Former AON S’pore CEO allegedly obtained $668k in bribes
The former chief executive of insurance firm AON Risk Solutions Singapore was on Thursday charged with obtaining $668,000 in bribes from a then-director of Fullerton Healthcare Group.
Collin Chiew, 56, faces five counts of graft and a money laundering charge. He is accused of using some of his alleged ill-gotten gains to buy a landed property at Bedok Terrace.
Chiew allegedly committed the offences to advance the interests of Fullerton Healthcare Group with the firms he was working for at the time.
3 girls, aged 13 and 14, arrested for drug abuse
Three teenage girls were arrested for abusing Ice after they admitted to consuming the drug together on some occasions, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). One of them is aged 14 and the other two are aged 13.
On Feb 6, officers arrested the 14-year-old girl for suspected drug abuse at her home, where they found a stained packet after a search of her room.
After that, the officers arrested the girl’s two friends at their homes. Equipment for using drugs were also seized from the home of one of the 13-year-olds.
Istana open house on Feb 12 to celebrate Chinese New Year
The Istana will be open to the public on Monday in celebration of Chinese New Year.
Visitors can enjoy the open house from 8.30am to 6pm, and look forward to performances and tours of the Istana’s main building and grounds.
The Istana Heritage Gallery, located in the Istana Park opposite the main gate of the Istana, will be open as well. Activities available to visitors include Chinese calligraphy and candle making.
Nearly 1,000 GP clinics will remain open during Chinese New Year
Some 993 general practitioner (GP) clinics will open at various times from today to Monday.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the public can access the list of clinics and their operating hours on its own website, or the websites of the Agency for Integrated Care and the Community Health Assist Scheme.
A total of 17 clinics will stay open for 24 hours for all four days, while 101 clinics will be open on Saturday, the first day of Chinese New Year.
Complaints against e-commerce sellers up 47% in 2023
Complaints from consumers involving online purchases jumped 47 per cent last year, with about one-fifth of the grouses directed at airlines, travel and hotel industries.
In annual figures released by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), the motorcar industry received the highest complaints at 1,306.
Overall, however, the total number of complaints fell 24 per cent, from 15,144 to 13,991.
DBS CEO Piyush Gupta gets 30% cut in 2023 variable pay over bank’s digital disruptions
DBS Group Holdings said the 2023 variable compensation for its chief executive officer Piyush Gupta and other members of the group management committee has been cut to hold them accountable for the series of digital disruptions in 2023.
Collectively, DBS’ management committee saw their 2023 variable compensation reduced by 21 per cent from the previous year, despite record profits for 2023. Mr Gupta took a deeper cut of 30 per cent, which amounted to $4.14 million, DBS said in its fourth-quarter earnings statement.
However, to help lower-income staff cope with higher costs of living, junior employees – who make up half of the total headcount of about 40,000 employees – will receive a one-time bonus. A total of $15 million was set aside for this in expenses for 2023.
