SINGAPORE – When Lianhe Zaobao journalist Evon Wong heard from a reader that money he sent home to his wife in China had been frozen by the Chinese authorities, she decided to dig deeper.
She eventually uncovered more cases involving at least 20 other foreign workers who also had their accounts frozen after transferring money through the same remittance firm.
In January, three Chinese nationals working in Singapore sued the remittance firm over the same concerns. The firm has denied any wrongdoing.
This came after the Monetary Authority of Singapore in December 2023 directed remittance companies here to suspend the use of non-bank and non-card channels for cross-border money transfer services to China until March 31.
Ms Wong, who has been reporting for Lianhe Zaobao for six years, won the award for Best News Report at SPH Media’s Chinese Media Group (CMG) annual awards and Chinese New Year gathering on Feb 21.
She said of her win: “I am very surprised, as there are many news reports that are much better than mine, but I’m really honoured to receive this award.
“It is also great that the case blew up, and the authorities decided to do something to prevent such cases.”
All seven CMG awards were swept by Lianhe Zaobao for its excellent journalistic work in 2023, with SPH Media Trust chairman Khaw Boon Wan and SPH Media chief executive Teo Lay Lim presenting the awards to 30 recipients.
A team of 11 won the Best Feature Story award for Reporting From The Frontlines Of War, Enduring Lives Amid The Flames Of Conflict – a series of videos, written reports and an interactive online report that shed light on the plight of Ukrainians during the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Among the 11 were reporters Sim Tze Wei and Liao Huiting, who headed to the border between Poland and Ukraine in January 2023. There, they interviewed various Ukrainian refugees, female volunteer soldiers and a Singaporean couple who were providing on-the-ground humanitarian aid.
CMG editor-in-chief Lee Huay Leng, who chaired the awards’ judging panel, said the panel has increasing expectations.
For award categories such as Best Feature Story, she said the panel no longer differentiates between print and digital formats, pitting entries fairly against one another.
“What our audience wants to see is the best work, whether it’s presented in print, digital or a combination of both. We need to shift our mindset to focus on producing the best content, and not just strive for excellence within a particular medium,” she said.
The other awards handed out at the ceremony were for Best Video, Best Photo, Best Headline, Best Page Design, and Best Visual Design.
