They had it good for 14 years. No wonder then that the first hike in public carpark fees since 2002 had motorists blaring their horns.

The bombshell dropped on June 30. Short-term parking rates are being raised by 20 per cent, while monthly season parking charges will increase by as much as 27 per cent. Residents will also have to pay more for season parking tickets for any car beyond their first.

Protest at the increases - which come into effect in December - came fast and furious, with some drivers pointing out that the hike would also impact businesses, and that there were poor alternatives to driving.

Transport experts pointed out that raising parking charges was inevitable, and the right thing to do amid Singapore's push to be a car-lite society.

Tell that to the drivers whose monthly season parking rates will rise from the $65 to $90 range now for a first car, to $80 to $110. And to CBD workers, for whom short-term parking fees will go from $2 to $2.40 an hour within the restricted zone in the city area. Outside the zone, they will pay $1.20 an hour, up from $1.

Any thoughts of the future, of a better society with fewer cars, would be hard to contemplate amid that impending hit to the hip-pocket.

Adding to their hip-pocket pain is the confusion over why this, why now?

To many, it seems you could get a different answer, depending on who you ask.

The agencies which announced the hike - the Housing Board (HDB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) - said it is to help them recover the costs of running parking operations, which have spiked dramatically.

And earlier this year, both the ministries of National Development and Transport also said carpark charges in Singapore were much lower than other global cities, and parking policies needed to be tweaked to bring them in line.

After their announcement of the parking hikes, and the ire this sparked among shocked motorists, the HDB and URA explained that costs of running public carparks have risen by 40 per cent since the last increase back in 2002. The agencies manage 631,000 public parking spaces.

If charges did not increase, the HDB would lose $100 million a year for its parking operations, it pointed out.

But while the HDB and URA said they were worried about costs, the latter, which has many carparks in the city centre, also said that it was setting higher parking charges "in order to appropriately manage parking demand".

Then, there is the National Development and Transport ministries' take, about bringing Singapore's parking policies in line with other cities, to help reduce reliance on the private car.

Perhaps, to get motorists on board the car-lite bandwagon, better and concerted communication might be needed, to help them see beyond a knee-jerk reaction to raised fees?

EXPERTS SAY IT'S A BLUNT TOOL

Upset motorists may be confused about the reasons for the hike. But some transport experts have also criticised the rise, arguing that a blanket increase blunts its effectiveness as a tool to manage travel or parking behaviour.

Parking policy expert Paul Barter from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy feels strongly that prices should instead be pegged to occupancy targets - and priced such that carparks will always have spaces or be about 85 per cent full.

Parking rates could be dynamic, changing based on whether it was a peak period or in a busy area, said Dr Barter. This could mean that prices could go up much higher than the planned hike, but in some areas or during certain times, they could be lowered or even made free.

"If it's too full, it's too cheap, and if it's too empty, it's too expensive," he said.

Charging HDB residents more for owning more than one car seems one-sided as well, considering most households with more than one car are located in private landed estates.

According to the HDB, only about 31,500 households, out of a total of 981,100 resident HDB households, have more than one car.

While most residents of private estates are adamant they should not be charged for parking outside their homes on public roads, National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der Horng noted: "They park on the road and the road is a public space. If we consider parking as a commodity, then it must come with a price."

NEED FOR A SINGLE AUTHORITY

The carpark fee hike, and subsequent furore, has highlighted another issue about parking policy here - that different government agencies, under different ministries, handle parking matters in different areas.

The HDB takes charge of public housing estates, the URA handles commercial areas and places in the city, and the LTA says it takes a "consultative approach" with residents when deciding whether to put in paid parking at private estates.

However, for parking policy to be wielded as an effective "travel management tool", it must come under the auspices of a single authority. That is according to a study released this month by a Singapore Government think-tank, the Centre for Liveable Cities , and the Urban Land Institute, a research organisation based in the United States. The study said this would ensure that "parking planning and management are more aligned with overall land use and transport policies".

Bad policies, on the other hand, can handicap the car-lite effort.

The study, which puts forward 10 recommendations for how cities can go car-lite, said cities needed to put a stop to cheap and easy parking, as this prompts people to drive.

Interestingly, while it discourages use of the private automobile, the study does not say that cars have no place in the cities of the future. Instead, it encourages thinking of the car as a mobility service - with cars being shared, serving the transport needs of multiple people.

Car ownership and its private usage may become unnecessary. The writing is already on the wall. Last month, it was announced that an electric car-sharing scheme will be launched from next year.

Such schemes make sense, considering cars spend only 4 per cent of their time in motion and the rest of the time parked.

Singapore's car-lite movement has been gathering steam for some time now and you can see the broad outline of what the city would look like in the future.

Towns would have cycling networks like those in Ang Mo Kio, with bike-sharing stations like those that will be built in the Jurong Lake District next year.

People would also be able to bring their foldable bikes and mobility devices onto buses and trains, boosting their utility as commuting tools, if a six-month trial announced last week by the Transport Minister is successful.

More importantly, the public transport network is being beefed up, with a much more comprehensive network by the time expansions are completed by 2030.

At the moment, the car is usually the fastest way to get to any destination - if public transport can close this gap, it will win over many converts.

A car-lite Singapore in 2030 will probably be a city with less parking for fewer cars. It will likely cost a lot more to park, but cars will spend less time in a carpark, and more time shared among users on the roads.

The hope is, by then, people would choose not to own a car, not because charges have made it too frustrating to own one, but because alternatives will present a much better ride.

This article was first published on July 28, 2016.
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Time has run out for establishments here that have shisha tobacco on the menu to phase it out and find other business models.

From Monday, they will have to stop serving shisha.

Shisha was banned in November 2014, but the authorities allowed existing retailers and importers to sell it until July 31 this year.

However, many of them say shisha was their main offering and that they have not been able to find other sustainable models.

Thus, they say, it is the end of the line for them, too.

The Ministry of Health had said in a press statement, when shisha tobacco was banned, that the grace period was to allow retailers "ample time to deplete their stock and restructure their business away from shisha".

However 18 out of 20 cafes and restaurants contacted in the Kampong Glam and Boat Quay areas said the non-shisha models they tried have not worked well.

When The Straits Times visited last Friday, two licensed restaurants were selling shisha: Derwish Turkish Restaurant in Bussorah Street and the Sahara Restaurant in Boat Quay.

MOVING ON, WITHOUT SHISHA ON THE MENU

Twelve out of 14 restaurants that have depleted their stock of shisha tobacco in the past year said they lost about 60 per cent of their customers after they stopped providing it, while the remaining two put their loss at about 90 per cent.

Mr Esad Sedjic, 46, who owns four restaurants including Sahara Restaurant in Boat Quay, said: "I tried to restructure my business model, focusing on Mediterranean cuisine and expanding the menu, but it has been unsuccessful, as our patrons come solely for shisha.

"I have already put up two of my restaurants on sale. After the end of July, I will have to reconsider continuing business at Sahara as well."

Mr Mahmoud Mohamed, 28, who owns Elhalal Restaurant in Haji Lane, is another proprietor planning to sell his business soon.

When he stopped selling shisha 15 months ago, his customer numbers dropped drastically.

"The business is not profitable for me any more," he said.

While many cafe owners lament the ban, some, such as the owner of Derwish Turkish, Mr Mohamad Salim, 35, agree with its rationale.

He said: "Before, this area used to see many underage smokers, lower seating capacity and fights breaking out regularly.

"Now, I see more families and children frequenting the area, and it is peaceful here."

Mr Salim has used the two years since the ban to restructure his business.

He closed two other restaurants he owned and focused on improving the menu and building a family-friendly ambience at his remaining establishments.

He said: "What we need now, is more tourism in the area. There should be events and festivals for people to experience the spirit of Kampong Glam and to change the fixation around shisha smoking."

The owner of Blue Jaz Cafe in Bali Lane, Mr Jose Villanueva, 45, has also taken the ban in his stride.

"After we stopped selling shisha in December, we saw a dip in business, but we managed to sustain it.

"The sale of shisha tobacco is not our bread and butter."

Besides selling food and beverages, Blu Jaz Cafe now also hosts more events such as birthday parties and corporate events.

One patron at the Sahara Restaurant, who wanted to be known only as Ms Pang agrees with the ban.

The 27-year-old sales executive said she had smoked shisha regularly for five years, and wanted to stop.

She said: "Perhaps, the ban in Singapore will be the catalyst for people like me to quit the habit."

18

18 out of 20 cafes and restaurants contacted in Kampong Glam and Boat Quay said non-shisha models they tried have not worked well.

60 per cent

Twelve out of 14 restaurants that have depleted their stock of shisha in the past year said they lost 60 per cent of customers after they stopped providing the product.

90 per cent

The remaining two out of 14 restaurants that have depleted their stock put losses at 90 per cent.

This article was first published on July 28, 2016.
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Spectra Secondary School is using an unusual method to deliver its Character and Citizenship Education programme to students.

It is using horses in what is called Equine-Assisted Learning Therapy, or Equal, run by non-profit group Equal-Ark Singapore.

Equal - which is usually a 16-session programme - aims to help young people work through emotional and behavioural issues through interaction with horses.

It is offered to vulnerable youth through the Ministry of Social and Family Development, voluntary welfare organisations and some Ministry of Education schemes.

Two other programmes run by the group are Equal Scholar-Lite and Equal Scholars, which are more intense and of longer duration. They add on extensive community engagement, with Equal Scholars providing school and job support services for youth and persons with disabilities who are not in education, employment or training.

For Spectra Secondary, Equal was adapted into its curriculum for all Secondary 2 students.

The therapy is based on the belief that horse-human interaction helps facilitate therapeutic and learning outcomes.

It works by allowing students to interact closely with the horses, which includes experiencing how to lead, groom and even shower the animals.

For example, the theme of respect is explored by allowing the students to interact with a few free-roaming horses in a riding arena. This takes place at the National Equestrian Park in Jalan Mashhor, where Equal-Ark has access to a block of 16 stables, an arena and classrooms.

Spectra Secondary uses horses to help students work through issues

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The Straits Times

The students try to guide the animals with hand gestures and body language. Sometimes the horses respond, and sometimes they do not.

Questions are then posed to the students: "How did it feel when the horse did not respond? What did or did not feel respectful?"

After the session, students are asked to reflect on and relate their experience to real-life scenarios both at school and at home.

Equal director Desmond Wong says the equine environment is an effective and novel platform for rehabilitation, with the group seeing 600 beneficiaries every year.

Horses, he says, are "very sensitive to social cues. As such, they provide direct feedback to a youth's emotions and internal state. This helps the facilitators identify and process key issues in a safe space."

Mr S. B. Sivaganesh, the head of department of student development at Spectra Secondary, says that as a result of the therapy, "students are more empathetic towards the needs of their classmates".

"They are also more accommodative and respectful in their daily dealings with their schoolmates".

Spectra Secondary student Zulfaqar Norani, 15, was in the Equal Scholars programme last year while with the Singapore Boys' Hostel.

This year, he is back with his Secondary 2 classmates at Spectra Secondary as a mentor alongside Equal Therapy facilitators.

He was reluctant to go back to school initially, but after the Equal Scholars programme, he decided to enrol in Spectra Secondary again to complete his N levels.

Mr Wong said: "When Zul first came in, he was quite withdrawn and indifferent but, over time, he developed a strong sense of empathy.

"He became, in some ways, a pro-social role model to his peers. The fact that he chose to go back to school was very encouraging to his peers in Equal Scholars."

This article was first published on July 28, 2016.
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The 64-year-old man accused of murdering a coffee shop helper in Lorong 23 Geylang was taken to several locations in the area by the police yesterday morning.

These included the spot where the alleged murder took place, and a hardware shop where Toh Sia Guan is believed to have bought the murder weapon.

Toh allegedly killed Mr Goh Eng Thiam, 52, between 7.30am and 8am on July 9 along Lorong 23.

Fatal fight in Geylang

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Stomp, The New Paper, Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, The Straits Times

The victim was found dead on the road with a deep cut from his left ear to the top of his head.

A wooden stick and a bloodied knife were lying nearby.

Toh arrived in Lorong 23 Geylang in a white unmarked van just after 10.30am.

Dressed in a red polo shirt and a pair of navy shorts, he had restraints on his wrists and ankles.

Showing little emotion, he walked down a stretch of the road flanked by two plainclothes police officers.

He was heard speaking to investigators softly in Hokkien as he recalled the sequence of events.

At times, he paused to gesture at several locations, including the spot where a fight allegedly broke out between him and the victim.

Police officers also took him to the alley next to the Victoria Food Court coffee shop at the junction of Lorong 23 and Geylang Road, where Toh is believed to have seen the victim from a distance.

Police investigators were also spotted noting down the escape route that Toh had allegedly taken after committing the crime.

About half an hour later, they went to a hardware shop in Lorong 25, where Toh is believed to have bought the murder weapon.

Toh led police to an aisle inside Budget Value, pointing to a basket of fruit knives stored on the lower shelf.

Each knife was priced at $2.90 with the blade measuring about 15cm.

He also showed them where he bought a pair of yellow slippers costing $4.90. A slipper had been found near the crime scene.

Close to noon, Toh was taken to a back lane next to Lorong Bachok.

He then led police investigators along the shophouses in Lorong 17 to a green trash bin, where he had supposedly thrown his clothes away.

It is understood that he ran to Lorong 3, about 1km away, after that.

Toh's case is due to be mentioned tomorrow.

If convicted of murder, he faces the death penalty.

This article was first published on July 28, 2016.
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H&M has released its first three looks from the Kenzo x H&M collection. The colourful tiger- stripe prints are classic Kenzo, the French fashion brand known for its designs with bold and vivid animal prints.

For this collection, expect items such as tiger-print jersey rollneck tops, leggings and jeans, as well as an oversized black leather jacket with pink faux shearling lining and a parka with a removable printed collar.

Accessories include padded flip-flops, printed scarves and cross-body bags, among others.

Prices range from $17.90 for a pair of tabi socks to $599 for a men's down jacket to $699 for a women's tiered dress.

The collection will be available at H&M Orchard Flagship building and Ion Orchard, and online, from Nov 3.

This article was first published on July 28, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - Some 150 victims have lost more than $12 million in a DHL phone scam from end-March to June, a district court heard on Thursday (July 28).

Deputy Public Prosecutor Charis Low revealed this when the case of three Malaysians - Hiu Sheng Fatt, 21, Ooi Lun Xiang and Tee Jia Yong, both 22 - came up for mention in court. The trio were first hauled to court on July 16 to face two charges each.

The prosecution have tendered an amended charge against them.

Hiu is alleged to have been concerned in an arrangement to withdraw money from his United Overseas Bank account - sums amounting to $143,800 - which represented an unknown person's benefits from criminal conduct, having reasonable grounds to believe that by the arrangement, the control by the unknown person of his benefits of criminal conduct was facilitated.

Ooi and Tee are said to have been concerned in the arrangement to withdraw $143,800 from Hiu's UOB account on July 14, having reasonable grounds to believe that an unknown person had engaged in criminal conduct.

If convicted under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, they could each be fined up to $500,000 and/or jailed for up to 10 years.

DPP Low said the three Malaysians came to Singapore on July 14 to withdraw monies amounting to $143,800 from Hiu's UOB bank account. These monies came from victims of what is commonly known as the "DHL phone scam".

That afternoon, sums totalling $121,900 were successfully withdrawn and the prosecution believes that these monies have been transferred out of the country.

She asked that no bail be allowed for Hiu as he is a foreigner and a flight risk.

She told District Judge Christopher Goh that this was a grave offence involving a foreign syndicate. The individuals came to Singapore for the sole purpose of committing the crime.

Between end March and end June this year, police received more than 3,000 calls and reports, of which about 155 victims have lost a total of more than $12 million.

Both Ooi and Tee were remanded for another week for investigation into their roles in the withdrawal of monies from another bank account, related to the DHL phone scam.

The case will be mentioned again on Aug 4.

Top 7 scams in Singapore and more

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www.scamalert.sg

This article was first published on July 28, 2016.
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A mother and daughter were yesterday accused of murdering their Myanmar maid.

Housewife Prema Naraynasamy, 58, and 36-year-old Gaiyathiri Murugayan showed little emotion when charged in court with killing Ms Piang Ngaih Don, a 24-year-old mother of a young child, in a ninth-floor flat at Block 145 in Bishan some time between July 25 and 26.

But Gaiyathiri was seen weeping after she spotted family members in the public gallery.

Her husband is believed to have worked in the police force and they have a young daughter.

They live in the flat where the alleged murder took place.

Neighbours were shocked to hear of the arrest, describing the family as just like any other.

Ms Piang, who had been working for the family for about a year, was from the Dimpi Village in Tedim Township, Chin state, in Myanmar.

She is survived by her child, a brother and two sisters.

Mr Suangh Khan Khai, her village neighbour who is now working here as a maintenance coordinator, described Ms Piang as "very quiet" and close to her family.

Before coming to Singapore, she had worked as a construction worker, but quit as the salary was low and she wanted to earn more to support her family, the 28-year-old neighbour told The Straits Times.

Ms Piang, he added, last called her brother this month and told him that she wanted to return home next month. But she was worried about not having enough money for a plane ticket home.

Maids working at the block and residents said they rarely saw Ms Piang, whom they described as short, with short hair, unless she was cleaning the windows or hanging the laundry.

Police said they received a call on Tuesday at about 11am for assistance.

When they arrived, Ms Piang was was found motionless. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbours saw police cordon off the area and said the body was removed at around 5pm the same day.

Gaiyathiri and Prema were arrested on Wednesday.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Faizal said the prosecution was not ready to accept a plea from the pair.

The court allowed his application for the two women to be remanded, with permission for them to be taken out for investigation.

Both women will be back in court next Thursday. If convicted of murder, they face the death penalty.

• Additional reporting by Tiffany Goh

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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Eight dollars a day. That is how much more it would cost for a person to spend his silver years in a single- or double-bedded nursing home, instead of in a ward-like or dormitory-style facility.

That would mean $19 million more per year if applied to the Ministry of Health's (MOH's) plans for 5,000 more nursing-home beds by 2020, according to a new study released yesterday by global consultancy firm Oliver Wyman.

The cost per bed was derived from the median daily cost of five nursing homes here and how much it would cost if the nursing homes were to be converted to single- or double-bedded facilities.

The study was commissioned by the Lien Foundation to review the economics of nursing-home care, after a public discussion was sparked when its nursing-home project Jade Circle was aborted last year.

The Lien Foundation, Khoo Chwee Neo Foundation and Salvation Army's Peacehaven home had hoped to pioneer a different model of care for dementia patients by doing away with the usual six- to eight-bed hospital-ward layout common in nursing homes here, and instead provide single or twin rooms with en suite toilets.

This would create a home-like environment and provide residents with more privacy, autonomy and well-being, they said. These rooms are the norm in countries such as Japan, Britain and the United States.

The $15 million Jade Circle project was aborted after it failed to get government subsidies. This is because its single rooms were deemed by the Health Ministry to be similar to private or A-class ward configurations, making it difficult to subsidise as such parameters will be hard to scale or be financially sustainable, if applied to the rest of the aged-care sector.

The ministry has received a copy of the report. Its spokesman said: "We hope to discuss the findings with Lien Foundation and understand the assumptions behind the report's economic analysis."

The ministry said it constantly seeks to improve the infrastructure of nursing homes to make them more homely; it is piloting a four- bedded room "cluster concept" in a nursing home in Ang Mo Kio.

Researchers behind the latest study consulted nursing-home operators, architects and other experts to design a home-like environment that mirrors HDB rooms for residents. Then they tabulated the costs - from healthcare, living, administration and accommodation expenses - for each resident.

The number came to about $114 per day for an elderly person to stay in a single or double room with en suite toilets and $119 for a senior with dementia. The current cost for a resident of a regular nursing home is $106 a day. The increase is due to the extra infrastructural, staff and housekeeping expenses.

Lien Foundation CEO Lee Poh Wah said: "The additional cost of $19 million would be 0.2 per cent of MOH's budget of $11 billion for the financial year of 2016."

MOH said it spent an estimated $360 million for the nursing-care sector in the 2015 financial year.

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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Some 150 people lost a total of over $12 million after falling for a phone scam in which fraudsters posing as staff from courier company DHL claimed they needed to remit cash to clear their names.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Charis Low revealed the sum - which was handed over between late March and last month - when the case of three Malaysian men suspected of being behind the scam was mentioned in court yesterday.

The prosecution has tendered an amended charge against them.

Hiu Sheng Fatt, 21, is alleged to have been in an arrangement to withdraw sums amounting to $143,800 from his United Overseas Bank (UOB) account, which represented an unknown person's benefits from criminal conduct.

Ooi Lun Xiang and Tee Jia Yong, both 22, are also said to have been in the arrangement to withdraw $143,800 from Hiu's UOB account on July 14.

Top 7 scams in Singapore and more

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www.scamalert.sg

If convicted under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, they could each be fined up to $500,000 and/or jailed for up to 10 years.

DPP Low said the trio came to Singapore on July 14 and withdrew $121,900 from Hiu's UOB bank account - money from victims of the DHL scam.

She asked that no bail be allowed for Hiu as he is a foreigner and presents a flight risk.

Between late March and the end of June this year, the police received more than 3,000 calls and reports about the scam, in which around 155 victims lost a total of more than $12 million.

Both Ooi and Tee were remanded for another week for investigations. The case will be mentioned again next Thursday.

Yesterday, three employees of remittance firm Samlit Moneychanger were given Public Spiritedness Awards by the Singapore Police Force for stopping two people from falling for the scam.

See also: 11 scams that are happening in Singapore now 

In one case, a 69-year-old Singaporean woman wanted to remit $50,000 to her "relative" in China on July 8.

Staff grew suspicious when she could not specify how she was related to the recipient. The amount was also a huge proportion of her life savings of around $70,000, according to the firm's assistant general manager Sameer Malik, 26.

Upon further questioning, she said she had received a phone call from someone claiming that she had a parcel containing illegal arms, passports and credit cards sent under her name via DHL to Shanghai.

She was told to remit the money if she wanted to clear her name. The caller even taught her what to say when the remittance company questioned her, said Mr Malik.

"To pressure her, they even told her that the Customs officer who handled her parcel would lose his job and be sent to jail if she doesn't send the money," he said.

Staff informed the Commercial Affairs Department and police.

The latter advised people who are in doubt or have information about such crimes to call their hotline on 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent police assistance.

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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South-east Asia's first Apple Store could open in Orchard Road in November, in time for the Christmas season.

The store, which is expected to be at Knightsbridge mall in Orchard Road, will probably span about five storefronts. An information board at the construction site shows an expected completion date of Oct 31.

The store could potentially take up four floors as works are being done in the basement and on the first to third storeys.

When The Straits Times visited the construction site yesterday, the shop's interior was covered by construction canvas.

However, tall glass structures were already in place, hinting at Apple's signature glass facade seen in its flagship stores overseas.

News of an Apple Store here first broke last October, when a former tenant, fitness club Pure Fitness, sent a letter to its members informing them of its closure to make room for the store.

The US tech giant declined to confirm the store's opening date and how many people it was hiring. Apple's website currently lists 14 job positions, ranging from Store Leader to Apple "Genius".

Construction work began in May, five months after Knightsbridge tenants, including Pure Fitness, watch retailer Dickson Watch & Jewellery, and fashion stores Tommy Hilfiger, Topshop/Topman and Brooks Brothers, handed the space back to the landlord.

Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), CIMB Bank and The Hour Glass, which will remain at the mall, may benefit from the extra shoppers that the Apple Store will bring in. "Customers may have to queue at the Apple store," said A&F sales assistant Si Xu Vongsuvanish, 20. "They may come and take a look here first as they wait."

Analysts say the opening of the Apple Store could affect authorised Apple resellers, such as EpiCentre, iStudio and Nubox.

"A challenge for the resellers would be the stock availability as they will fall further down in the pecking order, especially during launch time," said IDC research manager Kiranjeet Kaur.

But she points out that resellers have continued to exist side by side with Apple Stores in other countries.

Those with stores outside of Orchard can benefit from consumers who prefer a shop closer to where they live.

While consumers who The Straits Times spoke to were eager to experience the customer service Apple prides itself on, they noted that resellers would offer special deals on Apple products to compete on price.

Mr Cris Duy Tran, a consulting analyst for digital transformation at Frost & Sullivan, said: "Apple fans know that the official store won't give discounts until the very end of their products' lifetime."

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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The Hague tribunal's historic South China Sea decision on July 12 seems to have settled one set of questions - a set of legal questions - once and for all.

But that hasn't ended the uncertainties because the decision has thrust forward a new and even bigger set of questions which now confront us in Asia more starkly than ever before.

They are political and strategic questions about the kind of region we live in here in Asia, and the principles that underpin it.

The questions are these: Is Asia a community of nations governed by rule and laws to which all countries, big and small, must ultimately submit?

Or do we live in a region governed ultimately by power, in which the rules are only what the more powerful states want to make of them, and the ultimate arbiter is armed force?

In other words, now we know what the rules say, we will now find out what the rules really mean - if anything.

Before the decision, the strength of China's legal entitlements in the South China Sea remained unclear.

No one could say for sure whether, as a matter of law, it really had any credible maritime jurisdiction within its nine-dash line, whether it had the right to build bases on features in the Spratly Islands, or whether it could claim a territorial sea around the features it occupied.

China's position did not therefore necessarily amount to a repudiation of the rules.

Now there is no doubt.

So far as the Law of the Sea is concerned, China has no basis to assert jurisdiction within the nine-dash line, no right to claim ownership of some of the features it has built bases upon.

The tribunal also ruled that none of the disputed features in the Spratlys constitutes "islands" that would merit an exclusive economic zone.

So what happens now?

To many people, especially in places like Washington, Tokyo and Canberra, there is only one thing China can do.

They say it must plainly abide by the decision and publicly abandon the claims that The Hague judges have dismissed.

But no one can seriously expect this to happen.

Beijing's statements both before and after the decisions were handed down leave no room for doubt about that, and nor does the strength and evident spontaneity of Chinese public anger at the tribunal's decision.

Some people hope that China might, however, slowly and surreptitiously step back from its claims, so as to abide by the decision while minimising its humiliation.

Alas this seems very hard to do, especially when we look at some of the details of the tribunal's decision.

Most attention has focused on the tribunal's dismissal of the nine-dash line.

It is possible that Beijing could quietly step back from that because it has always been a little unclear exactly what China is really claiming there, and even how serious it has been about it.

But there is nothing unclear about China's claim to the features in the Spratlys on which it has built bases, and the tribunal's decision on the status of some of those features is pretty devastating.

The judges had no power to decide between competing claims to territorial sovereignty over the disputed features of the Spratlys.

But it did have the power to decide whether some of the features there could be claimed as sovereign territory by anyone because, under the Law of the Sea, no country can claim sovereignty over a feature which is submerged at high tide.

And the judges found that some of the features on which China has created artificial islands and built military bases - including Subi Reef and Mischief Reef - were in their natural state submerged at high tide.

That means they are not capable of being claimed as territory by anyone.

They are part of the seabed, which means they fall under the jurisdiction of whoever holds an EEZ over that area, and other elements of the judgment clearly mean that if anyone holds an EEZ, it's the Philippines.

It's certainly not China.

So accepting the tribunal's judgment would mean asking Manila's permission to leave the bases there, and removing them if Manila refuses.

The sheer physical facts in the ground mean there is no discreet way for China to gently back away from these claims, as it could over the nine-dash line.

It would have to accept overt humiliation. It's very hard to imagine Beijing doing that.

So China now has no choice but to reject the tribunal's judgment and defy the rules-based regional order which it represents.

And that lays bare the brutal power politics that has been underlying this whole issue all along.

For America, the regional rules-based order has always been more than a basis for effective international co-operation.

It has been an expression of American power and primacy in Asia, as President Barack Obama made starkly clear when he said that he was determined to ensure that America, not China, wrote the rules.

For China, its ability to defy American power by ignoring the rules that America seeks to enforce has become a crucial demonstration of its re-emergence as a great power, exercising authority over the regional system at least as great as America's.

For all of us in Asia, this carries real dangers because it means the stakes for both America and China are far higher than the control of a few rocks and reefs.

It is a contest of power between America and China, and The Hague tribunal's decision has thrust it right out into the open. How does it go from here?

The ball is now in Beijing's court, and much depends on how it chooses to play it.

Will it play it cool, by limiting itself to loud language while avoiding provocative actions in the South China Sea itself - especially military actions?

Or will it decide to push back hard with overt provocations like declaring an air defence identification zone or building a new base on Scarborough Shoals?

The signs so far are mixed.

The second course would be far more dangerous, but either way, China's defiance of the rules will be plain.

America faces a big choice, too.

Even if Beijing plays it cool, Washington must now decide just how far it is willing to go to uphold and enforce the rules by punishing China.

Some in Washington may hope that this might be done by measures short of armed intervention, like trade and diplomatic sanctions.

But even this kind of action would hurt America as well as China, escalate tensions sharply and probably only make Beijing dig in deeper.

For both sides, the decision about whether they are willing to risk an armed clash is looming very close.

And for the rest of us, the reality that we live in a region ultimately mediated by the power of its strongest states has been starkly confirmed.

-Hugh White is professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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A team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has designed and built what it said is the world's lightest electric paraglider trike - an aircraft with two rear-mounted twin propellers.

The team of eight NUS engineering students built the aircraft, called The Delta, after it was challenged to build a flying vehicle for a new National Geographic Channel series called Machine Impossible.

The Delta, which weighs just 49kg, can carry one person weighing up to 75kg and can fly up to 36kmh for 10 minutes.

The team designed and built The Delta from January to March this year, before its first flight on March 19.

Mr Chan Wai Yang, 23, a Year 3 Electrical Engineering student who was one of the eight students in the team, said: "Designing and building The Delta was an experience like no other.

"We had a great learning experience tackling various aspects of the project.

"It was an engineering challenge we greatly relished."

The Delta uses two electric motors, each weighing 1.5kg, which provide extra stability.

The first flight, which took place in Sungai Rambai Aerodome in Malacca, was a success at the first try.

The team had also designed several features to ensure the safety of the pilot, such as a roll cage for protection, fibre glass rods to cushion landing and barrier nets between the pilot and the propellers.

Associate Professor Martin Henz, the supervisor for the project, said: "While it isn't a form of transportation, as a form of recreation, The Delta could possibly be a great contribution to the sport of paragliding."

The Delta uses two lithium polymer batteries to provide power for the propellers and the motors without causing excessive noise.

Prof Henz said: "We are thrilled to have this opportunity to build an all-new machine for the National Geographic Channel.

"Such projects have tremendous value in the education of our students in engineering."

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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About one in three Singaporeans suffers from early-morning sniffles, a runny or blocked nose, and other nasal allergy symptoms, according to a study in 2013.

But a new study indicates that help is at hand.

It shows that such afflictions can be kept at bay when the body switches off a specific type of immune cell.

In doing so, it builds up a natural barrier against such attacks, scientists of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and National University of Singapore (NUS) have found.

The cells are called basophils, which circulate in the blood and function primarily to initiate and maintain the immune response against allergens.

They do it by activating certain key regulatory molecules to rid the body of the allergens.

But the scientists found an odd outcome when the basophils do not operate, a state they termed "basophil anergy".

This naturally reduced basophil response to irritants like dust mites results in a lower risk of acquiring allergic rhinitis - whose symptoms include an inflamed nose, itchiness, sneezing and a runny or blocked nose.

"Basically these cells are circulating but they cannot see the allergen's pathways," said Dr Anand Kumar Andiappan, a senior research scientist at A*Star's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), who was part of the study team.

"Hence, there is no allergic response," he added.

The findings were published online in international journal Allergy last month.

The discovery was made by the team in a study involving 476 Chinese Singaporeans who were initially asked to complete a questionnaire on their nasal allergies.

Then they were given a skin-prick test, which checks for immediate allergic reactions to a range of substances. They provided blood samples as well.

Close to one in 10 of them has basophil anergy.

The question the team is now looking to solve is whether the basophil state can be therapeutically modified in people prone to allergies, by exposing them to small dosages of allergens.

The aim would be to condition the immune system to recognise the allergens but not respond extremely to them in the form of an allergic reaction.

"We have a hypothesis, formed through our laboratory studies, that supplying low dosages of allergens may lead to increased basophil anergy," said Dr Andiappan.

He added that once it is understood how basophil anergy occurs, molecules that control the mechanism can be targeted with, for instance, drugs to activate or shut them down.

And to get additional insight into what causes allergies, the team will collaborate with clinicians, academics and public health experts to conduct a study on about 500 adults with asthma , as well as a paediatric allergy study of 500 children.

The researchers will also look for biomarkers - molecules or genes linked to the condition - which could potentially be targeted through new therapies to treat asthma and other nasal allergies.

Dr Olaf Rotzschke, a principal investigator at SIgN who led the study, said allergies are often underestimated as a problem as they do not kill and people learn to live with them.

He said the situation in Singapore is relatively simple as a previous study by the SIgN team had found the main cause of allergic asthma to be the house dust mite.

"We need to do two things: Find a medical cure and raise awareness."

Research Professor Wang De Yun from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine said most treatments for nasal allergies address the symptoms and do not deal with the cause.

"This basophil anergy phenomenon could provide some clues as to how we can move from just treating symptoms temporarily to potentially targeting the cause of the allergies," he said.

• Dr Andiappan will give a talk on what causes allergies and whether they are becoming more common at the one- north Festival on Aug 5. To register, visit: http://www.onenorthfestival.sg/

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - A divorced mother who abused her four-year-old son so badly that he died from head injuries four days later, was on Friday (July 29) sentenced to eight years' jail by the High Court.

The prosecution had sought at least 12 years' jail for Noraidah Mohd Yussof, 34, calling her offences "one of the saddest cases of child abuse".

The defence asked for less than 10 years for Noraidah, saying that she was a mother who could not bond with her own son and was grappling with a multitude of stressors at the time.

In sentencing Noraidah, Justice Lee Seiu Kin rejected the defence's contention that she has Asperger's syndrome - an autism-like disorder that affects how a person interacts with others.

Instead, Justice Lee accepted the evidence of Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist Subhash Gupta who found that she has several "personal aberrations" - including a very low tolerance to frustration, a tendency to act impulsively and marked proneness to blame others - which do not amount to a recognisable mental disorder.

Noraidah, who was unemployed, had pleaded guilty in March to inflicting various abuses on her son, Mohammad Airyl Amirul Haziq Mohamed Ariff. She has an older daughter.

In March 2012, when he was two, she pushed him and stepped on his ribs after she became irritated at him while she was trying to teach him the alphabet.

In August 2014, she hurt him when he was unable to recite the numbers 11 to 18 in Malay.

Despite emergency surgery, the boy died four days later. Multiple scars and scores of bruises and abrasions were found all over his body.

Her mental state became an contentious issue as the prosecution and defence could not agree on whether she has Asperger's, leading to a three-day hearing this week to hear psychiatric evidence.

This article was first published on July 29, 2016.
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