Local News

Foreigners > Singaporeans? 

A woman was allegedly attacked by a male Caucasian at Marina One Cold Storage because he thought she was too slow at the self-checkout counter. She claimed that she did not provoke him at all and was disappointed with the staff for turning a blind eye. 

"Throughout the entire episode, despite this stranger raising his voice at me, hurling expletives filled with racist and sexist remarks, including calling me a 'Chinese cunt' and a 'fucking retard' for being slow at processing my purchases, I was not rendered any assistance or support from any of your staff."

She found it incredulous that the Caucasian man insisted on using her terminal when other counters were available. Helpless, she called for two of the Cold Storage staff to get security. One of them acknowledged but disappeared for about 10 minutes. The staff only came back after a while to ask if everything has been settled. She later said that she did not call security as she thought they were having a conversation. 

"HELLO!! I've already asked for security, I told her I was being harassed! HOW IN THE WORLD DID SHE COME TO A CONCLUSION THAT I WAS HAVING A NORMAL CONVERSATION?!!! There was no assistance rendered from any other cold storage staff, no one stepped in to help, MaryAnne (the cashier) was only focused on clearing her counter queue, ignoring everything else that was happening."

"While I cannot fault Cold storage for having violent, unreasonable customers like this Caucasian, there is something horribly wrong when the store manager leaves a victim alone with the attacker and disappears throughout the entire episode, only to reappear when the attacker is no longer there... During this time, I was pushed from the payment kiosk (while packing my groceries) by this stranger who insisted on using my payment terminal, and he continued to rain his violent verbal abuses on me."

"It is my first experience encountering something so random, so unprovoked, so violent, and I never felt more alone than how I did yesterday."

How can the staff leave her alone? In the bigger scheme of things, where is humanity? Were they afraid of confronting a foreigner even though he was clearly in the wrong?

Netizen Paspe Jweliah shared that her friend a fellow domestic helper working in Singapore was forced to sign an illegal contract allowing for her Filipino employer to fine her $5 or $10 for every instance of not following or not remembering verbal instructions. Despite being both from the Philippines, the employer using this illegal contract does not treat the helper with respect and with decency. 

"Hello my fellow members, in behalf of my friend..she already complain this matter to her agency, but they just ignored, the helper and employer are they same nationality.. pls help me wat is the best advice i can give her.. ?"

The helper has made an official complaint to the agency but was ignored. Fellow helpers in Singapore urged the victim to report this illegal contract to the embassy and to seek help there. Some also shared that it is illegal and the employer has no legal authority to withhold or deduct salaries. 

In a change of laws governing such practices, employers from 2019 are no longer allowed to keep money belonging to maids and this situation falls neatly under this criteria. This is to prevent disputes between employers and their helpers. 

"From Jan 1 next year, employers will no longer be allowed to keep any money belonging to their maids, including paid salaries.

In a press release on Sunday (Oct 7), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it is introducing this Work Permit condition to protect both employers and foreign domestic workers (FDW) from money-related disputes."

Alternative news portal All Singapore Stuff uploaded a heartbreaking video showing a Singaporean man living in terrible conditions at a rubbish collection center near Ghim Moh Blk 19. The video was contributed by Mr Lim who provided  the man's background and the conditions under which he currently lived in. 

"My neighbour is just out of hospital but he is living in rubbish bin centre for almost 2 years at Ghim Moh block 19.

A Singapore student was publicly shamed for attempting to convince her teacher to use CCA funds to sponsor BTS Kpop concert tickets. She first attempted to sell it as CCA outing as a means of uniting the CCA group which was not so united recently, since most of the CCA members were Kpop fans, she thought it was a fantastic idea to go on a CCA outing to the BTS concert. 

When she was flatly rejected by the teacher, she backtracked it as an informal request and cheekily asked for a 10% subsidy for the BTS tickets. The uploader who posted the conversation online felt that it was ridiculous a school student would try to use official funds for such private hobbies and felt that it was an audacious attempt of pulling a fast one on the teacher. 

saw this somewhere n its about a xmm asking her sch to subsidies bts con AND I THINK ITS RIDICULOUS????? pic.twitter.com/XquUGHOfIQ

— niel ????? (@cherrymiints) October 15, 2018

Trust our Government to lose sight of their priorities! Yesterday, a Clean Plate Campaign was launched at the Old Airport Hawker Centre where volunteers will go around telling people to finish their food. It is part of an effort to reduce food wastage and increase awareness in Singapore. 

The campaign was the brainchild of MP Lim Biow Chuan, who said that his mother always reminded him to finish his food. 

While it may be in good faith, is this the most important thing Singaporeans need right now? Why not address the issue about steep hawker rentals and outrageous 20-cent-per-tray charges? 

Some netizens were not in favour of the campaign as they thought it was rude to go around telling people to finish their food. 

"This should be taught by parents"

"Smlj I paid for my food I don't eat is my problem"

"So many pressing issues, yet some smart alec thinks this is a higher priority"

"They should come up with a good food campaign to get hawkers to cook tastier food to discourage wastage from shitty food"

"They won't even leave you in peace while eating"

Way to go PAP.

An Singapore MRT commuter recounted his traumatic experience during his peak hour commute on the Singapore MRT. He alleges that while trying to squeeze past a man blocking the MRT entrance, he accidentally pushed or nudged the big man blocking the entrance and was subject to threats to his life. The man cursed that he be chopped up into a million pieces and kept threatening to punch the commuter.

This barrage of threats only ended after the man alighted. Most disappointing of all, despite the verbal abuse and threats, no member of the public helped the victim out and all minded their own business. The victim wondered if there was anything more he could have done to help the situation. Where is the gotong royong spirit in Singapore, is the kampung spirit truly dead in our country? 

"There was this tall guy, looks to be in his 40s in office attire and wearing a blue mask over his mouth, those surgical mask kind. He was blocking the entrance of the MRT, making it difficult for people to enter and exit. So me trying to be considerate, I squeezed past him as there was a plethora of space behind him, inadvertently pushing him (*edit, the correct term would be "nudge") abit as he refused to budge.

It suddenly flipped some switch on him. He started scolding me loudly, cursing me to be chopped up into a million pieces by my father when I go home. Saying things like if I went to Malaysia, I would be chopped into a million pieces. He kept threatening to punch me and hit me, saying I was the type to be bullied at work and that he would hit me."

"I was too scared and traumatised to even look at him as he was quite tall and intimidating. I didn't retaliate or answer, I just stood there and tried to block out all the scary threats he was making and I felt really hopeless and didn't know what to do, I was just praying for him to alight at the next stop and prayed I didn't have to endure it through my whole journey home.

God or some higher power must have heard my prayers as he alighted at the next stop, Ang Mo Kio, cursing me at the very last minute before the train doors closed before leaving.

As the MRT was quite packed, there were many eye witnesses but no one did a thing."