Nothing wrong with the tree but the wood was worth lots of money
https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2015-03-06_094924.html
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They couldn’t make more money growing those trees from seed and selling them to the public?
I remember the uproar over the “Changi Tree” case in 2002:
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/changi/changitrees/hopeasangal-20nov2002/firstpage.html
The “real” Changi Tree:
was cut down in 1942 to stop the Japanese from using it as a ranging point:
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/changi/changitrees/changitree.html
In any case, none of this had anything to do with the corruption case in 2021, which was about overcharging on invoices to Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
PS> The Zoo is in Mandai, not inside the Changi TCA, which is managed by NP Services.
The “Tree Doctors” that check the health of trees all around Singapore on a regular basis are also under NP Services. They arrange for sick trees to be felled by contractors, not the WRS.
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Why do that, when the gov pays to plant an nurture for 20-30 years then pays you to cut it down and you get to sell the logs that I suspect are worth lots of money so they dont want the public to know that.
99% of the corruption in Singapore doesnt make it into the public domain
The GOV works hard on it but only some cases get reported
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PS
What I heard was the issue of deciding the tree must come down was the sole preserve of the botanists at the Zoo and do that job for any gov department that needs it.
Hence why the police took action when they spoke to the guy on the phone at the zoo. I didnt witness that but my mate had learnt to call them if they see anyone cutting trees from the issue the first time when the police phoned around to find out who had control of that plot and hence who sent the tree cutters.
They were just sent away the first time as it was only the Banglas.
I can see why it a small group as lots would be cut down if there is money in it.
The plot of land in Changi is unique in Singapore and is only for tree testing it isnt managed by NParks or the SLA, hence the call to to the Zoo to sort out who can be cutting trees on that plot and the crook clearly knew that hence his fake Zoo/botanist/tree doctor that he presented the 2nd time, police called the zoo and away he went in the cuffs…
PPS ask the tree cutters to fell a tree in your yard they will say its very difficult to get permission so we will only trim it unless its clearly dead and rotted and we can prove it, they know how much trouble they can get into.
The two conservation tree areas in Singapore are the Tanglin-Bukit Timah-Pasir Panjang area and the other is in Changi. all NParks.
Thats a large area in Changi and in it is the area controlled by the Zoo guys as well. We all learnt that from the Police.
One nice thing about the Police in Singapore is they cannot be talked out of anything, ( except on the water where you can) they keep going to they get a result.
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Thank you for the information. We get to see the propaganda of Singapore growing vegetables in the city, waxing lyrical about the environment, so it’s refreshing to see that it too has problems. 
The gov tries to do the right thing, like high rise hydroponic vege farms, I hope that works.
Lots of investment long term in fish farming etc but gov departments operate in silo’s so left hand doesnt know what right hand is doing so lots of inefficiencies and hence margin for low level corruption.
They can move mountains when they want to, (thats a bonus of being just a city) and very quickly when the word comes down from the top unfortunately thats made a nation of people that cant and wont make decisions as the penalty for a wrong decision is great and the penalty for no decision is thats your job.
Thats created zero leaders and no entrepreneurs.
The people with get up and go just leave.
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When are you planning to leave??
As you have proven numerous times not understanding how Singapore works, hence pointless to try to explain why Singapore is full of foreign companies, employees and wealthy individuals.
Something Singapore is good at but the gov wishes it wasnt
Nine jailed for tampering with equipment to cheat marine fuel oil buyers of $457,000 Nine jailed for tampering with equipment to cheat marine fuel oil buyers of $457,000
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Widely reported in new media worldwide based on a joint media statement by AEG, MPA and SPF.
CNA even have the full names of the culprits and length of sentences meted out to each:
PS> Didn’t the Engineers on the ships receiving the fuel check soundings before and after bunkering? Or could they have received a cut of the cake??
The engineer is not the buyer the charterer is.
When I was on a semi sub we had a lottery every fill up to guess how much we dont get, messages goes up the line and we never heard anything.
Watch via the ais as the vessel goes and meets another vessel coming from or to Singapore for a few hours…I wonder what they did alongside each other?
After crashing cars its a national sport, lots of players season never ends…
I was at a nondescript shipyard in the Caribbean once for an extended length of time. I got to know the ship fitters and welders quite well. Their main business was refitting ships that had been seized and sold by various drug agencies. The new owners were paying to have the damage inflicted by the drug inspectors repaired and in some cases improved. There was a bunkering vessel there getting modified and the fitters showed me some of the clever modifications. Such as hidden valves that diverted fuel from the bunkering supply pumps to other tanks. They could trickle off some fuel to other hidden tanks while lowering their fuel levels. They said it worked well for the owners of the bunkering vessels as even if the charterer had someone on board sounding the bunkering vessels tanks they could see the fuel going down. If the tank soundings didn’t equal the receiving vessels meters or sounding? No problem, the receiving vessel can wait in port until the legal authorities decide the matter. Pure thievery.
There was some artful dodgers in Vietnam.
I did some bridge something course in a sim in the UK, had a young brit 2nd mate but family from Nigeria in there, had moved back to Nigeria to work for family tanker business. He had lots of great stories.
He said family scrapped all the old vessels and got double hull/single bottom as they all had valves to dump the fuel into the ballast.
Guy on the refinery tank getting some, surveyor on board not but his soundings still ok.
They did ship to ship transfers and he said mostly to Russian tankers.
I worked on an AHTS where the captain put 100cubic into the (mooring) chain locker, client rep checked everywhere as suspected fuel theft, didnt find it.
In and out of Malta lots, several Singaporean based operators.
Had a German captain that didnt sell fuel but fluent in Bahasa. ( malay and indo)
Vhf goes off and they ( Jaya and Deep Sea Supply vessels) were speaking about fuel selling when we were tied up alongside, I guess they thought nobody speaks that language in the EU?
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Singapore’s 3rd UPR was completed in May this year:
They dropped the compulsory death penalty for murder a few years ago.
Its still on for drug dealing.
Not sure what other change they are doing or thinking of?
Any use of weapon and possession of a firearm is still subject to the death penalty.
Not sure if it is compulsory any more.
PS> No chewing gum and littering does NOT carry the death penalty. contrary to what some western believe.
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Firearm and other weapon is different, there is the list of prohibited items.
Zero import of cigarettes.
They let foreigners go if the packet is open or ask them to open it but he law is zero.
You can get chewing gum under prescription to be WTO compliant.
I dont see foreigners getting in trouble for gum, lots of law in Singapore only applied when needed.
They also have a great idea on smoking age, they lift it almost every year so a generation will never smoke. Its 21 this year.
In addition, people who litter cigarette butts can be fined up to $2,000 for first-time offenders, and up to $10,000 for repeat offenders.
I had to laugh when Singapore joined the WTO, Wrigleys kicked up a big deal to force the issue.
Meanwhile my old Italian boss has a monopoly on chewing gum in Italy, no Wrigleys and inside the EU to boot.
So poor people smoke and get taxed, meanwhile… to help the wealthy you can bring a yacht in foreign flagged and never pay tax.
I dont know any other country that allows a national or a resident to bring a foreign flag in indefinately?
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