9 dead in China fireworks accident [By: Rong Hua]

9 people were killed and 9 others injured when a truck loaded with fireworks material hit an electricity pole and blew up in central China. The news agency reported that the deaths increased the number of fireworks related deaths nationwide at least 19 in the past week.

The explosion took place when the truck loaded with 600 boxes of fireworks fuses hit the pole and the sparks from the fallen power cables ignited the fuses and caused the blast. The force of the explosion was so big that it shattered windows and cracked walls in houses hundreds of metres away from the scene.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident while search and rescue teams were using sniffer dogs to look for more possible victims.

The article appeal to me as I was wondering why didn’t precaution taken against delivery of fireworks. I’m so glad that Singapore has banned the usage of fireworks except for important events where precautions were taken to ensure the safety of people. I think other countries should consider banning of fireworks to prevent any accidents relating to firework from happening.

I would like to ask the writing why aren’t the fireworks materials covered so as to prevent the firework from having any contact outside the container of the truck. If the firework materials are covered by the container of the truck, such accidents would not happened.

If I was in charge of this, I would take precaution to prevent such accident from happening as fireworks can be dangerous when it blow up which can cause injuries and even death.

iPhone app leads to arrest [By: Rong Hua]

A serial snatch thief has been arrest by the police after getting an important lead from an iphone application. The 'Find My iPhone' application allows the owner of the iPhone to trace its physical location and has helped the police to hunt down the thief.
The 36 year old victim was walking along Lim Liak Street when an unknown man approached her from behind and snatched away her iPhone which she was holding. After the victim lodged a report, the 'Find My iPhone' application was used to help the police track down the suspect.

The suspect that was arrested on Monday evening is believed to be also responsible for several other snatch theft cases in the Tiong Bahru and Kim Tian estates. The suspect, an 18 year old Malaysian man will be charge on Wednesday.

This article appeal to me because I was surprised at how technology has help not only in terms of communication and entertainment, but has also helped the police to arrest a serial snatch thief. As an iPhone user, I would like to know how is can be used and where can user download the application, and also to find out if the application is compatible on iPhone 3.

I would like to ask the writer since the ‘Find My iPhone’ application is so useful and has also helped the police to arrest the snatch thief, where can iPhone user download the application and how it is used to trace the location so that all the iPhone user can enjoy the application and prevent theft.

If I am in charge of the situation, I would have do what the police did by using the application to arrest the snatch thief as soon as possible to prevent further theft cases from happening.

Something stinks in S'pore [By: Rong Hua]

Residents in Singapore were complaining of a bad odour which they described it as strong kerosene-like smell that spread across the island, affecting people from Punggol to Yio Chu Kang and Tampinies.

Agency of National Environment Agency(NEA) said that they had received about 100 complaints about the odour. A large number of complaints were first received from residents in Sengkang and Punggol areas, followed by Seletar Hills and Serangoon Gardens, then Toa Payoh North and Ang Mo Kio areas.

Fortunately, no toxic gases have been detected and NEA is monitoring the situation. NEA has also contacted Malaysian counterparts to check whether any unusual smell has been detected in JB.

This article appeals to me because it is very important to ensure that the odour is not any toxic gases as it can cause harm to Singaporean’s health, and even death. I would like to find out what measure has the National Environment Agency (NEA) took and how they handled the situation.

I would like to ask the writer if the odour were toxic gases, what measures will the NEA takes and how they are going to inform the people island wide.

If I were in charge of the situation, I would make sure that the odour is not cause by some toxic gases to ensure people’s safety. And if it is cause by toxic gases, I would take the necessary action or measure immediately. 

PUB steps up efforts to prevent flooding [By: Rong Hua]

PUB is stepping up efforts to improve drainage and prevent flooding with heavy rain expected during the year end Northeast Monsoon season. 17 canal sensors has been installed island wide by the PUB to monitor the drainage system, bringing the total to 49, hat is almost half the targeted number of 90 sensors that the PUB wants installed by the end of the year.
A drain inspection camera is one of the new devices that can be immersed into water 10 metres deep and offers a view of up to 60 metres to speed up inspection of about 7000 kilometres of drainage in Singapore. It also reduces drain inspection time and is especially useful for drains like these which are too small for a man to enter
PUB is also speeding up drainage improvement works in 10 places from Bedok to Bukit Timah which includes widening of a 900 metre long drain by more than 20% to ease flooding at Lorang L Telok Kurau.

PUB also has distributed 200 flood advisories to residents and shop owners in severely flood-prone areas tips on the precautions that residents and shop owners could take to protect their belongings and properties in the event of flash floods.

I have chosen this article because it is good to know that PUB is doing something as heavy rain is expected during the year end. By installing sensors, drain inspection camera and widening of drain, I believe that it can help to prevent flooding and also inconveniency to the residents and shop owners located in flood prone areas.

If I am in charge of the situation, I would do more measures to ensure that flooding is minimised and make sure that the losses due to flooding is reduced. I will also advise residents not to litter in drains as it may slow down the flow of water and causes flooding.

Student posts O Level paper on Twitter [By: Rong Hua]

A Student, Xavier Ong took a picture of his O Level Social Studies examination paper with his camera phone and posted it on Twitter last week. In the tweet, Xavier challenged other students to follow what he did and post it in twitter. This action shocked numerous Twitter users. A girl from the United Kingdom even commented on his picture and asks if the action is legit.
He hoped to gain more twitter followers by posting the publicity stunt and also a video to explain how it all happened. However, such attention has only made this teenager's resolve stronger to make more controversial comments.

This article appeal to me because it is known that a cell phone is not allowed to be brought into an examination hall. However, Xavier brought his camera phone in and took pictures of his O level social studies examination paper. Furthermore, he even challenged other students to follow suit in his tweet.

If I am in charge of the situation, I would make sure that Xavier admits to his mistake and make him retake his O level paper to serve as a warning to other students and to prevent any similar incident from happening.

Pay by cellphone in 2012 [By: Rong Hua]

Singaporeans could be using their cell phones, instead of their ez-link card or Nets Flashpay Cards, to gain entry into train station or pay for their meals and groceries in more than a year’s time. That would happen when a new wireless standard known as near field communication rolled out in Singapore.

The Government announced that it will appoint a consortium to lead the building of such a national platform for mobile payments. Key to the consortium will be a company known as a trusted third party which will build and operate the NFC payment infrastructure. The trusted third party will work with two types of partners, telco’s like SingTel and StarHub and card issuers like banks to roll out the mobile payment system by 2012.

This article appeals to me because it surprises me how technology has advanced. Mobile phone used to be a device used only for communication. Now, mobile phone is not only used for communication but also a device for games, surfing the net and can even be used for payment in a year’s time.

If I am in charge of the situation, I would make sure that the company that operate the mobile payment infrastructure can be trusted so as to prevent any problem that will happen when using the mobile payment system.