Opinions

A local angler was angered at the treatment he received from several NParks officers.

The angler and his friend had ended their fishing session at Macritchie Reservoir when they decided to have lucnch at Upper Thomson. To get there, they took short-cut through a no-fishing zone, with their fishing gear in hand.

That's when their troubles began.

They were spotted and stopped by some NParks rangers who were friendly at first but whose demeanour changed when they found out that he wanted to cut-through the no-fishing zone. The rangers assumed that the anglers had fished in the no-fishing zone. 

This was disputed by the anglers. However, one of the rangers had allegedly retorted that "I don't care! You're not allowed to have fishing equipment in my nature reserve". 

The anglers pleaded that they were unaware of such a rule, pointing out that the signs only bars people from fishing. According to the angler, the rangers then turned aggressive so they refused to give their genuine particulars when they were asked.

The police were subsequently called in. The angler and his friend were reportedly handcuffed and arrested for more than 12 hours.

You can read the post here:

Yesterday i learned that we anglers cannot even carry our fishing equipment and walk in a no fishing zone, i was fishing at MacRitchie Reservoir legal ground with my friend yesterday and when we decided to have lunch at upper thomson. So we ended up cutting through the forest area to exit to Jalan Lembah Thomson for a shortcut, to get there we actually have to walk pass a no-fishing zone but little did i know that holding my fishing equipment and walking past that area was not allowed too as I stumbled upon 4 n park rangers and when they approached us they talked to us in a friendly manner but i explained to them that i wanted to cut through to exit infront for lunch they start to assume that i am fishing there. I DID NOT fish or neither did i cast my fishing rod so i told them to replay their cameras to see if I did fish but they started to surround us and shouted at us " I DON’T CARE! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE FISHING EQUIPMENT IN MY NATURE RESERVE " . I explained i did not know that it was illegal to carry fishing equipment in a no-fishing zone was illegal and the signboard only stated no fishing with a fine up to $3000 and not saying "no fishing equipment allowed"

And that was when the n park rangers started turning aggressive and keep asking for my particulars, if i was fishing in the no-fishing zone and they acted this way i would have obliged and give my particulars but i did not do anything to disobey the law stated but i was just passing by a no-fishing zone with my equipments. 

Ps. This post is to spread awareness to all anglers to refrain from carrying your fishing equipment into a no-fishing zone as this incident really shocked me at how n park rangers actually jumped into conclusions even when i DID NOT fish. In the end i had no choice because the rangers kept on pressuring us and i had no choice. I admit it was my fault because i gave the n park a false particular and i wanted the police to come down and i can explain to them what was going on rather than getting slam with a fine for something I didn’t do. Long story short the police arrived and even after explaining to the police me and my friend were HANDCUFFED!!!!!! being brought back to be detained for more than 12 hours for something we had been accused of.

It would appear that the angler and his friend have been arrested over a trivial matter.

NParks need to be clearer with their no-fishing rules. It is disingeneous to penalise someone for carrying fishing equipment through a none-fishing zone but not actually fishing there. 

They also need to train their rangers to better communicate and engage any possible trespassers/illegal anglers and not behave as hooligans as alleged by the angler.

The younger generation in Singapore have been called out as self-entitled, spineless, strawberries by the elderly in this country. Once in a while, you get stories showing the elder generation are equally self-entitled. 

Redditor u/WittyKap0 knows this all too well. He recounted a disagreement he had with an elderly couple on the MRT.

According to the redittor, the couple looked to be in their 50s but claim to be in their 80s. That was not it.

What triggered him was that the couple took it upon themselves to cut the train queue and russhed into the train. They even shifted seats before they made their decision to seat at the reserved seats.

While many local youths may have kept quiet, the redditor had just had enough. He confronted, and chided them for their behaviour, branding them as self-entitled people. 

Of course, this triggered the elderly couple who created a ruckus in an attempt to gain sympathy and attention. They also did the very Singaporean thing - took out their phone and threatened to complain to the MRT staff and the police that he tried to fight with them for seats.

The redditor didn't waver. He was aghast at the suggestion and felt that no one was going to believe the old couple because the train was empty.

Having had enough of them, he decided to tune out by turning to his trusty Netflix.

His full account is here:

Well this happened in the morning. Pissed me off but made my day at the same time.

Told off an 'elderly' couple who decided to bypass the MRT queue today and rushed in once the doors opened. (They claimed they were 80+ but looked and behaved like mid 50s so yeah whatever)

As I get in they start doing some weird musical chair shit shifting seats so I couldn't sit down for a bit, after they finally decided I was quite annoyed so decided to tell them off about their earlier behavior. Told them there was a line and they should follow it and not cut queue. Surprise surprise, they start accusing me of trying to fight with them for the reserved seat, old people should get priority, reserved seats are god-given right etc.

I got pissed and told them old people also have to queue, people letting you go first is your privilege not a right, your parents didn't teach you manners, etc

Guy tells me he wants to take the issue up with the train staff and police, he whips up his phone and I tell him in Mandarin "Go tell the staff/mata you want them to arrest someone who argued with you over a reserved seat (not that I did in the first place), they will die laughing". He then tries to take a photo of me and the carriage (which is < 80% full) and I start laughing at the guy saying "Yeah, go to the SMRT staff with this picture showing so many empty seats and tell them I'm fighting you for your seat LMFAO"

The guy and his wife then try to shame me by telling me "the whole carriage is looking at you for bullying old folks", I told him "No, they are all staring at these two unreasonable old people".

Finally I tell him I don't have time for this bullshit, plug in my earphones and watch Netflix until my stop, every time there's a break in the action I can hear them making PA comments to each other the entire trip (8 stops) about "kids nowadays", their god given right to reserved seats, "some people have no upbringing", cursing me etc.

Maybe I'm the asshole but feels good man.

The elderly can be hard to deal with and understand. 

We don't recommend you confront them though. It was a catharthic experience for him, but be warned, it may not end the same for you.

The redditor took a few minutes too long to come to the solution. If you are faced with self-entitled old people behaving unreasonably, plug into your Netflix and chill. Walk away.

A netizen ranted againts the government and provided a timely reality check for all Singaporeans.

The post carried a number of pictures of the old and frail in Singapore having to work to make ends meet.

Their struggle is palpable and you can feel the burden on their shoulders and frail body.

The netizen asked if this was the "fate we want for ourselves and our children."

One has to agree that this is certainly not the future we want for any Singaporeans in the future. We want a future where the old can enjoy their retirement in comfort, regardless of their backgrounds.

When election season comes around, this is the question that you have to ask yourselves before you vote.

A self-styled social media guru amdk criticised Singaporeans on his Facebook page for being cheapskates.

The context? A trip to Universal Studios Singapore just last year.

From the photos of his trips and his entertainment, this self-declared 'father of freedom' is living the high-life and doesn't understand why others are not doing so. 

He was critical of locals who did not spend $60 for an express pass so that they can save time to properly enjoy the rides. He felt that it was such a waste to wait in the long, general queues. To him, it took out the fun for the day for these other customers.

He then went on to give bit of unsolicited life advice and compared this experience to life in general. He reckoned that most people were "too cheap to get in the express lane", thinking that "they are saving money" but when actually this is the "reason [why] they'll always be poor', thus "sealing their own fate".

His post is reproduced below:

Went to Universal Studios in Singapore last year and every ride had two lines:

1. General
2. Express

The general lines had 95% of the population standing in them and the average wait time was 2 hours.

Per ride.

Express had no wait time.

Naturally, there was zero chance in hell we were going to wait in lines so we paid for express.

We literally just strolled into every single ride 
(the cyclone rollercoaster was insanity)

Admission to the park was $76. If you wanted to purchase an express ticket, you pay another $60.

I saw almost every single person at the park not believe their time was worth $60. They were not having fun in those lines.

There are like 5 good rides.

Let's say they were there for 8 hours and only got to go on like 3 or 4 rides.

The entire day is shot for them because they weren't willing to pay an extra $8 an hour to have more fun and enjoy the park.

We went on 4 rides within an hour and a half. The day was fun and easy.

Are you willing to spend what little money you have on buying time? If not, life will continue to be rough for a long time.

This is an accurate representation of life itself. Most people are happy to sit in the general line of life, too cheap to get in the express lane.

Buy coaching. Get mentorship. Go to that event. Buy the express.

Because they were too cheap to pay for Express, that's exactly the reason they'll always be poor.

They think they are saving money, but they are really just sealing their own fate.

Do you believe your life and time is worthless?

Then by all means, keep standing in the slow lane, where you wait for your dreams to magically come true - just remember most people's lives expire before they get to the front of the line...

We are lucky that this amdk neither lives nor works here. Or else, we will have to deal with his huge ego and abrasiveness.

Guess being a 'social media guru', this guy just needs the attention. Is he really all that he makes himself out to be? After all, how much of a social media guru can you be when your page has only about 400 followers?

Whatever the case may be, we hope he doesn't return to this land of "cheapskates".

Firstly, there are plenty of tourists who patronise Universal Studios Singapore and use the "cheap", regular lane. It is not just locals.

Secondly, it is very presumptuous of him to think that he can judge us and draw life lessons from that one experience at a tourist trap.

Thirdly, Singapore is not a cheap place. There are better things that Singaporeans can use the money for or invest in, rather than waste it at a theme park meant for tourists. 

We are just more financially savvy than he thinks. 

If he wants to spend his money frivolously in our country, we welcome him to help the economy.

But it would serve him well to heed our advise to enjoy the country but rein in that ego.

Another molester has been let off with a warning?

In January this year, a woman allegedly had her breasts groped publicly by a man in his 20s.

The incident occurred at Bugis MRT station and was caught on CCTV.

The woman had called the molester out and kicked him after when she was molested. In response, the incensed molester attacked from behind.

Earlier this month, the vitctim received news that the molester had been let off with only a stern warning, without any explanations as to the rationale for the decision.

Does every molest victim have to publicise their case online like what Monica Baey did before people will sit up and take notice?

The victims need to be protected. The perpetrators need to be held responsible for the action.

Tan Kin Lian is known to many Singaporeans as the maverick former CEO of NTUC Income and Presidential candidate.

Today, he shows why he is regarded as such a maverick.

TKL was dismissive of the "paranoia" over our NRIC and contact details, calling it "overblown". 

To prove his point, TKL published details of his NRIC, mobile number, email address, and even his date of birth.

He managed to elicit a response from the public.

There were attempts to log into his Singpass account, which was eventually blocked after six unsuccesful attempts to log-in. 

TKL is paying an uncomfortable price in trying to make his point. But he made his point.

All jokes aside, don't share your personal details online. You never know what they will be used for.