Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Tuesday (May 13) that as part of the government's ongoing efforts to support daily expenses, all Singaporeans households can now redeem and use $500 worth of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers.  PM Wong — who is also the Minister for Finance —had shared during Budget 2025 in February that all Singaporean households will receive $800 in CDC vouchers to help with the cost of living. The vouchers will be distributed in two tranches, $500 in May 2025 and $300 in January 2026. For the May tranche, as with previous rounds, $250 will be allocated for spending at participating hawkers and heartland merchants, and $250 for use at participating supermarkets. Speaking at the launch of the seventh tranche of the CDC voucher scheme at Nee Soon South Community Club today (May 13), PM Wong said that this is «not a one-off exercise,» and that the Government will «continue to provide help for as long as it is needed», reported The Straits Times.

A Good Class Bungalow (GCB) site in the Caldecott Hill Estate is set to be purchased for $58 million by the sons of Koufu Group founders Pang Lim and Ng Hoon Tien, reported The Business Times. The freehold site located at Joan Road occupies 39,276 sq ft of land and costs $1,477 psf. There are two bungalows occupying the regular-shaped plot within the prestigious Caldecott Hill enclave in District 11, which is one of 39 gazetted GCB areas in Singapore. The property was initially purchased in the 1960s by Chan Kok Kwan, the former president of the Diamond Importers Association of Singapore, and housed three generations of the Chan family. It was recently rebuilt around 2000, with one of the two-storey bungalows being occupied by the Chan family. The second bungalow, which also features an attic and a swimming pool, is tenanted, according to a release in April 2024 by real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. The GCB site had been marketed through an expression of interest exercise in May 2024 by the firm at an indicative price of $62.8 million ($1,599 psf).

The Workers' Party (WP) Punggol team will continue their groundwork and outreach initiatives, Harpreet Singh Nehal said in a Facebook post on Friday (May 9). The 59-year-old senior counsel also responded to a comment that said he probably has one general election left in him due to his age.  «I'm sorry, but you don't know me, bro,» Singh said, adding that he is in good health. «Let's just say — you're not getting rid of me that easily.» In the recent election, Singh contested Punggol GRC with WP teammates Alia Mattar, Jackson Au and Alexis Dang, earning 44.83 per cent of total votes. They lost to the People's Action Party (PAP) team consisting Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling as well as Yeo Wan Ling, who garnered 55.17 per cent of votes. Singh said in his Facebook post that the response in Punggol and throughout Singapore has been «overwhelming», with his team being told to «come back» and «continue the fight».

An outing to Sentosa turned awry for a young girl vacationing in Singapore, after she purportedly sustained a cut on her feet while playing in the pool of a beach club. The incident occurred on the afternoon of May 4 at Ola Beach Club, said the child's mother in a Xiaohongshu post on May 8. The two are reportedly from Shanghai.  In her post, the user wrote she had discovered her daughter's toe was bleeding fiercely after the girl suddenly voiced that she was in pain. A photo attached to the post show that the girl had cut her little toe. The mum didn't reveal the age of her child. The mother noted that a restaurant server and chef stepped forward after she asked for help. The club then called a medic, who administered first aid and advised the girl to visit a hospital as the cut was «very deep». According to the woman, the restaurant manager had said then he could not promise any compensation but would inform the management. She was also given a business card and asked to email them for follow-ups.

Three men were arrested on Sunday (May 11) for their suspected involvement in three cases of housebreaking and theft at three residential units in the Bukit Timah vicinity. The Singapore Police Force stated the same day that they were alerted to three cases along Cluny Park, Dunearn Close and Neo Avenue between May 9 and 10. The three individuals apprehended are a Spanish-Colombian national, 60; a Mexican national, 51; and a Mexican-Colombian national, 48. Through ground enquiries and the aid of CCTVs and police cameras, the police were able to identify the suspects and arrested the three men within 27 hours of the first case being reported. Two of them were nabbed along Jalan Kubor while the other was arrested at Tyrwhitt Road.

SINGAPORE — While veteran Singaporean artist Koeh Sia Yong was away in Indonesia for nearly two months earlier in 2025, his bedroom drawers back home were emptied of more than $50,000 in valuables. The 87-year-old returned to his two-bedroom unit at The Interlace condo in Depot Road on March 15 to find his home had been broken into. «When I stepped into my apartment, I saw my master bedroom door, which I had locked, was open,» Koeh told The Straits Times in Mandarin. «My room was ransacked, the wardrobe drawers were pulled out, and my clothes were scattered everywhere.» The kitchen window had been prised open and the intercom unit inside his apartment removed. He phoned his daughter, who called the police. A police forensics team was deployed and spent several hours collecting fingerprints and other evidence from the unit. The police said investigations are ongoing. Koeh, a second-generation Nanyang artist whose works have been exhibited across Asia, had left Singapore on Jan 20 for his annual trip to Bali. This time, however, the visit was especially meaningful — he was there to set up an art gallery.

SINGAPORE - In clinching the Taipei Open crown on Sunday (May 11), Loh Kean Yew bagged his 10th career badminton title as he became the first Singaporean to win at this tournament. But more importantly, he looks to have rediscovered his killer instinct as he beat home favourite and world No. 7 Chou Tien-chen 21-14, 15-21, 22-20 in the men's singles final of the US$240,000 (S$312,000) event for his first title since winning the Spain Masters in March 2024, four months before he became a father. The 27-year-old told The Straits Times: «I have been in training and on the tour a lot, and I don't get to spend a lot of time with my wife and baby. I'm really glad to win this title. It feels like my hard work and sacrifices are worth it. »We are certainly moving in the right direction, so hopefully we will keep doing well." Throughout the Taipei Open, world No. 11 Loh showed his mental fortitude to come back from deficits to beat Hong Kong's Chan Yin Chak (105th), Finland's Joakim Oldorff (52nd), Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (49th) of Thailand and Taiwanese Wang Tzu-wei (26th) in the earlier rounds.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam which extorted over $40,000. In a media release on Saturday (May 10), the police said that they were alerted to the scam by the victim, a 20-year-old man, at about 11.50am on April 9. The alleged scammers posing as China government officials, claimed the victim's identity had been misused in China and he was implicated in a transnational money-laundering syndicate as a result, said the police. Officers from the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) and Clementi Police Division identified the 27-year-old suspect — who allegedly assisted the scammers to collect money from the victim — and arrested him on the same day. Preliminary investigations showed he was a victim of the same type of scam, and had been manipulated into collecting money from other victims under the guise of assisting with official investigations, according to the police. The 27-year-old suspect is being investigated for offences involving cheating and cheating by personation.

Japanese character Godzilla was «spotted» at a location all too familiar to Singaporeans in a video tribute for South-east Asian fans of the franchise. In the 55-second clip titled 70 Years of Godzilla: A New Roar in Southeast Asia, the fictional monster can be seen emerging from the waters of Marina Bay with Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer in the background. The video, which was posted to the official Godzilla YouTube channel on Saturday (May 10), also shows the behemoth in various other locations across South-east Asia such as the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and famous terraced paddy fields of Bali. Japanese entertainment company Toho, which owns the Godzilla brand, released the video in celebration of the first Godzilla film's 70th anniversary which premiered in October 1954. Godzilla was created after World War II and is a symbolic figure that represents the destructive power of nuclear weapons as well as the threat they pose to humanity and the environment.

A man was arrested for suspected drug offences and causing minor injuries to two police officers in Bugis. A video made its rounds Friday (May 9) on Xiaohongshu, showing the scene at Cheng Yan Place outside Bugis+. A red car can be seen on the street with two police officers and a man in a grey shirt, seemingly a civilian, apprehending another man in a black t-shirt in front of the vehicle. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that officers found a car parked haphazardly along the road during their patrols at around 10.55am and conducted a check, where they discovered suspected drugs and drug paraphernalia. «During the arrest, the male car driver put up a struggle but he was eventually subdued by officers and with the assistance of a member of the public,» the statement continued. «Two police officers sustained minor injuries while effecting the arrest.» The driver of the car, 30, was conveyed conscious to the hospital and then arrested for voluntarily causing hurt against a public servant and for suspected drug-related offences.

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) will continue their groundwork and return at the next election, said its founder Tan Cheng Bock. The PSP team for West Coast-Jurong West GRC — featuring Dr Tan, Leong Mun Wai, Hazel Poa, Sani Ismail and Sumarleki Amjah — made their rounds and greeted supporters and residents at West Coast Market on Saturday (May 10) morning, a week after the General Election (GE2025).  «We are not running away. We'll be back soon,» said Dr Tan. Despite the loss, he said that it was a good journey, having given the younger members a chance to experience «what it is like to fight in the election, with all the odds against you». The PSP failed to emerge victorious during the rematch in West Coast-Jurong West GRC against the People’s Action Party (PAP) on May 3. The PAP slate, led by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, received 60.01 per cent of votes over the PSP who lagged behind with 39.99 per cent of votes.

A motorcyclist died after crashing into a metal barrier that had broken off from a road divider when a car allegedly made an illegal U-turn on the Second Link Highway, in Johor, Malaysia. The incident, which took place on the evening of May 9, occurred after the Singapore-registered car smashed into the barrier while making the U-turn at an opening in the road divider. In the process, the red Maserati dislodged a section of the barrier, reported Malaysian daily New Straits Times (NST) on May 10. According to dashcam footage of the crash, which has since gone viral on social media, the car ended in the leftmost lane in the opposite direction, towards Singapore. Moments later, a motorcyclist was seen colliding with the debris According to the NST report, the motorcyclist died on the spot from severe head injuries. Several other motorcyclists also fell after hitting the debris but did not appear seriously injured.