The Straits Times, 16 January, 2018, page B7

| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019 | | HOME B7 Czech PM wants to reopen embassy here

Left: Foreign Embassy will help promote ties, Affairs Minister Vivian he says, while noting ’s Balakrishnan importance as regional trade hub and Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Rebecca Lynne Tan Babis arriving at The Ritz-Carlton, One of the first things on the Millenia agenda for Czech Republic Prime Singapore, Minister Andrej Babis when he re- for the fourth turns home after his first official Singapore-Czech trip to Singapore, and to Asia, will Republic be to reopen its embassy here. Business Forum “To help and promote relations, I yesterday. have decided to reopen the em- ST PHOTO: bassy,” Mr Babis said, noting Singa- GAVIN FOO pore’s importance as a hub for trade and finance in the region. Below: He told The Straits Times yester- Mr Babis, day: “I don’t understand why we flanked by don’t have an embassy here... but Mr Chee Hong we have to reopen it.” Tat (left) and The Czech Republic Embassy Dr Leong Chee here was closed in 2008. Since Chiew (NParks’ then, the country’s ambassador to deputy CEO), has been responsible for had an orchid matters with Singapore. named after him Yesterday, the second day of his at the Singapore two-day trip, Mr Babis visited the Botanic Gardens. Singapore Botanic Gardens, where PHOTO: an orchid was named in his honour. LIANHE ZAOBAO He also delivered a keynote speech at the fourth Singapore- Czech Republic Business Forum held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Present at the forum were For- eign Minister and of State for quick to respond with a “no”. The Czech Republic is Singa- Trade and Industry and Education “No. If I am in government, defi- pore’s 14th largest trading partner , who also spoke. nitely not,” he said. in the EU. Bilateral trade stood at Mr Babis, who also met Finance On maintaining an independent $1.15 billion in 2017, with imports Minister , de- currency, he said: “We are very amounting to $486.5 million and ex- scribed their meeting as “fantastic” much an export(-oriented) coun- ports worth $660.2 million. and “educational”. They spoke try. If we were to enter the euro In 2005, trade between Singa- “very concretely about debt, assets zone, then of course, we will be in pore and the Czech Republic and so on”, he said. the club with countries which don’t amounted to $300 million. He added that he is happy that he perform very well – they are not Mr Babis also visited Nanyang and Mr Heng share a similar opin- very much responsible for the bud- Technological University’s Centre ion on economic strategy. get, they have a high debt... of Excellence for Testing & Re- On Monday, Mr Babis called on “It is also a question (of whether) search of Autonomous Vehicles. President and to be independent. I know we have The university signed a memoran- Prime Minister , some obligation to enter the euro dum of understanding with the Uni- who hosted him to an official din- zone but the euro zone will need to versity of Chemistry and Technol- ner. reform because there are some ogy, Prague, on a partnership for re- When asked if his country, which countries which have high debt.” search in energy storage and future has been part of the European Another item on Mr Babis’ list is mobility solutions. Union since 2004, would join the to establish a direct airline connec- Mr Babis heads to Thailand and euro zone – the bloc of EU member tion between Prague and Singapore India after Singapore. countries that have adopted the to better facilitate economic rela- euro as their currency – he was tions and promote tourism. [email protected]

CopyrightThe owner 2016 Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction. of the flat Larva found in enclosed the area surrounding salmon fillet bought the steps up to his ground-floor unit to form from FairPrice outlet a glass tank housing around a dozen pet fish. HDB says the tank’s position poses safety Goh Yan Han company had offered an apology concerns. to the customer. PHOTO: SHIN MIN She said: “This appears to be an DAILY NEWS A family discovered what looked isolated incident as checks on exist- like a worm in a piece of chilled ing stocks did not reveal any anom- salmon fillet bought from a super- alies and we have not received any market last Saturday. similar feedback recently concern- Mr Lin, 56, who declined to pro- ing the product. vide his full name, told Lianhe “FairPrice is committed to up- Wanbao that his daughter had holding a high level of food safety bought the salmon for dinner standards and the farmed salmon from the FairPrice outlet at Bedok products we offer comply with in- Mall. ternationally recognised food regu- When she was preparing the lations and standards.” salmon fillet, she found what Customers who find the quality seemed to be a live worm crawling of its fresh produce unsatisfactory out of the fish. It appeared off- can return the product to the same white in colour. She said she felt store with their receipt for a full re- disgusted by it and stopped cook- fund or exchange, she said. ing at once. Mr Lin, an engineer, took the [email protected] salmon back to the FairPrice out- let, where he got a full refund for “For instance, the koi tank is plied on a case-by-case basis,” he the fish, which cost $12.80. ONE-OFF CASE Thanks, but no tanks: made of glass and can shatter on im- said. “If I go to any other unit, I will As part of FairPrice’s investiga- pact. As it is also not enclosed at also find laws broken, such as tions, it engaged an entomologist, This appears to be the top, unsupervised children plants on the stairs.” who found that the insect was the an isolated incident HDB orders removal may climb or fall into the tank.” He said the tank has helped bring larva of a moth or butterfly, and Electrical sockets and cables con- the community together, with visi- feeds on fruit and vegetables. as checks on existing nected to the tank are exposed to tors coming from as far as Jurong A FairPrice spokesman said: “We stocks did not reveal of unusual fish tank weather elements, posing further and to view it. are unable to conclusively ascer- any anomalies. safety concerns, HDB said. “If I start a petition (to keep the tain how this insect was found on It added that its guiding principle tank), I think people will surely the salmon, as claimed by the cus- for town councils in managing the sign it,” the owner added. tomer. Fruit and vegetables are use of public spaces is that safety He had kept koi in normal tanks also sold in a separate section at must not be compromised. in the past, but as they grew bigger, the supermarket in question.” FAIRPRICE SPOKESMAN Toh Ting Wei Tampines for a per- The flat’s fish-loving residents he decided to build the tank on the The spokesman added that the ’’ and Derek Wong mit, and last August, Tampines also own the adjacent flat, through steps. A contractor friend helped GRC MP told The which they enter the unit with the him to build it about two to three Straits Times that the “creative” blocked-off doorstep. years ago. An entomologist A Housing Board flat owner who tank was likely to be allowed, as Last August, neighbours told The To strengthen the tank, he subse- found that the converted the doorstep of his prop- long as it was found to be struc- Straits Times that the tank was in- quently used a metal bracket to insect is the erty into a fish tank for his koi fish turally sound and safe. stalled around three years earlier, line its edge. The tank contains larva of a moth has been asked to remove the un- However, HDB said yesterday and one resident described it as more than 50 litres of water and or butterfly, and usual structure. that the tank would have to be re- “unique and nice”. about eight or nine Japanese koi, or feeds on fruit The Tampines Street 41 resident moved, as its position – along a When ST visited the unit last carp. and vegetables. had enclosed the area surrounding common corridor – poses safety night, the owner, who declined to He does not keep any fish in the PHOTO: LIANHE the steps up to his ground-floor concerns that “could potentially give his name, was adamant that flat itself, preferring to have them WANBAO READER unit to form a glass tank housing lead to injuries or fatalities”. the space was his private landing outdoors. He said: “The sun helps around a dozen pet fish, but was A spokesman said: “The flat and that he should be allowed to the koi develop brighter colours.” not aware that he needed permis- owner has fundamentally altered keep the tank. sion to make the alteration. the entrance steps into a koi tank, “It doesn’t cause any obstruction [email protected] Belatedly, the man asked the which poses several safety issues. to people and the laws should be ap- [email protected]