5 S’pore News That You Should Know About That Were Reported Yesterday (9 September 2019)

Let’s face it: in this social media world, exciting and viral news like a cat feeding a baby beer would often appear in your Facebook news feed, while important news like the GDP growth of Singapore this year wouldn’t get the same reach.

It’s understandable since social media platforms would prioritise engaging and viral contents to keep users in their platform.

In order to ensure that you’d still know about important news instead of just social news, below are the top five Singapore news that were reported yesterday which you should know, simplified for you in a bite-sized format:

Prosecution Asks for 5 Years Jail For Man Who Hired Hitman on Dark Web 

The prosecution has sought charges for a man who tried to hire a hitman from the dark web to stage his former lover’s death.

On 9 September, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kumaresan Gohulabalan told the court that Allen Vincent Hui Kim Seng, 47, had stalked his former girlfriend excessively.

The Dark Web contains various sites that are normally inaccessible by regular browsers or search engines.

Defence lawyer Lee Teck Leng, who pleaded for a sentence of two and a half years’ jail, said that “no potential harm” was caused by his client’s offence.

He also claimed the hitman was a scam.

For more info, tap here.

Flights Between Singapore and Tokyo Affected By Typhoon Faxai

Around four flights from Singapore to Tokyo had to have timings changed as Tokyo was hit by a typhoon on the morning of 9 September.

Singapore Airlines flights SQ12 and SQ632, both of which departed on yesterday morning for Tokyo, also experienced delays of 20 minutes and 38 minutes respectively.

Several flights from Tokyo into Singapore have also been changed. A total of 100 flights have been cancelled across various airlines as well.

The typhoon has caused several blackouts in the Tokyo region, with authorities issuing non-compulsory evacuation warnings to over 390,000 people.

For more info, tap here.

Media Literacy Council Deletes Post Saying Satire Is Fake News; Apologises For Confusion

On 5 September, the Media Literacy Council published a post on Facebook along with an infographic, classifying satire as ‘fake news’.

Netizens were not too happy about this, and many started to express their disagreement in the comment section. This led to the post being taken down on 8 September.

They acknowledged that their post and infographic “gave the wrong impression that satire was fake news”, although it “was not the intent”.

Many others also brought up the fact that the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) Bill, which was passed on May 2019, only covers false statement of facts, and does not cover criticisms, opinions, satire, and parody.

For more info, tap here.

35-Year-Old Man Fined $50,000 for Selling E-Vaporisers 

35-year-old Chong Weisheng has been fined $99,000 by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for selling electronic vaporisers (e-vaporisers).

This is the highest record fine for electronic vaporisers since 2014.

Around twenty people have been prosecuted for selling e-vaporisers, which include e-cigarettes and e-cigars, in the past five years.

Chong had illegally purchased these e-vaporisers from multiple suppliers and had intended to sell them online through another website.

It is illegal to sell, purchase or import e-vaporisers in Singapore. Anyone caught doing so can be fined up to $10,000, jailed up to six months or both.

For more info, tap here.

FairPrice Chief Seah Kian Peng to Head NTUC Enterprise

NTUC FairPrice’s chief executive, Mr Seah Kian Peng, will be leading the NTUC group of cooperatives from next month.

NTUC Enterprise comprises all NTUC cooperatives like FairPrice, Income and whatnot.

He will be appointed group chief executive officer of NTUC Enterprise starting from 1 October, replacing current executive director Kee Teck Koon.

In his statement, Mr Seah said that, “It is a privilege to be asked to serve… Building on the strong foundation laid by Mr Kee.”

Mr Kee described Mr Seah as a “dynamic and visionary” leader, and that he feels pleased to hand the reigns over to Mr Seah.

For more info, tap here.