A total of 346 people aged between 16 and 76 are being investigated for their involvement in scams where victims have reportedly lost more than $13.8 million.  In a two-week operation conducted by the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven Police land divisions between 16 and 29 August this year, some 231 men and 115 women were found to be involved in more than 1,300 cases as scammers or money mules, the police said in a news release on Friday (August 30). The scams comprises mainly job scams, friend impersonation scams, fake buyer scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams and internet love scams.  The police, who said they take a serious stance against anyone involved in scams, added that “to avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank accounts or mobile lines as you will be held liable if they are linked to crimes.” Those found guilty of cheating face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine. Those convicted of money laundering can be jailed up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both. 

Investigations are currently underway on whether the 21 «beautiful» blue-crowned hanging parrots found trapped in an industrial estate were illegally imported into Singapore, wildlife group Acres said on Thursday (Aug 29). Acres - or the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society - said that they received reports from informants about an industrial unit in Sims Drive displaying these blue-crowned parrots between June and October last year. «These beautiful birds were found crammed into tiny metal cages on the unit's exterior,» added Acres in an Instagram post. Acres said that they later found 21 parrots in makeshift cages, and raised serious concerns about their welfare and the presence of traps. Once regarded as endangered, blue-crowned hanging parrots are currently listed under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cities). This means that permits are required to import the species into Singapore.

No administrative charges will be incurred for ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) fees made within a five-day grace period come October this year, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on August 30. This comes ahead of a new feature on the next-generation ERP 2.0 on-board unit (OBU) that will alert motorists to missed payments, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on the same day.  The new feature, which can also be used to facilitate payments, will be rolled out in mid-2025.  The roll-out of the ERP 2.0 system means motorists can eventually make such payments via the OBU display, said Chee at the Ministry of Transport's office in Alexandra Road. «With the installation of ERP 2.0, there's no longer a need for us to send them a letter, and therefore, there's no longer a need for LTA to charge them the $10 admin fee,» he added.  Chee said that from Oct 1, if a motorist has ERP arrears, LTA will send them an SMS and give them a five-day grace period to make the payment. 

SINGAPORE — A 50-year-old woman has been arrested for her suspected involvement in an attempted armed robbery at a restaurant along Thomson Road. In a statement, the police said they were alerted to the incident at 9.34am on Aug 29. The woman allegedly used a knife taken from the restaurant's table and tried to rob a customer. But she left empty-handed after the restaurant's staff intervened. When the police arrived at the restaurant, they established the woman's identity through inquiries and with the aid of police cameras and CCTV footage. They arrested her within nine hours and seized the knife as a case exhibit. The woman will be charged on Aug 30 with attempted armed robbery. If convicted, she faces a jail term of two to seven years. The police said: «Members of the public who encounter such cases are advised to remain calm, take note of the physical appearance and distinctive features of the perpetrator, and call the police as soon as possible.»

SINGAPORE — About 35 pupils and two staff from Catholic High School (Primary) reported symptoms of gastroenteritis during a school camp conducted from Aug 26 to 28. The camp was held at the Ministry of Education's Labrador Outdoor Adventure Centre, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a joint statement on Aug 29, in response to queries from The Straits Times. None of the staff or pupils was hospitalised, the statement said. The camp for Primary 5 pupils was run by the school's appointed vendor, said a spokesman for Catholic High School (Primary) on Aug 29. According to government procurement website GeBiz, the tender for this camp was awarded to a company known as Ventured. Ventured is a member of the Outdoor Learning and Adventure Education Association, said Delane Lim, the organisation's secretary-general. Preliminary findings indicate that Ventured had engaged an SFA-approved catering vendor for the camp, he added. «During the camp, some students and staff reported symptoms of gastroenteritis,» said the school's spokesman.

There have been an alarming number of incidents involving sinkholes around the world recently, from the 8m-deep sinkhole in Malaysia that swallowed a still-missing woman on Aug 23, to the elderly couple in Seoul whose car fell into a sinkhole just yesterday (Aug 29). Fortunately for us, Singapore hasn't had issues with sinkholes recently. However, there have been notable incidents where this phenomenon proved troublesome for us in the past. Keppel Road commute chaos When: Jan 30, 2013 Where: Keppel Road

Singapore’s Paralympic star Yip Pin Xiu won the women's 100m backstroke S2 at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Aug 29 (Thursday), marking her sixth Paralympic gold. Competing at the La Defense Arena, the defending champion clocked 2 minutes 7.62 seconds, finishing 0.06sec ahead of Mexico's Haidee Aceves to retain her title, according to The Straits Times (ST). Italy's Angela Procida claimed bronze. Reported ST, 32-year-old Yip said after her win: «It was so close that when I came up, touched the wall and saw the two beside me also touched the wall, I was like 'oh no, what’s this?'» Yip is currently Singapore’s most decorated Paralympian and has won gold in the event at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics, according to CNA. She will next compete in the 50m backstroke S2 heats on Aug 31. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who is in Paris for the Games, congratulated Yip in a Facebook post: «Congrats to Pin Xiu! 3 Golds in a row, PX’s resilience, grit and determination is nothing short of remarkable and breathtaking. So proud of you, PX!»

Inside a four-room HDB flat in Teck Whye is a room containing scores of spectacle frames and ophthalmic instruments. This is where homeowner Fu Qiuji (transliteration) has been running her optical business over the past three years. Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao in her flat, the 52-year-old optician shared that she and her older brother first set up shop in the Teck Whye neighbourhood back in 1997. Over the years, the siblings had to relocate their business once. In 2021, the landlord told them their lease won't be renewed and asked them to move out. Unable to find a suitable location, the sibling considered closing down the business, but Fu was reluctant to part with their regular customers. «Some customers have patronised us for over 10 years, or even more than 20 years, and would bring their children here to buy spectacles. If I don't open the shop, what will they do?» She told Zaobao. Eventually, she decided to operate the shop from her flat, shifting all their equipment and products into an empty bedroom.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's foreign policy approach is not to be neutral, but to act in a principled and consistent way based on long-term national interests, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Aug 27. «We do not take sides. We uphold principles,» he said in a speech on how small states like Singapore can navigate a divided world. «I found that actually, by being consistent, sticking by the rules, upholding principles, I get less pressure. It allows me, whether I go to Washington or Beijing, to say exactly the same thing.» Sometimes, other states are pleased because Singapore seems to be on their side, he said, while other times, the converse happens. «But it is not a wishy-washy shifty position where, if I put enough pressure, I can pressure you and you will change your mind,» he said. «When we say yes, it is valuable. That is the point. We are not aiming for neutrality, we are not choosing sides, we are upholding principles.» He added that Singapore has to be a credible, reliable and predictable partner to all, promoting friendly relations to advance Singapore's national interests.

SINGAPORE — A female cyclist was allegedly riding a bicycle with faulty rear brakes when it struck a pedestrian, causing the latter's death. On Aug 28, Chinese national Li Lanying, 52, was charged with causing the 65-year-old woman's death by performing a negligent act. Li is accused of riding the bicycle despite knowing that it was not in a serviceable condition. She was riding it along Martaban Road towards Balestier Road shortly after 9pm on March 8, 2023 when it allegedly hit the pedestrian. Details about the pedestrian's injuries and what happened next were not disclosed in court documents. Li's pre-trial conference will take place on Sept 5. Offenders convicted of causing another person's death by performing a negligent act can be jailed for up to two years and fined.

A 33-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday (Aug 27) for trying to take the firearm of an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. The police received a call for assistance at Woodlands Checkpoint at about 3.45pm that day, said the Singapore Police Force in a news release on Wednesday. Preliminary investigations found that the woman arrived at the checkpoint after being denied entry into Malaysia, and was referred to the ICA duty office for secondary checks. While the woman was being interviewed, she attempted to reach for an ICA officer's firearm. She was immediately placed under arrest. The police said that the woman will be charged in court on Thursday for attempted unlawful possession of firearms. If convicted, she faces imprisonment of between five and 10 years. The offence also carries at least six strokes of the cane. But she will not be caned as she's a woman.

A 44-year-old man who died in a fire outside a Potong Pasir flat on Wednesday (Aug 28) morning was drunk and had been taken home by a friend shortly before the incident, said his older brother. The brother, who only wanted to be known as Lim, identified the deceased as Lim Min Lee, reported The Straits Times. The older Lim said that a friend of his brother had brought the intoxicated man back to the unit where he lived with their cousin at about 6am on Wednesday. «The friend knocked on the door, shouted several times, then left him outside the flat,» he was quoted by 8world as saying. Lim, 45, said a neighbour had complained about the noise then. Shortly afterwards, the neighbour purportedly found his younger brother on fire. At about 9am, he received a call from his cousin, informing him of the younger man's death. «Suddenly, there was shouting and there was a fire. So, my brother got burnt,» Lim, who reportedly works in the finance industry, told CNA. «We don't know how he got burnt. We got no information.»

SINGAPORE — Online publication Today will be merged with CNA come Oct 1, becoming a long-form weekend magazine. The move was announced on Aug 28, with Mediacorp saying in a statement: «This merger will allow the best of Today — its high-quality original journalism — to be served via CNA's digital platform to the significantly larger CNA audience both in Singapore and overseas.»   In a note seen by The Straits Times, Mediacorp editor-in-chief Walter Fernandez said all staff will be offered roles in CNA, either as part of the team working on the new weekend digital magazine or strengthening other teams, which best fit their skill sets. «This move... will also help to grow CNA's already significant digital traffic and further deepen its engagement, particularly on weekends,» Fernandez said. In his note, Fernandez said different options were explored in the past year before the merger was decided on.

A new sinkhole has appeared in Kuala Lumpur, just 50 metres away from where the first sinkhole swallowed a tourist from India on Aug 23. This collapse reportedly happened at about 2.30am on Wednesday (Aug 28) after a storm.  The entire street along Jalan Masjid India, where the collapses occurred, has been cordoned off, reported The Straits Times. On the same day, an officer from the Mineral and Geoscience Department, was seen performing checks on the ground. Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain was also seen inspecting the sinkhole. Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) said on Wednesday that it had used police tape and water barriers to barricade the road. DBKL added that it is working with waste management company Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) to inspect the sewerage pipe at the location and its surrounding areas. The land integrity assessment conducted by the Department of Minerals and Geoscience along the sewerage channel is expected to be completed on Wednesday, Bernama reported. The search and rescue operation for the missing tourist will also resume after delays due to heavy rain, said the statement.

Would you be willing to give up a five-figure monthly salary to start a new career as a bus driver instead? Some bankers would, said Westpoint Transit's director Lionel Lee in an interview with Yah Lah But podcast, uploaded on YouTube last Tuesday (Aug 20). Recounting his conversation with these applicants, Lee, the second-generation leader of the local bus company, told the podcast hosts: «I looked at their salary on their resume and I said, 'You know that what I'm offering is not this high?' »[My offered salary] is one number less, the first number, and I literally said that [to him].« Bus drivers employed by Westpoint Transit will receive a monthly salary of up to $5,000 as well as a joining bonus of $7,500 or $10,000 depending on bus size. When Lee told the applicant from the banking industry that the company could not match his current salary, the applicant said he was aware of the offered wages and explained that he has a vocational licence and has been driving buses on weekends. This admission itself, »was mind-blowing" to Lee. 

Is this plate of vegetarian food worth $8.10? Stomp contributor Debbie does not think so at all. She had visited the vegetarian food stall on the basement level of Changi Airport's Terminal 1 on Aug 10. Debbie recounted: «We had just returned from a China trip. It was around 8am and most stalls at the food court were closed. »I was told that the fried egg and cabbage cost $1.80 each, the imitation char siew was $2.50 and the noodles were $2. Overall, I paid $8.10 for this ridiculous plate of vegetarian food. «The picture speaks for itself. I would give it a pass if the food was warm and nice, but unfortunately it was cold and not nice at all. »Don't you think it's too pricey? Even inflation also cannot be so expensive. «I visited this food court because I know the food there is nice and prices are economical, but it's my first time buying from this stall. I was surprised because $8.10 is way too much to pay. »I approached many of my friends and they also agreed that this is really expensive. Do you think so too?"

The founder of Chinatown Complex hawker stall Zhen Jie Gourmet has died of a heart attack at the age of 77. Zhang Lizhen (transliteration) was found unresponsive at home on Monday (Aug 26) Shin Min Daily News reported. When interviewed, her daughter, Liu Yanfen (transliteration), told Shin Min that her mum had been living with two female Vietnamese tenants at the time. One of them had found Zhang lying on the floor after noticing that a phone call on her mobile had gone unanswered despite ringing for some time. «She had collapsed on the floor and was unresponsive. It was too late by the time paramedics arrived,» said Liu. Zhang is the founder of Zhen Jie Gourmet, known for selling packets of traditional 'lo hei' or yusheng during Chinese New Year. At other times of the year, the stall offers a variety of cooked food such as vinegar pig trotters, wine chicken and pig's organ soup. Zhang had started the stall in the 1980s, before handing the reins over to her daughter in the late '90s. Liu told Shin Min that her mum was independent and did not want to move in with her.

SINGAPORE – The sudden activation of a fire sprinkler system at Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski on Aug 26 resulted in an indoor “rainfall”, with water pouring across the upscale mall and forcing the mall’s abrupt closure. The unexpected torrent drenched some restaurants on the ground floor, with at least one of them estimating the cost of the damage to be in the tens of thousands. A spokesman for Hopscotch, a restaurant and bar which opened in the mall in 2021, told The Straits Times that the water flooded the shop “quite badly”. “We have to change our vinyl floor entirely, and for our roof, the gypsum board was damaged as well,” he said, estimating that the total cost of the damage would be $60,000 to $80,000. The spokesman said the fire sprinklers went off twice. Water cascaded down at around 2.45pm for about 30 minutes. Then, at around 6pm, the sprinklers were triggered again and the “downpour” lasted for about 10 minutes. The spokesman said the mall engaged cleaners to help them with the cleaning and shifting of furniture, and the facility management staff “stayed with us all the way”.

A person has died following a fire that broke out outside a Potong Pasir HDB flat on Wednesday (Aug 28). Responding to queries by AsiaOne, a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesperson said they were alerted to the blaze at Block 107 Potong Pasir Ave 1 at around 6.45am on Wednesday morning. By the time SCDF arrived, members of the public had already put out the fire by using a fire extinguisher. One person was pronounced dead on scene by an SCDF paramedic. A charred male body was found outside the flat, reported Lianhe Zaobao. Speaking with the Chinese newspaper, a female resident living above the unit recalled hearing two screams, waking her up at around 6am. The screams sounded like the person was in severe pain, but there were no cries for «help», she said. «My room is closer to the corridor, so I could hear it clearly,» the resident added. «I thought it was due to a wake on the ground floor of the HDB flat, and that someone was crying out of grief.» She also said that the unit where the fire occurred was home to a woman in her 60s and her nephew, a man in his 30s.

A man plunged nine floors from an HDB block in Yishun onto a safety life air pack, which cushioned the impact of the fall. A video of the incident was posted to Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Tuesday (Aug 27) evening. The clip, which has amassed over a thousand reactions and a hundred comments, shows the man standing on a ledge outside the window of a flat, facing away from it. The man then attempts to manoeuvre around a pillar and cross onto the ledge of the next unit but loses his footing and falls. He then lands on the safety life air pack below him with a thud, to the shock of onlookers - who can be heard screaming. Another video posted on Xiaohongshu shows the air pack being set up by several officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at the time. Once he hits the air pack, the man can be seen lying motionless, face down, as SCDF officers rush to check on him. A few of the personnel present later then seen covering the man with a towel and transferring him onto a stretcher.

The decomposing body of an elderly man was found in his Punggol flat after a neighbour discovered maggots in her home. In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 405A Northshore Drive at about 10am last Friday (Aug 23). A 71-year-old man was found lying motionless in a residential unit and pronounced dead at scene. A neighbour surnamed Deng, who lives in the flat across from the deceased's home, told Shin Min Daily News on Sunday that his older sister had been trying to contact him. One week before the grim discovery, the sister had personally asked Deng to call her if she sees her brother.  «I knocked on the elderly man's door a few days later but there was no response,» said the 57-year-old cleaner. «I thought he was asleep and saw that his window was open the next day, so I didn't think much of it.» But while Deng was resting at home on Friday morning, she noticed a large number of maggots in her home. «The bugs were squirming and looked like the type of bugs found on corpses,» she said.

The new temporary financial support for involuntarily unemployed workers will incentivise them to return to the workforce with a better-fitting job, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Tuesday (Aug 27). To qualify for the monthly payouts, they have to actively search for a new job such as applying for jobs, attending career coaching or participating in eligible training courses, the ministry added. This follows Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's announcement of the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 18. PM Wong previously said that lower- to middle-income workers who are involuntarily unemployed will receive a total of up to $6,000 over a period of up to six months while they undergo training or look for another job. Sharing details of the new scheme on Tuesday, MOM said that the financial support for jobseekers will be rolled out in April 2025.

SINGAPORE — A maid who allegedly beat her employer's dog which later died was arrested on Aug 26 and charged in a district court on Aug 27. Junny Lal Awn Pui, 26, a Myanmar national, faces four charges under the Animals and Birds Act. The charges accuse her of abusing a 13-year-old male brown poodle named «Boyboy» on Jan 22 between 9.50am and 11.45am. Her alleged acts of abuse include grabbing the dog by its neck, pinning it to the ground and forcefully hitting its head with her hand and a stick made up of rolled paper. The maid is also said to have pressed her leg on the dog while trying to bandage it, and hung the animal by its harness on a balcony railing to «sun» it. The court heard on Aug 27 that the prosecution intends to proceed on three charges if Junny Lal Awn Pui opts to plead guilty. The maid said she wants to contest the charge alleging she hung the dog on the balcony, as her employer had asked her to do it. She intends to plead guilty to the remaining three charges.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had to push his own limits during basic military training (BMT) when he enlisted for National Service (NS) over 30 years ago. «When I came into BMT, I was an unfit person,» Wong shared as he addressed 420 recruits at the Basic Military Training Camp in Pulau Tekong on Tuesday (Aug 27) morning. «I didn't focus on exercising in school, but BMT made me push my own limits - going to OCS (Officer Cadet School) pushed my limits further,» he said. Before going to OCS, PM Wong cleared his 2.4km runs in 13 to 14 minutes, which he believes is «very slow». By the time he completed OCS, he was able to finish a 2.4km run in under 10 minutes, he said. «I never knew I could do something like that, but with some training you can push yourself. Expressing his hope that the training would stay with recruits, he said: »It's not just the physical fitness, it's also the frame of mind, the discipline, the grit and the resilience and the determination to keep on pushing your limits."

A parent has raised concerns about supposedly high food prices at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Stomp contributor Fen, who identified herself as a «concerned parent», shared her worries after paying $6.30 for a meal at NTU's Hall 2 food court. She said she was charged $6.30 for economy rice with pork, egg and brinjal on Aug 21. Fen recounted: «This plate of cai fan cost a whopping $6.30!!! I was charged $1.50 each for vegetables, $2.50 for pork and $0.80 for rice. »This is what NTU students have to pay for lunch daily, which is more expensive than outside. Cai fan with one meat and two vegetables cost $2.90 at a coffee shop in Bedok.« PHOTO: Stomp Fei also complained about the sausage baked rice from another stall. The Stomp contributor added: »Sausage baked rice at $4.75 looks so unappetising!

A couple recently came under fire for riding a personal mobility aid (PMA) across the road with their two young children despite the pedestrian light being red. A video posted to Facebook group Singapore Road Vigilante on Monday (Aug 26) shows the family in question at a pedestrian crossing in Bukit Merah. The father can be seen talking on the phone while they wait to cross the road alongside other pedestrians. Just a few seconds later, however, the man drives his PMA onto the road while the traffic light is still red. A car is seen zooming past just in front of the family as they ride across. They then stop in the middle of the road, where the divider is, and cross to the other side when the light turns green. Some netizens criticised the parents for putting their children in danger. One netizen commented: «I really feel sad for the children.» «A tragedy waiting to happen,» wrote another commentor. A netizen also commented: «These are the people who caused nothing but trouble!» Other netizens pointed out how cases of PMA misuse had increased and questioned what was being done to address them.

Claw machines can often be found in arcades or even pasar malams (night market) - but have you ever seen one in a primary school? Well, Northoaks Primary School boasts not just one, but two claw machines as part of a school-wide game encouraging its students to display good behaviour such as discipline and responsibility. Since the quest-based game was implemented in 2022, there have been less latecomers, reported Lianhe Zaobao. When students complete certain tasks, such as arriving punctually and listening attentively to lessons, they are given a stamp. Stamps can also be collected at zones around the school for following instructions like lining up in rows. Once students obtain a certain number of stamps, they can redeem them for a spin at the 'Wheel of Thrill' offering prizes such as stickers and tokens for a chance to win soft toy prizes from the claw machine. To better engage school staff and students, videos showcasing the game storyline were also created.

SINGAPORE — When stay-at-home mum Clara Tan walked into a quiet and spacious fourth-floor nursing room in Isetan Scotts, she thought it was the perfect place to feed her three-month-old daughter until she noticed the mould on the wall. She realised mould on the wall was not the only problem when she stopped to take a photograph of her baby and herself, and faced the mirror. In a post on social media platform TikTok on Aug 23, the 29-year-old said: «To my horror, I noticed that the walls were heavily covered in mould. And it wasn't just the walls — even the chairs and baby chairs were affected.» Concerned for other nursing mothers and babies who might use the room, Tan put up the photos on TikTok. The photos show many seating areas in the room, as well as two nursing cubicles, diaper changing tables, baby chairs and a washing area. Black spots can be seen covering large parts of the wall. The photos drew comments from numerous TikTok users. One, with the handle oofibrawl, said: «Nursing/changing areas need more attention from shopping mall managements, otherwise don't have them at all.»

SINGAPORE – A woman who fabricated a story about suffering a miscarriage at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and the founder of alternative news site Wake Up, Singapore (WUSG) who published the false account were both fined by a district court on Aug 26. Ma Su Nandar Htwe, a 28-year-old Myanmar national and Singapore permanent resident, and WUSG’s founder Ariffin Iskandar Sha Ali Akbar, a 27-year-old Singaporean, each pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal defamation. Ma Su Nandar Htwe, who admitted to submitting the fake story because she “wanted drama”, was fined $10,000. Ariffin was fined $8,000. He published the story just 20 minutes after e-mailing KKH, before the hospital could reply. The court heard that Ma Su Nandar Htwe sent the false account to WUSG’s Instagram account on March 21, 2022. In it, she claimed she tested positive for Covid-19 in February 2022 when she was 20 weeks’ pregnant. She claimed she arrived at KKH at 2pm that day and started bleeding from her vagina at about 5pm. She said she could see a doctor only at 6pm and he told her: “No need ultrasound, the baby is probably dead, this is too much bleeding.”