SINGAPORE – The tears flowed freely as Jeralyn Tan hugged her coach Yurnita Omar after securing a historic Paralympic boccia medal for Singapore at the South Paris Arena 1 on Sept 1. In contrast to the outpouring of emotions, the 35-year-old was a picture of composure and determination earlier as the world No. 2 displayed great strategy and accuracy to beat Japan’s sixth-ranked Hiromi Endo 5-1 in their women’s individual BC1 semi-final. With at least a silver assured, debutante Tan will play home favourite and world No. 16 Aurelie Aubert in the final at 4.30pm (Singapore time) on Sept 2. The 27-year-old had defeated Bermuda’s Yushae DeSilva-Andrade in a tiebreak after their semi-final ended 2-2. Endo later beat DeSilva-Andrade 7-0 to take the bronze. An elated Tan said: “I’m touched by the support. We are not many but I can feel the kampung spirit. I will put all my heart and soul to play the final. With support from my fellow Singaporeans, we will brave this together.”

SINGAPORE — One of Singapore's last four kelongs could soon close, if heritage activists are unable to find a way to save it. Located off the coast of Pulau Ubin, the kelong is owned by retiree Timothy Ng, 76, who in June decided to give up running it and the adjacent fish farm after operating both for two decades. The Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) has petitioned the authorities for the kelong to be retained, and possibly used for education and research purposes. The authorities have given SHS until the end of 2024 to appoint a consultant to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of retaining the kelong as a community and education space, SHS president Fauzy Ismail told The Straits Times. He said SHS is looking for donors to fund the study, which will determine what infrastructural work is needed to repair the kelong to a condition that is suitable for community use, and assess the yearly cost of maintaining it.

Some residents of 178C Rivervale Crescent in Sengkang are fed up with a man who has been cluttering the corridor of the 14th floor for some years, prompting a joint complaint from seven of them. Shin Min Daily News reported in May 2022 that the man had placed many personal belongings, such as tables, chairs and potted plants, along the corridor, occupying the public space. In that same year, a Facebook user had posted on the Complaint Singapore group page about the situation, sarcastically writing: «This is a compliment to Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) for allowing the use of the common corridor.» The now-deleted post added that one can install «bird hanging wall inserts, camera, chilling out table and pets corner», referring to the man's alleged deeds. Two years on and the situation is persisting and has even gotten worse, according to a neighbour interviewed by Shin Min in an Aug 31 report. The unnamed woman said that residents from four other units on the 14th floor and three on the 15th floor have signed a joint letter to the town council asking them to deal with the retiree, named by the Chinese daily as Hong, 61.

SINGAPORE — Pedestrians are still dashing across a busy road in Taman Jurong to get to a bus stop, despite railings the Land Transport Authority (LTA) installed to guide them to crossings nearby. The waist-high railings along Yuan Ching Road are meant to encourage pedestrians to walk towards two traffic light crossings along the dual carriageway. One crossing is located outside Jurong Secondary School. The other crossing is at the junction of Yung Ho Road. The crossings are about 200m from the junction of Hu Ching Road, where an accident in January claimed the life of a 12-year-old student from Yuvabharathi International School. The 30m-long railings were installed in July, but checks by The Straits Times showed that some pedestrians were still jaywalking across Yuan Ching Road. Several residents of the nearby Lake Vista estate said it was the shortest route to the bus stop located opposite the junction. Sabrina Sim said: «There are two schools nearby, and what we need is a traffic light crossing at the junction to make it safer for students and the elderly to cross, especially during peak hours.»

SINGAPORE — There are plans to have more women candidates in the upcoming general election, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, noting his hope to increase the representation of women in Parliament. «To me, having that diversity in the team is very useful,» said PM Wong, urging the public to support the women political candidates when they are fielded. «Throughout my working life, I have benefited from working with men and women who bring a wider range of perspectives and help contribute to better solutions and better decision-making,» he said at the People’s Action Party (PAP) Women’s Wing conference on Aug 31. PAP women MPs now hold close to one-third of the seats in Parliament. In contrast, all PAP MPs were men in the 1970s and early 1980s. There is still work to be done to build an inclusive society, said PM Wong, noting that advancing the cause for gender equality in Singapore is not a zero-sum issue.  «Equality for women does not mean that men get less,» he said. «Gains that women make in society do not mean that men will inevitably lose out.»

A woman got emotional at the airport after finding out she could not pay her respects to her late father on his death anniversary. The 49-year-old catering business owner surnamed Han told Shin Min Daily news that she had booked a flight with Jetstar from Singapore to Haikou, China, for Wednesday (Aug 28). Han said that she arrived at Changi Airport at around 6am as her flight was set to depart at 7.25am. Seeing a crowd of people at the check-in counters, she attempted to check in using a kiosk but was unsuccessful. Han then joined the queue for the check-in counters instead, but was shocked when she finally reached the front of the line. «When it was my turn, the staff took my passport and walked away. When they came back, they told me that the plane was 'full' and I couldn't get on,» she told the Chinese daily. The Jetstar staff offered to help arrange for Han to fly to Haikou two days later. However, Aug 29 was the first anniversary of Han's father's death, and she had planned to pay her respects to him with her family on the day, reported Shin Min Daily.

Local actress Kimberly Chia and her husband Vincent Yeo, who owns a cleaning service, nearly fell victim to an alleged scam of nearly $16,000. She warned her audience about the scheme in a TikTok video posted on Aug 29, prefacing it by saying: «If you're a small business owner or providing a service of some sort, please beware, okay? Because there's a new scam going around and it's so, so believable.» The 29-year-old said that the alleged scam involves someone claiming to be a teacher at a local secondary school who calls a business up asking for its services. After booking the service, the alleged scammer called Yeo the next day asking for help with «something totally unrelated». He said the school wanted to buy some beds and gave them a contact to check on the price of beds, where Kimberly said the alleged scam started. She then explained that the alleged scammer asked her husband if he could help the former purchase the beds «that he needs by today» and added that the school could not carry out the transaction due to a conflict between the principal and the supplier.

A fire broke out at Golden Mile Tower at Beach Road this afternoon (Aug 31), with social media users on Facebook, X and TikTok sharing photos and videos of thick smoke coming out of the building shortly after 1pm. Multiple vehicles parked in close proximity on the rooftop carpark were on fire. They appear to be of the same make. At least one Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Mass Decontamination Vehicle (MDV), a pump ladder and a Red Rhino Light Fire Attack Vehicle, as well as several police Fast Response Cars were seen along Beach Road. AsiaOne spoke to an eyewitness named Chua, whose office Welcab.sg is on the 14th floor of Golden Mile Tower overlooking the 6th floor carpark.  “I was coming from lunch at about 12.40pm when I noticed the first three Honda N-Van cars parked at the lower right corner on fire. By then, the first police vehicle was already on the scene and the officers were seen quickly making calls. We started evacuating shortly after,” said Chua. He added that more than 20 explosions were heard. 

Aside from the usual offerings to the wandering spirits during the seventh month, a temple at Jalan Bukit Merah has gone the extra mile by creating a beach-themed 'party' — specially for child spirits.  Located at Block 105A Jalan Bukit Merah, the beach party set up, which is about the size of a basketball court, consists of brightly coloured inflatable pools, a sand pit, and other beach-themed toys.  Beach-themed toys in the sand pit. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Rauf Khan Less than a metre away were tables lined with a variety of snacks and drinks, and a replica McDonald's banner.  Among the plethora of toys and snacks were stacks of joss paper and other paper offerings — an indication that the items were meant for the dead.  At the very front was an altar for the spirits, accompanied by six bowing jin tong yu nu (golden boys and jade maidens). 

Motorists in Singapore who have inquiries about Malaysia’s Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) must make an appointment before they can visit the newly opened information counter in Woodlands. Mr Ng Poh Heng, the acting manager of Singapore firm MY VEP, which operates the information counter here, told The Straits Times that the move to stop walk-ins was in response to the large crowds that have flocked to the third floor of 186 Woodlands Industrial Park E5 seeking help with their VEP applications. Since Aug 30, visitors to the Woodlands counter must have made an appointment online via the website, https://www.myvep.com.sg/appointment To make an appointment, motorists must enter personal information, including their name and vehicle registration number. They can then choose a time slot by the hour between 9am and 5pm. Checks by ST found that appointment bookings are open only for the next three weeks, from Sept 2 to Sept 20. As at 8pm on Aug 30, appointment slots from Sept 2 to 9 are full.

SINGAPORE — Singapore's world No. 2 archer Syahidah Alim was off to a red-hot start at the Paralympics on Aug 30, scoring two maximum 10s in the individual compound open round-of-32 match against Australia's Ameera Lee. But as the rain started to fall, the weather appeared to dampen her accuracy. A wayward 5 to start the second end — each archer shoots five ends of three arrows — ultimately proved costly. While Syahidah was still leading 80-79 after three ends, Lee stepped up with a perfect fourth end to take control for a 135-133 win. «That's the beauty of the sport — it's anyone's game,» said the 39-year-old, who was born with diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy marked by stiff lower limbs and difficulty walking or standing for extended periods of time. "It's definitely disappointing not being able to advance further, but I'm proud of the efforts I put in my shooting. I was pleased with the strong start, but that 5 in the second end was definitely a setback. That shot shook my confidence for a while, and I had to work hard to regain my composure for the rest of the round.

SINGAPORE — Two crew members were injured after a Singapore-flagged vessel hit another ship in an Australian port on Aug 30. A statement from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the incident happened at 6.20am, when the Singapore-flagged vessel Maersk Shekou — under pilotage and assisted by four tugs — was making its way into the harbour in the Port of Fremantle. It then struck the STS Leeuwin II, which was at berth. A maritime museum's roof was also reportedly damaged during the incident, said MPA. There was no pollution as a result of the incident. Two crew members working onboard the STS Leeuwin II suffered some injuries, while 26 crew members who were onboard the Maersk Shekou reportedly did not sustain any injuries, said MPA. The mast of STS Leeuwin II collapsed, and the hull of the Maersk Shekou was also damaged due to the incident. The Singapore-flagged vessel is currently stationed in the Fremantle Container Terminal to assist with investigations by the Australian authorities. «MPA is in contact with the vessel manager and also the Fremantle Port Authority,» said MPA.

SINGAPORE — A total of 14 drivers were arrested by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a three-day operation this week at the Changi Airport for providing illegal chauffeur services. In a Facebook post by LTA on Aug 30, it said the drivers were providing rides illegally between Singapore and Malaysia, as well as within Singapore. Their vehicles, foreign-registered, were also seized. Earlier on Aug 7, the agency also arrested four drivers for providing illegal cross-border rides between Singapore and Malaysia, and seized their Malaysia-registered vehicles. The latest arrests bring the total number of drivers caught for providing illegal cross-border services to 32 since 2022, an LTA spokesperson told The Straits Times. Checks by ST on Aug 8 found that several Facebook pages, Telegram groups, websites and more than 20 listings on e-commerce platform Carousell were offering cross-border chauffeur services targeting travellers from Singapore. One website with a Malaysian contact number offered a ride from Singapore to Mount Austin in Johor Bahru on a multi-purpose vehicle at a starting fee of $100.

A woman walking in a park was horrified when she came across a monitor lizard with a lifeless mousedeer in its mouth. Pictures and a video of the unfortunate encounter were posted by user Joanne Toh to Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Thursday (Aug 29). Stating that she was at Thomson Nature Park on the same day, Toh wrote that she saw the monitor lizard eating what she thought was a frog from a distance. However, upon using a zoom-in lens to get a clearer view, she realised that the monitor lizard was eating a mousedeer that was already badly bitten. «I know this is the so-called 'animal life cycle', but to me it was really cruel and made me feel very sad [that] a cute mouse deer was eaten like this,» wrote Toh. «Why didn't I think of a way to save the mousedeer? Because I was alone,» she added. The woman added that she had cut her video short to post online as the later scenes, which were supposedly gory, might make some uncomfortable. Two species of mousedeer are native to Singapore, according to a 2021 newsletter by the National Parks Board (NParks).