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Retrenchment?

SINGAPORE – After a century of dishing up Cantonese fare, Wing Seong Fatty’s at Burlington Square in Bencoolen will put up the shutters on June 28. The restaurant said in a notice uploaded on Facebook in April that it found itself without a successor to continue the business. It added that shareholders and management are ageing and the younger generation are pursuing their own careers. The post added that the difficult decision had been made after much consideration.   The restaurant was opened by the current owner’s grandfather Au Yuen in 1926, according to the eatery’s website.   Originally named Wing Seong Restaurant, it was located in a two-storey shophouse in Albert Street, a stone’s throw from its current premises. The founder’s son Au Chan Seng helped to manage the restaurant, said the Facebook notice, adding that the younger Au was fondly known as “Fatty” for his stout build. Over time, Wing Seong Fatty’s became synonymous with the establishment, the notice added. In 1987, the restaurant relocated to Albert Complex, where the third generation took over the business, said the notice. It later moved to its current and final premises at Burlington Square in October 1999.   Wing Seong Fatty’s was also a haunt for many crew from airlines such as Qantas, British Airways and Emirates, its website said, describing itself as a “cult place”.   It said the main reason was that during World War II, Mr Au Yuen would take his son Chan Seng to secretly give food to prisoners of war (POW). Some of them included Australian service members who ended up working for national carrier Qantas after the war, according to a 2022 The Sydney Morning Herald article. When Qantas in 1947 launched the Sydney-London route, also known as the Kangaroo route, the first overnight stop was Singapore, the Herald reported.   “For former POWs returning to the Changi peninsula, there was now only one dinner option they would ever choose, and it has stayed that way for 75 years,” the article read. The HARS Aviation Museum in Australia said in a Facebook post in January that Wing Seong Fatty’s is “more than a restaurant but a genuine piece of history for veterans and aircrew alike”.     The restaurant expressed its gratitude for its customers’ support. “We extend our heartfelt thanks for your loyalty, patronage and friendship over the past century,” the notice read, addressing the eatery’s customers. “It has truly been our privilege to serve you.”

@Cybertan

SINGAPORE – Snow City, Singapore’s first indoor snow centre, will close on Sept 30 after 26 years. The closure reflects the Science Centre Board’s (SCB) commitment to “keeping its offerings fresh and relevant amid shifting visitor interests and an evolving attractions landscape”, Science Centre Singapore said in a statement on May 19. It added that this also aligns with SCB’s science education mission and future plans.   Snow City’s staff will be supported closely during this transition, Science Centre Singapore said, noting that the eight full-time employees have been offered redeployment opportunities within SCB.   “For employees who choose to pursue opportunities elsewhere, SCB will provide outplacement assistance and severance support in accordance with applicable employment terms and prevailing Ministry of Manpower guidelines,” Science Centre Singapore said. “Snow City will also honour its contractual obligations to all vendors.” Snow City, located in Jurong East, will hold a public farewell campaign called One Last Snowfall ahead of its closure.   Visitors will be able to enjoy limited-time experiences and offers from June to September, including a package for one hour of snow play and a bumper car ride. During this period, the package will be priced at $19 for adults and $16 for children, down from the usual price of $27 for adults and $23 for children. More details on the farewell campaign will be shared through Snow City’s and Science Centre Singapore’s websites and social media channels soon.

**Using YouTube**   The video **"5 Foolproof Ways to Spot a Liar"** from BRIGHT SIDE outlines specific verbal patterns, psychological behaviors, and physiological changes that reveal when someone is being insincere.   Here are the methods and cues explained in the video:   ---   ### 1. Removing Self-References (Avoiding Personal Responsibility) * **The Pattern:** Liars frequently avoid mentioning themselves and rarely use personal pronouns like "I", "me", or "my" [[01:06](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=66)].    * **The Reason:** Subconsciously, they are attempting to distance themselves from the lie and escape personal responsibility [[01:24](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=84)]. For example, instead of saying *"I accidentally broke the cup,"* a deceptive person will detach themselves from the act and say, *"The cup broke on the kitchen floor"* [[01:22](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=82), [01:39](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=99)]. They may blame abstract objects or the forces of nature rather than admitting their own involvement [[01:46](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=106)].   ### 2. Pervasive Negative Attitudes * **The Pattern:** A liar's general conversational attitude or speech is heavily negative, pessimistic, or full of swearing and complaints [[02:01](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=121)].  * **The Reason:** Because they feel subconsciously guilty about fabricating a story, they project that internal tension outward by blaming external factors [[02:29](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=149)]. For example, if someone is late, they might heavily insult and blame "stupid traffic jams" and "terrible drivers" to aggressively declare it wasn't their fault [[02:15](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=135), [02:21](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=141)].   ### 3. Overly Simplified Judgments * **The Pattern:** When asked to explain a failure or evaluate a situation, liars typically keep their core reasoning as simple as possible [[02:40](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=160)]. * **The Reason:** Evaluating complex situations or calculating false judgments requires immense brainpower. To reduce cognitive strain, the brain refuses to create a convoluted lie for the main point [[02:53](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=173)]. For instance, rather than analyzing why they failed a test, they will simply default to, *"I don't know why I failed,"* avoiding the deeper truth [[03:07](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=187)].   ### 4. Intricate and Confusing Sentence Structures * **The Pattern:** While their core explanations are kept simple, liars tend to hide their deceit behind overly complex, overloaded, and intricate sentence structures [[03:18](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=198), [03:41](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=221)]. * **The Mechanics:** They load their speech with unnecessary filler words and insignificant, plausible-sounding details to inflate their story and make it sound authentic [[03:22](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=202), [03:32](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=212)]. Someone who is innocent will tell a story simply and happily, whereas someone who is hiding an alibi will become defensive, negative, and far too chatty [[03:56](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=236)].   ### 5. Excessive, Unsolicited Details (The Habitual Action Trap) * **The Pattern:** Liars fill a simple, mundane story with a massive flood of highly specific, excessive details that a normal person would never track or memorize [[04:16](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=256)]. * **Example:** While a truthful person summarizes a grocery trip as *"I went to the store, got what I needed, and came home"* [[04:22](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=262)], a liar will overcomplicate it by tracking precise time stamps and irrelevant scenery (e.g., *"I talked to Jim for exactly five minutes, saw a sky-blue truck, smoked a cigarette for exactly three minutes, and saw Gina"* [[04:36](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=276), [04:58](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=298)]). They mistakenly believe adding details makes the lie believable, forgetting that the human brain does not naturally index automatic, habitual routines [[05:09](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=309), [05:16](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=316)]. * **The Counter-Interrogation Tactic:** If you suspect someone is lying, ask them to repeat their entire story **backwards** or from a different chronological starting point [[05:22](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=322)]. A truth-teller recalls raw memory, but a liar will instantly stumble and get trapped trying to keep their imaginary details straight [[05:29](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=329)].   ---   ### Bonus Method: The 99% Eye-Reaction Test When verbal tracking isn't enough, you can rely on direct physiological responses in the eyes [[05:39](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=339)]: * **Pupil Dilation:** When a person consciously manufactures a lie, they experience a surge of internal nervousness, causing an automated spike in heart rate and instant dilation of the pupils [[05:57](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=357)]. * **Gaze Avoidance:** Watch closely for an inability to look back or maintain steady eye contact directly when answering the target question [[06:10](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=370), [06:17](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=377)]. Asking your question while looking directly into their eyes will visually reveal their internal autonomic nervous system response [[06:10](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8&t=370)].   ---   To review the full visual breakdown and examples of these behaviors, you can watch the video at the [5 Foolproof Ways to Spot a Liar Video Link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUolw6HyZg8).