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TNP Young Journalist of the Year wants to give voice to the voiceless

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Giving a voice to the voiceless is what drives Mr David Sun, who took home the Young Journalist of the Year prize at the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) English, Malay and Tamil Media Group (EMTM) Annual Awards 2018 yesterday.

Mr Sun, 26, joined The New Paper as a full-time reporter in June last year, after six previous stints as an intern with the daily tabloid while studying.

After receiving his prize yesterday, he told TNP: "I am happy and thankful for all the nurturing, learning and guidance I received from TNP all this time."

Among the stories Mr Sun broke last year was the tragic food poisoning incident in which a Sats officer was admitted to intensive care and later died after eating food from the Spize restaurant in River Valley Road.

Another report of his that made an impact was the one on how the National University of Singapore had filed a police report and barred a local tech firm from accessing its internship portal, after complaints by four female students of alleged inappropriate conduct by the company director.

Mr Sun said: "I think a lot of these articles helped people who were facing some form of injustice... I felt I was doing the right thing."

TNP editor Eugene Wee said: "When David chases a story, he goes all the way and never gives up until he finds out what happened. We are all proud of him for winning this award."

The annual EMTM awards showcases the best work of journalists from The Straits Times, The New Paper, The Business Times, Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu and tabla!.

There were 16 awards given out for outstanding journalistic work in the form of news reports, story packages, infographics, interactive graphics, photographs and videos.

In his speech, EMTM Editor-in-Chief Warren Fernandez said: "This award ceremony is meant to showcase our best work and our best journalists... Today we want to identify the work that we are all proud of from last year."

In a double for The Straits Times, executive photojournalist Kevin Lim, 36, was crowned Journalist of the Year while senior health correspondent Salma Khalik, 64, bagged the Story of the Year prize.

Lim's skills were showcased during last year's summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un here.

His picture of the two leaders shaking hands was chosen by Time magazine for its cover and it also made it to The Financial Times and The Telegraph.

Ms Salma's winning story on insured patients who rack up high medical bills rocked the industry and raised questions in Parliament.

She said: "I knew I had something big but I was afraid that I would lose it before I could fully confirm it...

"It took me months to land the story and I... managed to use my extensive contacts to get it out."

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