28/12/2012

Watz Online - 28 Dec 2012

Singapore scholarship applications now open

Applications for the Dr. Goh Keng Swee (GKS) Scholarship are now open to interested candidates from Asia Pacific countries.

The GKS scholarship was established to honor former Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Goh Keng Swee, who fostered Singapore’s economic development and its growth as a reputable international financial center.

Each year, the scholarship is awarded to outstanding individuals from the Asia-Pacific region to pursue undergraduates studies at local universities in Singapore.

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Health Ministry raps hospital over baby mix-up

THE Ministry of Health (MOH) has sent a “stern letter” reprimanding the head of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) for the lack of supervision and oversight which resulted in two babies going home with the wrong parents last month.

The Ministry, in a statement following a press briefing yesterday on how two babies were swapped, said it found such a lapse “unacceptable”.

The letter to Professor Kenneth Kwek was to register the ministry’s “disappointment and concern on the lack of supervision and oversight, especially with regard to patient identity and safety in the nursery”.

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Delhi gang-rape victim flown to Singapore for specialist medical care

The Indian student who was left with life-threatening injuries after being brutally gang-raped in Delhi was tonight on her way to Singapore for specialist medical care.

The 23-year-old reportedly remains in a critical but stable condition after being attacked on a bus earlier this month. Six people, including the bus driver, have been arrested in connection with the incident, which sparked violent protests across the capital over the weekend.

According to various reports in the Indian media, the paramedical student was moved out of Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital this morning shortly before midnight, en route to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

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‘I am envious of their freedom’ 

Over the past few days, my Facebook home page is rife with messages of gratitude posted by friends who live in Singapore, thanking their stars that they live in a country where they can go out any time of day or night, without fear of any sort.

One of them talked about how she went for a late-night snack with a friend at 2 a.m., and then walked home. “Wonder how many nations, even developed nations at that, can offer this haven?” she wrote. Another friend posted: “As I returned home early this morning from a Christmas party, in party gear, I reflected that at no moment did I feel unsafe.” As I read the messages, I feel envious of their freedom.

I lived in Singapore for more than half my life. I studied, and then worked there.

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Public sector corruption cases formed 'only a small part'

Corruption-related cases involving public sector employees formed "only a small part" last year, even though the civil service's public image has been "dented recently by some high profile cases".

Of the 135 offenders charged last year, six were public sector employees, said the latest public sector outcomes review released yesterday. Published once every two years, the report provided a glance at how the country has fared in areas of national interest.

According to the report, the Government's "swift and resolute response" to these corruption-related cases "demonstrates its resolve to uphold the highest standards of integrity in the public sector".

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Man acquitted of having paid sex with underage girl 

A 29-year-old cleaner, accused of having paid sex with an underage girl, was granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on Wednesday.

Md Salauddin Md Dudu Mia, a Bangladeshi national, had allegedly paid the girl S$10 for sex.

The girl, now 15, cannot be named to protect her identity.

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