January 8, 2021

Lobang: https://www.moneydigest.sg/man-sentenced-to-four-weeks-jail-after-stealing-budget-2020-grocery-vouchers/

Aggravated upon knowing that he had not secured any Budget 2020 grocery vouchers, a 47-year-old man stole 60 of the vouchers that were supposed to cover underprivileged Singaporeans’ household costs.

This is not the first time Singapore has seen such cases. Last October, the news reported that more than 20 people were investigated or arrested concerning such thefts.

Took them from unsecured letterboxes

Alvin Law Choon Huat sieved envelopes from unsecured letterboxes in Marine Terrace housing estates and subsequently used them to purchase groceries and a vacuum cleaner, along with his coupons that eventually reached. The balance of the unused certificates was burned as sacrifices to his late wife.

On Thursday (Jan 7), Law was issued four weeks in prison. He pled guilty to two counts of theft, with two other offences taken into account.

Upset that he did not receive the vouchers

Law, who is unemployed, knew about the voucher availability after hearing about it from social media. The vouchers were allocated for Singaporeans living in one-room and two-room HDB flats. These vulnerable adults who did not own more than one residence could use the coupons to cushion the impact of the pandemic’s economic downturn.

When Law searched his letterbox and saw no incentives, he became angry. He then dug into other mailboxes at Block 51 Marine Terrace. After pursuing letterboxes without fastened flaps or those with broken openings, he collected four victims’ sealed envelopes. Each of which held 15 vouchers priced in S$10 denominations.

Police reported a suspected case of mischief

Police reported a possible case of mischief related to stolen vouchers when stumbling upon an open letterbox. Law was then caught red-handed on closed-circuit television recordings.

On Oct 29, 2020, he was apprehended, and the vacuum and two packets of chicken franks obtained with the vouchers were confiscated from his home.

The offender has previous convictions

Law has had prior convictions for theft and blackmail.

The prosecution demanded at least a month in detention, arguing that the voucher scheme’s specific policy goal was to support the disadvantaged. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim said Law’s crimes resulted in considerable damage to affected people and the state, which has to help fund the voucher costs.

Law, who didn’t have a defence attorney, said that he knew he had committed a wrong and pleaded for leniency. He shared that he has high blood pressure and had a spine operation in 2015, which requires him to consume strong painkillers frequently.

He further explained that he didn’t think he was getting any vouchers. Also, he did not know how to process the stolen vouchers after receiving his own set. He figured that he would be investigated if he had taken them to the authorities.

He also appealed to start serving his sentence after Chinese New Year because his teenage daughter had no guardians, claiming that it was just the two of them in the family. To that, a postponement of his prison sentence to Feb 15 was issued by the court.

Law may have been sentenced to prison for up to three years, fined or both, for each count of theft.

The post Man sentenced to four weeks’ jail after stealing Budget 2020 grocery vouchers appeared first on MoneyDigest.sg.

Lobang: https://singpromos.com/dining-restaurants-food/1-20-ya-kun-traditional-toast-for-singtel-customers-at-almost-all-outlets-till-11-jan-2021-243065/

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Lobang: https://www.moneydigest.sg/30-of-singapore-employers-intend-to-provide-no-wage-increases-in-2021/

A global study of pay increases has found that 30 per cent of employers in Singapore intend to provide no wage increases in 2021. Compared to other countries, Singapore has a more significant percentage.

Based on research done by global consulting firm Korn Ferry recently, around 16 per cent of firms worldwide aim to bypass pay raises completely this year. Across 150 nations, the wage survey gathered data from 25,000 companies. 

Korn Ferry reported that roughly 450 organisations in Singapore were part of the survey. Here are some notable global trends:

• Wage increases (if any) will be smaller than in past years. 
• In 2021, more companies are planning stagnant wages than last year.
• Organisations are primarily preparing to direct their restricted funds to talent acquisition and invest in those with vital roles.

Less than half planning to give an increase

Only 46 per cent of the Singapore employers who responded to the survey said they aim to offer a raise to at least 9 out of 10 employees this year. These businesses expect wage rises of 2.1 per cent in actual terms, which is still smaller than the 3.1 per cent pay rise introduced in 2020.

All in all, participants from Singapore are targeting a 2 per cent rise in terms of median incomes. This places Singapore in the lead compared to countries like France (1.3 per cent) and the United kingdom (1.9 per cent). But falling behind all other nations in Asia, except Japan and Hong Kong (both 2 per cent).

Pay raise dependent on inflation

The findings showed that workers could also see a greater rise in their actual wages in countries where inflation is especially low. Based on official projections, Singapore’s inflation rate has predictions between -0.5 and 0 per cent for 2020.

Mr Kartikey Singh, a senior client partner at Korn Ferry Singapore, commented that jobs would be mainly contractual, temporary, service-led and technology-driven in a recovering economy.

“While the overall pay increases might look sanguine, talent scarcity for areas like product and application development, cybersecurity in certain sectors like e-commerce, technology and fintech can drive significant pay premiums for these job categories,” said Mr Singh.

He added that such a phenomenon would push companies to practice differential compensation plans for different staff and expertise classes.

Organisations need to focus more on a “total rewards” approach

Mr Don Lowman, Korn Ferry’s global leader of rewards and benefits, shared that ensuring their employees continue to feel appreciated and commended will be essential for companies in the future.

Such a strategy entails non-financial incentives, like opportunities for professional growth, mentoring and guidance, and providing an energetic workplace culture with productive employee tasks.

“Korn Ferry research has found that while financial rewards are key to attracting talent into organisations, non-financial rewards can be key differentiators in retaining talent,” said the consultancy firm.

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