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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/singapores-first-assisted-living-hdb-flats-for-seniors-to-launch-in-bukit-batok SINGAPORE - Singapore's first assisted living public housing in Bukit Batok for seniors who wish to live on their own and yet enjoy some care, support and communal activities will be launched for sale in next February's Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. The new flat typology comes with a mandatory service package to support seniors to age in place, said the Ministry of National Development (MND), Housing Board (HDB) and Ministry of Health (MOH) in a joint statement on Thursday (Dec 10). Services under the package include 24-hour emergency monitoring and response service, basic health checks, simple home fixes and activities at the communal spaces within the development. All residents will have to subscribe and pay for the basic service package, which starts from $22,000 for a 15-year lease. Other services such as housekeeping, laundry, meal delivery and shared caregiving can be added on at an additional cost. Located in Bukit Batok West Avenue 9, the pilot batch of Community Care Apartments comprises about 160 units and is expected to be completed in 2024. The flats were scheduled to be launched in May but were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Each 32 sq m flat comes with senior-friendly fittings including grab bars and wheelchair-accessible bathroom with slip-resistant flooring to allow residents to move around their homes with ease. The flats have an open layout and come with sliding partitions to separate the living room and bedroom, along with a built-in wardrobe, cabinets and furnished kitchen to reduce renovation time. There will be furnished communal spaces on each floor for residents to share meals or participate in group activities, which serve as "extensions of their own living rooms", said the agencies. A community manager will be on-site to organise community activities and help link seniors to care services according to their needs, where necessary. Residents will also get priority for admission to the nearby Bukit Batok Care Home, should the need arise in the future. Other amenities within the development include a precinct pavilion, strolling path, activity centre, hawker centre, community garden and fitness station. Singapore's first assisted living HDB flats for seniors to launch in Bukit Batok in Feb 2021 BTO exercise The new flat typology comes with a mandatory service package to support seniors to age in place.PHOTOS: HDB Michelle Ng PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO FACEBOOKWHATSAPP SINGAPORE - Singapore's first assisted living public housing in Bukit Batok for seniors who wish to live on their own and yet enjoy some care, support and communal activities will be launched for sale in next February's Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. The new flat typology comes with a mandatory service package to support seniors to age in place, said the Ministry of National Development (MND), Housing Board (HDB) and Ministry of Health (MOH) in a joint statement on Thursday (Dec 10). Services under the package include 24-hour emergency monitoring and response service, basic health checks, simple home fixes and activities at the communal spaces within the development. All residents will have to subscribe and pay for the basic service package, which starts from $22,000 for a 15-year lease. Other services such as housekeeping, laundry, meal delivery and shared caregiving can be added on at an additional cost. Located in Bukit Batok West Avenue 9, the pilot batch of Community Care Apartments comprises about 160 units and is expected to be completed in 2024. The flats were scheduled to be launched in May but were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Each 32 sq m flat comes with senior-friendly fittings including grab bars and wheelchair-accessible bathroom with slip-resistant flooring to allow residents to move around their homes with ease. The flats have an open layout and come with sliding partitions to separate the living room and bedroom, along with a built-in wardrobe, cabinets and furnished kitchen to reduce renovation time. There will be furnished communal spaces on each floor for residents to share meals or participate in group activities, which serve as "extensions of their own living rooms", said the agencies. A community manager will be on-site to organise community activities and help link seniors to care services according to their needs, where necessary. Residents will also get priority for admission to the nearby Bukit Batok Care Home, should the need arise in the future. Other amenities within the development include a precinct pavilion, strolling path, activity centre, hawker centre, community garden and fitness station. Other amenities within the development include a hawker centre. PHOTO: HDB The pilot batch of Community Care Apartments comprises about 160 units and is expected to be completed in 2024. PHOTO: HDB Seniors must be 65 and above to apply for these flats. They will be able to choose a lease ranging from 15 to 35 years, in five-year increments, as long as it covers the applicant and their spouse, if any, until they are at least 95 years old. Prices for these flats start from $40,000 for a 15-year lease to $65,000 for a 35-year lease, and are required to be paid for fully upfront with cash or with Central Provident Fund (CPF) monies. Government subsidies such as the Silver Housing Bonus, which gives seniors up to $30,000 cash bonus when they sell their existing flat and use the proceeds to top-up their CPF Retirement Account, are applicable. However, these flats cannot be resold or rented out. Owners who no longer need the flat can return the flat to the HDB, which will refund them the value of the remaining lease of the flat. Seniors with more pressing care needs, such as those requiring permanent assistance with activities of daily living, will be prioritised for the flats. From next Monday to March 31, 2021, seniors and members of the public will be able to visit a life-sized showcase of the communal space, along with scale models of the block and flat, at the HDB Hub atrium at Lorong 6 Toa Payoh. A showroom of the flat will open from Jan 4, 2021. Visitors must book an appointment via HDB InfoWeb before visiting the exhibition.

I really can't stand this kind of people. Even if they appear successful, I would heavily discount their success. Have known at least 3 separate elder relatives subject to this kind of cheating. Do you know any? Please share and advise against this behaviour. More seniors being cheated by their kids Social workers say it is important to raise awareness of financial abuse so that the elderly can learn how to safeguard their money.PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Social workers say the financial abuse cases reported are just tip of the iceberg Theresa Tan Social workers are seeing more senior citizens who have been cheated or financially abused by their children. The children may have tricked or talked the parents into selling their home, often with the promise that the parents can live with the children in the children's home. But after taking the sale proceeds, they treat the parents shabbily, some even throwing the parents out. There are also cases where children hold a parent's ATM card or manage their finances, as the parent may be too frail to go to the bank or is unfamiliar with the banking system. But the parent's life savings get wiped out as the children help themselves to the money. Also common are situations of adult sons demanding money regularly from elderly parents and turning violent if they do not comply. Related Story Son sells aged father's three-room flat, takes money and leaves him destitute TRANS Safe Centre, a charity specialising in helping abused elderly people, dealt with 11 seniors who suffered some form of financial abuse last year. In 2008, it had only two such cases, its senior social worker Mrs Chua Yixin told The Sunday Times. Care Corner Project StART, another of the three agencies that specialise in helping those affected by family violence, estimates that it had about 20 such new cases last year, a "considerable" rise over the last few years, its team leader Kristine Lam said. HIDING THE SHAME The elderly may not even see this as abuse, but as their bad karma to have an unfilial child. They think it's shameful to tell others and they don't know what can be done about it MRS CHUA YIXIN, senior social worker at TRANS Safe Centre, on abused seniors choosing to keep mum about being exploited by their children Pave, another family violence specialist centre, does not track the number of seniors who have been financially abused, but said the issue is definitely of concern. This is because social workers say that the cases reported are but the tip of the iceberg. Parents not only fear they will get the children in trouble if they go to the police, but also worry that the children will cut off ties if they go public. And even when they seek assistance, it is often for financial aid or to find a place to stay for themselves or the abusive child. When doing so, they keep mum about how they have been exploited. Said Mrs Chua: "The elderly may not even see this as abuse, but as their bad karma to have an unfilial child. They think it's shameful to tell others and they don't know what can be done about it." Take for example the case cited by Project StART's Ms Lam of a widow in her 80s whose only child got her to sell her house worth $4 million. The son, a businessman in his 40s, asked his mother to sign a document, purportedly to rent out her house and give him the rental income to help him cope with business woes. As it turned out, the document was for the sale of the house. He later promised to buy her a small flat. But that did not happen, and she found herself living with his family of five in his two-room flat. The woman also said her daughter- in-law treated her badly. But she put up with it, as her son told her he would cut off ties and not attend her funeral if she went against his wishes, Ms Lam said. Social workers say the financial abuse cuts across all income groups. Mrs Chua gives the example of a widow in her 80s who receives $450 a month from the Government's Public Assistance (PA) scheme for the destitute. She is bedridden and lives with the youngest of her six children, a son in his 50s. The jobless man used his mother's PA money for himself, leaving her malnourished, among other problems. He even took his mother out to the streets to beg, his siblings told Mrs Chua. But when they questioned their brother or tried to visit the old woman, he threatened to kill himself and found ways to stop them from visiting her. With the social workers' help, however, the other children eventually managed to have her placed in a nursing home. Mrs Chua said many such abuse cases come to light only when the other children smell a rat. For instance, when the parents are not properly looked after, or when the child who is suspected of cheating the parent prevents siblings from having any contact with the parent. One man even went so far as to take his mother to a lawyer's office to sign a statutory declaration - a statement made under oath - that she did not want any contact with her four other children. She also signed a letter authorising the son, a professional in his 40s, to handle her finances - her worth is estimated to be in the millions. The son has prevented his siblings from visiting. He refuses to open the door when they show up, and they have not seen their mother, who is in her 80s and uses a wheelchair, for over a year. The woman's other children suspect that he has got her to make him the sole beneficiary in her will, Mrs Chua said. They are now exploring their options to gain access to their mother, she added. Many cases of financial abuse involve a son abusing his mother. Said Mrs Chua: "Mothers tend to give in to their children's demands more often than dads. Traditionally, mothers dote on their sons more, so some take advantage of this." Associate Professor Ruby Lee of the National University of Singapore Law Faculty said financial abuse is a tough nut to crack as most seniors do not want to report the wrongdoing or take their children to court. Making a police report may not help, because the children's actions, while morally wrong, may not be a criminal offence, she said, citing the example of children reneging on their promise to house their parents after taking the proceeds from selling the parents' flat. But if a parent has lost his mental capacity due to dementia, for example, and a child is suspected of cheating the parent, the siblings can ask the court to appoint them as deputies to make key decisions on the parent's behalf. For a start, social workers say it is important to raise awareness of financial abuse so that the elderly can learn how to safeguard their money. Ms Micki Sim, a social worker at @27 Family Service Centre, suggested: "Talk to someone, like a social worker, if you feel you have been exploited and we will see how we can help."

Hi guys, anybody is driving audi a4 B8? What is the review so far and how has the car been like? Is the car reliable? Any issues with the Multitronic gearbox? Or any mechanical or electronic failures? So far i been driving Mitsubishi Lancer GLX CS3, a 2006 model i bought as a 3yr old second hand in 2009. Driving for 5 years+. Zero problem. Not sure if Audi will be able to give such a problem free experience too?? comments and review appreciated! Cheers everybody!

Good morning to all, got involved in this so called carpark rage this morning and would like to seek advice from seniors here. I was looking for a carpark lot near henderson market this morning. As i was moving ahead in the long stretch of open air carpark, i noticed a taxi preparing to move out from one of the lots, however before i approach that "potential lot", a Fiat goods vehicle was stationary( about 4 lots away from the potential lot) along the road without hazard lights on. I decided to overtake the goods vehicle and stop just ahead of that potential lot where the taxi was about to move out, put on hazard lights and engage reverse gear to standby for a reverse parking procedure, as i was just about to reverse in, the goods veheicle sped up, horned me to signal its displeasure. This later brought about a quarrel over the lot between me and the driver. After this incident, i felt that i might have prevented it by just stoping beside the goods vehicle to check its intention before proceeding on as a act of courtesy. however, since he there was no hazards lights on or whatsoever to signal its intention, can i assume i have to right of way to overtake it and park into the lot? Whos is right and who is wrong here? Wish to seek advice from you guys here. Many thanks!

heard on the radio that it will be islandwide, neighbourhood style implementation. consider that you will be 'there' when age permits. more at http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC12...-for-a-lifetime