A historic picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and United States President Donald Trump shaking hands at the Capella Singapore hotel in Sentosa, against a backdrop of their countries’ flags, bagged an award for Singaporean photographer Kevin Lim at the Asian Media Awards ceremony last night.

The 36-year-old executive photojournalist at The Straits Times won the silver award in the Best in News Photography category.

The winning shot and other photographs he took of the landmark summit in June last year have been featured in top news publications around the world, including Time magazine, and even on a stamp by Singapore Post.

The award was the latest accolade for Mr Lim, who was named Journalist of the Year by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for its English/Malay/Tamil Media Group earlier this year.

“I’m not known for winning awards. I’m just someone who likes to take pictures, so to win another award is a little overwhelming,” he said. “At the end of the day, awards aside, I just want to tell stories and document them through my lens. “

The award was one of three The Straits Times clinched at this year’s event held at the Singapore Flyer.

The newspaper also won a bronze award for the Best in Newspaper Overall Design, the fifth consecutive year that it was ranked top three in that category.

The Straits Times executive photojournalist Kua Chee Siong, 45, won the bronze award in the Best in Feature Photography category, for his picture of a Rohingya refugee carrying a baby at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in August last year.

Said Mr Kua: “It happened very fast, after a heavy downpour. I was shooting a group of boys playing in the mud and this girl, who was carrying a baby, walked past me… Her eyes were captivating and I felt that it made a powerful picture.”

SPH’s Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao won one gold and one bronze award in Best in News Photography and Best in Sport Photography respectively.

Mr Warren Fernandez, editor of The Straits Times and editor-in-chief of SPH’s English/Malay/Tamil Media Group, said: “Good stories call for good projection and design, with photos, visuals and graphics helping to tell the story.

“These awards reflect this desire to make the most of all our platforms to engage our readers to best effect.”

The annual competition, now in its 18th edition, is organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (Wan-Ifra). It drew about 350 entries from 55 media companies in 16 countries in Asia and the Middle East.

The other awards celebrated outstanding editorial content, infographics, newspaper marketing and photojournalism.

Other winners include Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP), which won the gold in the Best in Newspaper Overall Design, while Bisnis Indonesia was awarded silver. SCMP also clinched all three awards in the Best in Newspaper Infographics category.

The event was hosted by SPH and the Singapore Flyer. The winners and other guests took a scenic ride on the Flyer before dinner.

Lianhe Zaobao photojournalist Benjamin Lim, 29, who won the bronze in the Best in Sports Photography category for his shot at the Formula 1 races last year, said it was his first milestone on the Asian level. It was a “lucky shot”, he added.

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