District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam said that the accused had misappropriated the entrusted monies and she was dishonest. “I therefore find that the prosecution has established beyond a reasonable doubt all the charges and you are accordingly found guilty and convicted,” the judge added.
Over-collection of about S$40,000
Maslinda was responsible for collecting funds from students for learning resources known as Excel packages. However, between January 2016 and April 2017, she over-collected about S$40,000 from the pupils.
The suspended educator, who has a masters in education and several teachers reporting to her, denied the allegations. In addition, she said she did not maintain cash documentations as no one told her it was necessary.
In testimony, she confessed that she had collected the amount of S$39,000 to S$40,000. She used the money on her food expenses and did not purchase anything extravagant with it. She also told a judge that she had used the money to acquire the students’ stationery and other products.
Caught red-handed by her colleague
Image Credits: Mothership
The crimes surfaced after she was caught red-handed by Jacqueline Chan, the school’s lower-secondary head for English. Ms Chan had requested the bookshop vendor for a copy of the receipts in 2016. But the vendor explained that Maslinda had instructed her to not pass them over to Ms Chan.
When Ms Chan finally got a copy of the receipts, she found a mismatch. There was a disparity between the sums obtained by the teachers and the numbers on the invoices.
She later raised the problem to the higher-ups, and the principal was surprised to see such a massive over-collection. The school later called in inspectors from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the police, and Maslinda was cuffed away.
Investigations underway with other teachers testifying
Over the entire trial, all 20 teachers in the school’s English department appeared in court. They feedback that Maslinda did not inform them about the extra money being received.
In November 2018, MOE told the news that it took a significant view of teacher corruption. But at that time, could not reveal more since the case was before litigation.
The prosecution requested an adjournment to prepare arguments on the verdict. Maslinda may be convicted for criminal breach of trust as a civil servant in jail for up to 10 years and fined for each offence.
A mechanical engineering graduate and League of Legends e-sports coach Jensen Goh, reveals that his salary is about two times that of a fresh university graduate’s. The 28-year-old Singaporean began his e-sports career as a shoutcaster way back in 2013. Over the years, he made the switch to coaching.
Mr Goh stumbled on an audition for shoutcasters, who provide running commentary for e-sports events in 2013, just a few days before his first-year university exams. He took a leap of faith and passed the audition initiated by Garena, a gaming corporation, and began his freelance shoutcasting vocation for League of Legends, a well-known online game.
Remunerated up to S$1,000 doing commentaries
After being exposed to League of Legends by a friend, Mr Goh only played the game for a year. But clearing the auditions marked the beginning of his professional e-sports career.
Working as a shoutcaster for four days a week making various live game responses, he received up to S$1,000.
Mr Goh bashed the teams’ game strategies when commenting for the Singapore and Malaysian circuits in 2015. He decided to “put his money where (his) mouth was” and therefore called out to these teams to lend a helping hand.
Held several responsibilities as a student
Image Credits: todayonline.com
Mr Goh had to coordinate shoutcasting jobs and to train amateur teams as an undergraduate student during his years at the National University of Singapore.
In 2016, a decisive moment emerged when he had to pick between an engineering internship and a Garena internship. He would be entrusted with the viewership growth, overseeing advertising content and player activities in the latter.
Mr Goh eventually picked the internship with Garena, which bolstered his commitment to pursue an e-sports profession.
Coaching a professional team for the first time in 2017
He got a coaching opportunity with the Taiwanese team Fireball at the beginning of 2017. It was his first time managing a pro team. He was stationed in Taiwan for the first four months of the year, balancing full-time coaching responsibilities while finishing his university capstone project.
“I had to submit (engineering) plans and drawings to people in Taiwan, so I had to write everything in Chinese,” Mr Goh shared. He was pointing to blueprints and sketches for his engineering project that he was undertaking. As part of his final-year assignment, he had to deliver planned designs of a smart trash bin.
Although his peers were encouraging, his family was worried that he would not complete his final year and even quit school. But thankfully, he was able to deliver his project and graduate as anticipated in 2017.
Trained nine professional League of Legends teams thus far
Image Credits: Inven Global
To date, he has led nine League of Legends teams in seven countries. He would fly to the city when working with overseas groups, and mentor them in person.
Among them are Evos, who won the internal championship in Vietnam, and Splyce, who subsequently won the tournament in the Spanish European Regional League in Spain and finished in the top eight of the grand prix.
He was sometimes the staff cook and even cleaner when captaining smaller teams with less support.
“In e-sports, there is no real certification to be a coach… no hard and fast rule,” he commented. “It’s the nature of the e-sports industry. Even till this day, there are many people who are trying to get into the industry.”
His biggest takeaway from e-sports as a career
Knowing how to manage diverse cultures is the largest lesson from working in e-sports. “It expands your horizons,” Mr Goh said. “(It makes you) think about and compare and contrast your experiences.”
At the end of January, he will fly to the United States to mentor the Immortals Academy, an American team. He is assumed to be the first Singaporean to become an expert American League of Legends team lead trainer.
He will be residing in Los Angeles and aims to grow Immortals Academy players to become a squad that individuals will respect and see as worthy challengers of the trophy.
Based on research done by global consulting firm Korn Ferry recently, around 16 per cent of firms worldwide aim to bypass pay raises completely this year. Across 150 nations, the wage survey gathered data from 25,000 companies.
Korn Ferry reported that roughly 450 organisations in Singapore were part of the survey. Here are some notable global trends:
Wage increases (if any) will be smaller than in past years.
In 2021, more companies are planning stagnant wages than last year.
Organisations are primarily preparing to direct their restricted funds to talent acquisition and invest in those with vital roles.
Less than half planning to give an increase
Image Credits: The Straits Times
Only 46 per cent of the Singapore employers who responded to the survey said they aim to offer a raise to at least 9 out of 10 employees this year. These businesses expect wage rises of 2.1 per cent in actual terms, which is still smaller than the 3.1 per cent pay rise introduced in 2020.
All in all, participants from Singapore are targeting a 2 per cent rise in terms of median incomes. This places Singapore in the lead compared to countries like France (1.3 per cent) and the United kingdom (1.9 per cent). But falling behind all other nations in Asia, except Japan and Hong Kong (both 2 per cent).
Pay raise dependent on inflation
Image Credits: Kelly Services Thailand
The findings showed that workers could also see a greater rise in their actual wages in countries where inflation is especially low. Based on official projections, Singapore’s inflation rate has predictions between -0.5 and 0 per cent for 2020.
Mr Kartikey Singh, a senior client partner at Korn Ferry Singapore, commented that jobs would be mainly contractual, temporary, service-led and technology-driven in a recovering economy.
“While the overall pay increases might look sanguine, talent scarcity for areas like product and application development, cybersecurity in certain sectors like e-commerce, technology and fintech can drive significant pay premiums for these job categories,” said Mr Singh.
He added that such a phenomenon would push companies to practice differential compensation plans for different staff and expertise classes.
Organisations need to focus more on a “total rewards” approach
Image Credits: The Straits Times
Mr Don Lowman, Korn Ferry’s global leader of rewards and benefits, shared that ensuring their employees continue to feel appreciated and commended will be essential for companies in the future.
Such a strategy entails non-financial incentives, like opportunities for professional growth, mentoring and guidance, and providing an energetic workplace culture with productive employee tasks.
“Korn Ferry research has found that while financial rewards are key to attracting talent into organisations, non-financial rewards can be key differentiators in retaining talent,” said the consultancy firm.
It’s the first mid-week of 2021. Have you had an awesome start to the first work week of the new year? Or did you just receive a calendar invite titled “brainstorm” from your team leader?
A look at this term can bring about nervousness for some individuals. Especially for those who have been through uncountable brainstorms that have not ended up productive, it’s easy to assume that the next brainstorm will conclude with negligible outcomes.
A great brainstorm needs a strong basis to succeed, much like building a home.
“During my tenure as head of creativity and innovation at Disney, I conducted countless brainstorms. As a result, I developed a series of tools that I now use working with my clients to ensure every brainstorming session I facilitate ends with a handful of truly innovative ideas, which are achievable and your team can eventually execute,” writes Duncan Wardle.
#1: Help your team get into the right state of mind
Image Credits: unsplash.com
Ponder over the word “brainstorm.” To others, with a few ideas jotted on a whiteboard, this may invoke the idea of inefficient and disorganised discussions. It doesn’t signal the right state of mind, which means you’re unlikely to receive the best ideas from your team.
Your actions show your co-workers how to respond in return. You want to trigger a new way of thought by not entitling it as a brainstorm. By modifying your brainstorming session’s name, you can dramatically shift the thought patterns of the people involved before you even begin.
“I ran with this concept while at Disney, where I developed the “ID8” (or “ideate”) room, which later became the name of my company. Everyone stepping foot into the ID8 room knew that they were attending an “expansionist” session, which meant that the meeting was meant to generate and grow ideas,” Wardle shared.
#2: Foster brilliant ideas with the force of “Yes, and…”
Image Credits: unsplash.com
Have you ever met a negative person so much so that the person’s response is always “No, because..”? Such reactions take large thoughts and render them lightweight, ultimately making them meaningless.
But flip it to “yes”, and perhaps it will take you to places. By reacting to suggestions using an open-minded approach, you demonstrate that you listen and prohibits joint discussions from crashing due to a lack of traction.
#3: Your golden key – a “naive expert” out of your department
Image Credits: unsplash.com
When Wardle was heading brainstorms at Shanghai’s Disneyland for restaurant architecture designs, he searched for a way to inspire his team of Disney Imagineers (mostly males over 50 years old) to begin thinking creatively.
“So, I invited a young Chinese female chef to participate in a session as our “naive expert,” or in other words, an outside individual whose criteria for success were not tied to our team,” he noted.
An ideal “naive expert” is one who has no direct involvement and prior work experience in your department. Thus, such individuals are more likely to pose concerns and suggestions that your squad has never contemplated.
In the wake of the pandemic, we may not often be gathering for in-person discussions and brainstorms. But it shouldn’t be an excuse to hold you back from conducting fruitful sessions! Tap on digital platforms to create an online environment that promotes positive involvement, interaction, and teamwork to develop fresh ideas.
Harsh Dalal is the name to note. The Singapore permanent resident is also a student at Singapore Polytechnic (SP), where he studies business administration. He currently heads Team Labs, a software development company, with 120 employees across eight cities.
Harsh’s childhood years
Image Credits: Harsh Dalal
Harsh frequently moved until a few years ago, when his family purchased an apartment in eastern Singapore. When his family migrated here from India, he was only six years old. As a shy child, he struggled to build and sustain long-term friendships with new neighbourhood children.
“I lost all my friends every time I moved houses. It was daunting for a socially awkward kid to go around looking for friends every time we moved. So instead of being at a playground, I’d be at home on my laptop, coding or doing other stuff,” he remarked.
At 11 years old, he took up coding through watching hours of YouTube videos. After his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), he received a discarded iPhone 4 from his mother which he succeeded in jailbreaking.
“I have an aversion to being controlled. It’s difficult to be myself if I have something constraining me,” Harsh commented.
Fascinated by the iOS system, he began to search Apple Developer discussion boards for further deets. He then found four friends from the United States, Russia, Norway, and Singapore between 14 and 17 years old.
His tech venture started at the age of 13
Image Credits: CNA
Together with his teenage friends, Harsh created one of the first screen recorder apps in 2014. Though the app recorded five million downloads within a few weeks, it was not profitable.
“We didn’t make any money out of it, foolishly because we didn’t expect it to actually take off,” recalled Harsh. “It was a missed opportunity. We didn’t know how to monetise the app.”
Though his first venture did not bring about income, the app’s popularity set the stage for this tech entrepreneur whose business services clients such as Coca-Cola, Google, and Hilton.
An alternative app store – iDownload Pro
Image Credits: CNA
With the app’s success, the group went on to create an app store called iDownload Pro. It’s a platform where developers can upload apps rejected by the App Store. Though there were more than 3 million downloads, they eventually shut down iDownload Pro in 2015 due to hefty costs. At that time, Apple was tightening down on third-party app stores as well.
But it did not stop them from advancing.
Started offering web and software development services
Image Credits: Enginess
With prices from US$99, the group began selling web and software development services they marketed on their website and through Google Ads.
Since they were too young to incorporate the business officially, one of the teens persuaded his father to do so for them in the United Kingdom, and their first customer offered them US$299 to build a website.
“The profit margin was, like, non-existent,” recollected Harsh. “If I went and worked at McDonald’s for the same amount of hours, I’d probably have earned more.”
Clinched a US$100,000 project to develop a marketing app
Image Credits: CNA
But things got better for them, and they were offered a US$100,000 project to create a marketing app for a multinational company. With the money in, each took home US$10,000 and pumped the remaining funds into the business.
“I’d never seen so many zeros in my life until that point,” said Harsh, who was 16 then. “That was when my mindset shifted also. I was taking my O-Levels and making this kind of money. So I wondered if it made sense to keep studying.”
Maintaining close friendships a challenge
Image Credits: Harsh Dalal
Though some of his classmates were contemplating what to do after the O-Levels, Harsh had already drafted his post-secondary school plan. He also earned himself a spot at Singapore Polytechnic through the Early Admissions Exercise.
But maintaining close relationships with his peers was a challenge.
“There’s a level of commitment required for these relationships that I sometimes am not able to live up to,” he said, adding that some of his polytechnic schoolmates are aware that he is the owner of a start-up.
A shift in focus led them to develop their first software platform
Image Credits: Team Labs
With all that said, the company turned its attention on software development in 2017. Since staff were in various time zones, the team wanted to build an internal tool to communicate. This thus prompted them to create their first software platform, Xenon.
The platform helps developers to plan, create, and deliver their software products in the cloud collectively. To date, Xenon has around to 70,000 customers.
Raising funds for the company’s growth
Image Credits: CNA
Harsh sent dozens of emails to venture capital companies to generate funds for its development, but only some replied. One venture capitalist even told him that he was too young to be eligible for investment.
“I was crushed and demoralised. I wondered if it was worth struggling this much for funding,” Harsh recalled. But he is no longer troubled by such remarks after the company gained a US investment company’s interest.
Team Labs has received US$9.8 million in Series A funding since 2017 and, for tactical reasons, is currently based in San Francisco. Grand Canyon Capital, Startup Capital Ventures, and the sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation are among its shareholders.
Harsh is also the remaining co-founder out of the team of five. The others have left for various reasons including for further studies or to start new ventures. The 19-year-old will also be taking time away from his company for two years for National Service after his graduation from SP this year.
“It’s very difficult to even think about leaving everything and doing something else. The good thing is that there are other talented people at the company. The Basic Military Training at least can be a decent break that I deserve after so much time working on the company,” Harsh noted.
