Things You Need To Know As a Recruit in SCDF

We all have heard stories or articles about life in Army or Singapore Police Force. And it is only right to put SCDF in the picture as well. So these are the things you'll have to know if you are enlisted into SCDF as a recruit.



1) Don't wear formal shirt on your enlistment day.

Yes, you want to look good and smart on your enlistment day and to show others how well you can dress. But trust me, don't. I wore a formal shirt and I regretted it. I had to wear the formal shirt for the rest of the day and it is extremely uncomfortable.


2) Half Right Change

For the PES A to B guys, you must get used to this 3 words, "HALF RIGHT CHANGE". Which means change to push up position facing 45 degree to your right. As a recruit, I think I've heard it more than 500 times. I've heard it so much to the point if somebody were to say "half right change" while I'm sleeping, I'd jump out from my bed and do half right. It's that scary.


3) Semula

This word is a curse word as well. Don't even think about "semula" and "half right change" put together, just don't, it's nothing more than a combination of nightmares. It basically means 'redo'. So if you've already done a crazy amount of jumping jacks and half rights, and you hear your superior say "Semula", it doesn't matter how many half right you've done, you jolly well go back to zero.

4) Not Everyone Can Be a Firefighter

When I was a recruit, my dream was to be able to crossover to Civil Defence Academy (CDA) and undergo Section Commander Course which is something like the Sergeant course in the Army. So for the front liners, there's Firefighter, Section Commanders, Rota Commanders, and Special Rescue Unit(SRU). 

TAKE NOTE! If you by any chance have a  record with the police, say goodbye to your dream of becoming a firefighter, even minor cases such as illegal driving. Now, a CLEAN firefighters is what they want. Those with "cases", can still be in the front line, but usually on standby and only seldom activated unless needed. They are the Special Rescue Unit which I'll talk about in the next point.

5) Special Rescue Unit

Used to be called Special Rescue Battalion, then to Special Rescue Platoon, and now Special Rescue Unit. There are numerous stories about this unit when it comes to ragging. Out of the whole unit, 90% of them has a criminal record. In the past, ragging happened every single day. However, the generation we live in now, if anything were to happen to you, be a snitch and report. But I can't guarantee what's gonna happen to you after that. So if you are posted to SRU, just keep a low profile and be humble.

6) Sodexo

Sodexo will be your best friend as a recruit. Providing you 3 meals a day with fruits. Get ready to eat chicken wings cooked in 100 different ways you can ever imagine. They do have nice food, occasionally. But whatever it is, it is healthy and I do miss their food. Just make sure the utensils and plates are clean before getting your food.

7) Platoon mates

As a recruit, you'll be stuck with a bunch of people for 3 months if you are in the Physical Training Phase batch or 5 weeks if you are in the Basic Rescue Training batch. You will meet different people with different personalities, ranging from intelligent all the way to stupid. It is not a bad thing, trust me. You will learn a lot from everyone in your time as a recruit. There is usually that one or two guys whom are the noisiest and simply gets everyone in trouble. You'll only learn to grow hatred, annoyed but trust me, you will not be the only one. You and perhaps others who feels the same way too might just question among yourselves "why can't they just shut up?"

Yet again, at the end of the day it is people like this that make your recruit life exciting. Like what people always say. Lan lan suck thumb.

8) Salary

You will get a pathetic amount of $480 as a recruit and private. For Lance Corporal, $500. $20 more. YAY right? If you're a smoker, $480 is not enough. If you're not, it's not enough too. This time, it is best to manage your money well and go think of something to do in your free time when you book out. Sell some stuffs on websites or start up something to generate income during your NS time. Even 100 to 200 bucks per month extra can help out a lot. Refrain from clubbing if the only income you have is from your NS pay. There will be people who spends almost their entire pay over the weekends and you start hearing them complaining how broke they are. Not a wise thing to do, so don't.

9) Malay Lingos

As we all know, SCDF is considered a "malay territory." Which means, you will need to pick up basic malay language, for your own sake. Because all the marching commands are in malay. And it will get you in trouble if you do not know the commands for marching. Get used to it.

10) Girlfriends

It is common that people breakup with their girlfriend when they are in NS. Some AWOL for their girlfriends, some cry themselves to sleep at night. Yes it is quite tough training inside while your girlfriend is outside doing god knows what. Let's say you're in PTP batch undergoing 5 weeks of training. And then head over to Firefighter course for another 3 months. You can only meet your girlfriend over the weekends. That's really tough but it is a good time to see how strong this relationship is. Those who make is, usually make it. Those who don't, I'm sorry. Just keep training, you're still young.

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Man Who Woke Up On Autopsy Table Dies

Source: Express Photo by Vasant Prabhu

MUMBAI (AFP) - An Indian man who shocked hospital staff when he woke up on an autopsy table just before a post-mortem was about to begin has died, the authorities said on Wednesday (Oct 14).

On Sunday, a hospital doctor in Mumbai mistakenly certified the homeless man, who has been named as Prakash, as dead after police found him unconscious and suffering from multiple infections.

Just as the autopsy was about to start, hospital staff were given the fright of their lives when the man started breathing. They later rushed him to intensive care.

Police and doctors pointed the finger of blame at each other for the misdiagnosis but were in agreement on Wednesday that the man had succumbed to his infections late on Tuesday.

"Yes, he has died," Mumbai Police deputy commissioner Ashok Dudhe told AFP.

A senior doctor at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Mumbai, who asked not be named, said the cause of death would only be known after a post-mortem examination was performed.

Mumbai's police are regularly faced with unclaimed dead bodies and media reports have suggested mortuaries are running out of space to hold the corpses.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/indian-man-who-woke-up-on-autopsy-table-dies

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Spectra Secondary School Student Found Dead

A young secondary 2 female student died from her injuries sustained after she fell from a height yesterday at Spectra Secondary School.

According to the police, they are investigating the case as unnatural death.

The girl was found lying unconscious on the grounds of the school at 1 Woodlands Drive 64 in the morning. The police received a call requesting for assistance at about 9.30AM.

She was conveyed via ambulance to Khoo Teck Puat hospital. She was subsequently transferred to KK Women's and Children's hospital where she succumbed.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our student. The school is providing support to the family as well as to the school community," said a Spectra secondary school representative.

Article: http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/14-year-old-spectra-secondary-school-girl-found-dead-school-after-fall-height#sthash.MoIluFVA.dpuf

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Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star Has Begun

The search for signs of life in a mysterious star system hypothesized to potentially harbor an "alien megastructure" is now underway.

Astronomers have begun using the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), a system of radio dishes about 300 miles (483 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, to hunt for signals coming from the vicinity of KIC 8462852, a star that lies 1,500 light-years from Earth.

NASA's Kepler space telescope found that KIC 8462852 dimmed oddly and dramatically several times over the past few years. The dimming events were far too substantial to be caused by a planet crossing the star's face, researchers say, and other possible explanations, such as an enormous dust cloud, don't add up, either. [13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Alien Life]

The leading hypothesis at the moment involves a swarm of comets that may have been sent careening toward KIC 8462852, possibly after a gravitational jostle by a passing star. But it's also possible, astronomers say, that the signal Kepler saw was caused by huge structures built by an alien civilization — say, a giant assortment of orbiting solar panels.

That latter possibility, remote though it may be, has put KIC 8462852 in the crosshairs of scientists who hunt for signals that may have been generated by intelligent aliens.

"We are looking at it with the Allen Telescope Array," said Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute in Mountain View, California.

"No problem with that; I think we ought to, for sure," Shostak told Space.com. But, he added, people "should perhaps moderate their enthusiasm with the lessons of history."

Shostak cited the example of pulsars, fast-spinning, superdense stellar corpses that emit beams of high-energy radiation. These beams are picked up by instruments on and around Earth as regular pulses, because they can only be detected when they're fired straight at the planet (an event that occurs at predictable intervals because of pulsars' rotation).

Astronomers know all this now. But in the 1960s, when the first pulsar signals were discovered, some scientists interpreted them as possible alien transmissions.

"So history suggests we're going to find an explanation for this that doesn't involve Klingons, if you will," Shostak said of the KIC 8462852 mystery.

But until such an explanation is found, the intelligent-aliens hypothesis will still be on the table, even if the ATA and other instruments like it come up empty. The lack of a detectable signal, after all, does not establish that KIC 8462852 is a lifeless system. 

The star may support lifeforms that do not emit signals we can pick up, for example. Or it may once have hosted a civilization that has since gone extinct, leaving the strange megastructure as a sort of monument.

Kepler's main planet-hunting work suggests that the Milky Way galaxy teems with billions of rocky, potentially habitable planets. So KIC 8462852 is far from the only lead that Shostak and his colleagues will be chasing down in the coming years.

"It almost doesn’t matter where you point your telescope, because there are planets everywhere," Shostak said. "If there's somebody out there, there are going to be so many of them out there that I do think there's a chance."

Sourse: Space.com

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SCDF Lt.Col, Married And Hitting On 28 Year Old Female

It started out as an innocent conversation about work.

But the more they communicated over WhatsApp, the more daring the high-ranking civil servant allegedly became.

First, the married man allegedly asked her out on a date, then to be his lover. Or as he called it, "friends with benefits".

Fed up with his advances, she made a police report. The police are now investigating the matter involving a Lieutanant-Colonel in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The married father allegedly hit on the woman, who was working for an events management firm that had won a tender for an exhibition he was overseeing. The New Paper understands that she joined the firm after it won the tender.

The 28-year-old woman, whom we shall call Pamela, met TNP last week to give her side of the story.

She said she had since resigned from the company because she felt it had not supported her sufficiently when she had complained about the alleged harassment.

Showing TNP her police report, she claimed that after she repeatedly turned down the officer's advances, he allegedly made her life difficult by bad-mouthing her to her former employer.

Pamela said she had joined the firm in May, shortly after it was awarded the tender to organise an exhibition that cost over $1 million.

She met the officer after she was assigned to help with the exhibition's events and programming.

Her first impression was that he was helpful and professional, though occasionally cocky, she said.

She showed TNP the transcript (at right) of their alleged WhatsApp conversation between Aug 5 and Sept 3.

She said: "It was a work-centred conversation at first. I asked him for directions to the Immigrations Checkpoint Authority because we were doing a video production recce there and he helped me."

GOT PERSONAL

Over the next few weeks, he asked her personal questions, such as her qualifications and family background, before allegedly saying on Aug 21 that he wished to date her.

Pamela, who has been working in the industry for nine years, claimed she was not surprised at first.

She said: "In our industry, a date usually refers to a networking session where I take my colleagues and he takes his. But from his repeated attempts to ask me out one-on-one, it became quite clear he was looking for something more."

Pamela claimed she tried to avoid his advances each time, but he persisted. For example, she would change the topic and talk about work, or ignore his messages when he allegedly asked her to be his lover.

She said she knew he was married.

He allegedly grew more daring and asked for sexual favours, such as them "making out".

She said: "I felt very offended. He even texted me 'you are hot' during a meeting, moments before I was about to do a presentation."

When asked why she did not reject his advances outright, she said: "I was in a very difficult position. I had to maintain a positive relationship and not burn bridges because we were still working together."

After spurning him several times, she thought he had got the hint.

But he then made her life difficult, she alleged. "He told my boss he did not understand my part because I was not comprehensive in my work. But how could that be when everyone else on the team understood?

"He also told others that I was the one who kept pestering him and that I was irritating."

Pamela claimed that when she told her superiors about the incident, they dismissed her claims and told her to carry on with her work.

She said one of them even suggested that she go out with the officer.

They also tried to persuade her not to report the matter before the project was completed.

"They asked me to hold off until they got the signature for the quotation. That was why I left. The firm was not taking care of my welfare," said Pamela.

She quit in early September and recounted her experience to TNP earlier this month in the hope that his actions would be brought to light.

"Who knows which other girl he'll prey on next. I hope it stops with me," she said.

TNP approached the firm's assistant general manager (AGM) and told her about Pamela's allegations about the firm. The AGM said she had offered Pamela professional advice, such as to ignore the officer, and added that she could not comment further as it was a personal matter between the two parties.

When TNP contacted the SCDF officer over the phone last week, he hung up when he realised it was a reporter on the line.

A police spokesman confirmed that a report had been made and said investigations are ongoing.

An SCDF spokesman told TNP that it expects its officers to uphold exemplary standards of discipline and personal conduct.

He said: "We take a serious view of any alleged misconduct on the part of our officers. We are unable to comment further as the case is currently being investigated by the police."

In our industry, a date usually refers to a networking session where I take my colleagues and he takes his. But from his repeated attempts to ask me out one-on-one, it became quite clear he was looking for something more.

- 'Pamela', who has been working in the industry for nine years

EXCERPTS FROM TRANSCRIPT

AUG 23, 2015

12:06pm Him: I am attracted to you

12:06pm Her: In what ways?

12:06pm Him: Physically

12:06pm Her: And do u think it's right?

12:06pm Him: I don't see any problem

12:06pm Her: I'm keen in being friends

12:07pm Her: Further on. I'm not sure

12:07pm Him: We can try

12:07pm Him: It doesn't have to be binding

12:08pm Him: I'll not ask for commitments

12:09pm Her: Do u do this very often?

12:10pm Him: ?

12:10pm Her: Erm as in. Telling women these? What you're telling me now?

12:10pm Him: Haha

12:11pm Him: I am keen on you, not every other woman

AUG 27, 2015

2:09pm Him: When can we make out?

2:09pm Her: u getting more and more daring. From dates to make out. And every time I talk to u about work u change topic

2:11pm Him: I want to have you. That has not changed

2:15pm Her: u seriously not scare of getting in trouble ah

2:23pm Him: Nope

2:24pm Him: I want to have you badly

2:24pm Him: Please?

2:27pm Him: Dear, I want an affirmative consent

2:28pm Him: Ok?

2:49pm Him: We meet today

2:49pm Him: I want to have you

AUG 29, 2015

9:21pm Him: One last time... really no?

9:21pm Her: What one last time?

9:22pm Her: Why u so random? Suddenly ask me one last time?

9:22pm Him: Asking you for the last time

9:22pm Her: Asking me what? Be together with u?

9:23pm Him: Lovers

9:23pm Her: So if you're asking now... then nope

9:24pm Him: Ok

9:24pm Her: There's always another relationship call friends. If u can Accept that

9:25pm Him: We already are friends

9:25pm Her: if u can accept that. Then if u asked me dinner I will

... a few texts later...

9:26pm Him: Lovers are better than friends

9:26pm Her: Ur wife will kill me

9:27pm Him: Rubbish

9:27pm Her: What rubbish?

9:27pm Her: I don't want to get into trouble

9:28pm Him: Won't have trouble

9:28pm Him: Friends with benefits?

9:28pm Her: Do I look like a women that would really sleep around?

9:28pm Her: Or a women who don't respect myself?

... a few texts later...


9:32pm Her: Haiz. When u tell me such things u want me. Have u thought of how your wife will feel if she knows about it?

9:32pm Her: And would u get into trouble if someone knows about it?

9:32pm Her: Why risk ur career and marriage just cos u want me?

AUG 30, 2015

11:09am Him: I am ignoring them

11:09am Her: Why!

11:09am Him: Because I am determined to have you!

Lawyers: Unlikely to involve corruption

The alleged incident between the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer and the woman is unlikely to involve corruption, criminal lawyers told The New Paper.

Hilborne Law director Rajan Supramaniam, who has been in practice for 15 years, said there did not seem to be any gratification involved.

He said: "To prove there is corruption, you have to prove that there is gratification extended as a result of the personal favour asked of the woman."

He added that the officer could face criminal harassment charges if he had intentionally annoyed her with calls or if he had stalked her.

If so, she could file a magistrate's complaint, Mr Supramaniam said.

"Morally, what he did may be wrong, though," he added.

Mr Ravinderpal Singh, of Kalco Law, said a civil suit seems to be the most likely recourse.

"On the face of it, there does not seem to be anything criminal unless he sent some lewd messages, and it also depends on how the recipient took it."

What will likely happen to the SCDF officer?

Lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said that government agencies usually conduct internal investigations before taking any action deemed appropriate if there is any wrongdoing.

Affected officers may be suspended pending the outcome.

When the investigations are concluded, officers found to have behaved inappropriately may be suspended for a period of time.

"In some cases, they may even be terminated," said Mrs James-Civetta.

Article from: http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/woman-married-scdf-lt-col-pestered-me-be-his-lover#sthash.Eoij6HkQ.dpuf

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76-year-old Relief Teacher Jailed 4 Weeks For Kissing 9-year-old Student

Credits

SINGAPORE - A 76-year-old former relief teacher was on Wednesday (Oct 14) jailed four weeks for kissing a nine-year-old student, whom he felt resembled a former girlfriend.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, did relief teaching for Chinese classes at a primary school from January 2013 until earlier this year.

He first met the victim in mid-2013, when he was assigned as her Chinese relief teacher. He took a liking to the girl, then in Primary 3, as he felt she resembled a former girlfriend he knew when he was 18.

The lifelong educator, who was a Chinese teacher at various schools until he retired in 1975, later kissed the victim outside the school hall.

In the middle of last year, he kissed the same girl again.

This time, he was again assigned as the relief teacher for her Primary 4 Chinese class.

He approached the nine-year-old after class, and asked her to help him carry some books out of the classroom.

Recalling her first experience with the accused, the victim asked her classmate to accompany her, but was turned down. She then followed the man.

As they passed by the school library, he suddenly turned towards the victim and kissed her on the lips. The kiss lasted for about one to two seconds, before he instructed her to return to class.

Feeling scared and uncomfortable over the kiss, she drank water to clean her lips.

She did not tell anyone about the incident until earlier this year, after a third incident when the man was once again assigned to teach her class.

On this occasion, he passed a piece of paper with his mobile phone number written on it to the victim, telling her that she can contact him.

She threw away the piece of paper as she did not want the man to know her contact details. A few days later, she decided to confide in her mother about being kissed by the relief teacher. The victim's mother then contacted the school and lodged a police report.

The former relief teacher was convicted of one charge of outrage of modesty for kissing the girl in the middle of last year, while a second charge for the 2013 incident was taken into consideration during the sentencing.

District judge Mathew Joseph said that in committing the offences, the man had abused his trust as an educator and his position as a relief teacher.

"There is an almost seven-decade difference between your age and the victim's age. This makes the act much more reprehensible," he told the man.

"What was most detestable was that the offence took place within the school's premises," he added.

"This case perhaps illustrates the need for young children in school to be taught what are the inappropriate actions that can be made against them."

Article from: straitstime

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10 Food That Might Cause Cancer

Last year over 1.5 million people were diagnosed with cancer. But few people stop to think about if the foods they are eating contain deadly carcinogens or are harming them in a way that might cause cancer. We all eat. Is what you are eating killing you?

1. Highly Processed White Flours

After refining, processed white flours not only lose most all of their nutrients but they are also bleached with a chemical called chlorine gas. The EPA sites this gas as dangerous, irritant, that can be lethal. It is also very highly glycemic and bad for your blood sugar. Not only are they making us fat they might also be contributing to rising cancer rates.

2. Microwave Popcorn

Everybody loves a yummy bag of popcorn. Making it in the microwave is easy and convenient. Unfortunately, according to wikipedia the bags of microwave popcorn are lined with perfluorooctanoic acid ( PFOA). This chemical is also found in Teflon. Studies have shown that this chemical can be linked with infertility in women and exposure significantly increases risk of kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas and testicular cancers. Find more out at cancer.org.

Many microwave popcorns also still use diacetyl which Conagra stopped using due to employees using it getting lung cancer.

3. Artifical Sweeteners

If you have to avoid sugar, are on a diet or have diabetes you might be using artificial sweeteners. However, many studies show that people usually GAIN weight when using them and can make it harder to control blood sugar. More studies are coming out that show aspertame, when broken down becomes a dealdy toxin called DKP. This breakdown of chemicals is known to cause certain brain tumors.

4. Alcohol

Many of us enjoy a nice drink now and then but over consumption of alcohol can lead to many health issues including diabetes, obesity and many types of cancers.   A recent study showed that postmenopausal women who drank one drink per day or less had a 30% increase in breast cancer rates than women who did not drink at all. Alchohol is the 2nd leading cause of cancer following tobacco. Experts working with the World Health Organization Research on Cancer found evidence that alcohol is the main cause of mouth, esophagus, liver, colon, mouth, rectum, and female breast cancers.

5. Refined Sugars and Soda Pop

Many believe that refined sugars are the preferable food for cancer cells which helps them grow. High Fructose Corn Syrup being one of the main culprits because it is most easily metabolized by cancer cells. This puts most cakes, sodas, sauces, juices, etc on the NO NO list.. Sorry sweet tooths!

6. Processed Meats

Like some hot dogs, sausages, bacon and lunch meats? Most of them have excessive salts and chemicals. Some studies show that people who regularly eat processed meats increased their chance of early death by as much as 43%. Sodium Nitrates are the biggest offenders and also a well know carcinogen with smoked meats being particularly bad.

7. Smoked, Pickled and Salted!

Put a fork in me after I eat these food. These food often have nitrates that turn into N-nitroso that is associated with higher cancer risks when digested.   Smoked meats that are high in fat can help lead to stomach and colorectal cancer.

8. Potato Chips

They sure make a great tasting quick snack but the negative effects far outweigh the short term pleasure. High in both fat and calories the cause weight gain. Add in often high Trans-Fats with sodium and you have the recipe for cancer and heart disease related health problems.

9. Farmed Salmon

Over 60% of salmon eaten in the United States is farm raised. Being fed unnatural diets with chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides and other known carcinogens these otherwise healthy fish and not very healthy at all. Studies have also shown high numbers of PCB’s and mercury in them.

10. Diet Food

Often loaded with Aspertame, a chemical in artificial sweeteners, diet foods are not very healthy at all. Excessive sodium, colors and refined ingredients are often added to make up for flavor loss. Many low fat foods actually have many MORE calories than their ‘Non diet’ associates

source: http://bulletindailynews.com/2015/07/06/10-top-foods-that-might-be-causing-cancer-2/

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