On Wednesday, I boarded one of the new SMRT buses. When a passenger vacated a seat and I was about to occupy it, the woman next to it objected, saying she could not ''allow'' me to sit next to her as I am a male and my body would ''touch'' her. I would have appreciated that if she had made a request but she said she could not ''allow'' me, even adding that...

I AM a handicapped person and a wheelchair user. On Wednesday, I was at Somerset MRT at noon to find that both lifts were not working. One was under some sort of renovation, while the other was not working. There was also no stair climber trolley available. SMRT is able to deploy several hundred staff to catch and fine MRT commuters for eating and drinking...

WE THANK Mr David Soh Poh Huat for his letter, ''Allow part-time maids for the elderly'' (Nov 13). The job scope of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) typically includes performing household chores as well as caring for young children and the elderly. As household habits vary, it would be impractical for FDWs to commute daily to meet the varying needs of their...

WE REFER to Ho Shou Kwang's letter, ''Applying to top-up ez-link card a pain'' (Nov 13). We would like to apologise to Ms Ho for the delay in processing her application. We are glad to inform Ms Ho that her application is currently being processed and will be sent to her within the week. We are working hard to further shorten the processing time and...

A FRIEND of mine died recently. He was only 20. The news of his death hit me so hard that I cried in the office. It's been almost two weeks now and I am still mourning the loss of a friend. Except he wasn't a friend in the normal sense of the word. We had...

I READ with interest the report ''Higher property taxes in 2010'' (Nov 19). I was surprised to note that 5-room flats would be taxed $107 and executive flats $103. How is this calculated? Why should those owning 5-room flats pay $4 more than those who own executive flats, given that executive flats are in general bigger than 5-room flats?

MR CHIN Kee Thou's letter (''Put yourself in employer's shoes'', Nov 17) seems to suggest that expectant mothers who are still under probation are a financial liability to small companies and are a source of umbrage among colleagues who have to take on their work responsibilities when they go on maternity leave. All companies, big or small, have to cope with...

THE report ''Networking the Dad-dicated'' (Nov 17) serves as a timely reminder of the important role the father can play in cementing family ties. Children who are neglected by their fathers could in turn develop a nonchalant attitude towards their kids. To spend more time with his children, a father has to make sacrifices. Impressionable children need...

IN KOREA, during school exam season, traffic patterns are changed, flight schedules rescheduled and police even escort students to ensure they get to the exam halls on time. Here in Singapore, during exam week, the contractor involved in the Lift Upgrading Project at Hong Kah North continued with his noisy hacking work. Over at Henry Park, the PUB started...

I REFER to ''Hardly a knockout showing'' (Nov 17) from Mr Boyet Samonte on StarHub TV's broadcast of the boxing match featuring Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. As the entire programme including the undercards had exceeded the time allocated for the transmission, customers who purchased the match before 1.15pm were prompted to access the full telecast by...