Ex—MOE scholar taught at school despite child porn charge (By: Elsa Ng)

Former Ministry of Education (MOE) scholar Jonathan Wong had already been arrested for possession of child pornography when he returned to teach in a secondary school here in Singapore. 23—year—old Wong, who is a history major at the University of York, was arrested in March and did his month—long teaching attachment in July at the school in the western part of Singapore. Besides teaching history and literature, he interacted closely with pupils when working on a project with them. But, the MOE only knew of Wong’s involvement in child pornography last month. In reply to queries, a ministry spokesman said: "His offence only came to light after he was charged in court in November." Wong, who is on bail, will be sentenced during the week of Jan 17 after the initial court date of Dec 13 was postponed. He could face up to 10 years in jail, though a non—custodial sentence is also possible, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Why did the article appeal to me?
The article appeal to me as i read this news few months ago. I was surprised that the MOE only knew of Wong's involvement in child pornography last month. I was also shocked that an MOE scholar would do this to students that he was teaching. Teachers must be passionate in their work and they must also be responsible. Child pornography is a serious offence.

If I am in charge/ in control, would I have done the same or what actions would I have taken?
If I am in charge if this situation, I will not allow him to teach anymore to prevent similar incidents to happen again. Furthermore, I will also gather full and part-time MOE teachers and held a talk for them so that they know the consequences of certain offence.




   

Europe Freeze Over (By: Elsa Ng)

Heavy snow blanketed Paris forcing the closure of the Eiffel Tower and briefly shutting its main airport as sub-zero temperatures turned Scottish roads into deadly ice sheets and Spain and Portugal cleared up after flooding and tornado-like winds. Road, rail and air travellers faced fresh disruption following last week's transport shutdown with Paris's Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport closed for an hour-and-a-half and the mercury plummeting as low as minus 18.3 degrees Celsius (minus one degree Fahrenheit) at Tyndrum in the Scottish highlands. In Portugal the high winds carried off cars, uprooted trees, tore off roofs and blew over electricity poles Tuesday, leaving around 30 people injured. A second body was recovered in Spain Wednesday following flooding. France's meteorological service France Meteo said 11 centimetres (four inches) of snow fell in central Paris, the heaviest snowfall since 1987. Around 100 flights were prevented from taking off or landing at Roissy airport during the temporary closure while workers cleared the runways of the heavy snow that began falling around midday, airport officials said.

Why did the article appeal to me?

The article appeal to me because it is the headline of today's news. Furthermore, during december every year, monsoon changes and countries like Europe and China will have heavy snow. Around this time every year, newspapers headlines will be people injured because of the heavy snow and airport closes as thick snow prevents them from taking off.

If I am in charge/ in control, would I have done the same or what actions would I have taken?

If I am in charge of the situation, I will also close the airport and try to clear as much snow as pssoible so that planes can continue to take off as quickly as possible. Furthermore, I will warn people not to go out of their houses if possible so as to prevent anymore injuries or incidents from happening.

Refund Process irks bus passengers (By: Elsa Ng)

Bus commuters who were overcharged for their fares and are eligible for refunds are annoyed at having to figure out how to get them. They are also irritated that, although the mistake was not theirs, the onus is on them to go personally to the add-value machines in bus interchanges and MRT stations or to TransLink ticket offices for yheir refunds. Twenty commuters who were interviewed were reacting to Monday's annoucement by Land Transport Authority (LTA) that bus operators SBS Transit and SMRT had wrongly measured the distance between 68 pairs of bus stops. Their neglecting to factor in detours on routes affected by roadworks resulted in commuters being overcharged by a total of about $300,000 since July, when the distance-based fare system kicked in. On average, commuters paid or will pay four cents more than they should on every journey passing through the affected bus stops between july and today.
Commuters have written in to The Straits Times Forum page, complaining about the difficulty in getting a refund and asking for more information on the process. They complained that the website that LTA pointed them to is hard to navigate and that they cannot remember all bus services they took or the bus stops thay passed.

Why did the article appeal to me ?
The artice appeals to me as I may be the one paying extra money for the MRT and bus rides. I want to know how to get the refund if I am the one being affected.

What questions do I have for the writer ?
I want to ask the writer that how do we know whether we are the ones that are affected by the overcharges?
Some commuters like me may not know whether we are the ones that are affected by the overcharging of the MRT and bus rides. I think that additional information should be given to commuters.

If I am in charged/ in control,would I have done the same or what actions would I have taken ?
If I am in charged of the situation, I would have also refund the commuters the overcharged fares. However, I will also give them additional $1 together with their refund for the mistake caused.

Where have all the orchids gone? (By: Elsa Ng)

It started in february last year as a well-intentioned move- to jazz up the already glitzy Orchard Road shopping belt with orchids, a flower long associated with Singapore. But within six months, the blooms were gone, stolen from totems lining a part of Orchard Road. The SInagpore Tourism Board (STB), which oversees the regeneration of the area, was not amused. It is not known how many orchids were stolen, but the totems used to be filled with six rows of dendrobium hybrid orchids. The orchids were then replaced with bromeliads. " the hardier bromeliads have been less susceptible to the pilferage," said the spokesman, adding that totems are now maintained on a quarterly basis. Since the switch to bromeliads, none of the blooms have gone missing.

Why did the article appeal to you?
The article appeal to me as I thought that plucking of flowers is illegal in Singapore. Furthermore, orchid is the flower of Singapore. People should not be so inconsiderate to pluck them.

What questions do I have for the writer?
I want to ask the writer why did The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) realised only when the orchids are all gone? They should have realised it earlier and impost a regulation like a fine so that people will not pluck them.

If I am in charge/ in control, would I have done the same or what actions would I have taken?
If I am in charge of the situation, I would have also change the orchids to bromeliads as it is not as attractive and it is also harder to pluck.

Young litterbugs growing in number (By: Elsa Ng)

Littering may be an age-old issue, but a new breed of litterbugs is giving the authorities something to worry about. Young offenders may still be a minority, but they are growing in number. One in ten ( 4,278 ) of those caught last year were young people under age of 21. This is up from 1,835 in 2006. Some 400 of them, between ages 18 and 21, were also served Corrective Work Orders for chucking cigarette butts and food wrappers at popular hang-outs like shopping malls, parks and bus stops. But more worrying than the numbers, says the National Environment Agency (NEA), is that young people, particularly teenagers, are displaying a "more non-chalent" attitude towards littering. For years, schools have attempted to play a role by organising, for example, clean-ups within their campuses or at beaches. But these tend to be done on an ad hoc basis, partly due to a lack of funding.

Why did the article appeal to me?
This article appeals to me because littering is strictly not allowed in Singapore. As a Singaporean, i tend to encourage my family members and friends not to litter. I think that it is a inconciderate act. Many of us thought that littering is all right as cleaners will eventually clean it up. However, i think that it is our own responsibility to clear our own rubbish.

If I am in charge/ in control, would you have done the same or what actions would youhave taken?
If I am in charge, I will also let litterbugs serve Corrective Work Orders for littering. Furthermore, I will also implement fines on them.

Jump in sales of travel insurance ( By: Elsa Ng )

More travellers aware of the need for protection, in case of any mishap.
Madam Irene Low, 56, never used to buy any travel insurance, but is now a convert to the idea, after having read or heard about the holidaymakers caught in a bind by natural disasters and travel accidents. Insurance companies said that more customers- espically frequent travellers- are upgrading to annual travel insurance plans and those that offer greater coverage. A spokesmanfor AXA Insurance, whose travel insurance sales are up to 20 per cent this year, said: "Travellers are more aware of the need for insurance due to the natural disasters and terrorism taking place arond the world. At HSBC Insurance, travel insurance slaes increase by 31 per cent in the first nine months of this year over the corresponding period last year. At UOB Travel, travel insurance slaes so far this year have spiked by more than 50 per cent over last year's.

Why did the article appeal to me?
This article appeal to me because I like travelling a lot however, i do not have a travel insurance. Indeed, it is safer to buy a travel insurance as people might be afraid that something might happen to them. Therefore, i am thinking whether to buy one after reading this article.

If I am in charge/ in control, would I have done the same or what actions would i have taken?
If I am in charge, I will also buy a travel insurance. Any thing may happen to me. Furthermore, with the increase of travel accidents, many people is afraid to even travel short distances. Therefore, I will buy one just in case there is any mishap.