Dengue cases up after 3-year decline

The number of cases in the first 11 months of this year hit 5,016, compared to 4,497 for the whole of last year, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA). The number of cases had been dropping from 8,826 in 2007 to 7,031 in 2008 and to below 5,000 last year. NEA said breeding sites were found everywhere - from residences to non-residential areas to construction sites.

After reading the article, i felt that everyone has to be responsible and play a part to prevent the spread of dengue fever. Unfortunately, there are no vaccines to prevent or treat dengue. What we can only do is to avoid from mosquito bites and put repellents on our skin. Also, we should always avoid populated place and watery area.

Ng Say Kiat, Singapore Pest Management Association, said: "NEA has stepped up spot checks at the construction sites and the intensity is definitely enough. With this increase in frequency of inspections, the mosquito breeding likelihood is much, much lower,"

Furthermore, on our part, we should eliminate mosquito breeding area by cleaning our surrounding regularly. We should remove containers that can collect rain water and regularly change water in the flower pot and aquariums. Lastly, always eliminate stagnant water and use insecticide to get rid of mosquitoes. 

In conclusion, i felt that it is always better to be safe than worry. Prevention is better than cure and we should all work together to prevent the spread of dengue fever!

Source: CNA, 13 December 2010
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1098965/1/.html 

HK police hunt for serial dog killer

BOWEN Road in Hong Kong is becoming a road of death for dogs.

In the past week, two dogs have died in an excruciating manner after eating poisoned food left on the road.

After consuming the food, the dogs would first develop diarrhoea. They would then begin foaming at the mouth. By the time they were taken to a vet, their vital organs would have failed and they would die soon after.

After reading the article, i felt that the killer is really heartless and inhuman. Dogs are human's best friend and they have emotions and feelings too. We should always shower them with love and care, instead of torturing and killing them.

In my point of view, I felt that several measures should be taken. Firstly, pet owners should keep an eye on their pets and not let them wander around outside all by themselves. Next, there should be more police officer patrolling around the area and keep a look out for any suspicious person. 

Lastly, I hope that after the killer is being caught, he or she should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. I truly do not wish to see any cases of animal torture or abuse again in future.

Source: Asiaone, 6 Dec

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20101206-250989.html

23 nabbed for drink driving

The Traffic Police arrested 23 people for drink driving in a five-hour operation early on Saturday morning. Road blocks were put up at Zion Road, Havelock Road and Outram Road. There has been a 7.4% increase in arrests of drunken drivers involved in accidents in the first 10 months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

After reading the article, i felt that driving after consuming alcohol is dangerous and fatal. It will surely cause tremendous heartache and suffering to injured parties and their loved ones. Why should we put our own life at risk? I certainly believe we would not want to live with regret for the rest of our life. 

Furthermore, many insurance companies will not pay for damages done to vehicles resulted from negligent drinking and driving. The owner will definitely lose a ton of money because of this. The only way to prevent such tragic accidents is to ask for a ride or take a taxi back home after consuming alcohol. 

Unfortunately, even when rules and regulations are imposed, there are still a huge number of drink and drive cases annually. In my point of view, I felt that the punishment is too light. The police should amend the charges. For example, people who were convicted should be put behind bars for a minimum of 1 year. Next, the police should start increasing the fine to a minimum of $10,000. 

I believe this will definitely allow them to learn from their mistake and be a responsible driver in future!

Source: ST, 30 Nov
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_608106.html

Student posts O Level paper on Twitter

This incident happened whereby a student from Outram Secondary School, Xavier Ong took a picture of his O Level Social Studies examination paper with his camera phone and posted it on Twitter. In the tweet, Xavier mentioned, 'Do you dare bring a phone into examination hall and take a picture?', challenging other students to follow suit.

This incident not only shocked a number of twitters locally, but globally as well. A twitter user named 'charlottesleet' from the United Kingdom, also left a note, expressing her concern as to whether taking photos of the Cambridge examination papers was legit and allowed. 

I personally felt that this student should be severely dealt with. After being caught red-handed, instead of merely apologizing and eating humble-pie, he still had the guts to put on a video and gives all the most ridiculous and outrageous reasons as to what he had done is not a mistake. 

What if one day in future when he commits a crime such as robbing and start boasting about it online? Will the law of Singapore go easy on him? 

If he was remorse about his mistake, a simple apology would have been sufficient. But apparently, from his video, it was obvious that he had not regretted his actions. If he has just directly apologized to the media for his mistake, I believe that people would not pass such harsh comments on him. Furthermore, I certainly believe as a student, we all have to strictly enforce fairness in examination to uphold meritocracy. 

Parents are also to be partly blamed for their children's behaviour as they are their entire responsibility. However, even though when students are repeatedly reprimanded, some of them still refuse to heed their parents' advice and continue doing things their own way. 

In conclusion, I felt that what Xavier had done was just simply mischievous and trying to create attention. I truly hope this teenager would realize the seriousness of his mistake and resolve not to commit any more mistakes in future. 

Source: ST, 24 November

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_604589.html

Scholar admits child porn

A Singaporean student on a teaching scholarship at the University of York in Britain has pleaded guilty to downloading indecent videos of children.  The 23 year old student, Jonathan Wong was also once in the gifted education programme at Hwa Chong Institution. 

After reading the article, I felt that it’s a shame that this young scholar has ruined his future life and career. This case tells us that scholars are human beings after all, and may have hidden flaws of their own. Hence, we should never judge a book by its cover. 

Education is not only about scoring straight A’s, but also developing qualities of the heart.  Therefore, I believe family background is absolutely important because one needs the right guidance when growing up.

In addition, I was utterly shocked to know that he was previously caught for a serious offence of peeping, which was already a sign that something was wrong.  I seriously wondered whether he would have turned out differently if the parents and his teacher had taken more drastic measures in educating him when he was younger. 

I understand that everyone should deserve a second chance. However, I do not agree on awarding him with a teaching scholarship which may entails future interaction with other students. As the saying goes, ‘Better to be safe than sorry’. He might even educate and promote child pornography to the students in future.

In conclusion, I felt that if he had rehabilitated after his punishment, he still can be a normal member of the society.

Source: ST, 18 Nov
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_604939.html

Father of girl beats up man on Orchard Road, calling him a molester

This incident happened at Orchard Road, where a passerby witnessed a father of a girl(pictured in white above) pushed another man to the ground, kicking and hitting him while calling him a molester. The man was believed to have molested his daughter.

After reading the article, i felt that it would not be an appropriate way to handle this situation. Although the man who molested the girl may be arrested, but the father may also be charged for assaulting. Also, the girl might have the wrong impression and assumed that problems could be solved using violence.

Furthermore, as a father of a child, he should have used a more matured way to solve the problem. For example, he could have hold down the man and call the police immediately. No parents in this world would want their precious child to get hurt and would protect them by all means. However, whether it was deliberate or not, the father should not be that impulsive.

Nowadays, people like to resort to violence when solving problems, which led to an increasing number of cases regarding injuries and death. A good example to illustrate this would be the recent murder case of 19 year old student Darren Ng.

Source: 10 Nov, STOMP
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/485558/father_of_young_girl_beats_man_on_orchard_road.html#commentSection

More bins, less litterbugs?

The number of litterbugs caught in Singapore has drastically fallen by almost 40 per cent - as the National Environment Agency (NEA) unveiled plans to install more bins. Several bins will be relocated to busy areas such as shopping centres and bus interchanges, where litter including cigarette butts, drink cans, tissue papers and wrappers is commonly found.

Mr Satish Appoo, Director of the Environmental Health Department at NEA, said the agency hopes the additional bins will persuade a group of people known as 'situational binners' to litter less.

In my point of view, I feel that there are other ways to solve this problem. For example, more interesting bins could be installed. Most of the bins around our neighbourhood and city are usually of bland and boring colours. However, if the bins are bright, colourful and full of interesting graphics, i certainly believe people would make an extra effort to walk a few steps and discard their rubbish. 

Good habits have to start from young. I strongly believe teachers should educate the correct values to their students in school. In Japan, i noticed that teenagers do not have the habit of littering. They usually keep their litter in their pockets or bags. They would then discard them into litter bins until they see one. It was then i realized how lucky Singapore is to have litter bins at almost everywhere.

Also, NEA will be promoting the concept of “Litter-free Ambassadors” to encourage the community to take greater ownership. I feel that everyone in the community should adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards litterbugs. To keep Singapore clean, we should all step forward and ask litterbugs to bin their rubbish. 

Let's all work towards a clean and green environment!

source: ST, Nov 2, 2010
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_598410.html

S.H.E's Selina Jen Suffered Serious Burns In China Filming

Last Friday, Selina Jen and co-star, Yu Haoming, 22, were badly burnt during the filming of her music drama “I Have a Date with Spring”. The shooting involved a dynamite explosion scene for which several trials succeeded. However it exploded sooner than expected.

It is reported that the pop-singer suffered 40 percent burns, including those on her back, hands and legs. She was previously hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai. Her father said that the singer will require skin transplant surgery and recuperation.

I personally feel very sad for her and Yu Hao Ming, who also suffered third degree burns on 40 percent of his body. It is very difficult to recover from the burnt and would definitely going to be a painful recovery process for them. Morever, Yu Hao Ming shielded her during the explosion and sustained even more serious injuries. His bravery should certainly be complimented.

Selina is indeed a very brave and resilient woman. Despite the pain that she has to endure, she still continues to encourage her family, friends and fans, telling them not to worry.  From the bottom of my heart, i sincerely wish that both of them would recuperate fast and be back on stage soon.

Lastly, in my point of view, I felt that precautions should definitely be taken beforehand to prevent such tragedy from happening again in future.

source: CNA, 26Oct
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1089411/1/.html