A total of $3.995 billion worth of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers, including SG60 vouchers, were spent over the last four years.The update was given on Tuesday (Feb 3) by Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo in a written response to a parliamentary question by MP Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC).Saktiandi had asked how many households have claimed the 2026 CDC vouchers, and how much of the spending were at heartland businesses.He also asked about the impact of CDC vouchers on household consumption and small business resilience.In his response, Neo — who said that he was answering in his capacity as the minister charged with the responsibility for the People's Association — explained that it is «still early» to share the claim and spend rate of the latest tranche of $300 CDC vouchers.Eligible Singaporean households were able to claim and use $300 in CDC vouchers only just slightly a month ago, from Jan 2.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has no plans to introduce the central kitchen model to all school canteens, Minister of State for Education Jasmin Lau said on Tuesday (Feb 3).Responding to questions from several MPs, she said there is also no target in mind to replace traditional canteens where students buy food from individual stallholders.From last month, 13 schools had switched to the model where a single operator manages their canteens.Lau said that the central kitchen model was not introduced to replace traditional canteens, but rather as an alternative to help schools that were struggling to attract stallholders and had severe shortages of functioning stalls.«We want to avoid putting students in these schools at risk of not having good access to affordable, nutritious and balanced meals,» she said.Yusof Ishak Secondary School was the first to pilot the central kitchen model in 2022.Lau said that after seeing «positive results», MOE decided to roll out the model to 13 additional schools that face challenges in securing sufficient stallholders.Some of these schools are using hybrid models, she said.

Persistent hotspots in eastern Johor have resulted in smoke plumes which are moving towards Singapore due to the prevailing north-easterly and north-westerly winds, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).In a Facebook update after 7.30pm on Tuesday (Feb 3), the agency said that the detection was made during a satellite pass just after 2pm, adding that showers over Singapore and the surrounding areas expected from Wednesday (Feb 4) should help to improve air quality. On Tuesday afternoon, AsiaOne was on the ground in Tampines, Paya Lebar and Whampoa, where passers-by said they noticed a burning smell in the air. 

A routine school day turned into a mother's worst fear when she was informed that her seven-year-old daughter Alex had gone missing.Speaking to AsiaOne on Tuesday (Feb 3), Angel Liu, 43, recounted the trauma she went through on Jan 28 afternoon after her elder daughter Andrea, 10, called her with the news.But an act of kindness by a stranger ensured that Alex reached home safely, but not before Liu, a mother of two, endured more than three hours of agony and despair.«I was at work when I received a call from Andrea. She was crying when she told me that that my younger daughter, Alex, had gone missing,» said the financial adviser.«It happened so fast that I didn't really have time to process it. I just knew that I had to find my daughter as soon as possible because something might have happened to her.»Liu added that both her daughters attend Ngee Ann Primary School and it is their usual practice to meet after class before heading home in the Joo Chiat area, typically arriving by around 2.30pm.

The closure of popular nasi padang eatery Warong Nasi Pariaman last month was not due to high rent, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development Syed Harun Alhabsyi in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 3). Dr Syed Harun was responding to questions from MPs Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) and Fadli Fawzi (Aljunied GRC) on concerns about protecting long-standing businesses in heritage districts such as Chinatown and Kampong Glam from rising rents. «It was reported in the media that the representative from the family clarified that the closure was not related to rental issues, and we should not wrongly conclude that this was due to a high level,» he said. Warong Nasi Pariaman, which closed on Jan 31 after 78 years and was reportedly the oldest surviving nasi padang stall in Singapore, was located in a shophouse near Sultan Mosque. 

As night fell and most of Singapore went to bed, a woman was up distributing food and drinks to rough sleepers at Our Tampines Hub.TikToker naivanderwaal had visited the centre at about 2am on Friday (Jan 30) to give away meals from a home-based business as well as packaged drinks she had bought.In a video uploaded on Saturday (Jan 31), Nai remarks that there are «quite a number» of people at the hub, and that she and her group would leave the food next to those who were asleep at that time.She then weaves through the chairs at the Festive Plaza, handing out food to individuals resting there. Some rough sleepers are also seen on benches at another area.The video has more than 29,000 views.Nai, 24, told Stomp that there were about 15 to 18 beneficiaries that night.The meals are contributed by customers of home-based businesses who support the initiative by covering the cost of an extra meal.«The people who usually join me when I help distribute food are my viewers and supporters who voluntarily participate,» she was quoted as saying.

An Australian expat who works here has said the corporate culture in Singapore is always about «being urgent» even when «not everything is actually urgent».In a TikTok video uploaded last month, Nim, 26, shared three things she doesn't like about the corporate work culture here.She moved to Singapore three years ago from Perth and is a lawyer in the trading and shipping industry, MS News reported.Nim said in the video: «Clients would also want everything done ASAP which is just unrealistic and often there is no pushback.»She said that at times she only gets one day to complete work that the management may not even review until weeks later, adding that the general urgency isn't actually driven by deadline — an aspect of Singapore's work culture that she finds unique. «Hierarchy is everything» in most environments, she said, and junior employees are often expected to simply adhere to established norms and not share their opinions unless asked, which doesn't happen often. 

The Parliament of Singapore has released a new seating plan, effective Tuesday (Feb 3), ahead of its sitting the same day.In a revised seating plan dated Feb 3 and uploaded to the Parliament's website, Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh's seat was moved from the middle — where he used to sit across from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong — to a seat two seats to the left.His seat will now be occupied by Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Christopher de Souza, who also serves as Deputy Speaker. In turn, MP for Jurong Central SMC Xie Yao Quan will take up de Souza's previous seat. 

Some 70,000 vehicles in Singapore — or seven per cent of the total vehicle population — have yet to install the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system's new on-board unit (OBU) as of Jan 31 this year. Singapore will transition to the use of the satellite-based ERP 2.0 system in 2027, and all owners of Singapore-registered vehicles are advised to have the OBU installed — a final reminder to do so will take place on Feb 15. Speaking in Parliament during the Second Reading of the Land Transport and Related Matters Bill on Tuesday (Feb 3), Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow said that distance-based ERP charging will not be introduced anytime soon. «My intent is to ensure a smooth transition so that ERP 2 experience will be similar, as similar as possible to the ERP 1 experience as we switch over.»This means that we will not be introducing distance based charging in the immediate term. Distance-based charging is something that we will continue to study and explore after motorists have gotten more used to the new system and the situation is more stable," he said.

SINGAPORE — Indian eyewear chain Lenskart is offering support to affected staff of Nanyang Optical amid news that the home-grown eye-care business plans to shutter most of its outlets in Singapore.In response to queries from The Straits Times on Feb 2, Lenskart Singapore’s head of business Jarrod Chua said: “We are offering interview opportunities across all roles and designations.“We have reached out to ask to be connected with affected retail staff, opticians and optometrists. As Lenskart opens two new stores this week, with more planned throughout the year, we could use extra employment.”Those interested in applying for a role at Lenskart can e-mail help@lenskart.sg, he added.The brand is also providing full cash credits to cover the losses of Nanyang Optical customers on a case-by-case basis.Affected customers will need to provide valid proof of purchase, said Chua. They will also need to provide a “description of what had transpired leading to the loss, and what actions they have taken to retrieve their order”.

A man had already been arrested for threatening his family members with a gun-shaped lighter, and police had seized various toy guns he kept at home.But Poh Jing Yang was undeterred and continued buying such toy weapons online, before being caught again.On Feb 2, the 38-year-old was sentenced to 14 months’ jail and fined $6,500 after he admitted to four charges, including one count of criminal intimidation and two offences of possessing guns without a licence.Under the Arms and Explosives Act, the definition of arms includes any kind of gun from which a shot, bullet or missile can be discharged.Poh also admitted to a separate Customs Act offence involving duty-unpaid cigarettes. Eight other charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.The court heard that at around 9pm on Feb 10, 2024, Poh went to his uncle’s home and began shouting vulgarities. It was not stated what caused him to do so.When Poh and his uncle got into a verbal dispute, Poh pulled out a black pistol-shaped lighter and pointed it towards his uncle and cousin, shouting in Hokkien and Mandarin: “I will shoot you.”

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers have literally thrown their hammers at «furniture pieces» transported by a Malaysia-registered van during an enhanced check at Woodlands Checkpoint on Jan 22.In a video posted on its social media, ICA officers are seen breaking up «furniture pieces» transported in the back of a Malaysia-registered van.  As the «furniture pieces» were broken up, cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes could be seen concealed within them.ICA said that the vehicle was profiled and directed for enhanced checks where its search and examination officers found more than 150 cartons and 60 loose packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.AsiaOne understands that such profiling are typically conducted by ICA's Integrated Targeting Centre (ITC). 

Three public transport operators are offering up to $20,000 in sign-on bonus in a bid to woo more local bus captains.AsiaOne has found on Monday (Feb 2) that the three are SBS Transit, SMRT and Go-Ahead Singapore. Tower Transit, meanwhile, offers a $7,200 bonus to applicants who are new to the industry, or have been away for at least a year.SBS Transit, which employs the largest pool of bus captains with about 5,400 full-timers, offers a sign-on bonus of $20,000 from October 2024— up from $10,000 — with another $5,000 in training incentive, along with a starting pay of $4,500 a month.There is also $1,000 for successful job referrals.Applicants must be Singaporeans or permanent residents and hold a Class 3 driving licence with at least a year of driving experience. Go-Ahead Singapore is also dangling a $20,000 carrot on top of up to $4,200 monthly salary.Go-Ahead, which will take over from SBS Transit and run 27 bus routes in Tampines from July 5, has expanded its workforce to around 2,000 employees, and is recruiting about 300 bus captains.

A GrabFood rider has likened his delivery experience to a «ghost story» after arriving at a customer’s address which turned out to be an vacated industrial building.In a TikTok video shared on Jan 24, Alfian, 34, panned across an empty corridor of the building at Depot Lane in Bukit Merah. The unit which he was supposed to deliver to — #04-04 — appeared to be padlocked.«This block, whole stretch, is already abandoned,» said Alfian. «It is a scary thing.»The site had been vacated since last year to make way for new housing development, the Straits Times reported in June. @nuralfianahmad ♬ original sound - Nuralfian

If you've been wondering about the smell of smoke in the air over the past two evenings, here's why.In a Facebook post at about 7pm on Monday (Feb 2), Singapore's National Environment Agency said that it has continued to detect «persistent hotspots» near the city state, during its satellite pass at 2.20pm the same day.The agency added that dry conditions are expected until Wednesday (Feb 4), when showers are forecast. In an earlier release on Monday, the Meteorological Service Singapore said that thundery showers are forecast over parts of the island in the afternoon, on most days of the second half of this week.

All private organisations will have to stop using NRIC numbers for authentication by the end of the year, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). In a press release on Monday (Feb 2), the authority said that organisations have up to Dec 31 to review their current authentication practices. From Jan 1, 2027, the use of NRIC numbers for authentication to access personal data may be considered a breach of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) will step up enforcement action against such misuse, said IMDA. Possible penalties include imposing directions or financial penalties for such breaches where appropriate. Government agencies have ceased NRIC authenticationIn June last year, the PDPC and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) issued a joint advisory against the use of NRIC numbers for authentication purposes. 

A 61-year-old man was found dead at the foot of a HDB block in Serangoon on Tuesday (Feb 2). The incident happened at about 7.55am at Block 231 Serangoon Avenue 3. When AsiaOne reached the scene at about 8.30am, a police cordon extended from an area beside one of the lift landings to the back of the HDB block. A lone slipper could be seen in a corner next to a blue police tent covering the body. Blood stains were also seen in the drain. 

If you are heading out for reunion gatherings, or visiting friends and family to unwind, there's now more reason to «gallop» into the Year of the Horse.Public transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT will extend the operating hours of train services on the eve of Chinese New Year (Feb 16). In addition, the operating hours of 55 bus services will also be extended to complement the extension of train operating hours. Commuters are advised to plan their journeys early and to note the changes. NSL, EWL, CCL and TELThe last train will depart North-South Line's City Hall MRT station for Marina South Pier and Jurong East at 1.54am and 2.09am respectively.Meanwhile, the last train to depart from the East-West Line's City Hall MRT station for Tuas Link and Pasir Ris will be at 1.59am and 2.14am respectively.On the Circle Line, the last train leaving from Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront MRT stations will be at 1.15am and 1.28am respectively.The last train departing from Bayshore and Woodlands North MRT stations are at 1.30am and 1.42am respectively.