PLEASE refer to last Friday's article, 'Some Gillman Heights owners fight on for their homes'.

I REFER to the National Kidney Foundation's reply, 'Patient health, welfare are all-important to NKF' (March 8), to Ms Suveida Mydin's concerns in her letter, 'Seek NKF patients' feedback on new rules' (March 6).

IT WAS reported recently that passengers can board and alight from a taxi only at designated taxi stands in the Central Business District (CBD).

AS SINGAPORE seeks to maximise itself as an economic entity, the question before many of us is whether it will be a land to retire in or, by natural progression, a place where people are optimised to create maximum economic value.

ACCORDING to the CPF Board, an elderly individual who wants to transfer funds from his Ordinary Account to his Retirement or Medisave account must first withdraw the amount from his Ordinary Account, deposit it with his bank and then issue a cheque to CPF to be deposited in the Retirement or Medisave account.

I THANK Ms Liow Gwee Cheng for her letter on Friday, 'Items from Singapore Mint tarnished'.

AMERICA is probably going through its most severe downturn since the dot.com bust in 2000. The downturn is mainly due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and companies in the financial sector like Citigroup and Merrill Lynch have taken the bulk of the hit. Other sectors have not been spared either. This, coupled with rising oil prices and inflation, has made it difficult for the US Federal Reserve to react.

I REFER to Tuesday's article, 'Fleshing out the problem of eating meat'. The article documents how meat production and consumption are linked to a host of problems, including illnesses such as heart disease and cancer, and environmental destruction.

LAST Monday, I ordered a Bean Burrito takeaway from KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell in Shaw Centre. What I saw then turned me off. The kitchen helper placed a heap of chicken pieces onto a burrito. She then used her hands to remove the chicken pieces and tossed them into the bin, reloaded the burrito with beans and used the same gloves (with which she had picked up the chicken earlier) to fold the burrito and passed it on to me. I lost my appetite. How can hygiene be so poor in such an establishment?

I AM a regular bus commuter. Last Tuesday, I was at the bus stop at Tampines Avenue 2 waiting for Service 9. I waited for one hour from 4pm, but not a single Service 9 bus came, whereas I saw at least six Service 8 buses pass by. I overheard another commuter complaining that she had been waiting since 3.30pm.

I REFER to the news report, 'Mortgage war breaks out as DBS and UOB offer new rates' (March 8). It said that a mortgage loan war has broken out partially due to competition and also lower Sibor and SOR (3 per cent to 1.5 per cent) since 2007. However, the banks are not being fair to their existing customers as mortgage loan rates are not lowered for their existing customers.

I HAD a rude encounter with a Giant hypermarket worker at IMM last week. The worker, who did not have a name tag, was unloading boxes of mango onto the rack tray. There were about 20 boxes in his trolley. I asked if I could buy a box of mangoes and he rudely replied 'no'.

I REFER to Mr Ronald Seow Hwee Hock's online letter on Thursday, 'Confidential information in SingTel mailer in address label'.