By WALTER SIM

IN AN ongoing review to ease aer-ial activity restrictions, the CivilAviation Authority of Singapore(CAAS) has proposed varyingguidelines for each activity.

For model aircraft, the authori-ty has suggested keeping the regu-lations as they are, in a move thathas been welcomed by the hob-by’s enthusiasts.

These more experienced hob-byists say strict rules are neededfor beginners who, without guid-ance, may lose control of theirplanes and pose a danger to oth-ers.

By law, areas within 5km of anairport or military aerodrome con-stitute no-fly zones. Beyond this,aerial activity is banned above200ft, roughly the height of a12-storey block of flats.

Mr Kevin Khoo, 39, presidentof the Aeromodelling Federationof Singapore (AFS), said: “It canbe dangerous if individuals justfly as they wish within these re-stricted areas.”

AFS has about 1,200 mem-bers, though it estimates theremay be some 4,000 people whofly model aircraft as a hobby.

The risks such model planespose to others have increased inrecent years, said their fans, asheavier planes made of wood andcarbon fibre have become morepopular. Smaller, lightweightmodels are typically made of plas-tic foam.

“The planes can weigh up to2kg and can actually hurt peo-ple,” said visual effects artist SohWee Lian, 39, who has been fly-ing model aircraft since he was13.

CAAS has cited potential haz-ards to aircraft operations, peo-ple and property if model aircraftwere to spiral out of control orcrash from a height.

Although such incidents arerare, officers are regularly de-

ployed in restricted areas, said aCAAS spokesman.

If caught, offenders usually re-ceive a police warning but maybe fined up to $100,000, jailedup to five years, or both.

Some aeromodelling clubs,however, have been granted per-mits by CAAS and the Republicof Singapore Air Force, and canfly within no-fly zones.

This is because these clubsconduct training for their mem-bers, employ a safety marshall on

flight days, and communicatewith air control towers beforeand after aeromodelling activity.

“The rule applies more for indi-vidual hobbyists rather thantrained members of aeromodel-ling clubs,” said Mr Yap WaiChong, 39, an aviation instructorat Temasek Polytechnic.

Mr Anthony Low, 55, an interi-or designer and president of Ra-dio Modellers Singapore, said theauthorities could do more to en-courage people to pursue their

hobby of flying model aircraftwith clubs – as members couldguide them and ensure safety pre-cautions are taken.

Mr Khoo, who is a commercialpilot, said although the rulesshould be kept for beginners, hehoped CAAS can relax the rulesfor more experienced flyers.

He said: “Although we ob-serve the 200ft rule strictly, wehope it can be raised to 400ft or500ft.”

waltsim@sph.com.sg

FROM next month, SMRT will rollout more wheelchair-accessiblebuses for four services: 75, 77, 177and 700.

Each of the buses canaccommodate up to two wheel-chairs.

The buses ply routes in the cityarea and to several medical institu-tions.

Service 700, for instance, con-nects passengers to MRT stationssuch as City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut,and Orchard, among others.

The bus services also coverMount Elizabeth Hospital, Glenea-gles Hospital and Medical Centre

and Outram Polyclinic.An SMRT spokesman said that

50 per cent of the buses runningthe routes will be wheelchair-accessible, and more wheelchair-friendly buses would be addedgradually to other services.

She also said that the movewould bring the total number ofSMRT bus services that are wheel-chair-accessible to 21.

Currently, 282 buses, or about26 per cent of the transport opera-tor’s bus fleet, are wheelchair-accessible, including those to beadded from July 1.SHERRI LEE

ELEVEN employees and “friends” ofthe National Healthcare Group(NHG) were yesterday honoured fortheir contributions.

Heading the list of honourees wasProfessor Goh Chee Leok, 62, of theNational Skin Centre, who was pre-sented with the Lee Founda-tion-NHG-NUHS (National Universi-ty Health System) Lifetime Achieve-ment Award.

Prof Goh, who has been in derma-tology for 21 years, has initiated morethan 300 scientific research projectsand published 22 books.

He has also been the force behindthe skin centre becoming the firstmedical institution here to have a ful-ly integrated digital system, whichholds 250,000 case records, managesappointments and lists test resultsand prescriptions given.

The award he was given recognis-es individuals who have made signifi-cant medical achievements andraised the quality of public healthcare.

Prof Goh, who still sees patientsfive days a week at the centre, said ofreceiving the award: “My philosophy

is that you must make yourself usefulto society. If you can say at retire-ment ‘I’ve accomplished this, thisand that’, then you can say you havenot lived a life in vain.”

The awards debuted in 2001.Two other honours were given out

to NHG employees at the ceremonyheld at Tan Tock Seng Hospital(TTSH) yesterday.

The NHG Distinguished Achieve-ment Award went to AssociateProfessor Eillyne Seow, AssociateProfessor Tai Hwei Yee and Dr LeeSiew Khow.

Dr Karen Chua Sui Geok, ClinicalAssociate Professor Tan Suat Hoon,Dr Chong Phui Nah, Dr Meena Sun-dram and Ms Ho Pei Wah were giventhe Outstanding Citizenship Award.

The Distinguished ContributorAward, which is presented to“friends of NHG”, went to Ms LucyCheng and Mr Christopher Woo.

Mr Woo, a lawyer by training andvice-chairman of the TTSH Medi-fund Committee, was recognised forhis pro bono work in difficult Medi-fund cases.LESLIE KAY LIM

By MELISSA PANG

FOR the past six months, a whitevan has been going from carparkto carpark in Singapore to providepeople with an anonymous way oftesting for HIV and syphilis.

About 500 people have takenthe test since December, and oneperson tested positive for HIV andanother for syphilis, said advoca-cy group Action for Aids (AfA),which operates the van.

But what is perhaps significantis that about two-thirds of thosewho took the test are aged be-tween 20 and 39, a demographic

that overlaps with the 29-and-be-low age group whose HIV infec-tion rate has risen sharply in thelast seven years.

It is encouraging that thenumber of people being tested inareas such as Geylang, thered-light district, is growing.“These days, there are even shortlines of people waiting to gettested in Geylang,” an AfA spokes-man told The Straits Times.

The growing popularity of themobile testing service seems tostem from the “anonymity,convenience, and how quick andeasy the testing process is” accord-ing to feedback received, the

spokesman added.The test costs $30 and takes

about 30 minutes. The van has vis-ited Tanjong Pagar, OrchardRoad, Clarke Quay, Beach Road,Hindoo Road, Yishun Ring Roadand Aljunied. Once a week, it willbe parked in Geylang.

Professor Roy Chan, founderand president of AfA, wants tospread the service to more loca-tions “to reach out to personswho are at risk of HIV infectionbut who, for whatever reasons,are afraid to go for testing at clin-ics”.

HIV testing is offered at publichospitals. A recent study by TanTock Seng Hospital (TTSH) foundthat eight in 10 patients refuse tobe tested.

AfA said that anyone who testspositive for HIV using the mobile

service is urged to go for a morecomprehensive blood test at itsAnonymous Test Site, located in aclinic run by the Department ofSexually Transmitted InfectionsControl in Kelantan Lane.

The Anonymous Test Site,which does HIV testing threetimes a week, saw an average of560 people each month in the lastsix months.

Official figures on HIV show aworrying trend among the young.

In the last seven years, thenumber of young people inSingapore diagnosed with HIVhas doubled, according to HealthMinistry statistics earlier thismonth.

Almost 100 people aged 29 andyounger tested positive last year,compared with about 50 in 2005.Altogether, 461 people tested

positive last year, 20 more than in2010.

Associate Professor Leo YeeSin, the head and senior consult-ant of TTSH’s infectious diseasesdepartment, finds AfA’s mobiletesting service a useful and crea-tive way of reaching out to seg-

ments of the at-risk population.But HIV prevention is “not

only all about testing”, she said.“Most importantly, it is about

being aware of the risks, andminimising these risks with saferbehaviour.” she added.

melpang@sph.com.sg

SMRT to run morewheelchair-friendlybuses on four routes

Mr Anwar Hashim, manager of Action for Aids’ roving-van service, demonstratinghow a test is administered at its launch last December. The test costs $30 andtakes about 30 minutes. ST FILE PHOTO

Areas within 5km of an airport or military aerodrome constitute no-fly zones for model aircraft. Beyond this, aerialactivity is banned above 200ft, roughly the height of a 12-storey block of flats. Hobbyists say these strict rules areneeded for beginners who, without guidance, may lose control of their planes. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

Rules for flying model aircraft likely to stay

Staff and ‘friends’of health-caregroup honoured

500 people make use of its anonymityand convenience over six months

Read it in

tomorrow

HOSPITALS USING MINDFULNESS

Meditation technique eases distress, insomnia and pain

ST GRAPHICS

FACILITIES ALONG THE ROUTES

Medical facilities: Gleneagles Hospital/Medical Centre, Camden Medical Centre, Singapore General Hospital, National Eye Centre, National Heart Centre, National Cancer Centre, National Dental Centre and Outram PolyclinicMRT/LRT stations: Holland Village, Outram Park, Tanjong Pagar, Raffles Place, Esplanade, Promenade, Bukit Panjang (LRT) andPetir (LRT)

Medical facilities: Gleneagles Hospital/Medical Centre, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Raffles Surgicentre and Camden Medical CentreMRT stations: Bukit Batok, Holland Village, Orchard, Somerset, Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, City Hall, Esplanade and Promenade

Service 75

Service 77

Service 177

Service 700

MRT/LRT stations: Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang (LRT)

Medical facilities: Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Raffles SurgicentreMRT/LRT stations: Newton, Orchard, Somerset, Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, City Hall, Esplanade, Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Panjang (LRT) and Pending (LRT)

Source: SMRT

Mobile unit drawsmore to test for HIV

thenewpaperUGLY SPATOVER MRT SEATBandaged aunty berates woman even after she gives up reserved seat to her

B4 HHOOMMEE W E D N E S D A Y , J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 2