Kelvin Khoo Online

Business Times - 10 May 2008
 

By MICHELLE QUAH

SINGAPORE’S Subordinate Courts are looking into fast-tracking the handling of motor accident claims, by concurrently managing civil personal injury claims arising from traffic accidents where there are related criminal proceedings.

The Sub Courts found, from a 2007 study, that almost one-fifth of personal injury motor accident civil claims filed with the Sub Courts have a prior related criminal proceeding. Such duplicity results in extra time, effort and cost for all parties involved.

It will thus spearhead a dialogue session with key stakeholders - such as the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Traffic Police, the Law Society and the Motor Insurers Bureau - to determine how to streamline current practices. There will also be a joint working group to establish the conventional quantum of damages for more common types of personal injuries.

These are but some of the several changes the Sub Courts will be embarking on this year, as it aims to enhance the public value of justice. It also intends to make changes to the family justice and juvenile justice divisions, and have a greater emphasis on continuing judicial training.

These were announced yesterday by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, in his keynote address at the Subordinate Courts Workplan 2008/2009 Seminar. He had noted that the public’s perception of Singapore’s judicial system has improved - according to an independent survey commissioned by the Sub Courts.

The survey, conducted in 2007, showed that 97 per cent of survey respondents have trust and confidence in the fair administration of justice here, up from the 95 per cent who thought so in the survey conducted the year before.

But CJ Chan believes the Sub Courts can set the bar higher and build on the improved results from the public perception survey. ‘There is more we can do and must do to ensure and sustain fair and just outcomes for every case that comes before us,’ he said.

The Sub Courts will introduce the CHILD (CHildren, best Interests, Less-aDversarial) programme this quarter. The programme will focus on the best interests of the child and parental duties and responsibilities, rather than the rights and interests of the parents. Some of the key features include having a dedicated judge, deputy registrar and family counsellor assigned to the case, and having the same team deal with parties from beginning to end.

A specialised Children Care Court will also be established to hear certain cases of criminal offences committed by youthful offenders.

The Sub Courts will also intensify its current training programme for judicial officers - and has already been sending a number for overseas attachments with leading courts in developed countries, since the beginning of this year.

“Understanding the implications of inflation on your investments and the labour market”

For more information on this Free Seminar, do refer to the attachments!

forum-one-page-details.doc

I received this together with one of the magazines and thought it would be good to share with all Singaporeans on whats in store for you, thanks to the Government’s Giving!

sg-2008.PDF

Business Times - 16 Apr 2008
 

PM Lee describes ride as ‘enjoyable and spectacular’

By LEE U-WEN

FIREWORKS and lasers lit up the Marina Bay skyline last night as the world’s largest observation wheel was officially opened.

Gracing the festivities at the Singapore Flyer was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who made his first trip on board the $240 million attraction.

Business Times - 12 Apr 2008
 

By LIM WEN JUIN

SMOKERS here are finally getting a new aid to help them kick the habit, with the Singapore launch of Pfizer’s Champix. This is the first approved anti-smoking drug here in almost 10 years.

The other two existing anti-smoking treatments are nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and the drug bupropion, which were approved by the Health Sciences Authority in 1991 and 1999 respectively.

Champix, a prescription drug, is a new class of treatment because it disrupts the mechanism by which nicotine brings about pleasure.

Nicotine, the substance in cigarette smoke that causes addiction, binds to alpha-4/beta-2 receptors in the brain, which triggers the pleasure-inducing release of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Champix’s active ingredient, varenicline, binds to nicotine’s alpha-4/beta-2 receptors, reducing the withdrawal symptoms and nicotine craving brought about by cessation of smoking. Cessation of smoking leads to physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms - including headaches, tiredness, insomnia, irritability and depression - which result in a craving for nicotine.

At the same time, varenicline prevents nicotine from binding to the receptors - this means that a Champix user who smokes will experience little pleasure from the cigarette, helping to reduce dependency on smoking.

The Champix treatment is designed to last 12 weeks in order to help users overcome the worst withdrawal symptoms. Thereafter, the severity of the symptoms drops to a steady, more manageable plateau.

Ong Kian Chung, consultant respiratory physician at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, explains that withdrawal symptoms are most pronounced in the first three or four months after cessation of smoking.

Clinical trials involving more than 2,000 smokers over a 12-week period of therapy concluded that patients on Champix were two times more likely to quit smoking than bupropion users, and four times more likely to quit compared to those without pharmological assistance.

A 12-week course of Champix costs $660, which works out to about $8 a day. The chief side effect, reported by 33 per cent of users, is nausea, but discontinuation rates are lower than 3 per cent.

Dr Ong cautions, however, that there is still a danger of relapsing long after the most trying initial period has passed. In its end-2007 survey in Singapore of 200 respondents, independent agency Saffron Hill found that among unsuccessful quit attempts, smokers stopped smoking for an average of seven months before succumbing again.

A separate study was conducted on 1,210 smokers who quit after 12 weeks on Champix. For a further 40 weeks, one group was given Champix, while the other was given a placebo. Forty-four per cent of the former group abstained from smoking throughout this period, compared to 37 per cent of the latter.

Ultimately, Dr Ong advises that while Champix shows promise, smokers seeking to quit should also seek professional help. The Saffron Hill survey found that while 24 per cent of smokers approached friends or relatives for help to quit smoking, only 11 per cent approached their family doctors.

Even more dismally, a mere 3 per cent approached smoking cessation clinics or the Health Promotion Board, and just one per cent sought assistance from specialists.

Business Times - 11 Apr 2008

Strong Q1 GDP numbers seen giving MAS more room to tackle price rises By CONRAD TAN

Business Times - 11 Apr 2008

But MAS says growth is likely to ease in next few quarters as global outlook dims

By ANNA TEO

(SINGAPORE) Inflationary concerns outweigh downside growth risks - for now anyway - as the economy rebounded strongly in the first quarter. But GDP growth is expected to ease in the months ahead.

The 7.2 per cent flash estimate of Q1 growth - against sub-6 per cent consensus forecasts, and up from the preceding Q4’s 5.4 per cent pace - mostly surprised on the upside. In annualised, adjusted terms, the economy - far from slipping into a technical recession, after a Q4 contraction - grew almost 17 per cent in Q1, according to the advance figures based only on January and February data.

Notably, the manufacturing sector roared back after the previous quarter’s flat performance. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the sector’s 13.2 per cent recovery was due to a surge in the biomedical cluster and a better showing by mainly the electronics and chemicals industries.

Kelvin says: Better late than never!