Turkish Speaker in S'pore to boost ties

Mr Ismail Kahraman, speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, called on Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob at Parliament House yesterday, where they reaffirmed the warm inter-parliamentary ties between Singapore and Turkey.

Both sides emphasised the importance of inter-parliamentary exchange and said there was potential to enhance the friendship between parliamentarians of both countries.

Mr Kahraman, who is on an official visit from May 11 till today at the invitation of Madam Halimah, is accompanied by a delegation of parliamentarians and Turkish government officials.

He will call on President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana today. Besides interacting with MPs here, he will also visit the National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Former bank exec jailed for cheating UOB

A former mobile personal banking executive who conned his bank into giving $84,500 in referral commissions to a housing agent was sentenced to 14 months' jail yesterday.

Malaysian Mok Chwan Yee, 35, named Mr Tan Jeok Kiow as the referring agent of clients applying for housing loans on 40 occasions when they had no referring agent.

United Overseas Bank pays referral commissions to property agents who refer customers to apply successfully for property loans, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Imaduddien.

In their arrangement, Mr Tan would then withdraw the commissions and hand them to Mok. After the bank terminated Mok's services in May 2007, he left for Malaysia. He was arrested in Kuala Lumpur in September last year.

His lawyer, Mr Winston Quek, said in mitigation that Mok, who has two young children, had made full restitution to the bank.

CPF Service Centre to move to URA Centre

The Central Provident Fund's Service Centre will be relocated to the Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre's East Wing at 45, Maxwell Road, in February next year.

There, it will continue to provide over-the-counter services to members and employers, CPF said yesterday.

It said the URA Centre was chosen for its central location and easy accessibility. Further details on the new CPF Maxwell Service Centre will come later.

In the meantime, the service centre at the CPF Building at 79, Robinson Road, remains in operation.

In a rare sale by the Government, the CPF Building was acquired by Southernwood Property, a firm owned by Ascendas Land (Singapore), for $550 million in November.

The CPF Board's corporate operations were relocated to Novena Square Towers A and B that same month.