Beware & Protect Yourself 02 (Jan 09 - Aug 10)

Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Jul 10)

Postby winston » Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:20 am

TREE CLIMBING STICKS

DETAILS: Muddy Outdoors of Camdenton, Mo., is recalling tree climbing sticks. The Chinese-made sticks were sold by Muddy Outdoors online and over the phone, as well as other outdoor sports stores nationwide, from July 2009 through April 2010.

WHY: A flaw involving bolts on the climbing sticks can allow the retaining rope to detach and release the stick from the tree. This poses a fall hazard.

INCIDENTS: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received two reports of broken bolts, but no reports of injuries

HOW MANY: 2,550

FOR MORE: Call 877-366-8339; visit http://www.gomuddy.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Jul 10)

Postby winston » Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:20 am

BICYCLES AND BIKE FRAMES

DETAILS: The recall involves 2010 Redline Conquest Cyclocross bicycles and frame sets, manufactured in Taiwan and distributed by Seattle Bike Supply, of Kent, Wash. They were sold by specialty bike stores around the country between July 2009 and May 2010.

WHY: A flaw in the bicycle fork could cause the fork's legs to separate from the crown, causing the rider to lose control.

INCIDENTS: The company has received five reports of fork cracks related to this problem.

HOW MANY: About 330

FOR MORE: Call 800-283-2453 or visit http://www.redlinebicycles.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Jul 10)

Postby winston » Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:21 am

WIRE FEED WELDERS

DETAILS: Star Asia USA, doing business as Titan, of Kent, Wash., is recalling Vaper 90 amp flux wire feed welders, manufactured in China. The welders were sold by Pep Boys, Auto Zone and other auto parts and tool centers nationwide from October 2006 through March 2010.

WHY: A flaw puts users at a risk of burns.

INCIDENTS: None reported.

HOW MANY: About 9,000

FOR MORE: Call 800-386-0191 or visit http://www.cpsc.gov.
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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Jul 10)

Postby Musicwhiz » Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:32 am

Justice is served! Be careful of such crooks who come up with elaborate scams!

Jul 17, 2010
Court convicts Sunshine Empire trio

They pocketed at least $8 million through Ponzi-like scheme
By Khushwant Singh

THE flamboyant founder of Sunshine Empire, which amassed $180 million in 15 months, was found guilty by a district court yesterday for running a fraudulent scheme and for faking accounts.

James Phang Wah, 50, and former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 30, had enriched themselves by at least $8 million through Sunshine's multi-level marketing scheme.

Phang's wife Neo Kuon Huay, 47, was found guilty of falsifying payment vouchers together with Phang. They did this so that she could receive commissions amounting to nearly $1 million.

The trio will be sentenced on July 30.

Some 20,000 people bought into the flashy scheme, which promised high returns on its lifestyle packages.

Sunshine sold these packages at its plush Toa Payoh Central office for over 15 months, before it was raided by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in November 2007.

The packages ranged from $240 to $12,000 and offered attractive bonuses and incentives.

What was unique was its customer rebate points (CRP) system, which allowed participants to use the points to buy goods online.

Phang and Hoo had assured participants that CRP was derived from the firm's turnover on its e-commerce platform.

While this sounded impressive, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said it was essentially meaningless, because the e-commerce activity did not add to the firm's income as no revenue was generated for the firm.

Like other Ponzi-like schemes, rewards for participants came from fresh money secured from those joining later.

The judge noted it was clear that the two men misled participants and wanted to conceal the fact that the CRP return was paid out from the sale of new packages.

Noting that the CRP could come up to 160 per cent of the cost of a package, the judge said: 'The abnormally high returns were meant to dazzle and attract participants who had no in-depth knowledge of the scheme.'

Judge Kaur observed that it was a matter of time for such a business model to fail, and new participants would suffer a loss.

While $118 million of the $180 million collected was spent on rebates and incentives to push the purchase of more packages, much of the rest ended up in the pockets of the trio.

Phang pocketed US$5 million (S$7 million) in consultancy fees and allowances from the doomed venture.

Hoo collected about $950,000 by abetting Phang in criminal breach of trust. The two had paid Neo a commission of nearly $950,000 by dishonestly claiming she was the firm's group sales director.

The judge adjourned sentencing for two weeks to allow the trio's lawyers Subhas Anandan and Noor Mohamed Marican to prepare mitigation pleas.

The prosecution also intends to ask the trio to pay its costs in bringing the case to court.

Phang and Neo looked worried when Judge Kaur delivered the verdict to them but Hoo showed no expression.

Outside the courtroom, all three looked relaxed, chatting with about 20 supporters and family members.

All three still face charges of providing false declarations involving affiliated company Empire Communications Technology. Phang is also accused of possessing obscene and uncensored films.

Arrangements will now have to be made for a court to hear these charges.

Phang and Hoo face a maximum $15,000 fine and seven years' jail for fraudulent trading and a maximum of life imprisonment and a fine for the criminal breach of trust offences. The maximum penalty for falsifying accounts is seven years' jail with a fine.

A former director of Empire Investment Group has already been dealt with.

Yong Wai Hong, 28, was fined a total of $24,000 in July last year after he pleaded guilty to authorising a company secretary to give misleading returns to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

This false information had given Sunshine participants the wrong impression that its affiliate firms had strong financial standing.

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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Jul 10)

Postby winston » Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:27 am

From Dr. Check, The Standard HK:-

You may have heard that some restaurants in China are using recycled oil.

There are two types. One is oil used by the eatery. After treatment, black oil becomes clear.

The second is oil collected from Peking ducks and recycled. Both kinds are toxic.
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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Jul 10)

Postby kennynah » Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:21 pm

the day Chinese vendors do not clean up their image... they will continue to stay 2nd class when it comes to product quality and safety...

until now... my wife refuses to buy any "made in china" food products... most times, i agree with her on this...

in fact, yoji yamamoto adidas products are made in china... i skip !

cardboard also can become meat fillings...how further unethical can they get?

not say looking down on another chinese people... but if they wana gain respect, they must first take pride in their work and standards....
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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Aug 10)

Postby iam802 » Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:01 pm

For those who have LinkedIn accounts.

Beware of emails that looks like the following:
LinkedIn_related_virus.png



Clicking on the link will redirect to another site
- and it will claim that your machine is infected
- follow by an attempt to force you to download 'some anti-virus program'.
1. Always wait for the setup. NO SETUP; NO TRADE

2. The trend will END but I don't know WHEN.

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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Aug 10)

Postby winston » Sun Aug 15, 2010 2:52 pm

Beware of fake S$50 notes By Ion Danker

Six hawkers have fallen prey to fake S$50 notes surfacing in Boon Lay Market and Food Centre.

The hawkers, who sell drinks, food and vegetables at blocks 221, 221A and 221B have lost S$300 as a result of the fake notes.

According to the hawkers, the culprits will turn up alone when they are busy serving customers at their stalls.

Some people Yahoo! Singapore spoke to were shocked that fake notes have surfaced here.

Said customer service officer Cris Sim, 26, “I can’t remember when was the last time such a case was reported in Singapore, but at the same time, I believe some people can’t tell the difference between a fake and real note.”

Administrative officer Kavin Tok, 38, agreed. He said, “I think the tell-tale signs of a fake is that the note will smudge if it comes in contact with water, but I guess we must be more careful.”

Police said they were 72 such cases reported from 2006 till the first half of last year.

http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/15 ... s50-notes/
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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Aug 10)

Postby kennynah » Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:20 pm

802, I too received many such linkedin emails n the invitees at times are friends..

heng ah... I always deleted them but from now on, I'll junk these emails!!
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Re: Beware & Protect Yourself 2 (Jan 09 - Aug 10)

Postby millionairemind » Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:03 am

You may want to read up on lead poisoning and its effect on kid's brain development.

Aug 16, 2010
Excessive lead in toys
By Tessa Wong
A TEST of 50 toys commonly available in Singapore, including some sold in well-known supermarkets and toy shops, found that nearly half of them have excessive amounts of toxic chemicals that can cause severe health problems in children.

This startling finding, revealed on Monday by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), has led to some retailers yanking products off the shelves.

As part of the test, conducted from March to July, surveyors bought toys from all over the island. They picked out items that were brightly-coloured and malleable, indicators that the products contained lead and phthalates. Out of the 50 toys, 23 exceeded limits for those two chemicals. All were made in China.

Excessive lead in children may cause problems in areas such as the nervous system, muscles, intestines and may lead to learning disabilities and speech problems; while excessive phthalates may cause reproductive, endocrine and metabolic problems.

Most of the toxic toys were sold by top retailers, including FairPrice, Carrefour and Giant supermarkets, as well as Toys R Us and local gift shop chains Action City and Minitoons. Others were found in smaller mom-and-pop heartland stores and night market stalls.

As Singapore does not currently have toy safety standards, local firm Insight Labs tested the items according to standards used by the United States. According to the American Society of Testing and Materials, an acceptable level of phthalates in toys is 1,000 parts per million (ppm). For lead, it is 90 ppm for the surface coating and 300 ppm for the toy's material.

But the toys tested exceeded these limits by 10 to 500 per cent. The worst offender was the Kido Daruma handphone strap, made by local company Big Box International and sold in its Action City chain of stores. The metal part of the strap contained 7,000 ppm of lead. A popular toy made by the same company, the Breadou donut wrist rest, was also found to have excessive levels of phthalates.

Other toys included a Toys R Us doll and a remote controlled car bought in a FairPrice Xtra outlet. Case said that it contacted 14 retailers last week. So far, Fairprice, Giant and Carrefour have pulled the toys off their shelves.
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