One woman and her friend paid a hefty price for forgetting to complete a mandatory travel document before embarking on their holiday. The 30-year-old freelancer, who wishes to be known as Jess, told AsiaOne they had to pay an additional $1,200 each to fly to New Zealand on April 17. Jess said that she and her friend had arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 3 about 1.5 hours ahead of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight's departure time of 7.50pm. But they ended up missing their flight after they were stopped at the check-in counter. The women were told by SIA staff they had to first apply for the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA), said Jess. The NZeTA is a compulsory travel document for some visitors from visa waiver countries, like Singapore, and transit passengers travelling to New Zealand without a visa. The pair immediately applied on the New Zealand immigration website, but their application was pending approval.

There was a line of taxis waiting for passengers at an empty taxi stand in Gardens by the Bay. But one man took to social media after claiming that he had been refused a ride there—not just once, but at least five times. In a Facebook post on the Complaint Singapore page on Saturday (June 1), Rabi Leo said that the «five to six» taxi drivers there all declined to ferry him to Sengkang. He claimed: «One uncle said, 'You should ask the front one'. Then I told him. 'In front all don't want to pick up'. He replied, 'Then you ask behind'.» «I know times are tough, but this is not like other counties. Can you just choose and pick customers?» Lamenting that it's not the first time taxi drivers had refused to pick him up, Leo urged the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to look into the matter. «One kind uncle previously said that all of them are waiting to go to the airport,» he said. «So they are waiting to find [a customer] who is going near that location.» Leo's post has since garnered more than 140 reactions. In the comments, several netizens advised Leo to report the incident to the relevant authorities.

He thought the job was genuine since it was made through the Lalamove app. But one man, who does deliveries part-time to earn extra cash, ended up $180 poorer after apparently getting swindled by a 'customer'. The delivery rider, who wanted to be known only as Han, told AsiaOne on Friday (May 31) he was initially thrilled with the «buy for me» job request since it came with a «generous» $130 payout. «I felt something amiss, but I just brushed it off as the job came from the Lalamove app, which is a reputable company,» the 30-year-old full-time IT executive said. After getting in touch with the customer, Han later bought groceries at a 7-Eleven outlet in Bukit Timah and a meal at McDonald's as requested. He also helped the customer top up $158 into their mobile wallet. «After sending the receipts as proof of purchase, he replied to me to keep them nicely and don't fold them,» Han said. «He also told me not to press the doorbell outside his home.»

SINGAPORE - Upcoming performances by a controversial South Korean DJ at a local club have been cancelled due to the performer's insistence on playing two soundtracks with religious elements, the club said. When contacted, Club Rich Singapore owner Jackie He told The Straits Times on Friday (May 31) that the decision to call off the event was made by both the club and the DJ, known as NewJeansNim. «We (were unable to) come to an agreement and change to soundtracks without the religious lyrics,» said Mr He. The two contentious tracks contain elements of Buddhism, such as chants and the sounds of a gong. The DJ, who infuses elements of Buddhism into his performances, was scheduled to perform at Club Rich Singapore in Middle Road on June 19 and 20. Mr He said that patrons who have already paid will be fully refunded. The club is hoping to find a replacement for the DJ, he added. News of the planned performances first drew criticism from the Singapore Buddhist Federation, who called for the authorities to reject any permits for the show.

The newlyweds wanted to provide their guests with a dreamy backdrop for snapping photos, but were left disappointed when the event decorator they hired did not deliver — literally. Now, the couple are seeking a refund from online business wowfloristsg, whom they say made their wedding, which was held at the Carlton Hotel last Saturday (May 25), a «disaster». In a series of Xiaohongshu posts on Tuesday, the bride, who gave her name only as Tee, called out the vendor for «shirking responsibility» and delaying the refund. The couple had purchased two packages — a stage backdrop decoration service and a walkway decoration service — which cost $1,176 in total. They paid $940.80 as a deposit. But Tee told AsiaOne that «90 per cent» of the decorations were not delivered to the hotel. She said that wowfloristsg had only completed the set-up of the photo table, which was a complimentary service that came with the packages.

Having lived in the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH)'s Group Homes for a decade, Ong Hock Lam is pleased with his newly revamped lodgings.  «The new place is much better than the previous one. It's cleaner and more well-ventilated. There are also more people living together,» the 66-year-old divorcee told AsiaOne. «Previously there were two of us sharing one room and everyone kept to themselves. Now there's more interaction.» The refurbished group homes, located at Block 240 and 239, Bukit Batok Batok East Avenue 5, were officially launched in a ceremony on Friday (May 31).  Renovations for the homes, comprising of five renovated four- and five-room flats, commenced in April 2023 and were completed in January this year, said SAMH.  First launched in 1995, the group homes are the first psychiatric rehabilitation homes located in a HDB estate.  As these homes are nestled in the heartland, they help facilitate community rehabilitation for the clients as they normalise living in a HDB estate — a crucial part of their recovery journey. 

Despite efforts to curb vice-related activities and revamp the reputation of the infamous Orchard Towers, it appears that some streetwalkers have made their way back. The bold and scantily clad women would loiter outside the complex to solicit customers, typically from 9pm onwards, reported Shin Min Daily News on May 31. A Shin Min reporter who visited the building at around 11pm noted about 10 women dressed in low-cut tops and short skirts standing along the street. Most of them are supposedly from Vietnam and are aged between 20 to 40. They would approach men who stop or make eye-contact, and initiate skinship to solicit customers. Some would specifically target migrant workers and foreigners, and usually stay outside until 2am to 3am.

In 1969, 20-year-old Balakrishnan P Nagan applied to work in the laboratory with renowned forensic pathologist Professor Chao Tzee Cheng. Instead, he ended up working as a mortuary attendant at the Ministry of Health's pathology department as there was no vacancy at the lab. And he never left the job since, according to Singapore Public Service publication Challenge, climbing his way to the role of a supervisor leading a team of forensic technicians. On May 25, Balakrishnan died of stomach cancer. He was 73. Saravanan, 47, remembers his father as a «kind person».

Is it justified to charge a fee for additional cutlery? A diner said she was shocked when asked to pay $0.50 for an extra bowl – and even more appalled when she declined and the stall vendor allegedly snatched the bowl back. Stomp contributor Josephine said she visited the West Coast Market Square stall, located at Block 726 Clementi West Street 2, at around 12pm on May 25. She recounted: «I ordered a plate of hor fun and asked the stall uncle to add additional kway teow. He told me that it would be an additional $0.50 and I said okay. »The total was $5, which I gave him after he was done cooking the hor fun. «Then, I asked the uncle if I could have a small bowl for two-year-old daughter to eat from and was told that this would cost another $0.50. »I was shocked that a bowl has a $0.50 charge. This is the very first time I have encountered a hawker or market stall needing to charge money for just a small bowl. «Where got such thing? It's really ridiculous.» Josephine said she decided not to take the bowl and told the stall vendor that she did not need it.

A Singaporean man who went to Johor Bahru three days ago has become uncontactable, and his friends and family members are mystified over what could have happened to him.  Mardave Parades Manuel, 29, was believed to have crossed the border into Malaysia at around 2.55pm on Tuesday (May 28), according to his friend, who gave her name as Zhong.  She told AsiaOne that Manuel, who is Philippine-born, had gone there to sell his cryptocurrency, which is believed to be worth RM240,000 (S$68,900).  He did not inform anyone where and what time the crypto transaction would be taking place.  He became uncontactable after sending a text to his fiancee around 4pm on the same day. Calls and messages from his parents and brother at 4.30pm went unanswered. Zhong said that the last record the family had about Manuel's whereabouts is a Grab ride from his Bukit Merah block to Bugis Bus Terminal at Queen Street.  Manuel's brother has since lodged a police report in Singapore and JB. The Singapore police confirmed that a report was filed. 

An SBS Transit driver had to be rescued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) after he was trapped in his seat when the vehicle rammed into a lorry on Thursday (May 30) morning. Clips and photos of the accident — which took place along Loyang Avenue — were uploaded to Facebook and show a lorry crushed between two SBS Transit buses. The back of the lorry appears to have pierced through the windscreen of the bus behind it. A resident in the area surnamed Xin, 32, told Shin Min Daily News that he was jolted awake by the loud collision. 

SINGAPORE — A man force-fed his four-year-old son the tip of a chilli after the child soiled himself, and the boy later fell unconscious and died. An autopsy report revealed that the victim died of an acute airway obstruction by a foreign object, and the tip of the chilli was found blocking his air passage. On May 30, his 38-year-old father pleaded guilty to causing his son's death by performing a rash act and was sentenced to eight months' jail. He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim and his young siblings. The father-of-four was at home in his Sengkang flat on Aug 2, 2022, when he noticed that the victim reeked of faeces. The boy was undergoing toilet training at the time and was supposed to notify his parents if he needed to relieve himself. When the child denied soiling himself, the father decided to discipline him by forcing the tip of a chili into the boy's mouth. After that, the victim started running around while gesturing at his throat. He vomited and collapsed soon after.

A 19-year-old student from China was found dead below an apartment block in Jurong West — just a week before her graduation.  Li Jiaxuan's body was discovered by a security guard and a cleaner at The Lakeshore condominium in the wee hours of the morning on May 23, reported Chinese media outlet Jimu News.  She had just completed her International Baccalaureate exams at the Canadian International School in Jurong West, and was supposed to graduate on June 1 and return to China.  Jiaxuan, who came to Singapore in 2016, had also reportedly applied to several universities in Hong Kong, Macau and Australia.  Upon hearing the news of her death that morning, her father, Li Feng, flew to Singapore and arrived on May 24 to take her ashes back to Ningbo in Zhejiang province, where she was born.  Speaking to Chinese media when he arrived home on May 28, Li said that he last spoke to his daughter on May 21, when she video-called him to discuss her university applications.  Nothing seemed to be amiss then, he recounted, adding that Jiaxuan was in contact with two of her close friends at about 2am on the day she died. 

The driver of a Mitsubishi Lancer who rammed into multiple vehicles in Admiralty while attempting to flee from police officers on Tuesday (May 28) has been charged in court.  Muhammad Idris Musbah, 36, was arrested for suspected rash conduct, possession of weapons and drug-related offences, according to a police press statement on Wednesday. Following the arrest, a baton, knuckle duster, pocket knife, bank card, seven cash cards, substances believed to be controlled drugs, as well as drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle. A baton, a knuckle duster and a pocket knife were found in the vehicle after Idris was arrested. PHOTO: Singapore Police Force It was later determined that Idris was also wanted by the police and CNB for multiple offences. Preliminary investigations by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) also revealed that his urine tested positive for controlled drugs.

One driver took netizens by surprise when he took a gantry barrier apart to exit a building. In a 22-second clip posted to TikTok by SG Trending Video, a man is seen getting out of his car at the gantry of an industrial building in Boon Lay. He tells the person recording: «Watch this, I know how to dismantle it [the barrier] – I'll purposely take it apart.» The man then uses a penknife to cut the cable ties securing the barrier and throws the bar to the side of the road before saying: «Let's go.» The gantry's display indicated that he incurred a parking fee of $46.21.  Some netizens were appalled by the man's actions, questioning if he was trying to evade paying for parking. One comment read: «Got a BMW, but no money?» «Now he needs to pay more than $46. maybe that's how he show he's rich,» said another netizen. Some others defended the man and believed he had reason behind his actions. One commenter said: «Could it be that the gantry malfunctioned multiple times? Judging by how expensive the fees are, it's not normal.»

A road rage incident along Havelock Road on Tuesday (May 28) turned violent after an elderly car owner attacked a younger motorcyclist with a screwdriver.  A video shared by SG Road Vigilante on the same day showed a 62-year-old man and a 38-year-old motorcyclist brawling along the public walkway.  The former, whose car was parked on the roadside, swung a screwdriver wildly at the motorcyclist.  The motorcyclist tried to fend off the aggressive attacks - all while filming the incident with his mobile phone. An elderly woman, believed to be accompanying the car owner, was seen trying to break up the fight. The video has since garnered over 100,000 views.

Rapid changes in gravitational forces (G-forces) along with an altitude drop likely cause the injuries to unbelted crew and passengers on Flight SQ321, according to the findings of a preliminary investigation. In a statement on Wednesday, investigators from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) said that there was a «rapid change» in G-force over 4.6 seconds, resulting in the injuries. This was based on findings from data stored in the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.  The TSIB is the air, marine and rail accidents and incidents investigation authority in Singapore and is part of the Ministry of Transport (MOT). Investigators found that the flight, which departed from London on May 20, was normal prior to the turbulence incident. At around 3.49.21pm (Singapore time) on May 21, the aircraft flew over the south of Myanmar at an altitude of 37,000 ft (11,300m) and was «likely flying over an area of developing convective activity,» MOT stated.  Turbulence started to cause fluctuations between +0.44G and +1.57G for a period of 19 seconds.

It wasn't just the police that brought him down, but also a concerted effort by other drivers on the road. A driver was caught after he attempted to ram his way through traffic to escape the police in Admiralty, as seen in a video posted to Facebook group SG Road Vigilante on Tuesday (May 28). The video begins with a man in grey going up to multiple vehicles stopped at a traffic light, instructing them not to drive off when the light turns green. In doing so, the drivers and their vehicles lock a dark-coloured car in, preventing it from taking off. According to the post by SG Road Vigilante, the trapped driver had allegedly used a fake license plate. The man then tries to confront the driver, who makes multiple attempts to reverse out of the box and drive away, nearly running the man over in the process. Unable to escape, the driver then tries to brute-force his way out of the situation, ramming his vehicle into the gap between a lorry and truck on the right. Just as he does, however, officers dash up from behind, trying to get the vehicle to stop.

It wasn't just the police that brought him down, but also a concerted effort by other drivers on the road. A driver was arrested after he attempted to ram his way through traffic to escape the police in Admiralty, as seen in a video posted to Facebook group SG Road Vigilante on Tuesday (May 28). The video begins with a man in grey going up to multiple vehicles stopped at a traffic light, instructing them not to drive off when the light turns green. In doing so, the drivers and their vehicles lock a dark-coloured car in, preventing it from taking off. According to the post by SG Road Vigilante, the trapped driver had allegedly used a fake license plate. The man then tries to confront the driver, who makes multiple attempts to reverse out of the box and drive away, nearly running the man over in the process. Unable to escape, the driver then tries to brute-force his way out of the situation, ramming his vehicle into the gap between a lorry and truck on the right. Just as he does, however, officers dash up from behind, trying to get the vehicle to stop.

Some Tampines residents have been losing sleep over a flock of noisy chickens in a neighbourhood park. Two residents told Shin Min Daily News that chickens in Sun Plaza Park at Tampines Avenue 7 have been crowing early in the morning nearly every day and disrupting their sleep. A search on Google Maps shows there are about eight blocks of HDB flats in close proximity to the park. One frustrated resident surnamed Chen, 38, told the Chinese daily that he hears the chickens crowing at about 5am, and the problem started in December 2022. «I grew up in the neighbourhood and there was never such a problem in the past. I believe the wild chickens are reproducing too much.»  Another 70-year-old resident, surnamed Ji, said that she is often woken by the chickens crowing at about 4.45am and is unable to fall back asleep amid the constant noise. «I can't sleep any longer, and it's like this every day. I usually get up at 6am because my granddaughter has to go to school,» she added.

«Dangerous and unpredictable» - that's how this landlord referred to her tenant after he purportedly left them a 'parting gift' - cut wires, damaged furniture and a room filled with trash. Now, this landlord, who only gave her name as Jade, has requested in a post on Instagram on Monday (May 27) that the public contact her if they happen to see her former tenant, a 35-year-old Chinese male. According to her, she had let the room to the Singaporean, who works as an electrician, last May, with the contract ending on May 29 this year. She didn't reveal in her posts which estate she lives in.  However, Jade's grandmother didn't want to extend the contract with him. On Monday, the tenant had left his room, locking it behind him, and Jade's grandmother had to call a neighbour in to break open the door after he failed to return the keys, she said in her post. They were horrified to find the room in a state of complete disarray - trash was strewn all across the floor, piling high up in corners, covering much of the room. While the desk and mattress were relatively clear of garbage, the tenant had also left a chair lying on the bed.

One parent has hit out at an English assessment book for providing a «model composition» about a murder that she thought was too graphic for primary school-aged children.  Taking to Facebook on Sunday (May 26), the social media user said that the book, Model Compositions Primary 5/6, is not suitable for children to read as it contained a particularly gruesome murder scene.  A photo of a page from the book described a couple locked in an «intense and loud argument» at home. Phrases such as «plunged the knife into her throat», «lots of blood» and «jumped to his death from his twelfth storey flat» were also used. «There's a story of [someone] witnessing a murder, with clear explanation on the murder itself, which is very appalling,» the parent said. The post on the Complaint Singapore page has since garnered over 94 reactions. In the comments, some netizens were concerned by the language used in the book. «Imprinting on young impressionable children to be future killers? Or giving trauma to young children? Either way, this book should be banned,» one of them said.

He wanted to satisfy his durian craving, but his purchase left him with a bad taste in his mouth — and $345 poorer. A real estate agent surnamed Feng, who lives at Block 56 Geylang Bahru, told Shin Min Daily News that a durian salesman knocked on his door at about 2pm last Saturday (May 25). The 58-year-old said the seller, who looked to be in his 30s, had a large bag of durians with him and asked if Feng wanted to buy some.  «I decided to buy a few to satisfy my craving. I asked if he had any bitter ones and he said yes, but didn't specify which variant,» he added. «He told me they cost $18 per kilogram, and I thought it was a reasonable price.»  At first, Feng told the salesman that he only wanted two durians, but the latter insisted that he had to buy at least four and get one free.  «I was quite reluctant but I couldn't refuse him, so I just agreed. He was very quick to slice open a durian, but didn't let me try it.»  It is a common practice for durian stallholders to offer to let customers taste the durian they open up.

To honour her youngest son's dream of helping others, a mother decided to donate his organs after the teen was declared brain dead more than three weeks after he collapsed in school. Isaac Loo, 14, fell unconscious midway through a 2.4km practice run in school at around 8.15am on May 2. The Woodlands Secondary School student was rushed to KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and later slipped into a coma, reported Lianhe Zaobao. Alas, the teen was declared brain dead by doctors on Saturday (May 25) — which devastated his 52-year-old mother Fiona Soo, who had clung to hope for weeks that he would wake up. Soo and her three children are permanent residents from Malaysia. Her husband died of liver cancer in 2022.  Soo told Zaobao that the news from the doctor, broken just four days after Isaac's 14th birthday, was a huge blow.  «The doctor said Isaac may have fallen into a coma because his heart could not bear the stress during vigorous exercise, leading to arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat),» she added.

He thought that he'd scored a lucrative job — but ended up paying $192 out of his own pocket.  Chen (transliteration), 43, told Shin Min Daily News that he'd received a job from a customer on the Lalamove app last Sunday (May 26).  He has a full-time job as an engineer, but does Lalamove deliveries on Sunday to earn extra cash.  The customer asked Chen to help him buy a burger from McDonald's, and some other items from 7-Eleven.  Chen said that the job came with a $89 priority fee, and after including the other services charges, he would earn $121.  He then accepted the job and began communicating with the customer over WhatsApp.  «He used an Indonesian number and asked me to go to McDonald's and a 7-Eleven along Orchard Road to buy food.  »He texted me repeatedly to indicate what burger he wanted. I later went to the convenience store and sent him a photo of their potato chips so he could choose the flavour he wanted."  Chen spent $27 at McDonald's, and another $7 at 7-Eleven buying potato chips, drinks and paper towels. 

He risked his life for the safety of others on the road — but was it necessary to endanger himself? A motorcyclist stopped on the shouder of a two-lane expressway and crossed to the other lane to clear a vehicle bumper that was lying on the road, according to a video uploaded to Facebook group Singapore Road Accident on Sunday (May 26). In the dashcam footage dated May 14, the man waits by the shoulder for traffic to clear before dashing out to pick up the bumper. He leaves it near the bushes along the road shoulder. After waiting for traffic to die down again, the motorcyclist runs out two more times to clear the smaller debris.

A TikToker reported a lost item at Changi Airport and could not believe it when she received an email that the item had been found less than 30 minutes later. The TikToker, who goes by Nim, expressed her amazement and gratitude to the airport in a video posted on May 26. In the 52-second video, Nim said that this was a «only-in-Singapore story» that happened to her partner the night before. The TikToker, who had moved to Singapore in 2022, recounted that her partner was flying out of Changi Airport and had purchased a gift in a duty-free shop. «In his mad haste, he ended up leaving the bag on a bollard in the arrivals pickup area and my partner thought it was long gone,» said the lawyer from Australia. «But I had a look online and I realised that you could just mark an item as missing, so I did that with kind of no hope that it would be found.» She was referring to the Lost & Found page on the Changi Airport website where you can enquire about lost items on an aircraft or at the airport.

Suspended policeman Kevin Chelvam admitted in court on May 27 that he had grabbed domestic helper Piang Ngaih Don by her hair and lifted her off the ground in a fit of anger a month before her death. The 24-year-old Myanmar national weighed only 24kg when she died on July 26, 2016, compared with 39kg just over a year before in May 2015. Taking the stand for the first time on the 13th day of his trial, Chelvam, who was suspended from service on Aug 8, 2016, said that he had been frustrated with the helper. On the day of the incident on June 24, 2016, he said the family was set to go swimming, but Ms Piang Ngaih Don, who had worked for the family for 14 months, kept falling asleep instead of having her meal. The 45-year-old Chelvam, who faces five charges, also told the court that on the day of her death, he saw her breathing while appearing to be asleep before he left for work that morning. He said that when he noticed her hand was tied to the window grille, he told his then wife, Gaiyathiri Murugayan, to untie the maid. Later that day, Gaiyathiri called to tell him Ms Piang Ngaih Don was dead.

SINGAPORE — A private-hire driver took a laptop that a passenger accidentally left behind and lied that he had not seen it. Riduan Chumadi, who was a Grab driver at the time, sent the laptop for a factory reset, causing all data in the device — including two years of work-related information — to be deleted. The victim, a 42-year-old bank employee, told investigators that her daily work would be impaired for the next six months to a year. Riduan, 46, was sentenced to a week in jail on May 24 after he pleaded guilty to one count of dishonestly misappropriating the device. The incident happened on Oct 18, 2023, when the victim left her office in Marina Boulevard at around 1.45pm and boarded Riduan's car. State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Lam Peng Choy said the woman accidentally left her laptop worth $3,000 inside the vehicle when she alighted around 15 minutes later at Raffles Hospital in North Bridge Road.  Riduan picked up another passenger, who found the device and handed it to Riduan. SPO Lam told the court: "The accused decided to dishonestly misappropriate the laptop and… kept it in the boot of the car.

SINGAPORE — Ten power-assisted bicycles (PABs) and brakeless bicycles were seized during an islandwide enforcement operation by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on May 24. In response to The Straits Times' queries on May 27, LTA said operations were carried out at AMK Hub, Waterway Point and The Seletar Mall. LTA added that the offences by riders included riding their PABs on footpaths, riding and keeping an unregistered PAB, tampering the seal on a PAB, riding brakeless bicycles and failure to attach a registration number plate. «LTA conducts daily operations islandwide to enforce against errant active mobility users and to educate users on active mobility rules and guidelines,» LTA said, adding those who breach its regulations will be dealt with. 

All construction sites with a contract sum of $5 million and above will be required to install a Video Surveillance System (VSS) for employee safety from June 1, 2024. This system acts as a deterrent for unsafe workplace behaviours, provides valuable training resources for companies and offers insights for investigations of safety incidents and near-misses, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Monday (May 27). The VSS was demonstrated to AsiaOne during a media visit to the Serangoon Polyclinic construction site along Upper Serangoon Road on Monday. Charles Cruz, 51, an interface engineer from Zheng Keng Engineering and Construction, the project's main contractor, showed the media the surveillance system which monitors workers in high-risk locations and uses video analytics to see if they upheld safety practices. The system, which was installed last October, automatically detects safety breaches and sends an alert to supervisors.  It costs $25,000, which Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said was a small proportion for a multi-million-dollar project.

SINGAPORE — The mayor of a small town in the Philippines, who is said to own 16 vehicles and a helicopter, has been linked to two foreigners arrested in Singapore's $3 billion money laundering case. The revelation emerged when Alice Guo, mayor of Bamban in Tarlac, a province north of Manila, was investigated by the Senate of the Philippines over her alleged involvement in illegal scam hubs. Guo had incorporated Baofu Land Development in 2019 with Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, as well as Philippine national Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon and Cypriot national Huang Zhiyang. According to media reports, the company built a compound in Bamban that allegedly housed illegal scam operations. Chinese national Zhang, 45, who also holds a passport issued by Saint Kitts and Nevis, was sentenced to 15 months' jail after he pleaded guilty in Singapore on April 30 to money laundering and forgery charges. His lover and fellow Chinese national Lin, 44, who also holds a passport from Dominica, faces 10 charges, including the use of forged documents and possession of benefits of criminal conduct. She is expected to plead guilty on May 30.

An Ikea shopper was greeted with a distressing sight while leaving the store's car park on Sunday (May 26) — a black dog that was apparently struggling to breathe while being leashed to a parked van.  A video of the incident was posted on Sgfollowall's Instagram page on Monday.  «He was barking to get people's attention, and the leash was too short so he had to stand on his two hind legs to get some air,» wrote the shopper in the video.  «Why bring your dog when you know Ikea is not pet-friendly?» the unnamed shopper questioned.  https://www.instagram.com/p/C7bOwoNBcP0/?hl=en In the post's caption, the shopper said that they also reported the incident to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).  The shopper said they eventually alerted Ikea staff to the incident. According to the post, security staff eventually rescued the dog while another staff member tried to look for the owner. 

He refused to cut his habits, so his family severed ties with him. A single mum in Malaysia has put out ads and held a press conference to disown her debt-ridden son, The Star reported last Saturday (May 25). «He would beg me for help each time and I always felt sorry for him,» Chia Hui Chiang, 62, said at a media conference called by Johor MCA Youth public services and complaints bureau chief Henry Mok last Friday. «I even used up my retirement savings and yet he is deep in his habits of gambling and drug abuse.» The retired teacher had reportedly given her 36-year-old son over RM100,000 (S$28,700) to pay off his debts. She said her son left their home on May 21 and they've not heard from him since. However, his absence was certainly felt. Chia said creditors harassed her and her family, demanding that they pay off his RM59,100 debt, which does not include interest. Chia also put out an ad in a Chinese newspaper, letting the public — and loan sharks — know that she had cut ties with him, and to look for him directly for repayment.

A recently widowed woman is hoping that ride-hailing platform Grab would waive part of the outstanding fees incurred by her late husband, who died suddenly and had less than $20 in his bank account. Before his death on May 9, Su Zian (transliteration), 59, worked as a private-hire driver for almost 10 years and would typically drive from 3pm to 1am, reported Shin Min Daily News. In an interview with the Chinese newspaper, his widow, who is deaf, said that she had found Su, blood trickling out of his mouth, unconscious in the toilet at around 6am that day. He had been inside the toilet for at least an hour before he was found. He reportedly died of pneumonia and heart disease. Mrs Su said that insurance agents and lawyers visited her home later that day to assist with funeral arrangements and helped notify private ride-hailing platform Grab of Su's death. «Afterwards, I saw a message on his phone informing him to pay the car rental and return the vehicle. But as I can't hear or speak clearly, I couldn't handle it immediately,» she added.