Two men have been arrested following a manhunt for a Malaysia-registered car that was seen driving recklessly at the Johor Bahru checkpoint. In a statement on Wednesday (Feb 25), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that a Malaysia-registered car was successfully interpreted after it attempted to evade arrival clearance at Tuas Checkpoint on Feb 22. At about 2.44pm that day, ICA officers detected the vehicle driving towards the Arrival Motorcycle Zone and making an unauthorised U-turn at the entrance. «The vehicle then drove against the flow of arriving traffic towards Malaysia, posing a danger to other road users,» said ICA. «As the vehicle turned back towards Malaysia before it could be intercepted, ICA promptly alerted the Malaysian authorities at the Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) to keep a lookout for the vehicle.»
Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) delivered strong profits of $1.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, and announced a final ordinary dividend of 42 cents per share, along with a special dividend of 16 cents per share.OCBC's net profit for the three months ending in Dec 31, 2025 rose 3 per cent year-on-year — up from $1.68 billion in 2024 — according to an earnings report released on Tuesday (Feb 25).In line with the bank's robust financial performance and $2.5 billion capital return plan, OCBC declared a final ordinary dividend of 42 cents per share and a special dividend of 16 cents per share. Combined with the interim dividend of 41 cents for the first half of 2025, total dividends for FY25 will amount to 99 cents per share, representing 60 per cent of group net profit.Profit before tax hits new highOCBC's net interest income for the fourth quarter fell 6 per cent year-on-year to $2.30 billion, as asset yields compressed at a faster pace than deposit costs in a declining interest rate environment.
Data on wealth inequality in Singapore — showing that the top 5 per cent of households hold about one-third of the country’s wealth — should be interpreted with caution, Acting Transport Minister and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow said in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 25).Siow was responding to parliamentary questions from several Members of Parliament about the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) release of statistics on income growth, inequality and social mobility trends, which included market income and wealth for the first time on Feb 9.Singapore's wealth inequality coefficient stands at 0.55, comparable to estimates of other advanced economies like the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany, ranging from 0.6 to 0.7.The top 1 per cent of households in Singapore own about 14 per cent of total wealth, while the top 5 per cent hold about 33 per cent, said Siow.«However, these estimates should be interpreted with caution, due to sample size limitations and potential under-reporting in survey responses at both ends of the distribution,» he added.
A suspicious person was sighted in the vicinity of Soo Chow View in Upper Thomson on Tuesday (Feb 24) afternoon. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police said it received a call for assistance at about 2pm. The person had left the area before officers arrived. Soo Chow View is adjacent to Marigold Drive, where an intruder trespassed into a landed home on the night of Feb 21. A similar case of trespass had occurred on the night of Feb 17 at a private residential property along Taman Permata, some 500m away from Marigold Drive. When AsiaOne arrived at the scene just before 6pm, two Special Operations Command vehicles were seen along Upper Thomson Road.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has no plans to stop the issuance of five-cent coins as there continues to be public demand for these coins, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.DPM Gan, who is also the Chairman of MAS, was responding to a parliamentary question on Monday (Feb 24) by Member of Parliament Fadli Fawzi. Fadli, who represents Aljunied GRC, had asked about the cost of minting each five-cent coin, and whether the Government has any plans to withdraw five-cent coins from circulation if the difference between the face value of the coin and its product cost is negative. In his written reply, DPM Wong said that MAS has not minted any new five-cent coins in the last five years, adding that the authority also has no plans to mint new five-cent coins.He also updated that the estimated cost of producing a five-cent coin remains below its face value. Turning to the question on circulation, DPM explained that there is still public demand for five-cent coins.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Feb 24) evening urged Singaporeans to remain united amid a world which is becoming more contested, fragmented and fractured.PM Wong was speaking at An-Nahdhah mosque in Bishan, where he joined some 300 Muslim congregants for a breaking of fast event. Referring to the different festivals, traditions and religious occasions taking place together, PM Wong said that it is «something quite special» that Singaporeans can mark these events together.«That's truly special in Singapore.»You don't see this always in other countries. But here in Singapore, we are able to do so, and it is this harmony which we must treasure, cherish, nurture and continue to strengthen," the prime minister explained.