Friends of Ms Cheng Shi Min, the 21-year-old Singaporean who died after plunging down a waterfall in Australia, described her as a jovial and friendly girl who also had a humorous side.

Ms Cheng, also known as Angel to her friends, was hiking with her father, her boyfriend and a family friend in the Blue Mountains National Park when the accident happened at about 1.30pm on Tuesday.

She was taken to Sydney's Westmead Hospital with head and chest injuries, but died yesterday.

Her friends who spoke to The Straits Times were shocked to hear about her death.

Ms Clarise Ong, 19, who knew Ms Cheng when they were primary schoolmates at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School, said: "We have not spoken in a long time, but I would get updates on Facebook and we would sometimes comment on each other's posts. I can't believe her life has ended this way when she had so much potential."

Ms Ong told The Straits Times that Ms Cheng, her senior by two years, would chat with her after classes while waiting for their parents to pick them up from school.

"She was caring, friendly and funny. Not many people would want to talk to a junior they don't know, let alone strike up a friendship," she said.

Another friend, who declined to be named, said Ms Cheng was friendly and cheerful. "We are still trying to accept that she is gone."

Ms Cheng attended CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School for her primary and secondary education, and later studied at Jurong Junior College. She then left the junior college to do her foundation studies at the University of New South Wales.

She was most recently studying early childhood education at Macquarie University in Sydney.

In a blog post four weeks ago, Ms Cheng revealed that she had recently entered into a new relationship.

A day before the hike, she had written about the upcoming trip to the Blue Mountains and how she had bought ingredients on the way home for "a mini-picnic".

In the post, she also said her boyfriend had taken the day off from work to accompany them to the national park. "He doesn't have to, but he has been nothing short of sweet," she wrote.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its deepest condolences to Ms Cheng's family. Its spokesman said the High Commission in Canberra is in close contact with the family and will provide the necessary consular assistance.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Facebook/ChengShiMin, Video screengrabs

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

A Singaporean who, together with his Vietnamese wife, earned a tidy sum of $25,000 to $28,000 a month from vice was jailed for 33 months yesterday.

Quek Choon Leong, 34, and Huynh Thi Kieu Trang, 35, had operated a large-scale and sophisticated enterprise with 32 prostitutes and 10 other staff for two years until their arrest in July 2013.

Huynh was serving a 29-month jail sentence, having admitted to 34 of 103 vice-related charges last year, but was brought back to court to face nine charges for similar offences committed while she and her husband were out on bail for the earlier offences.

She pleaded guilty in April this year to three of the nine charges while Quek admitted to 33 of 97 charges, which were mainly for living on prostitution earnings and harbouring women for prostitution.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong said Huynh first came to Singapore in 2005 and got to know Quek, a hawker. She began visiting regularly and living with Quek, at a lodging house in Tembeling Road.

In 2006, a housemate advised Huynh to source more Vietnamese women to rent out rooms to. She succeeded in securing tenants and would have five or six staying at her lodging house at any point in time.

Afew months later, Quek went to stay with friends in a condominium in Geylang while Huynh returned to Vietnam to give birth to their first child.

In Vietnam, she told acquaintances she would be able to rent them a place to stay in Singapore. A few did come after she had returned.

Around early 2010, Huynh got involved in another enterprise whereby she would meet women arriving at the airport, offer them a place to stay while they worked as hostesses, and collect money from them to remit to her contact in Vietnam.

After the couple were kicked out of the condo following a police raid, they rented two lodging houses in Geylang. Later, they began to hear from a lodger, a freelance prostitute, that she earned more from vice than as a hostess.

In early 2011, Huynh suggested to her husband that they propose that their tenants work as prostitutes under them. Quek initially disagreed but relented after his wife told him it was "trade practice" for prostitutes to hand over $10 per $70 to $80 earned from each customer.

To run the enterprise, the couple recruited several helpers, including two agents in Vietnam to procure attractive women. Each woman would pay Huynh $450 a month, raised to $600 in 2013, for lodging. They signed a tenancy agreement, with a set of "rules" imposed by the couple.

Huynh would arrange for the women to solicit customers in Geylang and hire lookouts for law enforcement officers so she could warn her workers.

On average, the couple had about 20 women working under them per month, and received prostitution earnings of $25,000 to $28,000.

Quek used part of the earnings to gamble at the Resorts World Sentosa casino, converting chips worth between $23,630 and $29,000 on three occasions in June and July 2013.

DPP Zhou said investigation showed that in October 2014, Quek rented a unit in Changi Road at $3,000 a month. They were on court bail at the time.

And some time before early August last year - weeks before she was jailed - Huynh again arranged for three Vietnamese women to come and work as prostitutes.

For that, she was given an additional 10 months' jail in April this year which will take effect after she finishes her current jail sentence.

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

A director of an Indonesian company suspected of contributing to last year's haze did not turn up for an interview with the authorities here, even though he was served with a legal notice to attend it when he was in Singapore.

But the director, who has since left Singapore, can be detained if he tries to enter Singapore again.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday that it has obtained a court warrant against the director to secure his attendance when he enters Singapore. It did not name him or his company, which is believed to have started fires or let its concessions burn.

"This means that if the director enters Singapore, he can be detained by NEA officers for the purpose of investigations," said an NEA spokesman, adding that the move is in accordance with Singapore's Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

The Act, passed in 2014, was wielded for the first time last year to punish those responsible for causing or condoning fires if burning results in unhealthy levels of haze here. Those found guilty can be fined up to $100,000 a day, capped at a total of $2 million, for causing unhealthy haze, defined as a 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) value of 101 or greater for 24 hours or more.

NEA sent six Indonesia-based firms notices under the Act asking them to explain steps they are taking to put out and prevent fires on their land. NEA's latest move comes after Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said in April that only two firms had replied. Referring to the same director who missed the interview, Mr Masagos said the director, who is from one of the other four firms, had been served a notice to give information about his company's steps to mitigate fires on its land and prevent a repeat of last year's haze.

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

After disappearing from television screens for more than a decade, former Channel 8 actor Peter Yu is making a comeback in a drama series that airs in November.

Currently working full-time as a taxi driver, the 48-year-old will probably find the return to acting quite easy when he begins filming for the Channel 8 drama Hero later this month - he will be playing a character modelled on himself.

He says: "The role is a man who was once a popular actor, but who got into a lot of trouble and whose life fell apart after he got divorced.

"The show will have him pick up the pieces of his life and start over as a new guy," he tells The Straits Times over the telephone in a mix of Mandarin and English.

Anyone familiar with Yu's story will know that the description sounds almost exactly like what he has experienced.

A finalist in the local TV station's talent hunt Star Search in 1990, he won a Top 10 Most Popular Artiste Award in 1997 at the height of his fame. The next year, he married fellow artist and host Quan Yi Fong, whom he met on the comedy- drama Happy Travel Agency (1998).

In 2008, he divorced her, fell into depression and became hooked on gambling. By 2011, he had reportedly run up debts of more than $100,000 after overspending on credit cards.

He got his act back together. A born-again Christian, he has been paying off his debts in regular instalments: "I will hopefully be completely debt-free by next year," he says.

Yu, who has a 16-year-old daughter with Quan named Eleanor, also has a new family. He married a sales merchandiser in 2011 and the couple have a son aged four, with their second child due in August.

Hero's executive producer Jasmine Woo approached him to return to TV acting after thinking about it for a year.

She watched him perform in the musical The Search For True Love last July, one of the handful of stage roles he accepted in the past two years, and believes that there is still room for him in TV.

"So I met him and talked about him making a TV comeback. As we talked, we saw that we could write a whole character based on his life," she says of Yu's role, which features prominently in the script of the upcoming drama.

"And I always believe in second chances. Everyone goes through some bad times in his life, but we should give him a helping hand if we can. I feel that his life story is very inspirational and that it would be great for TV."

While details of the character have been exaggerated or modified from real life, Yu says he is "okay with that".

"As long as this role can inspire viewers to live their lives to the fullest and know that they can pick themselves up no matter what kind of troubles they have, that's all that matters to me."

Does his involvement in Hero - which will also star Shaun Chen, Chen Hanwei and Jesseca Liu - signal a possible return to full-time acting on TV?

"I'm open to the idea. I don't know what will happen - it's all part of God's plan and I'll just see. I just know that I feel happy with my life now and that I'll be back at the TV station as a changed person."

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The Singapore Sports Hub is confident the National Stadium pitch will be ready in time for Saturday's Super Rugby match between the Sunwolves and Stormers.

The state of the "lay-and-play" field attracted criticism following Tuesday's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup game between Tampines Rovers and Selangor.

It appeared sandy and uneven in patches. Players including Jermaine Pennant and Fahrudin Mustafic complained about the pitch conditions, saying that it was "slippery and bumpy" and lamenting that "we had to take an extra touch to bring the ball under control".

Yesterday, a concerned Rugby Singapore chairman Low Teo Ping chimed in, saying: "The pitch is terrible.

"I may not necessarily be the expert in this area of management, but I think they had ample time to do something about it. And I don't think they did much about it."

Referring to events that were held at the Kallang venue over the past month that left visible worn markings on the pitch, he added: "Looking at it positively, those are the scars of success."

He was referring to the 55,000-seat venue hosting the April 16-17 HSBC World Rugby Singapore Sevens and last week's Asia Masters Athletics Championships, which concluded on Sunday.

While noting the short turnaround time between the events, Low said that there are no excuses.

He said: "If you've got to work at it (through) the night, so be it."

When the National Stadium reopened two years ago, the grass in its $800,000 Desso GrassMaster pitch was unable to grow properly because the stadium's dome design did not allow sufficient sunlight in.

The Sports Hub then invested more than $2 million in growth lights and a "lay-and-play" surface with warm-weather grass, only for the problems to resurface.

But a spokesman for the Sports Hub said yesterday that "we have confidence in our pitch maintenance regime and will be conducting necessary tests to secure the required approvals and clearances ahead of Saturday's rugby games".

She pointed out that the field had been certified fit to stage the Tampines-Selangor game, noting: "For Tuesday's match, our pitch met the required standards and passed inspection by the AFC match commissioner ahead of the game."

She also gave the assurance that "the integrity and playability of the pitch" and the safety of athletes remain a priority.

To that end, the field is assessed regularly under an internationally recognised process approved by world football body Fifa and World Rugby. Tests are conducted before and after major events.

"The process includes measuring surface safety and playability for players," the spokesman explained.

"These include evaluation for, for example, shock absorption, vertical deformation (a measure of the stability of the surface as it is impacted when a player runs across it) as well as rotational resistance (a measure of the traction provided by the playing surface)."

The national women's rugby team are hoping that their Test match against Hong Kong, a curtain-raiser for the Super Rugby game, will not fall victim to pitch issues.

Singapore coach Wang Shao Ing said: "My only concern now is whether they will call off the curtain-raiser to preserve the pitch (for Super Rugby).

"Let's hope that we won't have to do that."

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) will take in 467 students this year, a record high for the institution.

The figure, a 20 per cent increase from last year's intake of 386, is close to its intake capacity of 500.

Previously, its intakes had ranged from 280 to 340, raising questions about whether it was being too selective.

SUTD, which took in its first batch of students in 2012, said then that it was going for "quality, not quantity" because of its rigorous curriculum, developed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

It received 3,055 applications this year, an 18.4 per cent increase from last year. About 40 per cent of its intake this year are females.

Besides having good grades, applicants must write a 500-word essay about themselves.

They are also invited to submit portfolios, videos and personal blogs to support their applications.

Shortlisted applicants then face a panel interview.

SUTD president, Professor Thomas Magnanti, said: "This is our fifth batch and I am very heartened by the record number.

"We look forward to nurturing them over the next 3½ years into becoming holistic engineers and architects who identify and solve society's problems not just from a technological aspect but also with an eye for design, relevance and usability."

In response to queries, an SUTD spokesman said that it looks for "bright and well-rounded students with a passion for technology and design".

She said the rise in the number of applications could also be due to its outreach efforts, ranging from school visits and workshops to its open house.

Other factors include its expanded overseas programmes and the positive employment outcomes of its pioneer graduates last year.

SUTD, Singapore's fourth university which partners MIT and China's Zhejiang University, offers specialisation in four areas: architecture and sustainable design; engineering product development; engineering systems and design; and information systems technology and design.

Some new undergraduates said they were attracted by its broad- based approach, which requires students of all disciplines to take common subjects such as physics and humanities.

Mr Leong Hei Kern, 22, who graduated from Singapore Polytechnic in 2013 with a grade point average of 3.99 out of 4, said the common curriculum helps students to understand each other's specialisations.

"Your classmate could be an architect or engineer in the future," said the Public Service Commission scholar, who added that working together across specialisations can help to create products that are both user-friendly and functional.

Former Raffles Institution student Afiffah Ab Ghapar said: "I like that architecture is taught in a technologically-driven way."

The 18-year-old, who scored six As in her A levels, spent a week in January attached to architecture students at SUTD as part of a job shadowing programme organised by the Building and Construction Authority.

"Design is not just about aesthetics; there could be other aspects that require skills like coding and software programming," she said.

"It's challenging, but it made me think that if I had that knowledge it would make me stand out."

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

A school teacher who hit an elderly pedestrian as she was changing lanes was fined $4,000 and banned from driving for two years yesterday for causing death by negligence.

In a rare move, the prosecution told the court that the 83-year-old woman's family recognised it was an accident and had forgiven Siti Ainah Maduri.

It asked the court to be lenient to the 25-year-old, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao, who spoke on behalf of a family member.

Siti Ainah admitted to failing to keep a proper lookout while moving from the centre to the right of the three-lane Bukit Batok East Avenue 6 at about 3.40pm on April 27 last year. This resulted in her hitting Madam Chan Poh Quan, who was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The court heard Siti Ainah was intending to turn right at the cross junction and two-thirds of her car was in the turning lane before she saw Madam Chan crossing the road in front of her.

Siti Ainah applied the brakes but could not stop in time and hit Madam Chan.

Her lawyer Peter Ong said his client was deeply sorry for having caused Madam Chan's death, and was traumatised after the accident.

He said she had been a careful driver with a clean record.

Mr Ong said he was grateful the prosecution was not pressing for a custodial sentence.

District Judge John Ng said the family recognised Madam Chan had crossed within 50m of the traffic junction and put herself at risk.

"It is clear that if you had paid slightly closer attention, you might have seen Madam Chan earlier, and therefore, you might have avoided this fatal consequence," he said.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

A former DBS branch relationship manager who cheated 11 victims of almost $700,000 over two years was jailed for 56 months yesterday.

Eng Sze Keat, 32, had admitted to 27 counts of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, transferring property which represented benefits from criminal conduct, and theft. Another 73 charges were taken into consideration.

When part of the sales team at the Royal Brothers Building branch of DBS, his duties included selling unit trusts, insurance policies and foreign exchange products to DBS customers.'

He also helped customers to deposit or withdraw cash, and handled office administrative work.

Investigations showed that most of his customers who eventually became his victims were either elderly or non-Singapore residents.

After his customers agreed to buy a product and filled in their personal details on the necessary application forms, he assured them that he would fill in their remaining details later.

He would either slip in a fund transfer request form, a fixed deposit transaction form or an MAS Electronic Payment System application form for the customers to sign, or forge their signatures.

He would then fill in the forms with instructions to transfer the money to his friends' or family's bank accounts, including those of his ex-girlfriend and his mother.

Once the money was transferred, he would either ask them to transfer those funds into his bank account or withdraw the money in cash and pass it to him.

His offences involved a total of $717,226, including cheating DBS customers of $689,173.

His ex-girlfriend reported him to the police in 2011, alleging that he had used her details to apply for credit cards without her authorisation. He has since made full restitution of $28,000 to her for credit card fraud offences.

Four months later, the Commercial Affairs Department received a report from DBS, alleging that Eng had made unauthorised withdrawals from his clients' accounts.

On Aug 12 that year, Eng left for China with a performing artiste from China. He turned himself in four years later when he returned to Singapore last June.

District Judge Lee Poh Choo said Eng, represented by Mr Josephus Tan, exploited his position and had brought disrepute to DBS, a recognised Singapore brand. She noted that the the amount taken was substantial, and Eng had targeted and cheated vulnerable victims.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Stories of residents living in Pulau Ubin

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

AsiaOne, The New Paper, The Straits Times

Take a boat tour through the secret mangroves of Ubin, kayak in the calm waters of the Ubin Quarry and embark on a night walk to spot the nocturnal creatures of the island.

These are just some of the highlights at the longest open house event held to date on the island.

Called Pesta Ubin, it will run for five weeks, starting tomorrow and ending on June 12. Pesta is Malay for festival or party.

More than 50 activities have been lined up, from nature walks and cycling tours to kayaking expeditions and nature sketching.

Previous open houses at Ubin were usually one- or two-day events. But organisers felt cramming so many events in a short time affected the experience for participants, says Ms Ria Tan, who is coordinating the open house for the third time this year.

Ms Tan, 55, who runs wildlife website Wildsingapore, says: "Ubin was crowded. There were queues for bumboats, restaurants and toilets. This was not the Ubin we love and want people to experience."

By organising the open house over a longer period, the organisers hope participants can experience "normal" Ubin with its life in the slow lane and its friendly people.

Ms Tan says: "It also spreads out the pressure on facilities and organising groups can choose from many dates to offer activities."

She says there has been an outpouring of support and more than 30 individuals and organisations have come on board to offer activities.

Besides familiar faces in previous Ubin open houses such as veteran nature guide Subaraj Rajathurai, green groups such as Nature Society (Singapore) and private companies such as Asian Detours, there are a number of new participants this time.

One of them is Dr Dan Friess, 33, and his group of volunteers from the Restore Ubin Mangroves or R.U.M. initiative. The group, comprising nature enthusiasts and mangrove researchers, will be conducting guided walks and boat tours of the mangroves at the south-eastern part of the island.

Dr Friess, an assistant professor at the department of geography at the National University of Singapore, says: "Singapore's coastline used to be largely covered with mangrove forests. Though only fragments remain, they still provide us with many benefits, which we will discuss on the tours."

He adds that visitors will get to see many of the unique plants and animals that have adapted to the coastal environment.

Also new to Ubin open house is Mr Joseph Sng, 26, project director of Treasure SG, a non-profit treasure hunt project held in Singapore last year to celebrate SG50.

Mr Sng, who works as a procurement executive, is taking the project to Ubin this time because he feels that the island is a part of Singapore that many people tend to forget.

He says: "How many people stop to appreciate the beauty and understand the story behind Ubin?"

On the treasure hunt, participants follow a trail of clues which will lead them to 10 spots in Ubin town. Each spot can be identified by an information tag or laminated cardboard containing information about the history of the place.

Another newcomer is Morocco- born photographer and visual artist Juria Toramae, 32, who works in Singapore. She will be putting up an exhibition called Islands Of Memories featuring 51 photos of things and people found in Ubin.

She says: "The exhibition serves as a peek into memories I have collected in the past few years. It includes photos I have taken, as well as photos found in flea markets and donated by others."

Her exhibition will be shown at the shop of retiree Henry Lim. Mr Lim, 63, has also offered his space for a free "kampung photo shoot" where people can don sarongs and red clogs for photos.

At the same venue, visitors can also colour copies of the Pulau Ubin Fun Map. Drawn by nature lovers 15 years ago, the intricate map is filled with details of places in Ubin, some of which are already lost.

Former Ubin open house supporters such as environmental education group Cicada Tree Eco-Place is taking the opportunity of the extended run to organise more activities for families.

Other than a night walk to spot critters, it will also be holding its first walk in Ubin for children to spot the musang, or common palm civet.

It will also organise a two-day one-night nature camp for families at the newly opened Ubin Living Lab. Located at the south-western tip of the island, the research and educational hub opened in February this year and comes with facilities such as seminar rooms and a campsite.

Using the Living Lab as a base, families can go on at least three guided walks along the kampung trails in Ubin.

Father of four and IT manager Andy Lee, 42, thinks it will be too challenging to take his four children, aged seven to 13, for the camp. But he plans to let them take part in the treasure hunt.

He applauds the idea to hold the event over five weeks. He says: "This way, we can choose to go on weekdays when it is less crowded."

Highlights

1. OPEN HOUSE AT PULAU UBIN FISH FARMS

Meet fish farmers on Pulau Ubin and learn how sea water fish are reared at some of their farms.

When: Tomorrow to June 12

Time: 10am to 5pm

Cost: $15 a person

Info: To register, leave a private message at Sea Angel Facebook page with your name, mobile number, number of people in your group and date and time that you want to visit the farm.

2. TREASURE UBIN

Find out how well you know Ubin town by taking part in this treasure hunt which features 10 hidden treasure tags in the main village of Ubin.

Take a selfie with each tag and upload it onto social media with #TreasureSG, #TreasureUbin and #PestaUbin and stand a chance to win prizes such as books, vounchers and goodie bags.

When: Tomorrow to June 12

Cost: Free

Info: No registration required. Go to Treasure SG Facebook Page and Instagram (@TreasureSG) to find the clues and start the treasure hunt

3. MAD FOR MUSANG! FOR KIDS WITH CICADA TREE ECO-PLACE

Try to spot a musang (above) or common palm civet as it looks for its dinner. Along the way, you may even spot other shy nocturnal wildlife such as the Buffy Fish-owl. Learn why these animals are important to the ecosystem.

When: May 27

Time: 7.30 to 10pm

Where: Meet at 42 Pulau Ubin, opposite the Wayang Stage, three minutes' walk from Ubin Jetty

Cost: $10 for participants aged five years and older

4. NIGHT MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP WITH NICKY BAY

Try your hand at night macro photography and capture nocturnal creatures as they emerge from their hideouts to hunt.

When: May 28

Time: 7pm to midnight

Where: Meet at Uncle Lim's shop, 42 Pulau Ubin, opposite the Wayang Stage, three minutes' walk from Ubin Jetty

Cost: $120 (includes materials for flash diffuser and chartered boat ride back to Changi Ferry Terminal). Pay by bank transfer

Info: To register, e-mail nicky@bay.to with your name, contact number and a description of your macro photography experience

5. DISCOVER UBIN WITH STRIX WILDLIFE CONSULTANCY

Join Subaraj Rajathurai from Strix Wildlife Consultancy as he conducts this nature walk and shares fascinating stories about the history and heritage of Pulau Ubin.

When: June 1 and 8

Time: 8 to 11am, meet at 7.40am

Where: Meet at assembly area opposite the HSBC Volunteer Hub, about six minutes' walk from Ubin Jetty

Cost: $15 a participant. Proceeds will go to the Vertebrate Study Group, Nature Society (Singapore)

Info: No registration required. Maximum 40 people

6. FAMILY NATURE CAMP WITH CICADA TREE ECO-PLACE

Experienced nature guides from Cicada Tree Eco-Place will lead at least three guided nature walks along Ubin kampung trails.

Families also get to spend a night in tents at a campsite at the rustic Ubin Living Lab (above). When: June 3 to 4

Time: 9.30am (June 3) to noon (June 4)

Where: Meet at Ubin Jetty

Info: Cost and other details to be confirmed. Go to pestaubin2016. blogspot.sg for updates

7. BOAT TOUR OF UBIN MANGROVES WITH RESTORE UBIN MANGROVES (R.U.M.) INITIATIVE

In these 11/2-hour tours, learn about unique mangrove plants and animals from volunteers with R.U.M., a ground-up community effort to restore mangroves at Pulau Ubin.

When: June 4

Time: 9, 11am and 1pm

Where: Meet at assembly area opposite the HSBC Volunteer Hub

Cost: Free. No registration required

8. BALIK CHEK JAWA

Volunteer guides will be stationed along the boardwalk at Chek Jawa to point out the thriving wildlife at the wetlands, which were saved from reclamation in 2001.

When: June 5

Time: 9am to noon

Where: Chek Jawa information kiosk Cost: Free. No registration required

9. MANGROVE KAYAKING EXPEDITION WITH ADVENTURES BY ASIAN DETOURS

Join experienced kayak guides as they lead you on a short open sea jaunt before entering the serene mangroves of Ubin.

When: June 5

Time: 9.30am to before 2pm

Where: Meet next to Ubin Jetty, at the beach behind the bicycle shops

Cost: $35 an adult, $30 a child

Info: Register at pestaubin2016.blogspot.sg

10. KAYAKING AT UBIN QUARRY

Explore Ubin Quarry with instructors from Outward Bound Singapore and Republic Polytechnic, who will share the history and snippets about the wildlife of the quarry, which is usually closed to the public.

When: June 11

Time: 10am to 5pm

Where: Meet at the "Y u so like dat" drinks stall

Cost: Free (limited to 250 participants)

Info: For more details, go to www.obs.nyc.gov.sg and www.rp.edu.s

For more information on the above and other events at Pesta Ubin, go to pestaubin2016.blogspot.sg

Unless otherwise stated, participants will pay at the meeting point. Places are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Take a boat ride through Pulau Ubin's mangroves. http: //str.sg/4oqz

leawee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

From ramps incorporated into main routes around the estate to large light switches that are easy to reach within flats, Housing Board project SkyVille@Dawson has many user-friendly features.

These have helped the estate in Dawson Road, Queenstown, become the first public housing project to clinch the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) highest award for inclusive design.

SkyVille@Dawson is one of three Platinum winners of the BCA Universal Design Mark this year and among 25 winners in all - ranging from homes to malls to parks - announced by the BCA yesterday.

"Universal design is about addressing the needs of as many people as possible, including those with disabilities and the elderly," said Mr Teo Orh Hai, the BCA's acting group director for building plan and management.

That includes ramps and corridors wide enough for wheelchairs, as well as facilities catering to people of all ages, such as playgrounds that incorporate fitness stations for older adults.

But universal design also extends to subtler touches, such as large, clear signs to help people find their way around, and adequate seating.

At Bedok Mall and Bedok Residences - a Gold Plus winner - plenty of seating is available throughout the integrated mall and private apartments, giving shoppers and residents places to rest. The development is one of four projects by developer CapitaLand that received Universal Design Mark awards this year.

Another is CapitaGreen, the first stand-alone office development to achieve a Platinum award.

"Universal design is not only about hard physical features, but it's also about taking users into account," said Mr Tan Jwu Yih, director of the BCA's universal design department and one of the assessors for the awards.

Citing SkyVille@Dawson's use of sky gardens to create community spaces in each block, he said: "The designer has understood how users can enjoy and use the space."

The third Platinum winner is the refurbished Enabling Village, a community space with retail, lifestyle and training services for people with disabilities. Its features include an interactive directory that can be adjusted in height to suit wheelchair users, for instance.

The awards will be presented at the BCA Awards ceremony on May 26 at Resorts World Sentosa.

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Turmeric latte or "golden milk" - a combination of nut milk and juiced turmeric root - is the hot beverage of 2016.

The spice most often associated with Indian cuisine has become a hipster health drink of choice. Google singled out turmeric's rise in popularity in a new report on food trends after searches for the spice increased by 56 per cent from November 2015 to January 2016.

The most popular way to consume it in the west is in lattes: "golden milk" is among the top online searches associated with the spice.

Turmeric lattes are now available at cafes spanning the globe, from Sydney to San Francisco, and the drink is also gaining popularity in Britain, according to a report in The Guardian.

Nama, a vegan restaurant in London's Notting Hill, reported a recent surge in demand for turmeric latte - even though it has sold the drink for nearly two years.

A prescient former employee used to whip them up for the staff, and they went down so well that the latte ended up on the menu.

"Nobody was really serving them," Nama co-founder Irene Arango told The Guardian. "We used to do little tastings at Nama and people got hooked."

She added that it was also a palatable option for health-conscious diners to get a fix of turmeric juice.

Turmeric is mostly known as the spice in curry rempahs which leaves bright yellow stains on kitchen utensils and chefs' fingers.

But it is not the first ingredient from the South Asian pantry to be hijacked by hipsters: ghee, homemade yoghurt and coconut oil have preceded turmeric's recent meteoric rise in the health food world.

Turmeric and milk is well-known as a restorative in India, and the South Asian recipe website Khana Pakana describes haldi doodh, a turmeric-and-milk concoction as a drink for women who want to lighten their skin.

The spice is also a part of Ayurvedic medicine - the holistic approach to health that has been practised for centuries in India. It is believed to help with everything from cancer to coughs, and is often prescribed to children who have fever. The most commonly used recipe calls for turmeric powder mixed with milk and a dash of black pepper, as well as an optional addition of ghee.

Turmeric's rise as a food fad is tied to this history as a health remedy as it is promoted as an anti-inflammatory and an alternative to a caffeinated drink. Ms Arango told the Guardian the turmeric latte is particularly popular with customers in the mornings.

Other variations of the turmeric latte are made with an espresso shot, and as an iced drink. The health hipster twists on the age-old haldi doodh beverage also include using cold-pressed turmeric juice, and adding steamed almond milk or coconut milk instead of regular cow's milk.

Market research firm Mintel previously named turmeric as one of its foods to watch in 2016. It has done the rounds of wellness blogs, websites and Instagram accounts for several months, and recipes for the drink abound on Pinterest.

This article was first published on May 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

After almost 16 years, the Singapore national football team could be led by a local coach once again.

The Straits Times understands that Tampines Rovers' head coach V. Sundramoorthy, 50, has emerged as a front runner for the job vacated by German Bernd Stange last month.

The last local to coach the Lions on a permanent basis was Vincent Subramaniam, who held the job from 1999 to 2000.

Sundram, who on Tuesday guided Tampines into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup round of 16, was interviewed by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) last week. Both parties are expected to meet soon to finalise terms, including job scope and expectations.

Responding to queries from ST, an FAS spokesman would only say: "We are finalising the appointment and we expect to make an announcement within the next two weeks."

The new coach's contract will possibly be only till the end of the year, with a foreign coach the likely long-term option.

That said, a good showing at November's ASEAN Football Federation Championship, which Singapore have won four times, could sway the mind of selectors.

It is also unclear where this leaves current national assistant coach Fandi Ahmad, reportedly one of the leading candidates for the job.

Reports in March said he was set to leave the FAS fold although it is understood he had interviewed for the national coaching job.

Sundram, who has previously stated his desire to coach the national team one day, said he is focused on the Stags' game against Home United today and declined to comment.

Tampines chairman Krishna Ramachandra said he had given Sundram his blessings to interview for the Lions job as "the national agenda has always been the key", but reassured fans that the club would not be hit hard should Sundram depart.

Krishna added: "Sundram's coaching style is such that he institutionalises the style of play. We have coach Akbar (Nawas) who's a very astute and supportive assistant and would be a good coach in the wings."

Known for his tactical acumen and defensive nous, Sundram is not new to the national set-up. He had assisted Stange, along with Fandi, for national team matches since June last year.

The former national player had also coached the Lions for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifying match against Jordan in 2013 after Raddy Avramovic stepped down.

His first taste of coaching came in 1999 when he was appointed player-coach for Jurong FC, a post he held till 2003.

Thereafter, he held numerous appointments within the national set-up before being appointed coach of the LionsXII in 2012.

His crowning achievement came a year later when he led the LionsXII to the Malaysian Super League title.

If appointed, his first assignment is a quadrangular football tournament next month in Myanmar. Vietnam and Hong Kong are the other teams involved.

The Lions play the hosts in a semi-final on June 3. The final and third-place play-off is on June 6.

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.