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Two female contingent commanders to lead Guard-of-Honour in NDP 2006
By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia

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SINGAPORE : Women will take the lead in this year's Parade and Ceremony segment of NDP 2006.

For the first time, Singapore will see not one, but two female contingent commanders leading the Guard-of-Honour.

Deputy Superintendent Samantha Goh will be heading the Police Guard-of-Honour while Captain Ong Suat Lin will lead that of the Airforce.

Member of Parliament Indranee Rajah will lead the PAP contingent which is also organised by the party's Women's Wing this year.

"You can stand out there with the guys not fainting, holding your ground and doing your bit for national day. We've paid a little bit more attention to the uniforms, the details and appearances. When you go on parades, you want to make sure that the whole contingent looks their best. But the contingent also comprises of guy because many of the guys enjoy participating and we wouldn't want to disappoint them. So we have a good mix," said Indranee Rajah, Contingent Commander for PAP Contingent.

Also keeping fit for the big day is parade commander - 36 year old Lieutenant Colonel Neil Dyason.

And behind every successful man is a woman.

"It's my wife who has been preparing honey water to make sure my voice is in tip-top condition. And she's been watching what I eat to make sure I look my best," said Lieutenant Colonel Neil Dyason, Parade Commander for NDP 2006.

A total of 3,500 people are involved in this year's parade and organisers describe the ceremony segment as a mix of old and new. They say while efforts have been made to retain traditions, audiences can also look forward to a number of refreshing twists. - CNA

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ComfortDelGro checks on taxi drivers who "disappear" before peak periods
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

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SINGAPORE : Taxi operator ComfortDelGro is stepping up checks to ensure that its taxi drivers don't pick and choose their customers.

This is to ensure that drivers don't disappear just before the start of the peak period.

ComfortDelGro says its plain-clothes officers will focus their attention during the critical periods from 7am to 9.30am and 5pm to 8pm from Mondays to Saturdays.

In the last six months, enforcement teams have been conducting checks at popular locations like Suntec City.

About ten percent of the nearly 1,700 taxi drivers checked were caught and warned not to hold out for peak periods again.

And ComfortDelGro says it will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against errant drivers who could also get their contracts terminated. - CNA