A bevy of smooth coated otters swimming are pictured against the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Wild otters are making a comeback to the urban city state with the increasing numbers of the sea animals sparking concerns about overpopulation. Getty Images
A bevy of smooth coated otters swimming are pictured against the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Wild otters are making a comeback to the urban city state with the increasing numbers of the sea animals sparking concerns about overpopulation. Getty Images
A bevy of smooth coated otters swimming are pictured against the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Wild otters are making a comeback to the urban city state with the increasing numbers of the sea animals sparking concerns about overpopulation. Getty Images
A bevy of smooth coated otters swimming are pictured against the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Wild otters are making a comeback to the urban city state with the increasing numbers of the sea anima

World

Asia

British man escapes 'crazy' otter attack in Singapore park with 26 bites

Man suffers injuries to legs and buttocks in daytime drama

The National

December 10, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

A British man has told of how he was attacked by a family of otters in a Singapore park.

Graham George Spencer feared he would die during the morning incident in the city's Botanic Gardens.

He was pinned down and bitten “26 times in 10 seconds” by the creatures before a friend ran up screaming to scare them away.

“I actually thought I was going to die — they were going to kill me,” he told the Straits Times.

“If it wasn’t for my friend, I don’t think I’d still be here. I’d be dead,” he told another local outlet, Today.

I actually thought I was going to die – they were going to kill me
Graham George Spencer

The drama unfolded on November 30 when he spotted the otters, whose numbers have swelled in recent years, during a walk in the gardens.

The animals were shuffling along quietly but “went crazy” when another walker ran towards them, Mr Spencer said.

Staff at a nearby visitor centre treated him before he went to the city's Gleneagles hospital where he was given tetanus shots and antibiotics. He had since returned to hospital three times, racking up a $1,200 medical bill.

Singapore Botanic Gardens is investigating the incident, Mr Spencer told the media.

Singapore is reportedly home to about 10 families of otters, or about 90 in total. Their numbers have risen over the years as the city state's polluted river has been cleaned up. In May, a 77-year-old man reportedly was bitten on the leg by an otter while exercising near Kallang River in Singapore.

“DO NOT touch, chase or corner the otters. Observe them from a distance. Going too close to the otters may frighten them,” Singapore’s national parks board said in an advisory on what to do during an encounter with an otter.

A smooth-coated otter eats a fish at Changi beach in Singapore. The population has swollen in recent years as the city-state has cleaned up polluted rivers. AFP
A smooth-coated otter eats a fish at Changi beach in Singapore. The population has swollen in recent years as the city-state has cleaned up polluted rivers. AFP
Tomorrow 2021
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  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

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Updated: December 10, 2021, 12:44 PM`