Ask the PM: Here are the answers

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http://www.singapolitics.sg/features/ask-pm-here-are-answers

You asked and now Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has answered.

The videos linked here are a culmination of a process that began three weeks ago when Singapolitics put out a call for questions for PM Lee on this website.

You sent more than 400 e-mails with your questions. From this group, 25 questions were selected and put up for voting. Some 21,000 votes later, Singapolitics had their top 10.

On Monday, Singapolitics put these 10 questions to PM Lee along with three more picked by the editors.

The questions span a wide-range of topics, from healthcare to housing and from the cost of living to work-life balance.

Below you will find a link to the first batch of answers on topics like the strawberry generation, people with special needs and the sandwich class. Come back later for the rest of the answers.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEOS >>>

Thank you for being a part of the "Ask the PM" exercise. Let us know what you think of this initiative. Drop us an email views@singapolitics.sg or tweet us at @singapolitics, #sgpol

Man investigated for making false police report about being robbed

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http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/man-investigated-making-false-police-report-20120926

The police are investigating a case where a man had made a false police report about being robbed so that he could keep the money for himself.

The 44-year-old suspect had called '999' on Tuesday saying that he was robbed of about S$6,000 to S$7,000 while on his way to the bank to deposit proceeds from his company.

He claimed that the robbery happened near a carpark along Tanjong Pagar Road.

But investigators from the Central Police Division found inconsistencies in the man's story.

President's Star Charity 2012 to help 55 beneficiaries

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http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120926-0000147/Presidents-Star-Charity-2012-to-help-55-beneficiaries

Fifty-five beneficiaries, almost double the number last year, will benefit from this year's President's Star Charity.

Organisers are hoping to raise at least S$6.5 million from the evening's star-studded extravaganza on Oct 14.

Viewers can expect to be charmed by household names like Gurmit Singh, Hossan Leong and Sheikh Haikel, who will be singing a medley of tunes.

They will be joined by a dazzling array of musical talents, including Grammy Award winning artist Richard Marx and Singapore Idol 2009 finalist Sylvia Ratonel, who also performed last year.

Local artiste Sharon Au will also mark her hosting debut on Channel Five as co-host for the show which will be shown live.

Phone lines are now open, and people have until midnight on October 21 to make their donations.

They can do so in amounts of S$5 (1900-122-8821), S$20 (1900-112-8822), and S$100 (1900-112-8823).

Contributions can also be made online at www.sggives.org/psc2012.

League Cup: Giroud breaks duck as Arsenal hit Coventry for six

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_sports/view/1228213/1/.html

English League Cup third round results:

Arsenal 6 Coventry 1
Carlisle 0 Tottenham 3
Manchester Utd 2 Newcastle 1
Norwich 1 Doncaster 0
QPR 2 Reading 3
West Brom 1 Liverpool 2

Olivier Giroud ended his Arsenal goal drought as the Gunners swept into the League Cup fourth round with a 6-1 demolition of Coventry at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Giroud had gone six matches without scoring following his pre-season move from Montpellier, but the France striker was finally on the scoresheet with the first goal of Arsenal's emphatic third round win.

Even though he netted his long-awaited first Arsenal goal, it was still a far from convincing evening for Giroud who wasted a chance to double his goal tally when his second half penalty was saved.

Arsenal were still far too strong for League One strugglers Coventry and further goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andrey Arshavin, Ignasi Miquel and Theo Walcott, who struck twice, emphasised the hosts' superiority.

By the time Callum Ball scored for Coventry late in the second half, there was no way back for Mark Robins' side.

It could have been different if Stephen Elliott had converted a great chance to open the scoring for the visitors in the early stages.

But Giroud finally delivered in the 39th minute as he beat the offside trap and kept his composure to chip over the onrushing Joe Murphy.

But the striker fluffed his chance for a second after Reece Brown mistimed his clearance and then fouled Arshavin in the penalty area.

Giroud stepped up but his low penalty was saved superbly by Murphy, diving low to his right.

Arsenal doubled their lead in the 57th minute when England winger Oxlade-Chamberlain fired home from 25 yards.

Then Oxlade-Chamberlain and Giroud combined to set up Arshavin to score on his first start of the season six minutes later.

Gunners midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong was introduced from the bench with 15 minutes to go, making his return from a long-term knee injury sustained when on-loan at Wolves last season.

And Arsenal made it 4-0 in the 74th minute when Nico Yennaris played a through-ball to Walcott, who burst clear of the defence to slot home.

Substitute Ball reacted quicker than the Arsenal defence to reduce the deficit with a close-range effort in the 78th minute.

But Spanish defender Miquel climbed at the back post to head home Arshavin's pinpoint cross for his first Arsenal goal two minutes later and Walcott completed the rout in the 90th minute.

S'pore could slip into technical recession

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1228152/1/.html

Singapore's industrial production fell 2.2 per cent on-year in August, faring worse than market expectations of a marginal increase.

Month-on-month, the manufacturing output declined 2.3 per cent, according to the Economic Development Board.

In July, industrial production rose 2.5 per cent on-year and fell by 8.7 per cent on-month.

Some economists said Singapore is likely to slip into a technical recession in the third quarter of this year.

A technical recession refers to two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction.

Weaker global demand for electronics exports continued to put a drag on Singapore's industrial production.

The output for the electronics cluster fell 7.3 per cent on-year in August, compared against the 5.3 per cent drop in the previous month.

The other poor performer was the transport engineering sector, which saw output slump 20 per cent on-year, reversing the 6 per cent gain in July.

AirAsia X to create child-free zone starting 2013

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http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/se-asia/story/airasia-x-create-child-free-quiet-zone-starting-2013-20120926

The long-haul arm of Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia said on Wednesday it is to ban young children from sitting in the first seven rows of its economy-class section to create a "quiet zone".

According to the airline's website, the first seven rows on AirAsia X flights will be restricted to passengers aged 12 and above from February next year.

The cost of choosing a seat in the quiet zone will be the same as the RM35 (S$14) charged for picking specific seats or the RM110 it costs to select a seat with extra legroom.

"We know that sometimes all you need is some peace and quiet for a more pleasant journey with us," the low-cost giant said on its website.

More Police NSmen to be deployed to frontline

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1228134/1/.html

More Police National Servicemen (NSmen) will be deployed to the frontline to take on larger and more challenging roles.

They will join their regular counterparts in crime-fighting, security and law and order efforts, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean at the presentation ceremony of the Home Team National Service Awards.

The announcement came as the government expects a two per cent fall annually in the number of NS enlistees from 2016 due to the declining Singaporean population.

Mr Teo noted that full-time NSmen already make up the majority of the Public Transport Security Command unit.

He said the Singapore Police Force is reviewing the Police National Service to better make use of the potential and capabilities of NSmen.

He added that the ministry is studying ways to optimise the deployment of Home Team NSmen to ensure the declining numbers do not adversely affect its operations.

PR from USA fined $3,000 for offering bribe of $40 to cop

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http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/man-fined-3000-offering-bribe-40-cop-20120926

A regional executive of a company here was fined $3,000 on Wednesday for offering a bribe to a police officer.

Nicholas John Scaturro, 44, who is a permanent resident here, had admitted to offering $40 to Sergeant Abdul Syafiq Abdul Rahman in return for not taking action against him for an alleged offence of cruelty to animals on Dec 4, 2010.

The court heard that police went to the American's home at 1.50am that day after receiving a complaint of animal abuse from a pub goer, Mr Chua Wei Soon, who was at the pub below Scatturo's apartment.

The officers found Scaturro's Jack Russell terrier shivering in the bathroom and Scaturro smelling of alcohol. There was no evidence of animal abuse.

Man arrested in Yishun for suspected loansharking activities

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http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Crime/Story/A1Story20120926-373905.html

A 35-year-old man was arrested around Yishun Ring Road for suspected involvement in loansharking activities on Sep 24.

Investigations showed he harassed debtors' by delivering notes to demand for repayment. He also gave away his ATM and PIN to a loanshark syndicate to facilitate its unlicensed moneylending.

Under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), first-time offenders found guilty of acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender, committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, fined between $5,000 and $50,000. They may also be given between three and six strokes of the cane.

Also, a person whose bank account or ATM card is used to facilitate unlicensed moneylending is presumed be assisting loansharks. First-time offenders may be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, jailed for up to four years and may be given with not more than six strokes of the cane.

Domestic helper under investigation for giving false information

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http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Crime/Story/A1Story20120926-373898.html

A 24-year-old domestic helper is under police investigation for reporting that she was injured during an attempted robbery in Jurong East Street 21.

Police received the report on the afternoon of 24 Sep, and followed up with investigations and interviews. They later found that she had made up the story so her employer would not find out she had met her male acquaintance.

Anyone who is convicted for giving any information which he knows to be false to a public servant shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to $,5000, or with both.

The police reminded members of the public on the dire consequences of giving false information to a public servant and wasting police resources in attending to such untrue incidents.

S'pore photojournalist produces picture book on Gurkhas

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http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120926-0000115/Spore-photojournalist-produces-picture-book-on-Gurkhas

For the first time, stories of the Gurkha community are recorded into a book.

The picture book by local photojournalist Zakaria Zainal aims to provide recognition for the Gurkhas' contribution to Singapore.

The book also recounts Singapore's history through the lens of Gurkhas.

He took photos of more than 50 retired Gurkhas, noted each of their tales, and produced the book "Our Gurkhas: Singapore Through Their Eyes"

"I felt I was privileged in terms of the circumstances that lead me to meet (the Gurkhas)," said Mr Zainal.

"I had my internship (in Nepal), I could speak Malay, and all these factors I felt, pushed in the direction whereby I needed to record their stories which I feel are stories that are really important to Singapore."

The Singapore Gurkha Contingent was formed in 1949 to ensure security and safeguard the country.

They witnessed the pre-independence days of Singapore, including racial riots and unrest during that time.

Teacher admits to taking upskirt videos

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http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/teacher-admits-upskirt-offences-20120926

A teacher pleaded guilty to 10 of 94 charges of insulting the modesty of women.

Seow Swee Hong, 39, who taught in a school in the eastern part of Singapore, used his mobile phone to capture video recordings of victims' shorts and thighs at the school, and at the Popular bookstore at Toa Payoh HDB Hub last year.

A court heard that he committed at least half of the offences while on police bail.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao said Seow was in school on July 25 last year when he took a video recording of a female student's upper thighs while she was walking up the stairs.

Police Arrest 3 Mongolians for Theft from Person & Misuse of Credit/Debit cards

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http://www.spf.gov.sg/mic/2012/120925_arrest_3_mongolians_A.htm

Police have arrested three male Mongolians aged between 24 and 34 for Theft from Person, misuse of credit /debit cards and fraudulent possession.

From 26 to 30 July 2012, Police received several reports of Theft from Person committed in Sentosa. The culprits then went on to use the stolen credit and debit cards to make unauthorised purchases.

Following the reports, officers from the Central Police Division worked tirelessly to try to establish the identities and whereabouts of the culprits involved in the thefts.

The breakthrough came on 23 September 2012 when the 3 culprits were arrested as they were attempting to leave Singapore. Some of the stolen loot which were kept in their luggages were seized as case exhibits.

The three suspects will be charged in Court on 26 September 2012 for the offence of Cheating with Common Intention under Section 420 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, they may be liable to be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to a fine.

League Cup: Man City, Everton tumble

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http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1709394.html?cid=twitter_voiceofthesite

Manchester City suffered a surprise exit from the League Cup on Tuesday as Aston Villa clinched a 4-2 third round win at Eastlands, while Chelsea welcomed back captain John Terry with a 6-0 rout of Wolves.

Italian striker Mario Balotelli fired City ahead in the 27th minute, but Villa equalised in the 59th minute when their former midfielder Gareth Barry deflected the ball into his own net. City regained the lead when Aleksandar Kolarov clipped a free-kick past Shay Given in the 64th minute, but Gabriel Agbonlahor restored parity six minutes later.

And in the sixth minute of extra-time, Agbonlahor fired in a shot that City goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon couldn't hold and Charles N'Zogbia was on hand to slot home before Agbonlahor completed the upset with seven minutes remaining.

>>>

At Stamford Bridge, it took Chelsea just four minutes to welcome Terry back as his central defensive partner Gary Cahill headed home from Juan Mata's free-kick.

Ryan Bertrand doubled Chelsea's lead with a close-range finish four minutes later and Mata increased the hosts' advantage when he slotted home in the 17th minute. Oriol Romeu bagged his first Chelsea goal with a penalty after Victor Moses was fouled by Wolves goalkeeper Dorus de Vries in the 53rd minute.

A Fernando Torres header five minutes later piled on the misery for Wolves, who conceded for the sixth time when Victor Moses, a £9million signing from Wigan last month, claimed his first goal for Chelsea in the 71st minute.

>>>


Leeds caused the biggest upset of the night as the Championship club defeated Everton 2-1 at Elland Road. Toffees boss David Moyes made six changes to the side that beat Swansea 3-0, but his reserves weren't up to the task.

Aidan White rocked Everton in the fourth minute as the Republic of Ireland U-21 international weaved his way past several challenges before curling a shot past Jan Mucha.

Everton squandered several chances to equalise before Rodolph Austin poked home Danny Pugh's pass in the 70th minute and Sylvain Distin's 81st minute goal was too late to spark a comeback.

>>>

Wigan recovered from a goal down to claim an impressive 4-1 win at West Ham. Modibo Maiga's powerful strike put West Ham ahead in the seventh minute, but Wigan striker Mauro Boselli equalised from close-range in the 14th minute.

Ivan Ramis blasted his first goal for the Latics from long range in the 38th minute. Boselli struck again four minutes before the break and Jordi Gomez added an 84th minute penalty.

>>>

Southampton eased to a 2-0 victory over Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday at St Mary's thanks to two goals from striker Jay Rodriguez.

>>>

Sunderland saw off League One outfit Milton Keynes Dons 2-0 despite playing over half the match with 10 men. Black Cats midfielder Lee Cattermole was shown a straight red card after clattering into Adam Chicksen midway through the first half.

But Sunderland still took the lead in the 54th minute through Craig Gardner's free-kick and James McClean's 82nd minute goal clinched the win.

>>>

Swansea avoided an embarrassing exit at League One side Crawley as Michael Laudrup's team fought back to win 3-2. Swansea opened the scoring with a superb finish from Spanish midfielder Michu in the 27th minute, but Josh Simpson's deflected effort drew Crawley level on the stroke of half-time.

Hope Akpan's 62nd minute strike put Crawley on course for a shock victory, but Danny Graham equalised in the 74th minute and Garry Monk scored the winner in stoppage-time.

Team Singapore women's paddlers receive $625,000 for Olympic bronze medals

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1227995/1/.html

A total of $625,000 was handed out to Team Singapore women's table tennis players for their achievements at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The cash is part of the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme of the Singapore National Olympic Council.

Feng Tianwei received $250,000 for winning the bronze in the women's singles.

She also shared the $375,000 with team-mates Wang Yuegu and Li Jiawei for their bronze medal in the women's team event.

Twenty percent or $125,000 of the total amount will go to the Singapore Table Tennis Association for the future development of the sport.

In recognition of their gallant efforts, Team Singapore London 2012 athletes were presented with exclusive International Olympic Committee pins and awarded Olympian Singapore medallions. Each medallion is unique and bears a special number, beginning from the first Olympian who took part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Russia willing to fund S'poreans for higher education

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http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120925-0000153/Russia-willing-to-fund-Sporeans-for-higher-education-in-Russian-universities

Russia is willing to fund a number of Singaporeans for higher education in Russian universities, said Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shulakov and his delegation.

The meeting was jointly co-chaired with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

A joint statement issued by both the Singapore and Russian co-chairs said Singapore has expressed support for the initiative and agreed to encourage Singaporean students to take up the opportunity.

Russia also informed Singapore about its new programme Global Education in which Russian students and faculty members pursue Masters and PhD programs in the world's best universities, including those based in Singapore.