December, 2010:

Man rescued from burning crane

ASIAONE – 19 Dec 2010

A FIRE broke out at the construction site of the ArtScience Museum at the Marina Bay Sands on Saturday evening.

A worker was standing on a crane platform, painting the facade of the building when the blaze started beside him, reported the Straits Times.

He leapt onto the arm supporting the platform, before workers went on a separate crane to rescue him.

The man was unhurt.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call at 6.30pm about the fire and arrived at the scene seven minutes later. The fire had already been put out by then.

When contacted by STOMP, the SCDF said the facade of the Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum which is undergoing construction was on fire. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Ice queen Michelle Kwan to perform in Singapore

Dec 17th, 2010

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CNA – 17 Dec 2010

SINGAPORE: Five-time world champion skater Michelle Kwan, who is in Singapore, will show her skills at the new rink at Marina Bay Sands.

She is in Singapore for the opening of the skating rink at the integrated resort.

The American ice queen was tight-lipped about her performances, except to say they would be a great event despite the fact she will be skating on synthetic ice at the 600-square-metre rink.

“Synthetic….I feel that it is more you have to feel the movement through and through. On ice, you push and you glide, and that feeling of gliding too fast can be very very hard for a beginner,” she said.

While the ice may be artificial, Kwan will create real magic on ice. After all, she is one of the best in the sport.

The ice queen will perform over the weekend, with one show each on Saturday and Sunday.

Kwan also plans to make a return trip in January, as part of her role as a US sports envoy.

“I was just going through my schedule for my next trip and some of it would be teaching future Olympic Singaporean skaters,” she said.

An Olympic gold is not part of her collection but Kwan has no plans to make a comeback, as finishing graduate school is her priority right now.

So it will be a rare treat for fans to catch her in action in Singapore.

After Kwan’s performances, the rink at the integrated resort will be open to the public at a cost.

The Singapore Ice Skating Association is considering using it for its “Learn To Skate” programme.

Charged for using another identity

Dec 14th, 2010

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ST, 14 Dec 2010

BETWEEN August and November 2010, five men aged between 23 and 46 were charged for using another person’s identity to enter Marina Bay Sands Casino (MBS). The sixth individual was charged for entering the casino while under an Exclusion Order.

In the first case on Aug 19 2010, at about 12.50am, police were informed that a 25-year-old Singaporean man was detained by the MBS security officers after he was found using another person’s identity card to enter the Casino. His friend was also arrested for abetting his friend in committing the offence by allowing him to use his identity card.

In the second case on Sept 23 2010 at around 2.40am, a 46-year-old Korean Permanent Resident had been detained by after he was found using his friend’s Singapore Identity Card to enter the Casino.

In the third and forth case which occurred on Nov 7 and 11 2010 respectively, two Chinese Nationals aged 23 and 25 and holding Singapore Work Permits, were found using another person’s Singapore Work Permit Card to enter the Casino.

In the last case on Nov 16 2010 at about 10.00 pm, a 32-year-old Singaporean man was arrested at MBS Casino for Criminal Trespass and breaching of the Exclusion Order. The suspect had entered the Casino even though he was under an Exclusion Order at that time.

All six suspects will be produced in the Subordinate Courts on Dec 14 2010.

April 1 opening for Pangaea at MBS

Dec 13th, 2010

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ST, 13 Dec 2010

It is no April Fool’s joke but the much-awaited American celebrity nightclub Pangaea has finally announced its opening date at Marina Bay Sands. And it is, yes, April 1.

Clubbers have been looking forward to the opening of the club since news broke in March this year that it was coming here.

RWS signs deal with banks to refinance its loans

Dec 10th, 2010

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CNA, 10 Dec 2010

Genting Singapore said its unit Resorts World at Sentosa has signed a deal with five banks to refinance about S$4.2 billion of its loans.

The refinancing of loans, originally taken in 2008 for building and operating the integrated resort on Sentosa Island, being at less restrictive terms will allow more flexibility in how the funds are used, Genting said in a filing to the Singapore Exchange.

It said the proposed refinancing is fully underwritten by lead arrangers and bookrunners –The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, DBS Bank, HSBC, OCBC, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

The banks have committed S$3.5 billion in seven-year term loan facilities, S$0.5 billion in five-year revolving credit facilities, with a two-year extension option, and a S$192.5 million banker’s guarantee. The loans are currently being syndicated, it added.

Resorts World will pay interest of 1.6 per cent for the first three months and then, depending on the company’s performance, a premium of between 120 basis points and 160 basis points above the Singapore dollar swop offer rate.

Analysts believe the refinancing will help lower the company’s financing costs.

Photo album unveiled at Resorts World could be world’s largest

Dec 9th, 2010

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CNA, 9 Dec 2010

The largest photo album in the world may well be right here at the Resorts World Sentosa.

The album was unveiled on Thursday morning.

The album contains 36 photos in all, selected from 1,000 entries contributed by people with a special moment to share.

Memorable shots, such as a lovely dining experience, and a child’s reaction upon entering Universal Studios, make up the album.

The album, which stands at 6.7 metres by 4.85 metres, is vying for a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest photo album.

Members of the public can view the album from now till December 20 at the Resorts.

MBS sues for alleged non-payment of credit extension

Dec 7th, 2010

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CNA, 7 Dec 2010

SINGAPORE: Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is suing a casino patron it describes as a “premium” player for alleged non-payment of $240,868 in credit extension but the man is disputing its claim that he owes it money.

In the first legal suit of its kind here, MBS claims it had extended credit to 30-year-old Lester Ong Boon Lin as he was a premium player with a minimum deposit of $100,000 with the casino.

According to court documents filed by MBS, Mr Ong applied for a S$1 million credit extension in May and presented a cheque of an unknown amount to the casino as a form of security.

MBS then decided to extend S$250,000 in casino chips to Mr Ong and both parties allegedly entered an agreement documenting this. It was not stated in the documents why MBS was not demanding the repayment of the full sum.

Mr Ong is denying these claims, saying he was not a premium player as he had withdrawn the S$100,000 deposit to buy gambling chips before credit was extended to him.

In his defence filed by lawyer Sunil Singh Panoo of Messrs Dhillon & Partners, Mr Ong further contends that the MBS is deemed to be a moneylender under the law as it had extended credit to a non-premium member. He argues that the credit extended is “unenforceable and not recoverable” since MBS is not a licensed moneylender.

Mr Ong also denies that agreements had been made between him and MBS. He claims that the credit extended to him was an unsolicited offer.

Court papers showed that MBS first filed its writ of summons against Mr Ong on Oct 14, after failing to encash his cheque and unsuccessful attempts to seek payment from him.

Following Mr Ong’s defence, the MBS‘ reply — filed by lawyers Surenthiraraj Saunthararajah and Toh Wei Yi of Harry Elias Partnership — reiterates that Mr Ong had deposited S$100,000 cash to qualify as a premium player before credit was given to him.

It said that S$250,000 worth of casino chips would not have been offered in the absence of an agreement between the two parties.

The MBS also alleges that Mr Ong has never denied the debt when it tried to seek payment from him from May to August.

He had also made various proposals for repayment.

The MBS is seeking at least S$250,000 — the minimum for a High Court case — in damages and cost.

Brief power outage at Sands Theater interrupts performance

Dec 4th, 2010

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AsiaOne, 4 Dec 2010

SINGAPORE – Marina Bay Sands (MBS) confirms that The Sands Theater experienced a brief power disruption during the Riverdance matinee performance today.

Padraic Moyles, lead dancer of Riverdance tweeted this afternoon at about 3pm that there was a power outage at the Sands Theater at MBS that lasted for 10 minutes.

The show stopped midway during a matinee performance.

Moyles was not performing during this show.

He tweeted: “Just lost power during the matinee performance of Riverdance in Singapore. The show has stopped midway through the American Wake (one of the show segments).”

In a statement to AsiaOne, MBS said: “The entire Marina Bay Sands team worked closely and swiftly with the Riverdance technical crew to restore the power supply.

“The show continued successfully after the 10-minute break.”

This confirms Moyles’ earlier tweets. He wrote:

“The Riverdance crew working hard to get it back up and running. Looks like we are about to start where we left off. Good fast work crew.”

“Good news. The Riverdance matinee show is back on in Singapore. The power is back and the show is up and running again. Well done Crew.”

The statement also stated: “MBS apologises for the inconvenience caused and is grateful for the support received from members of the audience. We are investigating the cause of the power disruption.”

Chanel hosts fashion extravaganza at Marina Bay Sands

Dec 3rd, 2010

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AsiaOne – 3 Dec 2010

After a huge opening party organised by Dior, with an unmissable white tent that was pitched right by the waterfront, one of the most recognizable names in fashion, the house of Chanel celebrated with a fashion show that was literally right at the top.

Held at the Marina Sands Sky Park, models walked a runway that was the length of the pool deck, with guests taking up seats on the poolside lounge decks.

Local celebrities did not miss the show either – with TV queen Zoe Tay just six weeks’ after giving birth to her second baby boy, songbird Stefanie Sun and singer-songwriter Dick Lee were spotted there.