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While checking out the LTA website, I came upon something which I guess most Singaporean does not know. Would like to hear the views of those who strongly support ERP to control vehicle congestion. http://ask.lta.gov.sg/home/lta/listings.as...y=44850#2288667 Q Can I drive a foreign-registered car on ERP-priced roads? A Yes. You can choose to pay the ERP fee on a per pass basis. This will require you to first rent or install an IU in your vehicle. You will then need to insert a CashCard or your Autopass Card into the IU when you drive past an ERP gantry. Alternatively, if you do not want to install an IU, the fixed ERP fees scheme will apply. All foreign motorists can drive on ERP roads in Singapore without the need to rent or install an IU for their cars. The ERP fee is chargeable at a flat rate of S$5 for each day a foreign-registered car is used on ERP roads during ERP-operation hours. Q Can I drive a foreign-registered car without an IU on ERP-priced roads? A Yes, you can drive on any ERP-priced roads during ERP operational hours without installing an IU in your car. You will be charged an ERP fee of S$5 for each day you drive on ERP-priced roads. This fee is payable with your Autopass card when you depart from the checkpoint. Just remember to have your Autopass card topped up (at 7-Eleven stores, selected petrol stations, top-up booths near the checkpoints and local bank ATMs) with sufficient cash balance to pay for ERP fees, VEP fees and toll charges before you proceed to the checkpoint. LTA's stand on implementing ERP. Fair Charges are based on usage so those who contribute more to the congestion pay more. Those who use the roads less frequently or who travel during non-ERP hours will pay less or not need to pay at all. So there's no limit to the number of times a foreign vehicle (eg. M'sian registered vehicles) can pass through each ERP gantry and just need to pay $5 when they cause equal congestion on the roads. And the question is why $5 and not more when ERP rates are adjusted upwards most of the time. M'sian vehicles are compact vehicles that does not take up road space? VEP should not be tied to this discounted ERP charges when comparing. For people living in Woodlands travelling via CTE during ERP hours both directions and entering the city (and the ERPs within the ERP zones), how much are they paying a day? Why LTA didn't offer S'pore cars with the same $5 per day rate and charge each time we cross the gantry?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1018745/1/.html Two men charged with attempting to get sexual favours By Shaffiq Alkhatib, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 November 2009 1411 hrs SINGAPORE: Two men have been charged, separately, with attempting to obtain sexual favours in return for turning a blind eye on smoking offenders. One of them is 32-year-old Mohamed Rafi Abdul Alim who was employed by Certis-CISCO Security and attached to the National Environment Agency (NEA) as an enforcement officer. Along with three other officers, he approached a girl whom he saw smoking with her friends at the basement carpark of Queensway Shopping Centre in March this year. The girl and her friends were in school uniforms. The officers then took down the students' particulars and gave them a verbal warning. However, shortly after this, Mohamed Rafi allegedly sent the girl a text message asking for sexual services. It is believed that he promised not to refer her to the relevant authorities should she give in to his request. 42-year-old Koh Hui Chong, a former NEA officer, faced a similar charge. He noticed a boy in his school uniform smoking at a playground in late April last year. Koh approached the student and informed him that he will be booked for under-aged smoking. He also asked the boy for his parents' contact details so that he could speak to them about the matter. However, the student gave him false information about his father. In response to this, it is believed that Koh approached the boy's school to obtain the details even though he was not authorised to do so. Koh then allegedly contacted the boy's mother in early May last year, asking for sexual services in return for not taking action against her son. If convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, both men could each be jailed up to five years and fined a maximum of S$100,000. - CNA/so tiko pehs on the loose.