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