1995 in Singapore

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← 1994 1993 1992 1995 in Singapore → 1996 1997 1998
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 1995 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 1995 in Singapore.

Incumbents

• President: Ong Teng Cheong
• Prime Minister: Goh Chok Tong

Events

January

• 26 January – BBC World Service Television was officially rebranding (or rebranded), relaunched (or relaunch and relaunching), restructuring, and reorganised into BBC World on Thursday, 26 January 1995 at 19:00:00 London Time/Friday, 27 January 1995 at 03:00:00 Singapore Time was officially relaunching ceremony or grand relaunching to international free-to-air terrestrial news channel. BBC's news bureau in Singapore is officially formal full grand relaunching took place with a new programme relaunched.
• 26 January – Officially relaunching ceremony or grand relaunching of BBC World at 19:00:00 London Time/Friday, 27 January 1995 at 03:00:00 Singapore Time transformation from BBC World Service Television. BBC's news bureau in Singapore is officially formal full grand relaunching took place with a new programme relaunched.

February

• 26 February – Britain's oldest merchant bank Barings Bank collapses due to Briton Nick Leeson's trading activities, losing $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, primarily using futures contracts. ^[1] He was arrested on 23 November after fleeing Singapore for 272 days. Subsequently, Nick Leeson plead guilty to two out of three charges of forgery and eight charges of cheating. He was sentenced to 6½ years in prison. ^[2]

March

• 1 March – The Family Court is established to settle family disputes effectively. ^[3]
• 4 March – The Kranji Expressway is officially opened. ^[4]
• 6 March – "Good Morning Singapore (早安您好)" as Singaporean Mandarin first flagship weekday breakfast programmes on TCS Channel 8 began airing live on Monday to Friday from 07:)0 SST.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 8 March – Briton John Martin murdered South African Gerard George Lowe in River View Hotel, dismembered his body, and disposed of the body parts in the Singapore River. He was found guilty of murder and hanged on 19 April 1996. ^[5]
• 10 March – TCS Channel 8 begin its trials of 24-hour broadcasts on Friday and Saturday nights with movies and infomercials throughout the early hours. It would go on to broadcast 24-hours a day on a daily basis almost 5 months later in the same year.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 17 March – Filipina domestic worker Flor Contemplacion is hanged on 4 May 1991 for the murder of fellow worker Delia Maga and her four-year-old charge, Nicholas Huang. ^[6]
• 26 March – Walt Disney Television's Satellite Facility is officially opened, making it Disney's first international centre. The facility broadcast Disney's programmes to Southeast Asia. ^[7]

April

• 27 April – The ST Teleport is launched for telecommunications and broadcasting purposes. ^[8]
• End April - IKEA Alexandra store, the first new building adjacent to Queensway Shopping Centre is officially opened.^{[ citation needed ]}

May

• 2 May – The first C651 trains are put into operation on the North South and East West lines.
• 3 May - MTV Southeast Asia, E! Entertainment Television and Hallmark Entertainment Network were officially launched as a Singaporean 24-hour English pay television channel. Both were officially launched at the stroke of midnight Singapore Time with an opening ceremony by Janet Jackson (MTV) and Tyra Banks (Hallmark). The official launch was on the same day that MTV Indonesia officially launched. These channels were the pay-TV channels owned by Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS), under licenses from Viacom (MTV) and Hallmark Entertainment Network's international corporation (Hallmark). MTV Southeast Asia, E! Entertainment Television and Hallmark Entertainment Network's opening ceremony was broadcast on air from iconic locations; the Padang, Singapore and Changi Airport.^{[ citation needed ]} MTV Southeast Asia along with its sister channels MTV Indonesia were officially launched on the Palapa C2 digital satellite. E! Entertainment Television and Hallmark Entertainment Network's production facilities were in Singapore. This marked the return of MTV in Asia after the officially delete and removed of the channel on the STAR TV Network.
  • MTV Southeast Asia was officially launched as a 24-hour English-language music channel broadcast from Singapore seen throughout Southeast Asia in territories including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. At the same time, MTV Southeast Asia along with sister channel MTV Indonesia was officially launched on the Palapa C2 digital satellite.
  • E! Entertainment Television was officially launched as Singaporean 24-hour English pay television channel, owned by Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) under license from Time Warner Communications. It was broadcast from Singapore, airing throughout Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Singapore. E! Entertainment Television was officially launched at stroke of midnight Singapore Time with an opening ceremony by Tyra Banks being a simulcast from Hallmark Entertainment Network. E! Asia was also an Asian version of the American TV channel E! Entertainment which was owned by Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) under license from Time Warner Communications. E!'s launch was celebrated on air from iconic locations; the Padang, Singapore and Changi Airport. E! Asia's production facilities was in Singapore. Among the popular reality shows included Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian's Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
  • Hallmark Entertainment Network Asia was officially launched as a Singaporean 24-hour English pay television channel, owned by Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) under license from Hallmark Entertainment. The channel had its headquarters in Singapore, while the channel was broadcast in Southeast Asia. Hallmark Entertainment Network Asia was officially launched at stroke of midnight Singapore Time with a opening ceremony by Tyra Banks. Hallmark Entertainment Network was an Asian version of the international TV brand, Hallmark Entertainment Network, which in turn owned by Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) under license from Hallmark Entertainment. Hallmark Entertainment Network Asia's launch was celebrated on air in iconic locations; the Padang, Singapore and Changi Airport. Hallmark Entertainment Network and E! Entertainment Television's production facilities were in Singapore. Among the popular reality shows aired on the channel were Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian's Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
• 17 May – The Chinese Heritage Centre is officially opened in Nanyang Technological University, showcasing Chinese culture and history. ^[9]

June

• 2 June – National Day Ceremony song "My People My Home" is unveiled and announced to be used for the 1995 National Day Parade. Since then, it was planned for the NDP to held at Padang in every five years.
• 12 June – Dongli 88.3FM (present day 883Jia) is launched as a bilingual radio station by SAFRA. ^[10]
• 20 June – CNBC Asia officially formal full opened took place by President of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong at 6:00am SGT along with sister channel Asia Business News based at its headquarters in Singapore was originally based in Singapore under Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) after Asia Business News and business bureaus in Jakarta metropolitan area (including Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, North Jakarta, Tangerang and Tangerang Regency), North Sumatra (expect Karo Regency), Batam/Batam Islands (relayed from Singapore and via all Riau and surrounding areas) and Palembang metropolitan area. CNBC Asia was owned by NBCUniversal under Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) after Asia Business News. Anchors/presenters included Rico Hizon, Bernard Lo, Lorraine Hahn, Sumire Sugimoto, Dalton Tanonaka and Bill Hartley were part of the original CNBC Asia team which includes around 170 Singapore based staff. It adopted similar programmes from its US counterpart, such as The Money Wheel and Business Tonight, but also had a few of its own programmes as well. In addition, from launch the channel broadcast programmes from CNBC Europe during the afternoon and CNBC US overnight.
• 23 June – Singapore Cable Vision is officially launched as a cable television provider, providing Singaporeans with more entertainment options. The whole cable system is completed in 1998, initially its coverage was limited to Tampines. ^[11]
• 24 June – The Ren Ci Hospital is officially opened. ^[12]
• 26 June – MTV Southeast Asia's broadcasting centre was officially opened. It had production facilities which broadcast MTV in English heralding a wave of American English music video programmes. ^[13]

July

• July – Parco Bugis Junction is opened to the public.
• 1 July –
  • CityCab starts operations, formed from the merger of three taxi companies, Singapore Airport Bus Service Ltd (SABS), Singapore Bus Service Taxi Pte Ltd (SBS Taxi Pte Ltd) and Singapore Commuter Pte Ltd. ^[14]
  • The West Coast Barter Trade Centre closes due to declining use. ^[15]
• 3 July – TCS opened its lunchtime television news bulletin programmes for both TCS Channel 5 and TCS Channel 8.
  • "News 5 Today" as Singapore English weekday midday and afternoon television news bulletin programmes aired on Monday to Friday from 12:00pm to 12:05pm and 3:00pm to 3:05pm Singapore Time. The bulletins lasted 10 minutes each.
  • "Midday News (午间新闻)" as Singaporean Mandarin weekday midday television news bulletin programmes aired on Monday to Friday at 1:00pm to 1:15pm Singapore Time.

August

The UOB Plaza

• 1 August – The Seletar Satellite Earth Station is officially opened. ^[16]
• 6 August – The UOB Plaza is officially opened. It joins OUB Centre (present-day One Raffles Place) as Singapore's tallest buildings at 280 metres, until Guoco Tower's completion in 2016, which is 290 metres. ^[17]
• 9 August (public holiday) – Singapore National Day parade celebrated its thirtieth years of anniversary was slogan and tagline is "My Singapore, My Home" with "30 Years of Nationhood / My Singapore, My Home: A Nation in Harmony" theme, organizer by HQ Armour and held at Padang was officially presidented by President of the Republic of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong and officially prime ministered by Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong. Singaporeans celebrate the nation's 30th birthday with the live telecast of the Singapore National Day Parade (NDP) 1995 on Wednesday, 9 August 1995 from 17:30 to 20:30 Singapore Time at Padang, Singapore. Singapore television viewers can enjoy the live telecast parade aired on TCS Channel 5, TCS Channel 8 and TV12 Channel 12. The commentary on TCS Channel 5 and TV12 Channel 12 in English, TCS Channel 8 in Mandarin, TV12 Channel 12 in Malay and TCS Channel 8 in Tamil. Those out and about on Singapore National Day Parade to catch the live screening of the Parade on the outdoor digital screens managed by Television Corporation of Singapore at all Singaporean shopping centres. Radio Corporation of Singapore radio stations simulcast the parade live over One FM 90.5, Capital Radio 95.8FM, Warna 942 and Oli 968 from 18:15 to 20:30 Singapore Time in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil respectively officially marked Singapore National Day is celebrated every year on 9 August, in commemoration of Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965 as officially national public holiday in Singapore. This holiday features the National Day Parade (NDP), National Day Message by the Prime Minister of Singapore, fireworks celebrations and even advertisements urging Singaporean residents to procreate.
• 20 August – The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) is announced to unlock economic value for residential buildings. ^[18] On the same day, the Executive Condominium scheme is introduced to meet Singaporeans' aspirations for condominium living, which may be too expensive for some. ^[19]
• 22 August – Sites located at Boon Tiong Road and Tiong Bahru Road are selected for the first SERS project. ^[20]
• 25 August – SAFTI Military Institute is officially opened in Jurong West. ^[21]
• 30 August – The Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (now Suntec) is officially opened. ^[22]
• 31 August – News Brief in Mandarin (新闻简报) aired its very final and last edition before becoming a full-fledged Mandarin Chinese channel the next day while the Tamil News (Tamil Seithi) also aired its final edition for this channel beforehand before moving to the newly renamed Prime 12 the next day.

September

• 1 September –
  • TV12 was officially launching new name as Singapore Television Twelve (STV12) and Channel 12 was officially split into two new free-to-air terrestrial channels such as Prime 12 and Premiere 12 was officially full launched took place on tonight at 20:00:)0 Singapore Time with the first opening launching programme (launched programme) 12 By 12: TV12's Launch Show was officially launched and opening ceremony by Minister for Information and the Arts George Yeo. ^[23]
    • Channel 12 was officially launching new name becomes Prime 12 after officially turned, shifted and switched language channel to Malay and Tamil channel after Tamil programmes was officially moved from TCS Channel 8 to Prime 12 was officially full launched took place on tonight at 8:00:00pm Singapore Time with the first opening launching programme 12 By 12: TV12's Launch Show simulcast from Premiere 12 after officially launched.
    • All English channel showcasing culture, arts, documentaries, classical music, children preschool and sport programmes officially moved from Channel 12 to new free-to-air terrestrial channel as Premiere 12 was officially full launched took place on tonight at 20:00:00 Singapore Time with the first opening launching programme 12 By 12: TV12's Launch Show simulcast from Prime 12.
  • Prime 12 officially began turned, shifted and switched news timeslots for both Tamil and Malay television news bulletin programmes.
    • "Tamil News (Tamil Seithi)" was officially launched new extended duration times and time slot such as 30 minutes and aired daily from 19:30 to 20:)0 Singapore Time before Berita 12.
    • "Berita 12" was officially launched new aired, new schedule, new clock and new time such as aired daily from 20:00 to 20:30 Singapore Time after Tamil News (Tamil Seithi) because due to at 20:00 slot was usually reserved for Malaysian language main flagship television news bulletin programmes on RTM TV1 (Berita Perdana) and TV3 (Buletin Utama).
  • TCS Channel 8 became an full-fledged Mandarin Chinese channel on the same day and became the Singaporean Mandarin first channel to officially broadcast 24-hour on a daily basis after having done so on Friday and Saturday nights since 10 March on the same year marked Television Corporation of Singapore celebrated its first anniversary. A number of revamps for that channel also took place to coincide the major revamp of the STV12 channels on the same day. TCS Channel 8 officially commenced its full 24-hour broadcasts becoming the first channel in Singapore to do so.
    • News in Mandarin was officially renamed from 第八新闻 to become "晚间新闻" and thus becoming the main flagship nightly television news bulletin programmes and aired daily from 22:00 to 22:30 Singapore Time marked Television Corporation of Singapore celebrated its first anniversary.
    • The evening news bulletin "Singapore Today (狮城6点半)" made its official first debut opening and filled up the void of the Tamil television news bulletin programmes that moved to Prime 12 on the same day aired daily at 18:30 to 19:00 Singapore Time marked Television Corporation of Singapore celebrated its first anniversary.
  • Plans for a new arts radio station were announced at the launch of Prime 12 and Premiere 12. ^[24]
  • The Land Transport Authority was launched to develop the land transport system in Singapore.
  • The National Library Board was launched to improve libraries in Singapore.
  • The prefix '9' is added to all mobile numbers.
  • A new six-digit postal code system takes effect, replacing the four-digit system used since 1979. ^{[25] [26]}
• 5 September –
  • Pacific Internet starts operations as Singapore's second ISP, after acquiring TechNet on 19 June. ^{[27] [28]}
  • Cyberway Internet is awarded an ISP licence, making it Singapore's third Internet operator. ^{[29] [30]}
• 18 September – British children's animated television series based on the books by Sarah Ferguson Budgie the Little Helicopter premieres on TCS Channel 5 with the series being reedited into two episodes.
• 30 September – TCS Channel 5 officially broadcast 24-hour on the same day so TCS Channel 5 officially commenced its full 24-hour broadcasts becoming the very second channel in Singapore to do so marked Television Corporation of Singapore celebrated its first anniversary.

October

• 1 October – The Public Utilities Board is reconstituted, resulting in the setting up of Singapore Power (now SP Group). ^[31]
• 20 October – The National Orchid Garden was opened. ^[32]

November

• 2 November – Parliament passed the Maintenance of Parents Act, a private member's bill introduced by Woon Cheong Ming Walter. ^[33]
• 5 November – The second phase of the Seletar Expressway opened.
• 10 November – Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal is officially opened to enhance ferry links. ^[34]
• 13 November – The second series of the British children's animated series Budgie the Little Helicopter begins airing on TCS Channel 5 after several months of airing in its country of origin. However, the episodes were not transmitted in the right order as they when airing in the UK and were shown in a very slightly different order. The first two episodes of the second series of Budgie the Little Helicopter to be shown in Singapore were "Blown Up, Let Down" and "Wally Waddles In". However, the second series were later shown in the right episode order when the series was repeated on Eureka Learning Channel and Kids Central.
• 25 November – Century Square is officially opened. ^[35]

December

• 7 December – Jurong Point opens its doors.
• 29 December – Nanook the polar bear (of Singapore Zoo) dies at the age of 18.
• 31 December – After Formatara Prima Sejati and Beijing Form Trading Industrial Corporation was officially closing ceremony "grand closing" in Jakarta and Beijing and was officially new location to new opening ceremony "grand opening" at new office, new power, new transmission, new building, new headquarters, new neighbouring, new tower, new icon and new complete new Form Building, Tampines, Singapore continued to Form Music Publication Pte Ltd, Form Records Co Ltd and Form Records Sdn Bhd based in Singapore, British Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia) after ABC English for Children Let's Learn About Volume 4 the end after the end farewell from clown (xiao chou) performance and Liu Tian Fu producer very final and last time so after Aunty Jo Child Care & Development Centre and NTUC Pasir Ris Resort location area the end.

Births

• 28 January – He Yingying, Mediacorp actress
• 16 June – Joseph Schooling, swimmer.
• 17 June - Chantalle Ng, Mediacorp TV actress
• 22 June - Amanda Germaine Lee, MADDSpace Senior Vocal Coach.
• 7 August – Kimberly Chia, actress.
• 6 September – Seow Sin Nee, actress and host.
• 14 December - Yung Raja, Singaporean Tamil rapper, TV actor.

Population of births: 48,635

Deaths

• 4 October – Eu Chooi Yip, one of the prominent Malayan Communist Party leaders in Singapore (b. 1918). ^[36]
• 12 December – David Marshall, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (b. 1908). ^[37]
• 16 December – Anthony Then, dance pioneer (b. 1944). ^[38]
• Ang Chwee Chai, pioneer of photography (b. 1910). ^[39]

Population of deaths: 15,569

References

1. "Barings Bank collapses from Nick Leeson's losses". NLB. 26 February 1995. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
2. "Guilty As Charged: Rogue trader Nick Leeson brought down Britain's oldest merchant bank Barings". The Straits Times. Singapore. 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
3. "Family Justice Practice Forum: CJ'S Address" (PDF). Supreme Court of Singapore. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
4. "Opening ceremony of the Kranji Expressway" (PDF). NAS. 4 March 1995. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
5. "Other gruesome murders that took place in Singapore". The New Paper. Singapore. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
6. Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore (1995). Flor Contemplacion: The Facts of the Case. Singapore: Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
7. "Launching of Walt Disney Television (Singapore)'s Satellite Facility" (PDF). NAS. 26 March 1995. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
8. "Launching of Singapore Technologies (ST) Teleport" (PDF). NAS. 27 April 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
9. "Opening of the Chinese Heritage Centre" (PDF). NAS. 17 May 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
10. "SAFRA gets more Power with Chinese FM station (Page 7)". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 3 June 1995. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
11. "Official Launch of Singapore Cablevision" (PDF). NAS. 23 June 1995. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
12. "Official Opening of Ren Ci Hospital" (PDF). NAS. 24 June 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
13. "Opening of MTV Asia" (PDF). NAS. 26 June 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
14. "Milestones". ComfortDelgro Taxi. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
15. "Lack of use so historical barter trade site closes from today (Page 2)". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 1 July 1995. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
16. "News 5 Tonight (1 August 1995)". Television Corporation of Singapore (Retrieved from NAS). 1 August 1995. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
17. "Opening of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) Plaza" (PDF). NAS. 6 August 1995. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
18. "Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme is introduced". NLB. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
19. "Executive Condominum Housing Scheme". HDB. 29 August 1995. Archived from the original on 24 June 1997. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
20. "Selective En-Bloc Redevelopment Scheme". HDB. 22 August 1995. Archived from the original on 24 June 1997. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
21. "Opening Ceremony of SAFTI Military Institute" (PDF). NAS. 25 August 1995. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
22. "Grand Opening of the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre" (PDF). NAS. 30 August 1995. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
23. "Launch of channels Prime 12 and Premiere 12 of TV12" (PDF). NAS. 1 September 1995. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
24. "Launch of channels Prime 12 and Premiere 12 of TV12" (PDF). NAS. 1 September 1995. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
25. "Six-digit postal code system". NLB. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
26. "Six-digit postal codes will apply to all areas from Sept 1". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 August 1995. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
27. "Sembawang venture to buy Technet for $2.5m (page 41)". The Straits Times (Retrieved from NLB). 20 June 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
28. "Pacific Internet can start its services today (page 36)". The Straits Times (Retrieved from NLB). 5 September 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
29. "Opening of the Workshop on Telecommunications "Voyage Through Cyberspace" at Singapore Polytechnic" (PDF). NAS. 5 September 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
30. "Cyberway to be third Internet service provider (page 3)". The Straits Times (Retrieved from NLB). 6 September 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
31. "PUB to split into three entities from Oct 1". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 23 September 1995. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
32. "Launch of the National Orchid Garden" (PDF). NAS. 20 October 1995. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
33. Sue-Ann Chia (11 March 2010), "Know the past to tackle the future", The Straits Times, p. B14. The first ever Act since 1965 originating from a private member's bill was the Roman Catholic Archbishop Bill introduced by P. Selvadurai and Chiang Hai Ding in 1974 and passed the following year as the Roman Catholic Archbishop Act (now Cap. 375,1985 Rev. Ed.). This was a private act, not a public one: Chia, ibid. See also Walter Woon (28 June 1994), "Honor thy father and mother – or else", The Wall Street Journal , p. A18; "Govt gives backing to Parents Bill", The Straits Times, 27 July 1994; Walter Woon (11 August 1994), "Family matters", Far Eastern Economic Review , p. 30; "Parents maintenance bill passed", The Straits Times, 3 November 1995.
34. "Official Opening of the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal" (PDF). NAS. 10 November 1995. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
35. "Official Opening of Century Square" (PDF). NAS. 25 November 1995. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
36. "NewspaperSG". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
37. "David Saul Marshall". NLB. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
38. "Anthony Then". NLB. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
39. "Ang Chwee Chai". NLB. Retrieved 14 August 2019.