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An unfortunate HDB dweller shared his experience with mysterious pieces of poop appearing in front of their doorsteps. He claims that their family lived with the problem for 3 years and till today, none of the authorities whom they have complained to were able to resolve the smelly problem. The resident recounts that initially it was animal poop based on the size but soon it became obvious that the defecation was done by something or someone bigger than the typical dog or cat. 

The problem is so bad and frequent that the resident cannot seem to get rid of the smells emanating from the front of their house despite cleaning up the area. Feeling frustrated at the dire situation, the resident went online to seek for suggestions on what to do next, do you have any good solutions for this unfortunate HDB resident? 

Some excerpts from the resident's complaint: 

"I live in a HDB flat. It’s been a problem for 3 years now. Outside our door, we irregularly but frequently receive animal blessings. Blessings that we rather not get.

They used to be just wet. But this year, these beasts stepped it up a notch by depositing solid packages in front of our door. And it has been so bad, we cannot seem to ever get the slight smell erased; our door hinges have also begun rusting.

We’ve made complaints to Town Council, HDB and were told AVA(?) would be in touch. (Nothing happened after the “rounds were made” by their officials.) We have also discussed with our neighbours, and they have admitted that it is their animals and agreed to have animal societies catch them. (Obviously it did not work and did not happen because authorities did not follow-up.)

This was many months ago. But nothing has been done. And my family is really distressed by having to remove (by hand and toilet paper because we have ruined too many brooms and dustpans) the solids and liquids, and clean the corridor. What can we do further to try solving this problem of ours?"

(Disclaimer: Image used is for illustration only)

An upset customer of Singapore Power Aron Goh got the shock of his life after receiving an estimated bill of $1522.36 from SP. He recounts that this was due to SP using an estimated bill reading instead of reading the actual meter to prevent this severe overcharge. Aron was further enraged after he realised SP disabled the screenshot function in its app, causing him further grief as he tried to document and store the conversation he had with SP customer service. 

He urged Singaporeans to check their SP bills carefully and not be scammed into paying for these poorly estimated reading charges. 

See below for Aron's complaint in full. 

"Pls check your SP svc bill. Do your own meter reading to prevent overcharge. Honest old folks deem SP will be honest. But however bill from march onwards til july are estimated reading charges. In shock when new aug bill arrived with negative in thousand. Blood suckers. Btw SP app disabled screen shot capturing. Nice move.."

Do you remember where you used to spend your childhood at? Are those places still around today? 

A group of Singaporeans started a petition to call for the conservation of landmarks such as Golden Mile Complex and People's Park Complex. They are fighting for these places to be gazetted so as to prevent them from being demolished entirely.

As Singapore progresses, our government jumps at opportunities to turn whatever plot of land they can into economic opportunities. Yes, it's for development, but is it necessary at the cost of our heritage? Are our high SES ministers too fixated on what they deem as "progress"?

If this continues, Singapore will lost a huge part of our culture before we realise that it's too late. When the time comes, will Singapore be a successful but soulless country? Will Singaporeans be happy? Will there be anything or anywhere else left to remember?

"We are almost out of time, but it is not too late. It is vital that we enact the gazetting of these modern landmarks before the sales are finalised. With the gazette, the development model for the new owners will be one of conservation, re-imagination and rejuvenation, rather than the traumatic process of demolition and new erection.

We believe ground support from respected members of our society who are not from within the building profession will strengthen the impetus to conserve the buildings. We ask you to join us in our appeal to URA to gazette Golden Mile Complex and People's Park Complex with conservation status".

Will you support this cause? Even if it means not signing the petition, do you at least believe in this cause?

Families living in Punggol will have to be more alert now. A wild boar attacked a woman near Punggol Secondary School yesterday, causing her to bleed a lot and had to be sent to hospital. 

The same boar was then sighted again in someone else's condominium. It accidentally invaded the house but was left stranded, not knowing what to do. It was eventually sedated and captured by Acres. 

Some reports said that the wild animal trespassed into Waterbay executive condominium and likely came from a wetland nearby.

In the meantime, Punggol residents should stay safe and alert. Don't provoke the boar if you don't want any trouble!

A transgender woman was denied from a high SES bar, Ce La Vi, because of her gender identity. Based on the woman's account, she was stopped from entering the bar because it is their "policy". When asked what kind of policy that was, the staff could not provide a proper answer.

The woman later filed a complaint and received an apology but felt that she cannot take this discriminatory behaviour lying down. Seems like a bar with high standards does not necessarily have high quality service, just like how high SES ministers do not have high quality service.

"Last Friday, August 17th, midnight, I was refused entry to Ce La Vi.

As a paying customer, I am entitled for a reason. To which I courteously asked 'Why?'

The security personnel told me it was the protocol and it was the policy. Inquisitive as I am, I asked 'What is the policy?'

As he did not elaborate further, I requested for his manager so I can have a discussion and to have it further explained.

The head security re-echoed his subordinate’s response. Further, answering my enquiry, he said that 'the policy is, Transgenders are not allowed entry in the club, unless they are on guest list'

I was appalled, embarrassed and in utter disbelief that such discriminating policy targeting Transgender paying customers exist. I composed myself and requested a contact so I can file a complaint.

After 3 working days from filing the complaint, the Club manager contacted me via phone call. He told me that the incident was handled incorrectly; the verbiage used was wrong and assured that it won’t happen again. Likewise, he has given me his personal number so I can ping him up and be included in the guest list should I want to go to the club in the future.

I felt relieved that my complaint was heeded, my spirits livened up by the positive outcome and was glad on the assurance I have received.

However, as gratifying as it feels - the ease of entry in the club thru inclusion in the guest list- I felt uncomfortable with this new found “privilege”. After thinking through it, I wrote back.

I wrote back to the club manager to tell how I felt.

I personally felt that:
-It was not right for them to be selective of whom among the Transpeople they will let in or not when the same was not applied to Cispeople.
-We share the same interest of having a fun night, enjoying music and having lasting experiences.
-Despite some occurrences of unlawful acts committed by Transpeople in the club (i.e stealing), it should not be a precursor to a “policy” singling out Transpeople. It should be applied to thieves (whoever they are) rather than on Transpeople.
-Lastly, as thankful as I am with the new found privilege, it is only a short term solution and does not redress the pre-conceived notions the club has over people like me. The solution is to lift/ remove the “policy” in order that future Transpeople who might go to the same club will not have to experience the same embarrassment, mishap and discomfort I went through.

The manager called me again and reassured that the incident won’t happen again, there’ll be no singling out and should it happen again, get the name of the security and contact him.

I opted to share my story as I want to empower my fellow Trans sisters and brothers who had experienced a similar incident (in whatever kind) to be courageous and to challenge discriminatory policies, in the most diplomatic way possible. 
It is only thru calling discrimination out that we can make our society more inclusive, more accepting and more loving.

Redress masked in the form of privilege is good in the short run however opt for something that will benefit most of everyone. Always consider the bigger picture.

Lastly, when you are with privilege, try to get out of the bubble from time to time, with which I did this time. Thru this, I’m able to empathize and remind myself that in many ways, I share the same experience, the same goals and same aspirations as my fellow Trans sisters and brothers."

Seems like Singapore has a long way to go.

Credits to Vanessa Ho for the story

DBS bank has sacked a foreign talent, Avijit Dat Patnaik, for making an insensitive Facebook post. The employee posted a photo of a ripped up Singapore flag showing an underlying Indian flag and expressed that his heart remains with India. His post caused much stir as netizens were angry that he did not appreciate his PR status and showed loyalty to another country.

DBS was also under fire for not stating their position on this issue and simply saying that they will "counsel" him. Looks like they finally realised that they need to take some action:

"DBS strongly disapproves of such actions by our employees. At the same time, it is fair and right that all employees are given the benefit of due process. 

Since the incident, a disciplinary committee has been convened and as of 24 August, he is no longer with the bank".

A nod to the bank for doing the right thing but we're not sure if they handled it properly. Why did they avoid taking a stand? Why did it take so long to decide what to do with Avijit? Aren't they a big, reputable bank? Why announce their decision only 4 days later? 

Most importantly, the bigger problem is: Who are we giving PR status to? How do we decide if they are deserving of this status? How do we know if they are loyal to Singapore? How many more foreign talents are we going to embrace?