HPB launches Healthier Hawker Centre in Marine Parade

SINGAPORE: Marine Parade now has its own Healthier Hawker Centre, launched on Sunday morning by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Marine Parade has a higher proportion of elderly residents, and with the launch of the Healthier Hawker Centre in Marine Terrace, they need not travel far for healthier versions of their favourite hawker fare.

All stalls at this food centre have switched to oil which has lower saturated fat.

Seven of the stalls have also started to use healthier salt, brown rice or wholegrain noodles.

This is the fifth hawker centre under the Health Promotion Board's Healthier Hawker Centre initiative.

A study by HPB showed that about 80 per cent of senior citizens in the Marine Parade constituency have at least one chronic disease.

The board hopes to help the elderly improve their health by providing them with healthier choices.

By 2013, the HPB hopes to have more hawkers on board with at least 50 healthy hawker centres across the island.

Ang Hak Seng, CEO of the Health Promotion Board, said: "Through our network of suppliers, (hawkers) are able to buy healthy ingredients at the same price as normal (ones).

"Our study also showed that a very high percentage of Singaporeans, close to 90 per cent of Singaporeans, are aware of the importance of eating healthy food. What's important is to create the choice so that they can eat healthy food."

Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong accept Chee Soon Juan's S$30,000 offer

SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong have accepted opposition politician Chee Soon Juan's offer to pay S$30,000 to discharge himself from bankruptcy.

Senior Counsel Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC said this in a statement on Friday.

Dr Chee, who is the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), was declared a bankrupt in 2006 after he failed to pay damages totalling S$500,000 to Mr Lee and Mr Goh.

This followed a defamation suit brought on by the two over remarks Dr Chee made during the 2001 General Election.

Earlier, in a statement on September 11, Dr Chee said Mr Lee and Mr Goh had indicated that they would accept his offer of S$30,000 to annul his bankruptcy.

The SDP posted an email dated September 7 from the Official Assignee to Dr Chee on its website, saying that Dr Chee's creditors - Mr Lee, Mr Goh and the Attorney-General's Chambers - had no objection to his offer of composition of S$30,000.

Dr Chee said he will be working to raise the amount, primarily through the sale of his books.

He added that he was looking forward to being formally cleared of his bankruptcy so that he would be eligible to stand in the next General Election, due in 2016.