Blog Posts by Lin Wenjian

The Workers' Party (WP) has swiftly dismissed talk of a rift developing within the party.

Meeting local media after businessman Png Eng Huat was named as the party’s candidate for the Hougang by-election, WP's secretary-general Low Thia Khiang emphasised that "there is no split" and the party is united behind Png in his quest to win over voters.

Low also revealed that neither he, nor the party's central executive committee (CEC), knew that veteran WP member Poh Lee Guan had applied for a political donation certificate.

"I found out from the news," Low said. "We were not informed of his intention [to run as a candidate in Hougang] and he had not contacted any of the CEC members."

Low also shot down Poh's claim that he was WP's "spare" candidate for this by-election, reiterating that "Png Eng Huat is the only one we support".

On Monday, the Elections Department announced in a statement that four people had each been granted a political donation certificate, a requirement for candidates

Friends and associates of Howard Shaw rallied around the green activist on Thursday, a day after the scion of the prominent Shaw family was implicated in a scandal involving an underage prostitute.  

 On Wednesday, the 41-year-old showed up at the Subordinate Courts to face the charge of paying for sex with the girl in October 2010 at Hotel 81 Bencoolen. The girl, who was 17 at the time of the act, cannot be named due to a gag order imposed by the court.

With him was his lawyer, Wendell Wong from Drew and Napier, and his wife of six months, Jessie Xue, who according to local reports, was calm and composed throughout the court hearing. Howard faces a maximum sentence of seven years in jail if convicted of the charge.

The couple got married last November and appeared on the cover of local high-society magazine Singapore Tatler in February for a feature on "Great Romances". They had met six years ago when Xue was a contestant in a Miss Earth pageant, where he was a trainer and judge.

Yani Tseng is eyeing the HSBC Women's Champions title (Getty Images)

"I can't wait to go."

That stark warning came from top woman golfer Yani Tseng in the press conference of this year's HSBC Women's Championship, which tees off this Thursday at the Tanah Merah Country Club.

Tseng, the Taiwanese world No 1, says she is looking forward to seeing "what I can do on the golf course" at Tanah Merah, as she eyes the US$1.4 million (S$1.8 million) prize money on offer.

And she has certainly prepared herself well for the Singapore challenge.

Before touching down in Changi Airport on Monday, Tseng, 23, bagged the winner's trophy at the Honda LPGA Thailand tournament at the Siam Country Club Old Course at Pattaya.

That dramatic victory was sealed with a tap-in for a birdie on the final hole.

But standing in her way of more glory is a strong field led by the tournament's defending champion Karrie Webb from Australia.

While acknowledging that Tseng - who had 12 tournament wins, including seven on the LPGA tour last year - had an amazing 2011, Webb is adamant she