Singapore Archives

Singapore’s Former Transport Minister Handed 35 Graft Charges

Singapore’s former Transport Minister S. Iswaran was handed eight more charges taking the grand total to 35 charges today.

The additional charges involved allegations of obtaining valuable items worth about SGD18,956 (RM66,582.50), in the capacity of a minister from an individual who had dealings with the Ministry, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

According to the charge sheet, the items included bottles of whiskey, golf clubs and a Brompton bicycle worth SGD$7,907.50 (RM27,784).

The business transaction involved a contract between Lum Chang Building Contractors (Lum Chang) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), for the addition and renovation of Tanah Merah Station and the existing viaduct.

The firm had also secured multi-billion dollar civil, building and infrastructure projects in Singapore including being the prime contractor for the Bukit Panjang station along the Downtown Line.

The case has gripped Singapore, as a major Asian financial hub that prides itself on a squeaky-clean government rarely involving corruption.

Iswaran, 61, denies the charges according to local media reports.

He was initially arrested in July last year and alleged to have obtained kickbacks worth S$384,340 (RM1,349,813.96) from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, partly to advance Ong’s business interests.

Charge sheets show the favours included tickets to football matches, musicals, a flight on Ong’s private plane and tickets to the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Iswaran was advisor to the Grand Prix’s steering committee, while Ong owns the rights to the race.

Starting April, Malaysian Motorcycles Must Adhere To Singapore’s Latest Emission Standards

Motorcyclists traveling from Malaysia to Singapore for work or other purposes are required to comply with the latest emission standards, which will be enforced starting from April 6th.

Malaysian motorcyclist must meet the latest emission standard in Singapore.
The new emission standard is set to take place from April 6th.

This recent development is important to note, especially for those who frequently travel to Singapore. According to a report by Paultan.org, every motorcycle in Singapore (including those from Malaysia) must adhere to the latest carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emission limits.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has set the latest CO limit at 4.5 percent, while the HC limit is set at 7,800ppm for 2-stroke motorcycles and 2,000ppm for 4-stroke motorcycles.

To ensure smooth enforcement, NEA will conduct emission inspections at the Singapore border checkpoints. Motorcycles found to be non-compliant with the emission regulations will be immediately issued a fine of the same amount as those for Singaporean motorcycles.

(source: Paultan.org)

Honda Civic Type-R Ditemui, Pemilik Serik Memandu Ke Malaysia Lagi

Selepas lima hari umpama mimpi ngeri, pemilik Honda Civic Type-R yang dicuri di Genting, Damien Yeo, akhirnya disatukan semula dengan keretanya pada Rabu (20 Julai).

Namun, kegembiraan apabila dia dimaklumkan keretanya sudah ditemui ternyata agak singkat.

Pihak polis Malaysia telah menemui keretanya di Kondominium Puteri Palma di Putrajaya, iaitu lebih kurang sejam dari Genting, dan Yeo telah dipanggil untuk mengenal pasti keretanya.

Lelaki berusia 28 tahun itu berkata bahawa keretanya hampir “tidak dapat dikenali” kerana bahagian seperti tayar dan rim keluli telah ditanggalkan dan diganti dengan yang lebih murah.

Beberapa bahagian kereta yang dileraikan pencuri turut ditinggalkan di dalam bahagian belakang kereta. Selain itu, balutan kereta hitam juga telah tercabut sehingga menampakkan cat putih asal kereta tersebut.

Malah, kunci kereta juga turut diformat semula supaya kereta itu tidak boleh dipandu dan plat kereta yang didaftarkan di Singapura digantikan dengan kereta Malaysia.

Selain alat ganti kereta, barangan berharga seperti kad tunai dan wang tunai turut dilarikan.

Secara keseluruhannya, eksekutif operasi ini mengira bahawa alat ganti dan barang berharga bernilai lebih $8,000 telah dicuri daripada kenderaan yang diubah suai itu.

Yeo berkata beliau berhasrat untuk memasang alat ganti baharu dan menjangkakan perlu “berbelanja banyak” untuk berbuat demikian.

Pada masa ini, kereta itu berada dengan polis Malaysia.

Walaupun mengalami kerugian, Yeo memberitahu Shin Min dia tidak merungut.

“Saya tidak dapat tidur selama beberapa hari dan kini saya akhirnya lega,” katanya.

Bagaimanapun, dia tidak terlalu berminat untuk membiarkan sejarah berulang.

“Dalam masa terdekat, saya tidak akan berani memandu ke Malaysia,” katanya kepada Shin Min.

Kereta Yeo dicuri ketika dia membuat perjalanan ke Genting Highlands bersama teman wanitanya dan dua lagi rakannya pada 15 Julai.

Kereta itu telah diletakkan di sebuah pusat beli-belah bernama SkyAvenue sekitar jam 12 tengah hari pada hari mereka masuk.

Apabila Yeo pulang keesokan harinya, dia mendapati kereta itu hilang dan membuat laporan polis dengan polis Malaysia ketika itu.

Dia menganggarkan Honda miliknya bernilai kira-kira $220,000.

Honda Civic Type-R Milik Warga Singapura Hilang Di Genting

Percutian hujung minggu ke Genting Highlands berakhir dengan tragedi untuk seorang lelaki warga Singapura yang keretanya dicuri.

Damien Yeo, seorang eksekutif operasi berumur 28 tahun, telah memandu Honda Civic Type-R ke Genting Highlands bersama teman wanitanya dan dua lagi rakannya pada Jumaat lalu.

Dia kemudian meletakkan kenderaannya di pusat beli-belah SkyAvenue kira-kira jam 12 tengah hari itu, tetapi apabila dia kembali ke tempat letak kereta pada petang berikutnya, dia mendapati keretanya telah hilang.

“Saya menghabiskan kira-kira dua jam melalui tempat letak kereta berulang kali,” kata Yeo.

Selepas mengesahkan dengan pihak pengurusan pusat beli-belah bahawa keretanya tidak lagi berada di premis mereka, lelaki itu membuat laporan polis.

Dengan harapan akan mendengar berita baik daripada pihak berkuasa, Yeo dan rakan-rakannya tinggal di Genting sehingga petang Ahad. Malangnya, tidak ada maklumat tentang keberadaan keretanya.

Yeo kemudiannya menaiki kereta kawannya pulang ke Singapura pada malam itu.

Dalam rakaman kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) yang ditunjukkan polis Malaysia kepadanya, Honda kali terakhir dilihat dipandu menuruni gunung itu kira-kira jam 2 pagi Sabtu.

Lelaki itu menganggarkan Honda miliknya bernilai kira-kira $220,000, sambil menambah bahawa seseorang telah menawarkannya $200,000 untuk kereta itu hanya dua minggu lalu.

Menurut Sgcarmart, Honda Civic Type R yang didaftarkan pada 2018 dipasarkan pada harga sekitar $168,000, manakala satu lagi model serupa yang didaftarkan pada 2019 dipasarkan pada harga $198,999.

Yeo turut menyiarkan gambar keretanya dalam pelbagai kumpulan Facebook dalam usaha merayu maklumat lanjut mengenai keberadaannya.

Pada masa artikel ini ditulis, catatannya di kumpulan Facebook SG Road Vigilante telah menerima lebih 1,000 reaksi dan hampir 500 komen.

Khususnya, beberapa netizen menyatakan bahawa model kereta itu agak popular dengan pencuri di Malaysia.

“Dengan kereta diubah suai seperti ini, anda harus [lebih] berhati-hati dan memasang kunci anti-kecurian,” tulis seorang netizen.

Walaupun netizen cuba membantu, Yeo mengakui bahawa dia tidak meletakkan harapan tinggi untuk mendapatkan semula keretanya, “berdasarkan pengalaman orang lain”.

Ketika berita ini ditulis, lelaki itu berkata dia tidak pasti sama ada dia akan dapat membuat sebarang tuntutan insurans untuk keretanya yang dicuri.

Sebagai pesanan, kami ingin mengingatkan anda walaupun kecurian kereta tidak dapat dihalang sepenuhnya, terdapat beberapa perkara yang anda boleh lakukan untuk mencegah kejadian tidak diingini ini.

Selain daripada menggunakan kunci stereng, cara lain untuk menghalang kereta anda daripada dicuri adalah dengan memastikan semua tingkap dan pintu dikunci, dan tidak meninggalkan sebarang barang berharga di dalam kenderaan yang boleh menggoda bakal pencuri.

Jika anda kerap memandu antara Malaysia dan Singapura, pastikan anda juga dapatkan insurans yang bmenawarkan perlindungan jika berlaku kecurian di kedua-dua negara tersebut.

Singapore To Completely Ban Old Motorcycle By 2028

Singapore will introduce a stricter emission regulation starting from April 1 2023, in an effort to reduce air pollution.

According to Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA), every motorcycle registered before July 1 2003, is affected.

“These motorcycles can continue to be used until June 30 2028, as long as they meet the tightened in-use emission standards,” said NEA in a statement.

The new ruling also applies to every foreign motorcycle.

“This is similar to current rules requiring foreign motorcycles to adhere to the same exhaust noise limit as local motorcycles and not to emit any smoke or visible vapour,” explained the agency.

However, motorcycle registered after July 1 is covered by the new regulations.

Nonetheless, every motorcycle registered before July 1 2003, will be banned from the road starting July 1 2028.

Meanwhile, the Singaporean government offers SGD3,500 (RM10,800) for owners who de-register their old motorcycle earlier.

Singapore Motorcycle Scene – Will the good days ever return?

There isn’t a doubt in hell that these are some of the most difficult times the world has ever seen this side of the dark ages, the great depression and other major world crises.

But motorcycle sales has been on the decline way before anyone ate the bat that supposedly caused Covid-19.

Motorcycle sales has been dwindling globally for years already. Blame that on stricter regulations, safety concerns and global warming even. Or perhaps man and motorcycle has lost its romance. Some manufacturers are still in the black, but others are already facing the red with difficult calls from the management to remain relevant.

Singapore is one country that has particularly been hard hit. Whether intentionally or not is up for debate. Known the world over for its extreme taxes, one particular tax called the ARF had apparently been revised a few years ago. And this tax alone had caused the prices of some motorcycles to go up by more than S$40,000!

Credit: Motorgrapher for The Gasoline Addict

So how are our Singaporean riding buddies hanging on?

Our friend and fellow motorcycling aficionado Will Yap published an interesting article on his website – The Gasoline Addict – detailing exactly what the Singaporean motorcycling industry is facing.

Quoting sources from within the industry as well as prominent journalists, Will’s article paints a wanting picture of the Singaporean motorcycling industry. And though there are some fun motorcycling events and many who still ride for leisure and for work, the industry has seen better days. But whether those days will return or not is the real question here.

Will for one definately hopes so, he says, “While the policies like COE and ARF, aimed at controlling congestion are able to impose some control over the car population, motorcycles are also subjected to these policies. Motorcycles have the ability to maintain constant movement through congestion. A study shows that drivers switching to motorcycles instead can even greatly reduce congestion.”

Will the industry ever recover and will motorcycling ever get back to the glory days of the past? Difficult for a city state hell bent on making personal vehicle ownership ridiculously expensive, but with Singapore, you never really know. Check out Will’s article by clicking here.

Pemandu Kereta Langgar Belakang Motosikal, Salahkan Penunggang Motosikal

Seorang pemandu kereta telah melanggar belakang motosikal yang telah berhenti.
Namun, pemandu berkenaan telah menyalahkan penunggang motosikal terbabit.
Video ini kini telah menjadi tular.

(more…)

Car Rear-Ends Motorcycle… and Blames the Motorcyclist

A car in (again) Singapore rear-ended a stopped motorcycle.
But the driver blamed the motorcyclist.
The video has since gone viral.

A car rear-ended a motorcycle, sending the rider and machine to the ground, but the driver refused to admist his fault.

The incident happened in yes, Singapore again. The post in ROADS.SG Facebook page described the location at the Teban Market intersection to Teban Gardens Road.

From the video submitted by Lim YK, the motorcycle had stopped for a long time at the three-way junction. He was waiting for the incoming traffic to clear before pulling out.

Along came a car bearing number plate SLF5020K which bumped into the bike’s rear left, sending the machine down. Good thing the rider kept his brakes on otherwise he would’ve been shunted into the main road and into the path of an oncoming bus!

But the kicker was the car driver blaming the motorcyclists, saying that it was the latter’s fault and refused to acknowledge his own harebrained driving.

The video shared on the page has since gone viral with everyone saying nasty things about the car driver. Some theorized that he was on his handphone. There were also who charged that he anticipated the bike taking off.

In our opinion, this hints strongly about inattention blindness i.e. the motorcycle didn’t register in his brain at all.

Whatever it was, the car driver should be hunted down and summoned.

Car Driver Gets a Condom for Parking in A Motorcycle Lot

A car driver in Singapore received a condom for his inconsiderate behavior.
The driver had parked his car in a motorcycle parking lot.
A note told the driver to not reproduce.

A car driver in Singapore received a condom for his inconsiderate behavior.

In the picture which has made rounds in the internet, a Mercedes-Benz was parked in a motorcycle parking lot. Someone got ticked off by the crass behavior and stuck a condom and note on the car’s windshield.

The note read, “This is a bike lot, you idiot. Here is a condom so you don’t reproduce.”

The report said that the picture “memo” received many positive comments from motorcyclists who often encounter such instances. They even uploaded pictures of cars that committed the same offence.

C’mon, just admit it. All of us felt like doing this to a car that’s parked in a motorcycle lot. There are so many of such cases here in Malaysia. We pull up to a parking area for motorcycles only to find it occupied by a car. Then we had to park elsewhere and ended up getting fined or worse, finding the city council minions had clamped the front brake lever. Yet cars, especially luxury ones get away scot-free.

This isn’t to say that motorcyclists are angels when it comes to parking. Many a time when motorcycles are slotted in between parked cars, marking life difficult for car drivers.

So, let’s all be considerate and park accordingly.

Source: Coconuts.co

Indonesia was Largest Motorcycle Market in ASEAN in 2018

Indonesia saw the largest number of motorcycle sales in the ASEAN region in 2018.
The total was nearly half of the total of the entire region.
The country’s large population and income level contributed to the number.

We know for many years that Indonesia is the largest market for motorcycles in the ASEAN region, but it was a toss-up between them and Vietnam.

However, new data by the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) and Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries (FAMI) confirmed that the largest number of motorcycles sold in 2018 was in Indonesia.

In that year alone, motorcycle manufacturers and distributors in the Republic of 260 million souls moved a total of 6,383,111 units. That number represents a whopping 47% of all motorcycle sales in the ASEAN region. In terms of ratio, 1 out of 40.7 persons bought a motorcycle.

The second largest market in 2018 was Vietnam, with 3,386,097 units moved. The population of the country is 94 million. Converting that to a ratio, 1 out of 27.7 persons purchased a bike.

So, although Indonesia contributed the larger total, more Vietnamese bought motorcycles. It could also means that there’s still much space for motorcycle sales, if we know the current motorcycle population in each country.

Anyhow, in third was Thailand with 1,788,323 bikes sold. The Kingdom’s motorcycle market looks to be reaching a saturation point. The Philippines followed closely with 1,582,901 units. Malaysia contributed a distant but not entirely small 494,254. Last was Singapore with 10,377 bikes.

Motorcycles to Get More Expensive in Singapore

Introduction of three-tiered system for the Additional Registration Fee (ARF)
New motorcycles will be required to pay higher taxes

Heng Swee Keat, Finance Minister of Singapore

According to Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) will see two added tiers for more expensive motorcycles. Swee Keat mentioned these new tiers just moments ago during his Budget 2017 speech at the Parliament. In reference to an article written by the Straits Times, all motorcycles purchased in Singapore are currently charged with only 15% tax (ARF) of their price or Open Market Value (OMV). (more…)

Bikesrepublic

Singapore

Motorcyclists traveling from Malaysia to Singapore for work or other purposes are required to comply with the latest emission standards, which will be enforced starting from April 6th.

A car in (again) Singapore rear-ended a stopped motorcycle.

But the driver blamed the motorcyclist.

The video has since gone viral.

A car driver in Singapore received a condom for his inconsiderate behavior.

The driver had parked his car in a motorcycle parking lot.

A note told the driver to not reproduce.

Indonesia saw the largest number of motorcycle sales in the ASEAN region in 2018.

The total was nearly half of the total of the entire region.

The country’s large population and income level contributed to the number.

Introduction of three-tiered system for the Additional Registration Fee (ARF)

New motorcycles will be required to pay higher taxes

Art of Speed 2016 (AOS 2016) will include the first ever Painthead Asia exhibition for creative artists.

Archive

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on YouTube

BikesRepublic