New Mendaki satellite centre to be set up

A new Yayasan Mendaki satellite centre is due to be set up by the start of next year, taking the total number of such centres here to seven, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.

He made the announcement while visiting the Mendaki satellite centre at Pasir Ris with President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Dr Yaacob added that the West Coast and Boon Lay areas are being considered as locations for the new centre, as these areas have higher proportion of low-income Malays, who can benefit most from the programmes available. The centres link families in need to Mendaki schemes such as tuition, job placement and financial support for education.

Man jailed for attack with dustbin cover

A self-employed man, who used a metal dustbin cover to hit a manager repeatedly on his face in 2012, was sentenced to 12 months' jail yesterday.

Gabriel Kok Khen Foon, 28, was also handed a week's jail for causing hurt by poking a lit cigarette into a motorist's upper lip along the Central Expressway in 2014.

After a drinking session at a pub, Kok and his friends were waiting for a cab outside Central Mall along Eu Tong Sen Street at about 2.50am on May 6, 2012 when they noticed two men trying to flag down taxis.

Kok told one of them to get in line but the latter replied that there was no queue. A quarrel escalated into a physical altercation, and a scuffle ensued.

Aware gets new president

Gender advocacy group Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) has a new president - Ms Teh Hooi Ling, a former financial journalist and current partner of fund management firm Aggregate Asset Management.

At the group's annual general meeting on Saturday, 13 women vied for nine board positions. Ms Winifred Loh, who was its president for four years, handed over her position to Ms Teh.