If you've ever wanted to feel extra safe at home, this may be the room for you. A user purportedly posted on Facebook group Room Rental Singapore to advertise a room at Balestier Road for $750 a month. The problem? The room looks suspiciously like a bomb shelter, Shin Min Daily News reported on Sunday (May 12).  According to the now-deleted post, the unit is a two-minute walk from supermarkets and food courts, 500m from 13 bus stops, and near Boon Keng and Novena MRT stations. Additionally, the landlord isn't residing in the unit and there are no agency fees. Tenants are allowed to cook, use the pool and gym facilities and have visitors in the day. In the fully furnished four-bedroom, two-bathroom unit, tenants will have access to a washing machine, dryer and refrigerator. Utility expenses are shared between tenants. Netizens commented that the photo of the room that is for rent resembles a bomb shelter with air-conditioning installed, with little space left after the bed frame — which is pictured — is placed.

An Ang Mo Kio resident was left frustrated at the state of her home after a pipe clog left it flooded and damaged some items she was preparing to sell. In a video posted to Facebook last Thursday (May 9), Lydia Lee Nakamura shows how the bathroom, kitchen and living room of her rental flat were flooded with water from a drain. The flooding started late at night on Wednesday, which prompted her to call the Essential Maintenance Services Unit (EMSU) at Ang Mo Kio Town Council for assistance, she wrote. When she mentioned that her flat was rented from the Housing and Development Board (HDB), however, she was told to contact HDB's EMSU hotline instead, she said.

He was given a written warning. A woman alleged she was sexually harassed by a man who did pull-ups over her head in the 24XFitness gym at SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar on May 3. What made it worse for Stomp contributor Zenn was that after she reported the incident to the gym staff, she felt victim-blamed. In response to a Stomp query, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and said they are looking into the matter. The Stomp contributor shared a 22-second video of the incident at the squat and pull-up rack, which is for both exercises, though probably not at the same time. She took the video of herself in the wall mirror sitting on the floor and resting between her squat sets as the man stood over her and started to do pull-ups near her head. The Stomp contributor said in the video: «I'm using the squat rack and there's another one there.» She panned the camera to show another squat and pull-up rack beside the one she was using. «But he's insisting on doing this here,» she said of the man doing pull-ups right above her.

Some commuters who were on their way to Johor Bahru (JB) found themselves trapped inside bus service 178 after the driver locked the doors and refused to drive.  He had done so after some passengers refused to pay their fare, reported Shin Min Daily News.  The incident occurred last Friday (May 10) at about 5pm at the bus stop opposite Kranji MRT station.  Service 178 is managed by SMRT Corporation and runs between Boon Lay and Woodlands terminals. It stops at Woodlands Train Checkpoint on the route from Boon Lay to Woodlands. A passenger surnamed Liang told the Chinese daily that the bus captain had opened both doors to make it easier for passengers to board and alight.  The 56-year-old, who works as a purchaser in Singapore, was heading back to JB that evening.  «Some passengers boarded the bus via the rear door, and some of them didn't pay the fare. The bus captain reminded everyone to pay, but no one listened to him,» she recounted.  The driver's threat to call the police also fell on deaf ears. 

SINGAPORE – A 68-year-old man was taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a flat in Chinatown on May 11. The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the fire at Block 5 Banda Street at around 2.20pm. The fire broke out inside the bedroom of an 11th-floor flat, SCDF added. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which involved a mattress, with a water jet. SCDF said it rescued a person from the unit and had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the person. The person was unconscious when taken to Singapore General Hospital. The police and SCDF evacuated about 15 people from the affected block as a precaution. The cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF added. According to statistics released by SCDF in February 2024, there were more fires in 2023 than the year before, with 1,954 cases in total. This represented an increase of 8.6 per cent from the 1,799 cases in 2022. Of the 1,954 fires in 2023, 970 – or almost half – were in residential buildings.

Ask any Singaporean if they believe there is enough land space in Singapore, and the answer is likely to be no. Yet, this prevailing perception does not deter Colin Low, Singapore Land Authority's (SLA) chief executive, from his steadfast mission to create unlimited spaces. In a behind-the-scenes look at how SLA functions, Low describes the paradox of having «limited land, unlimited space», and explains how it pushes his team to continuously reimagine spaces in our little red dot. How does SLA function? In a country where land is precious and scarce, we may be most familiar with SLA's role in being the custodian of Singapore's properties. In essence, when leases on places like army camps or school buildings expire and return to the state, SLA assumes responsibility for them. If there are no redevelopment plans in place, it falls upon the team at SLA to figure out how to optimise these spaces for the community. However, that is just one aspect of SLA's governance. In fact, there are three pillars that encompass SLA's functions: land and properties, regulatory, and geospatial.

After getting heckled by an auntie during his busking session on Chinese New Year, local musician, Evan Goh, returns with another interesting encounter, this time with a kid. A TikTok video shared on April 19 shows a kid stomping on Goh's microphone equipment mid-performance. https://www.tiktok.com/@evantellstories/video/7359404701206514960 The video starts with Goh mentioning the durability of his microphone equipment and later showing the various attacks made by the kid to his equipment, asking «Why [do] you have to be mad?» in his video. Despite the kid's reaction, Paya Lebar busker remained unfazed and proceeded with his performance. Goh wrote in his caption: «While busking on the streets, we meet all sorts of interesting characters.» He added that the video was just for laughs and that one should not take it too seriously.

Their relationship has become like a zero-sum game - he keeps adding more to his hoard, while she stands by, constantly at a loss. An 80-year-old man has left his wife at her wits' end as his hoarding habits have earned the ire of residents of Block 2A, Upper Boon Keng Road, Shin Min Daily News reported on Friday (May 10). The corridor, fire riser and stairwell has been filled with his items, creating an inconvenience not just for his neighbours, but also his wife - the 70-year-old Lu told Shin Min that she knew about her husband's problem, but couldn't do anything to help. She had repeatedly attempted to convince her husband to stop hoarding but gets ignored, causing them to get into arguments. «I know about these problems,» she said. «I know my neighbours are unhappy, but there's nothing I can do.» Speaking with Shin Min, a 57-year-old resident surnamed Lin said that he had moved in about a decade ago, and the clutter was already present then. He had tried to speak with the elderly man about his habits and things had improved at first.

'You can't afford it?' These words alleged uttered by a market vendor to a customer sparked a row on Friday (May 10), and police were called in. According to a Shin Min Daily News report on Saturday, the altercation occurred at a market located at Block 527 Ang Mo Kio 10 at around 8am. The BBQ and braised meats stall owner surnamed Wu, 46, told Shin Min Daily News that the argument had erupted following a customer's enquiry about the price of his braised pork. «The moment she came to my stall she complained that my braised pork was too expensive. So I simply said, 'If you think it's too expensive then don't buy'. She then started to scold me and I scolded her back,» said Wu. He alleged that his mobile phone was also knocked to the ground in the ensuing fracas. When contacted by a Shin Min reporter, the customer, surnamed Yu, had a slightly different take on what had transpired. According to the 40-year-old medical worker, she and her husband had just bought some braised duck wings from another stall when they chanced upon Wu's braised meat stall.

SINGAPORE - It was a rare moment in his 20 years of flying commercial aircraft. As the Embraer E190-E2 plane touched down in Krabi, Thailand, after taking off from Changi Airport on May 7, Captain Darius Yeo was greeted with applause from passengers. The 46-year-old, who is the pilot in charge of Scoot's new E190-E2 fleet, was at the controls of the budget carrier's first Brazilian-made jet on its maiden commercial flight. While the 112-seat plane is smaller than the Airbus A320, Boeing 777 and double-deck Airbus A380 «superjumbo» he previously flew, the flight was no less significant. Made in Sao Jose dos Campos, a city in Brazil an hour from Sao Paulo, the E190-E2 is the first aircraft from manufacturer Embraer operated by a Singapore carrier. It is also the first time since the late 1990s that a carrier in the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group is flying a plane not supplied by Boeing or Airbus. For passengers, the main benefit besides the novelty and added option is the absence of a middle seat. Capt Yeo said the jet, touted as being the quietest in its class, has so far lived up to expectations.

A Facebook post meant to 'shame' a driver for «blocking others» might have backfired. Instead of supportive comments, it received mixed reactions from netizens. In a post shared on SG Road Vigilante on Thursday (May 9), showed a photo of a car parked near a school gate. The caption wrote: «Two lane road becomes one lane because this man always parked his car near the school gate for his own convenience when fetching his kids,» adding that the car «always blocks others.» Netizens were quick to jump in saying that it is very common for the car to be parked there and all schools are the same. One commenter added: «You'll learn to be forgiving when you have kids.»

SINGAPORE - Two people were taken to hospital following a chain collision on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) on May 10 afternoon. The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident involving eight cars along AYE towards Marina Coastal Expressway, before Alexandra Road, at about 12.10pm. A video of the accident's aftermath posted on Reddit shows the vehicles on the right-most lane of the road, which was cordoned off. An Emas recovery truck and two SCDF ambulances can be seen in the footage. A 25-year-old male car driver and a 37-year-old female passenger were taken conscious to the National University Hospital. Police investigations are ongoing. ALSO READ: Man's leg crushed after falling out of moving car, dies from blood clot later

SINGAPORE - Catering firm Sakura Buffet has had its licence cancelled from May 10 after several reports of food safety concerns were lodged against it, including over mouldy food as well as food that contained hair and insects. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a statement on May 11 that the complaints started coming in from late March, and involved home-delivery catered meals supplied by five web-based businesses. Investigations found that all the catered meals had been supplied by Sakura Buffet, with another seven web-based businesses also being linked to it. The web-based businesses are: Yu Mummy Confinement Meals, Home Tingkat Catering, Happy Mamapapa Catering, Vegetarian Buffet, Angel Confinement Meals, After Surgery Food Delivery/Catering, Healthy Meals Catering, Keto Meals Catering, Grain Luscious, Royal Cuisine Group/The Garden Kitchen, Nonya Buffet and Pregnancy Meals Catering. Between March and May 2024, SFA conducted inspections at the Sakura Buffet premises in Geylang Bahru, where officers found several food safety lapses.

Don't feel like going to work or school? Just do a teleconsultation and get a medical chit to go on sick leave for the day. The Ministry of Health (MOH) fears that too many people are doing just that - and that doctors are acceding to such requests. It is now seeking feedback from doctors on tightening the rules on issuing medical certificates (MCs). In a circular sent to doctors on April 22 reminding them of their obligations, MOH also sought their feedback on a proposal to amend the Healthcare Services Act to tighten the conditions for issuing MCs. «(An MC) must be made in the context of an existing patient-doctor relationship and is premised on the duty of care the doctor owes the patient arising from this patient-doctor relationship,» according to the circular seen by The Straits Times. MOH said that it has received feedback from various employers and government agencies regarding the excessive issuance of MCs following outpatient medical service consultations, particularly teleconsultations.

One Tampines resident was baffled by the sight of couriers sorting parcels under a void deck, and was irked when he saw them tossing the packages around. Sean Rajamorgan uploaded two videos of the scene, which took place at Tampines Street 22, to Facebook on Friday (May 10). «I don't understand why they are using the void deck as a sorting centre,» he said.  «Plus they are just throwing the packages around while sorting. It's not fair to the customers who will receive damaged orders.» In the clips, piles of bags and packages are seen placed messily in an area of the void deck, and some packages are lined up on the path outside. Two couriers are seen taking packages out of the bags and flinging them across the space. Rajamorgan said the bags were dropped off by a van. «Hope they can sort out this current mess... So irksome». He added that he contacted the Tampines Town Council, which  told him that an advisory would be put up. A netizen who commented on the post said of the sorting and rough handling: «Same here at my block. Just hope not yours when they throw around.»

SINGAPORE — A new framework allowing those living in Housing Board flats to keep cats will come into effect in September, when a two-year transition period for cat owners to meet licensing and microchipping requirements begins. The Cat Management Framework — under the National Parks Board's Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) — will allow up to two cats to be kept in each HDB flat, and three cats for each private residence, with owners required to license and microchip all their pet cats. «Those with more cats than the limits for HDB flats and private premises will be allowed to keep all their existing pet cats if they license them within this transition period,» said the AVS. Licensing will be available online via the AVS' Pet Animal Licensing System portal from Sept 1. First-time applicants will also need to complete a one-time free online pet ownership course covering basic pet care skills and responsible ownership.

How much would you pay for a cup of plain water when dining out?  For one customer, $1 was a bit too much.  On Friday (May 10), netizen Ng Ai Kheng took to Facebook to share her experience.  She had patronised a Kaffe & Toast outlet at Sengkang General Hospital outlet and ordered a cup of hot water, one which cost her $1.  Shocked, Ng called it «unethical pricing» for a «small cup of tap water (hot)». «Many can have the choice of not patronising the shop but someone needs to voice out,» she said.  «I personally feel that this kind of pricing should not be a benchmark for others to follow. It is setting a precedent for unnatural inflation.» She also placed the receipt for that cup of water next to another receipt for an order of kopi-c and teh-o.  The kopi-c cost $2.20 while the teh-o was $2, which was not very far off from the amount that Ng had paid for her water.  AsiaOne has reached out to Ng and Kaffe & Toast for more details.  In the comments, some sided with Ng and said that $1 was too much. 

A 42-year-old man died from a blood clot in his lung last Friday (May 3) evening, days after undergoing surgery on his leg. Lianhe Zaobao reported on May 10 that the man had fallen while getting into his colleague's car on the afternoon of April 24 at Bulim Avenue in Jurong West. The moving car then ran over the man's left leg, and he was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. According to the Chinese paper, the man was later discharged and allowed to return home. The hospital he stayed at, and his discharge date was not reported. On April 29, the man visited the hospital for a follow-up appointment, where he was recommended to undergo surgery as the wound was swollen. He was hospitalised again after the surgery and was reportedly in good condition. Four days later, however, a ward nurse discovered that the man was not breathing. His cause of death was pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis in the calf, reported Zaobao.

Singapore has dealt with sensitive issues such as tudung wearing and decriminalising sex between men in a way that enabled people to better understand each other, accept their differences and work out practical arrangements, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He spoke on the Government’s handling of such issues and other topics such as racism and social safety nets in two wide-ranging media interviews at the Istana on April 26 and 28, ahead of his handover to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on May 15. Here are some key takeaways from the interviews: Dealing with sensitive topics Besides allowing nurses to wear the tudung with their uniforms and repealing Section 377A of the Penal Code, PM Lee cited the terrorism threat posed by the Jemaah Islamiyah group after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks as another sensitive issue that the Government dealt with. “New York was far away, but it took place in our region, in Bali, in Jakarta subsequently, and how do we react?” said PM Lee. “We are multiracial. We have Muslims, we have non-Muslims. Do we trust each other or not?”

A 27-year-old auxiliary police officer was arrested on Thursday (May 9) for failing to return his service revolver, ammunition and baton after his shift.  The police said in a press release that they were alerted by Certis at about 9.50pm that the officer did not return his firearms after his duty at Changi Airport.  CCTV footage showed that he changed out of his uniform and left his workplace with a fully-loaded Taurus revolver that contained five bullets.  He was also carrying a speed revolver loaded with another five bullets, and a baton in a pouch.  Over 100 deployed to find him More than 100 police officers from various units were deployed to search for the man, who was eventually found loitering at a mall in Victoria Street past midnight.  The police said he did not put up a struggle and did not try to reach for the gun when he was arrested.  All equipment issued to him were successfully recovered.  He will be charged in court on May 11 for the unlawful carrying of a firearm.  If found guilty, he could be imprisoned for five to 14 years, and may be liable for at least six strokes of the cane. 

Several customers have called out the operator of a tingkat meal service for «wasting their time» after they did not receive food that they paid for. In a Facebook post on the Complaint Singapore page on Friday (May 10), one customer, who goes by Panda Xanh, said that he paid $159.50 for a 10-day package with Tingkat Singapore on May 7. But on the first day of delivery, the meal service told the customer that they were not able to fulfil the order after their chiller had broken down. «The chef deems the food is not safe to consume as it is under uncold [sic] temperature overnight,» Tingkit Singapore said in a text message to the customer. But Panda Xanh said that he was not impressed by their service. «What about my money?» he said. «I searched on Google and realised that there were many people like me who paid into their bank account, but they did not deliver any food or deliver food that was fishy and smelly.» The social media user claimed that amidst the number of complaints, Tingkat Singapore was still promoting their meal service through Facebook advertisements.

Although she has stayed clear of drugs for 15 years now, the journey to recovery wasn't easy for 39-year-old Hannah Chun.  Growing up in a broken home, Chun began consuming drugs at 13 to cover up the abandonment, rejection and hurt that she was going through.  Her parents divorced when she was about eight years old, and her mum left the house, reported Christian publication Salt and Light.  Her two sisters then left the home, leaving her alone with her 'temperamental' father and grandfather. She also dropped out of school at 13 and started drinking, smoking and taking drugs. At 15, she began sourcing for drugs overseas and selling them to her friends who were also drug abusers.  "I felt rejected, abandoned and alone,” she told the Christian publication.  Son used pencil to hurt others For Chun, her turning point came when she saw her eldest son, who was about four then, acting up in school. The boy would use a pencil to poke his friends' hands, injuring them. He was also very fearful.  Chun added that he also exhibited other worrying behaviours at home. 

SINGAPORE — Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin has been convicted of two cheating charges and one count of instigating forgery for the purpose of cheating in what prosecutors have described as «one of the world's largest collapses of an oil trading firm». Prosecutors alleged that 16 banks in Singapore suffered US$291.9 million (S$395.1 million) in actual monetary losses out of the US$2.7 billion in loans they were duped into extending to Hin Leong by Lim. The losses are part of the alleged US$3.5 billion debt owed by Hin Leong to 23 banks. On May 10, State Courts judge Toh Han Li found the 81 year-old former oil tycoon guilty of three charges that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges. The remaining 127 charges were stood down pending resolution of the 62-day criminal trial. Lim's sentencing is scheduled for Oct 3. He faces a jail term of up to 10 years and will also be liable to a fine for each charge of cheating and forgery. Lim declined comment when approached by The Straits Times after the ruling was handed down on May 10.

One individual has walked away with over $13.12 million on Thursday (May 9) night, setting the record for the largest prize money won a single ticket in Singapore lottery history. Prior to this, the highest jackpot payout for a single ticket stood at $13.07 million, drawn in October last year, according to the Singapore Pools website. This year, the prize pool had snowballed after three draws with no winners, going from $1.2 million to $2.9 million, then to $5.8 million before reaching over an estimated $10 million. Long queues were seen at Singapore Pools outlets across Singapore as the prize pool ballooned. According to Singapore Pools' website, the winner had bet through system 7, purchasing the winning ticket online via the Singapore Pools app. The winning numbers? 9, 15, 20, 26, 43 and 49. The additional number was 36. Five other punters were winners of the Group 2 prize, taking home $127,391 each. The bets were placed at outlets such as the Singapore Pools Chinatown Point branch, NTUC FairPrice in Boon Lay Shopping Complex and Giant supermarket in Pioneer Mall.

A fire broke out at 3 Toa Payoh Industrial Park on May 9 night, with one firefighter taken to the hospital for cramps. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post at 11.47pm the same night that it was alerted to the fire at about 9.40pm and was at the scene fighting the fire. “The fire, measuring about four basketball courts, involved two units. The first unit is a car workshop and the second unit is an industrial workshop,” SCDF said in an update on Facebook at 12.33am on May 10. “The fire was extinguished in about 1½ hours with six water jets and one unmanned firefighting machine.” A total of 15 emergency vehicles and about 60 firefighters were deployed to this incident, SCDF added. A firefighter had cramps in his legs and was conscious and stable when taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital as a precaution. There were no other reported injuries. “SCDF is currently carrying out the damping down operation of the affected area,” it added, referring to the use of water to douse wet burnt surfaces after a fire, to prevent it from rekindling.

SINGAPORE — After 20 years of weekly Cabinet meetings that soldiered on even during the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has led his last meeting. Commemorating the moment in a Facebook post on May 9, PM Lee thanked his colleagues for their steadfast support during the meetings, which had continued through the pandemic via teleconferencing. PM Lee said: «It has been my privilege to lead my Cabinet team for the past 20 years. »In Cabinet, the prime minister is primus inter pares — not the boss with his subordinates, but the first among equals, all deliberating together to find the best solutions for Singapore.« In April, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will take over the mantle from PM Lee as Singapore's prime minister on May 15. PM Lee said: »From next week, PM Lawrence Wong will take charge in Cabinet meetings, but I will continue to contribute as senior minister. «Singapore will be in good hands under the 4G team, and I am ready to support the new team in their work for Singapore's success.»

They're watching the birds, but who's watching them? In the last few days, folks from birdwatchers to shutterbugs to curious onlookers have been flocking to Telok Blangah to take pictures of a family of owls — a mother and two babies — nestled in the hollow of a tree next to a bus stop.  The Sunda Scops owls, a common resident in Singapore, can usually be found at Bukit Batok Nature Park, Central Catchment Forest, Pasir Ris Park and many more locations, according to the Bird Society of Singapore. But the crowds have reportedly also caused some inconvenience to road users. A TikTok video uploaded on Tuesday (May 7) shows a large group of people — many with telephoto cameras and tripods set up — packed onto the grass patch next to the tree and road. Although there is a guard rail, some people have spilled out onto the side of the road. In the same video, which was shot on Tuesday evening, people with camera equipment are standing on the short dividers on the road. «All these inconsiderate people causing a nuisance to road users just to take photos of baby owls,» a TikTok user said.

Growing up in a Marine Parade HDB estate with a school teacher mother and sales manager father, Lawrence Wong went to neighbourhood schools. This «much more typical upbringing» of the deputy prime minister was brought up in an interview with The Economist on Monday (May 6).  The 51-year-old, who will become Singapore's fourth prime minister on May 15, said: «My background is what it is. If it is helpful that it makes it more relatable to Singaporeans, so much the better.» Wong attended Haig Boys' Primary School, Tanjong Katong Secondary Technical  School and Victoria Junior College. He then headed to the United States for further studies on a government scholarship. He had previously explained why he chose Tanjong Katong after his Primary School Leaving Examination, instead of the «elite» schools that many other government scholars go to.

A man was trapped for over an hour after the lift he was in suddenly plunged from the 17th storey and got stuck between the ninth and 10th floor. His friend, surnamed Sun, told Shin Min Daily News that the man was leaving his workplace at Oxley Tower in Robinson Road at around 7pm on Monday (May 6) when the lift malfunctioned. «My friend said he felt what seemed like the lift wire rope breaking, and then the lift plummeted quickly. At the same time, the alarm was triggered,» said Sun, who is in her 30s. She added that her friend was stuck inside with no mobile signal. About 45 minutes later, he managed to send a voice message to their mobile group chat for help. «I quickly called 995 after hearing his message. He was panicked and said he was almost out of oxygen,» Sun recounted. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne they received a call for assistance at around 7.50pm that day.

Their home, their rules — but when this couple began cluttering up the common corridor, their neighbours weren't too happy. A couple living in a Bukit Batok HDB block earned the ire of their neighbours after they allegedly began using the corridor outside their flat as their personal storage space, Shin Min Daily News reported on Tuesday (May 7). Items outside their flat and in the common areas include fish tanks, pails, strollers, bicycles and more. Speaking to Shin Min, a 59-year-old resident surnamed Zheng (transliteration) who has lived at Block 289C along Bukit Batok Street 25 for 26 years recalled how there had never been issues with the neighbours on his floor. In March last year, however, a young couple whom Zheng described to be in their 30s moved in, leaving items piled outside their flat. Thinking that the clutter was because the couple — and their four children — were still settling in, Zheng didn't have any concerns at the time. A month later, however, he found the mess still around. «Seeing no changes a few months later, I contacted the Town Council,» Zheng said.

SINGAPORE — As the United States and China seek out a new equilibrium in their relationship, Singapore must brace itself for possibly a decade or more of unpredictability, and hopefully help steer global events towards peace, rather than war, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. In an interview with The Economist magazine on May 6, he said the Republic is neither pro-China nor pro-America, but «pro-Singapore». DPM Wong said the global order is shifting, and the transition will be messy because while America's unipolar moment has ended, it remains a pre-eminent power in a world that will have more than one major power. «China certainly looks at the US as trying to contain, encircle, and suppress them, and trying to deny them their rightful place in the world,» he said in a transcript released by the Ministry of Communications and Information on May 8. It is not just the leadership that thinks like that, but a lot of Chinese officials, noted DPM Wong, who will take over as Singapore's fourth prime minister on May 15.

More than 30 flights operated by budget carrier Scoot were cancelled over a recent five-day period, which the airline said was due to operational reasons. From May 2 to 6, 33 Scoot flights were cancelled, according to data from Changi Airport’s website. Some of these flights were travelling to or from Bangkok in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Manila in the Philippines. There was heavy rain on May 4, which delayed 27 flights leaving Changi Airport. Twelve departing and arriving Scoot flights were cancelled that day, based on checks by The Straits Times. On May 7, two Scoot flights were re-timed and there was no cancellation. One Scoot flight was re-timed on May 8, with no flight cancelled. In response to ST’s queries on May 6, Scoot – the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines (SIA) – apologised for changes to some of its flight schedules, which it blamed on “operational reasons”.

A home-based pet grooming business that lost a client’s dog, which was later killed in a traffic accident on April 29, is under investigation. The National Parks Board (NParks) is conducting a probe into the case, involving a three-year-old cavalier poodle called Emma under the charge of the pet groomer Awesome Pawsome. Emma’s owner, Ms Janet Tan, 56, had sent her dog to Awesome Pawsome at Ghim Moh Link on the evening of April 29 after she found knots in her fur. Awesome Pawsome was not Ms Tan’s usual groomer, but she decided to send Emma there anyway because it was a short distance from her home and had more than 200 positive reviews on Google. When she turned up at the groomer’s premises for her 5.30pm appointment that day, she found it unusual that it was located in a HDB flat, she told The Straits Times. Running a pet grooming service from a Housing Board residential unit is prohibited, but Ms Tan did not know that. There was only a maid present in the flat, and Ms Tan said she was “concerned” about leaving Emma with her.

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was presented with a personalised 3D cake after Parliament adjourned on May 8, marking his final sitting in the house as prime minister. In a Facebook post, West Coast GRC MP Rachel Ong said: «Today being PM Lee's last Parliament sitting as PM, we invited all members of Parliament to a tea for PM. The PAP Women MPs got PM a cake to show our appreciation for all he has done.» Designed together with pastry chef Herve Potus from Shangri-La Singapore to honour PM Lee's two decades of leadership, the cake reflected a selection of PM Lee's favourite items such as a variety of Nonya kueh, a bowl of mee siam, a Peranakan table runner, and an assortment of books on mathematics, coding, technology and politics.