Local News

The Go-Jek Abang, who was wrongly accused of kidnapping his passenger in a video that has since gone viral, and made him and his self-entitled passenger famous, is now back in the news again.

He has taken to social media once again to warn his new found followers that appeals for donation for him are not true. He clarified that he had never asked for any online donations to be made to him. Titled "Save Abang Driver", the petition described him as has three children and is the sole breadwinner of his family. The loss of income during the period of possible suspension will hit his finances hard." The petition have drawn over 47,000 signatures to date.

So,if you see this petition, be warned. it is a scam, and has nothing to do with Abang Hero. 

Singaporeans have been gripped in the "kidnapping" saga of the Go-Jek lady and her "abductor", the friendly neighbourhood Go-Jek Abang. Some have even called it the kidnapping of the century. But a real kidnapping of an actual Singaporean was happening across the Causeway, even as the Go-Jek saga continue to take up every possible space on social media.

A Singaporean businessman who was not named was kidnapped in Gelang Patah, Johor on 31 January. He was reportedly a vegetable trader in his 50s, and the kidnappers demanded a sum of $1m Malaysian Ringgit. The man's family, fearing for his safety, paid up the amount, and the man was actually released a day later. That was when the Malaysian police started the police operations to trace all the kidnappers once the businessman was released unharmed. In all, 7 suspects, all reported to be Malaysians, were arrested on Friday and Saturday. Part of the ransom money was also discovered, as well as several weapons found on the men.

The electoral division of East Coast has now been altered and extended to include Pedra Branca. You read it right. The small island which is 54km away from mainland Singapore is now part of the GRC. The electoral division already includes islands such as Coney Island, Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. Now it will include one more island, Pedra Branca.

The lighthouse on the island has been operating since 15 Oct 1851. On 23 May 2008, the International Court of Justice awarded the island to Singapore. 

We wonder if any of the ministers would conduct any house visits to the island. We look forward to that happening. 

ACRES has responded following pest control company Anticimex Singapore's statement that it did not harm the snake in any way. In a Facebook post today, ACRES hinted that the pest control officers had mishandled the snake and jeopardised public safety. 

"If handled properly, there would not be a need to use excessive force or step on the animal and the animal handler would also not get injured."

It continued that Anticimex should have at least cordoned off the area to keep the public away from the snake. "This will also help keep the animal more calm and make the handling easier." 

Some members of the public were outraged when one of the officers stepped on the 3m-long python while trying to contain it. The snake appeared in the middle of Orchard Road and caused quite a stir. ACRES may have many things to say about the lack of public safety and animal welfare but wait, where were they when people were struggling to keep it contained? 

Could they have done something about it or sent professionals to help? Why were they so slow? What's the use of talking big now? 

Animal welfare? Perhaps they should start by being more professional first.

Ofo, the bike sharing firm operating in Singapore that has become embattled over in recent months, have apparently told their operations staff not to bother turning up to work after 31 January. This lay off occurred just a few days before the Chinese New Year Holidays.

Ofo have recently been in the news as it was reported that the China based company owed at least $700,000 to its creditors. And as further confirmation of how desperate their situation is, the company through its acting general manager Jack Zhou, have called up 9 or 10 individuals over the phone that 31 January would be their last day of work. The staff were not given any reasons for their termination, and they did also did not receive a one month compensation, as stated on their contracts. However, they did receive their salary for the month of January. 

The Ministry of Manpower have not spoken out about this latest development. 

A student, believed to be from Tampines Meridian Junior College have attracted unwanted flak for posting a picture on his Instagram of him kissing his male partner. The post was subsequently shared on the Hardwarezone Forum by an unknown persona.

In a thread titled “Omg ghey couple kissing in SG kissing in public”, the post drew mostly homophobic comments, with most of the comments bordering on outright malicious intent. Some even called for the couple to get HIV if they don't repent. The forum members also managed to quickly identify the duo in the photo, which led to the discovery that the student who uploaded the photo was from TMJC. 

This also led to calls that the JC be informed of their student's photo. The student subsequently posted on his Instagram thathe had been told by hos school to remove the photos of him with his male partner, because it was causing unnecessary attention to him and the school. TMJC has since clarified that they had advised the student t take down the offending photos to protect his privacy and well being.