About SGD200,000 of illegal cash withdrawal, affecting some 200 DBS/ POSB bank account holders had been reported by DBS yesterday, in what could be the biggest fraud case affecting the Singapore local bank to date.
What made the news even more interesting was the fact that initial investigations reveal all the illegal withdrawals were made in Malaysia, with the victims having not lost/ misplaced their ATM cards and for that matter, ever left Singapore at all.
Withdrawals were purposely kept small to avoid immediate detection, which allows the modus operandi to continue over a period. While DBS has promised to make good on the money lost due to this fraud, a Hugh question mark remain on how it could had occurred, and how to prevent it in future. This has left yet another scar on the image of DBS, following the downtime nightmare which occured in Jul 2010. See the related article here: http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Story/A1Story20100707-225629.html
DBS and POSB Logo. The key is not so secure after all.
As a precaution, DBS advise that any customer who suspects their ATM or debit card has been compromised should contact the bank at 1800-220-1111 or visit any bank branch. A replacement card will be issued on the spot at any of its branches.
For now, you need not worry about making your regular trip to Johor Bahru Read on…
January 6th, 2012
A debate of sorts stirred up recently when the Chief Minister of Penang – Lim Guan Eng allegedly shared: “”Penang was number one last year in terms of cutting crime by 27 per cent. For the first six months… also cut crime by another 25 per cent. Whereas in Johor, a Singaporean is likely to get kidnapped. Won’t have that problem when you come to Penang.”
What is apparently an off-the-record comment eventually made its way to National TV, where TV3, during its Buletin Utama prime time news on Monday night, had played the audio recording of Mr Lim’s comment. This has stirred up the wrath of many Johor politicians. Even the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar commented that he was offended by Mr Lim’s comments.
So, is Johor a safe place, really?
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (New Straits Times)
The Police Chief of Johor certainly thinks so, in a respond to Mr Lim’s comments. The interview with The Star is reproduced below:
The Star/Asia News Network
Friday, Oct 14, 2011
JOHOR BARU: Only 320 crimes involving Singaporeans were recorded in Johor last year. Most involved missing cars and motorcycles.
Since 2008, only two cases of abduction of Singaporeans were reported.
Thus, any assumption that people fear to come to Johor is utterly baseless, said state police chief Datuk Mokhtar Shariff at a briefing of local and Singapore journalists of the crime situation.
He added that the negative perception of Johor’s crime rate had to be countered through frequent briefing sessions for media members from Singapore.
He said criminals do not select their victims based on nationality, race or religion but commit crime as and when they get the opportunity.
“We have put in place various strategies including increasing police intelligence, working with community policing groups, increasing raids, creating police beats and utilising the latest technology to clamp down on crime here,” he said.
He was responding to a remark made by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng about Johor’s security.
What is your take on this? Do you think Johor Bahru is a safe place now? Do you think that safety in Johor Bahru has improved over the years? Do you feel safe walking the streets in Johor Bahru? Will you bring your family into Johor Bahru for shopping?
We have decided to throw this topic open to the internet community. Let’s make a judgement based on our collective experiences and share our thoughts right here. We will be keeping this post pinned on our front page for the next 30 days and welcome all your comments and anything you have.. 
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October 15th, 2011
Kidnapping is a serious crime in Singapore which warrants the capital punishment (death penalty). As a result, the occurrence of kidnapping in Singapore is extremely low. The initial reaction in Singapore when you receive a call that one of your relatives is kidnapped is more presumptuous on a kidnap phone hoax, rather than an actual kidnap. Having said that, even a kidnap phone hoax itself is classified as a serious crime, under Section 34 of the Penal Code Chapter 224 of the Singapore law. This offence carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment.
Thus, most people reacted with shock when they learnt from the Chinese Daily – Sin Chew Jit Poh that a Singapore businessman was forced to pay S$9 million dollars for ransom of his wife and daughter, both of them whom were kidnapped while driving in Johor. The scene of accident? Permas Jaya, right within Johor Bahru, just 10km away from Singapore.
In what appeared to be a well coordinated exercise, the victims were forced off the road by another vehicle in Permas Jaya. Subsequently, the kidnappers took over the wheel and drove off with the three of them (mother + daughter + maid) to an undisclosed location.
Refer to the article from Asiaone here: Read on…
February 27th, 2011
