On the closure of hotel spas

Two spa businesses suffered sudden closures in Singapore recently, leaving their customers stranded with useless packages that have already been expensively paid for. These two businesses, Wellness Village Spa and Simply Spa International, operated outlets in good, well-known hotels, being the Pan Pacific Hotel and the Parkroyal Hotel respectively.

The aggrieved customers are now fighting to get their money back through the aid of the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Small Claims Tribunal, although it is not certain that these spa businesses even have any money left to refund their customers.

What can be done to prevent such incidents from happening again in future?

One suggestion has been made regarding chargeback schemes for credit card users, where consumers can reverse a credit card transaction if they do not receive goods or services that have been purchased from merchants.

But it seems to this author, that hotels should also play an important role in preventing such incidents. After all, any business (including spa businesses) which sets up shop in a good hotel will be relying on the name, goodwill and reputation of the hotel to attract customers. Most customers do not associate shady, fly-by-night businesses with shops that are found in a good hotel. Moreover, hotels have a vested interest in preventing such incidents from happening, because if hotel shops falter and leave customers in the lurch, they will also tarnish the name of the hotel.

There is, in fact, something that the hotels can do. And that is to require the businesses which set up shop in the hotels to maintain a certain minimum capital in their companies. In a way, the capital can serve as an assurance that the company will be able to meet its debts and obligations as and when they fall due. If this had been done in the case of Wellness Village Spa and Simply Spa International, the affected customers may have some assurance that there is money in the companies from which to get their refunds.

Now this is not a new idea, and there are some shopping malls in Singapore that require their shop tenants to maintain adequate capital, so as to protect the mall landlords as well as the customers.

If a business cannot afford to maintain an adequate capital, then the hotel should not bother with allowing such business to run in the hotel. As seen from the case of the two failed spa businesses, there is just too much risk in allowing one dollar companies to operate one day and disappear the next, leaving hundreds of customers stranded.

On internet security in Singapore

According to a recent report by computer security expert, McAfee, Singapore has the 10th riskiest internet domains in the world.

This means that if you surf to a Singapore-registered website which ends with “.sg”, the chances of your computer contracting some form of malware is very high. According to McAfee, Singapore’s risky websites rose appreciably from 0.3% last year to 9.1% this year, although, McAfee found that the dangers appear to be of a moderate level rather than severe level. Interestingly, McAfee highlighted Chinese pharmacy spam sites in Singapore as a main cause of risk.

In comparison, Malaysia’s domains (.my) were ranked relatively safe at #80 out of 104 domains with a rating of only 0.3% risk, while Japan’s domains (.jp) were established to be the safest country domains with a rating of only 0.1% risk.

According to McAfee, when scammers and hackers register their malicious websites, they look for registrars with:

• lack of regulation


• ease of registration


• lowest price

Given that Singapore’s domains (.sg) are ranked among the top 10 riskiest internet domains in the world, presumably, scammers and hackers view that there is little regulation involved in registering the .sg domains, and they are easy as well as cheap to register.

Now, why should dangerous internet domains be an important concern for Singapore? Well, a bad reputation for Singapore websites could negatively affect legitimate businesses in Singapore who intend to rely on e-commerce. Internet users may not trust websites ending with .sg for fear of contracting malware or succumbing to scams. In fact, if Singapore’s standing as a reliable and trustworthy place in the internet world is lowered, the potential impact is global.

So, does Singapore have laws against computer crimes such as websites with malware? Yes, in fact, it does. The main legislation is the Computer Misuse Act which was passed in 1993. There are a variety of activities which are considered offences under the Act, such as:

• unauthorised access to, or modification of, computer material


• unauthorised use or interception of computer service


• unauthorised obstruction of use of computer


• unauthorised disclosure of access code

The penalties for committing these offences are severe, especially if damage is caused, ranging up to fines of S$50,000 and jail terms of 10 years. If the offences involve threats to national security, the penalties can be enhanced up to fines of S$100,000 and jail terms of 20 years.

So, on the face of it, Singapore appears to have adequate laws against computer crimes. But are these laws being enforced? Well, the main agency tasked to tackle computer crimes, is the Technology Crime Division of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Singapore Police Force. This division conducts investigation, forensic examination and prosecution into technology-related offences committed under the Computer Misuse Act, such as hacking and unauthorised access to account.

Is the Technology Crime Division doing enough to counter scammers and hackers in Singapore? At present, this author is unable to find specific statistics on how many scammers and hackers have been successfully prosecuted under the Computer Misuse Act. Admittedly, it is a difficult job to fight computer crime and to bring elusive scammers and hackers before the law. Even with a dedicated unit like the Technology Crime Division, the evidence of Singapore’s poor security ranking for internet domains indicate that many scammers and hackers do thrive in Singapore.

What else can Singapore do? Well, the key may lie in making it difficult for scammers and hackers to register their domains. The .sg domains are registered by SGNIC’s accredited registrars, such as SingNet. Perhaps, for a start, these registrars can require domain applicants (as well as current domain owners) to furnish more detailed information and proof of identity. And whenever news of malicious domains is notified to the registrars, the registrars should act quickly to investigate and disable such domains, as well as report them to the police. In this respect, SGNIC may also consider providing an easy website form for users to report malicious Singapore websites.

Update: Local media picked up on this news on 18 December 2009.

On restricting employees from competing or soliciting

It seems a fairly common practice in Singapore for employers to contractually impose post-employment restrictions on their employees to prevent them from working for a competitor or taking fellow employees away.

Because of these restrictions in their employment contracts, many employees worry that they cannot work for companies of their choice after leaving their employers. Further concerns which they have include:

• They cannot earn a living during the period of restraint, especially if their skills are not easily adaptable to other kinds of work.


• Their skills may be rendered sterile if not actively used.


• Their work experience will be adversely affected.

Why do employers impose such restrictions? Well, there are legitimate reasons for doing so if an employer wants to protect certain interests, such as:

• Preventing unauthorised use of its special trade connections.


• Preventing unauthorised use of its business secrets.


• Maintaining the stability of its workforce.

There are two competing principles at stake here: an employee’s freedom to work versus an employer’s right to protect its business interests.

Are these restrictions legal in Singapore? The short answer to this appears to be, it depends – on whether the restrictions are reasonable:

• First, as mentioned, the employer must have genuine legitimate interests to protect.


• Second, the extent of the restrictions themselves (such as the types of activity being restrained, the geographical area of restraint, the duration of restraint etc.) should be no more than necessary to protect the employer’s business interests.


• Third, the restrictions also have to be reasonable from a public policy viewpoint.

If the restrictions fail to meet any of these conditions, they will not be legal in Singapore.

But often, employers in Singapore impose such restrictions unfairly, either (i) simply to deter or “scare” their employees from working for a competitor, even if the employer doesn’t have adequate interests to protect, or (ii) having unreasonable restrictions, such as lengthy non-competition periods or restraining a wider scope of work than necessary or applying blanket restrictions to all their employees (even rank-and-file employees and junior executives) without heed as to whether these restrictions are even relevant to the nature of the jobs involved.

Now, many of these employees are generally helpless to negotiate the terms of their employment, and have very little choice in the matter. They are invariably taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers in these situations and are effectively “scared” or tied down. They usually also lack the financial resources to seek legal counsel of their own.

It would be good if the Singapore government could recognise this issue, and set up a small unit (perhaps at the Ministry of Manpower) to investigate and help mediate complaints in this respect, and also provide general advice to companies about not restraining their employees unduly.

On the rule of law - form vs. substance

The concept of the “rule of law” generally means that the law is above every person, and it applies equally to every person.

Whenever criticised about human rights issues in Singapore, the ruling PAP government likes to bring up mention that there is “rule of law” in Singapore. However, it must be noted that there is no precise definition for the expression “rule of law”, and its actual meaning varies with different people. So what the PAP government likely means when it talks about the “rule of law”, is a formal, positivist interpretation, i.e., there is a system of man-made laws which are enacted and carried out by the government.

But this is no big deal. Practically all countries today with functioning governments will possess the “rule of law” in this sense. As a matter of fact, some of the worst atrocities in human history were committed by Hitler’s Nazi government under legitimately enacted laws. Yet, after World War II ended, Hitler’s government was subsequently tried and convicted for crimes against humanity.

So, as seen, the formal view of the rule of law contains no requirements whatsoever as to the content of the law. There is no inherent or necessary connection between the validity of the law and ethics or morality, and critics have noted that such a system creates a ruling elite that has the power to manipulate through the law. It has thus been observed that consequently, the law cannot serve as an effective barrier to a government’s abuse of power because power structures in society, not the law itself, determine the outcome of legal issues and problems.

There is, however, another higher interpretation of the phrase, “rule of law”. This is known as the substantive interpretation, which holds that the rule of law intrinsically protects human rights. The concept of natural justice comes into play here, and whereas a formal, positivist view would claim that a law can be unjust without it being any less a law, a substantive, naturalist view would observe that there is something legally deficient about an unjust law. As mentioned, individual human rights (i.e., the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law) are protected under a substantive rule of law system, and an unfair, oppressive or unjust law is in a sense regarded as no law at all.

To put it in the local context, for example, Article 14(b) of the Singapore Constitution provides that all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. The right of peaceful assembly is generally considered to be an important civil right for citizens. There is a caveat to this right of peaceful assembly, and that is, parliament may impose such restrictions as it considers necessary or expedient in the interest of national security or public order.

The PAP government had, based on this caveat, enacted rigorous laws (in particular, the Public Order Act) to restrict the holding of public assemblies. One notable aspect of these restrictions is that the PAP government had delegated responsibility for public assemblies to the police, and any person wanting to hold a public assembly is required to obtain a police permit. Unfortunately for the opposition parties in Singapore, the police categorically outlawed all outdoor political events and will not ever grant public assembly permits for such purposes. This in essence deprives a group of citizens of their fundamental right to peaceful assembly. In this scenario, there is rule of law in the formal sense, whereby a government enacts certain laws and carries them out to the letter. But the question is, is there substantive application of the rule of law?

In order for the PAP government to truly address any criticisms of human rights transgressions, it must be able to demonstrate that Singapore has the rule of law not only in the formal sense, but also, in the substantive meaning of the phrase.

On medical leave and the employee

Medical leave is an employee benefit that is given in the form of paid leave which employees can use during periods of sickness. In most countries, there are statutory laws which provide for and protect the employee’s right to medical leave, especially for the rank-and-file employees who seldom possess the bargaining power to negotiate the terms of their employment.

The approach typically taken in Western countries, with regard to an employee taking medical leave, displays compassion and understanding. If an employee falls ill and requires rest for a couple of days, most companies will allow the employee to call in sick. There is no need for the employee to produce a medical certificate issued by a doctor in order to take short term medical leave. Only in cases of longer medical leave, e.g. four or more days, will medical certification be required. This approach is based on mutual trust and respect accorded between the employer and the employee. The underlying principle which companies adopt, is that the employee is regarded as a mature adult and is trusted not to abuse the benefit given to him or her. Equally, the employee appreciates the trust given, and does not abuse it.

The attitude adopted by the majority of companies in Singapore is markedly different. The employee is required to go to a doctor to obtain a medical certificate as proof of his or her sickness, even for just 1 day of rest. Otherwise, medical leave will not be granted, and the employee’s absence will be considered as unauthorised, with the consequences that the absence will be deducted from his or her annual leave or salary, and possibly, disciplinary action taken.

Why do employers in Singapore treat their employees in this way? Well, Singapore employers claim they are afraid that medical leave benefits will be abused, resulting in a loss of productivity at work.

But if we think about it, the prevailing system in Singapore doesn’t really do much to prevent the abuse of medical leave benefits. Most companies will concede that employees who are determined to use up all their medical leave, will do so anyway whether or not their employers require them to see a doctor and obtain medical certification.

Does abuse exist in the Western system? Yes, of course there are some individuals who will tend to abuse the trust given to them. However, these are isolated cases, and by and large, the majority of employees do not abuse the system.

Now, the cost of providing health care to employees in Singapore is expensive – according to one estimate, it costs between S$800 and S$1,400 annually per worker. The larger companies in Singapore usually procure group health insurance for their employees to cover their medical expenses. However, many small and medium businesses find such group health insurance plans expensive, and they typically choose to reimburse their employees’ medical expenses on a per occurrence basis instead. What Singapore employers may have failed to realise, is that there is actually a cost-saving benefit if an employer allows its employees to call in sick without obtaining medical certification, i.e., medical expenses will not be incurred. Of course, this is in no way advocating that companies should do away with medical certification requirements just to save costs. The principle is about treating the employee as an adult.

To minimise the abuse of medical leave benefits, it is submitted that companies may consider giving small monetary rewards to employees who achieve full attendance (i.e. no medical leave taken) during the work year. Such a gesture will recognise the employees' efforts, and also serve as an incentive for them to keep healthy.

Hopefully, we will someday see a mindset change among Singapore employers in this aspect.

On traffic congestion and car ownership

Car owners in Singapore do not have it easy.

First, it is costly to own and drive a car. Apart from the purchase price of the car itself, an owner has to contend with various fees and taxes (costing tens of thousands of dollars) imposed by the Singapore government, such as:

• Registration fee: Currently $140.


• Additional registration fee: Currently equivalent to the open market value of the car in question. This is costly. For example, the open market value of a Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 Auto is $17,850.


• Certificate of Entitlement (“COE”): To own a car, a person must first successfully bid for one of a limited number of such certificates released monthly by the Land Transport Authority (“LTA”). The certificate can be quite costly, typically costing thousands of dollars. For example, the recent 21 October 2009 open category COE cost $19,901.


• Excise duty: Currently equivalent to 20% of the open market value of the car.


• Road tax: Based on a formula that is pegged to a car’s engine capacity. For example, the current annual road tax for a 1,600 cc car is $744.


• Electronic Road Pricing (“ERP”) tolls: This toll (currently costing between $0.50 and $4) is imposed each time a driver uses certain roads or highways during peak hours.

Second, traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, is a frequent occurrence in Singapore. Based on the figures provided by the LTA, as of the year end 2008, there are a total of 894,682 vehicles in Singapore. The average daily volume of traffic entering the city alone is 278,300 vehicles. And the average speed in the CBD during peak hours? A paltry 26.7 km/h.

The LTA is the governmental agency in charge of all road matters, and the main measures it has adopted to deal with traffic congestion in Singapore are:

• COE: Through the issuance of the COE, only a limited quota of new cars are allowed each month. The high cost of the certificate itself also serves as a deterrence to would-be car buyers.


• ERP: High toll charges are imposed along certain main roads and highways during peak hours in the anticipation that these will deter drivers and hence provide for smooth traffic.


• Off-peak car scheme: Car owners under this scheme may drive their cars only during off-peak hours. In return for this compromise, they pay discounted rates for the COE and other vehicle related taxes.

Do these measures work? Well, to some extent, they do. Still, many Singaporean drivers will readily attest that these measures are not nearly enough to curb traffic congestion.

The problem is that Singapore is not only a small country, but also a densely populated one. Nonetheless, if you want to have smooth traffic flow, the solution is simple: either (a) build more roads or (b) reduce the number of vehicles.

So, can an already built-up Singapore build more roads? Yes. In fact, Singapore’s road density, i.e. road length per land area (approx. 4.75 km/sq km), is significantly lower than other metropolitan cities such as London (2 times denser at approx. 9.5 km/sq km), New York (2.5 times denser at approx. 12 km/sq km) and Tokyo (4 times denser at approx. 19 km/sq km). So how do we achieve a higher road density? By building multi-level roads and expressways, as Tokyo did. Presently, our roads and expressways are only single level for the most part. Just doubling the road level will ease traffic flow by half. Is there a downside to this? Well, some people may argue that multi-level roads and expressways are unsightly. However, this may be mitigated to some extent if properly planned, and besides, adding another level to an already existing expressway would not likely make it much worse.

The incumbent government, however, is unlikely to implement this approach for a simple reason – because building roads involves expending a large sum of money. In contrast, sticking to the status quo scheme of COEs and ERPs allows the government to collect a great deal of revenue – even though it does little to address the problem of over-congested roads.

Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile for the government to consider channelling the substantial funds amassed over the years from road related revenue (i.e. COEs, ERPs, road taxes etc.) towards building additional roads to ease traffic congestion and benefit the country. The use of road related funds for this purpose will ensure that there is no prejudice against taxpayers who do not drive.

The second way to deal with traffic congestion, is to reduce the number of cars. As highlighted above, the government attempts to do this by way of the COE quota system among others, with mixed success.

So how else can we reduce the number of cars? Well, we can make it expensive to own a car. Like, really expensive. Forget the COEs, the ERPs. Simply increase road tax to $10k a year just for the privilege of owning a car. Or an even higher sum, if necessary. The prohibitive cost alone will be certain to deter many from driving.

But lest this be thought an easy solution, there is one fundamental challenge associated with trying to reduce the number of cars. That is, the public transport infrastructure must be able to provide effectively for both present commuters and additional commuters who will no longer have access to private means of transport. Can the public transport infrastructure do this? Unfortunately, it appears that at present, the public transport system is already stretched beyond its limit, but that’s a whole story in itself for another day.

On PSLE math and the child

The Primary School Leaving Examination (“PSLE”) is a major examination taken by all schoolchildren (aged about 12 years) at the end of their sixth year in primary school. It is widely regarded as an important examination because a child’s PSLE grades determine whether he or she would qualify to enter a desired secondary school of choice.

The PSLE comprises 4 subjects (English, mother tongue, math and science), and this year, many schoolchildren experienced difficulty with the math paper. In particular with this question:

“Jim bought some chocolates and gave half of it to Ken. Ken bought some sweets and gave half of it to Jim. Jim ate 12 sweets and Ken ate 18 chocolates. The ratio of Jim's sweets to chocolates became 1:7 and the ratio of Ken's sweets to chocolates became 1:4. How many sweets did Ken buy?”

Now, any good paper should contain at least one or two difficult questions so that we may distinguish the more able candidates. But difficult questions should be fair, and the issue is: is this a fair question that schoolchildren can reasonably solve within their ability? Put in another way, are the schoolchildren sitting for the paper equipped with the skills to solve this math question?

It is this author’s understanding that primary school teachers teach their students to solve such math questions using a model diagram and units method. However, a number of teachers privately admit that the model diagram and units method is difficult to comprehend and cumbersome to utilise, and that most schoolchildren are unable to master it.

Is this the only method to solve the math question? No. The math question is easily, commonly and elegantly solved using algebra and simultaneous equations. These are taught when a child enters secondary school education. They are not taught at the primary school level because algebra is perceived to be of a higher level math and most primary schoolchildren are not ready for it.

But it appears that the schools will generally only allow students to solve such math questions using the model diagram and units method. Any other solution (including algebraic solutions) will be penalised or discouraged.

Nonetheless, a good education system should be flexible, and a good educator should allow students to use any valid method to solve a question, not just one method. Schools ought not insist on a particular method to solve a question (especially if the method is cumbersome, will (in this author’s opinion) have little real world application, and confuses schoolchildren).

The crux is this: if primary schoolchildren are largely confused by the model diagram and units method and hence unable to cope with such math questions, they are evidently not equipped with the necessary skills to solve such questions and it would not be fair to expect them to do so. Why not focus instead on establishing a solid grounding in other more appropriate math topics within their level, and only test them on such math questions at a later stage when they are ready to handle them?

By the way, the answer to the math question (as worked out by this author using algebra and simultaneous equations), is 68. Did you get it right?