S'pore reports 1st flu case

SINGAPORE has reported its first patient infected with the new A(H1N1) flu strain.

The patient, a 22-year-old Singaporean woman, had been in New York from May 14 to 24, and arrived here on Tuesday morning.

While seated in row 55 on Singapore Airlines flight SQ25, she began to develop a cough, but she passed the thermal scanner at the airport later without being stopped, because she did not have a fever at the time.

Later that morning, she went to a general practitioner who decided to send her to Tan Tock Seng Hospital via the special ambulance service 993 meant for suspected Influenza A (H1N1) cases.

Laboratory test confirmed her infection at midnight on Tuesday.

The patient is being treated at the TTH Communicable Disease Centre and is in stable condition.

The Health Ministry said the patient has been vigilant in monitoring her condition and had sought immediate medical attention once she realised she was unwell.

"Her attending GP, through his quick response in activating the 993 ambulance for the patient, had also helped to minimise the spread of infection from this case," said a ministry statement.

The Health Ministry has begun contact tracing of those who have been in close contact with the patient.

They will be quarantined and given antivirals to prevent them from developing the disease.

The ministry asked passengers who had been seated in rows 52 to 58 on the same flight to call its hotline on 1800-333 9999, so that its officers can check on their health condition.

The Ministry has reminded all medical practitioners and healthcare institutions to continue to be vigilant to suspect cases.

Temperature screening for passengers entering Singapore at all checkpoints - land, sea and air - will continue.

All passengers passing through or entering Singapore are given Health Alert Notices on board their flights, advising them to monitor their own health if they have been to affected areas and to seek medical attention immediately if they are not well.

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I think they should quarantine all passengers coming in from the US for at least 7 days before they are release. seems like the whole world is getting infected from flights coming in from US

Food Recycling At Qi JI? OMG? Don't drink the prepack lime juice!

I was at Qi Ji (famous for popiah) and was quite shocked to see that they recycle the lime juice. they pour new juice (quarter cup), then open the one from yesterday or day before day day before and pour in half and add ice.

OMG!!!! Imagine IF there is a cup of lime juice since last monday that was recycle and recycle, this can carry on as the half cup pouring never ends. you must know that there is a piece of lime in the lime juice and it should be rotten by the 3rd day if this open and recycle plan carries on.

I wonder anyone had any trouble after drinking their lime juice. wonder whether they did the same for their barley or other drinks. Lucky they never state they offer FRESH Lime Juice.

i will not buy prepack drinks from Qi Ji again unless i can verify it is fresh

Boycott of lingerie shops

RIYADH (Saudi Arabia) - BEFORE her wedding last year, Huda Batterjee went abroad to buy her bridal lingerie - she just couldn't bear the humiliation of discussing her most intimate apparel with a man.

She had little choice: there are almost no saleswomen in Saudi Arabia.

Now a group of Saudi women - sick of having to deal with male sales staff when buying bras or panties, not to mention frilly negligees or thongs - have launched a campaign this week to boycott lingerie stores until they employ women.

It's an irony of the kingdom's strict segregation of the sexes.

Only men are employed as sales staff to keep women from having to deal with male customers or work around men. But in lingerie stores, that means men are talking to women about bras or thongs, looking them up and down to determine their cup sizes, even rubbing the underwear to show how stains can be washed out.

The result is mortifying for everyone involved - shoppers, salesmen, even the male relatives who accompany the women.

'When I buy underwear in Saudi, some salesmen say, 'This is not the right size for you,'' said Batterjee. 'You feel almost taken advantage of. Why is he looking at me in this way?'

So for her wedding trousseau, the 26-year-old went to neighbouring Dubai to shop. She now lives in Virginia with her husband. Heba al-Akki, a businesswoman who supports the boycott, said when she shops for underwear, 'I go to a store, pick this, this and that and leave quickly. It's as if I'm buying illegal stuff.'

The boycott was launched on Tuesday by about 50 women who gathered in the Red Sea port of Jiddah at the Al-Bidaya Breast-feeding Resource and Women's Awareness Center, which is run by Modie Batterjee.

The aim is to push for implementation of a law that has been on the books since 2006 which says only female staff can be employed in women's apparel stores. -- AP

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wonder do they help out their customers?

Church leader gets $500k

MARCH 30 – The New Creation Church in Singapore, which made headlines for raising $19 million on one Sunday last month for its upcoming multi-million dollar building, pays good money to its staff, too.

The independent church paid one employee between $500,001 and $550,000 in its last financial year, checks by The Straits Times showed.

The church did not confirm if the amount went to its leader, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince, but told The Straits Times that its policy is to “recognise and reward key contributors to the church and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church’s growth and revenue”.

Its honorary secretary, Deacon Matthew Kang, added: “Senior Pastor Prince is the key man responsible for bringing in about 95 per cent of our church’s income. I must concede that he has enriched the church and not the other way round.

“Above all, through Senior Pastor Prince’s ministry, many people have experienced the grace and love of our Lord Jesus for themselves and seen how their lives have been transformed and marriages restored.”

The salary disclosure was contained in the church’s last financial year’s annual report submitted to the Commissioner of Charities. It stated the compensation given to its top three key management staff.

One person earned between $500,001 and $550,000, while two others were paid between $150,001 and $200,000. No names were given.

The church had an income of $55.4 million in its last financial year. Over 95 per cent came from tithes and offerings from members. It has over 18,000 members who worship at the Rock Auditorium at Suntec City.

Deacon Kang told The Straits Times last week that Prince had asked to go on a “no-pay scheme” in 2006 but was turned down by the church’s council. He made the same request over a month ago but the council has yet to give him a reply.

The New Creation Church is one of Singapore’s fastest growing churches.

Its business arm, Rock Productions, is partnering property giant CapitaLand to build a close to $1 billion lifestyle hub in Buona Vista.

In an update to members yesterday, Deacon Kang said Prince had given $563,360 to the building project.

For the first time, religious groups now have to follow a set of guidelines, called the Code of Governance for Charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs), to ensure they are properly run.

Religious groups like churches and temples, make up about half of the close to 2,000 charities here.

Unlike IPCs, which are allowed to collect tax-exempt donations and have to make public how fully they have adhered to the Code from April 1, religious groups do not have to do so. However, they are encouraged to make such information public.

In 2007, the Commissioner did a governance review of seven religious groups here with annual incomes of over $10 million each. The Straits Times asked all seven, including New Creation, about the salaries of the key officers. Only Trinity Christian Centre and Campus Crusade disclosed the information.

The Trinity Christian Centre, which holds services in Adam Road and Paya Lebar, paid two directors below $150,000 each in 2007.

They are its Senior Pastor Dominic Yeo and resident apostle Dr Naomi Dowdy. The church employs 112 staff and had an income of $17.4 million in 2007.

Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ paid its three top executives – Reverend Chan Chong Hiok, Dr Ho Chiao Ek and Reverend Lam Kok Hiang – below $100,000 each in its last financial year. The group, which provides Christian counselling, training and Christian publications, collected $11 million in “local donations” then.

It pegs its basic salaries to social workers’ pay, which is between $2,000 and $2,700 for a fresh graduate, as stated on the National Council of Social Service’s website.

Leslie Chiang, its director for corporate communications and IT, said: “We use this benchmark as the nature of our work is very similar to what an average social worker is doing – serving the needs of a community.” – The Straits Times

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this is just one of them. who knows how many of them gets 500K a year. also, note that they consider that the money collected as revenue and not donations. So the church is a business organization and not a NPO. Should they be taxed?

I wonder, so many of these churches around, are they preying on the people through the abuse of religon. I know head pastors who draw less than 3k a month and some even much lower. Wonder how much CHC heads draw a year? I suspect that it will be more than 1m a year

Looking for Freelance Flash Programmer

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Professional Mistress at work. 5 guys at one time!

MONEY can’t buy you love but professional mistress Aaliyah Johnson reckons she’s the next best thing— as long as you’ve got millions in the bank.

Stunning Aaliyah has spent three years keeping FIVE megarich love cheats happy at the same time. They are all in their 40s and get the glamour and thrills they crave playing away.

Aaliyah, who describes her lifestyle in our video clip, is just 24 and gets the lavish gifts, lifestyle and cash she lusts after.

Click on pic for the whole story

Woman seeks S'porean cabby who made her pregnant

A MALAYSIAN woman is distributing pamphlets in Singapore in a bid to track down a taxi driver who she claims had made her pregnant, China Press reported.

The 30-year-old beautician said the man, a Singaporean who was married, had disappeared after she told him that she was pregnant.

She said she had sex with the man, who was in his 40s, during their first meeting.

"I do not know why this has happened. He told me he could get me a work permit," said the woman, who had gone to Singapore to look for a job.

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are you sure that it is so easy to get her in bed at first meeting? this lady seems too innocent to believe. the cabby may have bedded her but not that fast right? i read the chinese papers and a different version of the story is been published. wonder who is telling the truth

Just 8 Prawns and it shows how sucky we are.

8 prawns killed the day for the whole singapore. mind you, it shows how good singaporean can suck out of a tourist. for $240 and at $20 a kilo for good type of prawns at the market, you can have a whooping 12 Kilos to eat until you drop!

These people at newton never learn their lessons. their act just spoil the image of singapore. haiz... I hope that the tourism board will stop promoting newton and promote other better places as represtative of singapore eating outlets. the more they put newton on the map, it make us look like blood suckers.

i wonder if the tourism board people has any stake in the business of those seafood stalls. no matter what happen, they still let them operate. maybe tourism board receive coffee or protection money from them as advertising fees.

The authorities better wake up and do their work and not laze around in the office!

The rainy season is here but a bit late

its the rainy season now but seems like a bit late. the rainfall is quite heavy and mostly in the early afternoon which is good as most people are indoors. however, not sure how long this will last but hope that it does not drag too long. will miss the sunshine a lot especially when i am doing the laundry.