TR EMERITUS

AN information engineering professor of the Nanyang Technological Universy is undergoing emergency operation in hospital after he was allegedly stabbed by a final year student in his office on Monday morning. Moments after the attack, the body of the undergraduate, believed to be an Indonesian Chinese, was found at the foot of the seven-storey School of Electrical, Electronic and Engineering building. He is believed to have also slit his wrist. NTU students returning from their mid-term one-week break were shocked at the double tragedies which happened at about 10.30am on the sixth floor, where the offices of the lecturers are located. The School of EEE is next to the School of Communications. Prof Chan Kap Luk, is his 40s, is said to be the supervisor of the student in a project. Police said he suffered stab wounds on his back and arm and was rushed to the nearby National University Hospital. Trails of bloodstains were seen along the entrance to the lecturers' office, where a blood-soaked blue shirt was found. An eye-witness, Mr Liu Yan, 24, a final-year electronic enginneeing student from China, said he and his friend were studying in the Research Techno Plaza on the fourth level, when he happened to look out of the window and saw a student with blood oozing from his arm running across a bridge, which links the School of EEE and the plaza. Next, he saw the student on the glass rooftop of the bridge and moments later, he was no longer there. The rooftop was covered with blood splatter, he said. 'I immediately called the police and then, with my friend, rushed down to check. We were shocked to see the student's body at the foot of the block,' said Mr Liu. An NTU spokesman said it would issue a press statement later on Monday. Prof Chan is the Deputy Director of Biomedical Engineering Research Centre, at the NTU's division of Information Engineering. He was been with the School of EEE since 1992. He received his Bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering from Queen Mary College of University of London, UK, and PhD degrees from the Imperial College of University of London. According to his website, his research interests include computer vision and machine learning. He has done significant research work his research areas and published over 40 top quality international conference and journal papers. Home page of Prof Chan: http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/eklchan/index.htm Source: Straits Times From NTU Chinese Forum: 10点半左右的时候听说有人跳楼了... 我们实验室外的走廊都是血滴, 看痕迹是从B1走楼梯下来的... 然后绵延到TECH PLAZA 那个桥的顶上, 然后下面就看到一个面朝下的人, 深色上衣, 浅黄色的短裤, 穿着拖鞋, 已经一动不动了... 对于对伤者的尊重, 没有拍照...几个像TECHNICIAN 和下面割草的印度人围在伤者旁边, 还看到一个人用手按着伤者的颈部, 不知道是为其止血, 还是测脉搏... 几分钟后听到救护车来了... 现在警察把现场封锁了, 刚看到勘查现场的, 像是法医法政的人也来了... Photos:  Professor Chan Kap Luk who is undergoing urgent surgery at NUH.   That's the height from which the student leapt to his grisly death.   NTU students looking at the body of the assailant    From Hardware Zone: Ok, just came back. Don't dare to take photo cos got mata. Think some went to rooftop. Think I saw Nikon D2X with some manual zoom lens. Anyway, think MAYBE is like that. According from bloodstains... EDITORS' NOTE: More updates coming up here. If you have any photos or information to share with us, please email us at [email protected]  Read More →

By Fang Zhi Yuan I refer to the letter published in the Straits Times Forum today by Mr Tan Wee Teck titled "Nursing homes: Reactions reflect badly on Singaporeans." (Read the letter here) Mr Tan has completely missed the point: what has the negative reaction from Singaporeans towards Mr Khaw Boon Wan's suggestion to send our elderly folks to live in nursing homes in JB for those who cannot afford private nursing homes here got to do with the graciousness of society as a whole ? Is it gracious and considerate for Singaporeans to send their parents to nursing homes in Malaysia ? Will Mr Tan walk his talk by sending his own parents to retire in JB ? Mr Tan, Mr Khaw and the government should reflect on the reasons behind the resistance at the grassroots levels over the proposal instead of fretting over our reactions. As a Confucian society as so often espoused by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, most Singaporeans regard taking care of their aged parents as a filial duty to be fulfilled to the utmost of their capabilities. It is a shame to send one's parents to nursing homes, let alone far away in a foreign land. What has our country become ? Is there any country in the world in which the government implores its citizens to send their parents to die in a neighboring country due to cost issues ? It is the moral responsibility of the government to ensure that our nation builders who spend their entire lives serving Singapore have a decent place to retire and enjoy their golden years. Instead of taking the easy way out by shipping our seniors to a "cheaper" place, much more can be done to decrease the cost of nursing homes in Singapore such as waiving off land development charges for the construction of nursing homes, situating them in the suburbs and even on Pulau Ubin and providing generous subsidies to Singaporeans to ensure they remain affordable. As Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has rightly put, we are facing a "silver tsunami" in ten years time when nearly 25% of our population will be over 65 years of age. We need to train more healthcare personnel - healthcare assistants, nurses and doctors in geriatric and pallative care to cope with the expected increase in demand for these specialized medical services and care. As for Mr Tan's assertion that the government should "be less sensitive to the views of negative people", it will be foolhardy to ignore and marginalize critics who disagree just because they are anonymous and dare to voice out contrary views which are not pleasing to their ears. The government has to listen attentively to all feedback provided by citizens instead of selecting only those which it finds agreeable. A government which is disconnected and out of touch with the ground will be unable to formulate and implement effective policies catering to the exact needs of the people thereby generating more resistance and resentment. Lastly, I have to protest at Mr Tan's biased and one-sided stereotype of Singaporeans as "unkind, small minded and uncharitable people." Before the NKF scandal was exposed, more than 1 in 4 Singaporeans had donated to NKF which enabled it to build up its reserves to become one of the largest charities in the region. The same applies to Ren Ci which is able to start and run its chronic care facilities funded largely by donations from well wishers. Our charity extend even to foreigners. When the China girl Huang Na was murdered here, Singaporeans donated thousands of dollars to her families. We did our part to raise funds for victims of the Sichuan earthquake and the Burma cyclone last year. In fact, I cannot think of any countries in the region who had done more than us to help our neighbors in distress. I beg to differ from Mr Tan's ill-judged adulation of our government as "overcaring". Not only is it uncaring, it is "overbearing" as well to control all aspects of our lives including our online speech in order to preserve their political hegemony and dominance. However, I do concur with Mr Tan that the government should make Singaporeans take a more active role in life and a good start will be to rescind some of the draconian laws governing public assembly and protests to allow Singaporeans to express their views freely in public without the lingering fear of being harrassed and arrested.  Read More →

Prologue: Two weeks ago, a Singaporean wrote to the Straits Times Forum imploring Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong to retire soon for the sake of his constituents. His letter brought a sharp rebuttal from Mr Chiam himself and other netizens who want him to stay for as long as he can. Mr Chiam told Lianhe Wanbao in a recent interview that he will only consider retiring if he wins a GRC. What do Potong Pasir residents think of this ? Do they want Mr Chiam to continue to serve them ? We bring you to Potong Pasir to find out. Excerpts of interview: "He (Chiam) should know his health matters. If he thinks he cannot, then he should step down." "He is good. As you can see, even if the fund he has, he still do a good job in the sense that the estate is still clean, good and quiet." "I say he has done a good job, but if another person who can do a better job, why not ?" "We want better facilities. We don't have a libary, shopping center or swimming pool and have to go to Toa Payoh. What other constituencies have, we should also have." "It's good to have more opposition in Parliament to act on the government and to voice out the residents' concerns. "I think he is still strong.......he is a good man, gentle. I have seen him a couple of times in the estate, most of the times on Sunday." "Upgrading ! It has been so long and there has been no upgrading....I would say our surroundings are quite dirty, especially on the weekends, other than that, it is okay." Results of interview: Total number of residents interviewed: 63 Do you think Mr Chiam See Tong should retire ? Yes: 20 No comments: 6 No: 37 What do you think of Mr Chiam's performance as your MP over these years ? He has done a lot for residents: 40 No comments: 6 He needs to do more: 17 Will you lend your support to Mr Chiam in the next election ? Yes: 28 No comments: 10 No: 25 Do you feel it is important to have opposition MPs in Parliament ? Yes: 57 No comments: 3 No: 3 If you are given only one choice, will you want to have an opposition MP to represent you in Parliament or to have better facilities in the estate run by a PAP MP ? Opposition MP: 10 No comments: 11 Better facilities: 42 Source: The Singapore Enquirer  Read More →