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Interesting case. wonder why our law minister didn't take this up with our defense minister since he supports Dr Ting? Watch the video from the link below for better understanding. http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/01/inventor-forced-by-mindef-to-close-company-over-patent-rights/ Facing a long-drawn and uphill lawsuit with the Ministry of Defence over a patent issue, Dr Ting Choon Meng, an innovator and medical professional, decided to withdraw his case due to mounting legal costs and a battle for which he saw no end in sight. Even worse, given that Mindef is now demanding about S$580,000 in legal fees, to have his patent revoked and assign the rights to the Ministry, Dr Ting is looking at the very grim prospects of closing down his company Mobilestats Technologies Pte Ltd, the company holding the patent rights to his invention, the Station With Immediate First-Aid Treatment (SWIFT) vehicle. “I am completely disheartened,” said Dr Ting. “After this incident, suffice to say that I have lost confidence in Singapore’s ability to be a global IP hub.” What made his case even more poignant is that Dr Ting was appointed to the board of directors for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) since April 2013. He has since stepped down in January 2014, after he withdrew his case against Mindef. “It has come to a point whereby I am honestly convinced that there is no true conviction right at the top of our government for Singapore to be transformed into a Global IP Hub,” he had written in his resignation letter. “Recent events and processes in my own encounter have unfortunately shown me that without real conviction and internalization from the top, what we are trying to do in IPOS are but lip service.” International certification for innovation Dr Ting and his partners invented SWIFT, effectively a quick-deployment first aid station for crisis use, after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. Television footage of 9/11 made him realise that a vehicle-based medical facility would be a great game-changer in managing casualties during crises. Subsequently, he applied for patent rights for his invention in no less than nine countries and successfully obtained the rights to intellectual property (IP) in almost all of them, including his home country Singapore. His application to IPOS was filed on 27 December 2002, whereby it received a few rounds of checks through the reputed Danish Patent and Trademark Office, before it was finally approved on 6 July 2005. Dr Ting and his partners continued to file for patent rights in eight other countries and regions, and received similar approvals in Australia, Japan, Israel, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the United States of America and Europe. During the long journey of certifying the IP for SWIFT, Dr Ting and his partners presented the concept to Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force Singapore Civil Defence Force, Mr James Tan, in 2004 and was asked to help build a prototype for trial purposes SCDF eventually called for a tender in 2006 for vendors to manufacture SWIFT, and within the tender documents, indicated that interested bidders need to first sign a licensing agreement with Mobilestats before SCDF would consider their bid. The SWIFT vehicles went on to serve its operational needs, and were publicised several times as an icon of “SCDF innovation”. “It needs to be ruggedized” However, Dr Ting had a less pleasant experience with Mindef. At a trade fair in 2005, Dr Ting spoke to BG (Dr) Wong Yue Sie, then chief of the SAF Medical Corps, about the SWIFT vehicle that was on display. “He told me that changes would have to be made to the vehicle if it were to be adapted for SAF’s use,” recounted Dr Ting. “For example, the vehicle would have to be painted to camouflage and it needed to be ruggedized. I told him that such changes would not be a problem, but I informed him the vehicle was patented.” “He told me that he would contact SCDF and said to me that, “maybe we can do it on our own” or words to that effect. I remember that clearly because I remember telling him that he could not do that because the vehicle was patented.” Dr Ting never heard from Mindef since. However, in April 2009, the Defence Science and Technology Agency called a tender to procure a “Mobile First-Aid Post”. While the tender required bidders to obtain licensing agreements for IP, DSTA’s tender did not specifically mention Dr Ting’s SWIFT, as SCDF’s has done. The contract was eventually awarded to Syntech Engineers Pte Ltd for production, which did not contact Dr Ting or his partner about the patent. “In fact, I didn’t know that they infringed our IP until we saw the vehicle exhibited at National Day Parade 2011,” said Dr Ting. It was supposedly the same vehicle that was featured in the 2011 National Day Parade, apparently as a fully operational model. Intention to infringe? Dr Ting decided to pursue the legal route with Mindef. “I can’t take it up with the vendor – they will just throw it back to Mindef, because they set out the tender. In any case, it was Mindef who drew up the specifications, they decided on the vehicle, so they should uphold the IP.” Curiously, in the exchange of legal letters, Mindef’s representing lawyers from Wong and Leow LLC accidentally faxed him a letter from Syntech, dated March 2009 and addressed to Mindef, outlined the company’s clear intent not to pay any heed to Dr Ting’s patent. Syntech wrote: “We noted your concern with regards to the possible infringement of their patent rights under their SG Publication Number 113446. Together with our legal advisors, we have studied their patent design as compared to our Medical Shelter design submitted under Tender Ref No. 7108105610. We have conclude that there is no infringement of their patent rights. Moreover, we have also concluded that their patent lacked novelty and/or inventive step… As such, it will be very difficult for them to defend their patent rights.” After receiving the fax, Dr Ting said Wong and Leow LLC frantically called him to ask him to destroy the letter. “It’s clear that Mindef is aware of potential infringement and had asked Syntech about it, but the company has decided not to obtain the IP license from us,” said Dr Ting. “Why did Mindef let that happen? Instead, they have effectively decided that our IP can be contested. And this was after IPOS has certified the patent!” War of attrition What Dr Ting did not count on was that the case would drag on for two years, costing him a fortune that effectively outweighed any licensing fee he would have been able to obtain from a successful case. “It’s a war of attrition,” he said. “Mindef not only had the Attorney General defending them, they also contracted Wong and Leow. Why did they need so many lawyers? They kept delaying the case, claiming that their witness was not available. Meanwhile, every delay cost me in legal fees. I have no more money to fight this case.” Eventually, Dr Ting decided to drop the case in January 2014, as the legal cost was too high for him to bear. Just as perturbing was Mindef’s actions to “settle” the case. Dr Ting had offered them settlement terms indicating that each party pay for their legal fees, that he would not claim IP license fees for the vehicles Mindef has already built and allowing them royalty-free use for up to three years. However, charges will apply for subsequent vehicles built by Mindef. Fairly reasonable, he thought. However, just two weeks before the scheduled trial, Mindef dropped a bombshell with their “counter-offer”: Dr Ting had to pay for Mindef legal costs, drop all claims to IP, and surrender his patent for SWIFT in Singapore as well as for the other seven countries the patent is registered in. This meant that Dr Ting not only lost the right to claim damages for the original infringement, but can no longer exercise his patent rights to SWIFT with other developers anywhere else in the world. Just as strangely, although the courts awarded Mindef the right to revoke Dr Ting’s patent for SWIFT in October 2014, he heard from his sources that the agency has to date not gone to IPOS to complete the revocation. “When I dropped the case, my conditions was that I would not claim for the vehicles Mindef has made, so long as they stop infringing on my IP,” said Dr Ting. “Instead, they countered by demanding that I pay their legal fees, and grant them free use of the patent.” Meanwhile, Wong and Leow LLC slapped him with a legal bill of about S$580,000. Dr Ting had no more money to pay, and would likely have to put the company in receivership. Which means any party that takes over Mobilestats would still have the IP rights to SWIFT, until Mindef chooses to revoke it with IPOS. “I honestly have no idea what Mindef is now planning to do with the IP for SWIFT,” said Dr Ting. “What I do know is that Mindef has produced up to 58 copies of the same vehicles. What for? I was a battalion commander in the Medical Corps before, and by my estimate, the entire SAF would only need about 12 to 14 SWIFT vehicles for its entire operational needs. Why produce 58?” The Online Citizen has sent a request to Mindef to comment on this article. We will publish their response, if any, when they reply

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/thai-pm-forced-resign-over-abuse-power-064130824.html

A girl was forced by her father to eat faeces after she had made a mess of her father's newspapers on 3 February. According to a report by Zhejiang Satellite TV, a man in his 30s punished his daughter at a shopping centre in Hang Zhou, China, after she misbehaved and threw his newly-bought newspapers on the floor. Witnesses the station spoke to said the man had dragged his daughter to a public toilet. He then scooped up faeces from the toilet and smeared it over his daughter's face and mouth repeatedly until bystanders tried to stop the man by separating the child from her father. The police revealed that the man is a university graduate and has been evaluated and found to not suffer from any mental illness. He is also divorced from his wife. As the girl is under 10-years-old, her father has full custody of his daughter. The man was let off by the police after receiving counselling. Enraged netizens said the father should be punished by the law. "If this were America, this father not only would no longer be able to see his daughter but would also be in prison," said Zhanghuxk. Another netizen rebeccasyh added, "Scum, China

TWO Singaporean women who drove into Johor Baru were detained by Malaysian customs, stripped, and made to squat and stand while pulling their ears. They were detained for 24 hours for "illegal entry" as their passports were not stamped at the Malaysian customs, reported Shin Min Daily News. The incident occurred last Thursday (June 9) when property agent Ms Lim, 29, went to Changi Airport to pick up a friend, insurance agent Ms Zhan, 39, who was returning from a holiday in Hong Kong. Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News) They then decided to drive to Johor Baru for supper at around 1.30am. Ms Lim told Shin Min Daily News that she drove into Lane 2 and realised that there was no customs officer on duty. She attempted to use the intercom service to ask if there was anyone, but according to her, it was too noisy and she was not able to make out if anyone had replied her. After five minutes, she decided to use the Touch n Go system to enter into Malaysia. The Touch n Go system is a smart card used at Malaysian highway tolls and can be used to enter the country if travelling from Singapore. The two noticed that there was no one attending to the fingerprinting scanning system and therefore, were not able to get their passports stamped and checked before entering Johor Baru. "I immediately made a U-turn towards the Malaysian checkpoint to find an officer to stamp our passports and that was when we were accused of illegal entry. "We were interrogated by customs officers around 3am and were detained for up to 15 hours. "We were handcuffed and around 6pm the next day, we were taken to a detention centre in Pontian," said Ms Zhan. Upon arriving at the detention centre, the two told Shin Min Daily News that they were ordered by a Malay correction officer to take off their clothes and said that this was "normal procedure". Ms Zhan also said that Ms Lim was given a smelly and old T-shirt to wear while the other detainees wore their own clothes. She told the Chinese evening daily that the two of them were made to squat and stand while pulling their ears. They were allowed to wear their clothes only after they had finished ten squats. Ms Zhan said that they were locked up in a cell that was about two-thirds the size of a football field. There were about 50 other detainees in the same cell and were mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines; the two women were the only ones from Singapore. When Ms Zhan asked for a new sanitary pad from one of the detention officers, some of the detainees told her that she will have to use soap and water to wash her soiled pad before disposing it, or else she will be reprimanded by the officers. She said the toilet was filthy and the stench filled the entire cell, and as the toilet did not have a door, a cloth was used instead, but only covered up to her eyes. They were also told by their cellmates that they would be punished if they did not finish their food and will be made to stand for an hour if they spoke too loudly. "There was no mattress or pillow in the cell, so we slept on the floor with bugs and cockroaches," said Ms Zhan. The two were released the following Saturday at 6am with warning letters. They were not charged or penalised. While they were getting their passports stamped on their way back to Singapore, they were told that they will not be able to enter Malaysia easily after this incident. It was the first time the two had driven to Malaysia. They told Shin Min Daily News that although they were at fault, they did not understand why they were treated like prisoners. They also said that they intend to seek a legal help and demand for compensation for their traumatic experience in Malaysia. http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews...613-283897.html TMD :angry:

After a year-long investigation by PETA Asia-Pacific and the National Bureau of Investigations, police have now charged a Philippine couple with cruelty to animals and other crimes related to producing a series of pornographic videos in which young girls torture and kill animals. Faced with the charges, suspects Dorma and Vic Ridon have fled. Warrants have been issued for them. WARNING: Graphic descriptions follow. The "crush" videos that the Ridons are believed to have produced show scantily clad 12-year-old girls as they stomp on live animals, a rabbit as he or she is skinned alive, other rabbits as they scream while their ears are cut off and they are set on fire, a dog as he or she is burned with a clothes iron, and a monkey who was repeatedly hit in the eye with the sharp end of a stiletto heel. There is more, including puppies crushed until they vomited their own internal organs. A bill currently in the Philippine Senate would criminalize the sale of such "crush videos," already illegal in the U.S. and other countries. PETA Asia-Pacific is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of Dorma and Vic Ridon. Anyone with information on the couple can e-mail [email protected] and we will pass it along. You can also make a donation to PETA Asia-Pacific to help the group fight cruelty to animals in this case as well as in many others. Written by Michelle Sherrow Posted by PETA PETA.ORG this is inhumane...

I have an uncle who worked in a company for over 40 years as a technician. Really loyal as it was his first and last job. He helped the company through thick and thin through two generation of bosses, father and son. This son is really ungrateful. Several months ago, he took away all this benefits. So from $2000+, he left with just about $1.2k. And now, he forced my uncle to retire and to leave the company without a single retirement benefits. Imagine working over 40 years without a cent at the end. F**king ungrateful. What would you do if this happens to you?

Jenson Button had to file legal action to ensure his former team handed over his prize for winning the 2009 world championship, according to the Mail on Sunday. Button agreed to lower his salary after the Brawn takeover of Honda with a clause added to his contract that he could keep a chassis of his car if he won the championship. The clause read: "In the event that the driver wins the championship at any time during the term, the company shall transfer ... ownership of one chassis of the type driven by the driver during that winning season." The case has come to light because Button's company JB Next BV filed legal action in London's High Court in April against the Brawn. According to the Mail on Sunday report, the team refused to hand over a 2009 Brawn car to Button because there were not enough of the chassis remaining. It is believed that six BGP001 cars were made, but an email to Button from Mercedes in January reads: "We have no spare 2009 chassis as limited quantities were manufactured for the 2009 season for cost reasons." Mercedes then reportedly offered to build a replica of the BGP001 car, but Button said it would lack the "special and unique" value of owning one of the very cars he drove to the title. In the face of legal action, Brawn ultimately decided to supply a 2009 Brawn car to the now McLaren driver. "We have arrived at an amicable resolution, and so there will no longer be any court action over this," Button's spokesman confirmed. Source : ESPN

News Network SKOREA - More than six out of every 10 actresses have been asked to have sex with influential figures, according to a survey released by the National Human Rights Commission yesterday. In the survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute last year on 111 actresses, 60.2 percent of respondents answered that they had been asked to sleep with rich and powerful figures. Most also said that such "sponsor" relationships are quite common in the entertainment business, said the NHRC. More than 45 percent had been ordered to attend drinking parties and wait upon the participants. More than 58 percent had experienced sexual harassment and 31.5 percent were physically harassed as well, according to the survey. Some 21.5 percent were more directly forced, either by their agency or influential acquaintances, to have sex and 6.5 percent were raped. The patrons are usually wealthy businessmen, producers, directors, agency heads, broadcasting officials and politicians. The respondents were pressured to abide by the "requests" for the sake of their career, they also said. Some 48.4 percent of the respondents said that they were deprived of acting opportunities shortly after refusing. Aspiring actresses also received sex offers, though demands there was less demand to their obscurity, said the NHRC. "A detailed special law is required in order to supervise entertainment agencies and to guarantee the sexual rights of female entertainers," said an NHRC official. The KWDI's survey was the first one to be conducted on the sexual freedom of female entertainers. The issue was brought into public debate last March as actress Jang Ja-yeon committed suicide, leaving hand-written notes detailing at the sexual relationships she was forced into by her agency. The documents were released by her former manager.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...60.html?vgnmr=1

Got this video link from a friend http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjU4MDk1Njg=.html like that also can

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../364483/1/.html Qantas jet forced to turn back after hydraulic leak Posted: 02 August 2008 1609 hrs SYDNEY: A Qantas 767 was forced to return to Sydney on Saturday after taking off when the pilot detected a hydraulic leak, the airline said, denying reports the jet made an emergency landing. In the third safety scare involving Qantas aircraft in just over a week, the airline said the Manila-bound flight with 200 passengers on board landed at Sydney Airport about 3:00pm after the problem was detected. "It landed without incident after the captain became aware that the aircraft had a hydraulic leak," a Qantas spokeswoman told AFP. "It was not an emergency landing." The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sky News Australia and Australian Associated Press all reported the incident involved an emergency landing. On July 25, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route to Melbourne from Hong Kong was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila after it developed a large hole in its fuselage. Then last Monday, a Qantas 737-800 was forced to return to Adelaide after a landing gear door failed to retract. Qantas said passengers were never in danger in the latest incident. - AFP/so

Circus "slave" forced to swim with piranhas Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:51pm EDT ROME (Reuters) - Police rescued two teenage Bulgarian sisters from a circus in southern Italy which forced one of them to swim with flesh-eating piranhas for the amusement of guests, police said. While the 19-year-old sister swam in a transparent tank, the younger, 16-year-old was forced into a container where the circus staff tossed snakes at her. She was injured by one of the snakes, police said. Police arrested three Italians who ran the circus south of Naples, in Salerno province, accusing them of forcing the sisters to live in virtual slavery. The women were paid 100 euros ($155.8) per week and lived in a trailer that had previously been used to transport animals, they said. (Writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by Caroline Drees)

This should serve as a wake up call for Nokia who provides farked thup services, consumers aren't to be pushed around. ======================== ST 25/2/2008 Customer turned up with bailiff to enforce Small Claims Tribunal ruling EARLIER this month, Ms Tan Geok Hoon marched into Nokia's office, brandishing court documents and threatening to seize the assets of the cellphone giant. A bailiff stood at the side of the 43-year-old sales manager, ready to take over the company's things. Ms Tan was enforcing a Small Claims Tribunal decision that ordered the world's largest cellphone maker to pay her $778 for a faulty cellphone she bought last year. The moment, which Ms Tan recalled recently, marked the culmination of a seven-month David-versus-Goliath battle. The story of one woman's fight against a mighty firm made the rounds in several online forums last week, casting the spotlight on how the world's top phone maker handled unhappy customers. It all started in August last year, when Ms Tan bought a Nokia E61i phone from a StarHub store. Ms Tan said the phone would not power on in the first week, but a Nokia service centre refused to exchange it for a new one. Frustrated after sending it for repairs several times, she turned to the Small Claims Tribunal in November. At this point, Nokia tried to settle the matter privately. It offered to exchange Ms Tan's phone for a new one, or to refund her $388 - the purchase price that came with a two-year StarHub subscription. She rejected the offer, looking instead for $778 - the full retail price of the phone. Ms Tan told The Straits Times: 'I didn't claim for more than what the phone cost because I'm not greedy for Nokia phones.' There were two consultations and one hearing before the Small Claims Tribunal. Nokia missed the last two sessions, claiming the relevant department had not received the notice on time. As a result, the company was ordered on Dec 18 last year to pay Ms Tan $778 within 15 days. But it did not. Said a furious Ms Tan: 'I gave them warning at every turn. I gave them time to respond, but nobody called me or discussed it with me.' So she turned up at Nokia's Alexandra Road office with the court order seeking payment. This time, the company agreed to pay up, but only if she signed an acknowledgement form that had a clause preventing her from discussing the matter further. She said 'no' and left. When she returned on Feb 11, she had a writ of seizure in hand and had a bailiff to force Nokia to pay up - with no strings attached. In the end, the cellphone giant coughed up more than $1,000, including bailiff fees and transport charges. Nokia spokesman Foo Wen Dee said this was the first such incident and it regretted the matter was not settled amicably. She added that the company was investigating why its officers had not resolved the issue earlier. Ms Tan shared the victory on online forums here, and Nokia drew flak for the way it handled the case. 'I want to let people know that sometimes there's no point talking... if one side doesn't respond, then we have to take action,' she said. Since the postings appeared in the past week, netizens have asked if more electronics firms should allow exchanges if a product fails shortly after purchase. Some firms do so on a case-by-case basis, while others offer it for certain products like hard disks.

you guys prefer forced induction (aka tc or sc) or naturally aspirated engines