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Singapore High Court judge tasks interim managers with probing suspected fraud at Radiant World

SINGAPORE - A Singapore High Court judge said interim judicial managers were needed at Radiant World to investigate suspected fraud at the iron ore trader, according to a copy of a document seen by Reuters.The judge on Thursday (Sept 24) ordered the appointment of KPMG as interim managers.Judge Kristy Tan wrote there was enough initial evidence that Radiant World "is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts," to support the appointment, according to the document dated Thursday in a case brought by Radiant World creditor Mizuho Bank.Radiant World has faced mounting challenges since banks and counterparties began distancing themselves because of concerns that invoices provided to its banks may not have been valid. It has denied the allegations.Radiant World, its spokesperson, and founder Pinkesh Nahar did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.Radiant World has said interim managers are not neededIt has said previously there is no need to appoint interim judicial managers because it is not insolvent and that doing so would not be in the best interest of its creditors.

asiaone.com · politics en

Amid 24% judge vacancy, HK Bar chief urges 'neutral' pay reform, pointing to Singapore's ministerial salary debate

Money should not be a factor to lure talent to fill the bench in Hong Kong's judiciary, but it should be a "neutral factor" — that is neither an attraction nor a disincentive, said the special administrative region's bar association president Jose-Antonio Maurellet. The 47-year-old, who was appointed a senior counsel at the age of 37 in June 2016, made these comments in an op-ed published in China Daily on Sept 16, as the 24.2 per cent judges vacancy rate continue to strain waiting times for criminal cases in Hong Kong.But Maurellet, a Hong Kong-born Eurasian, does not think that the system or pathway for judges to be appointed is broken.Instead, he said that there is a good pool of legal talent, but no queue of these top practitioners willing to join the bench. The bar association president noted that there would always be those who look past personal costs to dispense justice and make their mark in law."They should be applauded — and indeed those who are on the bench today have all made significant personal sacrifices," Maurellet said.

asiaone.com · politics en

Crow seen pecking at bag of raw meat outside food court in Jurong West, SFA investigating

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has launched an investigation after footage of a crow pecking at a bag of raw meat outside a food court in Jurong West emerged online.Footage shared on social media shows a crow perched on top of a plastic crate outside Koufu's Pioneer Mall outlet on Sept 21, pecking at a plastic bag that appears to be filled with raw meat.There are multiple crates filled with fresh produce surrounding the crow, and at least one other barrel also containing a bag of raw meat.An employee at the food court told Shin Min Daily News that the ingredients belonged to his stall, and that the person who witnessed the incident had reported it to him that day.He immediately discarded the meat, adding that the supplier must have forgotten to cover the baskets after delivering the ingredients the night before, he told Shin Min.In response to AsiaOne's queries, SFA said it is looking into the matter.

asiaone.com · politics en

Civil servants buying properties close to planned MRT stations: Government assessing whether there was misconduct

The Government is currently reviewing if there was actual misconduct in cases highlighted in a study on civil servants buying properties close to future MRT stations, the Public Service Division (PSD) of the Prime Minister's Office said on Friday (Sept 25).The study, a working paper under the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) circulated in September, had reported a statistical association between civil servants and the homes they purchased near planned MRT stations prior to public announcements regarding the stations.It looked at cases from 2007 to 2011, and determined proximity to be within a 1km radius from future MRT stations within the period.Stressing that PSD takes the paper's assertions seriously, it said that the patterns reported are concerning."But statistical patterns do not by themselves establish whether any individual officer actually had access to non-public information on MRT station locations at the relevant time, or whether such information influenced a property purchase," PSD said.

asiaone.com · politics en

Justice Hoo Sheau Peng appointed Court of Appeal judge, Deputy AG Goh Yihan appointed judge of Appellate Division

High Court judge Justice Hoo Sheau Peng will be appointed as Justice of the Court of Appeal, while deputy attorney-general Goh Yihan will be appointed judge of the Appellate Division.Both appointments, made by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will take effect from Oct 1, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Friday (Sept 25).Justice Hoo was appointed judicial commissioner on Sept 30, 2014, and later became High Court judge on Sept 30, 2017.She has heard criminal, family and public law cases, and also dealt with a range of civil matters, on areas such as company, insolvency, trusts and intellectual property, PMO said.It added that Justice Hoo has been the judge-in-charge of the High Court's general division, assisting in its administration.Senior Counsel Goh Yihan was appointed judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court in July 2022, and later judge of the High Court in Oct 2023.He was appointed to his current role in January 2025, and oversees the work of the civil division at the Attorney-General's Chambers and the advocacy group.Goh also oversees the work of the crime division's international legal cooperation team.

asiaone.com · politics en

EV, plug-in hybrid owners to vote on 3 shortlisted licence plate designs from Sept 25

An online poll for owners of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to indicate their preference for a differentiated EV licence plate design from three shortlisted designs will commence on Friday (Sept 24) — for two weeks.In a joint news release on Thursday (Sept 24), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the online poll will feature one of the original green designs proposed and two new blue designs.Earlier in March, three similar designs were proposed. They feature characters in black font, with the plates in different shades of green — dark, gradient or light.In addition, a green round decal with white border was proposed for selected vehicle schemes and groups.

asiaone.com · politics en
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