ST's Malaysia bureau chief, crime reporter bag SPH Media awards

When he heard that Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob would be meeting top opposition leaders last August, Mr Shannon Teoh had an inkling it would be significant.

Having covered Malaysian news since he joined The Straits Times in 2014, ST's Malaysia bureau chief sensed that change was afoot.

After making a few calls to official sources, Mr Teoh broke the story that Datuk Seri Ismail had offered his rivals reforms in return for their support in Parliament.

He delivered the story even while the political leaders' meeting was ongoing and two weeks before the authorities confirmed it.

Selangor-born Mr Teoh, 40, was yesterday recognised as Journalist of the Year at SPH Media Trust's annual journalism awards for its English, Malay and Tamil Media Group.

He said of his win: "This is down to the support and team spirit of my three colleagues at the Malaysia bureau.

"At the bureau, everyone has one another's back. We cover for one another so we can deliver exclusives and master a wide range of beats, from crime and security to politics and economics."

The Young Journalist of the Year award went to Ms Jean Iau, who covers the crime and courts beat.

The 26-year-old Straits Times reporter was described by her editors as having a knack for getting interviewees to share their most private thoughts and feelings.

She won multiple monthly awards last year for her stories about teenage drug traffickers and family reunions.

On the award, she said: "I am really happy to receive the award and was quite shocked to be nominated in the first place. It is a nice surprise."

Her motivation behind her stories is to understand more about the victims.

She said: "The more family members or loved ones you talk to, the more it shows how the victims were loved and what the family is going through."

She added that she is also mindful not to push family members too hard when talking to them about the incidents.

Two of her most memorable stories last year were her interviews with Madam Ang Goon Lay, whose older daughter, Lim Shiow Rong, was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1995; and Madam Rahimah Lee Abdullah, whose only child, Mohd Ridwan, died after a basketball hoop fell on him in July last year.

Ms Iau spent a week with Madam Ang at her coffee stall in Toa Payoh Lorong 5 as she was initially reluctant to be interviewed and photo-graphed.

Eventually, Madam Ang opened up and showed the reporter a box containing photographs and mementoes of her daughter.

Ms Iau said: "I still visit Madam Ang every now and then, and she seems like she's always happy to see me."

The Story of the Year award went to Ms Anita Gabriel, a senior correspondent at The Business Times, for her scoop last October on Singapore's largest independent electricity retailer iSwitch exiting the market.

Ms Michelle Ng from The Straits Times, Ms Shahida Sarhid from Berita Harian and Mr Irshath Mohamed of Tamil Murasu were also nominated for the award for their exclusive stories.

Mr Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of SPH Media Trust's English, Malay and Tamil Media Group and editor of ST, said: "The purpose of these awards is to showcase quality content we are all proud of... across all our platforms, so we want to get behind, celebrate them and cheer our people on."

Congratulating the winners and the four newsrooms, SPH Media Trust interim chief executive Patrick Daniel noted how in the current media landscape, it has become increasingly difficult to capture the attention of audiences.

He said: "It's part of the ambition of the media trust to grow its international audience. (When) the newsrooms work together, that's when we can really unleash our potential."