Year 1949

Tag: Raffles

Ren Ci’s founder Charged

Tuesday, 15th July 2008

Ren Ci’s founder and ex-honorary chief executive, Venerable Ming Yi, is facing ten charges, including two counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of forgery for the purpose of cheating.   THE long-time head of Ren Ci Hospital the other charges includes misappropriation of funds and conspiracy to give false information to the Commissioner of Charities.  Venerable Ming Yi birth name is Goh Kah Heng, aged 46, was charged, along with his personal assistant Raymond Yeung Chi Hang, 33, who faces two counts, and Phua Seow Hwa, 47, who faces one charge.  Venerable Ming Yi is also a prominent television daredevil stunt man - where he abseiled 45 storeys live from Suntec City in 2003, in 2004 when he immersed himself in a tank of ice for about 23 minutes. Ming Yi other stunts over the years includes balancing on top of a five-storey structure for 2 hours, walking across parallel beams 66 storeys high and pulling himself up 23 storeys using rope and pulley.


Princess Alexandra Visited Singapore

Wednesday, 6th August 1969

Exactly 150 years after Stamford Raffles of the British Empire founded Singapore, another another lesser known, Princess Alexandra, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, flew into the city as the Queen’s special envoy for the 150th anniversary celebrations for the founding of modern Singapore. Waiting on the tarmac to greet her were Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew; the British High Commissioner, Sir Arthur de la Mare; and their wives. At the reception committee for the Princess, the attendees included the who’s who of Singapore; the Chief Justice, cabinet ministers, MPs, statutory board heads, as well as Commonwealth leaders. Hordes of local islanders could only watch the pomp and pageantry from outside the fence-up compound.


University of Malaya

Saturday, 8th October 1949

The University of Malaya is formed following the merger of Raffles College and King Edward VII College of Medicine.