My letter to Dr Kim Byung Gun of BK Clinic Part 2

I have received Dr Kim's email. It was well, very short and snappy.

English is eh...NOT his first language.

Well, he may be willing to wait, but I am not.

Like what SO said, if Mohamed cannot go to the mountain, then let the mountain come to Mohamed.

So I did some research on the Singapore Medical Council and found out that their processing time for medical registration is 3-4 weeks!

So why is Dr Kim's application still not approve? How inefficient is that? The members of the SMC are the top local doctors and surgeons and they are taking months to come to a decision? How difficult can it be? According to the site, the council just need to verify the documents submitted and come to a decision.

Unless...Dr Kim failed some test, like the English proficiency test or something like that. After all, there is a minimum English requirement.
• IELTS - at least 7 for EACH component (Listening, Reading, Writing AND Speaking)
• TOEFL - 250 marks for computer-based test or 600 marks for paper-based test or 100 marks for internet-based test
• OET - Grade B and above

Are members of the SMC threatened by the presence of a world renown plastic surgeon?? Afraid of losing their business?

Well, they should!!

So I emailed Dr Kim back with further suggestions.

Let's hope that his applications get approve quickly. I want my sharp nose!

And yeah, I am also think of contacting a certain local Minister. But then as the Asean Summit 2009 is coming up in 10-12 April, I decided to wait till after that to contact the Minister.

And please, I am not working for Dr Kim, nor does he pay me a single cent. He is not offering me free plastic surgery. In fact, he is not even offering me any discounts. I am also NOT family, nor a personal friend. In fact, I have never met him or consult with him yet!

I am just a concerned consumer, potential patient of Dr Kim BG, who wants a nice sharp nose done locally.

-----------------------

Hi Dr Kim,

Thank you for your prompt response.

I understand that you respect the decision of the Singapore Medical Council.

But if you apply last year, that means you have been waiting for more than 4 months for the approval.

Under the FAQ of the SMC, http://www.ifaq.gov.sg/smc/apps/fcd_faqmain.aspx, the processing time for medical registration is about 3-4 weeks.

As stated in the SMC website....
Provided all documentation required by the SMC is submitted, the average processing time required for processing an application for medical registration is about 3 - 4 weeks.


So your application is definitely taking too long.

I would hence suggest that you contact the Singapore Medical Council to check on the status of your application.

And should they inform you that your application is pending, or still under processing or ...(touchwood) unsuccessful, I would further suggest that you email the Minister of Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan (email below) for help. He would be able to facilitate your application process.

Alternatively, you can also seek advice from either the Korean embassy in Singapore or the Singapore embassy in Korea.

Singapore is gearing itself to be a medical hub and someone of your expertise would be of great asset and contribution to Singapore.

I certainly hope that you can consider my suggestion to check with SMC again on your application status.

Thanks.


---------------------------


Thank you for your letter !!!!

I will consider your recommendation.

I want to respect the decision of singapore medical council.

so I am still waiting.

I will try to do something with your advice.

Thank you again.

Dr. Kim Byung Gun

More about David Hartanto Widjaja

New Paper
8 April 2009

Dad of Indonesian student who fell to death after allegedly stabbing NTU prof says...

When he said he lost his scholarship, I said: No problem

By Crystal Chan

THE family of Indonesian student David Hartanto Widjaja has finally spoken out to clarify that they knew about his school problems.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, Mr Hartono Widjaja, 56, dismissed earlier reports that his son had kept his family in the dark about the termination of his Asean scholarship.

David Widjaja, 21, fell to his death after allegedly stabbing his professor in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on 2Mar.

'Last year, NTU began sending us letters, warning us that David's grades had slipped. He was scoring mostly Cs and Ds,' Mr Widjaja said in Mandarin over the phone from Jakarta.

'Of course, as parents, we scolded him for playing too much computer games, and we tried telling him to pay more attention to his studies.'

Just two weeks before the tragedy, he phoned his parents with the news that his scholarship had been revoked.

Mr Widjaja said: 'My son sounded normal when he told us. He knew it was coming as he had been playful and had neglected his studies.

'When David signed the agreement for the scholarship, he knew he was required to maintain good grades but I guess he was addicted to computer games.

'My wife and I told him: 'No problem. It's only one semester before you graduate and we can afford the fees'.'

The outstanding fees came to only a few thousand dollars, said Mr Widjaja.

Though the scholarship was terminated, his son still had to work in Singapore for three years, as the Singapore Government had already paid his school fees for the last three years.

His son had hoped to work in the electronics sector here, said Mr Widjaja.

Autopsy report

He said the family received the autopsy report on Sunday and asked an Indonesian doctor to explain it to them as it was written in English.

'We're not fluent in English and we needed someone to help explain the many medical terms. 'When asked about the contents of the autopsy report, Mr Widjaja said: 'It said my son had many injuries that were caused by stabbing and slashing. It does not say whether my son had committed suicide or not.'

Mr Widjaja and his wife, Madam Huang Lixian, 49, claimed they did not see any injuries on their son's wrists when they collected his body on 3 Mar.

'His wrists were bandaged so we didn't see the supposed wounds,' he said.

'But we asked the investigating officer and he said there were no injuries on David's wrists.'

However, The New Paper understands that the report did mention incisive wounds on David Widjaja's arms, including those on his wrists. It is understood that the cut on one wrist was deeper than the other.

The student had gone to see Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, in his office, and later allegedly pulled out a knife and attacked him.

After the injured Prof Chan fled, the student was seen by students climbing over a ledge along a common corridor one floor below Prof Chan's office. Minutes later, he fell to his death.

Said Mr Widjaja: 'It's very difficult for us to accept that our child could have behaved like a thug, taking a knife with him to attack his professor.'

The family also refuse to accept that he could have committed suicide.

Describing his son as an obedient boy, Mr Widjaja felt it was out of his character to attack anyone.

He said: 'He never gave us problems. He was a very polite and helpful boy. If his classmates had problems in their schoolwork, he would help them.'

Mr Widjaja also dismissed talk that his son was struggling with his final-year project, which Prof Chan was supervising.

He said: 'Every time we asked about his studies, he would say he was coping fine. He never mentioned problems.'

Mr Widjaja, who works in the electronics line, said his younger son was bright but addicted to computer games.

He and his homemaker wife had pinned their hopes on him, hoping he would graduate and get a good job.

They have another son, William, 24, a technician.

Mr Widjaja said: 'David did exceptionally well in maths but he also loved playing computer games since his Secondary 2 days.

'He wanted to study in NTU as he heard it was a world-class university in engineering.'

No meeting with prof

The parents had wanted to see Prof Chan to find out what happened, but said that NTU rejected their request.

An NTU spokesman said the Widjajas wanted to see Prof Chan on the day of the incident, but it was not possible as he had just undergone surgery.

The university said it tried to arrange a meeting the next day, but it fell through as the Widjajas were busy collecting their son's ashes and had to fly back to Jakarta.

But Mr Widjaja denies this.

He said: 'NTU certainly did not promise to arrange a meeting with Prof Chan.'

The family intends to return to Singapore for the coroner's inquiry.

'We have to know the truth. My wife still cries when she thinks about David. It's very hard for parents to bury their child,' said Mr Widjaja.

'Prof Chan is recovering but our son will never come back.'

-------------------------

Indonesian police won't investigate death as it took place in S'pore

INDONESIAN police have rejected a request by David Hartanto Widjaja's parents to look into his death.

The Jakarta Post quoted national police spokesman Abu Bakar Nataprawira as saying they were not able to investigate, as the death occurred in Singapore.

He added that the request should be addressed to the Singapore police.

The Jakarta Globe reported last Wednesday that Widjaja's family did not believe the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student took his own life.

They held a press conference on 1 Apr in Jakarta where they also claimed that they were informed by a Singaporean police officer that 'there were no cuts on his wrists', the newspaper reported.

The Singapore police have denied this.

'Our officer, Soh Chee Eng, did not make any comments on the deceased's injuries to his next-of-kin, as erroneously reported by the Jakarta Globe,' said police spokesman Liu Xiangling.

The newspaper also reported that according to NTU, an Iranian student had seen Widjaja cut his wrists but requests to meet the witness were denied.

It said that according to NTU, David had stabbed the professor while the latter was sitting in his chair in his office.

An NTU spokesman has denied the reports.

He said: 'In the media statements issued by NTU with regard to the 2 Mar incident involving David Hartanto Widjaja, the university did not make any reference to whether there had been cuts on David's wrists or that David stabbed Professor Chan Kap Luk while the professor was sitting in his chair in his office.'

The New Paper understands that Widjaja's autopsy report mentioned incisive wounds to his arms, including the wrists.

His older brother, William Widjaja, confirmed that the family has received a certified copy of the autopsy report from NTU via courier.

The NTU spokesman said that it had been authorised by the parents to collect the autopsy report on 2 Apr afternoon. It was sent to the family the next day.

Ms Liu said the autopsy was conducted by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on 3 Mar as required by Singapore law.

'The HSA is responsible for all forensic post-mortem examinations in Singapore and it is an independent authority from the Singapore Police Force,' she said.

Another Indonesian newspaper, Kompas, reported on its website that it was announced at the press conference that a verification team would leave for Singapore this week.

The team, led by Mr Iwan Piliang, a citizen journalist, comprises bloggers and citizen reporters.

'There will be 12 bloggers from Indonesia and the Indonesian citizen journalist association,' Mr Piliang said.

The team plans to meet key witnesses, including Widjaja's friends and those they believe have information about his death.

Mr Piliang added: 'We are only a verification team, instead of an investigation team. We are trying to verify what was really going on.'

Kompas also reported that a female cleaner in NTU had told Widjaja's father, Mr Hartono Widjaja, that she had heard screams of 'They want to kill me, they want to kill me...'

Mr Widjaja claimed to have spoken to her when he visited NTU on 2 Mar, the day his son died.

Under Singapore law, the State Coroner has the power to hold an inquiry into all unnatural deaths unless it is later found to be due to natural causes.

The Coroner's Inquiry is held in open court and looks into the full circumstances of the death, including whether any person is criminally involved in the cause of the death.

Police investigations are presented fully to the Coroner for this purpose.

Ms Liu said: 'While the date of the Coroner's Inquiry has not been fixed, the case has been fixed for further court mention on 17 Apr.

'The mention will be via video-link between the State Coroner and police investigators and no other witnesses or persons will be present.'

This is to ascertain the progress of investigations as of the date of the mention.

Ms Liu added: 'Police investigations are continuing and the police will be thorough in their investigations to establish what actually happened.

'The family of David Widjaja will be kept informed of further developments on the case.'

Pearly Tan, newsroom intern

Rude comments on youtube

I have disabled further comments on my youtube account.

People these days are SO nasty! Especially online. Hiding behind anonymous nicknames.

I did not post any obscene or outrageous videos. It was just a video of my maltese, Bell growling, for goodness sake. And I received comments ranging from how they want to kick my dog to hoping that it would die and calling it all sort of unmentionable names.

The last comment was this....
spewin to be that piece of shit i would put it down and laugh at its dead body... fucken hate dogs that growl at ya... ill kick any that i see across the fucken room and hope it dies

I wondered what in the video tripped the guy to make him say something malicious to me, a total stranger. Mentally deranged fellow? Trying to get attention?

Sigh. I give up. There are too many stupid idiots and retards out there. And I am not interested in the raunchy shit that spew out from their filthy mouths. So I am denying them this very pleasure of insulting me and my videos.

So good bye comments. And by disabling comments, those who got something bad to say can just brew in their own stew of vulgarity and evilness. I am not interested.

When is taking photos in public an outrage of modesty??

Personally I dun like strangers to take photos of me. I suppose I dun think I am that photogenic or nice looking that someone would want to take my photos.

And if a stranger wanted to take my photo, it's probably so that person can post it somewhere and make fun or ridicule me online.

So yeah, I would chase down someone whom I think took my photos without my permission. And I would also call the police in. And if the person run away in guilt, yeah, I would give chase.

BUT, as a hobbyist photographer, I love taking photos of my surroundings and people around me. I dun target anyone in particularly. I just take photos of groups of people in public.

But should someone object to me taking a photo with them inside, I would let them see my camera and delete that photo. No guilty conscience.

For this news article, the whole incident is just TOO fishy!

Sorry but I think this lady is way too paranoid! And she could not provide evidence to substantiate the incident.

She could not provide copies of her police report or complaint to the magistrate cos she threw them away.

What crap! Frankly, would you throw away something like this?

She could not showed the apology by the man either!

So it's her word against the man. A tall fishy tale, likely.

Anyway, it's NOT an offence to take a photo if the person is not in a compromising position. Or if the lady's modesty is not compromised.

----------------------------

New Paper
8 April 2009

When is a person's modesty insulted?

Did woman who accused shop assistant of taking her photo without permission overreact?

By Benson Ang

IF SOMEONE took a photo of you in a public place without getting your permission, would you ignore it and go on your way?

Or would you confront the person, demand to see the picture and ask for an apology?

Or even, like this woman, go to the police and file a magistrate's complaint, despite the man's denials and her failure to find any such picture?

In February, Miss Simone Erasmus was in an electronics store in Paya Lebar when she noticed a shop assistant snapping pictures of her with his handphone camera.

She and her boyfriend then confronted the man and demanded that he show them the pictures of her that he had allegedly taken.

They could not find any pictures, but complained to his manager and claimed they eventually got an apology from the man.

Taking pictures in public

It is generally not against the law to take photos of people in public.

According to the law, whether a person's modesty is insulted depends on the facts and the circumstances of the case, as well as the conduct of the person taking the photograph.

Mr Edmond Pereira, 59, a criminal lawyer and former district judge, told The New Paper that if a photo was taken of a fully-dressed woman in a public place, it is hard to argue that her modesty has been compromised, or that the person taking the photograph had any intention to insult her modesty.

The photographer in such a situation is not legally bound to show any of the photos to a woman who may have been photographed.

Nor is he obliged to delete any of the photos, even if the woman asks him to.

Mr Pereira said that only photos taken to sexually exploit a woman's image can amount to an insult to her modesty.

For example, if the photo was taken up a woman's skirt, or when she was in a state of undress, like in a changing room.

In such a situation, the woman should call the police. She should try to ensure that the suspect does not leave the scene. And she should wait for the police and leave it to them to deal with the suspect.

In this case, Miss Erasmus, 26, a writer for a publishing house, believed that it was wrong for the man to photograph her.

She claimed the shop assistant took a photo of her skirt on a weekday evening.

Miss Erasmus said she was in the shop with her research engineer boyfriend Daryl Lam, 28, and his aunt.

As they were shopping for a TV set, she said she noticed one of the shop assistants sitting on a stool about an arm's length away from her.

According to her, he was holding his phone in front of him with his arm extended, and it was aimed at her skirt.

She claimed she even heard the phone's clicking sound when photos were taken.

Miss Erasmus said she was wearing a long-sleeved blouse and a brown skirt which ended about 8cm above her knee.

She said that when she glared at him, the shop assistant made eye contact with her, and immediately walked away.


SHOCKED: Miss Erasmus re-enacting her shocked reaction in a posed photo. TNP PICTURE: KELVIN CHNG

She told the shop assistant to delete the photos, but he said he did not take any.

She would not reveal the name of the shop and claimed she could not remember the exact date on which this happened.

Miss Erasmus said she was frightened and embarrassed, but left the shop with Mr Lam, who wanted to confront the shop assistant.

He later told The New Paper: 'Even if he took a normal photo of her, it is not right because he did not seek her permission.

'It's not illegal, but I don't think it's proper, because it was intruding into her privacy.'

A few minutes later, they said they returned to the shop and asked to inspect the shop assistant's phone. They did, but found only photos of the man's 4-year-old daughter.

They believe that he had deleted the picture by then.

She said she later filed a complaint with the electronics shop, but was informed that during the internal investigation conducted by the shop, the man had insisted he did not take any photos.

Miss Erasmus also made a police report, and on 23Feb, approached the Subordinate Courts and got a magistrate's order directing the police to investigate her complaint.

She did not show us copies of her police report or complaint to the magistrate because she claimed she had thrown them away.

She then went to the shop again, reviewed closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the incident and claimed it proved what she suspected.

She said she spoke to the man again, and after some more denials, he finally admitted to taking the picture, and gave her a written apology.

She said she was unable to show us the apology.

Did she tell the shop or the man that she had got a magistrate to direct the police to investigate her complaint?

She claimed that she did not.

And she later withdrew her police report.

As far as she was concerned, she said, the case was closed.

Learn from experience

However, she said she wanted to highlight her experience in the media so that other women might learn from her experience.

She also wrote about her experience on her blog, and said she received about 40 replies, mostly from other women who had similar experiences.

Some even called her for advice, she said, although, once again, she declined to provide details.

Miss Erasmus said she has read about instances of women being photographed on the MRT or in other public places.

She said: 'These women typically glare at the 'photographer' and walk away, but their photos may eventually get onto the Internet.

'Also for me, I initially reacted typically - I was ashamed and walked away.'

After her experience, Miss Erasmus said: 'Whenever a women feels that her modesty has been insulted, I feel the guy should be confronted, and his identity should be taken down.

'Of course, it's up to her if she wants to press charges.

'However, I would like to encourage it, because it would provide closure.'

Moral vs Legal Obligations - Allan Ooi

Mindef has responded to the letter that family of Allan Ooi wrote in to the forum.

And in it, they talked about moral vs legal obligation. In other words. they are using the guilt card. And why? Cos the government spend "substantial funds and time". And that money spent on training them came from tax payers money.

How much "funds"? From what I heard, its about 1-2 million per medical student.

That's why they expect medical graduates to have this "moral obligation" to repay the government by being bonded for a certain number of years.

And for those "black sheep" who break their bonds, well they are labelled ungrateful to the nation. Something of a betrayal and disloyalty to the country. Something similar to treason.

As for the inquiry the family was asking for? Well, Mindef has already "convened a Board of Inquiry" which" concluded that "matters .... had been managed appropriately".

And what does that mean? That SAF has done nothing wrong in its dealing with Allan?
Who are the members? Senior SAF officers? How long did it take for them to come to a conclusion? What is that outcome? How were matters managed appropriately?

And if they had made known this Inquiry to the family, the family would not have to resort to writing in to the papers forum to request for one.

I dun think the general public would ever find out about the detailed findings of this Inquiry.

What the findings suggested is that it cleared Allan's superiors of any wrongdoings in handling the matter.

So would the family probe further? Definitely! But in private, I think. After all, they do not want to drag Allan's reputation through the mud further.

When Allan died, one of his wishes was that through his death, he hoped to expose this issue of unhappy scholars wanting to break free of government scholarship bonds. And by example of his death, maybe he was hoping that the authorities would make significant amendments so that other similar tragedy could be averted by other promising scholars who are unhappy in their bonds.

Frankly speaking, Allan's death could very well be in vain if nothing has changed in the scholarship bond system.

--------------------------

Straits Times
8 Apr 2009

Mindef responds to family of Dr Allan Ooi

Ministry provided some factual clarifications to the issue of his bond to Mindef.

We refer to the letter published in the media between 31 Mar and 2 Apr from the family of the late CPT (Dr) Allan Ooi. MINDEF would have preferred to keep these exchanges private out of respect for the late CPT (Dr) Ooi and his family. Nonetheless, as the letter has raised several issues, it is necessary for MINDEF to provide some factual clarifications.

The six-month Aviation Medicine course that CPT (Dr) Ooi attended in the United Kingdom (UK) from Jan to Jul 2008 had a three-year bond, which was to be served concurrently with his 12-year Local Study Award (Medicine) bond. This was explained to CPT (Dr) Ooi when he and his two sureties signed the deed for the course on 19 Dec 2007 before he left for the UK.

On the same day, MINDEF also sent an email to confirm this with CPT (Dr) Ooi. He acknowledged receiving the email and thanked MINDEF for the clarification. The three-year bond is completely within his 12-year Local Study Award (Medicine) bond. It is thus untrue that his 12-year bond would be "prolonged by another three years for one six-month course".

CPT (Dr) Ooi returned on 7 Jul 2008 from his course in the UK. Sixteen days later, on 23 Jul 2008, while serving at the Aeromedical Centre, he informed his superior that he was unhappy at work and was considering leaving the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). According to MINDEF's records, CPT (Dr) Ooi wrote to Head of Manpower at Headquarters Medical Corps on 12 Aug 2008 (not "Jul 2008" as stated in the family's letter), expressing his wish to resign from the SAF. The Head of Manpower replied on 20 Aug 2008, informing him how he could obtain the application form for early release, and explaining the process involved. But CPT (Dr) Ooi did not apply for early release.

On 3 Oct 2008, CPT (Dr) Ooi's superior interviewed him, and offered him the option of a posting to an appointment which would interest him. He asked CPT (Dr) Ooi to indicate what posting he would like. CPT (Dr) Ooi thanked his superior and promised to respond in two weeks' time. However, instead of doing so, CPT (Dr) Ooi went Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) on 15 Oct 2008.

All officers who join the SAF and take up sponsorship know that they have a moral obligation to serve out the full period of their bonds, beyond their legal obligation to pay the liquidated damages if they do not fulfil the bond. The SAF invests substantial public funds and time to train these officers. Officers can serve in a wide range of leadership and specialist roles that cater to their different interests and aptitudes while fulfilling the SAF's needs. On their part, officers are expected to do their best to fulfil their obligations to the organisation, unless there are strong extenuating circumstances like medical reasons that prevent them from doing so.

CPT (Dr) Ooi's family asked for an inquiry into MINDEF's policies and processes, on the premise that this would avert a similar tragedy. MINDEF had convened a Board of Inquiry on 11 Mar 2009, which concluded that matters related to the late CPT (Dr) Ooi's service with the SAF had been managed appropriately. While the late CPT (Dr) Ooi had expressed unhappiness with his job in the Aeromedical Centre and stated his wish to resign, he had subsequently gone AWOL despite being informed about other job options.

MINDEF expresses its sympathies to the family of the late CPT (Dr) Ooi, and will continue to be as open and helpful as possible to them. MINDEF will also provide the facts of the case to the public while respecting the privacy of the family.

Colonel Darius Lim
Director Public Affairs
Ministry of Defence

My letter to Dr Kim Byung Gun of BK Clinic Part 1

Well, I thought about it. And I have decided upon a course of action. I decided to write to Dr Kim Byung Gun of BK Clinic and offer him some unsolicited suggestions.

And why I suggested that he email the Minister of Health direct? Cos I remembered a few years ago, some young entrepreneurs wanted to set up a car wash business in those multi storey carparks.

The thing is they are the pioneers of this concept and it has never been done before. And so they applied to the official goverment agency, which I think is the Housing Board, HDB.

However, as this has never been done before, they were sent around in circles to various government departments. The reasons I think is cos the top officials at these government agencies are unable to make this type of decisions.

I believed that there were concerns then about the type of detergent used affecting the building structure and whether such business would interrupt other users of the car parks.

So in desperation and frustrations, the entrepreneurs contacted the Prime Minister? or some other Minister? And finally their idea came to fruition!

I remembered reading about this some years back. And if it can work for some application for car wash licence, I am sure that it can work for some medical clinic application.

After all, our country is gearing to be the medical hub of the region and Dr Kim is too valuable an asset to lose to other countries!

Eh, the email is not that well-phrased cos it was done at 6.30am and I am sleepy. My brain is half dead around this time and this is the best I can think of.

Let's wait for the good news!

And yah..I am going to bed now for my beauty sleep.

---------------------------

Hi Dr Kim,

I am one of those who are waiting for you to come to Singapore to set up a clinic.

I am sorry to hear that your application is taking such a long time to approve.

May I suggest that you write in directly to the Minister of Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan.
His email is at khaw_boon_wan@moh.gov.sg

This is his real email address. You can find it at http://www.sgdi.gov.sg/ under Ministry of Health.

As he is the overall person in charge, he could be able to help you speed up your application approval .Just write him and tell him how much you want to set up a clinic in Singapore.

The thing about Singapore is that sometimes one need to approach the top dog to get things done.

There have been similar cases, not involving health care though, whereby the local government ministries here take a long time to approve some cases.

But once the Minister or member of parliament is approached, things get done very fast.

I wish you all best.

Cheers.

A letter from Dr Kim Byung Gun to Singapore patients

Just went to the website of the famous BK clinic.

And a blinking title caught my eye. It was a letter from Dr Kim Byung Gun, that famous korean plastic surgeon, to local patients here..

Eh...I have been waiting for Dr Kim to set up his plastic surgery clinic in Singapore this year.

Initially I had plans to do surgery with a local PS surgeon, Dr Hong, around the end of last year. That is when I came to know that Dr Kim is planning to set up a local branch of his clinic this year. And since a famous korean plastic surgeon is coming soon, I may as well have him operate on me.

So I waited and waited and waited. And it seems I have to wait some more as the official governing medical council is taking their own sweet time to approve his applications.

Well, the medical council is made up of members of top local doctors and plastic surgeons.

Dun tell me that they are too afraid of losing their patients to Dr Kim. After all, he is currently the top world famous plastic surgeon. And I can predict that once Dr Kim arrives on our shores in the future, there are going to be a wave of change in the region plastic surgery industry.

As for the option of going to Korea for PS, well, this is not quite the alternative for me. I dun speak the language, dun know the place and I have to fork out 2 air tickets there, not to mention hotel accommodations and food etc.

If I do it here locally, I can save on the air tickets, accommodations etc. That is about 30% to 40% more than if I just do it locally.

Anyway, SO's leave is frozen till Sept 2009 cos he is involved in this VIP project. So I am still waiting....and waiting....and waiting.....

Dr Kim, when are you coming?

Medical council, can you approve his application? Quickly?

Maybe I should just write in to some minister or MP to hasten the approval process.

---------------------------

How are you?

I am Dr. Kim, Byung Gun, the director of BK Dongyang plastic surgery clinic, Korea.
As you already know, I have a plan to open a clinic there in Singapore and I expected I could do it any time soon. Unfortunately, however, I’ve been still waiting for the approval from the Singapore Medical Council.

I already fulfilled all the requirements for the approval to get the medical registration and specialist status in Singapore. I don’t know what’s taking it so long, but it has been delayed by Singapore medical council since last year.

But anyway I respect the decision of Singapore medical council and surgeons’ association. And I will not do any consultation and surgery and meeting with the patients in Singapore without their approval. Until I get the approval of medical council, I will do consultation and surgery only in Korea for all the patients in Singapore.

So, if you can’t wait to have a surgery, please come to my clinic in Korea. Nowadays, there is a promotion that I offer foreigners 20% discount to celebrate a new service in my new building, having you benefit from the change of exchange rate. Also, you can take advantage of free accommodation in my clinic until the post operative treatment is finished (including stitch removal and all the treatment after surgery).

On 1st of March, I had the construction of new BK Building completed, and began to perform surgeries in the 15-story new BK building which is the largest plastic surgery hospital in the world.

Sorry for this delay to do surgeries in Singapore. But I hope you will have a good chance to go sightseeing and shopping and to have a surgery at the same time in Korea. I will do my best to make you feel at home, here.

I and my whole family members are Singapore PR, and I hope I could work for the patients in Singapore and contribute to the development of plastic surgery there.

Once I get the approval in Singapore, I will email you to let you know the details. Before that, if you have any question, just feel free to ask. I will be always here to help you out.

After the approval of Singapore medical council, if you want me to send you my letter to let you know it, please input your email address or contact number to click the button below.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kim, Byung Gun Director and chief, BK Dongyang Plastic Surgery Clinic, Seoul, Korea

Email: bk@bkclinic.com
www.bkdy.co.kr
www.bkclinic.com

I made SO cry!

We were watching having dinner in front of the TV and I was telling SO about my phone call with my mother this afternoon.

Mother had this Indian lady friend who was being evicted from her home cos her husband squandered away money instead of paying for their housing loan. And as such, they had to move to a smaller flat.

And she had these 2 dogs. A partially blind poodle, which my mother gave her many years ago. The poodle wasn't blind then. It developed catarats due to old age.

And then the friend also had this 3 year old shi tzu bitch .

Well, this dog has some skin problems and her owner has never brought her down for walks. NEVER.

And as this indian friend was not that well off, she could not afford to bring the dog to the vet for its skin problems. And she fed her dogs rice and vegetables.

So I asked if SO wanted to adopt her. The shi tzu. She was obedient and she peed on papers. And she's not naughty or mischievous!

And then there was this silence when I was telling SO this.

I turned around and saw that his eyes were red and he was tearing!!

Somehow, he was sadden by this information!

But the thing is....well, this was NOT the first time I was telling him about the Shi Tzu!

I told him about the dog a few times last year and this time he was crying?

He said it was so sad.

So I asked him, what's so sad about the dog? I told him about the dog before .....many times.

He said it was sad that the shi tzu is going to be homeless after the family is evicted.

I asked him...So? What's there to cry about?

And he called me a cold, heartless BITCH!!!

Frankly, what's there to cry about? If he had cried or tear up during the very first time I told him about the dog, I wouldn't be surprised. But this is the countless time!

So, yeah, we are adopting the Shi Tzu.

Why not? We got the space and we can afford to feed her well and bring her to the vet for her skin problems.

And so yeah....a new bitch is coming to this home soon.

YOUTUBE SAVES THE INDIE ROCK STAR

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New Paper
6 April 2009

YOUTUBE SAVES THE INDIE ROCK STAR

Local bands put music videos on web for wider reach

By Ho Lian-Yi

NO MTV? No problem.

For many bands, making a music video is a rite of passage. But for indie groups with little hope of mainstream airplay, there seemed little point - until video website YouTube came along.

While music copyright holders in Germany and the UK are tussling with YouTube over how much they should receive, more and more local indie bands are creating music videos, and putting them online.

In Singapore, it's not just relatively big names like Electrico who get to make music videos.

While most rely on self-funding, one businessman here is helping four local indie bands fulfil their music video dreams.

Mr Alvin Heng, 43, chief executive of WiMe, a company that makes Bluetooth audio devices and iPod accessories, believes such music videos can make an impact.

He decided to market his company by making music videos for four local indie bands - Peepshow, I am David Sparkle, The Karl Maka and The Great Spy Experiment.

The first, by Peepshow, features a love-sick sock. It was uploaded on Stomp and YouTube, and got more than 1,500 views on Stomp in less than a week.

Entertainment

'The most important reason people watch videos online is to be entertained... they don't want to watch an advertisement,' Mr Heng said.

The cost of making each video is about $10,000, though it can vary.

Mr Heng chose bands which are on the 'cutting edge of Singapore music'. He said: 'They are bands, which if I were to hear on American radio, I would think is top 40 material.'

He hired Mr Jeevan Nathan, 29, from Monochromatic Pictures, to direct.

Mr Jeevan said he made a video for West Grand Boulevard about four years ago and he did get indie bands approaching him. But there were funding problems with many of them.

'That there is funding coming in really helps the bands. They have a lot to gain from this - it's a free music video for them,' he said.

Peepshow vocalist Zaki, 27, a field engineer, said the music video for their new single Come Back To Me was the band's first.'We feel it's like something that is out of the box. Usually, you see the band just stand there, play instruments and sing. We wanted that fun element and to reflect the band's personality,' he said.

It was, he felt, another stepping stone for a local band to get itself noticed.

Jonathan Fong, one half of electronic duo The Karl Maka, said it's not about driving sales of their music, but creative expression.

'It's more about having fun, being able to contribute music with visuals that tell a story with the song,' he said.

But for some bands, it's serious business. Dance-rockers The Great Spy Experiment released their debut album, Flower Shop Riots, in September 2007.

But they completed their first music video, one of three they are working on, only recently. None of them have been released yet.

Mr Mike See, 31, the band's manager, said: 'Obviously, being indie, there's been quite a bit of challenge getting a video done.'

He said it took them months to save up for their first music video, as they had put all their funds into the production of the album.

The video cost a 'five-figure sum' to make. They wanted something high quality, as they are hoping for airplay from the likes of MTV and Channel V, 'which has regional implications'.

What about YouTube?

'For YouTube, if anything, the implication is far greater, because anyone can access YouTube,' he said.

Death metal band Absence Of The Sacred also took its time to put up a video online. Their self-financed video for Dawn Of A Dead Aeon, a single on their second album, was shot in three days in 2007. The slick, gothic video was on YouTube last week.

Mike Priest, 25, the band's vocalist, said the two people involved were not satisfied with their editing work at first. And one of them quit, adding to the delay.

He said: 'Most of the videos made by local bands lack depth and effort. There is no actual conceptualisation, mainly just them playing their songs or having a simple story board that appeals to the more simple of mind.'

It was, he said, 'typical MTV garbage the world could do without'.

Online, fast

Fortunately, most videos don't take a year to go online.

Local rockers Ugly In The Morning launched their second album For, Nikette Frehley at the Singapore Art Museum yesterday.

They uploaded the video for its first single Me, Not Humphrey At 23, last Christmas. The video, a satire on one-take scenes so popular on the indie film circuit, got more than 2,600 views.

David Baptista, 39, the guitarist, said: 'YouTube, in today's context, has a much greater reach than MTV does. It's a lot easier to spread it... I can just send you a link, and say go check it out.'

He said it cost the band less than $2,000 to make, because the director, Mr Kenny Png, the creative director of arts collective The Enigmatic Army, charged them only for material costs.

For Mr Png, 30, the pioneer of local music videos was Eric Khoo in the 1990s, for bands like The Oddfellows and Opposition Party. After that, it was only in the last three years that it picked up, possibly driven by technology.

He admits he doesn't know if these videos really help in terms of marketing or sales, but said they do help in branding, which is important for any band that wants to be heard.

'We're trying to be own content makers. We're taking the initiative back into our own hands,' he said.

Photos too....Thailandish?

I just uploaded my photo onto Facebook.

The photos were taken on my way to a medical appointment. I was in SO's leased car and we were driving into the tunnel. There was no sunlight, semi darkness, the area nly illuminated by artificial lights.

And the photos turned out beautifully! The light from the flash just illuminate my face! Frankly, it was the best series of photos. Ever!

Try it! Frankly, I am surprised by the effect!

Oh, I was also using one of my Fuji camera special functions, the "Portrait Enchancer". What this does is that it makes skin in photos appear smooth and even. Wrinkles are also ironed out.

Anyway, after I had photoshopped some of the facial blemishes, wrinkles etc, and adding in some hues, saturation and adjusting the lighting, I upload a favorite photo to be the main profile photo on face book.

And then I started contacting people I know.

One of them was AP. He was someone whom I knew sometime back. A generally nice guy.

We were exchanging messages. And he suggested meeting up sometime soon since we had not met for more than quite a few years.

Well, I am generally not interested in meeting people. I am not that sociable. Normally, I dun have much to say in person.

So instead of saying ...No, I am not interested, I told him I was not in town for a while.

What came next, kinda of shocked and sadden me a bit.

This was his message.
i presume its thailand right? u look so thailandish.

WTF!!!!!

What on earth is look thailandish? Does he think I look like those drags or like some thai whores?
(no offence to thai people!!)

Yeah, that's what I would think of if someone told me one look "thailandish".

I was insulted and a bit sad that he would think this way of me and make such a thoughtless comment.

So I responded...
Not thailand. Wat you mean look thailandish? You say i look like those thai drag queens or thai whores?

His response....
no lah..i simply mean u look so done up, so touched up

Hmmm.....and what does it mean? Photo too nice, too made up, too perfect?

I was still insulted, outraged and kinda of horrified. But I was too nice to tell him so or tell him off.

Yeah, I was hurting inside, sort of. Frankly, to say a man or woman look drag is not exactly an compliment. It's an insult.

Though he did not exactly say this, this is what I felt he implied.

Yeah, maybe I am just too sensitive.

So when SO came home, I asked him for his opinions.

As usual, he rolled his eyes and looked at me with distain, like....why you even bother...kinda of look.

And then he said..but he didn't exactly called you a drag queen or thai whore.

Well....what can I say.

Frankly, I kinda of regret adding AP to be my friend on Facebook. Dropping him is too obvious cos we have very few friends in Facebook and it is simply too obvious.

As for meeting him, well, he can certainly dream on. I would say he has a higher chance of getting pregnant and giving birth to octuplets (8 babies).

Later the next day, I changed my facebook profile photo to one which is less perfect, less nice and less touched up. I certainly dun want anyone to look at my photo and mistaken me for a drag queen or whore.

If one person can say so, another can too. And at this moment of time, I am not exactly very accepting of criticisms or unfavourable comments.

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P.S. There is no way I am showing any of my face photos online in this blog. So readers, dun bother to EVEN think of asking.

I am able to blog my full range of emotions and actual incidents here when I dun show my face here.

So readers, you have a greater chance of striking $10 million lottery than me posting my photos here. This is NOT one of those photo blogs. So, you dream on.