort of con-
trol over the situation on the Ko-
rean peninsula. Recent events
ure, and he was not able to achieve
the things he was counting on”.
Moscow has relatively good rela-
tions with Pyongyang, though
these have deteriorated from So-
viet-era highs.
Mr Putin has expressed tacit sup-
port for Pyongyang, saying last
year that “it seems counterproduc-
tive if we demand everything from
the North Korean side and in re-
sponse they are given nothing”.
The Kremlin lacks, however, the
regional clout of Beijing – Py-
ongyang’s sole major ally and big-
gest trading partner. China is in-
Asmolov said.
Prof Lankov said it was futile to
hope for any practical break-
throughs at the Putin-Kim summit.
“There will be declarations,
promises, they will sign yet an-
other declaration of intent to in-
crease trade 10 times in five years,
but after two years they will forget
about it,” he said.
The Putin-Kim summit is set to
take place before the end of this
month, the Kremlin announced on
Thursday, without specifying a
date or a location. It will be the first
official meeting between the two
’’
PROFESSOR ANDREI LANKOV,
at Seoul’s Kookmin University.
leaders. The Kremlin said yester-
day that Mr Putin and Mr Kim will
discuss bilateral relations, denucle-
arisation of the Korean peninsula
and regional cooperation.
“The baggage for discussion is
very extensive. Here we must still
remember first of all that we are
security concerns. But he said the
meeting will take place in Russia.
Speculation has grown that the
meeting could take place in the Rus-
sian city of Vladivostok, which lies
not far from its land border with
North Korea.
When asked if Russia and the
United States contacted each other
on the problems of the Korean
peninsula, Mr Peskov said a “cer-
tain exchange of views is under
way”, but it was impossible to talk
about some kind of close coordina-
tion on this issue.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA
nounced the test of what it called a
“new-type tactical guided weapon”
on Thursday, hours before a sepa-
rate state media report in which a
Foreign Ministry official demanded
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
be removed from direct nuclear ne-
gotiations for what the official
called his “reckless remarks”.
Mr Pompeo said yesterday that
he is “still in charge of the team” ne-
gotiating with North Korea over its
nuclear programme.
BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SEE OPINION A35

Wedding photo shoot, Pyongyang-style

A bride and groom jumping over
a skipping rope as they pose
during a wedding photo shoot at
a park in North Korea’s capital,
Pyongyang, on Thursday.
With the country’s emerging
middle class and “new rich”
business families, lush weddings
have become more common in the
cities, according to news website
nknews.org.
Wealthy Pyongyang families
usually invite a famous artist, who
plays the role of “churye”, which is
the master of ceremony. They also
invite singers and musicians to
perform at weddings.
At the banquets held at hotels,
guests not only have numerous
dishes, they also sing and dance
for several hours, according to the
report on the website.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Trump to visit WASHINGTON • US President Don-

ald Trump and his wife Melania will
be the first foreign state guests to
thronement of His Majesty Em-
peror Naruhito on May 1, 2019,”
White House spokesman Sarah
to 27, Ms Sanders said.
“The meeting between President
Trump and Prime Minister Abe will
to Japan in June for the Group of 20
summit being held in Osaka.
Yesterday, US Secretary of State

Japan, meet new visit Japan and meet Crown Prince

Naruhito after his elevation to em-
peror, the White House said.
Sanders said in a statement on
Thursday.
Mr Trump will also hold talks
reaffirm the United States-Japan al-
liance as the cornerstone of peace,
stability and prosperity in the Indo-
Mike Pompeo welcomed Japanese
Foreign Minister Taro Kono for
talks in Washington ahead of a
emperor in May Mr Trump will travel to Japan
from May 25 to 28 “as the country’s
first state guests following the en-
with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe, in addition to a visit by
Mr Abe to Washington on April 26
Pacific region and around the
world,” she said.
Mr Trump is expected to return
planned expanded session with the
two allies’ defence chiefs.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Coming to China:
Connected, shared
and self-driving cars
Carmakers, Chinese
tech giants team up
to test new concepts,
on-demand transport
SHANGHAI • Global carmakers are
positioning for a brave new world
of on-demand transport that will re-
quire a car of the future – hyper-
connected, autonomous and
shared – and China may become
the concept’s laboratory.
With ride-hailing services boom-
ing and car-sharing not far behind,
the need for vehicles tailored to
these and other evolving mobility
solutions is one of the hottest topics
among global automakers gathered
for this week’s Shanghai Auto Show.
Manufacturers are competing
not to only to sell conventional and
electric vehicles in the world’s big-
gest auto market, but also to de-
velop new technologies and even
specific interiors designed for the
on-demand world.
“We cannot just develop electric
cars. They will have to be smart, in-
terconnected and of course
shared,” Mr Zhao Guoqing, vice-
president of Chinese auto giant
Great Wall Motors, said on the auto
show’s sidelines.
Discussion of China and ride-hail-
ing inevitably involves Didi Chux-
ing, the country’s omnipresent an-
swer to Uber.
The eagerness of Chinese trav-
ellers to hail rides with a smart-
phone click has unleashed a colos-
sal market: On-demand transport
reached US$28 billion (S$38 bil-
lion) in turnover in China last year,
or about half of global volume, and
is expected to double by 2022, ac-
cording to data firm Statista.
Didi accounts for about 90 per
cent of the Chinese market.
The on-demand potential is
bringing automakers and service
providers together.
Last year, Didi unveiled an al-
liance of Chinese and foreign manu-
facturers including Renault, Toy-
ota and Volkswagen, dedicated to
exploring ways forward.
Police officers at the scene of the traffic accident in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo yesterday. The car, driven by a man
in his 80s, struck pedestrians at a busy intersection and then hit a garbage truck. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
2 critically hurt after elderly man
crashes car at Tokyo junction
TOKYO • Two people were criti-
cally injured and eight others hurt
yesterday after a car ploughed into
them at a busy intersection in
Tokyo, police said.
The vehicle, driven by a man in
his 80s, struck the pedestrians at a
pedestrian crossing and then hit a
garbage truck in the busy Ike-
bukuro district of Tokyo, the Metro-
politan Police Department said.
A woman in her 20s, and a girl of
around two years old who is be-
lieved to be her daughter, were
both in a coma after being hit in the
collision, local media reported.
A visitor at the Shanghai Auto Show on Wednesday. The hottest topic among
global carmakers at the show is tailoring cars to the needs of the booming
ride-hailing and car-sharing services in China. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
And in February, Chinese tech-
nology giants Alibaba and Tencent
joined hands with several manufac-
turers to develop a future platform
for on-demand transport.
“We can no longer be a conven-
tional manufacturer. We must of-
fer mobility solutions, connectiv-
ity,” said Dr Stephan Wollenstein,
director of Volkswagen China.
Although a relative newcomer to
China’s automotive market,
French brand Renault is plunging
ahead: Its local joint venture with
Chinese manufacturer Brilliance
Auto delivered 600 personal mini-
vans to Didi in February.
Said Mr Michael Dong, vice-pres-
ident of Renault-Brilliance-Jinbei:
“Didi wants to develop such vehi-
cles with many carmakers, which
are more adapted to (Didi’s) busi-
ness, redesigned around the pas-
senger.”
Mr Lawrence Petizon, an analyst
with AlixPartners, said that for one
thing, most passenger cars today
are designed to squeeze in a family,
and thus feature limited space in
the back because that is where the
children normally sit.
But for ride-hailing or car-shar-
ing, more space is needed in the
back to accommodate adult pas-
sengers. “The family car is not the
The collision occurred at around
12.30pm local time near Higashi-
Ikebukuro subway station, which
serves the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho
Line and carries about 43,000 pas-
sengers daily. The area is close to
the expansive Sunshine City com-
plex, where the 240m-tall Sun-
shine 60 skyscraper – an attraction
for shoppers, tourists and business
people – is located.
Japan’s “silver tsunami” demo-
graphic crisis, which is set to
worsen, has raised the question of
how safe elderly drivers are.
Drivers aged 75 or older, includ-
WORLD A17
right answer,” he said.
Didi drivers typically supply
their own vehicles, but the Chinese
authorities are encouraging ser-
vice firms to build their own fleets,
partly to spur the industry and
push forward the futuristic trans-
port concept.
Some manufacturers are even
dipping their toes into ride-hailing,
with Germany’s BMW offering a
high-end service in the south-west-
ern Chinese city of Chengdu, and
Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz
doing so in Shanghai.
One thing that seems certain to
eventually change is how cars are
bought and sold. “Car manufactur-
ers will no longer provide cus-
tomers with cars via a one-time
sale, but rather with a brand that
connects them to the users on a
daily basis through the mobility ser-
vices they offer,” said a recent re-
port by Eurogroup Consulting.
Valeo, the French manufacturer
of ultrasonic sensors, cameras, and
navigational technology, said it re-
ceived orders totalling €1 billion
(S$1.5 billion) last year related to
the development of “robot-taxis”.
Valeo is also working with
Meituan, China’s leader in meal de-
liveries, to develop a robotic vehi-
cle. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
ing those who had not taken a cog-
nition test, caused 418 fatal acci-
dents in 2017 alone. Under a re-
vised traffic law that took effect in
March 2017, drivers aged 75 or
older are required to see a doctor
in the preliminary part of the
screening if they are suspected of
having dementia.
Japan’s National Police Agency
has reported that some 1,900 el-
derly drivers had their licences re-
voked or suspended after undergo-
ing medical tests in the first year
under the revised traffic law.
XINHUA
A18 WORLD | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Heavy smog in Gurugram, which was named by a study as India’s most polluted city, last month. Pollution levels have doubled in many cities over the past decade due to factors including increasing vehicle numbers. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Indian election

Air pollution gets scant attention in polls

Nirmala Ganapathy
It is a leading health India Bureau Chief
In New Delhi
problem, but main
parties’ manifestos Air pollution is a crisis facing India,
give it short shrift which is home to seven of the
world’s 10 most polluted cities.
Multiple studies show it is a lead-
ing health problem, causing mil-
lions of deaths and children to grow
up with reduced lung capacities.
Yet in the general elections cur-
rently under way, air pollution has
failed to take off as a political issue.
It merits scant mention in the po-
litical discourse and little or none in
election campaigns and rallies.
That the two main national par-
ties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
and Congress, have dedicated one
paragraph each to pollution in their
manifestos is being hailed by envi-
ronmentalists as a good step.
The Congress party said it would
recognise pollution as a “national
public health emergency” in its
manifesto, while the ruling BJP, in
its 47-page election manifesto, also
said it would continue with plans
drawn up by the government to re-
duce pollution.
“We will convert the national
clean air plan into a mission and we
will focus on the 102 most polluted
cities in the country,’’ BJP said.
In January, the BJP government
released the National Clean Air
Programme, a five-year plan start-
tion and 480,000 from household MORE PRESSING CONCERNS
pollution related to the use of solid
fuels like wood in cooking. Pollution is not going
Still, public pressure has yet to
to be an issue or a
build up on the issue.
“Air pollution is a serious health significant part of my
threat in South Asia, including In-
vote... To my mind,
dia, which has never been seen or
tackled with the seriousness it de- there are bigger
serves looking at its impact on hu-
man health, society and economy,’’ national issues to
said Mr Sunil Dahiya, a clean air consider, including
campaigner with Greenpeace.
Pollution is still seen as an urban religious
phenomenon in the country of 1.25 fundamentalism,
billion people, most of whom still
live in rural areas. India’s urban pop- lack of jobs... and
ulation, according to the 2011 cen- suppression of rights.
sus, was 37.8 per cent.

ing this year to reduce levels of
PM2.5 and PM10 – pollutants mea-
suring less than 2.5 microns and 10
microns in diameter levels respec-
tively – by 20 per cent to 30 per
cent of 2017 levels in 102 cities.
They include the capital, New
Delhi.
According to a study this year by
Greenpeace and AirVisual, Guru-
gram – a Delhi satellite city – and
Ghaziabad were the top two pol-
luted cities.
Pollution levels have doubled in
many cities over the past decade be-
cause of a lethal combination of fac-
tors: rapid industrialisation, an ex-
plosion in vehicle numbers, poor
public transport, unchecked con-
struction of homes in urban areas
and weak enforcement of laws and
regulation.
In Delhi, for instance, during win-
ter months when pollution peaks as
it is trapped in the atmosphere,
PM2.5 levels have risen to six times
over the safe limit.
A study published in Lancet Plane-
tary Health said 1.24 million people
in India died in 2017 due to pollution.
Of these, 670,000 died of air pollu-
“Pollution may not be prominent
as an election issue for the follow-
ing reasons. First, it seems to be a lo-
cal rather than a national issue,
with local factors causing it. The
other issue could be that pollution
seems to be a bigger problem in
large cities,’’ said Mr Amit Bhan-
dari, a fellow in energy and environ-
ment studies at Gateway House, a
Mumbai-based think-tank.
“Second, proportionately, urban
India (especially metros) accounts
for fewer parliamentary seats.’’
India is holding staggered elec-
tions in which Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi is seeking to retain power.
The key issues in the elections
range from unemployment to de-
fence scams to farm reforms to lift
an ailing agricultural sector.
In a country that struggles with
poverty and a lack of jobs, pollu-
tion is seen as a low priority by
many voters.
“It can’t be a major reason for elec-
tions,’’ said Ms Juhi Garg, a chartered
accountant whose daughter suffers
from asthma, made worse by pollu-
tion. “People are more bothered
about food and cleanliness, the econ-
’’
MR NIKHIL PAHWA, a resident of Delhi.
omy per se, and jobs. Those should
be the priorities right now.’’
Mr Nikhil Pahwa, a resident of
Delhi who does not venture out
when pollution levels go up,
agreed, saying: “Pollution is not go-
ing to be an issue or a significant
part of my vote.’’
The founder of MediaNama, a
website specialising in digital and
telecommunications news, added:
“To my mind, there are bigger
national issues to consider, includ-
ing religious fundamentalism, lack
of jobs... and suppression of
rights.’’
gnirmala@sph.com.sg
SCAN FOR MORE
More stories and
analyses at
str.sg/india-election-2019

India halts Kashmir tional Investigation Agency had

shown a significant number of
firms engaged in the cross-border

cross-border trade trade were being operated by

with Pakistan
NEW DELHI • India has suspended
cross-border trade with Pakistan-
controlled Kashmir because it was
being used to funnel weapons and
drugs, said the government, in a
further crackdown in the volatile
territory.
Trade across the Line of Control,
or the heavily militarised de facto
border that divides the two parts
of Kashmir between India and Pak-
istan, has served as a confidence-
building measure and to help the lo-
cal population.
But tensions between India and
Pakistan have run high, ever since
a Pakistan-based militant group
claimed responsibility for bomb-
ing a security convoy in Kashmir.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, in the middle of a tightening
election race, ordered air strikes
on a suspected camp of the Jaish-e-
Mohammed terror group in north-
west Pakistan, prompting a retalia-
tory air raid by Pakistan.
On Thursday, the Indian Home
Ministry said it had been receiving
information that militant groups
were using the cross-border route
to send arms, drugs and fake In-
dian currency. “Unscrupulous and
anti-national elements are using
the route as a conduit for money,
drugs and weapons, under the
garb of this trade,” said the
ministry.
It added that inquiries by the Na-
people with links to militant
groups, but did not name anyone.
Soon after the attack on the In-
dian security convoy, India with-
drew most favoured nation status
from Pakistan, accusing the neigh-
bour of not doing enough to rein in
militant groups operating from its
soil.
Pakistan denied any involve-
ment in the attack.
The Indian government said on
Thursday that it believed that fol-
lowing the withdrawal of favoured
status, more goods from Pakistan
could be routed through the cross-
border channels in Kashmir to
avoid the higher duties.
“It has, therefore, been decided
by the government of India to
suspend the Line of Control trade
at Salamabad and Chakan da Bagh
in Jammu and Kashmir with
immediate effect,” said the govern-
ment, referring to the points from
which the trade took place.
REUTERS
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Spike in
caesarean
birth rate in
India sparks
concern
Study highlights need to study rapid growth,
particularly in urban areas, among affluent
Debarshi Dasgupta
India Correspondent
In New Delhi
An estimated 4.38 million cae-
sarean births were recorded every
year in India between 2010 and
2016, according to a study that has
expressed concern about the
rapidly growing rate of such deliver-
ies in the country.
The latest available government
data shows that India has more
than doubled its rate of caesarean
deliveries from 8.5 per cent in
2005-2006 to 17.2 per cent in
2015-2016.
This rate is already higher than
the World Health Organisation’s
recommended threshold of 15 per
cent, said the study, which was pub-
lished in medical journal JAMA Net-
work Open on March 22.
It added that caesarean rates in
certain Indian urban areas and
among the middle class had
reached levels consistently higher
than what was “considered medi-
cally justified”.
This rate can exceed 70 per cent
in some of the country’s private hos-
pitals, which has led many to be-
lieve caesarean deliveries are likely
often motivated by commercial and
other non-medical reasons.
A caesarean delivery costs more
than the normal method of birthing.
The rise of caesarean deliveries
Protesters in Dhaka holding placards with Nusrat Jahan Rafi’s photo after she died earlier this month. Police say her head
teacher ordered her to be burned to death after she accused him of sexual harassment. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Bangladeshi teen set on fire after
reporting sexual harassment
DHAKA • A schoolgirl was burned
to death in Bangladesh on the or-
ders of her head teacher after she
reported him for sexually harass-
ing her, the police said yesterday.
The death of Ms Nusrat Jahan
Rafi, 19, last week sparked protests
across the South Asian nation, with
the Prime Minister promising to
prosecute all those involved.
Ms Rafi was lured to the rooftop of
the Islamic seminary she attended.
There, her attackers asked her to
withdraw the sexual harassment
complaint she had filed with the po-
lice. When she refused, she was
doused in kerosene and set on fire.
The police said that one of the 17
people arrested in connection with
her death had accused the school’s
principal of ordering the attack.
The teacher “told them to put pres-
sure on Ms Rafi to withdraw the
case or kill her if she refused”, senior
police superintendent Mohammad
in the last decade corresponds to
an annual growth rate of 7 per cent,
almost twice that observed in the
rest of the world, said the study.
While China had 5.3 million cae-
sarean births annually between
2008 and 2014, that rate was re-
portedly contracting, it added.
“In a matter of years, India will be-
come home to the largest number
of caesarean births in the world,”
wrote study authors Christophe Z.
Guilmoto and Alexandre Dumont.
The study did not specify reasons
for this rapid growth, instead calling
for more research to understand
why the number of caesarean deliv-
eries was so high among affluent
groups and in more developed re-
gions of India.
“The need to monitor the further
progression of caesarean rates is ur-
gent,” the paper stated.
Institutional disparities were also
stark. While the rate of caesarean
procedures in government facilities
was normal at 11.9 per cent from
2015 to 2016, the rate in private clin-
ics grew from 27.5 per cent to 40.8
per cent during the same period.
“Effective interventions and poli-
cies targeted at women and health-
care professionals to reduce unnec-
essary caesarean deliveries will be
required in India to avoid growing
inequalities in access to caesareans
and unnecessary procedures,” said
the study.
Caesarean rates normally go up
Iqbal, who is leading the investiga-
tion, told Agence France-Presse.
Ms Rafi had gone to the police
late last month to report the sexual
harassment, and a leaked video
shows the local police station chief
registering her complaint, but dis-
missing it as “not a big deal”.
Mr Iqbal said at least five of those
under arrest, including three of Ms
Rafi’s classmates, had tied her up
with a scarf before setting her on
fire. “The plan was to pass the inci-
dent off as a suicide. But it fell
through after Rafi managed to
come downstairs while on fire be-
cause the scarf burned and freed
her hands and feet,” he said.
Ms Rafi suffered burns to 80 per
cent of her body and died in hospi-
tal on April 10.
She recorded a video before her
death, repeating her allegations
against the principal. “The teacher
touched me. I will fight this crime
WORLD A19
with an increase in institutional de-
liveries, as the option of surgical de-
livery is offered to women who
may need them but lack access.
Almost all Indian births are antici-
pated to take place in health facili-
ties by the early 2020s, according
to the authors. This figure is
around 92 per cent now.
Besides commercial reasons,
many believe the increase in cae-
sarean deliveries has been caused
by Indian women choosing not to
undergo the pain associated with
normal delivery.
Many couples, as well as doctors,
also want to schedule deliveries,
with the couples choosing to give
birth on certain auspicious dates
and the doctors wishing to better
manage their busy schedules.
The government has tried differ-
ent measures to promote the nor-
mal birthing method, including get-
ting hospitals to publicly display
their caesarean and normal delivery
rates, but this has not helped.
But, in recent years, some hospi-
tals have tried to turn the tide and
have showcased a higher rate of nor-
mal deliveries as an achievement.
The fourth round of India’s Na-
tional Family Health Survey
showed the percentage of cae-
sarean deliveries among total births
was the highest in Telangana state
at 57.7 per cent. This figure was as
high as 74.5 per cent in Telangana’s
private healthcare facilities.
Dr Pratibha Narayan, an obstetri-
cian at The Birthplace, a private ma-
ternity hospital in Telangana’s capi-
tal, Hyderabad, has kept this to
around 37 per cent among her
“low-risk” patients.
The hospital, which is about six
years old, charges the same price
for normal and caesarean deliver-
ies, which keeps pecuniary motives
out of the decision-making process.
Dr Narayan also conducts regular
ante-natal sessions where mothers
to be are motivated to choose the
natural birthing method and learn
ways to handle labour pain.
“We have round-the-clock anaes-
thetists to help mitigate their pain
and we tell them labour pain should
not be a reason to opt for a cae-
sarean delivery. We also try and
make them understand that the
pain from a C-section will endure
much longer (than from a normal de-
livery),” she told The Straits Times,
adding that having the right infor-
mation always helps.
“While caesarean deliveries are
life-saving and necessary in some
cases, nothing can be better than
the most natural way of birthing for
healthy and low-risk pregnancies.”
debarshi@sph.com.sg
till my last breath,” she said. She also
identified some of her attackers.
The case has caused outrage in
Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina has vowed that “none of the
culprits will be spared legal action”.
Rights groups say the number of
rape and sexual assault cases has in-
creased because the authorities
have failed to prosecute attackers.
“The horrifying murder of a
brave woman who sought justice
shows how badly the Bangladesh
government has failed victims of
sexual assault,” Ms Meenakshi Gan-
guly, South Asia director at Human
Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“Nusrat Jahan Rafi’s death high-
lights the need for the Bangladesh
government to take survivors of
sexual assault seriously and ensure
that they can safely seek a legal
remedy and be protected from re-
taliation,” she added.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A20 WORLD | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Malaysia
A resident with
newly purchased
water containers
in Kuala Lumpur.
The taps in

reviving
Selangor state
are expected to
run dry for 86
hours from next
Wednesday to
facilitate critical
repairs at a
treatment plant
managed by
Pengurusan Air
Selangor.
Bandar
Malaysia
PHOTO: THE
STAR/ASIA
NEWS NETWORK

Selangor water disruption for that urgent repair works are done
immediately to avoid an explosion
at the plant,” he said.
project
It will resume with original contractors but
with new development plan, says Mahathir
Hazlin Hassan Holdings and China Railway Engi-

repairs at plant to hit 4 million

PUTRAJAYA • Over four million
consumers in Malaysia have been
advised to store two days’ worth of
water, ahead of the biggest water
cut so far in Selangor state begin-
ning next Wednesday.
The taps are expected to run dry
for 86 hours to facilitate critical re-
pairs at a treatment plant managed
by Pengurusan Air Selangor.
“Although the water disruption is
expected to last for 86 hours, we
expect water supply to resume to
50 per cent of the affected areas
within 24 hours of repair works
being done,” Air Selangor chief
Suhaimi Kamaralzaman said dur-
ing a press conference at the Na-
tional Water Services Commission
(Span) yesterday.
Mr Suhaimi said water tankers
will be deployed from Wednesday
at critical sites such as hospitals,
medical centres and haemodialysis
centres. “Consumers can also re-
quest water supply... such as to facil-
itate wedding celebrations or funer-
als,” he added.
Over 620,000 households in the
districts of Klang, Shah Alam, Petal-
ing, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala
Langat and Kuala Selangor will be
affected by the disruption.
Span chairman Charles Santiago
said the disruption was unavoid-
able due to the critical situation at
the Selangor River Phase 2 Water
Treatment Plant, which required
immediate attention. “It is critical
According to Mr Santiago, this
was due to the deterioration in the
plant’s 32-kilowatt electrical cable
and water piping systems.
He said Air Selangor had notified
Span of the situation on March 27.
The repair works were approved
on April 10.
He noted that plans had been
made last December for repairs to
commence in July. However, the
current situation warranted imme-
diate action.
If there were an explosion at the
plant, he said, the disruption would
be worse, owing to the approach-
ing May 1 holiday as well as the com-
ing fasting month and Hari Raya fes-
tivities. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Malaysia Correspondent
In Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia is reviving a multibillion-
dollar property development pro-
ject with a China-linked venture
that was shelved by the former ad-
ministration two years ago.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mo-
hamad yesterday announced that
Bandar Malaysia – the 197ha for-
mer air force base on the southern
fringes of Kuala Lumpur – will be
reinstated, after it was “abruptly
terminated in May 2017”.
The project, which will include
offices, a park and 10,000 units of
affordable homes, is expected to
draw foreign direct investments
and generate an expected gross de-
velopment value of RM140 billion
(S$46 billion).
“Like the ECRL, the Bandar
Malaysia project should be viewed
within the larger context of foster-
ing and cementing long-term bilat-
eral relations between Malaysia
and China, while ensuring that
such projects add maximum eco-
nomic value to the country,” the
Prime Minister’s Office said in a
statement yesterday.
The ECRL, or East Coast Rail
Link, is another Malaysia-China
venture that recently received the
go-ahead after being suspended
last year by the current administra-
tion. The 640km railway line con-
nects ports on the west and east
coasts of Peninsular Malaysia.
Bandar Malaysia will resume
with its original contractors – a
Malaysia-China consortium con-
sisting of Iskandar Waterfront
HARD LINE
No corruption or any form of
shady deals will be tolerated.
This approach will prevent
leakages, questionable dealings
and abuse of power and will
translate into massive savings for
the government.
neering Corp (IWH-CREC) – but
with a new development plan, said
Tun Dr Mahathir.
Bandar Malaysia was launched as
a business and transport hub pro-
ject of state fund 1Malaysia Devel-
opment Berhad (1MDB) in 2011 by
then Prime Minister Najib Razak.
A stake in it was sold to master
developer IWH-CREC in 2015 to
help 1MDB with its finances, but
the deal was called off in May 2017
over alleged missed payments.
IWH-CREC had at the time dis-
puted the allegations.
Najib currently faces 42 charges
of corruption, abuse of power, and
money laundering involving funds
linked to 1MDB.
Under the new plan, IWH-CREC
will make an advance payment of
RM500 million – in addition to the
original deposit sum of RM741 mil-
lion – to be paid within 60 days
from the date that the government
officially reinstates the project.
“It should be stressed that the
principle of integrity, accountabil-
ity and transparency will remain
paramount at all times. No corrup-
tion or any form of shady deals will
be tolerated,” said the Prime Minis-
ter’s Office statement. “This ap-
proach will prevent leakages, ques-
tionable dealings and abuse of
power and will translate into mas-
sive savings for the government.”
Reacting to the news yesterday,
Najib called the move “another big
U-turn” by Dr Mahathir’s Pakatan
Harapan (PH) coalition.
Najib said in a post on Facebook
that the deal was the same one that
was signed during his tenure.
“All the accusations that PH once
threw at me and BN can be recy-
cled back to PH,” he said, referring
to his former ruling coalition,
Barisan Nasional.
“Selling the country. Shady
project. Bowing to China.”
Bandar Malaysia was slated to
become the country’s biggest trans-
port hub, with the MRT line, KTM
Komuter intercity trains and the
airport’s Express Rail Link line con-
verging there.
The original plan had included a
terminus for the Kuala Lumpur-Sin-

’’
MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE,
in a statement yesterday.
gapore High Speed Rail, which has
been put on hold by the Mahathir
administration.
hazlinh@sph.com.sg

WorldBriefs
Three jailed for eating
endangered monkey
HANOI • The authorities in
central Vietnam have jailed
three men for live streaming the
slaughter and consumption of
an endangered monkey, state
media reported yesterday.
Phan Van Hoi, 33, and Thai
Dinh Quy, 58, were each
sentenced to a year in prison,
while Thai Kim Hong, 51, was
sentenced to 15 months’ jail in Ha
Tinh province on Wednesday for
“violating regulations on the
protection of precious and rare
wild animals”, the VnExpress
news site reported. DPA
UN evacuates 163 from
Libya; 3,000 trapped
GENEVA • The UN said
yesterday it had evacuated 163
refugees from war-ravaged
Libya to neighbouring Niger, but
more than 3,000 others were
still trapped in detention
centres affected by clashes.
The eastern-based army has
been leading a military
campaign since early this month
to take over the capital Tripoli
from the UN-backed
government.
The fighting has so far killed
more than 200 people and
forced thousands of civilians to
flee their homes. The country is
politically divided between
eastern and western
governments, and the army is
allied with the eastern-based
government. XINHUA
Ex-Nissan chief to face
new charge on Monday
TOKYO • Tokyo prosecutors will
indict former Nissan chief
Carlos Ghosn on a new charge
on Monday when his detention
period over suspected financial
misconduct expires, local media
reported yesterday.
The 65-year-old is being
questioned in a Tokyo detention
centre over allegations that he
siphoned off millions of dollars
from his former company
Nissan to a dealership in the
Middle East for his own ends.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Climate
protests
hit Paris,
London
Activists target those with links to oil and gas
industry, aiming to bring cities to a standstill
PARIS/LONDON • Climate activists
blocked thousands of employees
from entering the headquarters of
France’s Societe Generale bank,
state-run utility EDF and oil giant
Total yesterday, following similar
protests in London aimed at bring-
ing the city to a standstill.
Environmental group Green-
peace said it was protesting against
company links to the oil and gas in-
dustry, which it calls a driving force
in global warming. Activists also ob-
structed the entrance to the Envi-
ronment Ministry near the La De-
fense business district.
Protesters pasted giant posters of
President Emmanuel Macron carry-
ing the slogan “Macron, President
of Polluters” and a banner reading
“Scene of Climate Crime” on the
Yellow vests to demonstrate for 23rd straight Saturday
PARIS • The French government is
mobilising 60,000 police officers
nationwide as this week’s fire at
Notre-Dame cathedral does not
seem to have deterred “yellow
vests” from protesting for the 23rd
straight Saturday.
Several key members of the move-
ment posted that they intend to
demonstrate today, saying that con-
testing French President Emmanuel
glass facade of Societe Generale. Po-
lice pepper-sprayed a group block-
ing the bank’s main entrance in a
sit-down protest.
Some demonstrators taped them-
selves together while others cuffed
themselves with plastic ties to
metal poles to make it harder for po-
lice to dislodge them.
Employees in business suits
milled around outside their offices.
“I just want to get inside and on
with my work,” one frustrated bank
employee said.
Greenpeace and action group Les
Amis de la Terre (Friends of the
Earth) have previously criticised So-
ciete Generale for its financial role
in oil and gas projects, in particular
the Rio Grande LNG gas project in
the United States.
Macron’s policies is not incompati-
ble with grieving over the damage to
the iconic Gothic monument.
Interior Minister Christophe Cas-
taner has said there are indications
that “black bloc” anarchists, who
have been blamed for the worst of
the violent acts in past weeks, are
expected to join them.
“Violent extremists once again
plan to gather in certain towns such
EDF, which relies heavily on nu-
clear and hydropower plants to gen-
erate electricity, said 96 per cent of
its power was carbon dioxide-free,
and that the company was commit-
ted to curbing its total carbon foot-
print by 40 per cent by 2030.
A Total spokesman said two se-
nior company executives had held
talks with representatives of Green-
peace and Les Amis de la Terre.
Total chief executive Patrick
Pouyanne told an industry summit
yesterday that his company had in-
as Toulouse, Montpellier, Bordeaux
and above all Paris,” Mr Castaner
said at a press conference yester-
day in Paris.
“Their objective is clear: to do an-
other March 16” when there was
widespread destruction on the
Champs-Elysees avenue in the capi-
tal, he said.
The Paris police say they will not
allow protests today near the
creased output to 2.95 million bar-
rels of oil equivalent per day, pass-
ing its 2018 record, aided by in-
creased production in Australia, An-
gola, Nigeria and Russia.
Yesterday’s protest echoed a se-
ries by the Extinction Rebellion
group of climate-change campaign-
ers in London this week that have
caused transport snarl-ups.
An Extinction Rebellion protest
that was expected to trigger mas-
sive disruptions at Heathrow Air-
port yesterday got off to a slow
Champs-Elysees and Notre-Dame.
Although Monday’s fire at Notre-
Dame initially united France in its
grief, the huge sums of money be-
ing pledged for its reconstruction
have become a new source of anger.
“Yesterday, a historic building
burned and it’s very serious, but
money has flowed in and this monu-
ment will be rebuilt,” Mr Nicolle
Maxime, a truck driver from Brit-
start, with fewer than two dozen
people taking part in the fifth day of
the group’s protests.
About 20 people, many of them in
their teens, gathered outside the
London airport with a banner that
read: “Are we the last generation?”
The teenage protesters staged an
emotional protest against political
inaction on climate change.
Activists with the Extinction Re-
bellion movement had said they
aimed to “shut down” the London
airport on Good Friday, a busy
tany who goes by the online name
Fly Rider and has a wide following,
said in a video he posted on Tuesday.
“The earth still turns, we have peo-
ple who can’t make it to the end of
the month, we have people who
sleep on the streets, and that’s what
our fight is about.”
The Notre-Dame fire broke out
an hour before Mr Macron was due
to address the country on television
WORLD A21
A French
anti-riot police
officer using
pepper spray on
climate-change
activists as they
blocked the
entrance of the
Societe Generale
bank
headquarters in
a sit-down
protest in Paris
yesterday.
PHOTO: AGENCE
FRANCE-PRESSE
travel day over the Easter weekend.
The group began demonstrating
on Monday at central locations in-
cluding Parliament Square, Water-
loo Bridge and Oxford Circus, often
lying down on roads and bridges.
Incidents have also been re-
ported of protesters gluing them-
selves to trains. They also chained
themselves to opposition Labour
Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s gar-
den fence. Metropolitan Police said
about 460 protesters had been ar-
rested during the week. REUTERS, DPA
to outline tax and other measures
he was proposing as a result of the
“Great Debate”, a two-month series
of town-hall meetings he organised
to let the French vent grievances
raised by five months of yellow-
vest protests.
That speech was cancelled, and
Mr Macron next week is likely to
make the announcement, perhaps
in a different format. BLOOMBERG
A22 WORLD | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Millions of
Instagram
passwords
stored in
readable form
SAN FRANCISCO • Millions of Insta-
gram users had their passwords
stored in unencrypted form on in-
ternal servers, Facebook has said,
raising its original estimate of tens
of thousands.
“We discovered additional logs of
Instagram passwords being stored
in a readable format. We now esti-
mate that this issue impacted mil-
lions of Instagram users,” Facebook
said in a blog post on Thursday.
“We will be notifying these users
as we did the others. Our investiga-
tion has determined that these
stored passwords were not inter-
nally abused or improperly ac-
cessed,” the social network said.
Facebook, Instagram’s parent
company, revealed last month that
the unencrypted passwords of hun-
dreds of millions of users had been
stored, putting the number of In-
stagram users affected in the tens
of thousands.
The social network’s handling of
user data has been a flashpoint for
controversy since it admitted last
year that Cambridge Analytica, a po-
litical consultancy, used an app that
may have hijacked the private de-
tails of 87 million users.
Facebook has announced a series
In past investigations into Facebook, the US government opted to spare Mr Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder, chief executive and board chairman, from the most onerous scrutiny. A sanction from of moves to tighten handling of
the Federal Trade Commission would be seen as a rare rebuke on him and the tech giant’s historic “move fast and break things” ethos. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG data, including eliminating most of
its data-sharing partnerships with

US probe into Facebook may

outside companies.
The California firm reaches an es-
timated 2.7 billion people with its
core social network, Instagram and
messaging applications.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

hold Zuckerberg liable: Sources MILLIONS AFFECTED

Federal regulators said to be mulling over
how to make him accountable for data lapses
WASHINGTON • US federal regula-
tors investigating Facebook for mis-
handling its users’ personal informa-
tion have set their sights on the com-
pany’s chief executive officer Mark
Zuckerberg, exploring his past state-
ments on privacy and weighing
whether to seek new, heightened
oversight of his leadership.
The discussions about how to
hold Mr Zuckerberg accountable
for Facebook’s data lapses have
come in the context of wide-rang-
ing talks between the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) and Facebook
that could settle the government’s
more than one-year-old probe, ac-
ley’s best-known – and image-con-
scious – corporate leaders.
Mr Zuckerberg is Facebook’s co-
founder, CEO, board chairman and
most powerful stock owner, and a
sanction from the federal govern-
ment would be seen as a rare rebuke
on him and the tech giant’s historic
“move fast and break things” ethos.
Often, the FTC does not target ex-
ecutives in cases in which it finds a
company’s business practices have
violated Web users’ privacy.
But critics said targeting Mr
Zuckerberg could show other tech
giants that the agency is willing to
hold top executives directly ac-
Namee, an early investor in the
company and one of Mr Zucker-
berg’s critics.
In past investigations into Face-
book, the US government opted to
spare Mr Zuckerberg from the
most onerous scrutiny. Documents
obtained from the FTC under fed-
eral open-records rules reflect that
the agency considered, then
backed down from, putting Mr
Zuckerberg directly under order
during its last settlement with Face-
book in 2011. Had it done so, Mr
Zuckerberg could have faced fines
for future privacy violations.
Asked about the negotiations,
Facebook said in a statement that
it “hope(s) to reach an appropriate
and fair resolution”. The FTC de-
clined to comment for this story.
The FTC began investigating Face-
agreement, brokered with the FTC
in 2011, that required the company
to improve its privacy practices.
Since then, Facebook has ac-
knowledged a series of additional
privacy lapses, including an admis-
sion on Thursday that it mishandled
millions of users’ passwords on In-
stagram, its photo-sharing service.
Appearing before Congress last
year, Mr Zuckerberg sought to take
personal responsibility for a range
of his company’s recent missteps,
including Facebook’s entangle-
ment with Cambridge Analytica.
“I started Facebook, I run it and
I’m responsible for what happens
here,” he told lawmakers.
But the Facebook chief still main-
tained that the company did not
commit a “violation of the consent
decree” it had struck with the FTC.
We discovered
additional logs of
Instagram passwords
targeting Mr Zuckerberg, too. One
idea that has been raised could re- being stored in
quire him or other executives to a readable format.
certify the company’s privacy prac-
tices periodically to the board of di- We now estimate that
rectors, two people familiar with this issue impacted
the matter said, along with height-
ened oversight by the FTC. millions of Instagram
The idea of holding Mr Zucker- users... We will be
berg accountable – and even sub-
jecting him to penalties for Face- notifying these users
book’s alleged mishandling of
users’ data – has gained political
as we did the others.
traction in Washington. Our investigation has
On Thursday, Senator Richard determined that these
Blumenthal said the company’s top
executive “wasn’t just aware of Face- stored passwords
book’s invasion of consumer pri- were not internally
vacy, he signed off on it and publicly
downplayed legitimate concerns”. abused or improperly
“Holding Mark Zuckerberg and accessed.
other top Facebook executives per-

cording to two people familiar with
the discussions. Both requested
anonymity because the FTC’s in-
quiry is confidential under law.
Such a move could create new le-
gal, political and public-relations
headaches for one of Silicon Val-
countable for their firms’ repeated
data misdeeds.
“The days of pretending this is an
innocent platform are over, and cit-
ing Mark in a large-scale enforce-
ment action would drive that home
in spades,” said Mr Roger Mc-
book in March last year, amid re-
ports that Cambridge Analytica, a
political consultancy, improperly ac-
cessed data on roughly 87 million of
the social networking site’s users.
The federal probe has focused on
whether Facebook violated an
Settling that federal inquiry, now
more than a year old, could force
Facebook to make significant con-
cessions, including paying a fine
ranging into the billions of dollars,
The Washington Post has reported.
It could lead to new obligations
’’
sonally at fault and liable for fur-
ther wrongdoing would send a pow-
erful message to business leaders
across the country: You will pay a FACEBOOK
hefty price for skirting the law and
deceiving consumers,” Mr Blumen-
thal said. WASHINGTON POST

Hudson Media to buy embattled US tabloid accused of blackmail

NEW YORK • American Media is sell-
ing the National Enquirer to Hud-
son Media, letting the embattled
publisher jettison the tabloid after
being accused of trying to black-
mail the world’s richest man.
An agreement has been struck
with Mr James Cohen, an heir to the
Hudson News newsstand chain, ac-
cording to a statement on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported
earlier on the deal, saying he was
paying US$100 million (S$135 mil-
lion) for the Enquirer.
American Media announced this
month that it was putting the
93-year-old tabloid up for sale, fol-
lowing the accusations levelled by
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
The publication was also accused
of killing embarrassing stories
about US President Donald Trump.
The sale should ease pressure on
American Media, chief executive of-
ficer David Pecker and the pub-
lisher’s hedge-fund backers.
Chatham Asset Management is
the principal owner of the company
and two of the firm’s executives
serve on its board.
Chatham has grown increasingly
disgusted with the reporting tac-
tics at the Enquirer and pushed for
the sale, according to The Washing-
ton Post.
The sale includes two other titles
– the Globe and National Examiner
– and American Media will also get
paid to provide publishing, finan-
cial and distribution services for
the tabloid brands.
Hudson, meanwhile, is a century-
old news distributor founded by
the Cohen family. It bills itself as
the largest distributor of magazines
and books in the US Northeast and
the second-largest nationwide.
That may bring some advantages to
aligning with the Enquirer.
In a statement, Mr Cohen said he
wants the Enquirer to collaborate
more with Investigation Discovery,
a cable channel owned by Discov-
ery. He also wants to expand the
tabloid’s podcast and theme-park
businesses.
The Enquirer recently unveiled at-
tractions in Branson, Missouri, and
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, offering
interactive exhibits on “stories that
changed the course of history”.
The Enquirer and its owner have
come under scrutiny since Mr Be-
zos accused American Media of try-
ing to blackmail him with photos of
him with a woman who was not his
wife. To support those claims, he
also published e-mails sent to his
lawyer, Mr Marty Singer, by Ameri-
can Media executives.
A staple of supermarket checkout
aisles for decades, the Enquirer has
suffered a decline in circulation,
along with a heavy debt load.
Unloading the Enquirer would
shift American Media’s focus to-
wards fitness and lifestyle brands.
BLOOMBERG

3 elite mountaineers presumed

dead after avalanche in Canada
MONTREAL • Three world-renown-
ed professional mountaineers – two
Austrians and an American – were
missing and presumed dead after an
avalanche on a western Canadian
summit, the country’s national
parks agency has said.
American Jess Roskelley, 36, and
Austrians Hansjorg Auer, 35, and
David Lama, 28, went missing on
Tuesday evening in Banff National
Park, according to media reports.
The authorities launched an aerial
search the next day.
The three men were attempting
to climb the east face of Howse
Pass, an isolated and highly diffi-
cult route, Parks Canada said on
Thursday.
They were part of a team of expe-
rienced athletes sponsored by
American outdoor equipment firm
The North Face, the company con-
firmed to Agence France-Presse.
Rescuers found signs of several
avalanches and debris consistent
with climbing equipment, Parks
Canada said, leading them to pre-
sume that the climbers were dead.
Poor weather conditions have in-
creased avalanche risks in the
mountainous area on the border be-
tween Alberta and British Colum-
bia, with the search halted for
safety reasons.
It is unlikely the three men sur-
vived, Mr John Roskelley, father of Athletes (from left) Jess Roskelley, 36, David Lama, 28, and Hansjorg Auer, 35, who went missing on
missing mountaineer Jess Roskelley, Tuesday in Banff National Park, were trying to climb Howse Pass’ east face. PHOTO: THE NORTH FACE
told local media in the US state of
Washington. “This route they were
trying to do was first done in 2000. turned into a nightmare,” he told climbed Mount Everest with his
It’s just one of those routes where the Spokesman-Review. son in 2003, making then 20-year-
you have to have the right condi- Himself considered one of the old Jess the youngest person to
tions or it turns into a nightmare. best American mountaineers of his have conquered the summit.
This is one of those trips where it generation, Mr John Roskelley AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A23
A24 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

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| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A25
A26 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Journalist
killed during
violent riots
in N. Ireland
Londonderry shooting a terror attack likely
carried out by militant nationalists: Police
BELFAST • An off-duty journalist
was killed as shots were fired dur-
ing rioting in the Northern Irish city
of Londonderry overnight, in what
police yesterday said was likely the
work of militant nationalists op-
posed to the British region’s 1998
peace deal.
Rioting erupted in the Irish na-
tionalist Creggan area of the city
late on Thursday, following a raid
by police, who said they were trying
to prevent militant attacks planned
for the weekend.
Videos posted on social media
showed police vehicles being pelted
with dozens of petrol bombs, bricks,
bottles and fireworks. At least 50
petrol bombs were thrown and two
cars set on fire.
“Unfortunately, at 11pm last
night, a gunman appeared and fired
a number of shots towards the po-
lice and a young woman, Ms Lyra
McKee, 29 years old, was wounded”
and later died, Police Service of
Northern Ireland Assistant Chief
Constable Mark Hamilton told jour-
nalists yesterday.
He said police were treating the
incident as a terrorist attack and
had opened a murder inquiry.
“We believe this to be a terrorist
act. We believe this has been car-
ried out by violent dissident republi-
cans,” Asst Chief Constable Hamil-
ton added, saying the New IRA
group, which has been responsible
for several attacks in recent years,
was most likely behind the killing.
A local journalist who was at the
scene, Ms Leona O’Neill, wrote on
Twitter that after the woman was
shot, she fell beside a police Land
Rover and officers rushed her to
hospital, where she died.
The violence came in the run-up
to the Easter weekend, when Re-
publicans opposed to British pres-
ence in Northern Ireland mark the
anniversary of a 1916 uprising
against British rule.
The detonation of a large car
bomb outside a courthouse in Lon-
donderry in January highlighted the
threat still posed by militant groups
opposed to the Good Friday Agree-
ment who have previously launched
attacks during the Easter period.
Politicians in Northern Ireland
have also warned that Britain’s plans
to leave the European Union could
undermine the peace deal and that
any border infrastructure would be-
come targets for militant groups.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varad-
kar warned that “we cannot allow
those who want to propagate vio-
lence, fear and hate to drag us back
to the past”.
His British counterpart Theresa
May said the killing was “shocking
and truly senseless”. In Brussels, a
European Commission spokesman
condemned the “terrible incident”.
The leaders of Northern Ireland’s
two largest political parties, the Irish
nationalist Sinn Fein party and pro-
British Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP), both condemned the killing.
“Those who brought guns onto
our streets in the 70s, 80s and 90s
were wrong. It is equally wrong in
2019. No one wants to go back,” DUP
leader Arlene Foster said on Twitter.
JOURNALIST’S DEATH
I was standing beside this
young woman when she fell
beside a police Land Rover
tonight in Creggan #Derry.
I called an ambulance for
her but police put her in the
back of their vehicle and
rushed her to hospital
where she died.
Just 29 years old. Sick to
my stomach tonight.
’’
MS LEONA O’NEILL, a journalist tweeting
about Ms Lyra McKee, who was shot during
the riots in Londonderry on Thursday night.
Ms Michelle O’Neill, the deputy
leader of Sinn Fein, wrote on Twit-
ter: “My heart goes out to the family
of the young woman shot dead by
so-called dissidents.”
Visiting US House of Representa-
tives Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined
in a minute’s silence for Ms McKee,
saying it was “especially poignant”,
being held on Good Friday.
Ms McKee was writing a book on
the disappearance of young people
during three decades of sectarian vi-
olence in Northern Ireland, which
ended with the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement peace deal.
She was described by publisher
Faber as a rising star in investiga-
tive journalism.
Police said they did not believe
she was working at the time of the
attack. Before she was shot, Ms Mc-
Kee had posted an image that ap-
peared to be from the riots in the
city, also known as Derry, accompa-
A27
A video
screenshot
showing vehicles
set on fire
during the riots
in Londonderry,
Northern Ireland
on Thursday.
Rioting erupted
in the Irish
nationalist
Creggan area of
the city after a
raid by police,
who said they
were trying to
prevent militant
attacks planned
for the weekend.
PHOTO: REUTERS
nied by the words, “Derry tonight.
Absolute madness”.
The Good Friday Agreement in
1998 largely brought an end to three
decades of sectarian bloodshed in
Northern Ireland between republi-
can and unionist paramilitaries, as
well as British armed forces, in a pe-
riod known as “the Troubles”.
Some 3,500 people were killed in
the conflict – many at the hands of
the Irish Republican Army.
Londonderry was the scene of
one of the darkest episodes in the
Troubles in 1972, known as Bloody
Sunday, when British troops
opened fire on a civil rights demon-
stration and killed 13 people. A 14th
victim later died of his wounds.
Following a long-running public
inquiry in 2010, Britain’s then Prime
Minister David Cameron issued a for-
mal state apology for the killings, call-
ing them “unjustified and unjustifi-
able”. REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A28 WORLD
Campus free speech
alive and well, say
Aussie universities
Review finds no systemic pattern of free speech being impeded
Jonathan Pearlman
For The Straits Times
In Sydney
Last September, a controversial
social commentator, Ms Bettina
Arndt, was due to speak at Sydney
University as part of a lecture tour
in which she disputed claims that
women were unsafe on campuses.
When Ms Arndt arrived to talk
about what she called the “Fake
Rape Crisis”, a group of protesters
attempted to block the event and
to stop her from entering the
venue. Riot police were called, but
the event went ahead eventually.
The incident attracted wide-
spread attention and followed sev-
eral other incidents at universities
in Australia, mostly involving at-
tempts to protest against right-
wing and conservative speakers.
Australian dad saves
toddler from dingo
pack on Fraser Island
SYDNEY • A father rescued his son
from a dingo’s jaws after the tod-
dler was dragged from a camper
van at an Australian tourist island,
the authorities said yesterday, in
the third such attack this year.
Paramedics said the family was
on a remote part of Fraser Island off
the Queensland coast late on Thurs-
day when the parents heard their
child crying.
“The parents awoke with the tod-
dler crying and heard the crying get-
ting farther away from the camper
van,” Fraser Island paramedic Ben
Du-Toit said. “The dad got out of the
camper van to investigate and
found the dingo dragging the tod-
dler away from the camper van. He
also spotted several other dingoes in
the... immediate vicinity. He imme-
diately ran up and grabbed his son
and chased some of the dingoes off.”
The boy, reported to be 14 months
old, was treated for two deep cuts to
the top of his neck near the back of
Many right-wing commentators,
politicians and think-tanks have
long expressed concern that univer-
sities in Australia have a left-wing
bias – and these incidents seemed
to only confirm their beliefs.
Eventually, these concerns
prompted the ruling conservative
coalition to order a review of
whether free speech was under
threat at Australian campuses.
The review’s 300-page report, re-
leased earlier this month, found
that Australian universities, overall,
did not have a free-speech crisis.
But it recommended that universi-
ties adopt a code to protect free
speech on campus and to
strengthen their commitment to
free intellectual inquiry and debate.
The review, conducted by former
High Court Chief Justice Robert
French, said students and staff
should be protected from discrimi-
his head, and for minor cuts to his
scalp, Mr Du-Toit said. He was taken
by helicopter to a nearby hospital for
further treatment.
The attack is the third this year on
World Heritage-listed Fraser Is-
land, the world’s largest sand island
and a popular tourist destination.
The dingo is a protected species on
Fraser Island. Two dingoes were
put down last month after a French
mother and son were mauled on
the island.
In January, a six-year-old boy was
mauled by the native animal as he
ran up a dune on the island.
The authorities have warned visi-
tors in the past to beware of din-
goes, which are wild animals.
Native to Australia, dingoes came
under the spotlight following the
disappearance of baby Azaria
Chamberlain at Uluru, or Ayers
Rock, in 1980 for which her mother
Lindy was convicted of murder and
her father, Michael, of being an ac-
The debate about free
speech on campus has
prompted fresh discussion
about the rights of Chinese
students to speak freely at
Australian universities,
which have about 324,000
foreign students. Chinese
students make up the
largest cohort, numbering
about 123,000.
cessory. The convictions were over-
turned in 1988 after the chance find
of a piece of Azaria’s clothing near a
dingo lair. A court ruling in 2012
found that a dingo snatched their
baby from a tent.
Dingoes, introduced to Australia
nation, intimidation and humilia-
tion. But it said this “does not ex-
tend to... feeling offended or
shocked or insulted by the lawful
speech of another”.
Universities welcomed the re-
view’s conclusion that there was no
“systemic pattern” of free speech
being impeded by universities or
student groups.
Universities Australia, which rep-
resents the nation’s 39 universities,
said it would consider the review’s
proposals. But, it noted, the review
confirmed that vigorous debate
was “alive and well” on campus.
“Australian universities continue
to affirm their enduring commit-
ment to informed evidence-based
discussion and debate,” said the or-
ganisation’s chief executive, Ms
Catriona Jackson, in a statement.
Still, the debate about free speech
on campus has prompted fresh dis-
cussion about the rights of Chinese
students to speak freely at Aus-
tralian universities, which have
about 324,000 foreign students. Chi-
nese students make up the largest
cohort, numbering about 123,000.
Numerous analysts and commen-
tators have expressed concerns
that Chinese students and aca-
demics in Australia are routinely
monitored, typically by fellow stu-
dents, and risk repercussions if
they express views that contradict
the Chinese Communist Party’s of-
ficial stance on issues such as Tibet.
Following the release of Chief Jus-
tice French’s report, Human Rights
Watch said it believed a free speech
code could help to protect Chinese
citizens on Australian campuses.
The organisation’s Australia di-
rector, Ms Elaine Pearson, said Chi-
about 4,000 years ago, are pro-
tected in Queensland state’s na-
tional parks, World Heritage areas,
Aboriginal reserves and the Aus-
tralian Capital Territory. Else-
where, they are a declared pest
species.
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
nese students face risks “every
day” and fear being monitored by
other students and forced to self-
censor their views. Pressure from
Beijing, she said, included “censor-
ing discussion topics, putting stu-
dents from China under surveil-
lance, and threatening those who
participate in protests or events
that China deems sensitive”.
“Concerns and fears about get-
ting visas, threats to students or col-
leagues, and fear of irking adminis-
trators and nationalist students are
all factors,” she wrote on The Strate-
gist, a website run by the Australian
Strategic Policy Institute.
Human Rights Watch last month
proposed a 12-point code of con-
duct to help protect academic free-
dom at universities around the
world, including tracking instances
of Chinese surveillance on cam-
puses and encouraging students to
recognise and report any censor-
ship or intimidation.
Beyond concerns about Chinese
students, there seems to be a con-
sensus that free speech on campus
is relatively safe, but sometimes ex-
pressed with excessive vigour.
The University of Sydney’s Vice-
Chancellor, Dr Michael Spence, crit-
icised the outrage over the Bettina
Arndt event. The incident, he said,
showed the need for opposing
groups to debate their views calmly.
“In the end, she had her lecture,
the protesters had their protest,”
he told the Sydney Morning Herald
in February. “The problem is not
that speech on campus in Australia
is not free. The problem is that free
speech is not civil.”
jonathanmpearlman@gmail.com
The dingo is a
protected
species on Fraser
Island, where
there are about
200 of the wild
animals. There
have been three
attacks by
dingoes on the
island this year.
PHOTO:
BOB TAMAYO
Dingoes hold a significant place
in the spiritual and cultural prac-
tices of many Aboriginal and Tor-
res Strait Islander communities.
Fraser Island’s dingo population
is estimated to be around 200.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
NZ firm
admits
adding
chemicals
to its honey
MELBOURNE • A New Zealand
company pleaded guilty on Thurs-
day to charges of adding artificial
chemicals to its premium manuka
honey, media reported, in a flag-
ship prosecution over a product
that is a high-value export for the
country.
New Zealand Food Safety filed
the case against Auckland-based
Evergreen Life, whose products
were pulled from shelves in 2016
by the Ministry for Primary Indus-
tries, which said they might con-
tain “non-approved substances”.
Singapore also recalled the
manuka honey products in Febru-
ary 2016, as Singapore’s food regu-
lations do not allow additives to
be added to honey.
While there was no food safety
risk, consumers were advised not
to consume the affected products
and to discard them.
Demand for honey has been
growing globally, especially for
manuka honey, which is collected
from the flowers of plants native
to New Zealand and Australia.
Different species of the plant
grow in other parts of the world,
but they do not produce the flow-
ers needed for the honey, making
manuka more expensive.
Manuka is also considered to
have better anti-bacterial proper-
ties than other honey, partly be-
cause it naturally contains an
omega acid called DHA and an
antacid known as MGO.
Evergreen had allegedly been
adding synthetic chemicals to in-
crease the levels of the anti-bacte-
rial agents, allowing the company
to sell the honey at a higher price,
according to the public-service Ra-
dio New Zealand.
Sentencing in the Evergreen
case is scheduled for later this
month. REUTERS
Evergreen’s manuka honey products
were recalled in Singapore in 2016,
and people were advised to discard
the affected products. PHOTO: AVA
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
WORLD A29

Sudan Ukraine voters look likely to elect comedian as president

protest ZAPORIZHIA (Ukraine) • Ms Zoya

Troshina plans to vote for a come-
dian for president tomorrow. She
says she wants peace in her coun-
supporter in Zaporizhia, an indus-
trial city a few hours’ drive from
the front line in eastern Ukraine. “I
want the thieves to be punished

leaders
try – “at any price”.
The comedian, Mr Volodymyr Ze-
lensky, is set to beat incumbent
Petro Poroshenko and win the
Ukrainian presidency by a land-
slide in tomorrow’s run-off elec-
and the war to be stopped.”
Mr Zelensky, 41, has no political
experience other than playing an
incorruptible president of Ukraine
on a popular sitcom Servant Of
The People. Its third season,

to name tion, according to polls.

Driving Mr Zelensky’s surge is
voter disdain for Mr Poroshenko,
who has been president since 2014,
and widespread fatigue with the
which began airing last month, in-
cludes scenes of an imagined fu-
ture Ukraine in the aftermath of
the Zelensky character’s presi-
dency, a prosperous country free

ruling war against Russian-backed sepa-

ratists in eastern Ukraine.
“Poroshenko – he wants war,”
said Ms Troshina, 69, a retired engi-
neer. “His is a party of war.”
of corruption.
Mr Poroshenko built his cam-
paign around the slogan of “Army!
Language! Faith!” – strengthening
Ukraine’s army to better resist Rus-

council A poll published this week by Rat-

US sending envoy to country
to encourage military council to
hand over power to civilian body
ing, a Ukrainian polling firm,
showed Mr Zelensky leading Mr
Poroshenko 58 per cent to 22 per
cent among those planning to cast
a ballot in the run-off, with 20 per
cent undecided.
Other recent surveys have
shown Mr Zelensky with a similar
margin, while Mr Poroshenko’s
standing has been dragged down
by the war, corruption scandals
and a struggling economy.
“I want change,” said actress
Yana Kozak, 48, another Zelensky
sia, promoting the use of the Ukrain-
ian language over Russian and form-
ing a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in-
dependent from Moscow.
A victory for anyone but him in
the presidential race, Mr Mr Volodymyr Zelensky speaking to the media after voting at a Kiev polling station last month. He is
Poroshenko said, would mark a vic- expected to win the Ukrainian presidency in tomorrow’s run-off polls. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
tory for Russian President
Vladimir Putin. But analysts say
the patriotic message rang hollow
as many Ukrainians struggled to
Ukraine’s very existence at risk.
“Most important: Don’t lose the
Tetiana Lisova, a programmer in
Kiev who said she would reluc-
make ends meet. country,” his new campaign bill- tantly vote for Mr Poroshenko. “Ze-
Mr Poroshenko has made a last- boards say. lensky is a dark horse, and we don’t
minute push to paint a Zelensky “I don’t really want to vote for know whom he’ll bring with him.”
presidency as a gamble that puts him, but what to do?” said Ms WASHINGTON POST

KHARTOUM • Protest leaders have

announced plans to unveil a civilian
body to take over from Sudan’s rul-
ing military council as crowds of
demonstrators kept up the pres-
sure outside army headquarters
and Washington said it will send an
envoy to encourage the transition.
The military council, which took
power after ousting Sudan’s long-
time leader Omar al-Bashir on
April 11, has so far resisted calls
from protesters to quickly make
way for a civilian administration.
The Sudanese Professionals Asso-
ciation, which has been spearhead-
ing the protests, said in a statement
yesterday that the civilian council
members would be named at a news
conference at 1700 GMT tomorrow
(1am on Monday in Singapore) out-
side the army complex to which for-
eign diplomats are also invited.
“We are demanding that this civil-
ian council, which will have repre-
sentatives of the army, replace the
military council,” Mr Ahmed al-Ra-
bia, a leader of the umbrella group
of unions for doctors, engineers
and teachers, told Agence France-
Presse.
Four months after anti-regime
protests started, access roads were
packed yesterday with crowds flock-
ing to the huge square outside army
headquarters. Activists mobilised
demonstrators through social me-
dia to keep up the pressure for re-
placing the military council, now led
by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
“Power to civilians, power to civil-
ians,” protesters chanted through
Thursday night.
Activists have called for large
crowds to gather after weekly Mus-
lim prayers, as on previous Fridays.
Protests first broke out on Dec 19
in response to the tripling of bread
prices, swiftly turning into nation-
wide rallies against Mr Bashir’s
three-decade rule.
After his ouster, protesters demon-
strated against General Awad Ibn
Ouf who took over as the first head
of the military council, insisting he
was a tool of the old regime.
Gen Ibn Ouf stepped down in less
than 24 hours and was replaced by
Gen Burhan, who so far has ap-
peased protesters by lifting a night-
time curfew and vowing to “up-
root” Mr Bashir’s circle.
The United States on Thursday
praised orders by Sudan’s new mili-
tary leader to free political prison-
ers and end the curfew as it dis-
patched Ms Makila James, a Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State, on a
mission to Khartoum this weekend.
The US will “calibrate our policies
based on our assessment of events”,
State Department spokesman Mor-
gan Ortagus said, adding however
that talks on delisting Sudan as a
state sponsor of terrorism remained
suspended.
“We are encouraged by the deci-
sion to release political prisoners
and cancel the curfew in Khar-
toum,” she said in a statement.
“The will of the Sudanese people
is clear: It is time to move towards a
transitional government that is in-
clusive and respectful of human
rights and the rule of law.”
A senior US official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said Wash-
ington’s short-term goal was to “get
the military folks out of centre-
stage” and “back to being responsi-
ble for security, nothing else”.
“Longer term is to make abso-
lutely sure that whichever group is
going to be responsible for the tran-
sition prepares a transition imple-
mentation that will lead to a truly
democratic government that will re-
flect the will of the Sudanese peo-
ple,” he said. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A30 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

New
way to
get more
oil from
seeds
Scientists here genetically modify
seeds to get up to 15% more oil;
agriculture industry could benefit
Cheryl Teh

Local scientists may have found a

way to make plant seeds produce
more oil, which could have implica-
tions for crops such as oil palm.
Their new method involves genet-
ically modifying plant seeds to pro-
duce up to 15 per cent more oil than
usual.
The new method can also be ap-
plied to crops, such as canola, soya
bean and sunflower. These crops
make up part of a multibillion-dol-
lar industry that continues to see in-
creasing global demand.
Assistant Professor Ma Wei from
Nanyang Technological Univer-
sity’s School of Biological Sciences
told The Straits Times on Thursday
that he led a team of four in develop-
ing the patent-pending method.
The protein that was modified,
known as Wrinkled1 or WRI1, regu-
lates the amount of oil produced in
plant seeds.
Prof Ma said the protein is like a
“gear” in a machine that does not
turn as smoothly and quickly as it
should.
What he and his team did was to
examine the plant’s genes, modify
the Wrinkled1 protein, and in doing
so make the “gear” in the machine
perform to optimum potential with-
out affecting cell function.
The team tested this genetic mod-
ification in the Arabidopsis plant –
a small flowering plant that is com-
monly used as a model for other
plants in laboratory tests and re-
search as it contains all the charac-
teristics of crops.
It found that under laboratory
conditions, the modified Arabidop-
sis plant seeds contained larger
Top: Nanyang Technological University Assistant Professor
Ma Wei with a bottle of cooking oil and a beaker of
modified seeds in his lab.
Above: Prof Ma injecting a solution into a test plant’s leaf.
PHOTOS: NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
amounts of oil, up to 15 per cent
more natural oils than seeds in un-
modified plants.
The method of genetic modifica-
tion, Prof Ma said, can be trans-
planted from the Arabidopsis to
any plant to modify any variant of
seeds.
“Plant seed oil is an essential
component in our daily diet and
the agricultural industry is seeking
ways to maximise plants’ yield
while reducing environmental ef-
fects of crop cultivation, especially
land use,” said Prof Ma, who has
been working on the project for
eight years.
“Our research helps to increase
the production of seed oil in a sus-
tainable and cost-effective way,
and also opens up doors in agricul-
ture research,” he added.
The research findings were re-
cently published in the scientific
journal Plant Signaling & Behavior.
Agriculture companies told The
Straits Times that the study looked
promising.
Dr Bo Shen, a senior manager at
DuPont Pioneer, a United States-
based international producer of hy-
brid seeds for agriculture, said:
“Prof Ma’s research on WRI1 could
have global importance.
“Understanding better how WRI1
regulates oil biosynthesis could in-
form how we breed plants that pro-
duce more oil.”
tienli@sph.com.sg

ScienceFaces Honey as a pollution

Don lauded for using
research to help public
Shabana Begum
Psychologist David Chan cannot
imagine working in a university
without applying his theories to
benefit the public.
As an industrial and organisa-
tional (I-O) psychologist, Professor
Chan, 54, uses his understanding of
human behaviour to boost the effec-
tiveness of organisations, improve
employees’ well-being and analyse
policies and public opinion
“Since we are addressing organi-
sations and people’s lives, I person-
ally think it is quite strange and diffi-
cult to just stay in our ivory towers
and do research,” said the director
of the Behavioural Sciences Insti-
tute at the Singapore Management
University.
“If you truly understand the na-
ture of this discipline and why it ex-
ists, you will want to do research to
solve problems in the real world.”
On top of publishing in top psy-
chology journals and writing sev-
eral books, Prof Chan is also a mem-
ber of a number of councils, such as
the National Council on Problem
Gambling (NCPG) and the Diabetes
Prevention and Care Taskforce.
With the NCPG, he uses findings
from his own research and existing
studies to find out how gamblers
struggle with self-control and deci-
sion-making. His insights are used
to improve existing policies on
problem gambling prevention and
public education.
His commitment to creating
knowledge and using it to shape
policies and workplace practices
earned him the inaugural Scientist-
Practitioner Presidential Recogni-
tion award from the US-based Soci-
ety for Industrial and Organisa-
tional Psychology on April 4.
This is the first award to recognise
a psychologist who contributes
equally to both research and prac-
tice in the field of I-O psychology.
“I’m glad that this award was cre-
ated because it sends the signal that
it is important for us to start living
the scientist-practitioner model.
The award is a recognition that sci-
ence and practice are not seen as
separate and are definitely not op-
posing,” said Prof Chan.
He also noted that the structure
of many research-based universi-
ties here and abroad forces faculty
members to focus solely on publish-
ing in top journals, which prevents
many from teaching well and apply-
ing their knowledge to the real
world. The main roles of professors
in universities are to create, dissem-
inate and apply knowledge, he said.
“I can understand if professors
are concerned about time, but I
would argue that good researchers
will want to teach passionately and
effectively, and also disseminate
knowledge to the public.”
University management and poli-
cymakers who have control over
funding and resources in universi-
ties and research institutes must en-
sure that the system encourages
professors to be more integrative,
added Prof Chan.
Balancing research and psychol-
ogy practice comes naturally to
Prof Chan because he did not start
off as an academic. He was a police
officer for nine years, dealing with
cases from gang fights to domestic
abuse before embarking on gradu-
ate studies in 1993.
“What I value from my stint as a po-
lice officer is (that) I started off in
the real world, dealing with people
and solving problems. That has al-
ways been my meaning in life. I can’t
imagine doing research with no prac-
tical application. At the same time, I
can’t imagine giving consulting ad-
vice without the research.”
As a local researcher, Prof Chan
Professor David Chan’s commitment to creating knowledge and using it to shape
policies and workplace practices earned him the inaugural Scientist-Practitioner
Presidential Recognition award this month. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
has an innate interest in the coun-
try and how he can use his exper-
tise to contribute to public policy.
“Being a scientist-practitioner be-
comes natural because I am also a
citizen and have a stake in the coun-
try. I will be interested in the coun-
try’s issues.”
I-O psychology took off in World
War I when psychologists were
hired to select personnel for spe-
cific jobs within the military, and to
test the emotional and intellectual
abilities of soldiers.
Prof Chan’s works have been
cited more than 10,000 times in aca-
demic studies, and in 2017, he was
the first scientist in the world to be
made a fellow in all six international
organisations for psychologists. His
current research interest lies in look-
ing at how people adapt to changes
in technology, society and politics.
He has written about what makes
political leaders effective. When a de-
cision or policy lacks transparency,
citizens feel that they do not have a
say in decisions that affect them, he
said. “Before galvanising citizens to
work towards a goal or explaining
why they need to change their mind-
sets, politicians should first address
the citizens’ concerns about the poli-
cymaking process.”
In his field, about half of the post-
graduates will go into academia
while the other half will become
consultants in companies, Prof
Chan observed.
In other fields of psychology such
as cognitive or social psychology,
close to 90 per cent of doctorate
holders will remain in universities
and research institutions.
nshab@sph.com.sg
detector? It’s a sweet idea
Organic things can carry coded
messages about their home envi-
ronments. Tree rings can tell
scientists what the atmosphere
was like when the tree was young.
Lichens can reveal local air pollu-
tion levels. Now, scientists in
Canada report that honey carries
a message too.
A survey of urban beehives
around Vancouver, British Colum-
bia, which was published in Na-
ture Sustainability, showed that
the hives’ honey contained minute
levels of lead, especially down-
town and near the city’s port.
The readings suggest that honey
can be a sensitive indicator of air
quality. And with urban hives
growing in number and already
more numerous than many people
realise, tracking their pollutant
levels may offer an inexpensive
way to monitor what is in the air
all over the world, said geochem-
istry professor Dominique Weis at
the University of British Columbia
and a co-author of the paper.
The project began when Hives
for Humanity, a non-profit outfit
that manages community bee-
hives around the city, asked Prof
Weis to check the honey for lead
and other substances.
Bees are known to pick up trace
amounts of metals, which settle
on leaves and flowers from the air,
as they forage for pollen.
The results showed very small
levels of lead, along with traces of
iron, zinc and other substances. A
person would have to eat more
than a pound of the honey a day to
reach the US Food and Drug Ad-
ministration’s provisional tolera-
ble lead intake level for an adult,
Prof Weis said.
The Hives for Humanity honey
compares favourably with honey
elsewhere – its lead levels are be-
low the worldwide average.
More interesting, however, was
that the technique showed how
honey could serve as a sensitive
pollution detector. The chemistry
of different samples can reveal
where the honey came from.
Volcanoes, river rocks, coal and
other natural sources of lead have
their own distinctive signatures,
based on the ratio of different iso-
topes of the heavy metal in them,
said Ms Kate Smith, a graduate stu-
dent who worked with Prof Weis
and led the study. It was clear that
the ratio of lead isotopes in the
honey the team studied did not
match the ratios found in the near-
by Fraser River or local sediments.
“What we can tell you is that the
source is man-made as it doesn’t
correspond to anything that we
have naturally,” Prof Weis said.
She and her colleagues think
that fuel burned by ships in Van-
couver’s harbour, as well as emis-
sions from cars in the city’s
streets, might be sources of the
lead. Going forward, scientists
might be able to track improve-
ments or declines in air quality
over time by monitoring the bee-
hives and analysing the honey.
With sensitive instruments to
pick up on these messages and ur-
ban apiaries becoming more com-
mon, it is possible to paint a picture
of a world that appears ever more
connected. The researchers hope
to expand their honey-monitoring
efforts to other cities. NYTIMES
A survey of urban
beehives around
Vancouver, British
Columbia... showed that
the hives’ honey
contained minute levels
of lead, especially
downtown and near the
city’s port. The readings
suggest that honey can
be a sensitive indicator
of air quality.
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
University of the
Philippines
archaeologist
Armand Salvador
Mijares with the
fossils and teeth
of a newly
discovered
human species,
Homo
luzonensis, at a
press
conference in
Manila last week.
PHOTO: AGENCE
FRANCE-PRESSE
A new bloom on
the tree of humanity
Extinct human species, possibly less than
0.9m tall, lived on Luzon 50,000 years ago
In a cave in the Philippines, scien-
tists have discovered a new branch
of the human family tree.
At least 50,000 years ago, an ex-
tinct human species lived on what
is now the island of Luzon. It is pos-
sible that Homo luzonensis, as they
are calling the species, stood less
than 0.9m tall.
The discovery adds growing com-
plexity to the story of human evolu-
tion. It was not a simple march for-
ward, as it once seemed. Instead,
our lineage assumed an exuberant
burst of strange forms along the
way. Our species, Homo sapiens,
now inhabits a comparatively
lonely world.
Paleoanthropologist Matthew
Tocheri, at Lakehead University in
Canada, who was not involved in
the discovery, said: “The more fos-
sils that people pull out of the
ground, the more we realise that
the variation that was present in
the past far exceeds what we see in
us today.”
In the early 2000s, graduate stu-
dent Armand Salvador Mijares, at
the University of the Philippines,
was digging at Callao Cave on Lu-
zon for traces of the first farmers
on the Philippines. Soon, he de-
cided to dig a little deeper.
Researchers on the Indonesian is-
land of Flores had discovered the
bones of an extraordinary human-
like species about 60,000 years
old. The scientists named it Homo
floresiensis.
Some features were similar to
ours, but in other ways Homo flore-
siensis more closely resembled
other hominins (the term scien-
tists use for modern humans and
other species in our lineage).
Homo floresiensis was able to
make stone tools, for example. But
the adults stood only 0.9m tall and
had tiny brains. This strange combi-
nation led to debates about who, ex-
actly, were their ancestors.
The oldest fossils of hominins, dat-
ing back over six million years, have
all been found in Africa. For millions
of years, hominins were short,
small-brained, bipedal apes.
Starting about 2.5 million years
ago, one lineage of African ho-
minins began to evolve new traits –
a flatter face, bigger brains and a
taller body, among other features.
These hominins were the first
known members of our own genus,
Homo.
Only later, about 1.8 million years
ago, do the first fossils of Homo ap-
pear outside of Africa. One common
species was Homo erectus, a species
that spread to East and South-east
Asia. The youngest Homo erectus
fossils, discovered in Indonesia,
may be just 143,000 years old.
Our own lineage kept evolving
in Africa. Homo sapiens emerged
about 300,000 years ago, and
only 100,000 years ago did we
start leaving the continent. By
50,000 years ago, our species had
reached Australia.
(Some researchers believe that
date should be pushed back to
65,000 years ago). One hypothesis,
then, is that Homo floresiensis
evolved from Homo erectus. So
here was the question for Philippine
archaeologists: Could hominins
have reached Luzon as well as Flo-
res?
Dr Mijares, now an archaeologist
at the University of the Philippines,
said in an interview: “That inspired
me to go back and go deep.”
In 2007, he returned to Callao
Cave. As his team dug into the cave
floor, the researchers hit a layer of
bones. At first, Dr Mijares was dis-
appointed by the fossils, which
mostly belonged to deer and other
mammals.
But when archaeologist Philip
Piper at the University of the Philip-
pines sorted through the finds, he
noticed one that resembled a hu-
man foot bone.
It was small, Dr Mijares said, “and
there was something weird about
it”. But not much more could be
learnt from one bone.
In 2011, on another dig, he and his
colleagues found more human-like
fossils, including teeth, part of a fe-
mur and hand bones. In 2015, they
found two more molars, which they
dated to at least 50,000 years ago.
All told, the fossils came from
three individuals. And they were re-
markable. The teeth had a peculiar
shape. Some front teeth had three
roots, for example, whereas those
of our species usually have only
one. And the teeth were tiny.
“These adult teeth are smaller
than any hominin known,” said
Australian National University pale-
oanthropologist Debbie Argue,
who is not involved in the study.
“Could it be that these teeth be-
longed to adults that were even
smaller than Homo floresiensis?”
The researchers did not find
enough bones to estimate how tall
Homo luzonensis stood. But they
do display their own strange mix of
traits. One toe bone, for example,
looks nearly identical to those of
early hominins living in Africa
more than three million years ago.
“The combination of features is
GROWING COMPLEXITY
The more fossils that
people pull out of the
ground, the more we
realise that the variation
that was present in the
past far exceeds what we
see in us today.
’’
DR MATTHEW TOCHERI,
a paleoanthropologist at Lakehead
University in Canada, who was not involved
in the discovery.
like nothing we have seen before,”
said director Maria Martinon-Tor-
res of Spain’s National Research
Centre on Human Evolution, who
was not involved in the new study.
Taken together, Dr Mijares and
his colleagues concluded, the evi-
dence pointed to a new species of
Homo. Drawing such a conclusion
from a few bones is risky, acknowl-
edged Max Planck Institute for
Chemical Ecology paleoanthropolo-
gist Huw Groucutt. Nevertheless, “I
think the argument for a new
species does look pretty convincing
in this case”, he said.
Homo erectus may have been the
ancestor of the tiny hominins on
both Flores and Luzon – perhaps
swept to the islands by storms,
clinging to trees. It may even be
possible that Homo luzonensis de-
scended from hominins that came
to Luzon hundreds of thousands of
years earlier.
Last year, another team of scien-
tists digging in a different cave on
Luzon found the bones of a
butchered rhinoceros. Near those
remains, they also discovered stone
tools dating back 700,000 years.
At the very least, the two studies
indicate there were hominins on
Luzon 700,000 years ago and
50,000 years ago. The question
now is whether they belonged to
the same population.
“I think it’s likely the same lin-
eage,” said Australia’s University of
Wollongong archaeologist Gert
van den Bergh. Over the next sev-
eral hundred thousand years, he
speculated, Homo erectus shrank
as it adapted to life on Luzon.
Dr Tocheri disagreed with that in-
terpretation. “I don’t really buy
into the idea that it’s island-
dwarfed Homo erectus,” he said.
Instead, he suggests, the tiny is-
land hominins had tiny ancestors –
perhaps small hominins in Africa
that expanded to Asia and wound
up on Flores and Luzon, taking
refuge from bigger hominins.
“But it begs the question,” Dr
Tocheri added. “If we’re finding
these things way over there,
there’s got to be a record of them
all the way across the continent
leading back to Africa.”
Sorting through these possibili-
ties will demand more fossils of
Homo luzonensis – and perhaps fos-
sils from some of the many islands
off the coast of South-east Asia.
“I see it as an amazing opportu-
nity to see several parallel experi-
ments in human evolution on these
islands,” Dr van den Bergh said.
NYTIMES
SCIENCE
ScienceTalk
Electronic skins –
fiction or reality?
Advanced stretchable electronics open
doors to skin-like devices that could
potentially personalise beauty regimes, track
health indicators and make robotics smarter.
Benjamin Tee
Skin is our interface to the physical
world. It not only protects us from
harmful environmental effects, but
also provides the touch sensations
needed for our daily activities.
In addition to touch, our skin
senses temperature, humidity and
even gentle breezes, giving us a rich
experience of the physical world.
Our skin also lets us communi-
cate socially, such as via a warm
and firm handshake to form an
emotional connection with some-
one new. In fact, when you lose the
sense of touch – as can happen in
accidents or from chronic health
conditions like diabetes, or chemo-
therapy-induced nerve damage –
the numbness can be debilitating.
Today, scientists and engineers in
Singapore and worldwide are creat-
ing technologies that realise the po-
tential of making electronic devices
behave like skin. This forms a rela-
tively new and emerging field of re-
search: electronic skins.
Inspired by skin, we can make
electronic devices soft and compli-
ant. This means we may no longer
need to have rigid and bulky mobile
phones in our pockets. Instead, we
can have skin-like phones directly
integrated into our clothes.
There are already some examples
that point to such a future; for exam-
ple, the tie-up between technology
companies and traditional textile
apparel designers, such as Google
and Levi’s, or upcoming foldable
phones. The ability of electronic de-
vices to behave like skin and trans-
mit touch feedback can also facili-
tate faster and easier human-robot
interactions.
One of the major difficulties in cre-
ating robots that can collaborate
safely with humans is the lack of ac-
curate and fast touch sensations. As
a consequence, most of today’s ro-
bots are confined to relatively sim-
ple pre-programmed tasks.
Robots have yet to be able to
quickly self-learn new tasks or cor-
rect errant motions elegantly, be-
cause they do not have the rich sen-
sations that an electronic human
skin analogue provides.
Providing rich sensations via a ro-
botic skin can allow them to
rapidly learn new skills, especially
when coupled with new machine
learning techniques.
Such electronic robo-skins can
enable the factories of the future to
have robots that can be trained in a
day, with highly skilled humans
working alongside robots that intel-
ligently take care of many menial
tasks.
As these robots prove their
worth in more controlled factory
environments, they can eventually
be deployed to non-factory envi-
ronments such as healthcare set-
tings, schools, homes and even
space travel.
In order for electronics to
stretch, twist and bend like skin,
new materials, devices and process
technologies are needed.
Traditional electronics, such as
those found in smartphones, use sil-
icon, which is a relatively hard and
brittle material.
However, the transistors found
A31
in silicon devices are getting ex-
tremely small, such as the recently
announced 10-nanometre devices
– 5,000 times smaller than the di-
ameter of a single strand of human
hair – by Intel and other major
semiconductor manufacturers.
This dramatic size reduction of
the basic building block of comput-
ers creates tremendous opportuni-
ties to build digital devices that can
be combined with flexible and
stretchable materials, such as plas-
tic or rubber, to create skin-like
electronics that are high-perfor-
mance and mechanically robust.
Furthermore, advances in plastic
materials open up possibilities of in-
tegrating new self-healing func-
tions to these electronic skins. Such
efforts may help to reduce waste
and promote the sustainable use
and development of electronics.
Creating electronic skins can
also allow us to better track health
and wellness. For example, we can
engineer skin patches that record
skin hydration levels and chemical
exposure, lowering the chances of
dehydration in outdoor activities.
These devices can also measure
skin elasticity and help to deter-
mine how fast your skin is ageing.
These exciting applications will al-
low cosmetic companies to develop
companion skin-wearable devices
that help to tailor precise formula-
tions to an individual’s lifestyle.
At the National University of Sin-
gapore, the Hybrid Integrated Flex-
ible Electronic Systems pro-
gramme is working with French
skincare and cosmetics label Clar-
ins on an exciting research collabo-
ration in this area.
The team is looking into develop-
ing wearables that can be used to
detect changes in the environment
and gain a deeper understanding
of its impact on skin health.
The transformation of comput-
ing – from giant room-filling super-
computers to one small enough to
fit in a pocket, for instance – via ma-
terials science and electronics engi-
neering has marked major techno-
logical progress and milestones in
human history.
The continued advancement of
skin-inspired computing devices
will be another exciting frontier.
This effort brings together re-
searchers across disciplines like
medicine, engineering and design
to create impactful technologies
and applications that are far more
than skin deep.
• Assistant Professor Benjamin Tee
is a lead researcher with the Hybrid
Integrated Flexible Electronic
Systems programme at the National
University of Singapore (NUS)
Biomedical Institute for Global
Health Research and Technology,
and the Department of Materials
Science and Engineering at the NUS
Faculty of Engineering. He is also an
adjunct scientist at the Institute of
Materials Research and Engineering.
An expert in wearable sensors,
Prof Tee has patented and licensed
multiple award-winning materials
and sensing technologies. He is
currently leading a multidisciplinary
team to develop new materials and
sensor technologies, with a focus on
smart electronic skins.
A32 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

THE STRAITS TIMES

Ng Yat Chung Warren Fernandez Zakir Hussain News Editor

SPH Chief Executive Officer
Anthony Tan
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Ignatius Low Chief Marketing Officer
Glen Francis Chief Technology
Officer
Chua Wee Phong Executive
Vice-President (Circulation)
Editor-in-Chief
(English/Malay/Tamil Media Group)
and The Straits Times Editor
Sumiko Tan
The Straits Times Executive Editor
Dominic Nathan
Managing Editor
(English/Malay/Tamil Media Group)
Helen Chia, Paul Jacob, Rahul Pathak,
Lim Chuan Huat, Ravi Velloor,
Vikram Khanna Associate Editors
Paul Cheong Night Editor
Ong Hwee Hwee Digital Editor
Abdul Hafiz Associate News Editor
and Sunday Editor
Li Xueying Enterprise Editor
Kor Kian Beng
Defence and Security Editor
Jeremy Au Yong Foreign Editor
Susan Long Lifestyle Editor
Lee Yulin Sports Editor
Chua Mui Hoong, Audrey Quek
Opinion Editors
Peter Williams Art Editor
Stephanie Yeow Photo Editor
Mathew Pereira Forum Editor

The Straits Times says

Policies that keep pace with change

T
he success of an official policy can depend largely
on timing. If formulated and introduced too early,
there is a chance it will cause ripples and murmurs
of unhappiness among segments of society who
are unprepared, unable or unwilling to see be-
yond what is in their own interests. If introduced
too late, the public need for it would have passed.
That is why governments seek to make policies
optimal – right for the times – and are mindful
that no policy can be cast in stone. Governance in
today’s fast-moving world demands that policies
be refined continually so that they reflect the tem-
per of the times and yet chart a path from a known
past to an unknown future. What matters is how
to translate evolving national needs and aspira-
tions into durable policies that meet the challenge
of the times. Housing is one such example.
It was because of the dismally equalising effects
of general poverty before Independence that poli-
cies such as public housing were so effective after
1965. The Housing Board (HDB) raised most resi-
dents out of comparably sordid living conditions
to a roughly equal, and higher, form of public hous-
ing. However, housing expectations have di-
verged as living standards improved with the rise
in wages in an accelerating economy. Today, the
HDB cannot afford to be occupied with the suc-
cess of its past and has been imagining new ways
in which to meet rising expectations. Public hous-
ing has become a part of adventurous plans to
transform the common use of space. This is evi-
dent in the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s
Draft Master Plan 2019. That goal has given rise to
a discussion on whether new public housing flats
should be built in the Central Business District
(CBD), expanding attractions and residential offer-
ings there beyond what is now targeted largely at
professionals, singles, expatriates, or dual-income
no-kids couples. In doing so, the CBD could gain a
new lease of popular life. Healthcare is another
area where policy cannot afford to be stagnant. A
new balance is being struck between the demogra-
phy of an ageing society and fiscal prudence that
needs to be applied. The need to take greater per-
sonal responsibility for one’s health; focusing on
preventive healthcare, making the process easier,
and delivering integrated care are just some areas
in which new thinking has been applied and poli-
cies refined. Both housing and health are exam-
ples of how policy has evolved and needs to
evolve. Continual refinement also faces the chal-
lenge of having to straddle varying demands of
generations – Pioneer, Merdeka, and even millen-
nials, many of whom have grown accustomed to
the fruits from years of economic success.
Consultations with a new generation on how to
move Singapore forward and prepare for chal-
lenges will continue apace. But the policies to get
there must remain grounded in what is needed,
prudent and effective. Not on what is popular.

Win, lose or draw: Analysing the

uncertainty on whether three IRs
might be more than the market can
chew, given the stemming
year-on-year IR revenues.
WIN FOR GOVERNMENT?

extension of the two casinos’ duopoly Being the forerunner in

introducing IRs in the mid-2000s,
the Government had nothing to
benchmark against. The only
gaming markets in Asia at that time
were Macau and Malaysia, both of
which were not consistent with the
vision of the IR model.
Some analysts think the joke is on the Singapore’s tiered casino

A
taxation structure was a first for the
operators for having to invest $9 billion industry, in a novel approach to

t xes
steer business operators towards
and still pay higher taxes, but that is just

A
more premium market segments. It

xes
worked so well – indeed, too well –
insurance to extend the duopoly till 2030 that it had both IRs’ coffers

Daniel Cheng finally passed a gaming law that will

For The Straits Times
Analysts and commentators have
roundly concluded – after the
Singapore Government’s
announcement on April 3 – that
the joke is squarely on the two
integrated resorts (IRs).
Several analysts, including
Morgan Stanley’s, quickly declared
the Government as the big winner;
and JP Morgan decried the
“unnecessary large investments” in
the decision to extend the duopoly
concession to 2030 in return for an
additional investment of $9 billion
by the two operators.
Both casino operators – Las Vegas
Sands and Genting – have cheered
in reciprocal official statements
about not having to worry about a
third entrant into the Singapore
casino market for the next 11 years,
and about the increased allotment
of hotel rooms, gaming machines
and casino floor space.
The market, however,
immediately penalised Genting
Singapore with a 10 per cent stock
price discount in the next trading
day after its stock was downgraded
by more than half a dozen analysts,
homing in on new regulations
tightening restrictions on
Singapore residents patronising
the casinos and an upward revision
of gaming tax from March 2022.
Looking through the interlacing
lenses of the authorities, the
operators and the
Singaporean-at-large, we can try to
shed more light on the sagacity – or
otherwise – of the new mandate.
GOVERNMENT
Both resorts are commemorating
their 10th anniversary next year.
The facades are beginning to look
a shade tired and new attractions
have all but dried up. The last new
ride in Universal Studios Singapore
was the Puss In Boots roller coaster
a distant four years ago.
The theatre in Marina Bay Sands
(MBS) in recent times has begun to
recycle musicals, while original
productions at Resorts World
Sentosa (RWS) like Voyage De La
Vie have arguably been more misses
than hits. Since that time, three new
multibillion-dollar IRs have
sprouted up in Manila to compete
with Singapore for the casino
whales’ bankroll.
Across the Causeway, Genting
has doubled down with a massive
expansion of its Resorts World
Genting, with new hotels and
expanded retail offerings. In the
biggest threat yet to Singapore’s IR
industry, the Japanese government
see three IRs opening their doors to
visitors as soon as 2024, with the
possibility of up to 10 Japanese
casino resorts in the next two
decades.
In the face of such a rapid
industry landscape change, the
hand has been dealt (pun intended)
whether the Singapore
Government likes it or not, leaving
it with no choice but to act.
IR OPERATORS
To borrow a term from Genting
chairman Lim Kok Thay, the two
IRs in Singapore have been milking
it since both opened in 2010.
Recent years, though, have seen
some plateauing in their financial
performances as a result of
customer habituation, growing
regional competition and China’s
capital crackdown. While nothing
can be done about Beijing’s action,
the realisation has sunk in on the
operators that it’s time for a major
refreshment of their products.
In the premium space, the
phenomenon of hedonic
adaptation sets in very quickly for
the jet set, fuelled by an insatiability
that the market is more than willing
to gratify.
Suites get bigger and more
luxurious; Michelin-starred
restaurants are now more a norm
than an exception; a round of golf
with Tiger Woods, check; dinner
with a film star, check. Even the
less-fickle mass market is
developing a growing predilection
for new experiences, albeit at the
best deal.
A perennial item among the top
of the two operators’ wish list is to
have more land to build additional
hotels to corral more captive
customers. Las Vegas Sands had
been eyeing for a long time the
vacant plot adjacent to its hotel
towers, while Genting proceeded
with an off-site hotel development
in Jurong East.
SINGAPOREANS
The fact that an IR is concomitant
with a casino presents a moral
dilemma to many. While not
begrudging that the two IRs have
created more than 20,000 direct
jobs and generate handsome taxes
and levies, the perils of gambling
and its associated vices are very
real to Singaporeans.
The Government upholds the
objective greater good of the
nation and wants communities to
retain the liberty of their own
mores and beliefs; but it also
welcomes the additional tax
revenue from gaming that the
casinos can bring.
Few Singaporeans, though,
would empathise with the
t overflowing from the get-go. In the
operators’ growing market
challenges, given their high
profitability and, in spite of that,
the fact that they were responsible
for the biggest mass retrenchment
in recent memory. Even far fewer
are those whose family members
and friends had fallen under the
scourge of addiction to casino
gambling, leading to financial ruin,
broken families and, in more tragic
cases, loss of lives.
This may explain why the
discussion about the duopoly
extension and new regulations has
focused on the economic impact,
neglecting the social implications.
That parochial inquiry is flawed
because there is more than capital
in dollar sense at stake here –
namely, economic and financial
capital, as well as social capital and
political capital.
ECONOMIC CAPITAL
Notwithstanding the headwinds
facing the industry in the years
ahead, MBS and RWS are still
among the most profitable casino
resorts in the world, despite their
recent flat growth.
The new casinos in the
xes A A
Philippines have diverted some of
the premium Chinese turnover
from Singapore, but the largest
looming threat is Japan. Already
the biggest outbound destination
for Chinese travellers and
geographically much closer to
China than Singapore, the alarm
elevated in intensity last July when
the Japanese Diet finally passed
the casino law. It was not lost on
the Singapore Government too
that both operators here have
declared Japan as their No. 1
ambition, with Las Vegas Sands
chairman Sheldon Adelson,
superciliously likening MBS to a
mere “warm-up”.
While declining revenue from
casino entry levies is a positive
development from a social
perspective – showing a fall in local
visits – the Government has to
devise a strategy that ideally
increases the aggregate income
from the IRs in tandem with
maintaining the upward trajectory
of national tourism receipts.
It achieves the former through
raising the casino tax and the latter
in securing the commitment from
the two operators to collectively
xes
t
t
invest $9 billion to expand their
resort offerings.
SOCIOPOLITICAL CAPITAL
The social cost to society warrants
an equal if not a higher bearing than
fiscal considerations. The elected
government has an implicit social
contract with citizens to ensure
their well-being.
Legislating casinos had been a
giant step, and safeguards such as
casino entry levies for locals and
exclusion programmes were
instituted to protect the people’s
social security.
With Japan raising the bar with
weekly and monthly visit limits, the
new Singapore regulations lifted
the levies by 50 per cent to further
insulate residents.
Interwoven tightly with the
social construct is the political
tightrope that every government
faces in establishing gaming
legislation. The apparition of a
possible third IR has vanished – at
least till 2030 – with the advent of a
new leadership generation for the
Government. Against this
backdrop, the risk of political
capital is too high, and there is
first full calendar year of operations
in 2011, MBS and RWS were the top
two most profitable casinos in the
world, the former reporting Ebitda
(earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortisation)
exceeding US$1.5 billion (S$2
billion), and the latter reporting
over S$1.6 billion. Last year, MBS
posted Ebitda of US$1.7 billion,
while RWS closed the year with
S$1.2 billion.
TRULY A WIN?
Is the extension of the duopoly thus
truly a win for the Government as
the industry watchers have said?
Not so much.
Rather, the Government is wising
up in the light of thriving IRs in the
Philippines even though the
operators there pay a higher 15 per
cent to 25 per cent tiered casino
tax, as well as a strong appetite of
interest by operators towards
Japan despite Tokyo’s declaration
of a flat 30 per cent casino tax.
Ahead of Singapore, the
Malaysian government had raised
the tax sharply on Genting Malaysia
from 25 per cent to 35 per cent of
gross gaming revenue in November
last year. Assuming a goods and
services tax of 9 per cent, the new
Singapore banded-tier tax regime
will weigh in at 16 per cent for the
first $2.4 billion of premium
gaming revenue and 20 per cent
thereafter; and 25 per cent for the
first $2.4 billion of mass gaming
revenue and 29 per cent above that
– still a discount in comparison
with Japan and Malaysia.
Analysts baulked at the raw deal
for the operators in having to invest
$4.5 billion each and yet pay higher
taxes. The reality is that these sums
are a worthwhile outlay to protect
their duopoly till 2030, as well as
being an insurance, with no
guarantees of either company
securing a Japan casino licence at
this juncture. It also provides
welcome cover and stability at a
time when a changing of the guard
is nigh at the boardroom level of
both Genting and Las Vegas Sands.
But, in the long run, just how
much the Singapore Government
stands to “win” from the duopoly
extension remains to be seen. In
this, at least, the fortunes of the
casino operators and the health of
the Singapore state coffers are
intertwined.
stopinion@sph.com.sg
• Daniel Cheng is a gaming
professional-at-large who held
senior executive positions with
United States gaming corporations,
Hard Rock International and Bally
International; as well as Genting
International.
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
OPINION A33

Field notes

Dr Nayna Patel,
a pioneer of
reproductive
surrogacy in
India, conducting
an ultrasound on
a surrogate
mother at Kaival
Hospital in
Anand, Gujarat
state, back in
2015, the same
year that India
banned
commercial
surrogacy for
foreign nationals
in the country.
For many Indian
women,
surrogacy
offered a less
laborious way to
earn money than
their daily jobs
as, for example,
workers in
garment
factories.
PHOTOS: AGENCE
FRANCE-PRESSE

The push
jobs as, for example, domestic
helpers or workers in garment
factories.
An Indian surrogate mother
stood the chance of earning more
than US$5,000 a child.
Ms Sunita was one of them. She

and pull of was hired as a surrogate for a

British couple before India banned
all international surrogacy in 2015,
according to a report in The Week
magazine last year.
Ms Sunita, who gave only her first

commercial
name, told The Week that she had
used the money from her first
surrogacy delivery to build a house
for her family. She has three
children of her own and her tailor
husband’s monthly wage was about

surrogacy
Despite the practice being banned in India,
clinics have devised ways to work around it
than for research purposes – in
October 2015. The following
month, the government banned
commercial surrogacy for foreign
nationals in India, prompted by
widespread concerns that Indian
women were being exploited by
this global industry.
Debarshi Dasgupta The embryo with the Malaysian
national was allegedly meant for
India Correspondent delivery to Indo Nippon IVF, a
well-known clinic in Mumbai
whose representatives have denied
NEW DELHI • India used to be any links with the alleged racket.
known as a global baby factory, due The DRI declined comment to The
to a booming commercial Straits Times.
surrogacy business for foreign Dr Sharmila Rudrappa, a
couples worth more than US$2 sociology professor from the
billion (S$2.7 billion) a year. University of Texas at Austin, who
This was until the government has researched commercial
decided to ban the practice in 2015. surrogacy in India, believes that the
But fears that it may not have networks – established since 2002
Indian surrogate mothers holding a protest at an in-vitro fertilisation clinic in Anand, Gujarat state, in 2015. Many people
have argued for India’s ban on commercial surrogacy to be lifted and the practice reintroduced, albeit with strong checks.
India’s rules on surrogacy
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill
2016 bans commercial surrogacy
in India.
These are its key points.
• Only Indian heterosexual
couples who are certified
unable to have their own child
are allowed to seek a surrogate
mother. The couple must also
be legally married for at least
five years.
• The couple and the surrogate
mother must be close relatives
and they are required to get
eligibility certificates from the
authorities.
• The surrogate mother must be
aged 25 to 35 and have a child
of her own. She must not have
been a surrogate mother
before.
• Homosexuals, single parents
and live-in couples are not
allowed to have children via
surrogacy in India.
• Foreigners and non-resident
Indians are banned from
seeking surrogate mothers
in India.
• Those who engage in
commercial surrogacy face up
to 10 years’ imprisonment and
a fine of up to one million
rupees (S$19,500).
US$60 at the time.
She was promised US$8,000 for
the successful delivery of a child.
She said it would take 34 years to
save that much money if her family
were to rely on just her husband’s
income.
But the global market for
surrogacy has since shifted to
Ukraine and Cambodia, countries
where the regulatory environment
is poorer than in India.
Dr Jaideep Malhotra, president of
the Indian Society for Assisted
Reproduction, said she is “very
much apprehensive” that the
STRONG ENFORCEMENT NEEDED continued ban threatens to push
the practice of surrogacy
When there are such underground.
“We are banning commercial
high profits to be surrogacy in the context of
made, these laws and exploitation of surrogates, which is
minuscule... we are totally ignoring
regulations are mere the exploitation of women at large.
suggestions to many We need surrogacy because there is
so much familial and societal
actors, rather than pressure on women across the
binding decrees. world who cannot conceive. What
about this exploitation?” she said.
They’ll go about doing She suggested the creation of a
what they can to national agency that oversees the
rights of surrogate mothers.
maximise profits. But Mrs Jayashree Wad, an
This is more the case advocate at the Supreme Court who
filed the petition in the court that
when the enforcement led to the ban on surrogacy for
of law is weak. foreign couples in 2015, thinks
otherwise.

stopped entirely were raised after
the arrest of a Malaysian man in
Mumbai on March 15 this year.
Partheban Durai was carrying a
human embryo – in a specialised
nitrogen canister – which was
meant to be implanted in a
surrogate mother in India. This
prompted concern that the once
thriving industry may have simply
moved underground.
Unnamed officials from the
Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence (DRI), the agency that
carried out the arrest, were quoted
in media reports as saying the man
is alleged to have smuggled in
several embryos in the past few
months.
Surrogacy is banned in Malaysia,
and India is a possible destination
for Malaysian couples to
commission illegal surrogacy.
The arrest has been described as
the first such case to have come to
light since India prohibited the
import of human embryos – other
when the practice was legal – will
not “simply dissipate” because of a
change in law.
“Moreover, when there are such
high profits to be made, these laws
and regulations are mere
suggestions to many actors, rather
than binding decrees. They’ll go
about doing what they can to
maximise profits. This is more the
case when the enforcement of law
is weak,” she said.
Indian clinics have devised ways
to work around progressive bans
put in place to control surrogacy.
When the government stopped
surrogacy for homosexual
foreigners in 2012, Indian women
bearing foetuses belonging to
foreign gay couples were taken to
Nepal to deliver the babies, which
were later picked up by the couples.
Indians do not require a passport or
visa to travel to Nepal.
This practice, popular with Israeli
gay couples, came to light in the
fallout of the April 2015 earthquake
in Nepal, when it emerged that the
Indian surrogate mothers were left
to fend for themselves after the
babies were evacuated by Israel.
Dr Rudrappa said there have been
cases where surrogate mothers
from other countries were brought
to India and implanted with
embryos belonging to gay couples.
At 24 weeks of pregnancy, they
were then sent back to their
countries to give birth.
“It doesn’t matter if surrogacy in
India is banned; surrogate mothers,
pregnant with foetuses belonging
to clients, can be moved across
international borders with
impunity,” she said.
Strong legislation against
commercial surrogacy was passed
by the Lower House of India’s
Parliament last December.
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill
2016 prohibits live-in partners,
same-sex couples, foreigners and
single parents from using
surrogacy services.
The Bill, which is yet to be
approved by the Upper House and
enacted into law, allows surrogacy
only for “altruistic purposes” for
Indian heterosexual couples who
have been married for at least five
years and are unable to conceive.
The surrogate mother must be
aged 25 to 35 and has to be a close
relative of the intending couple.
She must also be married and have
a child of her own.
Violators face up to 10 years’
imprisonment and a fine of up to
one million rupees (S$19,500).
Health Minister Jagat Prakash
Nadda has defended the Bill as a
“historic” attempt to stop unethical
commercial surrogacy. He argued
that it would, at the same time, help
Indian couples who are unable to
conceive by allowing them access
to modern science to have children.
The Bill is in the interest of all
women and children, according to
’’
DR SHARMILA RUDRAPPA, a sociology
professor from the University of Texas at
Austin, who believes that the surrogacy
networks in India – established since 2002
when the practice was legal – will not “simply
dissipate” because of a change in law.
Professor Balram Bhargava,
secretary of the department of
health research at the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare. There
had been reports of surrogates
being harassed because of the lack
of regulation, he told India’s Mint
newspaper.
But many have argued for the ban
to be lifted and commercial
surrogacy reintroduced, albeit with
strong checks.
For many Indian women,
surrogacy offered a less laborious
way to earn money than their daily
“We have so far not seen
something like this work
effectively in India. What
guarantee is there that such a body
cannot be corrupted with money?”
she told The Straits Times.
Dr Rudrappa argued that her
research has led her to believe that
commercial surrogacy bans have
had negative consequences for
surrogate mothers.
“Not only are they exposed to
higher risks – being moved in and
out of countries in a manner
reminiscent of trafficking – but, as
the weakest actors in the whole
exchange, they are also far more
deeply exploited,” she said.
“If the government wants to ban
surrogacy, then it has a moral or
ethical obligation to somehow
improve the living conditions of
women who sign on as surrogate
mothers. One without the other is
meaningless.”
debarshi@sph.com.sg
A34 OPINION
How the environment became
Germany’s new culture war
Migrants polarised the nation, now it’s
the turn of cars, symbol of German pride
Anna Sauerbrey
BERLIN • When Mr Christian
Lindner, head of Germany’s liberal
party, recently said there was a
“culture war on cars” in his country,
people laughed it off as an
exaggeration.
After all, the Liberals are
Germany’s most pro-business,
anti-regulation party and they take
particular aim at environmental
policies.
But here’s the thing: In a way,
Mr Lindner is right. For the past
several years, Germany has been
embroiled in a cultural war over
immigration, refugees and
diversity. But as those fires burn
out, a new one is building. The
environment is becoming the new
migration – a deeply polarising
issue and one that the populist right
is gearing up to exploit.
Migration remains a contested
issue in Germany, of course.
But the hysteria of 2015 and 2016
has subsided. The number of people
seeking asylum in Germany has
dropped significantly – last year,
there were only 186,000, down
from a high of 746,000 in 2016.
And while the far-right
Alternative for Germany party,
known as the AfD, continues to
focus on immigration, the
mainstream has begun to set it aside.
For much of last year, the
Christian Social Union (CSU), the
conservative, Bavarian branch of
the centre-right Christian
Democrats, waged an internal
party war against German
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
relatively open position on
migration. But after painful losses
in the Bavarian election last year, in
Why border troubles will help Trump in 2020 race
Populists do not live
and die on their
record. They live on a
sense of rolling crisis.
Janan Ganesh
“Poor Ike,” said Mr Harry Truman
of Mr Dwight Eisenhower, his
successor-elect as United States
president in 1952.
“He’ll sit here and he’ll say ‘Do this!
Do that!’ And nothing will happen.”
Used to armies, who mostly do
as instructed, the great Allied
commander now had to run
something as opaque and
unresponsive as the federal
bureaucracy.
He fared well enough in the end –
behold those interstate highways of
his – but another golf nut and
political rube has fulfilled Mr
Truman’s wry prophecy after all.
With most of his presidential term
already behind him, President
Donald Trump is still fiddling
dissatisfiedly with a government
he regards as uncooperative.
The immigration apparatus is a
special nuisance to him. He has
edged out Ms Kirstjen Nielsen as
secretary of homeland security. He
has withdrawn his nominee to run
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. He is toppling the
leadership of the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services.
The reason for this cull?
As he sees it, bureaucratic
squeamishness in the enforcement
of his will. With his aide Stephen
Miller, a rare survivor in the Trump
court, he takes on the officials who
fear that his policies test the limits of
the law, if not of conscience.
You can smell the political
anxiety. With an election just
18 months away, Mr Trump does not
have much to show his voters on
immigration. He says “Do this” and
“Do that”. And nothing, or at least
not enough, happens. He should
hope this failure continues.
Mr Trump’s best chance of
re-election is not the still-purring
economy or some deus ex machina
which the party ran on a hardline
immigration platform, the CSU
decided to let it go.
CAR BANS AND
EMISSIONS STANDARDS
At the same time, debates on
environmental issues are getting
more heated, both in public and in
private. Be it the reality of global
warming, limits on greenhouse
gases, the future of mobility in
cities or the protection of bees, the
debate is growing polemical and
emotional as people are beginning
to feel the consequences of
environmental policies in their
everyday lives.
This year, for example, several
large German cities will ban cars
with older diesel engines from
their urban core, based on
European Union limits on nitrogen
dioxide in the air. The bans,
announced last year, incited public
outrage. In January, a group of
physicians led by lung specialist
Dieter Kohler added to the anger
by questioning the validity of the
EU limits.
For weeks, Dr Kohler toured the
talk shows and the AfD celebrated
him as a hero for daring to speak up
against what it sees as ecological
paternalism. Even Transport
Minister Andreas Scheuer
embraced the doctors’ statement –
despite warnings from the
scientific community that Dr
Kohler, not an epidemiologist,
lacked the necessary expertise to
make it.
In fact, it later emerged that some
of Dr Kohler’s key points were
erroneous. But by then it did not
matter, the diesel bans had become
politically toxic.
Germans love their cars – not just
as personal property and symbols
in foreign affairs. It is the continuing
salience of immigration. He does not
need to fix the problem: The deep
stock of unprocessed asylum claims,
the thousands who arrived at the
southern border from Central
America last month. He just needs
voters to have it at the front of
their minds in November next year.
If anything, a solution to the
present troubles would free
Americans to transfer their focus
to other subjects.
Given the unpopularity of his
2017 tax cuts, his tin-eared crusade
against Obamacare and the
unlikelihood of any other domestic
feat under a now-Democratic
House of Representatives, he
of personal expression, but also as
national symbols of German
ingenuity and manufacturing
prowess.
So it makes sense that the clash
over the environment would centre
on the car. When Ms Regine
Gunther, senator for
transportation and the
environment in Berlin’s city
government, recently said “we
would like people to dispose of
their cars”, she was denounced as a
car hater and a green communist
on social media.
When a preliminary report for
the Federal Ministry of Transport
and Digital Infrastructure
recommended speed limits on the
autobahn and higher gas prices to
lower carbon emissions, the public
response was so hostile that the
ministry disavowed it.
Even children are considered fair
game: Greta Thunberg, the
cannot afford that. Immigration is
the one domestic theme that suits
him. It also discomfits the
Democrats, who are tugged this
way by liberal activists and that
way by vague awareness of a more
conservative nation out there.
As distasteful as it is to view a
humanitarian crisis in the making
through the lens of politics, such is
the duty of this column. And such is
the instinct of a politician.
It is in Mr Trump’s interest to
major on immigration next year
and perhaps even run a single-issue
campaign. For that, the subject has
to be of immediate, living concern
to voters.
The worst thing he could do
16-year-old Swedish climate
activist, is a favourite target of the
German right, with the
secretary-general of the Christian
Democrats calling her political
stance “pure ideology”.
How did the environment
become so hot, so fast?
First, there are good reasons to be
angry when the German
government calls for significant
sacrifices by everyday citizens for
the health of the planet – even as it
let Volkswagen and other
carmakers get away with cheating
on emissions data.
At the same time, populist parties
in Germany and Europe are
increasingly campaigning against
environmental rules. Such
opposition perfectly fits into
populist narratives and patterns:
scepticism about science, anger
over “political correctness” and a
libertarian reflex against
before then is fulfil his promise to
bring immigration under control. It
is perverse, I know, that
a president could make so little
progress on his No. 1 priority
during four years in office,
only to be rewarded for it.
Ever since he was elected, his
enemies have waited for his
inevitable failure to “deliver” for his
voters, who would then see through
him and come sheepishly back to
the political mainstream.
The non-materialisation of his
wall against Mexico felt like the cue
for such a mass epiphany. But this
always assumed that Mr Trump is
judged as conventional politicians
are judged. In fact, populists do not
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
Vehicles stuck in
a traffic jam on
a federal
highway in
Lower Saxony.
Germans love
their cars, not
just as personal
property and
symbols of
personal
expression, but
also as national
symbols of
German
ingenuity and
manufacturing
prowess, says
the writer. So it
makes sense
that the clash
over the
environment
would centre
on the car.
PHOTO: DPA
government regulations in general.
The mainstream right is
following suit, claiming to try to cut
off the far right but in reality taking
advantage of a suddenly attractive
political target.
COSTS OF GLOBAL
AND MORAL GOALS
Environmental issues produce the
same fundamental cleavages as
migration. Both migration and
environmental policies are aiming
at global and moral goals that
citizens profit from only in the
abstract, while the costs are
immediate.
Accepting asylum seekers is a
global moral responsibility; the
“costs” – overcrowded
kindergartens and schools,
neighbourhood tensions – are local.
Getting rid of old diesel cars
might be a vital step towards
fighting climate change, but how
live and die on their record. They
live on a sense of rolling crisis.
Their usefulness lies in the airing
of public concerns that elites would
rather ignore. Once those concerns
are fixed, they become redundant.
The British Eurosceptics who
vote against the hardest available
Brexit seem to intuit this. Their
relevance in public life depends on
the continuation of the very things
– EU regulations, freedom of
movement – that they are against.
What would be the point of a
President Trump in a time of low,
well-managed immigration?
This is what distinguishes the
populist from the ideologue, for
whom the ultimate goal is actual
are you supposed to get to work?
On immigration or the
environment, where one stands is a
matter of his world view.
Whether one drives a car or rides
a bike has become a symbol for
embracing or rejecting a whole set
of values connected to the notion of
global responsibility.
Conservatives and
traditionalists feel they are being
pressured by the cultural
imperialism of the urban liberal
elite who can afford not to have a
car. And it’s on this divide, more
than on any particular policy,
where the clash is hottest.
Mrs Annegret
Kramp-Karrenbauer, the new head
of the Christian Democrats,
recently lashed out against Berlin’s
“latte macchiato drinkers”, while
Mr Scheuer said in an interview
that “in Berlin’s political scene,
people are gloating over
discussions which often have
nothing to do with the everyday
realities of people outside the
capital”.
It’s 2015 all over again. Back then,
it was the naive open-border
idealists against the xenophobes.
This time it’s the sentimental urban
tree-hugger ideologues against
ignorant Joe Diesel.
The immigration debate tore
Germany apart and made it harder
to arrive at a coherent, fair
migration policy for the country
and for Europe. If anything, the
stakes this time – namely, the
future of the planet – are higher.
How do we avoid making the
same mistakes? The obvious first
step is to lower the temperature
and for each side to concede a few
painful truths.
The leftists need to concede that
environmental policies do come
with costs and that they need to
find ways to ameliorate the
immediate pain for everyday
Germans – for example, by
compensating people with lower
incomes for higher energy costs.
On the other hand, conservatives
must resist the lure of securing
votes by exploiting resentment
against the bogeyman of cultural
imperialism.
Protecting Germany’s health and
the global climate is too important
for political games. We know what
the resulting polarisation looks like.
Do we really want to go down that
road again? NYTIMES
• Anna Sauerbrey is an editor
and writer with the German daily
newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
A group of
Brazilian
migrants
getting into a
US Border Patrol
van after having
just crossed the
US-Mexico
border last
month. US
President
Donald Trump
does not need
to fix the
immigration
problem; he
just needs
voters to have
it at the front
of their minds
in November
next year, says
the writer.
PHOTO: AGENCE
FRANCE-PRESSE
change through government
policy. Mr Miller is an ideologue. Mr
Trump is a populist. The first man’s
interest is in reduced immigration.
The second man’s interest,
whether he knows it or not, is in a
national mood of immigration
crisis circa autumn 2020.
If even he cannot control the
borders – voters might think – then
perhaps the system is rigged after
all. The swamp thwarted me in
fixing immigration, he will say to
them. Now give me a mandate to
finish the job.
You need only imagine what
finishing the job might entail to see
what an unpleasant election awaits
us. FINANCIAL TIMES
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Grieving for
Notre-Dame?
Turn to
Nagasaki
for comfort
Meghan Kruger
How does one begin to dry the tears
streaming down the ash-stained
faces of Parisian Catholics?
To be sure, the Notre-Dame
cathedral is a treasure for the world,
for people of all nations and creeds.
But it is first and foremost a Catholic
church – where the sacraments
have been celebrated for centuries,
where the faithful laboured more
than a hundred years to erect a
glorious monument to God.
To watch this sacred space burn
during Holy Week – the most
solemn of the Christian liturgical
year – stings all the more.
Here’s one suggestion for where
Paris’ grieving faithful might turn
for comfort: eastward, to Nagasaki,
Japan.
Nagasaki has been the heart of
Catholic Japan almost since
St Francis Xavier arrived on the
island of Kyushu in 1549. By 1580,
the country had an estimated
200,000 converts, many of them
concentrated in the trading port
that regularly welcomed their
Portuguese co-religionists.
It was also Nagasaki that suffered
when, in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries, the Japanese authorities
TheViewFromAsia
Kim’s belligerent,
Trump’s firm.
Talks? Uncertain
Asia News Network writers analyse
progress on efforts to get Pyongyang
to denuclearise. Here are excerpts:
Back to
square one
Editorial
The Korea Herald, South Korea
South Korean President Moon
Jae-in has bet again on mediating
another inter-Korea summit to
revive stalled nuclear negotiations
between the United States and
North Korea.
Nothing would be more desirable
than North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un accepting Mr Moon’s offer and
holding his third summit with US
President Donald Trump to take
sincere steps to denuclearise in
return for sanctions relief.
But this is but wishful thinking.
In a speech to the Supreme
People’s Assembly last week,
Mr Kim did not mention
denuclearisation once. He said the
US’ demands at the Hanoi summit
went against the nation’s
fundamental interests and vowed
to crush sanctions with
self-reliance efforts if the US
continued to make unreasonable
demands in return for easing them.
Mr Trump vowed to maintain
sanctions against North Korea until
it denuclearises completely and
sticks to a package deal, rejecting
the sort of phased denuclearisation
the North wants.
Mr Moon said Mr Kim had
clarified his firm commitment to
denuclearise and establish peace.
But Mr Kim’s speech contained no
such statement. On the contrary,
Mr Kim said he would not make the
slightest concession or compromise
when it came to his country’s
fundamental national interests.
Mr Kim did not mention
expelled missionaries and
prohibited the practice of
Christianity. It was atop the city’s
Nishizaka Hill that 26 foreign
priests and native believers were
crucified as martyrs in 1597; it was
in the bubbling, sulphuric volcanic
springs of nearby Mount Unzen
where Christians were boiled until
they apostatised (or died).
And it was Nagasaki that guarded,
over the following 200 years, a
secret kakure, or hidden, Catholic
community. These men and women
had neither churches nor priests,
celebrations nor sacraments. But
they had faith. From one generation
to the next, families passed down
the teachings and traditions,
clinging tenaciously to their religion
in the midst of terrifying peril.
In 1865, after Japan had reopened
itself to Westerners, it was a French
missionary, Father Bernard
Petitjean, who was astonished
when a group of these “hidden
Christians” emerged from the
underground to present
themselves at Oura Church near
Nagasaki’s Glover Park.
Father Petitjean and other
French priests and nuns led the
rebuilding of Japanese Christianity
upon the foundation of the
Nagasaki Catholics’ unshakeable
faith. The great symbol of this
inter-Korea summits either. He
demanded that the South stop
depending on foreign powers and
do everything it can to improve
relations unilaterally with the North.
In a nutshell, Mr Kim told Mr Moon
to take his side and speak for him.
South Korea cannot be a neutral
mediator or facilitator when it
comes to denuclearisation
negotiations. It is under direct
threat from North Korean nuclear
weapons.
The Moon administration has
acted as if it were a neutral
mediator. But Mr Trump did not
appear to treat Mr Moon as a
trustworthy mediator. Mr Moon
had a one-on-one summit with
Mr Trump last week – for just two
minutes. Both Washington and
Pyongyang effectively snubbed
Mr Moon’s mediation.The harder
the South tries to just mediate a
summit, the more likely it is that it
will be dragged along by the North.
The Moon administration should
not forget what brought Mr Kim to
dialogue. It was tightly coordinated
sanctions and pressure rather than
Mr Moon’s strategy to appease the
North and broker summits. The
administration must not
undermine sanctions and the US
alliance under the pretext of
mediating summits.
Kim’s tactic
and Moon’s role
Editorial
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan
United States President Donald
Trump and his South Korean
counterpart Moon Jae-in held a
meeting in which they exchanged
rebuilding was a new Catholic
cathedral in Nagasaki’s Urakami
valley, where the area’s Christians
were concentrated.
Under the guidance of French
priest Pierre-Theodore Fraineau,
construction began in 1895, on the
spot where, centuries earlier, the
Japanese authorities had forced the
people to trample fumi-e – images of
Christ and the Virgin Mary – as a way
of ferreting out secret Christians.
Brick by brick, the massive
Neo-Romanesque structure took
shape; 30 years later, in 1925, the
belfry towers were finally
completed. They housed two large
Angelus bells imported from
France which rang out from the
largest cathedral in Asia.
Twenty years later, on Aug 9,
1945, the church was full of
Japanese Catholics attending Mass
in preparation for the Feast of the
Assumption. At 11.02am, only
hundreds of feet away, the
plutonium core of a United States
atomic bomb known as “Fat Man”
exploded.
In an instant, it laid waste to
Nagasaki; the cathedral was
flattened, killing everyone inside.
The pride of Japan’s Christians,
the monument to their triumph
over centuries of persecution, was a
smouldering pile of rubble,
swallowed by the surrounding
post-atomic hellscape and tens of
thousands of the dead.
One of the bomb’s survivors was
Japanese radiologist and Catholic
convert Takashi Nagai.
As Dr Nagai recounted in his
memoir, he had been working at
the Nagasaki Medical College
Hospital at the time of the
bombing. Bleeding from a head
wound, he escaped the burning
wreckage of the hospital and made
a harrowing journey across the
unrecognisable landscape.
Inside the ruins of his house, he
found the carbonised remains of his
wife, alongside the melted rosary
she had been praying with when
she died. Dr Nagai had been
diagnosed with leukaemia earlier
that year; his wife’s death meant
their two young children would
soon be orphans.
Tragedy that drops from the sky –
in some cases literally – raises the
inevitable question: Why?
To Dr Nagai, the improbable
sequence of events that led Bock’s
Car to drop its payload over
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and United States President Donald Trump meeting in the White House last week. The role that Mr Moon should play is not to
speak for North Korea as an intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang, says an editorial. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
views on their policies on North
Korea.
Mr Moon has sketched a vision of
invigorating dialogue by
accumulating “smaller deals”, which
involve a combination of phased
denuclearisation and rewards such
as sanctions relief. Mr Trump
effectively brushed off the South
Korean side’s vision, saying: “At this
moment, we’re talking about the big
deal. The big deal is we have to get
rid of the nuclear weapons.”
Regarding Mr Moon’s eagerness
to resume inter-Korea economic
projects, including the Kaesong
industrial complex and tourism
zone on Mount Kumgang, Mr
Trump said bluntly: “This isn’t the
right time.”
If North Korea dismantles all its
nuclear weapons, nuclear
substances and nuclear-related
facilities, the global community will
support Pyongyang’s economic
revival. Mr Moon needs to
understand the US stance of aiming
for this kind of comprehensive
agreement and “big deal”.
A century and a half ago,
France gave Nagasaki’s
Catholics the structures of
their resurgent faith.
Today, Nagasaki can give
France’s Catholics guiding
inspiration. What do you do
when your world goes up in
flames, and the places you
seek God are reduced to a
smouldering ruin?
Look for glimmers of grace
where they can be found –
and nurture hope for
what remains.
The role that Mr Moon should
play is not to speak for North Korea
as an intermediary between
Washington and Pyongyang. It is
imperative that he not give North
Korea any leeway for military
provocation, while standing firm
on the US-South Korea alliance.
There has been no change to
Mr Kim’s tactic of trying to win the
lifting of sanctions by taking
advantage of his positive
relationship with Mr Trump and
using denuclearisation bit by bit as
a bargaining chip. The US, Japan
and South Korea are urged to work
together to pressure North Korea to
make a shift.
Not easy to make
real headway
Editorial
China Daily, China
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
has said he is interested in meeting
OPINION
Urakami – far from its original
target – reflected the hand of God.
At a requiem mass for the dead on
Nov 23, 1945, Dr Nagai argued that
the sacrifice of Nagasaki brought
the war to an end and spared the
suffering of millions.
Instead of rage, instead of
despair, the appropriate response
to seemingly inexplicable horror
was to forgive – and to commit to a
path of redemption.
“In the very depth of our grief”, he
said to those assembled amid the
cathedral’s remnants, “we
reverently saw here something
beautiful, something pure,
something sublime”.
There was indeed something
beautiful in store for Nagasaki’s
cathedral. Digging into the debris,
the faithful made a miraculous
discovery: One of the French bells
had survived.
On Christmas Eve 1945, Dr Nagai
and other believers hung the bell
from a tripod of cypress logs and
rang the Angelus. As Father Paul
United States President Donald
Trump again only if the US comes
to talks with the right attitude.
Speaking last week, Mr Kim said
he would wait until the end of this
year for the US to decide whether to
make a “new calculation” that
would enable a third summit
meeting to take place.
In what was the most
comprehensive review of
Pyongyang’s recent interaction
with Washington, the North Korean
leader put the ball decisively back in
Washington’s court after the US
President floated the idea of a third
summit.
Washington maintains unabated
zeal for a deal of some sort because
otherwise the engagement with
Pyongyang since last year would
be regarded as a failure. So, more
likely than not, it will try to find a
way to keep the possibility of a
summit alive.
After making a couple of
reconciliatory gestures, such as
freezing nuclear and missile tests
and demolishing some test sites,
A35
Urakami
Cathedral – the
pride of Japan’s
Christians and
the monument
to their triumph
over centuries of
persecution – in
ruins after the
atomic bomb fell
on Nagasaki on
Aug 9, 1945.
Reconstruction
of the cathedral
began in 1959
and, in 1980, it
was remodelled
to match its
original
appearance.
PHOTO:
GETTY IMAGES
Glynn wrote in A Song For Nagasaki,
the absence of any tall buildings
made the song “all the clearer”.
Reconstruction of the cathedral
began in 1959 and, in 1980, it was
remodelled to match its original
appearance.
The scars are there – statues of
saints broken and burned, chalices
and monstrances melted and
twisted. A stained glass panel in the
new church depicts the ruination of
the old. The famous Madonna Of
Nagasaki – a blackened and
irradiated statue of the Virgin Mary
– watches over the chapel.
A century and a half ago, France
gave Nagasaki’s Catholics the
structures of their resurgent faith.
Today, Nagasaki can give France’s
Catholics guiding inspiration.
What do you do when your world
goes up in flames, and the places
you seek God are reduced to a
smouldering ruin? Look for
glimmers of grace where they can
be found – and nurture hope for
what remains. WASHINGTON POST
Pyongyang wants something in
return.
That is something not
unreasonable but which has so far
not been forthcoming.
Washington should not
anticipate Pyongyang
denuclearising in a wholesale,
one-off manner. After all, its
nuclear missile programmes are
the sole bargaining chip it has in its
hands.
Rather than surrender its nuclear
arsenal in a wholesale manner, it is
in Pyongyang’s best interests to
turn its engagement with
Washington into an arms control
regime between two nuclear states.
It may be that a third Trump-Kim
summit happens. But meaningful
headway in denuclearisation
entails more than what the two
sides appear ready to offer at the
moment.
• The View From Asia is a compilation
of articles from The Straits Times’
media partner Asia News Network, a
grouping of 23 news organisations.
A36
BIG PICTURE
PHOTO: DPA
Pulling the strings
on parenthood
Run for a fresh pint at Beerfest
It’s another year of beer and enter-
tainment at Beerfest Asia.
The 2019 edition will be held from
June 27 to 30 at Marina Promenade.
Expect more than 600 local and
international beers – including new
launches and award-winners – as
well as food and an entertainment
line-up of international tribute
bands, home-grown artists and DJs.
These include Hell’s Belles, an all-
female AC/DC tribute band from
America; The Vibes and Welcome
to the Machine from Singapore;
and DJs Yujin, YA5TH, and former
The New Paper New Face finalist
turned DJ, Vii.
There will also be the first-ever
Beerfest Run, where you can down a
beer at each pit stop along a 2km
route. Each finisher gets a 1-litre
mug to refill at exhibitors for a pro-
motional price. Participants can reg-
ister on the website for $80 each.
Other highlights include the Sun-
day Carnival for the family, includ-
ing pets, and the Asia Beer Awards.
Admission tickets to Beerfest
Asia 2019 are on sale now at $20, in-
clusive of a beer.
Visit www.beerfestasia.com to
buy your ticket.
For SPH readers, you’ll get 15 per
cent off with the code SPHR15.
Terms and conditions apply.
Patrons making a toast at Beerfest
Asia last year. This year’s edition
offers more than 600 beers and
marks the debut of the Beerfest Run.
PHOTO: BEERFEST ASIA
One of the star
items is the
Rendang Style
Win seven-course
Lamb Rack with
Honey Pineapple
Kerabu Salsa.
omakase meal for two
PHOTO: REVEL
BISTRO & BAR
Do you know that hidden within
Nanyang Technological Univer-
sity’s Alumni House in Marina
Square is a bistro and bar?
The Revel Bistro & Bar is man-
aged by Neo Group, one of Singa-
It is bigger than a double-decker bus and requires nine
puppeteers to make it move.
And it took four days for production crew to set up
this giant, mechanical baby for the musical Zara, show-
ing at the Halifax Piece Hall in West Yorkshire, Eng-
land.
The baby, named Eva, was the centrepiece of the
pore’s most popular events cater-
ers. It serves international and lo-
cal cuisine and artisanal cocktails.
The recommended choice at The
Revel is Relish, a new seven-course
omakase meal ($91.81 per person).
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
WEATHER
Thundery showers over many areas in the afternoon.
High 34 deg C Low 25 deg C
24-hr PSI as of 5pm yesterday: 54 to 58 (Moderate)
outdoor show, which opened yesterday and will be
staged a second time today.
The musical is part of a series by theatre company
Mind The Gap that explores the themes of parenthood
and learning disability.
Zara features a cast of over 100 actors, as well as
cherry pickers, tanks and 3D projections.
The Straits Times Loyalty Pro-
gramme allows readers to enjoy
a whole range of dining, shop-
ping and leisure perks by just
subscribing to The Straits
Times. There are also lucky draw
prizes to be won and discounts
for exciting events.
HOW TO ENJOY
SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS
? Open the Apple App Store for
iPhone users or Google Play for
Android phone users.
? Search for the SPH Rewards
app and download it. Users with
existing mySPH accounts can
use the same
user ID and pass-
word to log in to
the app.
Those who
have yet to cre-
ate an account
can follow the simple steps to
register for one.
? Subscribers can get family
members to download the app
on their own devices and sign in
using the same log-in details to
benefit from the deals.
? After logging in, simply
flash the ST+ e-card in the appli-
cation to enjoy benefits from
various partners.
Readers who wish to subscribe
to The Straits Times to enjoy the
ST+ benefits can call
6388-3838 or e-mail
circs@sph.com.sg or go to
One of the star items on this menu is
the Rendang Style Lamb Rack with
Honey Pineapple Kerabu Salsa.
www.sphsubscription.com.sg
Advertisers who are keen to
And for subscribers of The Straits
Times, The Revel Bistro & Bar is
offering seven readers the Relish
inquire about the ST+ Loyalty
programme can e-mail
chuamc@sph.com.sg
menu for two.
To take part in the contest, look
for this giveaway in the Rewards
section of the SPH Rewards app
and answer this question:
Where is The Revel Bistro & Bar
located?
The contest ends on April 21 at
11pm.
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Insurance
coverage for
maids too low:
Agents, NGOs
MOM says 96% of hospital bills covered,
higher coverage will raise premiums
Joanna Seow
Manpower Correspondent
Nearly three weeks after suffering a
stroke in her employer’s father’s
home, Indonesian domestic helper
Ani Sumarni, 37, can blink and say a
few words.
But her hospital stay is far from
over, and the bill is mounting.
As of Wednesday, it stood at
$60,300, and her employer, who
wants to be known only as Mr Saw,
61, said he is not sure if he can af-
ford the final bill.
The insurance he bought for Ms
Ani covers only $15,000 a year –
the minimum required by the Min-
istry of Manpower (MOM).
“All along, we have bought the
minimum amount (for our
helpers), and only now do I realise
it’s grossly inadequate. It never
crossed our mind that anything
could happen, but suddenly the
whole world collapsed,” said Mr
Saw, a retiree.
The case has raised questions on
whether the mandated $15,000 min-
imum coverage for maids – un-
changed since 2010, when it was
raised from $5,000 – is too low.
Maid agents and migrant worker
advocacy groups say it is hardly suffi-
cient should anything serious occur.
But a ministry spokesman said
the coverage was enough to meet
96 per cent of all inpatient and day
surgery bills for domestic helpers in
the last three years.
“Mandating higher insurance cov-
erage will raise premium costs for
all employers. Employers who are
concerned about the risk of higher
medical bills have the option of tak-
ing up insurance plans with higher
coverage,” he said, in response to
queries from The Straits Times.
For instance, premiums now
Indonesian maid Ani Sumarni (right), seen here with her cousin Asiah (left), suffered a stroke earlier this month and is now
warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Her insurance policy is not enough to cover her hospital bill. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ASIAH
start from around $230 for 26
months of basic coverage. If an em-
ployer wants to top up the hospitali-
sation and surgical expenses cover-
age to, say, $30,000 a year, he can
pay another $160.50 under POSB’s
Maid Protect plan, for example.
The spokesman said that the min-
istry regularly consults insurers,
employers and employment agen-
cies, and reviews the minimum cov-
erage “to ensure that adequate pro-
tection remains at affordable premi-
ums for employers”.
Under the law, the employer must
provide proper medical treatment
NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS MADE AGAINST CAR
IMPORTER SG VEHICLES FROM 2015 TO 2017 B3
for the maid if immediate care is re-
quired. If she cannot recover and a
doctor has certified she is fit to fly,
she can be repatriated. Employers
are not held responsible for care for
long-term illnesses such as cancer.
Ms Ani, who came to Singapore
over a year ago to look after Mr
Saw’s 94-year-old father, had been
having a headache on April 1. She
went to a clinic but did not see the
doctor, who was out for lunch.
After finishing some chores, she
lay down for a rest, but Mr Saw’s fa-
ther was unable to wake her up, and
called him for help. She was sent to
92
Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she
was operated on and warded in the
intensive care unit for nine days.
She has since been moved to the
high dependency unit.
“It’s sad that such a thing hap-
pened to her because she’s only in
her 30s, she’s still a young lady,”
said Mr Saw, who is still paying Ms
Ani her monthly salary.
He intends to send her home af-
ter her condition stabilises, so that
her family members can be with
her, he said. The medical costs
there may be covered by her own in-
surance, he said.
B1
PEACE OF MIND AND WELL-BEING
Agencies, rather than just advise
employers on how to pay the least
they have to for insurance, should
point out the options that exist and
suggest that spending a bit more
money on better insurance
coverage can be good for the
employer’s ease of mind, as well as
the worker’s well-being.
’’
MR JOHN GEE, who chairs the research
sub-committee at Transient Workers Count
Too.
Ms Ani’s cousin Asiah, 35, who
goes by only one name and is also a
domestic helper in Singapore, told
The Straits Times that their family
is trying to raise money to look after
Ms Ani when she returns. Ms Ani’s
mother looks after her three chil-
dren, whose father has died.
The cousins met up regularly on
Sundays. “We had big dreams of
having a better life. But now she is
sick,” said Ms Asiah.
Mr Saw, meanwhile, is getting
help with the medical bill. Crowd-
funding platform GiveAsia con-
tacted him and set up a page to help
raise funds. As of last night, more
than $49,200 had been donated.
The Centre for Domestic Employ-
ees (CDE) and Foreign Domestic
Worker Association for Social Sup-
port and Training (Fast) have also
been helping him and Ms Ani with
logistics and money. The hospital
also arranged a lower weekly instal-
ment of $500, instead of $1,000.
There are over 253,000 maids
working in Singapore, and CDE ex-
ecutive director Shamsul Kamar
EXTRA COVERAGE continued on B2
B2 HOME
Medical industry’s rogue agents
They now disguise
kickbacks, target
private docs after
MOH clampdown
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
Medical agents who recommend
patients to doctors in Singapore
and charge a referral fee for their
third-party role are now disguising
the kickbacks they receive as mar-
keting charges.
The Ministry of Health (MOH)
last year put a stop to the practice of
public hospitals paying referral fees
to foreign agents after it emerged
that three public hospitals here had
contracts with third-party agents.
However, The Straits Times has
learnt that some agents may have
tweaked their operations to focus
on doctors in private practice and
private hospitals here.
Speaking to doctors and busi-
nesses – such as The Medical
Concierge Group (TMCG), which of-
fers services like the management
of medical records and insurance
policies – The Straits Times found
that some rogue medical agents
may also be promoting access to ille-
gal organ transplant services.
Over the course of a year, The
Straits Times tracked these agents.
Videos, audio recordings, e-
mails, WhatsApp messages and
documents suggest some of these
agents may also be working in hos-
pitals here.
In one audio recording in Janu-
ary, a local agent can be heard
telling a prospective foreign mid-
dleman that he would discuss com-
missions, or kickbacks, with the
doctor on behalf of the foreign
agent.
The local agent, a dialysis techni-
cian at a private hospital here, said:
“You just tell me and then I will in-
form the doctor that, ‘Doctor, for
this patient, he wants this much
commission’.”
The doctor would then add the
commission fee through his
clinic’s bill, the agent said.
The agent, a Singapore perma-
nent resident from India, said he
could also provide hotel accommo-
Few opt
for more
coverage
A medical agent, a dialysis technician at a private hospital here, asking a doctor in his office for a commission over a
case the agent had earlier referred to the doctor, insisting it was the industry norm. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ST READER
dation and “good” doctors.
In a separate conversation, he
boasted to a foreign agent that he
handled as many as three foreign
patient referrals a month.
The local agent said in a tele-
phone conversation: “For exam-
ple, $100,000 (the total medical
bill) means they (doctors) will give
you around $8,000 to $9,000. Min-
imum, they will give $5,000.”
He also claimed to be able to pro-
vide both “legal and illegal” organ
transplants, but he did not specify
where these procedures would
take place.
The Straits Times was alerted to
the local agent’s practice by a for-
mer trauma doctor who declined
to be named. He was approached
by the agent last April.
The doctor said: “He kept calling
my office, asking for his cut for a
case that was referred to me.”
The doctor said he had no prior
dealings with the agent.
Those in the medical profession
said they have noticed agents ag-
gressively trying to push their ser-
FROM B1
said incidents of high medical bills
for maids are few.
Medical fees for domestic helpers
here can be high because they are
not eligible for subsidised health-
care rates, unlike in some other
places. In Hong Kong, helpers are
entitled to public healthcare as resi-
dents, while in Canada, employers
vices to doctors in private practice
here following the government
clampdown on public hospitals.
A doctor who runs a clinic in the
Novena area said: “There is abso-
lutely no doubt about it because
they (agents and medical
concierge services) are running a
business. If they can’t go to one
source, they will go to another.”
The doctor said these local
agents prefer to have clients
brought over to Singapore as they
earn more per patient here than in
Thailand or Malaysia.
“These agents shop around and
choose doctors who will give them
the highest profit margins,” he said.
Mr Daniel Choo, chief executive
of TMCG, confirmed the trend.
He said: “I was told by one In-
donesian agent that the unex-
pected effect of the MOH an-
nouncement (last year) has encour-
aged them to go to the private sec-
tor where deals can still be made.”
Another doctor in private prac-
tice described agents’ efforts to en-
tice doctors to work with them as
pay for private health insurance for
live-in caregivers until they are eligi-
ble for public health insurance.
Maid agents and migrant worker
advocacy groups said Singapore em-
ployers seldom buy extra coverage.
“Many are price sensitive and
think (a serious incident) might not
happen to them,” said Ms K.
Jayaprema, president of the Associa-
tion of Employment Agencies (Sin-
SHIFTING TARGETS
I was told by one Indonesian agent
that the unexpected effect of the
MOH announcement (last year)
has encouraged them to go to the
private sector, where deals can
still be made.
’’
MR DANIEL CHOO, chief executive of
TMCG, referring to the Health Ministry’s
crackdown on public hospitals paying
referral fees to foreign agents.
SCAN TO WATCH
Exposing rogue
medical agents
http://str.sg/agent
gapore).
She and Ms Sheena Kanwar, who
is executive director of the Humani-
tarian Organisation for Migration
Economics, suggested that the Gov-
ernment subsidise maids’ medical
treatment. “Our economy and soci-
ety are dependent on their labour,”
said Ms Kanwar, adding that some
of the cost could be offset by the
maid levy collected.
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
“rampant”.
Wanting to be identified only as
Dr Tan, he said these rogue agents
“make doctors park $10,000 with
them as marketing fees”.
“The fee is supposedly used for
sourcing patients, making recom-
mendations and advertising. But it
is actually a kickback,” said Dr Tan.
The Straits Times was shown sev-
eral screen grabs of WhatsApp con-
versations from last October be-
tween an agent, who identified
himself as a medical concierge, and
a prospective client representing a
group of oncologists.
The agent said the only mode of
payment was through a fixed re-
tainer fee but he also wanted to be
paid a percentage of the medical
charges, which is not allowed un-
der present guidelines.
Dr Tan said agents also charged
an hourly “translation fee”.
Mr Choo said there were agents
in Singapore representing patients
from Vietnam, Russia, China and
Indonesia and their commissions
varied from 10 per cent to 30 per
cent.
He added that when doctors get
involved in kickback schemes with
rogue agents, Singaporean pa-
tients could end up paying higher
medical bills.
When doctors raise fees, in part
to pay agents, the knock-on effect
is that it leads to higher bills that
could impact health insurance pre-
miums.
The Life Insurance Association
of Singapore noted the issue in a pa-
per in 2016.
Mr Choo, whose company is a
one-stop medical concierge ser-
vice provider, said TMCG does not
take a fee from doctors or hospitals
as it charges only patients for ser-
vices provided.
“The medical concierge industry
should be regulated and transpar-
ent, because if not, there will be
more to pay for patients down the
road,” he added.
When The Straits Times con-
tacted the Singapore-based agent
last month regarding the allega-
tions, he denied them.
His details have been given to
the Health Ministry, and his em-
ployer said in an e-mail on April 9
that it was looking into the claims.
zaihan@sph.com.sg
Fast’s executive director William
Chew said it has been advocating to
MOM to raise the minimum manda-
tory coverage beyond $15,000.
But agents should also let employ-
ers know about the option to buy
higher coverage, he said.
Mr John Gee, who chairs the re-
search sub-committee at Transient
Workers Count Too, said employers
should find out what is available.
SMC guidelines on
fee arrangements
The Straits Times alerted the
Ministry of Health (MOH) last
month to the local agent’s al-
leged activities.
A ministry spokesman told
ST in a recent e-mail: “The
MOH and the Singapore Medi-
cal Council (SMC) take a seri-
ous view of behaviours which
are not in line with the intent of
the guidelines and of doctors
who engage in activities which
contravene the SMC Ethical
Code and Ethical Guidelines.”
The guidelines advise doc-
tors on appropriate fee arrange-
ments, including the conduct
in private contractual arrange-
ments between healthcare
providers and third-party inter-
mediary service providers.
The issue of agents or pay-
ment of referral services was
addressed by SMC in its 2016
guidelines. It said doctors may
pay third-party administra-
tors or patient referral service
fees that “reflect their actual
work in handling and process-
ing the patients”. However,
they are forbidden from paying
“fees that are so high as to con-
stitute ‘fee splitting’ or ‘fee shar-
ing’ or which render (them) un-
able to provide the required
standard of care”.
Patients must also be in-
formed if doctors pass such
agent fees on to them.
The Life Insurance Associa-
tion Singapore said in January
last year that the Health Insur-
ance Task Force made some
recommendations to better
manage the escalation of Inte-
grated Shield (IP) claims in Sin-
gapore so that the rising IP pre-
miums can be moderated.
These included a “pre-autho-
risation” framework, medical
fee benchmarks and educating
policyholders.
The task force acknowl-
edged that referral service
providers serve a useful pur-
pose in linking patients and
healthcare providers, and in ef-
ficient claims management.
But the layering of additional
costs such as referral fees may
lead to an inflation of medical
costs which may be passed on
to insurers through claims, ulti-
mately increasing pressure on
insurance premiums, it said.
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
“Agencies, rather than just advise
employers on how to pay the least
they have to for insurance, should
point out the options that exist and
suggest that spending a bit more
money on better insurance cover-
age can be good for the employer’s
ease of mind, as well as the worker’s
well-being,” he added.
joseow@sph.com.sg
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
The Consumers Association of Singapore asked SG Vehicles to sign a voluntary compliance agreement in July 2017, but it
refused. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore filed an injunction later that year. ST FILE PHOTO
Court orders car
importer to stop
unfair trade practices
This follows application for injunction by
competition watchdog that was filed in 2017
92
Number of complaints Case received
against SG Vehicles from January
2015 to November 2017.
2,335
Number of consumer complaints
made to Case from the motoring
industry in 2017.
1,829
Number of complaints against firms
in the beauty industry last year, a 31
per cent increase from 2017.
About 25 scammed
into getting loans when
buying phones online
FRAUD ALERT
Be wary that fraud artists
can appear and disappear,
especially on e-commerce
platforms, so the lack of a
complaint record is no
guarantee of legitimacy.
’’
THE POLICE, on advising the public to
check the track record of a company.
Ng Huiwen
Car importer SG Vehicles and its di-
rector have been ordered by the
court to stop engaging in unfair
trade practices, after Singapore’s
competition watchdog filed an in-
junction application against them
in December 2017.
The importer – which is one of
the biggest players in the industry
– has already earned two black
marks from the Consumers Associ-
ation of Singapore (Case).
Case received 92 complaints
against SG Vehicles from January
2015 to November 2017, with the fig-
ure rising despite Case’s initial ef-
forts to resolve the complaints
through negotiation and mediation.
Consumers claimed SG Vehicles
had misrepresented the terms and
conditions of sale agreements –
mainly the delivery dates of motor
vehicles and the bidding for certifi-
cates of entitlement (COEs).
Several consumers said they
were required to make additional
payments due to a change of cir-
cumstances beyond their control.
Case had asked SG Vehicles to
sign a voluntary compliance agree-
ment in July 2017, but it refused to
do so.
The Competition and Consumer
Commission of Singapore said yes-
terday that under the court order,
which took effect on Thursday, SG
Vehicles and its director Juliet Tan
Whye Peck are prohibited from the
A scam that tricks people into tak-
ing out loans when buying a mobile
phone on e-commerce platforms
has ensnared about 25 people since
November.
In some cases, victims were
duped into providing their per-
sonal information, such as NRIC
number, or SingPass or bank ac-
count details, on the pretext of ap-
plying for an instalment plan pack-
age for their phone purchase, said
the police yesterday.
They later found a sum deposited
into their bank account, with the
scammers demanding that they
pay the “loan amount” back with in-
terest.
In other instances, victims were
offered loans to buy mobile
phones. Some would then receive a
sum in their bank account, even if
they had not agreed to the loan of-
fer. They were later asked to make
repayments.
The police issued an advisory on
the scam yesterday, urging the
HOME B3
following:
• Engaging in unfair practices
under the Consumer Protection
(Fair Trading) Act;
• Doing or saying anything that
would dupe a consumer into
believing that the purchase price
or COE is fixed or guaranteed;
• Making any false claim to a
consumer on the guaranteed
delivery date of a motor vehicle;
• And taking advantage of a
consumer if they know that the
consumer is not reasonably able
to understand the character,
nature, language or effect of the
transaction.
The court order also requires SG
Vehicles to install a prominent sign
outside its shopfront, stating the
full text of the order for six months
from Thursday.
It should also notify the commis-
sion of any changes related to its
businesses or Ms Tan’s employ-
ment, directorship and partner-
ships statuses.
SG Vehicles will not, however, be
required to cease its business oper-
ations, and all its existing sales
agreements made with customers
must be honoured.
In 2017, the highest number of
consumer complaints – 2,335 –
made to Case came from the motor-
ing industry.
This figure dropped by 20 per
cent to 1,802 last year, with the
beauty industry overtaking motor-
ing. There were 1,829 complaints
against firms in the beauty indus-
try last year, a 31 per cent increase
from 2017.
nghuiwen@sph.com.sg
public not to give their personal
information to strangers or unveri-
fied sources and not to provide in-
formation that is unnecessary
when making a purchase.
People who suspect they have
received an unknown sum in their
account should report it immedi-
ately to the bank and the police,
and not make transactions with
the money.
The police also advised the pub-
lic to check the track record and
background of a company or seller
before making a purchase.
“Be wary that fraud artists can ap-
pear and disappear, especially on
e-commerce platforms, so the lack
of a complaint record is no guaran-
tee of legitimacy,” said the police.
Those with information on
scams can call the police hotline
on 1800-255-0000 or submit the
details online at www.police.
gov.sg/iwitness
The public can also call the Na-
tional Crime Prevention Council’s
X Ah Long hotline on
1800-924-5664 for information
about unlicensed moneylenders.
For anti-scam advice, they can call
the National Crime Prevention
Council’s helpline on
1800-722-6688 or go to www.scam
alert.sg
Ng Huiwen
B4 HOME
Going up in flames
Policemen watching as a massive fire engulfed the National Museum in Rio de
Janeiro, one of Brazil’s oldest buildings, on Sept 2 last year. The 200-year-old
institution was considered the main natural history museum in Latin America.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Above: The Arts House, built between 1826 and 1827 as a residence but used as a chamber and courthouse, is likely the oldest standing building in Singapore. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
Below: The repository at the National Heritage Board’s Heritage Conservation Centre, which houses more than 150,000 artefacts from the National Collection. ST FILE PHOTO
Are S’pore’s
oldest
buildings
fire safe?
Authorities say all buildings have to undergo
regular checks, comply with safety code
Melody Zaccheus
Heritage and Community
Correspondent
The Arts House, built between 1826
and 1827 as a residence but used as
a chamber and courthouse, is likely
the oldest standing building in the
country.
Singapore’s old monoliths, many
of which are national monuments,
also include temples and churches
where incense and tea light candles
are burned almost daily.
A few buildings date back to the
1830s, including the Armenian
Church, Thian Hock Keng temple
and Masjid Jamae.
What measures are in place to pre-
vent an inferno in these historic
buildings in the wake of the Notre-
Dame fire in Paris that destroyed
the roof of the historic cathedral
and caused its spire to collapse?
Just like a new building, Singa-
pore’s oldest structures have to
meet the same stringent require-
ments issued and regulated by the
Building and Construction Author-
ity (BCA) and the Singapore Civil
Defence Force (SCDF).
In response to queries from The
Straits Times, the BCA said Singa-
pore buildings are required to un-
dergo structural inspections at regu-
lar intervals.
Building owners must appoint a
professional engineer to inspect res-
idential blocks once every 10 years,
and for other types of buildings,
once every five years.
The engineers are to carry out a
visual inspection of the condition,
loading and any addition or alter-
ation to the structure of the build-
ing.
Said the BCA spokesman: “This is
to ensure that structural defects
can be detected and rectified early,
so that buildings continue to be
structurally sound for occupation.”
Under the Fire Code, which was
introduced in 1974, all new build-
ings and existing ones undergoing
addition and alteration works must
comply with SCDF requirements.
Specific requirements are im-
Indonesian policemen standing guard as firefighters worked to control a blaze
at the Samudra Bhakti temple in Bandung on the first day of Chinese New Year
on Feb 5. The fire was allegedly caused by lit prayer candles inside the temple
that had been blown by strong winds. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
posed on owners or occupiers of
buildings designated for conserva-
tion and those who wish to pre-
serve the use of timber flooring dur-
ing addition and alteration works.
For example, the SCDF requires
the installation of fire-rated floor
boards to prevent the spread of fire
between floors, and automatic fire
alarms if the building exceeds three
storeys.
The SCDF has said it will amend
the Fire Safety Act later this year. It
will require owners of selected
older buildings to carry out certain
fire safety upgrades.
The SCDF said it recognises that
older buildings which have not im-
plemented newer fire safety mea-
sures may face higher safety risks.
It will prioritise high-risk indus-
trial buildings, public buildings and
hospitals, working closely with
building owners.
The National Heritage Board
(NHB) said there have been no fire
incidents at Singapore’s 72 national
monuments or NHB’s six-storey Her-
itage Conservation Centre, which
The National Heritage
Board (NHB) said there
have been no fire incidents
at Singapore’s 72 national
monuments or NHB’s
six-storey Heritage
Conservation Centre,
which houses more than
150,000 treasures from
the National Collection.
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
The front hall, prayer altar and 30 statuettes of the 80-year-old Poh Ann
Keng Taoist temple in Tampines were badly damaged in a fire on Feb 9. The
damage caused was estimated to be between $300,000 and $400,000.
PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
houses more than 150,000 artefacts
from the National Collection.
Among them are portraits of Sin-
gapore’s pioneers, archaeological
finds as well as rare textiles, jew-
ellery and ceramics.
The purpose-built NHB facility
was constructed with fire-rated
brick walls and is elevated to pro-
tect against flooding.
In addition, the centre is
equipped with fire monitoring and
suppression systems.
These are maintained by special-
ist contractors who run regular
checks and tests.
The centre also conducts disaster
and emergency management sys-
tem exercises and fire drills annu-
ally to ensure its staff are prepared
to respond to emergencies.
In recent years, a spate of fires
has rocked heritage institutions
around the world.
Last September, a conflagration
gutted Brazil’s 200-year-old Na-
tional Museum in Rio de Janeiro, de-
stroying most of its collection of
more than 20 million items, rang-
ing from archaeological finds to his-
torical memorabilia.
In Indonesia, at least three fires
have taken place in the past few
years.
In 2015, a blaze ripped through
Jakarta’s oldest Chinese temple –
the Vihara Dharma Bhakti, which
has roots dating back to 1650.
In February this year, the Samudra
Bhakti temple in Bandung caught
fire, allegedly caused by lit prayer
candles inside the temple that had
been blown by strong winds.
Last month, the Tay Kak Sie tem-
ple, built in 1746 in Semarang,
caught fire. One person died.
In Singapore, a fire broke out on
Feb 9 at the 80-year-old Poh Ann
Keng Taoist temple in Tampines,
damaging its front hall, prayer altar
and 30 statuettes, which are pur-
portedly as old as the temple itself.
Architectural historian and con-
servator Yeo Kang Shua said all un-
necessary flammable objects
should be removed and electrical ca-
bles should be up to standard and
never overloaded.
“Open flames such as candle and
oil lamps must be attended to at all
times,” he added.
Dr Yeo, an associate professor at
the Singapore University of Tech-
nology and Design, said timber is
more flammable than other con-
struction materials, but it does not
mean the material should be
avoided in building projects.
He said that Singapore’s 72 na-
tional monuments were primarily
built with bricks, plaster and timber.
“We just have to reduce the risk to
life,” he said, adding that one major
preventive measure – to save lives
and buildings – is to conduct regu-
lar maintenance and inspections.
ISSUES THAT LIE AHEAD
FOR NOTRE-DAME
In the case of the Notre-Dame, in-
ternational architectural experts
note that Gothic buildings can typi-
cally withstand infernos because
stone vaults were added as
firestops to prevent the spread of
any blaze from a building’s roof to
its interior.
Restoring an old building requires
great technical and technological
skill to reconnect the structure to
its past.
Experts believe the Notre-Dame’s
reconstruction, which could take
decades, might be one of the long-
est in modern times.
Dr Yeo said: “The materials and
craftsmanship will never be the
same, although they can try very
hard to source products as close as
possible to the original materials.”
Although the main structure and
stone walls of the famed cathedral
are still standing, it is likely to have
suffered from the effects of the sud-
den heat and rapid cooling when
the fire was put out. This could re-
sult in the stone crumbling.
Investigators have already identi-
fied weaknesses in the building’s
vault and gable of the structure’s
northern transept.
Dr Yeo said the French now face
complex questions on what would
be an “authentic” restoration for
the global icon.
He said: “Should the Notre-Dame
be restored to what it was like prior
to the fire? Do we restore it based
on the status quo or do we allow
room for some stylistic interpreta-
tions?”
There are two schools of thought,
he added.
One is that of stylistic restoration,
led by architect Eugene Viollet-le-
Duc, who restored the Notre-Dame
in the 19th century.
He believed in re-establishing a
building to a finished state which
might have never existed.
The other is status-quo conserva-
tion, which avoids interpreting a
building beyond its existing state
because the issue of what is origi-
nal, in the absence of a structure’s
original architect, is always ques-
tionable.
melodyz@sph.com.sg
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
HOME B5

Vlogger Nuseir Yassin taking a photo with a fan at Changi Airport on Wednesday. His girlfriend, Ms Alyne Tamir, was also
present. His meet-and-greet event is set to be held at the Botanic Gardens from 4pm to 6pm today. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

No permit needed
for Nas Daily fan
meet, say police
Police say event does not involve a cause,
but is a media celebrity meet-and-greet
Ng Jun Sen
The fan meet for vlogger Nuseir
Yassin, popularly known by his
Facebook moniker Nas Daily, does
not require a permit under the Pub-
lic Order Act (POA) as it does not in-
volve a cause, but is a celebrity
meet-and-greet, said the police
late yesterday.
A spokesman said the police
were aware that some persons
were “falsely claiming that there
are double standards applied for
the granting of permits”.
“These allegations which suggest
that the police have been biased
and shown favouritism are untrue
and baseless, and maliciously seek
to undermine confidence in public
institutions,” he added.
The event is set to be held at the
Botanic Gardens from 4pm to 6pm
today, with more than 3,400 peo-
ple indicating their interest to at-
tend on the meet-and-greet’s Face-
book page as of 11pm.
However, it attracted criticism
from several quarters after Mr Nu-
seir told the media yesterday that
the necessary permits to hold the
event had been granted.
Freelance journalist Kirsten Han
blogged that allowing the Israeli na-
tional to host an event outside of
Hong Lim Park shortly after his ar-
rival in Singapore had touched a
nerve, considering past restric-
tions on foreign participation in
events held by local activists.
“It’s a clear indication that, while
Singapore might be known interna-
tionally as a stickler for the rules,
things here really work based on
the whims of the People’s Action
Party,” she wrote.
On his Facebook page, Hong
Kong University of Science and
Technology professor Donald Low
also highlighted the “double stan-
dards, capriciousness and unfair-
ness” involved, citing Ms Han’s
blog.
Mr Andrew Loh, co-founder of so-
ciopolitical site The Online Citizen,
urged the police to explain how Mr
Nuseir was able to get a permit for
the meet-up as his videos were of a
sociopolitical nature.
In response to media queries, the
police clarified that a POA permit
is not needed as “it is a non-cause
based event”.
“It is a meet-and-greet event in-
volving a media celebrity with his
fans, and such events can be held
outside of Speakers’ Corner with-
out a permit,” said the police, not-
ing that similar events in the past
also did not require this permit.
These included fan meet events
such as actor Chris Hemsworth’s
Marina Bay Sands event last May
and actress Fann Wong’s meet-and
greet event at Bugis Plus in 2017.
“However, as the Nas event in-
volves the transmission of recorded
music, a Public Entertainment Li-
cence was issued,” said the police,
adding that the vlogger’s event had
met the licence’s requirements.
A POA permit, which is granted
by the police, is required only for
“cause-based events” such as those
that commemorate any event, pub-
licise any cause or campaigns or
demonstrate support for, or op-
pose the views or actions of any per-
son, groups, or governments, said
the spokesman.
But events of such nature that
meet certain conditions do not
need a permit to be held at the
Speakers’ Corner.
“There have been many such
events held in the past at Speakers’
Corner without a permit, such as
the protest against a goods and ser-
vices tax hike held in 2018 and the
Abuse of Process rally held in Janu-
ary 2019,” he said.
ngjunsen@sph.com.sg

Pokemon hunt on Sentosa

Do you want to be the very best, like no one ever was?

So did thousands of fans who flocked to Sentosa
yesterday and on Thursday to capture the virtual
monsters called Pokemon.
They were there for South-east Asia’s first Safari Zone
event for the Pokemon Go mobile game.
In Pokemon Go, which was launched here in 2016 as a
free-to-play game, players “catch” Pokemon in real-world
locations. During the Safari Zone event, Sentosa visitors
can catch rare Pokemon exclusive to the region.
Fans can also see the world’s first 6m-tall float of the
water Pokemon Lapras, and join meet-and-greet
sessions with other critters from the popular 23-year-old
series of games and cartoons.
About 125,000 visitors are expected at the five-day
event, which ends on Monday. PHOTOS: ST READER,
SENTOSA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
B6 HOME | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Mr Justin Zheng (above), who works in the aviation industry, was the first person
in the queue outside Shake Shack (left) when it opened at Jewel Changi Airport
on Wednesday. Queueing service provider iQueue was hired by a radio station to
buy food from the burger chain for some listeners, as part of its We Queue For
You programme. ST PHOTOS: KEVIN LIM

The fine art of queueing

Eunice Quek
Some are doing it for and Melissa Heng
the love of the food,
others may simply At burger chain Shake Shack’s offi-
cial opening at Jewel Changi Air-
be paid to do so port on Wednesday, it turned out
that a few people in the line were
there not for the love of the food,
but had been paid to queue.
Mr Justin Zheng, the first person
in line for the opening of Shake
Shack that day, said two people
were hired by queueing service
provider iQueue to wait in line for
the food.
This was done for the Muttons In
The Morning DJs’ We Queue For
You programme, where four lucky
radio listeners got a taste of Shake
Shack without having to wait in
line.
iQueue did not respond to
queries from The Straits Times by
press time.
According to its Facebook page,
iQueue, which was set up in 2017, of-
fers six queueing packages, from
$20 an hour to $350 for 24 hours.
Mr Zheng told The Straits Times
that he does queueing jobs for
iQueue on an ad hoc basis. He has
also previously engaged iQueue to
line up for concert tickets on his be-
half.
But the 37-year-old, who works
in the aviation industry and took
leave to queue at Shake Shack, said
he was not paid to do so.
He added: “I took leave as I
wanted to try Shake Shack with my
godsister. We are flying to Hong
Kong on Sunday and want to com-
pare the burgers at the different lo-
cations.”
The presence of paid queuers at
the opening of the New York burger
people were paid to queue for food
for other diners at the restaurant.
Singaporeans are no strangers to
waiting in line – from queueing for
Avengers: Endgame tickets to
Black Friday sales at Robinsons The
Heeren.
During Chinese New Year, it is
not uncommon for employers to
pay their staff to queue for the popu-
lar Lim Chee Guan bak kwa.
On its Facebook page, iQueue of-
fered bak kwa queue packages in
January, from $160 (including deliv-
ery) for queueing overnight for 12
hours, to $200 for queueing
overnight for 15 hours.
Public relations practitioners The
Straits Times spoke to say the prac-
tice of hiring people to queue to
make one’s business look popular is
not unheard of and it could jeopar-
dise the authenticity of a brand.
Ms Julie Chiang, 40, director of
public relations agency Asia PR
Werkz, said: “From a marketing per-
spective, I can understand why it is
being done. The general public
won’t question so much. In fact, it
Mr Amos Tan, a senior lecturer at
Singapore Polytechnic’s School of
Business, calls this practice of hir-
ing people to queue a tactic to “in-
duce demand”, used not just in Sin-
gapore, but overseas as well.
He said: “It’s called ‘associative be-
haviour’ – where a person will fol-
low what the majority is doing and
socially conform.
“When people see a queue, the
perception is that there is some-
thing interesting. For the brands, es- TACTIC COULD BACKFIRE
pecially those that are new, being
able to generate a queue can help I wouldn’t be surprised
kick-start their business.” if some are getting
But Associate Professor Ang
Swee Hoon from the department of people to be warm
marketing at National University of
Singapore’s Business School said
bodies in the queues
things could backfire for busi- so that it looks like
nesses that pay people to queue. more people are
She said: “I wouldn’t be surprised
if some are getting people to be queueing. But these
warm bodies in the queues so that it businesses would just
looks like more people are queue-
ing. But these businesses would just be cheating
be cheating themselves.
“If customers join the queue
themselves.

chain’s first store in Singapore has
shone the spotlight on the practice
of hiring people to queue – whether
for food, newly launched products,
or concert tickets.
The Straits Times understands
that Shake Shack was unaware that
would trigger curiosity, and they
could end up joining the queue.”
“For a popular brand, I wouldn’t
question why a queue is long. But if
the brand is relatively unknown
and there is a long queue, I might
wonder why.”
thinking the food is so good, but it is
not, then it will backfire. If your
food or products are good, then nat-
urally it will generate its own hype.”
euniceq@sph.com.sg
melheng@sph.com.sg
’’
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ANG SWEE HOON,
from the department of marketing at
National University of Singapore’s Business
School.

JJ Lin nabs
top two
spots in
UFM100.3
song chart
Benson Ang

Songs by Singaporean singer-song-

writer JJ Lin took the top two spots
in this year’s U1000 Music Count-
down Chart, while a song from the
popular Chinese drama series,
Story Of Yanxi Palace, finished in
third place.
Lin’s Little Big Us was No. 1, fol-
lowed by another of his songs, Twi-
light.
In third place was Chinese singer
Lu Hu’s The Sound Of Snow Falling,
the closing theme song of Yanxi
Palace.
The chart is SPH Radio station
UFM100.3’s list of top 1,000 songs.
It is part of the radio station’s an-
nual campaign to identify listen-
ers’ favourite Mandarin pop songs
of the year.
This is the chart’s seventh edi-
tion. The results were announced
yesterday at Capitol Singapore’s out-
door plaza, where a crowd of more
than 4,000 UFM100.3 listeners
gathered to cheer and sing along as
the final rankings were announced.
UFM100.3 listeners cheering the announcement of the U1000 Music Countdown Chart rankings. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Chinese singer Tia Ray’s Be Apart
took fourth place, and Chinese
singer Kelly Yu’s Decent clinched
the fifth position.
Also in the top 10 were A-Lin’s A
Kind Of Sorrow, Hebe Tian’s A Lit-
tle Happiness, Jay Chou’s Love Con-
fession, Liu Wen-cheng’s Drizzle In
March and Dave Wang’s A Game A
Dream.
UFM100.3’s assistant pro-
gramme director Christie Ng, also
known as Xiaozhu, said: “U1000
has always been the people’s chart.
They like the songs, they nominate
and vote. The songs usually reflect
what is trending currently.”
She pointed out that it came as no
surprise that local actor Aloysius
Pang’s song, Black Tears, was
among the 2,000 shortlisted songs
this year.
Pang died in January after a mili-
tary training accident.
“His final ranking of 137 shows he
is deeply loved and missed by Singa-
poreans,” she said.
She added that the number of
nominations and votes this year
broke all records.
“U1000 is gaining momentum ev-
ery year. If this continues, we may
need the Singapore Indoor Stadium
for our finale countdown one day.”
UFM100.3’s assistant music direc-
tor Hu Tianpei said: “It is not surpris-
ing that the soundtracks of movies
and TV series did well this year.”
Mr Hu expects Taiwanese super-
star Jay Chou, Hong Kong singer Ea-
son Chan and Singaporean song-
bird Stefanie Sun to perform well in
next year’s chart.
“Chou is expected to release a
new album and go on tour soon,
while Chan has been focusing on
producing music that he believes
in,” he said.
“Next year will be Sun’s 20th
year in showbiz, and that will defi-
nitely bring about a wave of
memories.”
To view the full list of songs on the
U1000 Music Countdown Chart,
visit www.ufm1003.sg/u1000
bang@sph.com.sg
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
HOME B7

Imprinting
old memories
onto fabric of
life, and art
Nafa student inspired by time spent with
two seniors with dementia to create art piece
Shabana Begum said: “Through the use of the
translucent fabric and the fading
words and mahjong tiles, it gives a
In her quest to create an artistic foggy effect, similar to losing one’s
piece that explores dementia, cognition. At the same time, Jen
20-year-old visual artist Choo Jen vividly portrays the seniors’ memo-
Quinn spent nine months visiting ries through photos of him playing
two seniors with the condition. the keyboard and her old pictures.
Siak Choon, 85, who has severe “To them, those memories are
dementia, would relive his younger the essence of their identities and
days as a musician in Hong Kong, how they lived their younger days.”
where he played the piano and Visual artist Choo Jen Quinn next to her art installation, Piece Of Mind, at The Plaza in the National Library Building, in Victoria Street. The installation, which is
trumpet in restaurants and the- nshab@sph.com.sg supported by Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, the National Youth Council and SG Cares, will be displayed there until April 28. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
atres, and accompanied Cantonese
singers at concerts.
“In the midst of our conversa-
tions, he would abruptly pause and
get lost in another world. He would
then start humming and moving his
hands as though he was conducting
a piece of music,” said Ms Choo, a fi-
nal-year student at the Nanyang
Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa).
Gwek Siang, 83, who was diag-
nosed with dementia last year, told
Ms Choo that she used to enjoy
sewing and fashioning cushions
and pillowcases from her old
dresses, before she stopped sewing
20 years ago.
During one of her visits, Ms Choo
took out the senior’s old sewing ma-
chine so she could sew again.
Determined to sew the perfect
seam, Gwek Siang unstitched the
cloth six times and ran it through
the sewing machine until the
stitches were straight and tight,
said Ms Choo.
After interacting with the seniors
– whose real names have been
changed to protect their privacy –
she chose to preserve their memo-
ries and other aspects of dementia
in an abstract art installation built
with panels of white chiffon fabric.
Supported by Thye Hua Kwan
(THK) Moral Charities, the National
Youth Council and SG Cares, her art
installation, Piece Of Mind, was un-
veiled at The Plaza in the National Li-
brary Building on Thursday.
Both seniors are beneficiaries of
THK Crest, a mental health safety
net programme that also serves se-
niors diagnosed with dementia.
Photos of Gwek Siang sewing and
Siak Choon playing the keyboard
were printed on the white fabric.
Ms Choo also digitally drew a pair
of wrinkled hands to pay tribute to
Siak Choon’s musical past.
“I wanted to focus on his hands be-
cause he used them to play the in-
struments and show his passion. It
was his hands that were most im-
portant and I felt that this was my
representation of him.”
To depict memory loss, which is a
main symptom of dementia, Ms
Choo printed layers of words and
mahjong tiles that fade away as the
art extends to the top of the fabric.
The installation is designed like a
maze for viewers to walk into and
find the sketches and photos. A
number of fabric panels were left
blank on purpose by the artist.
The installation will be displayed
at The Plaza until April 28. Ms Choo
is working with the National Li-
brary Board to display the installa-
tion at 10 libraries islandwide.
THK is also hoping to showcase
the installation at partnering
venues, which include shopping
malls and schools.
Piece Of Mind could also feature
at the Ministry of Culture, Commu-
nity and Youth’s bicentennial cele-
bration in August.
Ms Choo will remember the inti-
macy of her conversations with the
two seniors.
For instance, Gwek Siang grew so
comfortable with Ms Choo over the
months that she started to reveal her
cheeky side. She once showed Ms
Choo a photo of a man from the
1950s and asked her and her grand-
son to guess who the man was.
After a few wrong guesses, Gwek
Siang laughed and revealed that it
was a photo of her cross-dressing.
“When she shared that cross-
dressing memory, there was so
much joy that exuded from her. To
see her grandson seeing her old pho-
tos for the first time and being sur-
prised by that photo made her
laugh harder.”
THK Crest @ Beo Crescent’s se-
nior centre director Felicia Wong
B8 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

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Reconciliation process
needs to be included
in family justice system
There has been much discussion
about divorce in recent months,
including whether an adversarial
legal system is appropriate to
resolve family conflict and
post-divorce arrangements, such as
care and control of and access to
children.
While these are serious issues
which demand an honest response
from the courts, another area which
requires attention is the lack of
avenues for marital counselling and
therapy, which couples facing
marital problems can pursue.
Divorce in Singapore seems to
have become a one-way street.
Once a divorce application
has been filed, the adversarial
nature of the family justice system
literally “forces” a couple to slug it
out in court.
Instead of minimising issues of
contention, parties are encouraged
to amplify these issues to gain an
“upper hand”.
In recent years, mandatory
mediation has been introduced to
the system, but the focus is on
reaching a settlement on
post-divorce issues, like care and
control and maintenance, and not
on healing or reconciliation.
Furthermore, with the
involvement of lawyers, the process
can often become unnecessarily
protracted or even futile.
Divorce has long-term adverse
consequences on the individual
and family, particularly when
children are involved.
Sometimes, a spouse may have
been triggered by certain events
and was too quick to file for
divorce, or the couple may be
acting under pressure from family
and friends.
Without the contemplative buffer
for parties to attempt marriage
recovery, we run the huge risk of
dissolving and breaking up families
too quickly.
A strong and robust family justice
framework must include
mechanisms to allow couples to take
a step back, attempt to resolve their
differences and properly evaluate
the consequences of their actions.
Rushing through a divorce
without sufficient buffer for
reconciliation or contemplation will
only make our society poorer for it.
Patricia Tan

Charges at community hospitals are lower than at acute hospitals FORUM ONLINE

We refer to senior health
correspondent Salma Khalik’s
commentary (Subsidies for
different care hospitals need to be
better aligned, April 11), and related
letters (Address dilemma of higher
out-of-pocket bills in hospital move
by Mr Melvin Chan, and
Standardise considerations for
hospital subsidies by Mr Leong Kok
Seng, both published on April 15).
The average daily bill at
community hospitals is generally
lower than at public acute
hospitals.
The public acute hospitals list
ward charges, which is only one
component of the bill.
The charges posted by
community hospitals reflect the
overall daily cost, which includes all
expenses that are likely to be
incurred. The Ministry of Health
(MOH) will work with our hospitals
to review how information on the
charges can be better presented to
minimise confusion.
Government subsidies are
available. To determine the level of
healthcare subsidies to be
provided, MOH generally uses per
capita household income as it takes
into account the means and size of
the household.
However, we use an individual’s
income instead when assessing the
eligibility for subsidies at acute
hospitals to keep the processes
simple, as acute hospital stays are
typically relatively short.
We are reviewing whether the
basis for subsidies for acute
hospitals should be aligned with
other healthcare subsidy schemes.
MediShield Life and Medisave
can be used for both acute and
community hospital stays.
The claim limits take into
consideration bill sizes in the
respective settings, and are
therefore lower for community
hospitals than acute hospitals.
Community hospitals are
designed primarily to provide
rehabilitation services for patients
discharged from acute hospitals.
With greater experience in
operating community hospitals
and clearer care guidelines, MOH
has assessed that selected patients
can be safely admitted directly
from emergency departments to
community hospitals without first
being admitted in acute hospitals.
We extended MediShield Life
coverage to this arrangement from
July 15 last year.
On the whole, our objective is to
ensure that care is accessible and
affordable, regardless of setting.
We review the financing
framework from time to time to
achieve this objective, taking into
account the diverse needs of
patients while keeping the
framework simple.
Lim Siok Peng
Director
Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Health
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| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Online anonymity a challenge
in fight against cyber harassment
I support the changes in
harassment laws to prevent online
vigilantism, but further
clarifications are needed (Online
vigilantes who publish others’
details could face jail, April 2).
While it is straightforward for law
enforcement officers to apprehend
specific individuals who engage in
“doxxing”, things get complicated
when the identity of online
vigilantes are unknown.
Develop Jurong Lake District into wellness precinct
I suggest the authorities study the
feasibility of implementing a
concept of wellness at the Jurong
Lake District as a unique offering to
locals and tourists (Jurong Lake
District to host new tourism hub
from 2026, April 17).
According to the Global Wellness
Institute, the global wellness
economy in 2017 was worth
US$4.2 trillion (S$5.7 trillion) and is
expected to grow at an average of
5 per cent over the next 10 years.
Wellness, which encompasses
fitness, nutrition and mind
relaxation, is a recent phenomenon
that has taken the young and old by
Procedures in place to ensure donated food is safe to eat
We are heartened that our food
donation campaign has received
the attention of the general public.
First, we stress that food safety is
of utmost concern to The Food
Bank Singapore.
Mr Jeffrey Law Lee Beng
(Address hygiene issue of food
donations, April 18) rightly pointed
out that we serve the vulnerable
and the weak. We will not put
anyone’s well-being at risk just for
the sake of redistributing excess
food and reducing food waste.
Second, The Food Bank
AUDI, BMW, FORD, HONDA, HYUNDAI, INFINITI, JAGUAR, JEEP, KIA, LAND ROVER, LEXUS, MAZDA, MITSUBISHI, NISSAN, OPEL, PERODUA, PEUGEOT, RENAULT, SEAT, ŠKODA, SUBARU, SUZUKI, TOYOTA, VOLKSWAGEN, VOLVO & MANY MORE.
ORGANISER
I have encountered instances of
anonymous Instagram accounts
and users on forums, such as
Reddit, irresponsibly revealing the
personal information of people
they were “doxxing”.
From my understanding, the
police are currently unable to
conduct investigations if victims
cannot name specific individuals
behind the “doxxing”.
One example was the lewd
storm. It is an industry that is
innovative and adaptable, and
small and big business players can
co-exist to serve the differentiated
groups of customers.
Relaxing spas and wholesome
foods, like farm-to-table concepts,
are attractive to the senior and
aged populations, and the younger
generation today is interested in
many types of fitness and sports
activities.
The sizeable plot of land
available could be developed
into an iconic wellness district to
brand Singapore as a trendsetter
in this industry.
Singapore has been conducting the
Cooked Food Rescue programme
for about three years and we follow
a stringent set of protocols. These
protocols have been set up by a
food-safety consultant whom we
have been working with for many
years. We do not frivolously accept
and redistribute everything that
comes through our doors.
Third, the campaign with
Compass One is our first mall-wide
attempt to encourage more food
and beverage players to donate
their excess food.
CO-ORGANISER
Instagram account targeting
junior college girls, which was
exposed in January (MOE to take
action against ‘lewd’ Instagram
account targeting junior college
girls, Jan 14).
Although it was not exactly a case
of “doxxing”, similar concerns arise
because there is a possibility of
harassment and there is a veil of
anonymity.
The Ministry of Education said
Imagine a mall with a holistic
offering of products and services in
fitness and health, nutrition,
aesthetics as well as spas, all
located within reach for customers.
To ensure that visitors stay
longer in the mall, experiential
activities, like the trapeze arts,
body-building competitions and
sports fashion shows, can be
organised.
To cater to sports tourists, a
luxury sports hotel, possibly Asia’s
first, focusing on nutritious food, a
clean environment and fitness
activities can be built to make this
district unique and attractive.
Those that have chosen to
support the campaign will be put
on a pilot programme where we
get to understand the kind of
excess food they have and the
protocol that best fits their
operations.
The first few batches of collected
food will be sent for tests and
underwriting to ensure that they
are fit for redistribution.
Therefore, we choose to see
these partners, including the
supportive Compass One mall,
as our pioneering partners to find
OFFICIAL
FUEL PARTNER
that it would take action against the
account, but I believe it will not be
easy, given the anonymity.
Under such circumstances, what
can the authorities do to ensure
such culprits are taken to task, too,
despite their anonymity?
Will the authorities be able to
order social media platforms to
reveal the identities of perpetrators
so as to help with investigations?
Sean Lim Wei Xin
The wellness concept is an
exciting proposition as it addresses
the high rate of medical problems
in society, such as diabetes, high
blood pressure and cardiovascular
diseases, and also fulfils the
aspirational goals of the younger
population to live healthily.
Investing in wellness is about
investing in the population’s
longevity, and it makes dollar sense
to invest in the well-being of our
future generations.
This will also allow Singapore to
set the bar for other countries in
holistic wellness and care.
Frankie Mao
the best system to collect excess
food in Singapore.
As members of the globally
recognised entity of the Global
Food Banking Network, we are
audited annually by professionals
from the US.
Therefore, we do everything that
we can to uphold the health and
safety of all our beneficiaries.
Ending food insecurity is our key
mission and if we can help to
reduce some food waste along the
way, that would be a win-win
situation for all.
Nichol Ng
Chief Food Officer
The Food Bank Singapore
OFFICIAL
MAGAZINE
OnFacebook
Will the growth of the
integrated resorts here add to
the dangers of gambling?
It’s not the growth of IRs but,
rather, the accessibility to
casinos which will keep gambling
at bay. Heavier levies and harsher
measures are in place to dissuade
and keep local gamblers – both
hardcore and recreational – from
gambling. However, these
measures are more effective in
deterring recreational gamblers.
My main grouse over the growth
of IRs is the type of tourists and
foreigners we would attract to
our city state.
Pan Jiahe
They cannot keep babysitting
people. Even if people don’t
gamble in Singapore, they could
go to Genting or some other
cheaper place in the world.
Velerie Yeong
If you go to London, there are
many small casinos, but they are
mostly empty. The more casinos
you have, the less attractive they
become. The forbidden fruit
tastes the sweetest.
MengTong Foo
Perhaps gambling provides a
stimulant to one’s mind, like
exercise does to one’s body.
Life is always a gamble until we
die. To many people, it is a way to
keep themselves happy. Perhaps
Sports Hub committed to
delivering best event experience
We assure Forum contributor Eng
Siang Cher (Long wait for drinks
not acceptable at world-class
venue, April 16) and members of
the public that the Singapore
Sports Hub is committed to
ensuring that we deliver the best
event experience to all our patrons.
We apologise for the food and
beverage experience at the recent
Singapore Badminton Open held in
the Singapore Indoor Stadium. We
did notice a surge in demand for
OFFICIAL
RADIO
FORUM B9
gamblers need to focus on
something else.
James Thong
Do you think removing the race
component on ICs will help
promote a Singapore identity?
I agree one should be proud of
where he has come from. But
where you come from can be
used as a dividing strategy (our
colonial masters used the divide
and rule policy). Maybe the
writer is correct in principle, that
distinguishing race should not
matter... I do believe, though, it’s
not the eradication of identities
that makes people come closer,
but the creation of new identities
and shared positive histories.
Shiling Xie
The race component on our ICs
indicates we are different and,
yet, one united people. This is
already our Singapore identity.
Ming Ming
I showed my IC to some Dutch
people and they were shocked
that it states my race because
they saw that as something that
should purposefully not matter. I
very much agree with this.
Nadya Kool
The idea is to embrace the
differences, not wipe them out
to be seemingly put together.
Udaya Soundari
food and drinks at intermission
periods, which resulted in longer
waiting times.
Additional serving stations were
added on Sunday’s match.
We thank Mr Eng for the
feedback and suggestions, and we
will continue to improve our
patrons’ experience at the
Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Jacqueline Lau
Chief Experience Officer
SportsHub Pte Ltd
B10 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Room for
everyone
Home buyers and their agents
queueing to book a unit at High Park
Residences, a 1,390-unit
condominium development in
Fernvale, near Seletar, on July 17, 2015.

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| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Chinese tech firms facing more curbs abroad
Countries fear losing
large slice of growing
Internet economy to
Chinese firms: Expert
Lim Yan Liang
China Correspondent
In Beijing
India’s ban on popular video-shar-
ing app TikTok on Tuesday has
sparked a new round of concern
here that Chinese technology firms
are facing more unfair curbs abroad.
The video app was taken down
from both the Google and Apple app
stores in India by Thursday, after its
Chinese developer ByteDance Tech-
nology failed to convince India’s
Supreme Court to stay an interim
state court ban over concerns that
the app spread pornography and ex-
posed children to sexual grooming.
The ban is the latest stumbling
block for Chinese tech firms
abroad, coming on the heels of tele-
coms companies Huawei and ZTE’s
legal and regulatory woes in the
West that observers said were em-
blematic of the growing technology
race between China and the US.
It also threw into uncertainty one
of the key overseas markets for Tik-
Tok, which was one of the most
downloaded apps last year. India ac-
counted for nearly 50 per cent of the
188 million new users on the plat-
form in the first quarter of this year,
said analysis firm Sensor Tower.
A fortnight ago, Taiwan said it
planned to ban video-streaming ser-
vices from Chinese platforms such
as Baidu’s iQiyi and Tencent Video
ahead of next year’s presidential
elections, to curb the spread of false
information online and perceived ef-
forts by Beijing to influence Tai-
wanese politics.
Media scholar Yu Guoming of Bei-
jing Normal University said more
countries are giving various rea-
sons to restrict the growth of Chi-
nese tech firms in their markets as
they fear losing a large slice of the
growing Internet economy to nim-
ble Chinese companies.
“In terms of technical ability,
China’s Internet development is
second only to the US, while the In-
ternet’s importance in economics
as well as shaping society and cul-
50 %
Percentage of the 188 million
new TikTok users India accounted
for in the first quarter of this year.
C1
JASON LEOW
CAPITALAND TOP EXEC BANKS
ON JEWEL TO DELIVER C2
People dressed made a mockery of India’s vaunted
in costumes at a democracy and free speech values.
TikTok Creator’s But others noted that countries
Lab event like India are simply taking a leaf
hosted by
ByteDance in
from the “Internet sovereignty” play-
book that Beijing has long champi-
Tokyo in oned, which states that a govern-
February. India ment has the right to police its cy-
banned TikTok, a berspace, including through bans.
popular “In some parts of the world, it’s
video-sharing not even necessary to go through
app, this week the courts to block something,” said
over concerns fellow Weibo user Xiaolu.
that it spread China blocks most foreign social
pornography and media, including Facebook and
exposed children Twitter, and also filters sensitive
to sexual keywords on domestic platforms
grooming. such as WeChat and Weibo.
PHOTO: India’s ban on TikTok was similar
BLOOMBERG to a move by Bangladesh in Febru-
ary, when Dhaka banned the app as
well as thousands of adult and gam-
bling websites. The platform was
also fined US$5.7 million (S$7.7 mil-
lion) in the same month by the US
Federal Trade Commission for ille-
gally collecting the personal inform-
ation of children.
But Internet and media law ex-
pert Hu Gang said simplistic mea-
sures like an outright ban do not
serve any party or society well, and
governments should work with plat-
form providers to minimise harm.
“In theory, every networked ser-
ture can only grow,” he said. “That’s vice wants to add to the global Inter-
why when a Chinese firm goes net, but if the courts in each coun-
abroad, there is now greater protec- try want to make their own excep-
tionism, but under the pretext of tions, then that will have an enor-
things like content standards.” mous impact on the development
Chinese netizens have slammed of the Internet,” he said.
the ban for being anti-competition.
“This is like a frog living at the bot- yanliang@sph.com.sg
tom of the well,” remarked a Weibo
user, while another said the ban SEE BUSINESS C2
C2 BUSINESS | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

TikTok a hit in Amazon shutting

In February, a college student
died after his motorcycle crashed
into a truck while making a TikTok
video, according to reports.
On April 13, a 19-year-old Delhi
resident fatally shot his friend by
Chinese marketplace
India’s small accident while posing with a pistol
for a TikTok video, say police.
Still, India is not the only country
where the Chinese video app,
which has 500 million users world-
amid stiff competition

towns, rural areas

Many accessing Internet for first time,
and are drawn to easy-to-use video app
Nirmala Ganapathy
India Bureau Chief
In New Delhi
Student Sandeep Raaz Keshri from
the small town of Buxar in the cen-
tral state of Bihar has posted 500
videos on Chinese video app Tik-
Tok.
They include videos of him danc-
ing, lip syncing to popular songs in
the languages of Hindi and Bho-
jpuri, which is spoken in Bihar, and
acting out scenes from movies.
The phenomenal rise of TikTok,
which this month had a ban on its
downloads imposed by an Indian
court, has been fuelled by users
like Mr Keshri from smaller towns
and rural India.
They are attracted to the easy-
to-use app that lets them create
amateur videos with various filters
and see real-time reactions pour-
ing in.
“TikTok is the best quality app. It
is superb. It has many filters. All
my friends use it,” said Mr Keshri,
an 18-year-old Bachelor of Busi-
ness Administration student who
likes the simplicity of uploading
videos. He has 13,000 followers.
“I don’t really want to think
about the ban,” he said.
Google and Apple have pulled it
from their play stores, but those
who have downloaded the app can
still use it.
India has seen an explosion in
the use of social media, with an in-
creasing number of people access-
ing the Internet, helped by the fall
in data plan and smartphone
prices. There are around 500 mil-
lion smartphone and broadband In-
ternet users in a population of 1.25
billion.
In rural areas and smaller towns,
many are accessing the Internet
for the first time through their
phones and, due to varying de-
grees of literacy, mainly watch and
forward videos.
India has 300 million Facebook
users and 240 million on messag-
ing service WhatsApp. Known as
Douyin in China, TikTok has been
downloaded over 240 million
times in India, according to app an-
alytics firm Sensor Tower
It said India accounted for 27 per
cent of new TikTok installs be-
tween December 2017 and Decem-
ber 2018 with downloads increas-
ing from 1.3 million to 32.3 million.
“It breaks down barriers for peo-
ple who want to consume or pub-
lish work,” said Mr Kailas Karthi-
keyan, a tech and policy consultant.
“You don’t need to know how to
write or read. It may not be cool
but they do interesting things.
“This is a community which is
not covered in the mainstream
(media). You have very interesting
videos like victims of acid attacks.
They publish and sing songs.
There is a lot of positive stuff on
the platform as well.”
Yet concerns remain about chil-
dren being exposed to pae-
dophiles, the lack of privacy set-
tings and anonymity of users.
The Madras High Court in its ban
cited concerns over the availability
of pornographic material, use by
young children and their suscepti-
bility to sexual predators, addiction
among young users and violation of
privacy, among other reasons.
There are reports of people being
bullied on the app or putting their
lives in danger to record stunts.
Last October, a 24-year-old
Chennai man committed suicide af-
ter being harassed for posting
videos dressed in female attire.
wide, has run into trouble.
It was banned in Bangladesh
over alleged availability of porno-
graphic material. In the United
States, it was fined US$5.7 million
(S$7.7 million) for illegally collect-
ing children’s data.
In India, the company removed
six million videos this month for not
complying with its guidelines.
ByteDance, the firm behind Tik-
Tok, is appealing against the order
in the Madras High Court after the
Supreme Court declined to lift the
ban.
TikTok said it had “faith in the In-
dian judicial system” in a state-
ment and was “optimistic about an
outcome” that would allow users
to continue using the app.
Many tech experts believe ban-
ning TikTok is not a solution.
“Shutting down the platform
never makes any sense,” said tech
policy and media consultant
Prasanto K. Roy.
“They should look at what can be
done to improve things and pres-
sure TikTok to put measures into
place... like parental control
should be on by default. A ban
doesn’t address the core issue.”
Mr Karthikeyan added: “If this
were a valid prohibition, then
what would stop a court or author-
ity from banning a platform like
WhatsApp or Twitter?”
Some also believe TikTok has at-
tracted attention not just due to its
popularity but also because it was
made by a Chinese firm. Distrust
runs deep between India and
China, which have an ongoing bor-
der row.
gnirmala@sph.com.sg
SINGAPORE/SEATTLE/HONG
KONG • In a rare retreat for Ama-
zon.com, the e-commerce giant
plans to shut down its Chinese mar-
ketplace business in July as it shifts
its focus to offering mainland con-
sumers overseas products, rather
than goods from local sellers.
Amazon will keep running its
other businesses in China, includ-
ing Amazon Web Services, Kindle
e-books and cross-border opera-
tions that help ship goods from Chi-
nese merchants to customers
abroad.
Starting on July 18, customers log-
ging in to Amazon’s Chinese Web
portal, Amazon.cn, will see only a se-
lection of goods from its global
store rather than products from
third-party sellers.
Pulling out of e-commerce in
China – the world’s largest retail
market – represents a setback for
both Amazon and chief executive
Jeff Bezos, known for his willing-
ness to weather losses in order to
achieve long-term gains.
Amazon is the latest example of an
American tech company in China
struggling to contend with local lead-
ers like Alibaba Group Holding and
JD.com, as well as group buying app
Pinduoduo, which went public in
New York last year.
Amazon entered China in 2004
when it bought a local online book-
seller for US$75 million.
It then invested in warehouses,
data centres and programmes to
teach Chinese sellers how to get
their goods to Amazon customers.
Amazon launched its Prime
membership programme there in
2016, hoping to lure Chinese cus-
tomers with promises of high-qual-
ity Western goods and free interna-
tional deliveries.
But extra perks like Prime Video,
which has been used to woo cus-
tomers in other markets, are un-
available to users in China.
Alibaba, JD and other Chinese
platforms also ramped up their of-
ferings of everything from Ameri-
can cherries to Australian baby for-
mula, all with steep discounts.
Amazon’s market share in China
is less than 1 per cent, according to
iResearch.
The pullback is the latest sign that
Amazon is ceding China so it can fo-
cus on India, where it stands a bet-
ter chance of becoming a dominant
player.
The company has ploughed bil-
lions of dollars into the Indian mar-
ket since opening its website there
in 2013, building more than 50 ware-
houses to support the business.
But Amazon still has to contend
with Chinese e-commerce players
in India, where Alibaba and others
are building up operations or invest-
ing in local start-ups such as Paytm
E-commerce and BigBasket.
For now, Amazon’s commitment
to China remains strong and it will
continue to invest in the country, ac-
cording to a company spokesman.
She said it has been shifting the fo-
cus of its online retail business in
China to cross-border sales, which
cater to Chinese merchants selling
to consumers abroad and to Chinese
customers looking for high-quality
goods from around the world.
BLOOMBERG

Jewel gives CapitaLand platform to display capabilities for global growth

Jewel Changi Airport, which has cre-
ated a global stage for some of Singa-
pore’s best brands, is expected to
start contributing to developer
CapitaLand’s revenue from the sec-
ond quarter of this year.
Jewel is not the group’s biggest re-
tail asset in its portfolio. For in-
stance, Suzhou Centre Mall and Raf-
fles City Chongqing have a retail
gross floor area (GFA) of about
300,000 sq m and 230,000 sq m re-
spectively. But it is still a significant
one for the group in Singapore.
“The successful opening of Jewel
demonstrates CapitaLand’s multifac-
eted capabilities in real estate devel-
opment and highlights the unlimited
possibilities we have in enlivening
an airport precinct with retail at its
core,” said Mr Jason Leow, president
and chief executive of Singapore and
International for CapitaLand.
“It will augment CapitaLand’s
track record in pursuing more
growth opportunities globally, espe-
cially in large-scale precinct
projects integrated with transporta-
tion nodes,” he added.
The project is a 51:49 joint venture
between airport operator Changi
Airport Group and CapitaLand.
At 90,000 sq m, Jewel’s retail size
is comparable to CapitaLand’s Ion
Orchard, which has a retail foot-
print of about 88,000 sq m. Raffles
City remains CapitaLand’s largest
mixed-use development in Singa-
pore at 320,490 sq m GFA.
Jewel’s total GFA spans 135,700 sq
m, comprising 90,000 sq m of retail,
21,100 sq m of indoor gardens and at-
tractions, and 19,400 sq m of facili-
ties for airport operations, while
5,200 sq m has been set aside for ho-
tel space.
About 25 per cent of Jewel’s more
than 280 stores comprise new-to-
market brands, new concepts or flag-
ship stores.
Nearly half of the brands in Jewel
are home-grown ones, with stores
such as the Rich and Good Cake
Shop, Birds of Paradise gelato store Customers queueing at Jewel Changi Airport’s Shake Shack on Wednesday. Changi Airport is seeking to boost its position as an air hub of choice through Jewel to attract more stopover visitors and tourists
and Tiger Street Lab, Tiger Beer’s as other airports in the region step up their game. It aims to attract 40 million to 50 million visitors a year, of which 60 per cent will be Singapore residents. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
new concept, attracting long queues
during Jewel’s preview, said Mr
Leow. der one roof. Key features include dome-shaped structure did not the vast landscaping in Jewel to SHINING SUCCESS
Through Jewel, travellers transit- the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, come without challenges. thrive and yet reduce heat gain for
ing through Changi Airport will be the 40m-high Rain Vortex, and the Built on the site of Terminal 1’s for- the comfort of visitors. The successful opening of Jewel
able to get a taste of such local sprawling 14,000 sq m rooftop mer open-air carpark, the 10-storey “Extensive efforts have also been demonstrates CapitaLand’s multifaceted
brands, in the hope that they will Canopy Park with sky nets, mazes Jewel has height restrictions to en- made to ensure Jewel’s indoor tem-
come back to visit Singapore again. and slides. sure that the line of sight from the perature and humidity levels are capabilities in real estate development
Meanwhile, some analysts believe Located next to Terminal 1 and con- airport’s control tower is not ob- conducive for the plants’ growth and highlights the unlimited possibilities
that Jewel’s debut could divert foot- nected to Terminals 2 and 3 via air- structed. It was also important to conditions.” we have in enlivening an airport precinct
fall from other malls in the eastern conditioned travelators, Jewel aims minimise disruption to airport oper- On whether Jewel might be ripe
region, while RHB Invest analyst Vi- to attract 40 million to 50 million visi- ations during construction. for injecting into a real estate invest- with retail at its core.

jay Natarajan reckons that Capita-
Land Mall Trust’s Tampines Mall
could face some pressure in rental
reversions ahead.
Designed by renowned architect
Moshe Safdie, the $1.7 billion Jewel
bills itself as a destination in itself,
with retail and dining outlets, attrac-
tions, a hotel and airport facilities un-
tors a year, of which 60 per cent will
be Singapore residents.
Through Jewel, Changi Airport is
seeking to strengthen its position as
an air hub of choice to attract more
stopover visitors and tourists as
other airports in the region step up
their game.
But constructing the iconic
Procuring and taking care of such
a large collection of plants also re-
quired careful planning, said Mr
Leow, given Jewel’s concept of “gar-
den in a mall, mall in a garden”.
He added: “The glass panels cho-
sen for the dome facade are made
up of high-performance material
with the ability to transmit light for
’’
ment trust once its operations sta-
bilise, Mr Leow said Jewel is a joint
venture. He added: “Any decision to
inject Jewel into any investment ve-
hicle will be jointly undertaken by MR JASON LEOW, president and chief executive of Singapore and
International for CapitaLand.
both parties.”
Typically, a new mall usually
takes about two to three years to sta-
bilise.
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
BUSINESS C3

Metro
acquires
two office
blocks
via tie-up
Purchase of Tampines Grade-A
property lets group gain exposure
to decentralised office market
Metro Holdings has entered a
50:50 joint venture to acquire 7 and
9 Tampines Grande, a premium
Grade-A office property, the group
said on Thursday night.
Metro’s 50 per cent capital com-
mitment for the investment is
about $45.6 million.
It said the investment was made
in the ordinary course of its prop-
erty investment and development

business. Through the investment,
Metro aims to gain exposure to Sin-
gapore’s Grade-A decentralised of-
fice market.
It said the move will grow its pres-
ence here, especially with the de-
centralised office strategy ex-
pected to dominate the market
over the next decade.
The property will immediately
contribute to Metro’s income
stream, with potential positive
rental reversion from upcoming
lease renewals.
Metro said it has also received
strata-subdivision approval from
the authorities, “which will provide
flexibility for it to be held as a whole
for long-term investment or for
sale as individual strata units”.
The investment is not expected
to have any significant effect on the
group’s consolidated net tangible as-
set per share and consolidated earn-
ings per share for the current finan-
cial year ending March 31, 2020.
The joint venture was entered
into by Metro’s wholly owned unit
Metrobilt Construction and an affili-
ate of SRIF GP, an independent
third party.
Through the newly incorporated
firm Ascend TGrande, both parties
have entered into a share-sale
agreement with independent third
party Golden Crest Holdings to pur-
chase all the shares of T-Grande In-
vestment Holding. T-Grande Invest-
ment Holding owns T-Grande Prop-
erty Holding, which owns and oper-
ates the property.
Of the purchase consideration for
50 per cent of the issued shares,
about $19.4 million comprises the
91 %
The property’s committed
occupancy rate. Tenants include
firms in the technology, financial
services and insurance industries.
consolidated net asset value of the
target firm and the property firm.
The remaining $26.2 million is to
acquire related shareholder loans.
The consideration will be subject
to adjustments upon completion. It
was arrived at on a willing-buyer,
willing-seller basis, taking into ac-
count the expected net income to
be derived from the property.
Metro’s commitment and ex-
penses relating to the transaction
will be funded with internal cash re-
sources and external borrowings.
The total investment cost com-
prises the property’s acquisition
price, stamp duty, financing costs,
and other costs and expenses.
The joint-venture partners plan to
fund the investment using a combi-
nation of shareholders’ equity, share-
holders’ loans and bank borrowings.
Situated at Tampines Regional Situated at
Centre, the property comprises two Tampines
blocks of eight-storey office towers Regional Centre,
linked by an entrance lobby with re- the property
tail, as well as food and beverage out- comprises two
lets on the ground floor. blocks of
It has a site area and gross floor eight-storey
area of approximately 86,110 sq ft office towers.
and 361,660 sq ft respectively. It has a site area
It has a total net lettable area of ap- of about 86,110
proximately 288,000 sq ft and has sq ft and gross
achieved a committed occupancy floor area
rate of about 91 per cent. of around
Tenants include conglomerates 361,660 sq ft.
and firms in the technology, finan- PHOTO: CITY
cial services and insurance indus- DEVELOPMENTS
tries, such as Hitachi Asia, Aldwych
International, NCR Asia-Pacific, AIA
Singapore and Sysmex Asia-Pacific.
Metro’s shares closed unchanged
at $1.04 on Thursday before the an-
nouncement.
C4 BUSINESS | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

SoftBank, Toyota and Uber aims to go

beyond car rides
to become the
“Amazon of
transportation”

Denso invest $1.4b in in a future where

people share,
instead of own,
their vehicles.

Uber’s self-driving unit

PHOTO: EPA-EFE

the firms said in a statement.

Funding comes ahead of US firm’s expected
IPO, set to be tech sector’s largest in years
TOKYO • Japanese car giant Toyota
and investment fund SoftBank Vi-
sion Fund yesterday unveiled an in-
vestment of US$1 billion (S$1.4 bil-
lion) in United States firm Uber to
fuel the development of driverless
ride-sharing services.
The latest cash injection, ex-
pected to close in the third quarter
of this year, came amid fevered an-
ticipation of Uber’s initial public of-
fering (IPO), which is expected to
be the tech sector’s largest in years.
SoftBank Vision Fund, the invest-
ment arm of Japanese tycoon
Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank, will
pour US$333 million into the ven-
ture. SoftBank is Uber’s biggest
shareholder, holding 16 per cent.
Toyota and Denso are stumping
up a combined US$667 million. The
Japanese car firm said it would also
contribute another US$300 million Uber is also seeing growing suc- would be the biggest stock offering given the relatively lacklustre de-
over the next three years to help cess with an Eats service that lets of the year. but of Lyft, Uber’s main US rival.
cover related costs. drivers make money delivering Media reports said the ride-hail- Mr Khosrowshahi has promised
Uber chief executive Dara Khos- meals that customers order from ing giant was likely to seek a market greater transparency as he seeks to
rowshahi said driverless cars would restaurants. value of close to US$100 billion. restore confidence in the ride-shar-
“transform transportation as we Last week, Uber filed official docu- Uber is the largest of the “uni- ing leader, which has been hit by a
know it, making our streets safer ments for its much-anticipated corns”, or venture-backed firms wave of misconduct scandals.
and our cities more liveable”. IPO. The filing with the US Securi- worth at least US$1 billion, to list on In October last year, Toyota and

42%
Rise in Uber’s revenue last year to
US$11.2 billion. The company
reported a net profit from a large
asset sale, but also made
operational losses of more than
US$3 billion.
Toyota has already invested
US$500 million in Uber, which is
racing Google-owned Waymo and a
host of other companies, including
major carmakers, to develop self-
driving vehicles.
The latest investment, which also
involves Japanese parts maker
Denso, will go to Uber’s Advanced
Technologies Group to “accelerate
the development and commerciali-
sation of automated ride-sharing”,
The firm aims to go beyond car
rides to become the “Amazon of
transportation” in a future where
people share, instead of own, their
vehicles.
If all goes to plan, commuters
could ride an e-scooter to a transit
station, take a train, then grab an e-
bike, share a ride or take an e-
scooter from the station to com-
plete a journey – all using the Uber
app on a smartphone.
ties and Exchange Commission
said Uber operates in six continents
with some 14 million trips per day
and more than 10 billion rides com-
pleted since it was founded in 2010.
The filing contained a “place-
holder” amount of US$1 billion to be
raised, which may increase ahead
of the IPO expected next month.
The Wall Street Journal said ear-
lier this month that Uber was seek-
ing to raise US$10 billion in what
Wall Street. It is one of the key com-
panies in the “sharing economy”,
which is based on offering services
to replace ownership of cars,
homes and other commodities.
Uber’s revenue grew 42 per cent
last year to US$11.2 billion. It re-
ported a net profit from a large asset
sale, but also incurred operational
losses of more than US$3 billion.
Some analysts have voiced cau-
tion over the forthcoming IPO,
SoftBank announced a joint venture
to create a “new mobility service”, in-
cluding driverless vehicles for ser-
vices such as meal deliveries.
The company – called “Monet”,
short for “mobility network” – is ma-
jority owned by SoftBank.
SoftBank started as a software
firm but has been pushing into in-
vestments under the leadership of
Mr Son, one of Japan’s richest men.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Big firms think insurance covers cyber attacks, but they may be wrong
LONDON • Within days of a cyber at-
tack, warehouses of snack food
company Mondelez International
filled with a backlog of Oreo cook-
ies and Ritz crackers.
Mondelez, owner of dozens of
well-known food brands such as
Cadbury chocolate and Philadelphia
cream cheese, was one of the hun-
dreds of companies struck by the
NotPetya cyberstrike in 2017. Lap-
tops froze suddenly as Mondelez em-
ployees worked at their desks.
E-mail was unavailable, as was ac-
cess to files on the corporate net-
work. Logistics software that or-
chestrates deliveries and tracks in-
voices crashed.
Even with teams working around
the clock, it was weeks before Mon-
delez recovered. Once the lost or-
ders were tallied and computer
equipment was replaced, its finan-
cial hit was more than US$100 mil-
lion (S$136 million), according to
court documents.
After the ordeal, executives at the
company took some solace in know-
ing that insurance would help cover
the costs. Or so they thought.
Zurich Insurance, Mondelez’s in-
surer, said it would not be sending a
reimbursement cheque. It cited a
common, but rarely used, clause in
insurance contracts – the “war ex-
clusion”, which protects insurers
from being saddled with costs re-
lated to damage from war. Mon-
delez’s loss was deemed collateral
damage in a cyberwar.
The 2017 attack was a watershed
moment for the insurance industry.
Since then, insurers have been ap-
plying the war exemption to avoid
claims related to digital attacks.
In addition to Mondelez, pharma-
ceutical giant Merck said insurers
had denied claims after the Not-
Petya attack hit its sales research,
sales and manufacturing opera-
tions, causing nearly US$700 mil-
lion in damage.
When the United States govern-
ment assigned responsibility for Not-
Petya to Russia last year, insurers
were provided with a justification
cyber insurance in the future will
be worthless,” said Dr Ariel Levite,
a senior fellow at the Carnegie En-
dowment for International Peace,
who has written about the case.
But he said the insurance indus-
try’s position on NotPetya is “not
entirely frivolous because it is
widely believed that the Russians
had been behind the attack”.
Mondelez said in a statement that
while its business had recovered
quickly from the attack, Zurich In-
surance was responsible for honour-
ing an insurance policy that explic-
itly covers cyber events. The com-
pany added that it did not believe
the war exemption clause fits the
A confectionery
plant operated
by Mondelez
International in
Ukraine.
Mondelez had
hoped that
insurance would
cover the losses
it suffered when
it was hit by the
NotPetya
cyberstrike in
2017, but its
insurer cited a
common, but
rarely used,
clause in
insurance
contracts – the
“war exclusion”.
Mondelez’s loss
was deemed
collateral
damage in a
cyberwar.
PHOTO:
BLOOMBERG
UNEXPECTED In 1983, a judge ruled that Holiday Mr Scott Kannry, chief executive
Inn’s insurance policy covered dam- of risk assessment firm Axio Global,
You have insurers who age from the civil war in Lebanon. said the insurance industry is
are sitting on insurance In the Mondelez and Merck law- watching the Mondelez case
suits, the central question is closely because many policies were
policies that were never whether the government’s attribu- created before cyber attacks were
underwritten or tion of the NotPetya attack to Russia such an urgent risk.
understood to cover meets the bar for the war exclusion. “You have insurers who are sit-
Risk industry experts say cyber- ting on insurance policies that were
cyber-risk. Zurich didn’t war is still largely undefined. Attri- never underwritten or understood
underwrite the policy with bution can be difficult when attacks to cover cyber-risk,” he said.
the idea that a cyber come from groups with unofficial “Zurich didn’t underwrite the pol-
links to a state and the blamed gov- icy with the idea that a cyber event
event would cause the kind ernment denies involvement. would cause the kind of losses that
of losses that happened Mr Jake Olcott, vice-president at happened to Mondelez. Nobody is
to Mondelez. Nobody is BitSight Technologies, a cyber-risk at war with Mondelez.”
adviser, said: “We still don’t have a Many insurance companies are re-
at war with Mondelez. clear idea of what cyberwar actually thinking their coverage.

for refusing to cover the damage.
Just as they would not be liable if a
bomb blew up a corporate building
during an armed conflict, they
claim not to be responsible when a
state-backed hack strikes a com-
puter network.
The disputes are playing out in
court. In a closely watched legal bat-
tle, Mondelez sued Zurich Insur-
ance last year for a breach of con-
tract in an Illinois court. Merck also
filed a similar suit in New Jersey in
August. Merck sued more than 20 in-
surers that rejected claims related to
the NotPetya attack, including sev-
eral that cited the war exemption.
The two cases could take years to
resolve. The legal fights will set a
precedent about who pays when
businesses are hit by a cyber attack
blamed on a foreign government.
The cases have broader implica-
tions for government officials, who
have increasingly taken a bolder ap-
proach to naming and shaming
state sponsors of cyber attacks, but
now risk becoming enmeshed in cor-
porate disputes by giving insurance
firms a rationale to deny claims.
“You’re running a huge risk that
circumstances.
Zurich Insurance and Merck de-
clined to comment because of the
active litigation. But court docu-
ments, public filings and interviews
with people familiar with cases pro-
vided details about the disputes.
Cyber attacks have created a
unique challenge for insurers. Tradi-
tional practices – such as not cover-
ing multiple buildings in the same
neighbourhood to avoid the risk of,
say, a big fire – do not apply.
Malware moves fast and unpre-
dictably, leaving an expensive trail
of collateral damage. “It cuts across
practically every type of business
activity,” Dr Levite said. The risk, he
added, “can no longer be contained
in this interconnected world”.
Many insurance companies sell cy-
ber coverage, but the policies are of-
ten written narrowly to cover costs
related to the loss of customer data,
such as helping a company provide
credit checks or cover legal bills.
Mondelez argued that its prop-
erty insurance package should
cover the losses from the NotPetya
attack. In court filings, Mondelez
said its policy had been updated in
’’
MR SCOTT KANNRY, chief executive of risk
assessment firm Axio Global, on the closely
watched Mondelez case.
2016 to include losses caused by
“the malicious introduction of a ma-
chine code or instruction”.
The company lost 1,700 servers
and 24,000 laptops. Employees
were left to communicate through
WhatsApp and executives posted
updates on Yammer, a social net-
work used by companies.
Damage from NotPetya spread all
the way to Hobart, Tasmania, where
computers in a Cadbury factory dis-
played ransomware messages that
demanded US$300 in bitcoin.
Courts often rule against insurers
that try to apply the wartime ex-
emption.
After hijackers destroyed a Pan
Am airliner in 1970, a US court re-
jected insurer Aetna’s attempt, de-
termining that the action was crimi-
nal and not an act of war.
looks like. That is one of the strug-
gles in this case. No one has said this
was an all-out cyberwar by Russia.”
In the past, US officials were reluc-
tant to qualify cyber attacks as cy-
berwar, fearing the term could pro-
voke an escalation.
Former US president Barack
Obama, for example, was careful to
say the aggressive North Korean cy-
ber attack on Sony Pictures Enter-
tainment in 2014, which destroyed
more than 70 per cent of Sony’s
computer servers, was an act of “cy-
ber vandalism”.
That label was sharply criticised
by then Senator John McCain and
Senator Lindsey Graham, who
called the hack a “new form of war-
fare” and “terrorism”.
The description of the Sony at-
tack was deliberate, said Mr John
Carlin, assistant attorney-general at
the Justice Department at the time.
In an interview, he said the
Obama administration had wor-
ried, in part, that using the term “cy-
berwar” would have triggered the li-
ability exclusions and fine print
that Mondelez is now challenging
in court.
Since the lawsuits were filed, Ms
Shannan Fort, who specialises in cy-
ber insurance for Aon, one of the
world’s largest insurance brokers,
has been fielding calls from compa-
nies scrambling to be sure they will
be safe if attacked, she said.
“I don’t want to scare people but if
a country attacks a very specific seg-
ment, such as national infrastruc-
ture, is that cyber terrorism or an act
of war?” she asked. “There is still a
bit of grey area.”
Mr Ty Sagalow, former chief oper-
ating officer at insurance giant AIG,
helped pioneer the market for cy-
ber-risk insurance nearly two
decades ago.
Insurers risk abusing the war ex-
clusion by not paying claims, he
said, particularly when an attack
“can hit companies that were not
the original target of violence”.
Collateral damage from attacks
that get out of control is going to be-
come more and more common, he
added.
“That is what cyber is today,” Mr
Sagalow said. “And if you don’t like
it, you shouldn’t be in the business.”
NYTIMES
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
German factory gloom casts
pall over euro-area economy
Fresh signs of malaise contradict recent
cautious optimism from ECB policymakers
FRANKFURT • German manufactur-
ing remained in a slump at the start
of the second quarter, casting a
cloud over the euro-area economy
as well as the European Central
Bank’s (ECB) hopes for a quick re-
covery.
Factory output in Europe’s
largest economy contracted for a
fourth month running in April, ac-
cording to a survey on Thursday.
Manufacturing in the euro area
also shrank, while a broader gauge
of economic activity in the region
declined. Fresh signs of malaise con-
tradict recent cautious optimism
Crisis at China Minsheng –
a JPMorgan wannabe –
deepens on bond defaults
SHANGHAI • A debt crisis at one of
China’s most well-known private
conglomerates entered a new stage
on Thursday, with the company say-
ing cross-default clauses had been
triggered on dollar bonds worth
US$800 million (S$1.1 billion).
China Minsheng Investment
Group (CMIG) has appointed Kirk-
land & Ellis as legal adviser, accord-
ing to a Hong Kong stock exchange
filing, which also noted that banks
have set up a creditor’s committee
to try to stabilise the company.
The cross default comes after
CMIG’s problems spread to its affili-
ate, Yida China Holdings, making
some of the developer’s debt imme-
diately payable, and causing a chain
reaction back to the parent com-
pany’s own securities.
CMIG spooked investors with a
late bond repayment earlier this
year, joining other sprawling Chi-
nese conglomerates such as HNA
Group in struggling to repay debt
after a spending spree.
Since its establishment in 2014,
CMIG has spent more than US$4 bil-
lion on investments and amassed
about US$35 billion of liabilities as
of last September.
“CMIG’s debt crisis will worsen as
creditors will seek to freeze more as-
sets if it defaults on onshore pub-
licly offered notes,” said Mr Chen
Su, a bond portfolio manager at
Qingdao Rural Commercial Bank.
The problems will not be resolved
unless CMIG finds more willing in-
vestors, he added.
CMIG’s dollar bonds due in Au-
gust traded at around 40 US cents
on the dollar on Thursday, accord-
from ECB policymakers that the
19-nation economy will soon turn
the corner.
Governing council member Ewald
Nowotny said on Wednesday that
the economy should at least stabilise
in the second half of the year. Yet
the German government this week
slashed its outlook to predict the
weakest expansion in six years.
The ECB has said it will not raise in-
terest rates this year, and more evi-
dence of weakness across the region
could force it to deploy fresh mea-
sures to support flagging growth.
The euro fell sharply after the pur-
ing to traders. CMIG said in the fil-
ing on the same day that it has also
reached an agreement with hold-
ers of a privately placed note to ex-
tend the payment date to April 19,
from April 8.
Yida China’s credit rating was cut
to CCC from CCC+ late on Thursday
at S&P Global Ratings, which said
the company may face a liquidity
crunch in the next 12 months, given
the overhang of debt repayable on
demand.
Signs of corporate stress appear
to be spreading, despite China’s sta-
bilising economy.
Citic Guoan Group, a state-linked
conglomerate, was downgraded on
Wednesday after fresh asset
seizures, helping trigger a plunge in
its listed unit’s shares. Tewoo
Group earlier this month sought
support from lenders to extend its
debt amid a credit squeeze.
Bonds from at least 44 Chinese
companies totalling US$43.7 billion
NO QUICK FIX
Solving CMIG’s debt
problem will hinge
on its onshore creditor
committee, and
this may not be fully
addressed soon.
’’
MR SHEN CHEN, a partner at Shanghai
Maoliang Investment Management.
BUSINESS C5
GROWTH EXPECTATIONS
The euro zone economy will
continue to grow only
slightly in the first half of
the year. However, we still
expect the economy to
pick up again in the second
half of 2019. The headwind
from foreign trade should
gradually ease. The latest
economic data from China
points to a stabilisation.
’’
MR CHRISTOPH WEIL, an economist from
Commerzbank.
Employees of luxury carmaker
Porsche on an assembly line in
Stuttgart, Germany, in February.
Germany’s factory output contracted
for a fourth month running in April.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
services index, which jumped to a
seven-month high of 55.6, while em-
ployment in the sector rose.
In France, there were signs that
activity is stabilising, but the euro
area’s second-largest economy is
still not out of the woods. New or-
ders fell for a fifth month and an
“underlying slowdown in demand
remains evident”, according to the
French PMI report.
“The euro zone economy will con-
tinue to grow only slightly in the
first half of the year,” said Mr
Christoph Weil, an economist from
chasing managers indexes (PMIs) decline this month. That may changed from last month and short Commerzbank. “However, we still
were published, and was down 0.4 change if the reasons for optimism of economists’ expectations. De- expect the economy to pick up
per cent to US$1.1252 as of 11.40am about the Chinese economy seen in mand was particularly weak in the again in the second half of 2019.
Frankfurt time. German 10-year some recent figures are borne out key car industry amid “some hesi- The headwind from foreign trade
bonds rose, pushing the yield back in the coming months. tancy among UK-based clients”, should gradually ease. The latest
below 0.5 per cent. In Germany, the factory PMI IHS Markit said. economic data from China points
The euro-area figures “add to wor- came in at 44.5 this month, little There was better news from the to a stabilisation.” BLOOMBERG
ries that the economy has failed to
rebound with any conviction from
one-off factors that dampened ac-
tivity late last year”, said economist
Chris Williamson at IHS Markit,
which compiles the PMI.
The index suggests the region is
running at a quarterly growth rate
of just under 0.2 per cent.
Weakness remained visible in
other parts of the global economy.
Japan’s exports shrank for a
Want to find out how to
fourth straight month in March and
manufacturing there continued to
WIN
more than
face repayment pressure, according
$2,000
worth of prizes?
to company and ratings firm state-
ments compiled by Bloomberg.
CMIG’s defaults may harm in-
vestor sentiment towards future of-
ferings from privately held and un-
rated issuers, according to Mr
Patrick Liu, chief executive officer
of Admiralty Harbour Capital, a
Hong Kong-based debt specialist
company.
Still, given the relatively small
amount of CMIG’s outstanding dol-
lar bonds, with some backed by let-
ters of credit, there will be limited im-
pact on the offshore market, he said.
CMIG is the brainchild of Mr
Dong Wenbiao, the former chair-
man of China’s largest non-state
bank who is known as the “godfa-
ther” of the nation’s private sector.
Billing the company as a Chinese
version of JPMorgan Chase & Co,
Mr Dong convinced 59 non-state
companies to join forces as the com-
pany’s founding shareholders.
The company’s funding eventu-
ally dried up as its investments
struggled and shadow banks pulled
back because of tighter regulation
and slowing economic growth.
MY
“Solving CMIG’s debt problem
will hinge on its onshore creditor Check
committee, and this may not be
fully addressed soon,” said Mr Shen
Chen, a partner at Shanghai Mao-
liang Investment Management.
out
HO E
There appears to be little synergy on 26 April, Friday for your essential guide
to creating your smart home!
between the company’s various
holdings, and finding investors will-
ing to pay for its assets at a good
price while taking on a huge debt
load will be challenging, he added.
BLOOMBERG
C6 | | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

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1933 - 2019
was called home to be with the Lord on 19 April 2019

choo PEE yong leaving behind loved ones.

Wife: Doris (Lai Eng)
age: 87
LiM yEok kEE
Son: Daughter-in-law:
Adrian Jennie
passed away peacefully on 18 April 2019
Daughters: Sons-in-law:
Dearly missed and fondly remembered by loved ones.
age: 63 Lisa
Cynthia
Mark Leong Man Ho
Richard Tan Chung Yaw
Wife: Lim Jan
Grandchildren:
Son: passed away peacefully on 19 April 2019. Jeremy, Joshua, Melissa, Chester, Rebecca, Christopher
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from 20 April (Saturday) to 22 April 2019 (Monday)
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at 9.30am for Funeral Mass at Church of St Stephen,
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Tan Hong Yu thereafter for cremation at
And all relatives and friends. Mandai Crematorium Hall 1 at 12.05pm.
And all relatives and friends.
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11TH ANNIVERSARY
In Loving Memory of
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was called home to be with the Lord on 19 April 2019
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Wife: Quek Siew Khim
Sons: Daughter-in-law:
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Chin Hong Hua
Grandsons: Granddaughter:
Chin Wei Jie Joshua Chin Chou Ee Joey
Chin Wei Sheng Jason
CHEONG AH LEONG (EDDIE) Wake is held at Singapore Funeral Parlour, Orchid Room,
Departed 20th April 2008 Level 4, 91 Tampines Link. Tel: 63226322
Nightly services will be held on 21 April 2019 and
Deeply missed and always 22 April 2019 at 8pm.
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at 11.40am.
Age: 72
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25th
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| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
WARRIORS
RETURN TO
NORMAL
SERVICE
Simmons shuts up critics with 31pts
NEW YORK • Ben Simmons played
the role of villain with gleeful ease.
Every time the Philadelphia
76ers guard touched the ball in
Game 3 on Thursday, hearty boos
followed, with each jeer from the
Brooklyn home crowd seemingly
energising him.
After Nets forward Jared Dudley,
who had zero points on the night,
air-balled an open three-pointer in
the third quarter, Simmons cele-
brated with outstretched arms.
When he challenged a call, the
reigning Rookie of the Year laughed
in the 33-year-old veteran’s face.
In the end, the Australian scored
31 points as the Sixers won 131-115,
taking a 2-1 lead in their first-round
National Basketball Association
Next 48 Hours
TODAY
FOOTBALL
Singapore Premier League Hougang
v Geylang (Jalan Besar, 5.30pm),
Brunei DPMM v Warriors (Bandar Seri
Begawan, 8.15pm).
English Premier League Man City v
Tottenham (7.30pm), Wolves v
Brighton (10pm), Newcastle v
Southampton (tomorrow, 12.30am) –
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227.
West Ham v Leicester (Ch103 &
Ch228), Huddersfield v Watford
play-off series.
With a smirk and plenty of cock-
sure drives to the basket, Simmons
silenced the critics who questioned
his shooting ability, especially Dud-
ley, who before the game called him
“average in the half court” and
Brooklyn fans, who had hung a miss-
ing person sign outside Barclays
Centre with his mugshot.
He went 11-for-13 from the field
and nine-of-11 from the free-throw
line, while chipping in nine assists.
Hailing “one of Ben’s most domi-
nant games”, Sixers coach Brett
Brown said: “I give Ben a tremen-
dous amount of credit. We needed
it all tonight, especially without Joel
Embiid.
“He feeds off that (booing), but
(Ch104 & Ch229), Bournemouth v
Fulham (Ch105 & Ch230) – 9.50pm.
Spanish LaLiga Celta v Girona
(6.55pm), Eibar v Atletico (10.10pm),
Rayo v Huesca (tomorrow, 12.25am),
Barcelona v Sociedad (tomorrow,
2.40am) – StarHub Ch213.
GOLF
LPGA Lotte C’ship Day 3 (Singtel TV
Ch115 & StarHub Ch209, 7am).
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
UFC Fight Night Overeem v Oleinik
They bounce back from Game 2 collapse to
thump Clippers for 2-1 lead, Durant has 38pts
LOS ANGELES • This time, the
Golden State Warriors did not
squander a 31-point lead.
This time, Kevin Durant played
aggressively.
Unlike their worst post-season
collapse in Game 2, the Warriors
coasted to a 132-105 Game 3 win
over the Los Angeles Clippers in
their National Basketball Associa-
tion (NBA) first-round series at the
Staples Centre on Thursday.
Unlike his muted performance in
Game 2, when he contributed only
21 points, Durant looked more for
his shot, finishing with 38 on the
night, while going 14 of 23 from the
field and seven of eight from the
free-throw line despite sitting out
the entire fourth quarter.
Not only did this serve as a re-
it’s not that he’s beating his chest,
he’s got tremendous inner confi-
dence.”
And, in the absence of their start-
ing All-Star centre, who was ruled
out about 15 minutes before the
game because of knee tendinitis,
the Sixers also showed that they
have plenty of other star power.
Forward Tobias Harris, who had
struggled in the previous two
games, finished with 29 points,
while guard J.J. Redick had 26.
The Nets were paced by 26 points
each from guards Caris LeVert and
D’Angelo Russell.
Asked about Dudley’s criticism,
Simmons claimed he was more fo-
cused on how his team now had
“the pieces to complete games”,
(Singtel TV Ch114 & StarHub Ch208,
Sunday, 1am).
TENNIS
ATP Monte Carlo Masters S-finals
(StarHub Ch201, 7.30pm).
Fed Cup S-finals, day 1: Australia v
Belarus (Singtel TV Ch116 & StarHub
Ch210, 11am), France v Romania
(Ch202, 8pm).
VOLLEYBALL
National Beach Series 1 Day 1 (Yio Chu
Kang Swimming Complex, 9am).
demption game for the 10-time All-
Star, who had more turnovers
(nine) than shots (eight) in the ca-
pitulation, but this was also a
chance for the two-time defending
champions to silence their critics.
And Golden State were deter-
mined not to let history repeat itself
as this time, they held firmly on to
their 24-point lead.
The pre-game talk had been all
about Patrick Beverley, and how his
swarming defence and trash talk-
ing had gotten into Durant’s head.
But the forward showed he still
had more facets to his game that
had yet to be figured out, with track-
ing website Second Spectrum
recording he nailed three out of
four contested shots to improve to
69 per cent shooting when being
adding: “I don’t really have energy
for it, man.
“Honestly. It’s done. People are
going to say what they want to say.
It is what it is. I’ve just got to play.”
The third-seeded Sixers will play
sixth seeds Brooklyn at the same
venue in Game 4 today.
Elsewhere, Derrick White poured
in a career-high 36 points on
15-of-21 shooting to lift the San An-
tonio Spurs to a 118-108 home win
over the second-seeded Denver
Nuggets in Game 3 of their first-
round play-off series for a 2-1 lead.
Having ended a six-year play-off
drought, the Nuggets, who were led
by 22 points from centre Nikola Jo-
kic, will hope to stay afloat in Game
4 today. REUTERS, NY TIMES
TOMORROW
FOOTBALL
Singapore Premier League Balestier
v Tampines (Bishan), Albirex v Young
Lions (Jurong East) – 5.30pm.
English Premier League Everton
v Man United (8.30pm), Cardiff v
Liverpool (11pm) – Singtel TV Ch102 &
StarHub Ch227. Arsenal v Crystal
Palace (Ch103 & Ch228, 10.50pm).
Spanish LaLiga Levante v Espanyol
C7
guarded by the Clippers guard. that (when at the Oklahoma City
Asked about Beverley, who had Thunder) and mine didn’t either. I
six points, forward Draymond like that match-up with anybody.”
Green told ESPN that he “liked Beyond Durant’s production, the
Kevin in any match-up”. Warriors also leaned on their other
The three-time All-Star, who had stars in Stephen Curry (21 points),
eight points for the Warriors, said:
“I don’t really talk about other play-
ers during the series. But I like
Kevin in that match-up, regardless
with whoever. Any time. Period.
Andre Iguodala (15) and Klay
Thompson (12).
Andrew Bogut, filling in at centre
with DeMarcus Cousins likely out
for the season, also looked comfort-
“No one’s defence matters, by the able among his far more illustrious
way. I’ve been on the other side of teammates, scoring eight points
and pulling down 14 rebounds.
Calling on the team to continue to
14
try to get Durant in the right posi-
tions, Curry added: “We all know
what spots to be in on the floor,
where to (find) space, things like
that. It allows him to be more ag-
gressive.”
The Clippers were paced by 18
Andrew Bogut’s rebounds in the first points from centre Ivica Zubac and
game he is replacing the injured will try to level the best-of-seven se-
DeMarcus Cousins at centre. He also ries at 2-2 in Los Angeles tomorrow.
had eight points. DPA
Golden State’s
Kevin Durant
taking a shot
despite the
attention of the
Clippers’ (from
left) Shai
Gilgeous-
Alexander,
Montrezl Harrell
and Lou Williams
in Game 3 of
their Western
Conference
first-round
play-off series at
Staples Centre
on Thursday in
Los Angeles.
PHOTO: AGENCE
FRANCE-PRESSE
This dunk by
Philadelphia’s
Australian guard
Ben Simmons is
the perfect
answer to the
jeers from the
Brooklyn home
crowd in Game 3
of the NBA
Eastern
Conference
first-round
play-offs at
Barclays Centre
in New York.
The Sixers
won 131-115.
PHOTO: EPA–EFE
(5.55pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.55pm), Fed Cup S-finals, day 2: Australia v
Real v Bilbao (10.10pm), Villarreal v Belarus (Singtel TV Ch116 & StarHub
Leganes (Monday, 12.25am) – StarHub Ch210, 11am), France v Romania
Ch213. (Ch202, 7pm).
GOLF VOLLEYBALL
LPGA Lotte C’ship Day 4 (Singtel TV National Beach Series 1 Day 2 (Yio Chu
Ch115 & StarHub Ch209, 7am). Kang Swimming Complex, 9am).
TENNIS For latest updates, go to
ATP Monte Carlo Masters Final singteltv.com.sg & starhubgo.com or
(StarHub Ch201, 8.30pm). check the on-screen TV guide.
C8 RACING | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

NIMBLE GETS THE HIGH FIVE

Leticia Dragon-trained Australian-bred stays
unbeaten by disposing of Class 2 opposition
Tan Thean Loon Every run, he seems to put in a bit
more,” said Dragon, one of only two
woman trainers at Kranji.
Nimble just keeps wowing racego- “He’s a really casual worker but,
ers with his upward trajectory, land- when it comes to the race, he just
ing his fifth victory from as many gets his mind on the job. Like I’ve
starts at Kranji yesterday. said, based on trackwork, you
Just how good he is, only time will wouldn’t believe what he has done
tell. But his trainer, Leticia Dragon, so far.”
now harbours thoughts of running Azzopardi reckoned he got back a
him in either the $175,000 Group 3 little behind early and had to pick
Rocket Man Sprint on May 5 or the his way around the corner.
$800,000 Group 1 Lion City Cup on “To the horse’s credit, he went to
May 25. Both feature races are over the line like I thought he would. He
the 1,200m on turf. has done a great job to step up
Ridden by Joseph Azzopardi, who through the classes and he just
replaced Troy See, Nimble did give keeps winning,” said the Perth lad.
his legion of supporters some anx- “You only have to look at his form
ious moments at the top of the to see how good he is. He does feel
straight, where he had to cover like a good horse. He’s a nice, strong
much ground to catch the leaders. mover and he covers the ground re-
But, once he slipped into top gear, ally well. It will be interesting to see
anxiety turned to relief, as the $11 if he could keep going up in class.”
favourite exploded away like the On her plans for her new-found
good stuff he is to take the $85,000 champion, an elated Dragon said: “I
Class 2 race over the Polytrack was actually going to look at the
1,100m. Rocket Man or the Lion City. But
Webster, Augustano and Mokas- let’s see how he pulls up from here
tar were the quickest out of the and then we’ll decide.”
gates, before Webster rolled for- Nimble started his Kranji career
ward by about two lengths from in Class 4 and progressed to Kranji
Mokastar. Another two lengths be- Stakes C and Class 3 before step-
hind came Augustano. A length ping up to Class 2 yesterday.
away came Elite Power with Nim- The gelding, whose dam Grand
ble for company. Former Cham- Oscar is by 2002 Singapore Airlines
pion Polytrack Horse Nova Swiss International Cup winner Grandera
and Caorunn make up the last two. and cost only A$38,000
Mokastar moved up to eyeball (S$36,800) as a yearling, is what
Webster on straightening. Augus- dreams are made of for his owner. Yesterday was also a joyful day Salamence in Race 2. he said he’s such a slow horse and Nimble (No. 3) responding strongly to
tano, Elite Power and Nimble were He has now won close to for former top apprentice jockey The 32-year-old father of three you just get where you are and then Perth jockey Joseph Azzopardi’s
still lengths in arrears. $200,000 in prize money in Singa- Tengku Rehaizat, who bounced kept punching his fist in delight on let him travel. vigorous riding to remain unbeaten
Will it be too late? pore for MMW Stable – with more back with his first winner since his his way back to the winner’s enclo- “But, at the 400m, I knew it was in five starts in Race 6 at Kranji
Azzopardi got into action and to come. comeback from a long disqualifica- sure. my game. I brought him out to see yesterday. ST PHOTO: SALWA SUANDI
Nimble took a while to hit his stride. The four-year-old brown Aus- tion and time out. “It’s great. Finally, the monkey is daylight and he did it by himself.
Once he did, he rocketed and over- tralian-bred gelding arrived in Sin- His career tally had stopped at 82 off my back now. I mean I got a big “Thank God, everything fell
took Webster 75m out to win by gapore with a win and and three after steering High Troja to victory one – seven months! It’s great,” smoothly today. Perfect. Thanks to
half a length. His time of 1min placings from 10 starts in Australia. in July 2015. But, eight months and said Rehaizat. the owner and trainer for giving me
04.75sec was just 0.59sec outside He earned A$96,146. 46 rides after his comeback, Re- “When I came to the races, I this chance to be on him.”
Filibuster’s 2017 record. If he keeps improving, the sky’s haizat saluted on the Daniel didn’t know much about him. I had
“He’s such a progressive horse. the limit for Nimble. Meagher-trained last-minute fancy to talk to Benny (Woodworth) and loon@sph.com.sg

FRIDAY’S SINGAPORE (POLYTRACK) RESULTS

RACE 1 C4 D1 1100m RACE 4 C5 1100m 8 IT’S GOT IT ALL 55 c 52 (48-14) WH Kok* (1) 1 1 3 (505) Hd
1 SACRED SHAM 57.5 (28-10) B Woodworth (8) 6 4 4 (473) Shd
3 SIAM WARRIOR 59 (13-8) B Thompson (7) 2 2 1 (535) - 6 DARCI’S BOY 55.5 (23-8) J Powell (5) 2 2 1 (496) - 9 JULIUS CAESAR 55 (47-13) M Rodd (2) 8 7 5 (521) 0.5
4 SUPER SIX 58 (30-9) D Moor (5) 3 3 2 (518) 0.5 4 KUBERA’S CHIEF 57 c 53 (31-10) N Hanafi* (3) 1 1 2 (450) 0.5 6 KRATOS 56 (114-29) C Murray (3) 2 2 6 (520) 1.75
2 EFFORTLESS 59.5 c 55.5 (29-10) AB Riduan (6) 4 5 3 (530) 1.75 8 GRIDIRON 51.5 (37-7) B Thompson (4) 5 4 3 (484) 1.25 10 SIERRA CONQUEROR 54.5 (41-8) D Moor (4) 3 5 7 (497) Shd
1 DUSSELDORF 60 (52-13) M Rodd (3) 10 8 4 (464) Hd 2 TAVITO 60 (13-9) M Rodd (1) 7 7 4 (434) Shd 4 GUILTY PLEASURES 56.5 (155-33) K A’isisuhairi (10) 9 9 8 (476) 0.75
11 RICH FORTUNE 51 c 48 (77-18) CK Ng* (8) 11 10 5 (554) 1.5 7 SCOOBY DOOBY DOO 55.5 (48-14) B Woodworth (7) 3 3 5 (478) Hd 7 YULONG XIONG HU 56 c 55 (211-43) Z Zuriman (5) 10 10 9 (529) 4.25
7 HERO STAR 53.5 c 50.5 (85-20) WH Kok* (2) 7 7 6 (535) Ns 1 CERDAN 60 c 57 (53-12) N Zyrul* (6) 6 6 6 (546) 3 2 ANDADO 57 c 53 (188-40) AB Riduan (9) 7 8 10 (416) 3.25
10 PEGASUS JUNIOR 52 c 50 (218-50) S Shafrizal* (10) 9 11 7 (557) 1.25 9 HIPPO VENTURA 50 (159-29) T Krisna* (9) 9 8 7 (482) 3 Winning stable: The Big Easy. Trainer: D Logan. Time: 58.88sec (good). Forecast: $15. Tierce: $69.
8 MISS MICHELLE 52.5 c 53 (157-32) J Azzopardi (1) 5 4 8 (534) Shd 3 DAYUAN 57 (43-11) J Azzopardi (8) 8 9 8 (517) 2.5 Quartet: $173. P Forecast: $5 (3-5), $15 (5-8), $8 (3-8). Trio: $26.
5 SUN SPEAR 56.5 (49-13) K A’isisuhairi (4) 8 6 9 (451) 2.25 5 LADY BOSS 56.5 c 53.5 (260-48) WS Chan* (2) 4 5 9 (501) 3
6 SILVER WAY 55.5 c 52.5 (129-29) N Zyrul* (9) 6 9 10 (492) Hd Winning stable: Lincoln Farms. Trainer: S Baertschiger. Time: 1min 6.57sec (good). Forecast: $27. Tierce: $271.
9 ASTRA 52 (35-11) B Woodworth (11) 1 1 11 (542) 4.75 Quartet: $490. P Forecast: $9 (6-4), $10 (4-8), $14 (6-8). Trio: $49. Course scratching: 10 Secondwave
Winning stable: Middle Kingdom. Trainer: J Peters. Time: 1min 6.12sec (Going: good). Forecast: $16. Tierce: $110. RACE 8 C4 1800m
Quartet: $180. P Forecast: $7 (3-4), $14 (4-2), $10 (3-2). Trio: $29.
2 SOLO SUN 58.5 c 57.5 (35-13) S Noh (10) 9 7 1 (470) -
RACE 5 C4 D4 1100m 1 MIGHTY EMPEROR 58.5 c 55.5 (29-10) T Krisna* (5) 2 1 2 (489) Hd
4 STREET PARTY 55 (26-10) C Murray (2) 3 3 3 (477) Shd
RACE 2 Open Maiden 1200m 2 RED DAWN 59 c 55 (25-7) AB Riduan (7) 4 1 1 (531) - 3 MR DAVID 57 (93-25) J Powell (12) 1 2 4 (538) Shd
5 MY BIG BOSS 56 (13-8) D Moor (6) 8 8 2 (561) 0.75 7 BEBOP 54.5 c 52.5 (23-10) S Shafrizal* (1) 7 8 5 (475) 5.5
7 SALAMENCE 55.5 c 54.5 (22-8) T Rehaizat (3) 8 7 1 (491) - 3 DAVID’S SLING 57.5 (42-12) B Woodworth (10) 7 7 3 (524) 2 11 LARRY 52.5 (49-14) B Woodworth (11) 8 10 6 (514) Shd
4 I AM INVISIBLE 57.5 (71-14) D Moor (10) 4 1 2 (505) 5.75 6 BIG ELEPHANT 53.5 c 51.5 (100-25) WS Chan* (8) 3 2 4 (465) Shd 12 KEEP WINNING 50 c 47.5 (94-23) CK Ng* (6) 5 6 7 (469) 0.5
6 STAGESHOW 57.5 (27-8) M Rodd (1) 11 10 3 (479) 2.75 8 SECRET SQUIRREL 52 c 50 (112-28) S Shafrizal* (2) 5 4 5 (500) 1.25 10 HENG KINGDOM 52.5 c 51.5 (76-20) I Amirul* (8) 10 9 8 (483) 0.5
9 MONT CHOISY 55.5 (150-23) C Murray (6) 3 5 4 (451) 0.75 4 SACRED MAGIC 57.5 c 56.5 (168-40) Z Zuriman (5) 10 10 6 (522) 1 5 SUN GENERAL 55 (28-8) D Moor (4) 6 5 9 (487) 1.5
1 WELL DESERVED 57.5 c 53.5 (11-7) AB Riduan (7) 6 4 5 (522) 1 7 ZMAN 53 c 52 (77-17) I Amirul* (1) 9 9 7 (570) 1 6 YULONG ADMIRAL 55 (185-45) J Azzopardi (7) 11 11 10 (525) Nk
10 HOSTWIN CHEVALIER 55.5 (651-83) K A’isisuhairi (4) 5 6 6 (487) 2 9 LUCK MAK MAK 51.5 (94-17) K A’isisuhairi (4) 6 5 8 (488) Nk 9 O’REILLY’S DANCER 53.5 (159-37) K A’isisuhairi (3) 4 4 11 (510) 4.75
3 GLAMOROUS 57.5 (38-9) B Woodworth (2) 9 9 7 (492) 0.5 1 WHISTLING WIN 59.5 c 56.5 (34-9) WH Kok* (3) 2 6 9 (472) 1.25 8 PARTY MAKER 54.5 c 54 (236-63) T Rehaizat (9) 12 12 12 (500) Ns
2 ASHHAB 57.5 (48-10) B Thompson (11) 2 2 8 (466) 0.5 10 UNCLE LUCKY 51.5 (29-10) B Thompson (9) 1 3 10 (471) 0.5 Winning owner: TK Cheng. Trainer: Desmond Koh. Time: 1min 53.76sec (good). Forecast: $33. Tierce: $469.
5 KING OF GLORY 57.5 c 54.5 (335-46) T Krisna* (9) 10 11 9 (411) 2.25 Winning stable: Auric. Trainer: S Baertschiger. Time: 1min 5.77sec (good). Forecast: $16. Tierce: $117. Quartet: $6577. P Forecast: $13 (2-1), $10 (1-4), $12 (2-4). Trio: $91.
8 BELL AIR 55.5 c 54.5 (551-80) I Amirul* (5) 7 8 10 (456) 3 Quartet: $2354. P Forecast: $5 (2-5), $7 (5-3), $11 (2-3). Trio: $18. Course scratchings: 13 Money King 14 Cash Is King
11 MARTELLO 55.5 c 54.5 (376-54) MM Firdaus (8) 1 3 11 (481) 6.75
Winning owner and trainer: D Meagher. Time: 1min 12.23sec (good). Forecast: $99. Tierce: $657.
Quartet: $12189, ($14950 jackpot carried forward to next race). P Forecast: $23 (7-4), $11 (4-6), $19 (7-6).
Trio: $174. RACE 6 C2 1100m RACE 9 C4 D3 1100m
3 NIMBLE 54 (11-7) J Azzopardi (4) 5 5 1 (537) - 3 CHOCOLATS 59 c 55 (30-10) AB Riduan (4) 4 3 1 (526) -
2 WEBSTER 54.5 c 51.5 (19-5.10) CS Chin (3) 1 1 2 (480) 0.5 2 CALCULATION 59 c 56 (24-10) WH Kok* (9) 8 5 2 (488) 1.25
RACE 3 C4 D2 1100m 6 MOKASTAR 51 (49-12) B Thompson (2) 2 2 3 (454) 0.75 5 SHOOT UP HIGH 57 c 56 (68-22) Z Zuriman (6) 2 2 3 (544) 1.5
4 ELITE POWER 53.5 (23-9) B Woodworth (7) 4 4 4 (492) Shd 1 RIVER GOLDEN 60 c 56 (137-31) M Nizar* (1) 10 9 4 (454) 1.5
8 RED CLAW 52.5 c 50.5 (209-46) S Shafrizal* (3) 3 1 1 (524) - 5 AUGUSTANO 52.5 (28-10) D Moor (6) 3 3 5 (524) 3.5 7 FLAUNT 52.5 (55-15) D Moor (11) 3 4 5 (510) Nk
5 YULONG FAST STEED 56 (24-10) D Moor (9) 10 8 2 (509) 1.25 7 CAORUNN 50 c 50.5 (122-21) K A’isisuhairi (5) 6 7 6 (505) 2.5 10 LUCKY TIGER 51.5 c 50 (426-86) N Zyrul* (10) 11 11 6 (508) 0.5
3 MACH 57 c 54 (46-12) WH Kok* (4) 2 3 3 (499) 0.5 1 NOVA SWISS 59.5 c 56.5 (129-27) WH Kok* (1) 7 6 7 (492) 3.5 9 MY MIRACLE 52 c 51 (19-11) I Amirul* (2) 5 6 7 (478) Nk
1 FIRST CHOICE 60 c 57 (21-6) N Zyrul* (6) 4 5 4 (486) 3.5 4 FRIENDSHIP 58 c 57 (19-5.10) S Noh (3) 9 10 8 (537) Ns
Winning stable: MMW. Trainer: L Dragon. Time: 1min 4.75sec (good). Forecast: $13. Tierce: $96. Quartet: $234. 11 YULONG SHENGDAO 51 c 50 (306-61) CS Chin (7) 7 8 9 (488) 0.5
7 SUPERSONICSURPRISE 54 c 53 (61-16) I Amirul* (7) 6 6 5 (518) Shd P Forecast: $4 (3-2), $17 (2-6), $7 (3-6). Trio: $28.
6 OL MATE BUZZER 55 (18-9) M Rodd (2) 5 4 6 (478) Ns 8 DAVID’S STAR 52 (127-35) B Woodworth (8) 1 1 10 (434) 1.25
2 SOLDADO 59.5 c 55.5 (25-9) AB Riduan (1) 1 2 7 (484) 0.75 6 TAICHI BELT 53.5 (56-14) B Thompson (5) 6 7 11 (552) Hd
4 ELITE SAINT 56 c 53 (228-43) CK Ng* (5) 7 7 8 (456) 0.5 Winning stable: More. Trainer: S Baertschiger. Time: 1min 5.99sec (good). Forecast: $34. Tierce: $777.
9 LUCKY SIX 52 (74-17) B Woodworth (10) 8 9 9 (523) 1 Quartet: $4317. P Forecast: $11 (3-2), $18 (2-5), $30 (3-5). Trio: $127.
10 SUN ARES 51 (136-24) B Thompson (8) 9 10 10 (533) 10.25 RACE 7 C3 1000m
Winning stable: Cs Tan. Trainer: D Meagher. Time: 1min 5.65sec (good). Forecast: $210. Tierce: $1984. 3 THE BIG EASY 57 (14-8) B Thompson (6) 4 3 1 (523) -
Quartet: $29914. P Forecast: $49 (8-5), $17 (5-3), $59 (8-3). Trio: $473. 5 KISS YOUR SONG 56 (19-6) J Powell (7) 5 6 2 (513) 3.25

20-04-19 SATURDAY - MACAU RACE CARD By Singapore Pools

6 217065 One Belt One Road 125 [8] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 4 713168 Collateral Mission 123 [5] W.Smith 11.6% K.C.Tse/K.S.Ho 17.0% 2 194636 Evergreen Pegasus 132 [3] R.Maia 21.8% Y.C.Fung 14.4%
MACAU FEED: (#HK) 7 466442 Grateful Favors 122 [4] K.Leung (3) 4.9% K.C.Tse/K.S.Ho 17.0% 5 149031 Gem Steed 123 [8] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% K.S.Wong 9.4% 3 999478 Full Score 129 [5] M.Wepner 5.3% K.H.Leong 9.2%
8 589006 River Triple 121 [3] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 6 821118 Porcini 123 [10] M. Nunes 17.1% M.C.Tam 13.6% 4 831972 Eclair Supreme 128 [4] M. Nunes 17.1% K.M.Chin 11.4%
Race 1 2:00PM (HK$200,000) Turf -- 1500m 9 127315 Me Whee 119 [6] O.Chavez 13.6% G.Allendorf 14.3% 7 223156 Garlic And Chili 121 [7] W.L.Ho 14.7% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 5 514412 Epinart 128 [6] L.Corrales 15.9% K.C.Chong 8.0%
8 041464 Fortune Paradise 120 [2] F.Henrique 10.1% K.M.Chin 11.4% 6 146825 Go Go Mission 125 [7] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% Pat.Lee 5.7%
1 535257 Delighted Solution 133 [6] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% M.C.Tam 13.6% Race 3 3:10PM (HK$470,000) Sand -- 1050m 9 342597 Happiness Rose 120 [3] C.F.Chan 3.6% C.F.Chan 5.0% 7 213278 Oriental Reign 125 [2] H.Lam 2.3% S.Chow 6.5%
2 536772 Thunder Bear 132 [1] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% K.H.Leong 9.2%
1 521225 The Whirlwind 133 [7] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% K.M.Chin 11.4% 10 644187 Oneofthegreats 120 [6] O.Chavez 13.6% G.Allendorf 14.3% 8 408 Trillion Princess 122 [8] K.Leung (3) 4.9% C.W.Choi 10.5%
3 653150 Game Of Dreams 127 [8] W.Smith 11.6% C.F.Chan 5.0%
2 321441 Victory Megastar 133 [3] L.Corrales 15.9% Y.C.Fung 14.4% 9 074 Honey Biscuit 118 [9] F.Henrique 10.1% S.Chow 6.5%
4 936599 Infinite Treasure 127 [3] L.Corrales 15.9% W.H.Tse 7.2% Race 5 4:20PM (HK$210,000) Sand -- 1510m
3 013217 Fasuba 132 [5] R.Maia 21.8% M.C.Tam 13.6% 10 323162 River Double 116 [1] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7%
5 416076 Wonderful Power 126 [7] M. Nunes 17.1% C.F.Chan 5.0%
4 061058 River Bobo 127 [1] M. Nunes 17.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 1 036183 Acing Pro 129 [2] M. Nunes 17.1% M.C.Tam 13.6%
6 574537 House Of Power 124 [4] F.Henrique 10.1% S.Chow 6.5%
5 121247 Striking Achiever 116 [9] F.Henrique 10.1% K.M.Chin 11.4% 2 458311 My Dream 129 [7] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7% While every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher
7 835815 Highspot 119 [5] O.Chavez 13.6% G.Allendorf 14.3%
6 367019 Emperor King 116 [6] K.Leung (3) 4.9% C.F.Chan 5.0% 3 066327 Silver Baby 129 [5] R.Maia 21.8% K.M.Chin 11.4% accepts no liability for any error which may arise.
8 265484 Easy Thai 116 [2] H.Lam 2.3% K.S.Wong 9.4%
7 792088 Invincible 116 [4] H.Lam 2.3% K.C.Tse/K.S.Ho 17.0% 4 875157 Bada Baby 125 [8] L.Corrales 15.9% K.S.Wong 9.4%
8 789587 Golden Double 116 [2] Y.M.Choi (3) Y.C.Fung 5 984031 Eangle Commander 125 [1] Y.M.Choi (3) K.S.Wong Visit singaporepools.com for more race information and results
Race 2 2:35PM (HK$236,000) Sand -- 1350m 4.0% 14.4% 4.0% 9.4%
9 227150 Gunstigmaster 116 [8] O.Chavez 13.6% C.W.Choi 10.5% 6 477232 Destney 122 [3] W.Smith 11.6% P.Leyshan 7.1%
1 214906 Eclair Hunter 127 [7] L.Corrales 15.9% G.Allendorf 14.3%
7 478806 Yang Jiang Star 122 [6] F.Henrique 10.1% W.H.Tse 7.2%
2 576080 God Get People 126 [5] F.Henrique 10.1% K.M.Chin 11.4% Race 4 3:45PM (HK$295,000) Sand -- 1350m 8 144543 One From Many 116 [4] O.Chavez 13.6% C.F.Chan 5.0%
3 1555 Star Of Phoenix 126 [1] H.Lam 2.3% J.Lau 8.0%
1 362593 Mr Singh 127 [1] L.Corrales 15.9% Y.C.Fung 14.4%
4 303753 Fifty Flags 125 [2] K.K.Lai 2.1% K.S.Wong 9.4% Race 6 4:55PM (HK$210,000) Sand -- 1350m
2 117671 River God Choi 124 [9] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7%
5 731674 Mongolian Warrior 125 [9] W.L.Ho 14.7% K.H.Leong 9.2%
3 648331 White Debbie 124 [4] R.Maia 21.8% Y.C.Fung 14.4% 1 446560 Grand Warrior 133 [10] O.Chavez 13.6% J.Lau 8.0%

21-04-19 SUNDAY - MACAU RACE CARD By Singapore Pools

7 100389 Wonder Holy 123 [3] S.Nakano 5.1% K.C.Chong 8.0% Race 4 3:40PM (HK$280,000) Turf -- 1200m Race 6 4:45PM (HK$295,000) Turf -- 1800m
MACAU FEED: (#HK) 8 676024 Roaring Star 122 [4] M. Nunes 17.1% K.M.Chin 11.4% 1 051466 Luen On Poseidon 127 [1] R.Maia 21.8% G.Allendorf 14.3% 1 674559 Grand Double Win 127 [7] L.Corrales 15.9% Y.C.Fung 14.4%
9 096356 Off The Bench 119 [6] H.Lam 2.3% K.C.Tse/K.S.Ho 17.0% 2 940501 Simply Impeccable 125 [6] W.Smith 11.6% K.C.Tse/K.S.Ho 17.0% 2 703744 River Treasure 126 [5] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7%
Race 1 2:00PM (HK$200,000) Turf -- 1500m 3 600079 Felizmaster 123 [2] M. Nunes 17.1% C.W.Choi 10.5% 3 212516 Superlative Choice 126 [2] M. Nunes 17.1% M.C.Tam 13.6%
1 2647 Fortune Flyer 133 [7] R.Maia 21.8% K.M.Chin 11.4%
Race 3 3:05PM (HK$550,000) Turf -- 1500m 4 345645 Thar 123 [3] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% K.S.Wong 9.4% 4 057091 Hyshem 124 [4] W.Smith 11.6% P.Leyshan 7.1%
2 606032 Moral Integrity 130 [4] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% C.F.Chan 5.0% 1 190614 Bring Me Speed 126 [14] M. Nunes 17.1% C.F.Chan 5.0% 5 622368 Fortune Fast 120 [7] W.L.Ho 14.7% C.W.Choi 10.5% 5 969080 We Want Cash 124 [9] S.Nakano 5.1% P.Leyshan 7.1%
3 768196 Algonquin Park 129 [3] L.Corrales 15.9% K.H.Leong 9.2% 2 151344 Luen On Dance Kid 126 [8] O.Chavez 13.6% G.Allendorf 14.3% 6 21268 Sport Elite 120 [4] O.Chavez 13.6% C.W.Choi 10.5% 6 317384 Casino Mok 122 [1] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% C.F.Chan 5.0%
4 854 Fantastic Friends 129 [6] M. Nunes 17.1% M.C.Tam 13.6% 3 113316 Big Alloy 126 [10] L.Corrales 15.9% M.C.Tam 13.6% 7 593522 Capital Protector 118 [8] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 7 661950 Contented N Happy 122 [3] O.Chavez 13.6% J.Lau 8.0%
5 627908 Bellomaster 126 [8] M.Wepner 5.3% Pat.Lee 5.7% 4 216636 Lover Paradise 126 [12] K.Leung 4.9% Y.C.Fung 14.4% 8 004084 Golden Key 118 [5] F.Henrique 10.1% Y.C.Fung 14.4% 8 054034 Magnapegasus 122 [8] C.F.Chan 3.6% K.S.Wong 9.4%
6 800712 Special Steel 121 [1] W.Smith 11.6% C.F.Chan 5.0% 5 15212 Eclair Lightning 126 [2] S.Nakano 5.1% P.Leyshan 7.1% 9 112012 Pearl Win Win 121 [6] R.Maia 21.8% K.H.Leong 9.2%
7 469323 Full Of Luck 120 [2] Y.M.Choi (3) 4.0% S.Chow 6.5% 6 635311 Fortune Treasure 126 [6] F.Henrique 10.1% K.H.Leong 9.2% Race 5 4:15PM (HK$350,000) Turf -- 1200m
8 996545 Taolu Expert 116 [5] W.L.Ho 14.7% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 7 632353 Mujaan 126 [9] C.L.Cheung 9.1% W.H.Tse 7.2% 1 125118 To’s Family 127 [5] W.L.Ho 14.7% Y.C.Fung 14.4% While every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher
8 315252 Garlic And Spicy 126 [1] H.Lam 2.3% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 2 004760 Unselfish Trust 126 [3] M.Wepner 5.3% K.C.Chong 8.0% accepts no liability for any error which may arise.
Race 2 2:30PM (HK$236,000) Turf -- 1800m 9 911333 Loxwood 126 [3] R.Maia 21.8% Y.C.Fung 14.4% 3 007280 Winter Snow 126 [7] H.Lam 2.3% K.S.Wong 9.4% Visit singaporepools.com for more race information and results
1 257312 Nanhai One 127 [2] W.L.Ho 14.7% C.W.Choi 10.5% 10 312026 Green Fortune 126 [7] W.Smith 11.6% C.F.Chan 5.0% 4 636691 Royal Garden 124 [4] C.L.Cheung (7) 9.1% K.M.Chin 11.4%
2 809824 Benson 126 [8] W.Smith 11.6% P.Leyshan 7.1% 11 914347 The Macallan 126 [11] W.L.Ho 14.7% J.Lau 8.0% 5 111569 Thehorseiswithme 122 [6] M. Nunes 17.1% M.C.Tam 13.6%
3 237861 Sportsmanship 126 [9] R.Maia 21.8% K.H.Leong 9.2% 12 008714 Trillion King 126 [4] Y.M.Choi 4.0% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 6 843215 Smart Win 120 [8] F.Henrique 10.1% C.W.Choi 10.5%
4 764128 Techfaith Warrior 125 [7] F.Henrique 10.1% S.H.Cheong 9.7% 13 790050 Fortune Generation 126 [5] M.Wepner 5.3% K.S.Wong 9.4% 7 789990 Californiatreasure 117 [1] R.Maia 21.8% K.H.Leong 9.2%
5 669040 Franklin Lane 124 [1] M.Wepner 5.3% K.C.Chong 8.0% 14 401431 Qipao Queen 126 [13] C.F.Chan 3.6% K.C.Chong 8.0% 8 305226 Mission Gdragon 117 [2] O.Chavez 13.6% Pat.Lee 5.7%
6 501456 Bring Me Glory 123 [5] L.Corrales 15.9% C.F.Chan 5.0%
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
RACING C9

Easy Does It
(yellow cap) Friday’s South Africa results
making a dream
debut on Oct 15, RACE 1 RACE 5
2017. The 1st 10 Spin Master ($14-$6) 1st 4 Quinlan ($99-$22)
chestnut gelding 2nd 11 Diamond Heist ($11) 2nd 2 Sir Frenchie ($9)
seems to have 3rd 1 Adalgiso ($12) 3rd 6 Omega Onslaught ($8)
come back good 4th 7 Lucio 4th 5 Princess Rebel
from a tendon
Forecast $28 Forecast $85
injury. PHOTO:
STC
Place Forecast (10-11) $10, Place Forecast (2-4) $31, (4-6)
(1-10) $12, (1-11) $17 $65, (2-6) $12
Tierce $203 Tierce No winner ($3,530
Trio $64 carried forward)
Quartet No winner ($1,714 Trio $151
jackpot carried forward to next Quartet No winner ($494
race) carried forward)
Scratching: 6 First Knight Scratching: 1 Juan Two Three

RACE 2 RACE 6
1st 3 Day’s Of Thunder ($15-$8) 1st 9 Onesie ($55-$15)
2nd 2 Zabivaka ($7) 2nd 4 Evolver ($11)
3rd 8 Brevin ($31) 3rd 1 Sheet Weaver ($12)
4th 1 Gravitation 4th 6 Frikkie
Forecast $10 Forecast $66
Place Forecast (2-3) $4, (3-8) Place Forecast (4-9) $23, (1-9)
$47, (2-8) $37 $32, (1-4) $11
Tierce $292 Tierce $1,659
Trio $132 Trio $175
Quartet $2,740 Quartet No winner ($844
carried forward)
Scratching: 7 Angel Of Athens

EASY
The aptly named Easy Does It cre- astride. But the Kiwi handler had to RACE 3
ated a favourite impression, then put his lofty plans – the Singapore 1st 6 Arabian Dynasty ($31-$15)
went off the radar. Three-Year-Old Challenge series –
2nd 7 Sabbatical ($17) RACE 7
Racegoers wondered what hap- on the back-burner.
pened to the smart debut winner in This was because the gelding, un- 3rd 5 Paper Town (No 3Rd 1st 2 Madonna ($14-$10)
October 2017. The horse went miss- fortunately, suffered suspensory is- Dividend) 2nd 3 Snapscan ($19)

DOES IT
ing in action last year. He did not sues early in the new 2018 season. 4th 4 Bold Viking 3rd 1 Just Chaos ($14)
race at all and had only one trial for The disappointment was even Forecast $52 4th 6 Solemn Promise
a fourth behind Sir Isaac on Jan 9. more pronounced, given Easy Place Forecast Refund Forecast $19
But fret not. Does It was one of the first horses Tierce $464 Place Forecast (2-3) $11,
The Stephen Gray-trained four- from his yard to be syndicated out.
Trio $77 (1-2) $12, (1-3) $30
year-old New Zealand-bred chest- “He did his tendon after his sec-
Quartet $1,281 Tierce $138

IS BACK
nut gelding is back, after spending ond run. It was his suspensory,”
a good time in Malaysia nursing a said Gray. Scratching: 2 Silver Blade Trio $54
tendon injury. “That was a shame as he did Quartet $643
The word is he is back “as good as show plenty of promise at his de-
before his injury”. but win, and he was one of the first RACE 4
At Thursday morning’s trials at horses we had in syndication. 1st 5 March Music ($21-$7) RACE 8
Kranji, Easy Does it caught the eye “He beat Zac Kasa (third) on that 2nd 7 Perfectproportions ($11) 1st 2 In A Perfect World
by winning, despite being kept on a day, and look what Zac Kasa has 3rd 4 Raven Girl (No 3rd ($19-$5.10)
tight hold by young Australian gone on to achieve. Then he ran an
dividend) 2nd 1 Drop Kick ($6)
jockey Ben Thompson. unlucky third before he broke
Tracking trainer Desmond Koh’s down. 4th 2 Widow’s Lamp 3rd 9 Cape Leopard ($20)
pair of Oxbow Sun (Tengku Re- “He had a year off in Malaysia Forecast $22 4th 3 Jay’s Hawk
haizat) and Asia Spirit (Hanafi with Sandy Lines. They’ve done a Place Forecast Refund Forecast $8
Noorman) from the start, the im- great job with him and he’s come Tierce $151 Place Forecast (1-2) $4, (2-9)
posing galloper was not even out of back as good as he was before the Trio $20 $21, (1-9) $13
Gray-trained 4YO wins trial with second gear as he ambled past Asia
Spirit inside the last 150m to go on
injury.
“He looked pretty good this
Quartet No winner ($222 Tierce $240
carried forward) Trio $52
plenty in hand after long spell out and win the trial comfortably. morning. We’ve given him every
Scratching: 3 Klever Kathy Quartet No winner ($240
Had Thompson released the chance and he’s grown out fur-
nursing a tendon injury in M’sia brakes, the winning margin would, ther.” jackpot carried forward to
for sure, be wider than 11/4 lengths Gray has not mapped out any spe- today’s South Africa meeting)
and the time for the 1,000m on the cific plan for Easy Does It, prefer- Scratching: 5 Country Rock
Polytrack faster than 1min ring to ease him back into the game
01.62sec. at the right time and in the right
TRIAL RESULT After his debut success in Re- race.
1 Easy Does It (B Thompson) ★ stricted Maiden on Oct 15, 2017, “He’s back racing in the second
Easy Does It finished third to King week of May in a Class 4 race over
2 Asia Sprint (N Hanafi) Louis in a Novice event over a simi- 1,200m,” he said.
lar 1,200m trip on turf second-up “Since we’ve waited that long for
3 Stock Broker (S Shafrizal) on Nov 12 that year. him, I preferred to wait until the
4 Oxbow Sun (T Rehaizat) But the son of former two-time Polytrack races are over. I didn’t
5 Peisha Gain (S Noh) Singapore Horse of the Year Super want to run him on Poly.
Easy unfortunately went amiss af- “He’s a nice horse and it’s taken a
MARGINS AND TIME ter that. long time to get him back. This
11/4, 33/4, 43/4, 11/2 (1min 01.62sec) Gray has always held Easy Does game is not for sooks, he’s doing
It in high regard, even before his well and we’re now in the lap of
first-up victory with Alan Munro Gods.”

20-04-19 SATURDAY - AUSTRALIA RACE CARD By Singapore Pools

6 212241 Naantali M J Dee [8] 54 2 110206 Working From Home D Bates [7] 54 10 000670 Sea Tryst Ms S Altieri [12] 55
AUSTRALIA FEED: CAULFIELD/ RANDWICK/ ASCOT/ DONGARA (#OTH2) 7 321272 Manolo Blahniq D Dunn [4] 54 3 133502 Addictive Nature C Williams [4] 54 11 900577 Sharreada Ms R Forrest [7] 55
8 506348 Zebulon L Currie [2] 54 4 061093 Chauffeur Jye Mc Neil [10] 54 12 186000 Speedy Justice N Rudland [5] 55
12:00PM Race 1 (A$135,000) CAU--1600m 12:55PM Race 4 (A$500,000) RAN--1600m 9 208690 Dark Eyes D Thornton [9] 54 5 124114 Superhard M J Dee [12] 54
1 2171 Princess Jenni D Oliver [18] 60 1 1133 Castelvecchio J Parr [4] 56.5 6 134181 Enigman Teodore Nugent (3.0) [11] 54 4:45PM Race 16 (A$70,000) ASC--1400m
2 699221 Music Bay Ms K Crowther (2.0) [4] 59.5 2 38621 Power Scheme M Zahra [6] 56.5 2:15PM Race 8 (A$160,000) RAN--1200m 7 173530 Princeton Spirit Ms S Thornton (2.0) [3] 54 1 416496 Debellatio P Hall [8] 60.5
3 144511 Sure Knee John Allen [9] 59 3 731317 Vinco H Bowman [11] 56.5 1 538074 Music Magnate J R Collett [1] 59.5 8 113313 Haunted D Dunn [6] 54 2 232338 Mrs Brown’s Boy M Clark (3.0) [1] 60
4 410715 Kings Brook A Mallyon [1] 58 4 113 Fortress Command B Prebble [1] 56.5 2 230214 Home Of The Brave J B Mc Donald [7] 59 9 579390 Top Me Up M Walker [9] 54 3 424844 Settlers Creek Ms C Azzopardi (3.0) [11] 60
5 130501 Zargos H Coffey [19] 57.5 5 3470 War Baron J R Collett [10] 56.5 3 433204 Dothraki D Lane [3] 59 10 218416 Redcore Michael Poy (3.0) [8] 54 4 113213 Little Fish Jade Mc Naught (3.0) [9] 59.5
6 31102 Kevikki D Dunn [8] 56 6 855 Dawn Too Good T Clark [9] 56.5 4 304030 Viridine H Bowman [5] 59 11 730122 Spirit Of Aquada P Moloney [2] 54 5 553086 Pinsson J Whiting [12] 58
7 312194 Liveinthefastlane Liam Riordan (3.0) [10] 56 7 480 Persan G Schofield [5] 56.5 5 311213 Easy Eddie R Dolan [10] 58 12 647348 Break My Stride L Currie [1] 54 6 381031 Dickoletto W Pike [5] 57.5
8 575918 Nasaayim L Nolen [2] 56 8 5 Prince Fawaz A Hyeronimus [8] 56.5 6 480554 Lanciato J Parr [9] 58 7 224033 Harry Thomas C Parnham [2] 57.5
9 713190 Nessuna Fiducia F W Kersley (2.0) [11] 55.5 9 1642 Loving Gaby J B Mc Donald [7] 54.5 7 133502 Addictive Nature B Prebble [8] 58 3:35PM Race 12 (A$70,000) ASC--1500m 8 432074 Peppijack P Carbery [7] 57
10 611853 Tysonic M J Dee [3] 55 10 1591 Lady Lupino D Lane [2] 54.5 8 446115 Tyzone B Shinn [2] 57 1 033309 War God Brandon Louis (2.0) [7] 60.5 9 332545 Resistance D Staeck [4] 57
11 382937 Tatiara -- [17] 54 11 326 Crystal Falls J Ford [12] 54.5 9 133415 Brave Song T Berry [12] 57 2 096807 Socially Unique C Staples [3] 57.5 10 327578 Flying Roar Ryan Hill [3] 56.5
12 222401 Collectable C Williams [5] 54 12 34551 Chia CW Brown [3] 54.5 10 211944 Trekking K Mc Evoy [6] 57 3 110166 Battle Torque C Parnham [4] 57 11 691007 Turbo Power S Parnham [10] 56
13 8831 Mrs Sippy D Thornton [13] 54 11 924311 Redouble T Clark [13] 57 4 348102 Special Delivery Ms L Warwick [9] 57 12 416240 Supreme Force Jordan Turner [6] 55.5
14 4127 Nordic Symphony D Bates [16] 54 1:15PM Race 5 (A$135,000) CAU--1100m 12 517519 Camdus S Clipperton [4] 57 5 061331 Dutch Spy S O’Donnell [5] 56.5
15 41 Our Hot Date N Punch (3.0) [6] 54 1 113125 Thrillster Liam Riordan (3.0) [15] 61 13 570236 Miss Que CW Brown [11] 54 6 003234 Friaresque D Staeck [8] 56 5:05PM Race 17 (A$10,500) DOG--1200m
16 221874 Scamper Jye Mc Neil [14] 54 2 111313 Tell Me Jack Martin (2.0) [7] 58.5 7 050403 Majinika Jade Mc Naught (3.0) [2] 55.5 1 125456 O’reilly’s Crumpet Ms S Altieri [6] 60
17 424321 Hamslette L King (2.0) [12] 54 3 200173 Khulaasa L Nolen [5] 57.5 2:35PM Race 9 (A$160,000) CAU--2000m 8 222216 Midnight Sky W Pike [10] 54 2 048850 Juendis Ms P Edwards [10] 59
18 765261 Miss Matriarch Beau Mertens [15] 54 4 471115 Tropezina Michael Poy (3.0) [14] 57 1 834689 Ambitious J Winks [4] 59 9 236081 Run Liam Run Ms L Staples [1] 54 3 865104 Majestic Man Ms T Stone [2] 59
19 7223 Sigrid The Haughty Scratched [7] 54 5 1180 Lady Horseowner Ben Allen [9] 56 2 603400 Night’s Watch John Allen [5] 57.5 10 732750 Tonkatuff Ryan Hill [6] 54 4 346980 Bicol Express A Castle [9] 57
6 024232 Thine Is The Power C Williams [16] 55 3 117981 Haripour M J Dee [8] 55.5 5 195120 Excellent Jerry M Autier [7] 57
12:20PM Race 2 (A$160,000) RAN--2000m 7 151603 Voila M J Dee [11] 54 4 551993 Red Alto L Nolen [11] 55 3:55PM Race 13 (A$10,500) DOG--1100m 6 778100 The Chorister Ms N Hopwood [3] 56.5
1 111004 Moss ‘N’ Dale K Mc Evoy [13] 59 8 034321 Ray’s Dream L Currie [8] 54 5 113550 Furrion Jye Mc Neil [6] 54.5 1 113725 Nickjaklu Ms R Forrest [3] 60.5 7 953395 Righto Ms R Forrest [4] 55.5
2 833852 Libran B Avdulla [11] 58 9 614872 Golden Halo H Coffey [1] 54 6 353554 Odeon Ms L Meech [9] 54.5 2 181781 Backtobeverley A Castle [5] 57.5 8 804886 Espresso Lass N Rudland [5] 55
3 221395 My Nordic Hero B Shinn [2] 56.5 10 11064 Jentico Ms S Thornton (2.0) [4] 54 7 465690 Morton’s Fork D Dunn [2] 54 3 843118 Idiosyncrasy Ms P Edwards [1] 57 9 867978 Ripped By Pappy Kate Southam (4.0) [1] 55
4 070840 Sedanzer T Clark [7] 56 11 541160 Solar Star Teodore Nugent (3.0) [13] 54 8 103673 Plein Ciel C Williams [1] 54 4 368856 Foxy Lad N Rudland [7] 55 10 880896 Surley Hurley Kristy Bennett (3.0) [11] 55
5 117981 Haripour H Bowman [5] 56 12 122 Irresistable Girl Ms L Meech [17] 54 9 135812 Mantastic M Walker [13] 54 5 800759 Playful Girl Ms S Altieri [2] 55 11 070540 You Are Idyllic Ms J Gray (3.0) [8] 55
6 754221 Taikomochi A Hyeronimus [14] 56 13 570805 Graceful Storm D Dunn [10] 54 10 315009 Octabello D Oliver [7] 54 6 207009 Secret Smile Ms T Stone [6] 55
7 784375 Mccreery J B Mc Donald [4] 55.5 14 21 Tofane D Oliver [2] 54 11 658573 Sheezdashing L Currie [10] 54 7 333398 Sporting Image Kate Southam (4.0) [8] 55 5:20PM Race 18 (A$50,000) ASC--1200m
8 090225 Satono Rasen T Berry [12] 54 15 13504 Fidelia Jye Mc Neil [3] 54 12 366392 Magnapal D Bates [12] 54 8 180390 Stormy Planet M Autier [9] 55 1 131570 Salamaat P Hall [3] 60.5
9 117391 Our Libretto D Lane [9] 53 16 3421 Written Gem L King (2.0) [6] 54 13 537700 Observational Beau Mertens [14] 54 9 502566 Stride Out Ms N Hopwood [4] 55 2 534173 Friar’s Gift Scratched [8] 59
10 168552 I’m A Princess S Clipperton [17] 53 17 45362 Maitri P Moloney [12] 54 14 121204 Alfarris C Parish [3] 54 3 307223 King’s Authority S Mc Gruddy [6] 58.5
11 521672 Abdon CW Brown [8] 53
4:10PM Race 14 (A$70,000) ASC--1000m 4 217305 Regal Moon S O’Donnell [14] 58.5
12 024941 The Lord Mayor J Ford [10] 53 1:35PM Race 6 (A$600,000) RAN--1400m 2:55PM Race 10 (A$125,000) RAN--1400m 1 114455 Valour Road Ms C Azzopardi (3.0) [2] 60 5 422442 Sigil Ms C Azzopardi (3.0) [12] 58.5
13 043537 Emperor’s Way G Schofield [1] 53 1 422849 Le Romain J B Mc Donald [14] 59 1 925245 Captain Cook S R Weatherley (1.5) [11] 61.5 2 812533 Seeker J Whiting [8] 59.5 6 912283 Fair Nakita R Tan [9] 58
14 642016 Grey Lion Ms K O’Hara [15] 53 2 531222 Osborne Bulls H Bowman [1] 59 2 073767 Duca Valentinois T Clark [10] 60 3 111215 Captain Stirling D Staeck [10] 58 7 603123 Sixpence Spent J Kokotajlo [4] 58
15 401337 Goathland J R Collett [6] 53 3 913525 Pierata T Berry [10] 59 3 320218 Snippets Land B Shinn [7] 60 4 102114 Molten S Mc Gruddy [6] 57.5 8 120164 Double Bubble Jade Mc Naught (3.0) [13] 57.5
16 658573 Sheezdashing -- [3] 53 4 230214 Home Of The Brave G Schofield [3] 59 4 266254 Flow CW Brown [14] 58.5 5 278841 Speeding Comet -- [9] 57.5 9 208236 Truly Belong W Pike [1] 57.5
17 242736 All Too Soon -- [16] 53 5 300382 Malaguerra D Lane [13] 59 5 305805 Snitzson M Zahra [16] 58.5 6 313226 Undisclosed T Turner [5] 57.5 10 462010 Klondike Kenny Ms L Warwick [5] 56.5
6 564231 D’bai K Mc Evoy [9] 59 6 227110 Seaway H Bowman [13] 57.5 7 144112 Mervyn Jade Mc Naught (3.0) [7] 56 11 050001 Sebring Spy D Staeck [7] 56.5
12:35PM Race 3 (A$135,000) CAU--1200m 7 171582 Manuel B Shinn [7] 59 7 396663 Special Missile S Clipperton [4] 55 8 736163 Hoboken S Parnham [1] 55 12 12 Free Trade C Parnham [2] 55.5
1 141354 Poised To Strike C Williams [5] 56.5 8 340577 Siege Of Quebec T Clark [11] 59 8 514416 Take It Intern J B Mc Donald [6] 55 9 214770 Dynamite Dream Ms J Noske [3] 54.5 13 145360 Mr Undercover Scratched [11] 55.5
2 184001 More Than Exceed Ms K Crowther (2.0) [3] 55.5 9 480554 Lanciato J Parr [4] 59 9 023058 Articus J R Collett [8] 54.5 10 877598 Dia De La Raza P Carbery [4] 54 14 427056 Orange Strudel P Knuckey [10] 55.5
3 970117 Cristal Eyes D Oliver [4] 54 10 283216 Fierce Impact J R Collett [6] 59 10 208690 Dark Eyes -- [5] 54 11 695281 My Demi S O’Donnell [11] 54
4 450421 High Ratio M Walker [8] 54 11 363276 Youngstar CW Brown [12] 57 11 343670 Get On The Grange Ms K O’Hara [3] 54
5 095325 Ollivander Ms S Thornton (2.0) [10] 54 12 031784 Champagne Cuddles B Avdulla [2] 57 12 077003 Salsonic D Lane [15] 54 4:30PM Race 15 (A$15,000) DOG--1850m While every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher
6 413349 Aperitif M J Dee [7] 53.5 13 486910 Siren’s Fury A Hyeronimus [8] 57 13 823713 Up ‘n’ Rolling J Ford [9] 53.5 1 705110 Wonorg Kate Southam (4.0) [2] 60.5 accepts no liability for any error which may arise.
7 427541 Mumbles D Bates [9] 52.5 14 212241 Naantali M Zahra [5] 57 14 511544 Sweet Scandal T Berry [1] 53 2 170070 Hardwood Ms T Stone [4] 56
3 703518 Galaxy Blaze A Castle [3] 55.5 Visit singaporepools.com for more race information and results
8 1523 Morrissy L King (2.0) [11] 52.5 15 043811 Live And Free R Dolan (2.0) [17] 53
9 188265 Write Enuff Ms C Hall (3.0) [2] 52.5 1:55PM Race 7 (A$160,000) CAU--1400m 16 112211 Star Of The Seas K Mc Evoy [12] 52 4 800453 Absolute Magic Kristy Bennett (3.0) [10] 55
10 1 Battle Master H Coffey [6] 52.5 1 100210 Boom Time C Parish [5] 60 17 711225 Mahalangur T Berry [2] 53 5 094382 Balmontgomery Ms P Edwards [6] 55
11 938425 Rich Itch D Dunn [1] 52.5 2 293309 Fastnet Tempest C Williams [6] 56 18 283216 Fierce Impact -- [18] 58.5 6 647983 Churches -- [1] 55
3 212315 Streets Of Avalon C Douglas [3] 56 7 980756 Diamonds Uncut Ms N Hopwood [8] 55
4 231000 Sircconi J Mott [1] 55.5 3:10PM Race 11 (A$125,000) CAU--1200m 8 506661 I’m A Love Man M Autier [9] 55
5 326473 Kemono John Allen [7] 55 1 022055 Dollar For Dollar E Brown (1.5) [5] 60 9 114570 Outspoken Duke Ms E Asphar [11] 55

20-04-19 SATURDAY - EUROPE RACE CARD By Singapore Pools

6 121329 Cowboy Soldier (ire) 56 [9] L Morris 9.0% R Cowell 8.9% 3 422216 Leroy Leroy 58 [7] S De Sousa 18.2% R Hannon 12.2% 11 112824 Savaanah 57.5 [10] S De Sousa 18.2% R Charlton 15.8%
EUROPE FEED: (#OTH1) 7 594443 Global Academy 54.5 [6] S De Sousa 18.2% G Kelleway 10.6% 4 1 Name The Wind 58 [2] P J Mcdonald 14.5% J Tate 18.5% 12 236852 Shenanigans 57.5 [11] A Atzeni 17.7% R Varian 18.8%
8 477013 Puds 54.5 [7] George Rooke (3.0) 13.0% R Hughes 14.0% 5 1 Senza Limiti (ire) 58 [4] O Murphy 16.8% W Haggas 21.6% 13 2111 Tiger Eye (ire) 57.5 [1] O Murphy 16.8% J Fanshawe 13.1%
Race 1 8:25PM (£9,000) Kempton AWT -- 1006m 9 227469 Foxy Forever 53.5 [2] J F Egan 6.4% M Wigham 16.7% 6 5213 Target Zone 58 [3] D Probert 12.0% D Elsworth 16.4% 14 170545 Vivianite (ire) 57.5 [9] L Morris 9.0% Archie Watson 17.6%
1 Audio 59.5 [3] T Marquand 10.6% R Hannon 12.2% 7 Juan De Valdes 55 [1] J Gordon 8.7% S L Keightley 6.0%
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3 9 Littleton Hall (ire) 59.5 [1] C Shepherd 11.2% M Channon 13.8% 1 8155 Canton Queen (ire) 58 [5] T Marquand 10.6% R Hannon 12.2% Race 5 10:45PM (£45,000) Kempton AWT -- 1609m
4 Rathagan 59.5 [2] S W Kelly 8.8% R Hughes 14.0% 2 17295 Gospel 58 [7] Ryan Moore 19.4% M Channon 1
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5 1 Electric Ladyland (ire) 58.5 [6] L Morris 9.0% Archie Watson 17.6% 3 91 Kodiac Lass (ire) 58 [6] G Mosse 12.2% M Botti 2
7.8% 211425 Agrotera (ire) 57.5 [5] G Mosse 12.2% Ed Walker 11.6% accepts no liability for any error which may arise.
6 Ride And Prejudice 57.5 [4] Shelley Birkett 5.8% Miss J Feilden 6.2% 4 1 Nausha 58 [1] David Egan 11.7% R Varian 3
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21.6% 13 Astonished (ire) 57.5 [12] P J Mcdonald 14.5% J Tate 18.5% Visit singaporepools.com for more race information and results
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20.9% 1 Daddy’s Daughter (can) 57.5 [4] M Dwyer 9.0% D Ivory 9.2%
2 407408 Tomily 60.5 [1] T Marquand 10.6% R Hannon 12.2% 7 11296 Dancing Brave Bear 57.5 [3] S Donohoe 8.6% E Vaughan 7.9%
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C10 SPORT
KHAN WANTS TO CLOSE ON A HIGH
Veteran takes big risk
with Crawford but is
relying on experience
in welterweight bout
NEW YORK • Amir Khan is in fight
mode in the last days before trying
to engineer a seismic shock at Madi-
son Square Garden, but he can still
spare time to look back.
A mainstay in the boxing world
for 15 years, the interim has been
awash with medals, belts and the oc-
casional savage beating.
While the British former world
champion has insisted he does not
want to retire on a loss, he is 32 and
knows that the end game is not far
away, so when talk turns to legacy,
he steps outside the ring.
Today’s fight against the un-
beaten World Boxing Organisation
welterweight champion Terence
Crawford, one of the best pound-
for-pound boxers anywhere,
comes loaded with risk.
Some have termed it a mismatch.
Styled by speed, Khan is slower
these days and the devastating, and
probably inevitable loss, to Mexi-
can middleweight champion Saul
“Canelo” Alvarez as he moved up
the weight divisions in Las Vegas al-
most three years ago was the sort
that can drain a fighter of his spirit.
He did not fight again for nearly
two years, swopping the big stage
for the small screen to star on real-
ity TV show I’m A Celebrity... Get
Me Out Of Here!
Although he was injured at the
time and got a record fee for the pro-
gramme, this was not the sort of
rumble in the jungle that he envis-
aged when winning a silver medal
at the 2004 Athens Games and then
adding the World Boxing Associa-
tion and International Boxing Fed-
eration world light-welterweight ti-
tles in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
Ahead of the Crawford fight, it is
hard to discern quite why Khan is
fighting the American, one of the
most dangerous opponents around.
“It’s the last chapter of my ca-
reer,” he said. “You want to know
how long the chapter is, don’t you?
I want to retire young and where I
Don’t settle.
Drink only
great wines!
www.STwine.sg
Terence Crawford and Amir Khan during their Wednesday press conference at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where tonight’s fight will take place. The 31-year-old American is putting his 34-fight
unbeaten record on the line against the Briton, who is the huge underdog but is banking on his vast experience to pull off an upset and perhaps walk away for good. PHOTO: REUTERS
can enjoy life afterwards.
“I have two kids now and I have
enough money in the bank. I do so
much outside of boxing too, doing
charity work, travelling the world.
“I want to do that without the
pressure... I still have the enthusi-
asm I had when I was a kid and I
don’t want that ever not to be there.
That’s why I will stop before I get to
the point where I hate the sport.”
If anything truly is achievable and
InGoodConscience
Three sporting miracles in April that beggar belief
Rob Hughes
Sport is obviously about the
physical, but nothing great is
achieved without the power of the
mind, the strength of spirit.
Three times in nine days this
month we have had to stretch our
imagination to believe what we
have seen.
On April 6, the smallest horse and
the oldest jockey won the Grand
National for the second year
running, dispelling illusions that
racing over the biggest fences in
the world demands massive size
and youth.
On April 7, one man in the Boat
Race became the oldest athlete, by
far, to row in the event that Oxford
and Cambridge universities have
contested since 1829. Former
Olympic and world champion
James Cracknell, 46, is reading for a
masters in human evolutionary
studies.
And, as the world knows, last
Sunday, Tiger Woods took a fifth
Green Jacket at the Masters
tournament he last won 14 years
ago. The time lapse is nothing
compared to the physical and
mental struggle of coming through
four spinal operations and hellish
exposure of his marital problems
and his womanising.
The horse that won the National
happens to be called Tiger Roll.
And so of course punters had to
have a bet on the double – Tiger
Roll to win the National, Tiger
Woods to win the Masters.
The horse being Irish, one
bookmaker there, Boylesports,
paid out €80,000 (S$122,000) on
one €1,000 stake.
We may not all pity the poor
bookie. But, if we are not in awe of
the three achievements, the loss is
most certainly ours.
In chronological order, it begins
the last chapter sees him beat Craw-
ford, then it would be the perfect
bookend for one of boxing’s most
exciting modern fighters.
Khan is a big underdog at 9-1 with
bookmakers after two mediocre
wins against Canadian Phil lo Greco
and Colombian Samuel Vargas last
year, but he feels his experience
makes him a threat.
“I’ve been at world-class level for
10 years and the body takes a lot of
with the National run over
6.907km and over 30 of the most
daunting fences.
Tiger Roll was sired by an English
Derby winner, but sold for a
knockdown price because he was
considered too puny to win flat
races.
At 15.2 hands high (about 1.57 m),
he is more than 10cm shorter than
most racehorses measured at the
withers, the tallest point below the
neck. Put another way, if you stood
Tiger Roll behind The Chair or
Becher’s Brook fences at Aintree,
the Liverpool course of the
National, you would struggle to see
him.
Size is plainly not everything. In
the hands of Davy Russell, his
39-year-old rider, Tiger Roll has
the boldness, the stamina, the
chunky hind quarter body
strength, to outlast the 40 runners,
even those that survive the
sometimes deadly falls along the
way.
You can literally see the spirit of
horse and rider in unison as Tiger
Roll became the first horse to
beatings, but I take care of it. I don’t
drink or smoke,” he said. “Maybe
that’s why I’m going strong. I feel fit-
ter now than when I was 25.
“When I was young, I lived a bit of
a flashy life. I loved fast cars and jew-
ellery. All that’s changed. I had a
crazy past, being young and getting
into trouble, but I have two girls
and like helping people less fortu-
nate.
“Crawford is a very, very good
complete back-to-back Grand
National victories since Red Rum
45 years ago.
At that time, Cracknell was
barely two years old. The 1.93m
Briton was built for rowing, but his
comeback for the Boat Race was
The horse that won the
National happens to be
called Tiger Roll. And so of
course punters had to have
a bet on the double – Tiger
Roll to win the National,
Tiger Woods to win the
Masters.
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
fighter, skilful and on a winning
streak. What makes me train even
harder is I know this guy believes
he can’t lose.
“I’m better now, wiser, smarter. I
know I can’t make a mistake. At any
second, he can catch and hurt me,
so everything I do has to be
switched on, but I’m a lot more pro-
fessional now. I don’t waste energy
in the ring. I keep to my game plan
more than I used to.”
not simply a defiance of age. It was
a test to rebuild his sporting career
after he fractured his skull and
suffered significant brain damage
in a cycling accident in Arizona
nine years ago.
The mental, as well as physical,
challenge combined with an
obsessive sporting gene.
That, and more, must have
examined every ounce of whatever
it is that drives Woods. The man is a
billionaire. He has been broken as a
man and as an icon. Few will ever
know how he built up, then lost,
and then at age 43 regained this
aura on a course that intimidates
every man who has competed
against him.
Especially at Augusta National
where a golfer first has to conquer
the course, and then every other
great golfer of his time out there.
According to Damian Fahy, the
spinal surgeon who advised Woods
before his operations, the
American was unable to get out of
his chair, let alone swing a club,
when he first saw him.
“His pain was 24/7,” the
However, it may not be enough in
New York, and Khan knows that he
is counting down.
But upset the odds against Craw-
ford and defy the rush of time, and
this story may be the most remark-
able yet.
He added: “I’ve been there, done
it, but I want to be the one who calls
it a day, not the one who has to call
it a day. I’ve given my heart for this
chance.” THE TIMES, LONDON
consultant said. “His first thought
was to get back to being able to
spend time with his kids without
breaking down in agony.”
The fourth surgical intervention
was a spinal fusion, removing a disc
and screwing in a plastic implant
between two vertebrae.
To trust that implant, to get back
to the relentless physical work, to
adapt his swing, his game and his
lifestyle... and to come out in
Augusta to go one shot better than
the finest golfers of a younger,
supposedly fitter generation is not
simply a medical triumph. It
beggars belief in terms of the
human spirit.
And all is forgiven in the United
States. Tweets from Donald
Trump, and also from Barack
Obama, congratulating Tiger might
possibly be the one thing the
President and the ex- president
have agreed on in a very long time.
America, and maybe the rest of
the world, loves nothing more than
a winner.
stsports@sph.com.sg
Cambridge’s
James Cracknell
(second from
right) during the
Boat Race, which
his team won by
a length. The
46-year-old, a
two-time
Olympic
champion and
six-time world
champion, is the
oldest man by
far to row in the
event. PHOTO:
REUTERS
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
SportsWorld
‘Fined’ Costa skips
Atletico training
MADRID • Atletico Madrid
striker Diego Costa refused
to train on Thursday after
being told his LaLiga club
would be fining him for a
verbal outburst in their
recent 2-0 defeat by
Barcelona, Spanish dailies
including AS, El Pais and
Marca reported.
An Atletico source
confirmed to Reuters that
the Spain international did
not train, citing personal
reasons, while Costa’s
representatives did not
respond to a request for
comment.
He is serving an
eight-game ban for
swearing at referee Jesus
Gil Manzano when he was
sent off during the loss on
April 6, ruling him out for
the season. REUTERS
IOC pledges $760k
to Notre Dame
PARIS • The International
Olympic Committee on
Thursday pledged
€500,000 (S$762,000) to
help ensure the Notre
Dame Cathedral, which
was gutted by a fire last
Monday, is restored in time
for the 2024 Paris Games.
IOC president Thomas
Bach told Games chief
Thomas Estanguet in a
letter that “the aim of
completing the
reconstruction in time for
Paris 2024 will be an extra
motivation for all of us”.
The historic landmark
figures on the route for the
Games marathon and road
cycling circuit.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Miller denies taking
banned substance
NEW YORK • American
Jarrell Miller has claimed
he never knowingly took a
banned substance and will
appeal against a decision to
revoke his licence over an
adverse finding from a
doping test ahead of his
June 1 heavyweight title
fight with Britain’s
Anthony Joshua in New
York.
Miller, who was due to
fight World Boxing
Association, International
Boxing Federation, World
Boxing Organisation and
International Boxing
Organisation world
champion Joshua, wrote on
Instagram that he was
devastated upon hearing
his boxing licence was
revoked in New York State.
According to ESPN, he
reportedly tested positive
for the banned substance
GW1516, which boosts
endurance and helps
athletes burn fat, citing
three sources familiar with
the matter. REUTERS
Ferrari urged to let Leclerc
and Vettel compete fairly
LONDON • Ferrari should allow
Charles Leclerc to race on level
terms with Sebastian Vettel rather
than favouring the German, their
former driver Gerhard Berger said
on Thursday.
The Austrian, who won 10 grands
prix for three different teams be-
tween 1986 and 1997, told re-
porters it was too early in the sea-
son to favour the four-time world
champion over his young Mone-
gasque teammate.
“I think it’s an open game at the
moment,” the 59-year-old said.
“Much as I like Sebastian and,
much as I rate him, here is a boy
who is capable of winning the
championship.
“I don’t think it’s enough to say,
‘Well, this one is experienced, this
one is not, so we take the card of
the experience’. I think let it run.”
Leclerc is a point adrift of third-
placed Vettel (37) in the champi-
onship after three races, but was
quicker in Bahrain. The 21-year-old
would have won, from pole posi-
MEDVEDEV BLOWS
DJOKOVIC OFF COURSE
Error-prone world No. 1 praises Russian’s
fine backhand but also blames the wind
MONTE CARLO • Daniil Medvedev
had won only two times from 11
tour-level matches on clay before
yesterday’s Monte Carlo Masters
quarter-finals, but the Russian still
managed to defy all odds to shock
world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-3,
4-6, 6-2.
Djokovic, twice a former cham-
pion in Monte Carlo, lost his serve
five times as 10th seed Medvedev
gained revenge for his last-16 de-
feat by the 31-year-old Serb at this
year’s Australian Open.
Medvedev, 23, prevailed after
his more illustrious opponent sur-
prisingly made a total of 47 un-
forced errors and advanced to his
first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final
following the match which lasted
2hr 20min.
For Djokovic, he admitted that
Medvedev had a superior back-
hand while also attributing his de-
feat to the wind.
“He’s got a very solid backhand.
He doesn’t make many mistakes
from the backhand,” he said.
“He hits it very low with depth. A
windy day like today, conditions
are changing every single game.
It’s kind of tough to find the
rhythm, and he doesn’t give you
much rhythm.
tion, had he not been slowed by a
loss of power with 10 laps to go.
In China last weekend, he was or-
dered to let the German pass and
ended up fifth, with Vettel third.
New Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto
made clear in Shanghai that Vettel
would have priority in 50-50 situa-
tions, as the team’s more obvious ti-
tle contender, but warned that
could change.
Berger, a teammate of the late
three-time champion Ayrton
Senna at McLaren in the early
1990s, said he could not recall ever
receiving team orders, but under-
stood they made sense later in the
campaign.
“I think it’s a question of when it
is (acceptable), and is it really giv-
ing somebody not even a chance to
win the championship? But, if you
do it in the first or second race, I
don’t agree,” he added.
Leclerc, a Ferrari protege and
Formula Two champion, has re-
placed Kimi Raikkonen at the Ital-
ian team.
SPORT C11
Top seed Novak
Djokovic
returning in
windy conditions
to Daniil
Medvedev (left)
yesterday in their
Monte Carlo
Masters
quarter-final. The
Russian, who
previously had
not advanced
past the last 16
ahead of Roger Federer (18-2) and didn’t know how I’d do,” he said. at a Masters-level
Stefanos Tsitsipas (18-8). “But I’m now into my first Mas- event, won 6-3,
He will next face another Serb, ters semi-final. I’ve been playing 4-6, 6-2.
Dusan Lajovic, who had to summon my best tennis,” added Lajovic, PHOTO: AGENCE
all of his resolve after falling ill last who has not dropped a set so far. FRANCE-PRESSE
“He improved his movement a week to book a place in the semi-fi- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
lot since last year. He definitely de- nals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over
serves to be where he is.” Lorenzo Sonego yesterday. ATP MONTE CARLO MASTERS
According to the ATP Tour web- “I was on antibiotics last week, I S-finals: StarHub Ch201, 7.30pm
site, Medvedev is just the second
man to defeat Djokovic in nine
quarter-finals at the Monte-Carlo
Country Club. Belgian David Gof-
fin was the first in 2017.
For Djokovic, who won a record
seventh Melbourne title in Janu-
ary, it marked another premature
exit for the top seed after he
crashed out early at Indian Wells
and Miami last month.
Pundit Greg Rusedski, the for-
mer British No. 1, believes that the
Serb has much to improve on.
“I think he was better than In-
dian Wells and Miami, but it wasn’t
the Djokovic who won Miami
(from 2014-16),” he said.
“It just wasn’t the guy mentally
who wanted it so badly. I think he
has to show us a performance be-
fore the French Open.”
Medvedev, ranked a career-high
14th, extended his best run at a
Masters 1000 event, having not ad-
vanced beyond the last 16 before.
The four-time ATP title winner
has been impressive this season,
having now clinched a tour-lead-
ing 21 wins (21-6). It puts him
Asked whether he felt Leclerc,
who had a strong debut with
Sauber last year, had been pro-
moted too soon, Berger shook his
head.
“Not at all,” he said. “In all cases,
Ferrari always put the two quickest
guys in the car and made sure that
the lemon was squeezed to the
maximum. It was just the right tim-
ing and the right decision.”
Berger said he had been im-
pressed by the change since
Binotto took over from Maurizio
Arrivabene in January.
“I spent half of my Formula One
race life in Ferrari,” he said. “I
didn’t feel I could go any more to
drink an espresso there because it
was all like a strange club where ei-
ther you are day and night with
them or not one of them.
“We always felt part of the Fer-
rari family and suddenly we didn’t
feel it any more. And now I was in
Bahrain and it changed again. I was
there drinking my coffee and every-
one was happy.” REUTERS
C12 SPORT
MatchOf TheWeek
YOUNG EAGLE WANTS
TO SOAR EVEN HIGHER
Geylang’s Vasileios, 17, eyes pro ranks after
becoming the 3rd-youngest scorer in league
SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE
Hougang United v Geylang
Jalan Besar Stadium, 5.30pm
Sazali Abdul Aziz
He had planned to play it cool after
scoring for the first time in the Sin-
gapore Premier League (SPL) last
weekend, but the teenager inside
striker Vasileios Zikos Chua could
Home’s Saswa is first casualty of SPL season
David Lee
After barely a quarter of the Singa-
pore Premier League (SPL) season,
Home United are the first team to
part ways with their head coach as
they announced the mutual termi-
nation of Saswadimata Dasuki’s
contract yesterday.
The Protectors said that assistant
coach Noh Rahman will take over
on an interim basis as the club are
in the process of appointing a new
head coach.
They added in a media state-
ment: “Home United FC and head
coach Saswadimata Dasuki have
come to a mutual agreement to part
ways with immediate effect.
“HUFC would like to thank
Saswa for his contributions, having
joined the club as assistant coach
in 2017, and being appointed head
A Game of Two Halves
Rohit Brijnath and David Lee on
Tiger Woods' great comeback at 43.
Also, can badminton do more to be
a truly global sport?
http://str.sg/oKvf
not contain himself.
He wheeled away from goal at
full speed, arms outstretched, and
screamed at the top of his lungs, in
an expression of joy not dissimilar
to the Italian Marco Tardelli’s
iconic 1982 World Cup celebration.
Vasileios, who turned 17 the day
after scoring in Geylang Interna-
tional’s 1-0 win over Young Lions,
became the third-youngest scorer
in Singapore’s 24-year-old profes-
sional football league, and its
coach for the 2019 season.
“During his stint, he brought hon-
ours to the club, including the re-
cent Community Shield. We thank
him for his work and wish him the
best for his future endeavours.”
The former Singapore interna-
tional, 49, declined comment, but it
is understood that one of the con-
tributing factors behind the deci-
sion is the club’s poor results.
Despite being touted as one of
the title contenders, Home are lan-
guishing in seventh spot in the
nine-team SPL, winning just two
out of six games as they struggled
with injuries and poor form.
In the AFC Cup, they are second
in Group H with seven points after
four games, one point behind In-
donesia’s PSM Makassar.
It was in this second-tier Asian
competition last year that Saswadi-
mata enjoyed his greatest coaching
youngest match-winner.
Hariss Harun, at 16 years and 174
days, tops the list with his 2007
strike for the Young Lions against
Singapore Armed Forces FC, fol-
lowed by Fareez Farhan, who
scored in 2011 also for the Young Li-
ons against Warriors FC when he
was 16 years and 331 days.
“I had a few things in mind (for
the celebration), and I’ll usually just
jump and pump my fist in the air.
But, after I scored, I just lost control
of the situation,” Vasileios sheep-
ishly told The Straits Times ahead
of today’s Hougang United game.
Born to a Singaporean father and
a Greek mother, he grew up in Kas-
success when he was assistant to
Aidil Sharin as the Protectors
emerged as Asean Zonal winners.
Noh Rahman, who was a strength
and conditioning coach with the
Football Association of Singapore
before he joined Home this year,
will face his first test on Wednes-
day against fourth-placed Geylang
International.
The 38-year-old former Lion
said: “It is never a nice feeling,
standing in a position of a colleague
whom you have worked with since
the start of the season.
“As for my plans and goals, that is
to improve the individual perfor-
mance of the players and the team
performance, at least until the new
coach comes in.
“It is a big challenge, but we need
to approach this positively.”
davidlee@sph.com.sg
Woods’ comeback is greatest ever, says Jordan
LOS ANGELES • Michael Jordan de-
scribed Tiger Woods’ victorious
Masters comeback as the “greatest
ever” and added that he called the
golfing icon to personally congratu-
late him.
“To me, it is the greatest come-
back I have ever seen,” the former
National Basketball Association su-
perstar said on The Athletic web-
site.
“I never thought he’d get back
physically. He didn’t think he’d get
back physically. But he did it. No
toria in northern Greece and moved
to Singapore when he was 10.
His given name means king in
Greek but is a mouthful for Singa-
porean tongues, so his teammates
and coaches call him Bill, a shorter,
direct translation.
The first-year Nanyang Junior
College student admits he is still
learning to juggle his professional
football ambitions with his studies
but adds that milestones, like his
maiden strike, give him the motiva-
tion to keep going in both.
“It was an extremely special mo-
ment, and it meant a lot to me,” he
said. “Growing up and wanting to
be a professional, it’s a huge land-
Coach Saswadimata Dasuki has stepped down after Home United won just two
of six SPL games to be seventh in the nine-team table. Assistant Noh Rahman
will take over as interim coach. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
one expected him to be back the
way he is now.
“He’s probably the only person
who believed he could get back. To
me, that’s a major accomplish-
ment. To me, it’s unbelievable.”
Woods ended an 11-year Major
drought with a thrilling and emo-
tional Masters win last Sunday.
Aged 43, the American trails only
Jack Nicklaus who won at age 46 in
1986. Woods has 15 Major champi-
onships, second to Nicklaus’ 18.
Just two years ago, his back pain
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
mark to get your first goal.
“It was a dream come true.
“All I want to do now is give 100
per cent and make sure I’m not con-
tent with what I have now; I have to
keep improving and working hard.”
Geylang handler Noor Ali, who
coached him at Tanjong Katong
Secondary School for four years,
said: “Bill is a smart boy. As a coach,
I’m proud to see a young player
who can balance his studies and
football, because I think that comes
only with the right attitude. But he
has just turned 17 and, football-
wise, he still has a long way to go.”
He is hoping his team can con-
tinue their good form with a third
win on the trot but noted that
Hougang, who are third in the table
and one spot above Geylang on goal
difference, are no pushovers.
It is still early days, but both
teams have come a long way from
being cellar dwellers last year, and
a win would propel either side into
second spot for at least 24 hours.
Said Noor Ali: “We’ll go out and
play our normal game, but we also
know Hougang have good quality
and depth in their squad, and we
have to keep an eye on two or three
players.”
msazali@sph.com.sg
Geylang
International
striker Vasileios
Zikos Chua was
overcome with
emotion when
he scored
against the
Young Lions
last Sunday,
becoming the
third-youngest
scorer in 24
years of the
S-League/
Singapore
Premier
League.
PHOTO:
SINGAPORE
PREMIER LEAGUE
was so bad that he thought he
might never play again, let alone
win another Major.
“Mentally, you always think you
can. But you can’t answer to what
your body has to deal with,” Jor-
dan, 56, added of Woods.
“I’m pretty sure he questioned
himself, whether he could get it
back, and he had to put a lot of
work in. But he took it head-on.
“He had to change his game and
he had to change his perspective a
little bit. Dealing with his emo-
Juve await
8th title in
a row as
Ron sulks
TURIN • While Juventus have to
turn the page on yet another
Champions League disappoint-
ment as they focus on sealing an
eighth straight Serie A title at
home to Fiorentina today, a sum-
mer of change is expected follow-
ing their latest failure.
According to Italian daily La
Gazzetta dello Sport, Cristiano
Ronaldo, who Juventus paid a club-
record €100 million (S$152.3 mil-
lion) fee to Real Madrid last sum-
mer, with the specific aim of end-
ing their 23-year European Cup
drought, is livid after their mid-
week quarter-final exit.
He was inconsolable after the
loss to Ajax Amsterdam and has re-
mained silent on social media
since. But media reports have indi-
cated his unhappiness with coach
Massimiliano Allegri’s tactics. The
Portugal captain felt that compa-
triot Joao Cancelo should have
started ahead of fellow full-back
Mattia de Sciglio.
The 34-year-old Ronaldo is also
reportedly demanding a raft of
signings in the close season, with
Benfica forward Joao Felix top-
ping their transfer list.
His mother, Dolores Aveiro, has
corroborated those reports, after
revealing to the Portuguese press
that her son was “very sad”.
She said: “He would have liked
to have gone to the final. He will
be there for the next one. What
did he say to me? ‘Mum, I don’t
make miracles’.”
For now, the five-time winner
of the Champions League and its
record scorer (126) will have to set-
tle for the Scudetto in his first sea-
son in Italy. Juventus host
Fiorentina today, needing just one
point to lift the title for a record-
extending 35th time.
They can equal the record for
the earliest title win – five games
to spare – held jointly by Torino,
Fiorentina and Inter Milan.
But Viola coach Vincenzo Mon-
tella is aiming to rub more salt into
the home team’s wounds.
The Fiorentina boss said: “We
will go without fear (to Turin),
also taking into account that next
Thursday, we will have another im-
portant match with the Coppa
Italia semi-final against Atalanta.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
JUVENTUS V FIORENTINA
Singtel TV Ch115 & StarHub Ch209,
11.50pm
DISAPPOINTMENT
He would have liked to have gone
to the final. He will be there for
the next one. What did he say to
me? ‘Mum, I don’t make
miracles’.
’’
DOLORES AVEIRO, mother of Cristiano
Ronaldo, on what he said to her after
Juventus’ Champions League exit at the
hands of Ajax.
REALISTIC
We need to reset now. The
Champions League is made up of
very strong sides, and anybody
who thinks it is easy to win is
misguided. Getting to the
quarter-finals is a good
achievement.
’’
MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI,
Juventus coach.
tions, obviously he believed in him-
self. But, until you put that into ac-
tion, sometimes it’s a struggle.”
Jordan also believes that Woods’
confidence will be soaring and that
should translate into more victo-
ries. “I think he’s gotten over the
hump and he’s going to win more.
It’s absolutely tough mentally. And
then you think about the physical.
I’m elated (for him),” he said.
“You don’t know what Tiger is ca-
pable of doing.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
STEP UP OR SHIP OUT: SOLSKJAER
United boss wants players like Martial, Pogba
to raise their game as they chase top-4 spot
LONDON • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
has warned his under-achieving
Manchester United players there is
no “hiding place” for them and that
they are playing for their futures at
the club.
The United manager, whose side
exited the Champions League this
week in limp fashion against
Barcelona, said he is looking to the
likes of forward Anthony Martial
and midfielder Paul Pogba to redis-
cover their best form as they battle
to qualify for next season’s Champi-
ons League.
United face three crucial league
games with Everton, Manchester
Valencia’s Spanish defender Toni Lato celebrating with Portuguese midfielder Goncalo Guedes after putting them in the
lead against Villarreal in the Europa League quarter-final second leg at the Mestalla. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Valencia coach unfazed by Europa
League ‘favourites’ Arsenal in semis
VALENCIA • Valencia coach
Marcelino has started the mind
games by saying Arsenal are “the
favourites” in their Europa League
semi-final next month.
The Spanish team, owned by Sin-
gaporean billionaire Peter Lim,
eased into the Europe’s second-
tier club competition for the first
time in five years – a 2-0 home win
over fellow LaLiga side Villarreal
on Thursday giving them a resound-
ing 5-1 aggregate scoreline.
Toni Lato and Dani Parejo scored
the goals that secured the victory
and set up a meeting with Arsenal
and Valencia’s former coach Unai
Emery after the London side won
1-0 at Napoli and 3-0 on aggregate.
Full-back Lato strolled into a gap-
ing hole in defence to volley Valen-
cia in front in the 13th minute at a
●
City and Chelsea that will have a
huge say on whether they finish in
the top four.
But, with big-name stars such as
Martial and Pogba desperately
struggling for form in a run that has
seen United lose five of their last
seven league and Cup games, Solsk-
jaer has laid out demands to his play-
ers.
“Most of them have really im-
pressed me in their attitude and, of
course, there are some who need to
get a reality check of where they’re
at,” he said at a press conference
ahead of tomorrow’s away Premier
League match at Everton.
rain-swept Mestalla to settle the
home side, who enjoyed a 3-1 win
at Villarreal in the first leg.
The lead was doubled early in the
second half with a free kick by cap-
tain Parejo, which took a deflection
off defender Ramiro Funes Mori.
The only disappointment for
Marcelino’s side is that their for-
mer Arsenal midfielder Francis Co-
quelin is suspended for the first leg
at the Emirates Stadium on May 2
after a late booking for handball.
“We are very excited about the
prospect of reaching another final
in our centenary year,” said
Marcelino, whose side will play
Barcelona in the King’s Cup final
on May 25.
“Arsenal have great players and a
coach who knows us perfectly well,
so they are one of the favourites.
“Every day in training, every
game when you’re playing, there’s
no hiding place and everyone can
see what your level’s at.
“I’ve spoken to individuals and
they know, and Anthony is one I’ve
spoken to. Anthony’s got a massive
talent, signed a new contract and
he knows we believe in him, so just
keep working.”
Solskjaer, who has seen his side’s
fortunes slide since he was handed
the job on a permanent basis last
month after a sparkling start as in-
terim manager, said tests such as
Barcelona are good indicators of
whether players are able to play at
such a level.
While the Norwegian has stated
that some of his players needed a re-
ality check, he has also come to re-
alise the gulf in quality between his
“But, in a semi-final, anything
can happen. Perhaps they will be
under a bigger obligation to win
than us, but we have the same ex-
citement.”
Emery coached Valencia be-
tween 2008 and 2012, securing
three top-three finishes in a row.
He later eliminated Valencia in
the 2014 Europa League semi-fi-
nals when in charge of Sevilla, who
edged into the final on away goals
after snatching a 3-3 aggregate
draw with a stoppage-time goal.
Valencia striker Santi Mina
added: “Arsenal are a very difficult
side, but we are Valencia and we
can compete with anybody.
“We’ve already reached the
King’s Cup final... and we want to
give the fans something more to
shout about.” REUTERS
team and the top European sides.
He is, however, confident that
United will be successful in the sum-
mer transfer window in hopes of
bridging the gap.
“I’ve been speaking to the club.
We’ve got scouts scouring the
planet for good footballers and
we’ll sign players we think are the
right fit, personality wise, price
wise and quality wise,” the 46-year-
old added.
“But we know that we have to be
realistic and have a job to be done.
There’s no quick fix, it’s not like we
buy seven players and we’re in the
right shape. We have to take it step
by step and, of course, there will be
signings made in the summer.”
Tomorrow’s trip to Merseyside
represents a match sixth-placed
United simply cannot lose if they
France striker Alexandre Lacazette seals the deal for Arsenal by scoring this free kick in their Europa League
quarter-final, second leg against hosts Napoli on Thursday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Gunners master Napoli but
Ramsey’s injury sours win
LONDON • Aaron Ramsey could
have played his last game for Arse-
nal ahead of his summer move to Ju-
ventus after limping off injured in
their Europa League quarter-final
second-leg tie at Napoli on Thurs-
day.
The Welsh midfielder looked to
have picked up a hamstring injury
half an hour into the 1-0 win at the
Stadio San Paolo after a high tackle
on Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery,
whose side beat Napoli 3-0 on ag-
gregate to set up a last-four clash
with Valencia, said he didn’t know
whether Ramsey, 28, would play
again this season.
“It is a muscle injury. Normally it
will be some weeks out for him. I
don’t know if we’ll see him again be-
fore the end of the season,” Emery
told BT Sport.
Ramsey’s injury was the one sour
46
Goals Alexandre Lacazette has
had a hand in since his debut for
Arsenal in August 2017 – 33 goals,
13 assists in all competitions, more
than any other player for the club.
11
Record number of European
victories in a season by an English
team – Chelsea, after their 4-3
Europa League win over Slavia
Prague.
are to keep up with rivals Totten-
ham, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Solskjaer has also called on his
players to move on from the quar-
ter-final defeat at Barcelona.
“We spoke about it, you have to
get on with it quickly and accept
we’re out of the Champions League,
no shame in going out to Barcelona
(at the Nou Camp),” he said.
“We want to be here (in the Cham-
pions League next season) again
and, to be back at these stadiums,
we need to be in the top four.
“Players are in a good state men-
tally and they’re strong mentally
and, at Goodison, it’s going to be a
hard game.” AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
EVERTON V MAN UNITED
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227,
tomorrow, 8.30pm
note on an otherwise excellent
evening for Arsenal in Naples.
Once Alexandre Lacazette’s free
kick went in in the 36th minute,
the tie was never in doubt.
Emery was delighted that his
team put in a heroic shift.
“I am very proud of my players
and of our work,” he said.
“We showed the players have the
habit to play matches against good
teams in a good atmosphere, and
show big personality.”
In the other semi-final, Chelsea
will meet German side Eintracht
Frankfurt after they were given a
fright by Slavia Prague in a 4-3
home win on Thursday that saw
them seal a 5-3 aggregate victory.
Already 1-0 up from the first leg,
Chelsea were 4-1 ahead at half-
time through three goals in the first
17 minutes at Stamford Bridge,
courtesy of Pedro, an own goal by
SPORT C13
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Most of them have
really impressed me in
their attitude and, of
course, there are some
who need to get a
reality check of where
they’re at.
’’
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER, Manchester
United manager, on some players who are
not performing to expectations.
Simon Deli and Olivier Giroud.
But the Czech side restored their
pride with two early second-half
goals from Petr Sevcik as they
threatened a remarkable come-
back.
Chelsea, however, held on to set
up a last-four meeting with Frank-
furt, who beat Benfica 2-0 to go
through on away goals after the tie
ended at 4-4 over two legs.
A relieved Chelsea manager Mau-
rizio Sarri said his team need to be
more consistent if they are to reach
the final in Baku, Azerbaijan, on
May 29.
“As usual in the last two months,
we started very badly in the second
half,” the Italian said.
“We need a solution. In the last 10
matches, we’ve started the second
half like in this match, so we need
to solve this problem.”
THE GUARDIAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

C14 SPORT
BigMatch
SPURS ARE NOT A
ONE-MAN TEAM
Son, Moura excel in Kane’s absence; fast and
fluid game plan can pose City problems again
Richard Jolly
There is a problem with coining a
soundbite. Pep Guardiola was the
man who branded Tottenham the
“Harry Kane team”.
And, on Wednesday, the one-
man team without the one man
eliminated his Manchester City
from the Champions League.
Over two legs, Spurs played for
122 minutes without the injured
Kane. They scored four times.
Guardiola has insisted that he
meant it as a compliment to Kane,
not a criticism of others.
Spurs have emphatically rebutted
the theory anyway.
Match points: Man City v Tottenham
Prolific
183
City’s points tally since
the start of last season.
EPL players in 24-hour boycott of social media
LONDON • Professional footballers
in England and Wales, including
leading Premier League players,
staged a 24-hour boycott of social
media yesterday to protest against
racist abuse, both online and from
the terraces.
The #Enough online campaign
Perhaps others increase their ef-
forts to compensate, but they have
won all six league games in which
Kane has not started.
They have not spent anything
since last January, but have re-
sourcefulness and a manager capa-
ble of constructing alternative
game plans.
Minus England’s World Cup’s top
scorer, Fernando Llorente, Son He-
ung-min and Lucas Moura have six
goals in the last two games.
Son struck three times in the quar-
ter-final tie against City.
Llorente’s decider was fortunate
and a lumbering figure can look a
bad fit in this speedy Spurs side, but
he has struck against Chelsea, City
Not missed
WWWWWW
On a roll
9 0
City have won
their last 9
league games.
was organised by the Professional
Footballers’ Association (PFA) af-
ter a spate of abusive posts to black
players, including Manchester
United full-back Ashley Young and
Watford captain Troy Deeney.
The hate-filled messages came in
the wake of racist chants and ges-
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
Dele Alli boast better scoring
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
records against City than most,
Kane included. TODAY P W D L F A Pts
A side who have plenty of posses-
Wolves v Brighton 1 Liverpool 34 26 7 1 77 20 85
sion and commit men forward can
Ch102 & Ch227, 10pm 2 Man City 33 27 2 4 86 22 83
be caught on the counter-attack;
3 Tottenham 33 22 1 10 64 34 67
Liverpool and Spurs, the two teams Newcastle v Southampton 4 Arsenal 33 20 6 7 66 40 66
who trouble City the most, break
Ch102 & Ch227, tomorrow, 5 Chelsea 34 20 6 8 57 36 66
quickly.
12.30am 6 Man United 33 19 7 7 63 44 64
Pace, direct running from deep
7 Leicester 34 14 5 15 46 45 47
and fine finishing amount to a po- West Ham v Leicester 8 Wolves 33 13 8 12 41 42 47
tent combination.
Ch103 & Ch228, 9.50pm 9 Everton 34 13 7 14 46 44 46
It is why City’s title hopes may
10 Watford 33 13 7 13 47 48 46
rest on Fernandinho. Huddersfield v Watford 11 West Ham 34 12 6 16 42 52 42
Spurs have the potential to derail Ch104 & Ch229, 9.50pm 12 Bournemouth 34 12 5 17 49 61 41
City’s chances of silverware in two
13 Crystal Palace 34 11 6 17 40 46 39
and Borussia Dortmund this year. competitions. Bournemouth v Fulham
If the Spaniard represents Plan B, Part of City’s problem on Wednes- Ch105 & Ch230, 9.50pm
14 Burnley
15 Newcastle
34 11
34 10
6 17 42 60
8 16 32 43
39
38
rolled out for an aerial assault, day, when Fernandinho was only a
Mauricio Pochettino will probably substitute, was that Ilkay Gundo-
16 Southampton
17 Brighton
33 9
33 9
9 15 39 54
6 18 32 53
36
33
look to replicate the faster, more gan is not a defensive midfielder. TOMORROW
18 Cardiff 34 9 4 21 30 63 31
fluid blueprint he used from the He was not fast enough to keep up Everton v Man United 19 Fulham 34 5 5 24 32 76 20
start on Wednesday. with Son, Alli and Moura. Ch102 & Ch227, 8.30pm 20 Huddersfield 34 3 5 26 19 67 14
If Kane is a hybrid striker, part And yet it may be too much to ask
Alan Shearer and part Teddy Sher- injury-hit Spurs to put in a second Cardiff v Liverpool
ingham, Son and Moura are part of huge effort in four days. Ch102 & Ch227, 11pm
a new breed of forwards; the The potential absence of Moussa
winger-striker. Sissoko leaves them short of mid- Arsenal v Crystal Palace
They can be Spurs’ answers to Liv- fielders. Ch103 & Ch228, 10.50pm
erpool’s Sadio Mane and Mohamed They may have to swop to five at
Salah, exploiting the channels be- the back. But City may have psycho-
tween full-backs and centre-backs; logical scars from their last en- MONDAY
even when Kane plays, they can run counter with the Harry Kane-less Chelsea v Burnley
beyond him. “Harry Kane team”. Ch102 & Ch227, Tuesday, 2.50am
Son, with 59 goals in three sea-
sons, is more prolific than most stsports@sph.com.sg
strikers, but eight of his last nine All on Singtel TV & StarHub
strikes have come without Kane on MAN CITY V TOTTENHAM
the pitch. Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227,
It is no coincidence that Son and 7.30pm
Key battles
Raheem Sterling v Kieran Trippier
The City academy product Trippier’s corner led to Fernando Llorente’s
decider on Wednesday, but only after Sterling gave him a torrid time.
Trippier did not get close enough to his England teammate for either of
his two goals. And, if Leroy Sane starts on the left, it is worth remembering
he tormented Trippier at the Etihad Stadium last season.
Kevin de Bruyne v Dele Alli
De Bruyne has five assists in his last two games. He got three on
Wednesday when he was astoundingly good and played like a man
possessed. Alli, with a broken hand, was forced into a deeper role after
Moussa Sissoko came off and, instead of breaking forward himself, may
have to spend much of his time tracking de Bruyne again.
Aymeric Laporte v Son Heung-min
Laporte has been City’s best defender this season, but a player who
excels in possession was guilty of two dreadful touches to inadvertently
set up each of Son’s midweek goals. If Spurs begin with Llorente on the
bench again, the Frenchman could have the problem of no one to mark
until runners arrive at speed from midfield and the flanks.
Key statistics
Danger man Former stalwart
Spurs have won all six matches when
9
Harry Kane has not started.
No stalemate
5 229
Home draws for City and Premier League hat-tricks Goals scored by Aguero Games City defender
away draws for Spurs in for City striker Sergio Aguero against London clubs Kyle Walker played
the league this season. since the start of 2018. in 2019. for Tottenham.
TEXT: RICHARD JOLLY PHOTOS: REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, EPA–EFE, DPA
developed a thick skin against ver-
bal abuse, justifying it as just ‘part of
the game’. But the time has come for
willing to stand by while too little is
done by football authorities and so-
cial media companies to protect
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to players from this disgusting abuse.”
consider regulating their channels.” Leicester skipper Wes Morgan
tures by Montenegro fans towards dia companies like Facebook and Rose, who recently revealed he also claimed that “we came to-
Tottenham defender Danny Rose, Twitter to act more quickly over “could not wait to see the back of gether on Friday to say that more
Manchester City forward Raheem abusive message, and for the foot- football” as he had become so worn must now be done to eradicate
Sterling and Chelsea forward Cal- balling authorities to take stronger down by racism, added: “I don’t racism from our game”, while
lum Hudson-Odoi during England’s action on racism. want any future players to go Deeney felt “the players are speak-
5-1 Euro 2020 qualifying victory in Backing the campaign, Manches- through what I’ve been through in ing out with one voice against
Podgorica last month. ter United defender Chris Smalling my career. racism (to show) that enough is
The PFA is calling for social me- said: “Throughout my career, I have “Collectively, we are simply not enough”. REUTERS, THE TIMES, LONDON
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
BigMatch
Pochettino’s tired men ‘to use all the tools’ to
FOCUSED
derail City’s title hopes and boost top-4 hopes
LONDON • Tottenham manager
Mauricio Pochettino says his play-
ers are “still in a dream” after reach-
SPURS ing the Champions League semi-fi-
nals in dramatic fashion, but ex-
pects his side to be ready for today’s
crucial Premier League clash
against Manchester City.
BANK ON
Spurs lost 4-3 in a classic en-
counter against City in Wednes-
day’s quarter-final second leg, but
went through on away goals after
the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
It was a gripping spectacle right
BELIEF
until the final few minutes when
City had a stoppage-time goal from
Raheem Sterling, which would
have sent them through, ruled out
for offside after a VAR review.
“We are all tired after an amazing,
crazy and unbelievable night,”
Pochettino told a news conference
on Thursday. “It means a lot (to
reach the semi-finals). We still
haven’t realised because we are still
in a dream. We’re still in a bubble.
“We can feel the happiness of our
fans, also through the messages of
family and friends.
“But, because we are so focused
and busy preparing for Saturday,
you do not allow yourself to live
your reality. Our job is to be focused
and concentrated and use all the
tools to be ready for Saturday.”
Spurs, third in the league, return
to the Etihad Stadium today as they
hope to boost their chances of fin-
ishing in the top four for a fourth
consecutive season.
“In 10 days to play three games...
everybody thinks we know each
other better now, but there is not
much time to train or prepare,”
Pochettino added.
“We need to assess some players,
that is the most important... to try
to take the best decision and to pro-
vide the team with energy to be pos-
sible to fight for the three points.”
Although the Argentinian admit-
ted that his team were tired, there
also came an insistence that all in-
volved were “strong and with en-
ergy” and ready to go again.
That Spurs can still be spoken of
in those terms at this stage of the
season is remarkable, and not just
because it busts the keyboard war-
riors’ theory of this being a squad
full of bottlers overseen by a fraud
of a manager.
The bigger picture also comes
into play, specifically the circum-
stances Pochettino and his men
have overcome to find themselves
at this captivating junction.
No new players arrived in the
summer or in January and a sta-
dium move that became so pro-
tracted it threatened to engulf ev-
SPORT C15
SELF-CONFIDENCE
To be in the position
we are now is because
we had the belief, the
faith and trust in our
quality. No one
believed in November
that we would be in
this position in April.
But we had the belief.
’’
MAURICIO POCHETTINO, Tottenham
Hotspur manager, on why his team have
come this far.
Toby Alderweireld shows his delight
after Tottenham pipped Manchester
City on away goals to reach the
semi-finals of the Champions League
on Wednesday. The teams meet
again for the third time in 10 days
today. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
eryone at the club in a fog of doom
and gloom.
And, if that was not enough, star
striker Harry Kane’s ankle has kept
giving way, striking again in the
first leg against City and threaten-
ing to prove decisive in the second.
But Tottenham fought and found
a way, as has been the case through-
out the season, and it is this show of
character Pochettino appeared al-
most compelled to speak about.
“To be in the position we are now
is because we had the belief, the
faith and trust in our quality,” he
said. “No one believed in November
we would be in this position in
April. But we had the belief.
“This is a massive example for us
– how important it is never to give
up, to always have faith and believe
in yourself, your teammates, the
club, the fans.
“This amazing history we are writ-
ing today will be a massive example
for us in the future.”
REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
C16
BigMatch
CITY CAN BOUNCE BACK: PEP
Champs League exit still hurts but Guardiola
is confident team can refocus to retain title
LONDON • The third act of Man-
chester City and Tottenham’s tril-
ogy has some living up to do, after a
Champions League classic in mid-
week saw Spurs prevail on 4-4 on
away goals to reach the semi-finals.
Pep Guardiola believes today’s
Premier League match at the Eti-
had “will be just as intense as the
other day”.
However, at his pre-match press
conference yesterday, he admitted
the heartbreaking manner of their
exit – City thought they had pro-
gressed to the last four for the sec-
ond time in club history only for Ra-
heem Sterling’s added-time goal to
be ruled out by the video assistant
referee – still stung.
GOING FOR GOALS The Spaniard said: “If you believe
it doesn’t hurt, you’re wrong, but
Both teams will we have to live with that. The play-
ers were fantastic. We lost, but I
attack. We are going was so proud. The performance we
to attack, it won’t be did was incredible.
“It’s just life, it’s football. Impor-
easy because they are tant is how you behave, football, life
isn’t easy, you have to fight and com-
an incredible top pete it’s how we react.
team, but we will try. “We have to accept these sort of
situations, but looking behind
’’
won’t help us move forward. These
kind of players have an opportunity
to show they can do that.
PEP GUARDIOLA, Man City manager, on the “They will get back what they de-
league match against Tottenham today. serve. One day, maybe we will be in
Published and printed by Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expects today’s Premier League clash against Tottenham to be as intense as the
Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday but he will not change his approach. PHOTO: REUTERS
the same position, and maybe we
will be more fortunate or precise or
whatever to go through. We did ev-
erything in both games.”
While City are still hurting after
seeing their quadruple dream – a
feat yet to be achieved by an Eng-
A DAY BEFORE TURNING 17, VASILEIOS ZIKOS
CHUA SCORED HIS FIRST SPL GOAL C12
lish club – die at the hands of Spurs,
Guardiola is fully aware his side
have to refocus if they are to be-
come the first side in a decade to re-
tain the Premier League title.
With leaders Liverpool playing
Cardiff only tomorrow, a victory
A member of Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore. Customer Service (Circulation): 6388-3838, circs@sph.com.sg, Fax 6746-1925.
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
will re-establish a two-point lead at
the top and the 48-year-old wants
his players to “compete with that
feeling (of disappointment) against
Spurs”.
He added: “I don’t want the play-
ers to forget, it will take time... it is
17
what it is, I like to see them work
hard. Try to play our game.
“I hope for our best, we have five
games in the league and the FA Cup
(final), so we will see. What Liver-
pool can do against the other teams
I am not involved, I can’t control.”
Although City were rapped on
Wednesday for being too cavalier in
defence, with Aymeric Laporte en-
during arguably his worst game for
the club, Guardiola will not be
changing his front-foot approach,
nor is he expecting Spurs to sit back.
He said: “Both teams will attack.
We are going to attack, it won’t be
easy because they are an incredible
top team, but we will try.”
But his players will be wary of be-
ing too gung-ho against Mauricio
Pochettino’s men, as forwards Son
Heung-min and Lucas Moura have
the ability to hurt any sloppiness –
just like the other night.
And Danny Mills has made it clear
to his former club that if they do not
win, “the title is gone for them”.
The pundit told talkSport: “This is
another huge game. To raise your-
self again, it’s not going to be easy.
The emotions would have been so,
so draining... they could end up
with one trophy and is that failure?
It’s such a fine line City tread.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MAN CITY V TOTTENHAM
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227,
7.30pm
SEE ALSO C14-15
 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019

D CALL OF THE WILD

Inch Chua ventures
Modern
into theatre D6 technology
owes ecology
an apology.
– Alan M. Eddison

Interior affairs Fashion houses eager to move from your closet to your living
room muscle in on the action at the world’s most prestigious
design and furniture fair, reports Gordon Ng. D2&3

DESIGN: JASTER NGUI PHOTOS: LOEWE, HENZY

 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
D2 life home and garden home and garden life D3

Salone del Mobile

(Left) Designed
by Elizabeth
Diller for Prada,
the “Envelope”
dress was
inspired by a
garment bag.

(Far left)
Versace’s tie-up
with Canadian
artist Andy
Dixon turned
printed silk
shirts into decor.
PHOTOS: DIOR,
HERMES, LOEWE,
PRADA, VERSACE

Versace’s Medusa icon is used for these seats made from

laminated glass in bright, eye-catching shades.

FURNISH A focus on materials

WITH
(Left) Dior’s collaboration with Italian
practice Dimore Studio resulted in a
collection that showcased, among
others, the label’s signature cannage
quilting pattern.
(Above) Loewe’s display includes
woven designs by Shizu Okino and
Karen Okino Butzbach, the
mother-and-daughter pair at
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
The collection was simply rich and
luxuriant in its material refinement.
There were, of course, wicker prod-
ucts too. The humble straw wicker,
selling nylon backpack, confirming
the place of this technical fabric in
the lexicon of luxury fashion.
To enrich the prominent return
to and use of the synthetic fabric in
the brand’s Spring women’s collec-
tion, Prada recruited three female
she belted and cinched a waistline,
and refashioned the top flap as a
double duty cowl and hood.
You could see, from preliminary
sketches, the genius and kinship
the idea had with Prada’s signature
of subversion and turning the utili-
hot pink or acid yellow, it had a life-
in-plastic sense of fun.
The second, a collaboration with
Canadian artist Andy Dixon on
sculptures made of oversized silk
shirts and printed with vivid Ver-
sace prints. These were hung in the

FASHION
Shizu Designs. in a picnic basket and tray, got the
Hermes treatment by way of handles
(Right) A Hermes wicker basket made from leather – the material the
juxtaposes straw with fine leather. brand is best known for.
Materiality is an ideal approach for
brands with a particular fabric exper-
tise, for example, Prada and nylon.
The association between the two
was cemented in the 1990s when
Miuccia Prada first released the best-
architects – Cini Boeri, Elizabeth
Diller and Kazuyo Sejima – through
an initiative called “Prada Invites”
to reinterpret nylon in their own
way, inciting what the brand called
an “ideological dialogue”.
The most intriguing creation was
by Diller, whose “Envelope” dress
took inspiration from a garment
bag. From that shapeless silhouette,
tarian into objects of beauty.
Versace, meanwhile, espoused its
characteristic ostentation and in-
dulgence.
There were two creations that per-
fectly mirrored the brand. The first, a
range of Pop Medusa occasional
chairs and cubes with a Medusa head
in relief on the back. Made from lami-
nated glass in eye-catching shades of
brand’s presentation space and had
the ethereal quality of turning the
printed silk shirt – in its own right a
sensual and beautiful garment –
into interior adornment.
stlife@sph.com.sg
• Gordon Ng is a freelance fashion
writer.

Fashion houses are taking
homeware up a stylish notch
at Milan’s Salone del Mobile
design and furniture fair
Gordon Ng
Once a year, players from the de-
sign industry congregate in Milan
for Salone del Mobile – the most
prestigious design and furniture
fair in the world.
In more recent times, fashion has
been hungry to get in on the interior
action – and, indeed, stalwart
brands such as Armani, Versace and
Fendi have long had dedicated home-
ware and furniture collections.
The wider modus operandi now,
however, is to create smaller-scale
projects that can expound on a
fashion brand’s aesthetic through a
different medium.
So far, it has been a meeting of
worlds as the creative teams behind
fashion houses have the opportunity
to think beyond the medium of gar-
ments, or to collaborate with big
names from other fields of design.
It helps especially when you are a
big-name brand to begin with.
Who could say no, for instance, to
Dior? The vaunted French house
enlisted the help of Italian practice
Dimore Studio, giving it carte
blanche to create a collection of 14
objects shown at this year’s Salone
del Mobile, which was held from
April 9 to last Sunday.
What resulted was a collection
with references to Surrealist and Cu-
bist art – movements the brand’s
artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri
had been invoking in her collections.
A conceptual witticism, for exam-
ple, came through product names
such as “Ceci n’est pas un vase”
(This Is Not A Vase) that refer-
enced Surrealist artist Rene
Magritte.
Dimore Studio utilised an inter-
play of textures, using a mixture of
alloyed metals (gold, silver and
bronze), plexiglass and rattan wo-
ven to recreate the brand’s signa-
ture cannage quilting pattern.
Of late, rattan and its wicker weav-
ing technique have burst out of a
collective creative unconscious and
become a trend.
Take, for instance, Loewe, which
this year dedicated its Salone
project to wicker baskets. The Span-
ish heritage brand enlisted 10 inter-
national artists to interpret the
theme, using their individual back-
grounds, styles and methods.
What resulted were intricate wo-
ven containers by Design Afrika
from South Africa; masterworks of
woven baskets from Japanese artisan
Jiro Yonezawa; and pragmatically-
moot objects of beauty like ornamen-
tal knots fashioned from cane and
rattan – the work of Shizu Okino and
Karen Okino Butzbach, the mother-
and-daughter pair at Shizu Designs.
At a level like Salone, beauty and
enjoyment take priority over util-
ity. Taking your pleasure seriously,
in the words of legendary designer
Charles Eames.
This year, an appreciation of mate-
riality emerged as a dominant trend.
Designers cut through decorative
noise to hone in on the sensual, tac-
tile and visual qualities of raw materi-
als. To use a material’s qualities as a
starting point of design, as it were.
It is a philosophy that aligns with
that of Hermes, the French leather
house that is often the last word in
luxury. That is an indulgent ap-
proach, but one that lets the brand
focus on delivering sublime product.
Its homeware collection this year
was titled “All About Materials”.
The concept was realised through
subtle contrasts. Lamps made in
collaboration with British industrial
design practice Barber & Osgerby
from granite or porcelain – cold,
smooth, reflective – were finished
with cable sheaths of cowhide velvet
– textured, lush and warm.
There were also deceptively sim-
ple textiles made beautiful by
painstaking process done by hand:
spun, woven and over-dyed yak
wool and cashmere throws, for one
thing. A plaid that used cashmere
as a base, with an equine motif,
Miyuki glass bead embroidery and
cashmere appliques, for another. French leather house Hermes’ lamp, made in collaboration
with British industrial design practice Barber & Osgerby,
A FOCUS ON MATERIALS on D3 in porcelain and velvet cowhide.
D4 life home and garden
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

RootAwakening
Mango tree may be Fruit of Eggfruit Tree is botanical name is Pouteria
suffering from a best enjoyed when ripe campechiana. Pick the fruit when it
is ripe to enjoy it.
bacterial disease What plant or tree (left) is this When unripe, the fruit can be
I notice a black sticky and are the fruit edible? Several hard, gummy and astringent.
substance (left) at the trees are grown on a rooftop gar- Ripened fruit are orange on the
tips of the branches of den in Toa Payoh. outside and the flesh is yellow with
my young mango tree, Yu Chin Hsia a pasty texture, which somewhat
where new young leaves resembles the texture of the yolk of
are growing, and at the di- The fruit tree is commonly known a hard-boiled egg or the flesh of
viding parts of the main as the Eggfruit Tree or Canistel. Its pumpkin.
stems. I have tried to cut
off the end of the young
branches, but the black
substance reappears. PHOTOS: IRENE SNG,
Will this cause subse- MARIE NICOLETTE
quent flowers to dry up? A friend has recommend us- KONG, ONG SZE LAN,
ing chalk powder on the black parts – will this help? YU CHIN HSIA
Ong Sze Lan

It appears that your plant shows symptoms of a bacte-

rial canker that is reported in mango trees. Symptoms
include the death of the growing tip with production of
a black exudate. The infection can extend outwards
from a bud to the central vein of mango leaves. Exten-
sive dying back of branches can also occur.
Prune infected stems to prevent the disease’s spread.
Note that this disease can be difficult to manage. Aglaonema does best location where they can get four to
Copper-containing fungicides that are available for under filtered sunlight six hours of filtered sunlight. Direct
sale in some local nurseries may be able to provide sunlight can be intense and can
some control of this bacterial disease. The fungicide I left this plant (above) in the sun bleach and burn the leaves.
should be applied during the rainy season to contain and the leaves got burnt. I brought The plants should not be grown
the spread of the disease. Avoid getting too much cop- it into the patio and sprayed insec- in dense shade as they will not be re-
per into the soil as excessive copper can be toxic to ticide on it. It has grown better. ceiving enough light to grow well.
plants and beneficial soil micro-organisms. What plant is this and should I cut Plants will be lanky and produce
Boost the plant’s health by promoting a healthy root away the burnt leaves? weak, floppy stems.
zone that permits the plant to absorb nutrients and Irene Sng Burnt leaves should be pruned
develop resistance against disease. Mulch the roots promptly. Under optimal light condi-
with shredded dry leaves and incorporate good quality The plants can be regarded as fancy tions, new leaves will be produced
organic matter. leaf cultivars of the aglaonema. and these will replace those that
Spraying the leaves and drenching the soil with a Aglaonema is commonly called the have been removed. There is no
product containing chitosan, which is reported to Chinese Evergreen. need to apply insecticides as there
induce systemic acquired resistance, may help. These plants are best grown in a are no pests involved.

• Answers by Dr Wilson Wong,

Echeveria, Marsh an NParks-certified practising
horticulturist and park manager.
Pennywort are He is the founder of Green Culture
common houseplants Singapore and an adjunct assistant
Can you tell me what plants are professor (Food Science &
these? Technology) at the National
Marie Nicolette Kong University of Singapore.

The plant on the right (photo 1) is a • Have a gardening query?

succulent belonging to the genus
Echeveria. There are many culti-
vars for sale in local nurseries.
However, not all are easy to culti-
vate in tropical Singapore.
They need good light to maintain
their colour and a tight rosette
growth habit, as well as cool nights
to thrive.
These plants grow best in well-
drained soil that dries out between
each watering. Prolonged wet feet
can cause the plants to rot and die.
The plant on the far right (photo 2)
is botanically known as Hydrocotyle
verticillata.
Commonly known as the Marsh
Pennywort and Frog’s Joy, it is a
herbaceous ground-cover plant
with a creeping growth habit. This
plant thrives best in a sunny and
moist spot.
If you have an outdoor garden,
E-mail it with clear, high-resolution
pictures of at least 1MB, if any, and
your full name to stlife@ sph.com.sg
avoid growing this plant in the
ground as the creeping stems
(called stolons) can quickly invade
the area and be very difficult to re-
move.
stlife@sph.com.sg
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
home and garden life D5

Bold, blue and beautiful

TheChicHome

A strong Peranakan
aesthetic and
blue hues give
this bachelor pad
a personal touch
Lynn Tan

National rower and model Oz Titus

Hong’s apartment is located a
stone’s throw away from the Singa-
pore Sports Hub where he trains.
The SEA Games bronze medallist
had trained as an interior designer
and used to specialise in hospitality
design.
He may have swopped his design
wand for oars, but relished the
opportunity to be creative when
crafting his own living space, a
formerly two-bedroom condo-
minium apartment in Tanjong Rhu.
“I tried to infuse my home with
bespoke, understated luxury –
through the use of materials, the
little details and personal touches,”
says the 32-year-old bachelor, not
unlike the way he gave character to
the numerous luxury hotels he has
worked on in the past.
The renovation took three to four
months and cost about $100,000,
including furniture and fixtures. He
moved in in April last year.
Perhaps it has to do with his
personality or his background in de-
sign and his training as an athlete,
but Mr Hong admits to being very
particular about the organisation,
layering and framing of spaces.
“I believe these add depth to an
interior, especially for small
spaces,” he says.
He framed the entrance portal
and the threshold between the liv- (Above) To make
ing room and the more private the most of a
study and bedroom areas. small space,
He introduced screens to create a furniture in
choreographed sequence of layers the apartment
as one moves through the 570 sq ft serves multiple
apartment, which gives the impres- functions. This
sion of a much larger space. includes the
He also ensured that every ele- sofa, which • This article
ment in the apartment lines up can double first appeared
neatly and follows a datum, which as a sofa bed. in the March
is determined by a horizontal line issue of Home
90cm above the finished floor level. & Decor,
This reference point controls the which is
height of the kitchen counter and is published by
even applied to the veneer-clad SPH Magazines.
walls and doors, where the wood
grain above and below the datum (Right) A D-I-Y • Get the April
line are aligned vertically and hori- mirror feature and latest issue
zontally respectively. This seem- near the (Above) The bedroom features of Home & Decor
ingly small detail goes a long way in entrance foyer hand-painted silk wallpaper as well (above) now at
making the home more comfort- adds an as porcelain garden stools that all newsstands
able visually. interesting double as bedside tables. or download
The home’s Peranakan influence visual to the the digital
is a nod to Mr Hong’s roots, but home. PHOTOS: edition of Home
comes with a modern take. SPH MAGAZINES; (Left) Drawer knobs take on the & Decor from
In the study, which was con- ART DIRECTION: shape of plum blossoms, a recurring the App Store,
verted from one of the original bed- NONIE CHEN motif throughout the apartment. Magzter or
rooms, two of the existing walls Google Play.
were replaced by timber screens. Also, see more
The screens adjacent to the living Mr Hong painted the wall him- shaped like plum blossoms, similar thing serves a dual purpose”, says has to be the movable wall/ inspiring
room are movable, while the panel self, and the deliberate paint drips to that found on the lattice work of Mr Hong. door/shelf. It appears to be just a homes at
facing the corridor is fixed. add texture and give the wall a the screens in the study. The gold From a breakfast table that un- regular built-in, full-height shelf, www.homeand
One wall in the study has been rustic feel. knobs for doors, cabinets and folds from the side of the kitchen but opens up to reveal the house- decor.com.sg
painted a shade of violet blue, remi- An Oriental element he incorpo- drawers are also shaped like plum counter to a coffee table that can hold shelter. Swing it 90 degrees
niscent of the colour of Cheong Fatt rated into the interior design is the blossoms and the living room and transform into a dining table for six, and it becomes a door that parti-
Tze Mansion, a historical, cultural plum blossom, a motif that ties the bedroom curtains have plum blos- he has devoted much thought to the tions off the bedroom from the rest
and architectural landmark in various spaces together. som patterns on them. multiple functions that every object of the apartment.
Penang that is more commonly The corners of a customised side- Finally, “a small space also needs serves to maximise the use of space.
known as The Blue Mansion. board in the entrance foyer are to be a smart space, such that every- The most ingenious contraption stlife@sph.com.sg
D6 life
● | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

Local singers take the stage

Inch Chua and Art
Fazil show off their
acting and musical
talents in their
new productions

Inch Chua’s ‘anti-musical’

Eddino Abdul Hadi
Music Correspondent

Singer-songwriters Inch Chua and Art Fazil might be

better known for their music, but the pair are taking on
the theatre scene with their newest works.
The Straits Times speaks to Chua, whose music-
driven theatre production, ‘Til The End Of The World,
We’ll Meet In No Man’s Land, opens on Wednesday;
and Art, whose play, Good Morning Jogja, will be staged
in Singapore today and in Indonesia on Tuesday.
Both artists will also sing new songs in the produc-
tions, tunes that make up part of their next albums.
In line with her past works, Chua’s first major theatri-
cal production is influenced by nature – in this case, her
trip last year to Antarctica.
Chua, inspired by the issue of climate change, is the
writer and main performer in what she describes as “an
anti-musical”.
Chua, 30, was one of 100 people worldwide who went
on an Antarctic expedition organised by the 2041 Foun-
dation, led by its founder Robert Swan, the first person
to walk to the North and South poles in the 1980s.
Chua was “extremely conflicted” about being there.
“It is so impossible to go to Antarctica without consi-
dering the human aspect that we bring to the place.
When we watch the documentaries on television
shows, humans are cut out of it, you see epic scenery.
But while you are there, while you see these amazing
views, you smell diesel, you feel our strong presence.
“So, there is this strange dichotomy of me being
there, hoping to use the experience to talk about some-
thing green, but here I am, destroying it at the same
time, just by being there.”
Nature and the environment loom large in her work.
Her 2015 album, Letters To Ubin, was the result of her
spending four months living alone on Pulau Ubin. Her
new single and music video released last month, Sun &
Moon, highlight environmental issues.
“The entry point to happiness is to connect with
nature. The most ancient kind of logic is nature to me.”
‘Til The End Of The World, We’ll Meet In No Man’s
Land will be a multi-sensory performance.
The audio will feature binaural technology, in which
two frequencies of sounds are heard at the same time.
The audience will be listening through headphones,
while scented candles will give off a variety of smells.
“Sometimes, words fail you. Sometimes, music isn’t
enough. We reduce it to gut instinct, but I think there is
a strong subconscious understanding of how the world
works and how we fit in it.”
Directed by Okorn-Kuo Jing Hong and with drama-
turgical support by theatre veteran Huzir Sulaiman, it
features Chua writing her first full-length script.
It is commissioned by TheatreWorks and opens the
company’s Women & Voice Season, billed as Singa-
pore’s first women’s season of theatre that also features
works by other artists, such as Noorlinah Mohamed,
Manuela Infante, Akshita Nanda and Sharda Harrison.
Chua made her debut with rock band Auburn’s
Epiphany in the mid-2000s, later renamed Allura. She
released her solo debut EP, The Bedroom EP, in 2009.
She became involved in the local theatre scene in
Singer Inch Chua’s ‘Til The End Of The World, We’ll Meet In
No Man’s Land was inspired by a trip she took
last year to Antarctica. PHOTO: HENZY
2017 and was recently cast as a special education
teacher in this year’s play, Not In My Lifetime?.
While the music in her latest theatre show will be
released as a future album, Chua is already thinking
about her next big project, which she says revolves
around her fascination with the environmental effects
of landfills and the growing amount of plastics thrown
into the sea.
“All these things that stay forever after we’re gone,
these things fascinate me. It speaks volumes about
humans and our impact on the environment.”
dinohadi@sph.com.sg
Above from
left: Singer-
Art Fazil returns to theatre
songwriters after 26 years
Art Fazil and
Rafaat Hamzah,
and Indonesian Singer-songwriter Art Fazil is making a return to
actress Annisa theatre – a medium he last dabbled in 26 years ago –
Hertami. with the play, Good Morning Jogja.
ST PHOTO: To be staged at The Arts House today and in Indone-
DESMOND WEE sia at Institut Seni Indonesia, Solo, on Tuesday, the
Malay play sees him reuniting with actor and Singapore
Malay arts scene veteran Rafaat Hamzah.
Set in a cafe in the Indonesian city of Jogjakarta, the
play sees Art, 52, and Rafaat, 53, playing themselves,
while Indonesian actress and poet Annisa Hertami An-
nisa, 31, plays the cafe’s Singapore-loving owner.
Rafaat, who has won Malay Literary Council (Singa-
pore) poetry awards, as well as several Best Actor
awards in Malay television awards show Pesta
Perdana, has been based in Jogjakarta since 2017.
BOOK IT / ‘TIL THE END Art often visits the city to immerse himself in its arts
OF THE WORLD, WE’LL scene. Both Art and Rafaat have ancestral roots in Java
MEET IN NO MAN’S LAND and are enamoured with the Javanese city and its inhab-
itants’ culture and sense of adventure.
WHERE: TheatreWorks, Art says while the play is not connected to Singa-
72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road pore’s Bicentennial, its timing is apt as it explores the
WHEN: Wednesday to historical link between Singapore and the region.
“Our great-grandparents moved here from Indonesia
May 4 ; 8pm (Tuesdays to
and it’s all about identity. We want people to think
Fridays), 3 and 8pm (Saturdays) about issues such as roots, about being in the minority
ADMISSION: From $48 or majority, about having a sense of belonging,” says
through Sistic. Go to Art, who also produced the play.
Rafaat, who is also the director, says: “As much as peo-
www.sistic.com.sg
ple like me complain about things in Singapore, when
or call 6348-5555 people in Indonesia mistake us for Malaysians, we get
defensive. We tell them proudly, ‘No, we’re from Singa-
pore.’”
Art, whose songs have touched on social issues, adds:
“Being critical means you care about the country. The
opposite of love is not hate. It’s indifference.”

Maestro Choo Hoey charms at SSO’s 40th-anniversary bash
REVIEW / CONCERT
MAESTRO CHOO HOEY
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall/Thursday
Chang Tou Liang
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s
40th- anniversary celebrations contin-
ued with a concert led by the orches-
tra’s founding music director and con-
ductor emeritus Choo Hoey (above).
Forty years ago, the Sumatra-
born, Singapore-raised and
London-trained conductor helmed
the orchestra’s inaugural concerts
in an air of anticipation but
uncertainty with regard to its long-
term viability.
The SSO’s existence is no longer in
doubt. This was largely due to
Choo’s pioneering work and hard
graft and this concert was a micro-
cosm of his musical convictions and
philosophies. A specialist of 20th-
century music, he fearlessly champi-
oned composers such as Stravinsky,
Bartok and Shostakovich, then
considered esoteric to local ears.
He also introduced to Singapore
young talents including Lang Lang,
PHOTO: ST FILE
Jin Li and Di Wu, when they were
teenagers.
Stravinsky’s symphonic poem,
Song Of The Nightingale from 1919,
inspired by Hans Christian Ander-
sen’s tale, ushered the evening to
strains of full-blown Chinoiserie.
The unrelenting busyness and
apparent chaos of its opening, full
of biting dissonances and compli-
cated by snarling cross-rhythms,
were well handled.
The punchy incisiveness of each
beat in this ballet-like score was
matched by excellent solos from
the flute, oboe, violin and trumpet,
each representing characters in the
story, including live and mechani-
cal songbirds.
Choo’s sprightly leadership, a
rebuke to his 85 years, was key to the
music’s inexorable sense of direction.
He was also more than quadruple
the age of the soloist for Mozart’s
Violin Concerto No. 4, 19-year-old
Chinese prodigy He Ziyu, a student
at the Salzburg Mozarteum.
That the pared-down orchestra
was a sympathetic partner to the
youngster was a given.
Without mollycoddling soloists,
Choo and his charges provided light
and transparent accompaniment
for He’s confident and bright tone
to shine through.
His playing was tasteful, notwith-
standing the somewhat romanti-
cised cadenzas, and the crystalline
beauty came through best in the
graceful slow movement.
The finale was a portrait of
restraint and good teaching, with
further virtuosity unveiled in his
encore, Ruggiero Ricci’s quiet but
freakishly difficult transcription of
Francisco Tarrega’s guitar classic,
Memories Of The Alhambra.
Bartok’s early Orchestral Suite
No. 1 of 1905 will not be classed as a
quintessential work by the Hungar-
ian modernist composer.
Although derivative in content
and inspiration, its five movements
nevertheless require a firm hand in
guiding and shaping its Wagner-
Straussian agenda.
The first movement’s opening
march was rousing and rowdy,
coloured by Hungarian folk
influences.
Darker in mood was the second
movement, characterised by a fine
cor anglais solo and impassioned
string playing.
Also making a mark were the
clarinet in the fourth movement
and violin solos by co-concertmas-
ter Lynnette Seah, the orchestra’s
first leader in those heady 1979
evenings at Singapore Conference
Hall.
Rolling back the years, nostalgia
and the poignancy engendered
were not hard to fathom.
More importantly, Choo got the
orchestra to do what he desired,
projecting a clarity and vividness
that made the trite music sound
relevant, even vital. That is the true
measure of a maestro.
He says Annisa’s character in the play is “the personi-
fication of Jogjakarta”.
“She welcomes us, serves us coffee and talks to us.
Her character has a rosy but cliched view of Singapore,
that everything here looks so nice and impressive.”
Art and Rafaat are fans of Annisa, who was named
Best Newcomer at the Piala Maya Award and Best Sup-
porting Actress at the Apresiasi Film Indonesia Award,
for her role in the 2012 historical drama, Soegija. In
2017, she published her first book of poetry, Agar Dapat
Kubaca Zaman (So That I Could Read Time).
Annisa says she regularly visits Singapore as a tourist
and once spent time here to write a travel piece on the
country. “It’s interesting to me to be part of this play
because I once passed by The Arts House and I told
myself that it would be great if I could perform here one
day. And this came true.”
The play is a reunion of sorts for Art and Rafaat. The
last time they worked together was in 1993, when Art
was the lead in Dreams 1414, a play which Rafaat wrote
and directed.
Art admits that he is not much of an actor. “I think it’s
exciting for me to see how I blunder through this. It’s
good to do something that’s not in my comfort zone.”
In the play, the singer, whose three-decade-long
music career includes radio hits in English (Sometimes
When I Feel Blue, 1993) and Malay (Rilek Brader, 2013),
both here and in Malaysia, gets to do what he does best.
He will sing five new songs, which will be in an album
of the same title, Good Morning Jogja, that will be sold
at the show. The tracks include Cinta Made In Jog-
jakarta (Love Made In Jogjakarta), featuring Annisa.
Art says: “I’ve never done a duet in my life, so this is a
first for me.”
Eddino Abdul Hadi

BOOK IT / GOOD MORNING

JOGJA
WHERE: The Arts House,
1 Old Parliament Lane
WHEN: Today, 8pm
ADMISSION: $38 from
goodmorningjogja.peatix.com
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
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9.30 Seal Team 2
CURIOSITYSTREAM AM 9.35 Lip Sync Battle 5
12.00 Cycling: 2019 2019 Volta Ciclista A 10.20 Criminal Minds:
(CHANNEL 422) 10.00 Saturday Night Live 44
Catalunya Highlights Beyond Borders 2
11.05 Broad City
PM
AM 11.55 The Nasty Show
9.00 Cosmic Front 12.00 Supernatural 14 AM
HUB SPORTS 2 (CHANNEL 202) 12.55 The Blacklist 6
10.00 The Silk Road 12.45 Saturday Night Live 44
11.00 Curious World AM 1.50 Britain’s Got Talent 13 1.50 Moonbeam City
11.30 Big Picture Earth (Music) 8.00 Football: EFL Championship 2018 3.10 Rude(Ish) Tube
PM Matchday 43 Sheffield United Vs 3.40 Seal Team 2
12.00 A Curious World Nottingham Forest 4.35 Team Ninja Warrior JIA LE (HD)
1.00 Destination: Moon
2.00 Destination Mars
10.00 Football: EFL League One 2018
Matchday 43 Burton Albion Vs
6.25 The Karate Kid (2010)
9.05 MacGyver 3
(CHANNEL 502) Tides
3.00 Cosmic Front Portsmouth (Same Day Delay) AM
10.00 Hawaii Five-0 9 SUN RISE/SET TIME: 7am/7.09pm
4.00 The Silk Road PM 6.00 Stylish Man
10.55 The Blacklist 6 MOON RISE/SET TIME: 8.05pm/7.36am
5.00 Curious World 12.00 Magazine: Omnisport.TV 7.00 Super Nightclub
11.50 Britain’s Got Talent 13
5.30 Big Picture Earth (Music) 12.30 Football: Ladbrokes Scottish 8.30 Top Singers
AM TIDES TODAY: Singapore: 5.41am (0.4m), 11.48am (3.1m),
6.00 Cities Of Tomorrow Championship 2018/19 Round 34 Ayr 10.00 All Out Of Love
United Vs Ross County 12.25 Supernatural 14 6.11pm (0.6m), 11.46pm (3m). Desaru: 4.56am (0.8m), 11.26am
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2.30 Football: EFL Championship 2018 1.20 Seal Team 2 (2.8m), 5.30pm (1m), 11.28pm (2.5m). Port Dickson: 2.12am
National Park 12.00 Stylish Man
Matchday 43 Norwich City Vs Sheffield (0.2m), 7.19am (2.7m), 2.06pm (0.2m), 7.36pm (3.1m). Mersing:
8.00 Speed 1.00 Super Nightclub 4.33am (0.7m), 11.01am (3m), 5.13pm (1m), 10.52pm (2.6m).
Wednesday
4.30 Wrestling: WWE Bottomline (PG)
WARNER TV (HD) 2.30 All Out Of Love
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6.00 Stylish Man
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AM AM 7.00 All Out Of Love 6.13pm (1.1m), 11.58pm (2.5m). Port Dickson: 2.50am (0.3m),
6.30 Magazine: Omnisport.TV
8.00 Junk Brothers 2 6.00 Gotham 5 9.00 The Legend Of Golden 7.58am (2.7m), 2.36pm (0.2m), 8.08pm (3.1m). Mersing:
7.00 Wrestling: WWE Afterburn (PG)
9.00 The Latin Kitchen 10.10 Friends 9 Music 5.10am (0.6m), 11.50am (3.1m), 6.04pm (1.2m), 11.25pm (2.4m).
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11.00 The Urban Vegetarian Romania (Live) 11.05 Young Sheldon 2 AM For updates and more details, call Meteorological Service
PM AM 11.30 The Lord Of The Rings: 12.00 Stylish Man Singapore, NEA, on 6542-7788 or go to www.nea.gov.sg
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D8 life trending
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |

A digital camera
in a Hong Kong
taxi captured
Karencici performs at
Skechers Sundown Festival
actor Andy Hui
(left) cheating
on his Cantopop
superstar wife
Sammi Cheng
(far right)
with TVB actress
Jacqueline Wong
(centre). Desiree Loh petition Sing! China in 2016, in
PHOTOS: BIZ TRENDS, which she was part of Chinese rock
JACQUELINEBWONG/ musician Wang Feng’s team.
INSTAGRAM, ST FILE Taiwan-based singer-songwriter “It was crazy for me because I was
Karencici (left) will perform in Sin- 18 and, at the time, I didn’t know
gapore for the first time tonight at what I was doing or what music I
the Skechers Sundown Festival. was into. I was basically doing what-
The 21-year-old Chinese-American, ever the directors were telling me to
whose real name is Karen Lam, do and they gave me the image of a
released her first full-length album, dark rocker girl,” she says.
Sha Yan, last December. “When I look back on that, I guess
Here are five things to know it was a part of me, but it also wasn’t
about her. who I am. Now, a lot of people say
that my album is so different from

1 that past image. I tell them that this

is me.”

Raised in Hainan and Los Angeles,

Lam sings in English and Mandarin
on many of the tracks on Sha Yan, a
combination of R&B, hip-hop and
dancehall music.
“Sha Yan has a lot of genres that
you don’t typically hear in Chinese
music. I wanted to bring both of my
4
People often think she is
unapproachable because of her
brooding facial expression.
“A lot of people think that I’m
mean because my face is straight if I

Privacy issues to the fore cultures together and do a perfect

blend,” she says.
don’t smile, so people are scared of
me sometimes. But I’m pretty chill.
“If you want to talk to me, just

2 come up and say hi. I’m definitely

after Andy Hui scandal

nice.”

She has composed songs for

HONG KONG • Did the taxi driver
who sold a 16-minute video of actor
Andy Hui’s hanky-panky with ac-
tress Jacqueline Wong to newspa-
per Apple Daily break the law?
Is it acceptable when advertisers
tap the Hong Kong scandal to
promote their brands or messages?
These issues have been pushed to
the front now that the initial storm
over the misbehaviour of the two
celebrities has lost some thunder.
Hui, 51, who is married to Can-
topop superstar Sammi Cheng, 46,
and TVB actress Wong, 30, have
apologised for bringing pain and
shame to their families and fans.
Cheng has posted that she is
willing to forgive Hui and move
forward to protect their marriage.
Amid the salacious details, the
leaked video is now prompting
Hong Kongers to think that their
privacy is at risk too.
They are calling on the authori-
ties to regulate the use of digital
cameras in taxis.
Currently, drivers are only issued
guidelines.
Some folk suggest that the
footage should be encrypted and
accessed only by the authorities to
settle disputes between the driver
and passenger.
Former chief executive Leung
Chun Ying has slammed Apple
Daily, saying it is “openly offering
money for photos and videos. Is
this the function of the media?”
The debate has even spilled over
to nearby Macau, which has
warned taxi drivers not to illegally
install recording equipment.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong entities
trying to milk the scandal for their
own ends has drawn scorn.
For instance, Mercedes-Benz
captioned a photo of its S-class car,
saying: “Tired of hiding in the
shade? Why not cruise under the
clear blue sky while it brings you to
your destination in style?”
The Independent Commission
Against Corruption posted: “Don’t
think you can cheat by keeping
things secret. Digital footprints and
cameras are everywhere.”
Mandopop stars, including the 2016
song, Useless, for Hebe Tien, a mem-
5
ber of Taiwan girl band S.H.E. She draws inspiration for her songs
After joining HIM International from real life. She sings about a
Music, Karencici was given the cheating boyfriend on the title
chance to pitch songs for labelmate track, Sha Yan. The song is, in fact,
Tien’s solo album. based on her friend’s relationship
“I wrote three songs in one day with “a very bad guy”.
and I threw it back to them and “I felt angry, so I wanted to write a
thought that they were probably song for her and diss this guy,” she
going to say no or something,” she says.
says.
“But then, the next day, they said
that Hebe likes one of them. It was
pretty crazy for me because she was
my idol and I listened to her songs
when I was young.”
desloh@sph.com.sg
3 • Sketchers Sundown Festival
ends on Sunday. Go to
She found her own voice after a stint
as a contestant on reality talent com- www.sundownfestival.sg

Woman claims On social media

Choi Jong-hoon
and 4 others
raped her
SEOUL • When the woman woke
up, she found out that she was
naked and singer Choi Jong-hoon
(left) was beside her.
The woman, who was identified
only as A, told a South Korean cable
show that after chatroom messages
linked to several K-pop artists
surfaced recently, she suspected
that she could be the person
mentioned in the chat log.
After verifying the facts with the
reporter who broke the scandal, A
is now convinced she was gang-
raped by five men, including Choi
and singer Jung Joon-young, whom
she had known since 2012.
She now intends to file a lawsuit
against them. According to portal
allkpop, the incident happened in
2016 after she blacked out after
drinking with the five men.
When she woke up, she said:
“Jong-hoon was next to me
laughing. As I was naked, I asked:
‘What’s going on?’ They said: ‘You
don’t remember?’ and laughed.”
She thought she could have lost
consciousness because she was
taking panic-disorder medication
then.
She did not know how to confront
the men over what might have
happened. After the incident, the AARON KWOK IS A FATHER AGAIN: The photo –
men still kept in contact with her, showing four intertwined hands (above) – says it all.
acting as though nothing improper On Thursday, Hong Kong actor-singer Aaron Kwok
had taken place. (top) posted the picture, writing: “Today, I am very
She added that after the scandal happy as it’s a very special day. I would like to share
broke, she realised that “even the good news.
though I considered them as “Chantelle (his daughter) now has a sister, our
friends, it wasn’t the same for them. second treasure is healthy, and mummy worked hard.
“I can’t help but think they simply As of today, we will happily (be) a family of four.”
treated me like an object. I was Thanking his fans for their support and good
ashamed.” wishes over the years, he added: “I am grateful.”
Though she wants them to be He did not reveal the name of his second child.
punished, she is also wary of the Kwok, 53, married model Moka Fong, 31, in April
legal process, saying: “I don’t know 2017 and Chantelle was born in September that year.
what will happen to me if they say Kwok, a Best Actor nominee at the recent Hong
they didn’t do anything. Kong Film Awards, is taking a hiatus from movie
“I’m scared my identity will be projects to spend more time with his family.
exposed, and people will know I “As a single man, you go to work, come home and,
was a victim.” the next day, it’s the same thing. Now, you get up in
Meanwhile, Choi has denied the the morning, you have a family,” he said.
rape allegation, but admitted that PHOTOS: ST FILE, AARON KWOK/INSTAGRAM
he and A were together on that day
in 2016.
 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 ●

D SCALA ECONOMY
Value hatchback
NEW FORD MUSTANG
Worth getting
contender out of bed for
D12 D16

enchilada sauce

Stylish
sedan With its “shark nose” front and
smooth flanks, the Mercedes-Benz
CLA Coupe looks as sleek as a
sports car, as Tony Tan discovers.
D10&11

DESIGN: JASTER NGUI PHOTOS: DAIMLER AG, SKODA


D10 life motoring
Classier
CLA
New Mercedes-Benz CLA200 is better-
looking and has a smaller engine and highly
interactive multimedia system
Tony Tan
In Munich, Germany
Mercedes-Benz calls its second-
generation CLA a coupe, even if it
remains a four-door saloon.
The car is longer, wider and lower
than the first CLA introduced in
2013. Being wider, it is more hun-
kered down.
Distance from the dash to the
front axle has lengthened by 30mm
to give the front a more stretched-
out, sports car-like silhouette.
The difference is not noticeable,
but other styling tweaks are. The
car gets a “shark nose” front (like
the bigger CLS and S-class Coupe)
and power domes on the bonnet,
making it look more aggressive.
The flanks are much smoother,
devoid of the lines that made its pre-
decessor look rather fussy. It also
has broader shoulders.
The previous CLA’s back was ugly
with its weird tail-lights and overly
curvy bootlid. With a two-piece
tail-light now, the bootlid looks
more normal. The lid is also flushed
with the bumper, making the rear
neater and more in sync with the
rest of the exterior.
The CLA200 tested here uses the
same drivetrain as the Merc A200 –
a turbocharged 1.3-litre four-cylin-
der connected to a seven-speed
dual-clutch gearbox. The engine
puts out 163hp and 250Nm – 7hp
more than what the previous
CLA200’s 1.6-litre unit had. The
torque figure remains unchanged,
but is available at a higher engine
speed.
As such, the 0 to 100kmh accelera-
tion, while still fairly brisk at 8.2 sec-
onds, is 0.3 seconds slower than be-
fore. Gear changes are swift and
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
smooth. The car is also equipped
with cylinder cut-off to improve
efficiency.
While the engine is well-suited to
the car, it sounds rather uninspir-
ing across the rev range. The good
news is that it is low on noise, vibra-
tion and harshness. At 180kmh,
only the hushed, rushing noise of
air flowing past the car can be
heard. Ride comfort is also good, de-
spite its 19-inch wheels and low-
profile tyres.
On swoopy, country roads, the
CLA200 handles decently, carving
out of corners with aplomb. There
is slight understeer when too much
throttle is applied, but a lift is all
that is needed to bring the nose
back in line. The steering is direct,
but lacks feedback.
The CLA is safer than before, with
myriad safety and driving aids,
some of which are adopted from
the S-class flagship. Active Lane
Keeping Assist is one such func-
tion. When I drifted onto the next
lane, it tapped one side of the
brakes to bring the car back into
lane.
Despite its wheelbase growing by
30mm, rear legroom has only in-
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
creased by a miserly 1mm. While
rear elbow room has improved by
44mm, it is still best for two occu-
pants. They must be shorter than
1.8m as well ortheir heads will
brush against the ceiling.
Taking centre stage in the cockpit
is the Mercedes-Benz User Experi-
ence or MBUX. First seen in the A-
class, MBUX uses innovative hard-
ware and software to turn the car
into a personal assistant of sorts.
Think of the latest smartphone –
only bigger and cleverer.
While Mercedes hopes to repli-
cate the success of the previous
CLA, the car’s strongest challenger
may well be the upcoming A-class
Sedan – a proper four-door saloon.
The CLA200 will arrive in Singa-
pore in the fourth quarter of this
year, followed by variants such as
the CLA180, CLA250, CLA35 and
CLA45.
stlife@sph.com.sg
• The writer contributes to Torque, a
motoring monthly published by SPH
Magazines.
motoring life
SPECS / MERCEDES-BENZ
TorqueShop
CLA200 COUPE
I have a 13-year-old car which
Price: From $170,000 with COE has clocked 230,000km.
(estimated) While I am aware of
Engine: 1,332cc 16-valve inline-4 suspension and brake
turbocharged overhauls that might be
necessary, my concern is the
Transmission: Seven-speed engine. Years ago, my father
dual-clutch with paddle shift used to speak of “top
overhaul”, “piston overhaul”
Power: 163hp at 5,500rpm and “de-carbonising”. Should
Torque: 250Nm at 1,620rpm I be sending my car for any of
these?
Top speed: 229kmh
0-100kmh: 8.2 seconds Admittedly, 230,000km is a
high mileage for any car and it
Fuel consumption: will not be long before some
5.3 litres/100km major engine work is
Agent: Cycle & Carriage necessary.
Tell-tale signs include
increased fuel consumption,
bluish-white smoke from the
exhaust and high engine oil
consumption.
The terms “top overhaul” and
“de-carbonising” refer to
refurbishing the cylinder head
by essentially cleaning away any
carbon.
Years ago, black soot
accumulating around the
cylinder head, valves and tops of
pistons, like barnacles attaching
The Mercedes-
Benz CLA200 is
safer than
before, with
safety and
driving aids,
Here’s what you
such as Active can look forward
Lane Keeping
Assist, some of to reading
which are this week in
adopted from
the S-class The Sunday Times
flagship. PHOTOS:
DAIMLER
Don’t miss this week’s issue
D11
to legs of a jetty, was a common
problem.
These days, thanks to
electronic ignition and fuel
injection, plus advances in
combustion chamber design and
the chemistry of fuels, carbon
build-up is no longer a serious
problem.
Having said that, with high
mileage, there is bound to be
normal wear in other parts
within the engine – such as
piston rings and bearings.
Increased engine noise, high
oil consumption and a smoky
exhaust are clear signs that an
engine overhaul is required. If
the car has been serviced
regularly with good quality
lubricants, you may be lucky
enough to get away with a new
set of pistons and piston rings.
Often, engines which
approach mileage of
300,000km or those that have
been poorly maintained will
require a complete engine
re-build. That will be a costly
endeavour.
Shreejit Changaroth
INSTA-HIT
HOMES
Furnish your home
for under $10,000
D12 life motoring
Economy of Scala
With plenty of space, equipment
and usability, the Scala again
demonstrates Skoda’s ability
to offer good value
Desmond Chan
In Split, Croatia
If you are in the market for a sensible
family hatchback, you have a tonne
of options, chief among which is the
ubiquitous Volkswagen Golf.
Now, Skoda reckons you can add
one more car to that list – the new
Scala. The car is not a rebadged
Golf. In fact, it is underpinned by
Volkswagen Group’s Modular
Transverse Matrix (MQB)-A0 plat-
form, shared by other superminis
such as the Seat Ibiza and Volkswa-
gen Polo.
But the Scala is far from mini. Mea-
suring 4,362mm long, 1,793mm wide
and 1,471mm tall, it is fairly substan-
tial for its class. Size-wise, it is actu-
ally closer to the Golf than the smaller
Polo. Its wheelbase of 2,649mm is
12mm longer than the Golf’s.
As a result, the interior is pretty
spacious. Rear knee room is on a
par with the Skoda Octavia at
73mm, while the 982mm rear head-
room is a segment benchmark. Ad-
ditionally, the car has a 467-litre
boot – the largest in its segment.
The Scala is also fairly big on fea-
tures, sporting full-LED front and
rear lights and dynamic rear indica-
tors. It also features a 10.25-inch vir-
tual cockpit, a 9.2-inch floating dis-
play with a slew of infotainment fea-
tures, wireless handphone charg-
ing and wireless iPhone pairing.
With its narrow track but long
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
wheelbase, the car lacks the dy-
namic verve of a supermini like the
Seat Ibiza. Its steering is quite
numb and diving too quickly into a
corner is usually met with under-
steer.
On the other hand, its ride is very
comfortable and stable, even at
high speeds.
The 1.5-litre variant is especially
effortless, with ample torque at low
revs. The 1-litre variant requires
you to work the engine a little
harder, but it still packs sufficient
power for everyday use.
With the MQB platform, Skoda is
able to pack the Scala with numer-
ous safety systems. The car will
help keep you in lane and a safe dis-
tance from vehicles in front and ac-
tivate emergency braking at certain
speeds.
Optional features include a blind-
spot detection system effective for
up to 70m, adaptive cruise control
and self-parking.
The Skoda Scala offers a comfortable
and stable ride, even at high speeds.
PHOTOS: SKODA
SPECS / SKODA SCALA 1.5
Price: $90,000 with COE when it
arrives in first half of next year
(both price and arrival are
estimates)
Engine: 1,498cc 16-valve
inline-4 turbocharged
Transmission: Seven-speed
dual-clutch with manual select
Power: 150hp at 5,000rpm
Torque: 250Nm at
1,400-4,000rpm
0-100kmh: 8.2 seconds
Top speed: 219kmh
Fuel consumption:
5 litres/100km
Agent: Skoda Centre Singapore
In a nutshell, the Scala is yet an-
other exercise in maximisation. It
demonstrates Skoda’s ability to of-
fer customers good value, practical-
ity and equipment while operating
within strict economic parameters.
While the engine specifications
for Singapore are still unconfirmed,
it is likely that a 1-litre variant
paired with a seven-speed dual-
clutch gearbox will be offered. This
is because the 1.5-litre engine will
push the car into the costlier Cate-
gory B certificate of entitlement seg-
ment.
Assuming it can be priced around
$90,000, the Scala will be a strong
contender in the hatchback seg-
ment. After all, that would be a
Golf-sized car for Polo money.
stlife@sph.com.sg
• The writer is with sgCarMart, an
automotive portal owned by SPH
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
Three’s
a crowd
pleaser
BMW’s new 3-series
may not drive as
brilliantly as its
predecessors, but
it is a lot of car for
the buck
SPECS / BMW 330i M SPORT
Price: $252,888 with COE
Engine: 1,998cc 16-valve
inline-4 turbocharged
Transmission: Eight-speed
automatic with paddle shift
Power: 258hp at 5,000rpm
Torque: 400Nm at
1,550-4,400rpm
0-100kmh: 5.8 seconds
Top speed: 250kmh
Fuel consumption:
6.4 litres/100km
Agent: Performance Motors
Christopher Tan
Senior Correspondent
The 3-series is probably the only ju-
nior model in a line-up which is
revered as highly as its bigger sib-
lings.
When it was introduced 44 years
ago, it quickly created a niche for it-
self by being a compact sedan
which drove as well as bigger,
sportier and costlier models.
Over time, the 3-series became
the gold standard among premium
performance sedans.
But with that status comes high
expectations, which, alas, the latest
3er does not quite meet.
Its biggest flaw lies with its sus-
pension. While an M Sport chassis
is expectedly firm, this one is un-
yieldingly so. Over sub-par sur-
faces, the car’s ride is especially jar-
ring, with a level of bumpiness
which will dislodge a false eye.
Next, its size. The seventh-gener-
ation car is bigger than ever, with di-
mensions rivalling those of not-
too-distant 5-series sedans. Its
wheelbase measures 2,851mm,
which alone disqualifies it as a com-
pact.
While families will cheer the addi-
tional space the new dimensions
bring, driving enthusiasts are un-
likely to relish the new 3-series’
bloatedness.
To be fair, its styling hides its size
well. Optically, the car even looks
slightly smaller than its predeces-
sor.
But behind the wheel, its expan-
siveness become obvious. Visibility
is poorer and it becomes harder to
judge the car’s four corners as
speed builds up and turning angles
tighten.
motoring
The BMW 330i pronounced in Comfort drive
M Sport is mode.
roomier than its Yet, the new 3er’s appeal lies iron-
predecessor and ically with some of the very traits
the cabin is which make it less of an ultimate
luxuriously driving machine.
furnished and By its sheer size, buyers are get-
excels in fit and ting a lot of car for the buck. At
finish. ST PHOTOS: 4,709mm by 1,827mm by 1,442mm,
it is 76mm longer, 16mm wider and
CHONG JUN LIANG
1mm taller than its predecessor. Its
wheelbase has grown by 41mm.
As mentioned, the dimensions
translate to a roomier interior, al-
though the boot is deep but nar-
rower than most people would like.
The cabin is luxuriously fur-
The car’s drivetrain, while thor- nished and excels in fit and finish,
oughly impressive with its output, except for a razor-sharp window lin-
is less than sparkling when it comes ing. You will find plenty of tech too,
to how that output – 258hp and such as a 12.3-inch instrument clus-
400Nm – is delivered. Throttle re- ter, 10.25-inch control display and
sponse is not as linear, nor as the biggest and most illustrative
smooth as you would expect of a head-up display in its segment.
brand known for making brilliant Rear occupants get their own cli-
engines. This shortcoming is most mate control settings and a Harman
life D13
Kardon sound system pumps out
464 watts of crisp audio.
The car also gets a Siri-like “per-
sonal assistant” which responds to
conversational commands.
Unique features include Revers-
ing Assistant, which retraces the
last 50m path forward – useful
when you have made a wrong turn.
Besides the remote key, the new
3er can be locked and unlocked
with a key card (handy if you do not
want to hand over the key to a
valet). You can also program your
smartphone to function like a key.
The car’s turbo 2-litre engine also
means it is road tax-friendly for
something which previously would
have required a 3-litre unit.
So, while the car may not be like
the 3-series of old, it is a very pol-
ished modern carriage. One which
will no doubt benefit from a re-
tuned suspension.
christan@sph.com.sg
D14 life motoring
MeAndMyCar
Off the beaten track
Mark Cheong says his Toyota
Vanguard is the perfect ride for
going back to nature with
Tony Tan
Cycling tour guide Mark Cheong
wants to impart his love of the out-
doors to his three-year-old son,
Bruce.
So, when it was time to replace
his Toyota Wish multi-purpose vehi-
cle, which turned 10 last year, he
picked a seven-seat sport utility ve-
hicle (SUV) – the Toyota Vanguard.
The 35-year-old says he wanted a
spacious car which is “able to take
me and my family off the beaten
track, whenever necessary”.
With electronic gadgets so perva-
sive these days, he adds: “I don’t
want my boy to grow up not having
experienced what it is like to roll
around in the grass, romp in pud-
dles or climb trees.”
Finding a seven-seat SUV was not
easy, as Mr Cheong had a relatively
modest budget.
Then in July last year, he chanced
upon a 2008 Toyota Vanguard.
“I really like the Toyota RAV4 and
knew that the Vanguard was a
stretched version of it with a third
row of seats,” he recalls, adding that
the car “was in good condition and
the odometer showed only
92,000km” or so.
But the transfer case was noisy
and he negotiated for it to be re-
placed with a reconditioned unit.
He paid $59,800 for the car.
Mr Cheong also had its certificate
of entitlement renewed for 10 years
instead of five.
“I know 10 years is a long time
away but I am hoping that if the car
is still healthy then, I can renew the
COE for another decade,” he says,
explaining that a car will have to be
scrapped once its five-year re-
newed COE expires.
One of the first long drives he did
was to Port Dickson in Malaysia.
With the third-row seatbacks
folded down, there was plenty of
space for luggage as well as Bruce’s
pram and toys.
“The 2.4-litre engine was still
powerful and the CVT gearbox was
working fine – smooth and silent,”
he says.
“I also like the extra stability pro-
vided by the all-wheel-drive sys-
tem.”
But the car’s low-profile tyres
were loud. He had them replaced
with higher-profile rubbers, which
are quieter and more comfortable.
“I also spent some money to
soundproof the floor and doors of
the car,” he adds. “I am glad to re-
port that the cabin is much quieter
now.”
Since he bought the Vanguard,
Mr Cheong has been driving it to
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
Since cycling
tour guide Mark
Cheong bought
the Toyota
Vanguard, he
has been driving
it to Malaysia
every month.
PHOTOS: TONY TAN
Malaysia every month – sometimes What’s in the
for shopping and food with his fam- boot?
ily and other times with his friends • Two bicycles
for cycling trips. • Two pairs of
“Getting this SUV is one of the cycling shoes
best motoring decisions I have ever
made. It fits my lifestyle and my
family’s transportation needs to a
T,” he says.
“Best of all, I love that I can just
easily put Bruce’s bicycle and mine
at the back. We can head to the
coolest places in Singapore to
spend time in the outdoors – explor-
ing, cycling and playing.”
stlife@sph.com.sg
• The writer contributes to Torque, a
motoring monthly published by SPH
Magazines.
FastLane
Largest Mercedes-Benz
sport utility vehicle
The new Mercedes-Benz GLS
(right) is the German marque’s
largest seven-seat sport utility vehi-
cle and goes head to head with
BMW’s recently launched X7.
Three electrically adjustable seat
rows offer occupants a generous
amount of space, with the last row
said to be able to accommodate
1.94m-tall passengers.
There are also separate USB ports
in the last row. Like the X7, a six-
seater variant with two luxury indi-
vidual rear seats in the second seat
row is also available. All-wheel-
drive and the latest driving aids
keep this behemoth well-planted
on the road. The GLS is due to arrive
in Singapore next year.
Lexus LM
Lexus will make a luxury minivan based on the Toyota
Alphard. Instead of a multi-seater, it will be business-
class seating for four – complete with big-screen video
monitor, champagne cooler, individual reclinable and
ventilated seats for the chauffeured.
Besides an oversized Lexus spindle grille up front,
the car is indistinguishable from an Alphard on the out-
side. Expect it to arrive in Singapore in 2023.
Nissan Sylphy e-Power hybrid to come
to Singapore next year
Nissan has unveiled an all-new Sylphy (above), which
looks more modern and lower-slung than the current
model. It is also equipped with a digital cockpit with the
latest infotainment features and boasts a three-zone cli-
mate control system.
The engine and gearbox, however, remain un-
changed – a 1.6-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder
paired with a continuously variable transmission. Singa-
pore, however, will be getting an e-Power hybrid vari-
ant, and possibly no sooner than late next year.
PHOTOS: LAMBORGHINI, MERCEDES-BENZ, NISSAN
Lamborghini’s ‘everyday sports car’ EZ-Link, Touch ’n Go to launch
dual-currency Combi Card this year
The Lamborghini Huracan Evo (above) has landed.
Priced at $998,000 before the certificate of entitle- Soon, you may be able to use an ez-link card to pay for
ment, the latest iteration of Lambo’s “everyday sports highway tolls in Malaysia. EZ-Link and Touch ’n Go
car” boasts improved aerodynamics, enhanced output, have announced that such a card will be launched in
rear-wheel steering, torque vectoring and an elec- the fourth quarter of this year. The dual currency
tronic stability system said to be able to predict neces- Combi Card – a first in South-east Asia – will allow
sary adjustments to improve driving dynamics. users to pay for urban mobility in both countries.
On board, it gets a touchscreen control panel first To date, EZ-Link has issued about 30 million Cepas
seen in the Lamborghini Urus. Exterior styling ez-link cards in Singapore and Touch ’n Go has more
changes include a front splitter and a more pro- than 23 million active Touch ’n Go cards in circulation
nounced rear spoiler. But the most significant is an in Malaysia.
enormous pair of raised tailpipes.
Christopher Tan
| SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | D15
D16 life motoring
Must-have
Mustang
Ford’s iconic coupe is
more polished and
engaging after facelift
Christopher Tan
Senior Correspondent
Automotive facelifts are rarely
worth getting out of bed for. A nip
here, a tuck there, and they expect
you to believe that it is a new car.
Not the Ford Mustang, though.
The current model introduced here
three years ago has been given a
mid-life makeover. And it is a better
drive for it.
Cosmetically, the changes are rel-
atively minor. After all, you do not
want to mess around too much with
a classic shape. The most distinc-
tive change lies with the headlights,
which are now LED.
Inside, you get Recaro semi-
bucket seats in front. They not only
add to the Mustang’s visual appeal,
but also offer a good blend of com-
fort and support. In fact, they are
the best of its kind sampled of late.
The rear remains a fairly tight
spot, on account of the car’s sloping
roof.
Mechanical changes are just as
Published and printed by Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E.
| THE STRAITS TIMES | SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 |
significant. The car has a 10-speed
automatic gearbox – up from the
previous six-speeder. Up till now,
only the Lexus LC and LS offer a
10-speed here.
With that, Ford has retuned the
car’s 2.3-litre turbo engine. Power
is pared down slightly to 310hp
(still very ample), but peaks at a
lower speed of 5,400rpm. Torque
goes up by 15Nm to 447Nm and
peaks at the same 3,000rpm level. should be. Its brakes feel very
All these changes add up to make strong and light to the touch.
the Mustang look and feel more the The car has excellent balance and SPECS / FORD MUSTANG 2.3
part of an American muscle car. road-holding, allowing you to Price: From $263,888 with COE
The engine may be modest in dis- throw it into a fast bend with hardly
placement, but it has the aural pres- any drama, and with no excessive Engine: 2,261cc 16-valve
ence of a far bigger block. With the steering correction after it exits inline-4 turbocharged
windows down, its booming reso- from that bend.
nance comes to the fore, sounding On the whole, it comes across as a Transmission: 10-speed
like no other four-cylinder here. more polished machine than be- automatic with paddle shift
The revised Mustang, equipped fore. If you are into details, you will Power: 310hp at 5,400rpm
with EcoBoost Performance Pack- also notice build quality has im-
age, is also more fun on the go. The The Ford Mustang comes with a retuned 2.3-litre turbo engine and is proved, with none of the niggles Torque: 447Nm at 3,000rpm
additional torque goes a long way in equipped with more tech, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure spotted in the pre-facelift car. 0-100kmh: 5.5 seconds
giving the car more low and mid- warning and collision mitigation. ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN In addition, it comes with more
end oomph – even if 0-100kmh tim- tech, including adaptive cruise con- Top speed: 233kmh
ing remains unchanged at 5.5 sec- trol, lane departure warning and col- Fuel consumption:
onds. however, seem to be tailored more Recaro or not, the car feels more lision mitigation.
10 litres/100km
The car’s top speed has also been for day-to-day driving responsive- confident around corners. For a All these make the Mustang a
pared down from 250kmh to ness than all-out high-speed jinks. coupe, visibility is excellent, better must-have for those who want an Agent: Regent Motors
233kmh, which is a bit strange Hence you will be able to attain the than in some sedans, actually. enjoyable drive which is different
given the potential of a 10-speed 10th gear at well within expressway The Mustang’s suspension is de- from the usual fare.
transmission. speed limits. cidedly firm, but is far from harsh –
The ratios of the new gearbox, Whether it is because of the snug the way a modern performance car christan@sph.com.sg
A member of Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore. Customer Service (Circulation): 6388-3838, circs@sph.com.sg, Fax 6746-1925.