All posts tagged: K Shanmugam

New Yishun community hub reaches construction milestone, set for 2027 completion

New Yishun community hub reaches construction milestone, set for 2027 completion

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE: A new integrated community hub in Yishun has reached a key construction milestone with the completion of its superstructure and is on track to open next year, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said on Saturday (Apr 18).  When completed, Chong Pang City will have a community club, hawker centre and market, along with swimming pools, a gym and gym activity rooms, a playground, a multi-purpose hall, a sheltered community plaza and a sheltered rooftop jogging track. It will also have a supermarket, dining options, and educational and recreational spaces. The nine-storey development will have about 4,200 sqm of commercial space, with tenders for these units launching in the second quarter of this year. The community hub has been designed with inclusive and senior-friendly features, including wheelchair-accessible ramps at swimming pools and changing rooms equipped with electric height-adjustable changing beds. Chong Pang City will also be the first government-integrated development to receive the Platinum Super Low Energy certification, with energy savings of up to 40 per cent compared to conventional buildings.  Sustainability features include photovoltaic …

Survey shows more support for mandatory death penalty for trafficking significant amount of drugs: Shanmugam

Survey shows more support for mandatory death penalty for trafficking significant amount of drugs: Shanmugam

Published by Sam Flores

PUBLIC SUPPORT Singapore’s approach focuses on harm prevention and policy is anchored on enforcement, education and rehabilitation.  The country has a tough framework of laws and robust enforcement, and invests heavily in upstream preventive education.  Mr Shanmugam highlighted the Drug Victims Remembrance Day introduced in 2024, which is observed every third Friday of May, to remember the people who have been victimised by drugs. On rehabilitation, he said the approach differs for drug traffickers and drug abusers. While Singapore is tough on the former, drug abusers who have not committed any other criminal offence will receive treatment and rehabilitation without a criminal record. “We invest very heavily in our rehabilitation programmes, to help them break the cycle of addiction, and to give them a helping hand to move on with life,” he said. Even with the attitudes towards drugs becoming more tolerant globally, it is a different picture in Singapore.  Citing the results of the 2025 National Drug Perception Survey, Mr Shanmugam said nearly 93 per cent of youth respondents and more than 96 per …

Shanmugam, Tan See Leng defamation suits against Bloomberg to go to trial in April

Shanmugam, Tan See Leng defamation suits against Bloomberg to go to trial in April

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE: Trial dates have been set for the defamation suits that Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng filed against Bloomberg and one of its reporters, with hearings scheduled from Apr 7 to Apr 16, 2026, according to court records. The two ministers filed lawsuits on Jan 6, 2025, against Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei over a Dec 12, 2024, article titled “Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy”, which focused on Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore.  Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan said the article, which mentioned both of them, was defamatory. They argued it falsely suggested they had taken advantage of a lack of transparency in property transactions to conduct their dealings in a non-transparent manner, and to hide their transactions from scrutiny, including over the possibility of money laundering. Correction orders under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) were also issued to several entities on Dec 23, 2024, including Bloomberg and other outlets that reproduced the article in whole or in part. …