A well-loved community cat in Everton Park was allegedly held down by a man who cut off patches of its fur with a pair of scissors. Closed-circuit television footage of the incident, which purportedly went on for six minutes, was posted on Sunday (Feb 8) on Instagram by @timmytheblackcat_, a page dedicated to the black cat named Timmy. In the video, a man dressed in a brown T-shirt and shorts is seen approaching Timmy wearing gloves and holding onto a pair scissors. The man then grabs Timmy — who was sitting in its usual sleeping spot — and pins it down, before he snips the cat's fur. The man continued to cut Timmy's fur despite the cat struggling to break free from his hold, the user captioned in the video. Timmy later leapt out of the spot to flee but the man chased after the feline. After dusting off his scissors, the man was seen turning back to chase after Timmy again but it ran away to hide in the drain. AsiaOne has reached out to @timmytheblackcat_ for more information. This is not the first time that Timmy has been harassed. 

From the campaign trail to the streets, former People Power Party (PPP) candidate Samuel Lee has been spotted working as a food delivery rider. In a photo shared on Reddit on Thursday (Feb 5), Lee can be seen clad in a dark green tank top delivering a meal. «Was as hungry at work and ordered some food and why is the delivery man the 'look left look right' politician,» wrote the poster. Lee first performed his rendition of the song «look left, look right» at a press conference during the 2025 General Election, adapting it from the classic Chinese song A Tiny Bird. Based on the receipt shown in the photo, Lee is believed to have been working for Grab at the time. Responding to queries from MS News, Lee confirmed that it was him in the photo but said he was unsure of when it was taken, adding that he found the situation amusing. 

13 people were taken to hospital following an accident involving two buses at a bus stop in Sengkang on Monday (Feb 9). Photos of the aftermath online showed a double-decker bus with its front windshield shattered. Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident along Sengkang East Road towards Buangkok Green at around 11.15am. A 68-year-old male bus driver, along with passengers aged between 24 and 81, were taken to hospital conscious, said the police. SCDF said it sent 12 people to Sengkang General Hospital, and one person to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. In a statement, public bus operator Go-Ahead Singapore said its bus service 104 was involved in an accident at a bus stop outside Sengkang Community Hub and that it is cooperating with the relevant authorities on their investigations. 

Since the SkillsFuture initiative was launched a decade ago in 2015, over one in two eligible Singaporeans aged 30 to 75 have used their credits for courses, with participation spiking in December 2025. This surge was due to the one-off $500 credit top-up given in 2020 expiring at the end of 2025, said SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). In a media release on Monday (Feb 9), the statuary board said that 606,000 people enrolled in SSG-supported training in 2025, up from 555,000 people in 2024. The number of people who used their SkillsFuture Credit in December 2025 was higher than the monthly average across January to November that year. Users were most interested in courses from the Information & Communications, Food & Beverages, and Security & Investigation sectors in 2025. SSG said 73 per cent of its survey respondents agreed to a large or very large extent that their training improved work performance — an increase from 69 per cent in 2024. 67 per cent of respondents also attributed their career advancements to their courses as compared with 64 per cent in 2024. 

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers have foiled an attempt to smuggle drones and replica guns, including its parts and accessories, into Singapore via an inbound cargo container. The incident happened on Jan 22 at the Tanjong Pagar Scanning Station in PSA Tanjong Pagar Terminal. In a Facebook post on Monday (Feb 9), ICA said its officers noticed anomalies in the scanned images of the container and directed the cargo for further checks. ICA search and examination officers found a total of 72 undeclared drones, and more than 10 units of replica guns and other parts and accessories. Replica and toy guns are controlled items in Singapore and their import is managed under the Regulations of Imports and Exports Regulations. This means that approval from the police's regulatory department is required for their import. According to the police, any toy or replica guns that bear close resemblance to actual firearms will not be approved. 

SINGAPORE — A 19-year-old woman was starved and tortured for two months by a man she had met through a club selling Herbalife nutritional products in acts which allegedly also involved her older brother and his married girlfriend, the High Court heard on Feb 9.Huang Baoying died on May 5, 2021, from the final acts of abuse carried out on her in a flat at Block 602 Clementi West Street 1.In her last hours, she was repeatedly beaten with a wooden stick, forced to sit upright with her hands tied and raised above her head, had salt rubbed into an open wound on her leg, and was drenched under a running tap for 15 minutes.The teenager was left on a mattress in the living room, where she died from a combination of severe malnutrition, sepsis and extensive blunt force trauma.She weighed only 27.6 kg at her autopsy, having lost 43 per cent of her body weight over 11 months from June 2020, when her weight was last recorded as 48.8 kg.On Feb 9, Lim Peng Tiong, a member of the multi-level marketing club selling Herbalife products, pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for causing her death.

A 84-year-old woman died after an accident involving a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) in Bedok on Jan 30. Responding to queries from AsiaOne on Monday (Feb 9), the police said they were alerted to an accident involving a PAB and a pedestrian along Bedok South Avenue 3 towards Tanah Merah Kechil Road at around 3.20pm on Jan 30.  The victim was sent to hospital unconscious, where she later died. A 43-year-old male PAB rider is assisting with police investigations. The victim's daughter, in a Facebook post shared on SGRV Front Man on Sunday, said the victim had been walking towards a bus stop along Bedok South Avenue 3 at the time of the accident.She was found unconscious with a skull fracture and massive bleeding from her head, and died shortly after in hospital, the post stated. «We were told that she was hit by a PMD (personal mobility device),» the daughter added. «We are pleading for witnesses who saw what had happened to contact the Bedok Police (Division Headquarters). Grieving family would like closure.» [[nid:729275]]khooyihang@asiaone.com

A dramatic escape attempt at a Johor Bahru land checkpoint last month saw a Malaysian policeman draw his gun while his colleague picked up a traffic cone and hit a car bonnet in a bid to stop an errant driver. Viral dashcam footage posted by Facebook page SGRV on Saturday (Feb 7) shows a Volkswagen bearing a Singapore licence plate going against the flow of traffic at a car zone at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex at the Johor Bahru end of the Causeway. The incident purportedly occurred at about 1.30am on Jan 10. When the two Malaysian policemen approach the car, the driver abruptly reverses before jerking forward and lightly bumping into the cam car. One policeman draws his gun as the driver reverses again and attempts to go over the lane divider. Another officer then grabs a nearby traffic cone and strikes the car's bonnet. As the cam car backs away from the scene, the errant driver takes the chance and speeds away through the lane opening. The clip has since attracted nearly 700,000 views and more than 3,000 likes as of Monday afternoon. 

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.1. 18-year-old subdued by 4 police officers after allegedly brandishing knife in Bukit PanjangAn 18-year-old teenager was subdued by four police officers last Saturday (Feb 7) after allegedly brandishing a knife in Bukit Panjang... » READ MORE2. This made my day: Sengkang pedestrians hailed for controlling traffic amid rain and traffic light failure

Complaints against the beauty industry in Singapore spiked by 76.2 per cent in 2025, leading to cumulative losses exceeding $2.1 million.In a media release on Monday (Feb 9), the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said the beauty industry received the most complaints in 2025, with 2,113 complaints compared to 1,199 complaints the year prior. In particular, the abrupt closure of massage and foot reflexology chain Wan Yang in November last year accounted for approximately $1,250,000 in prepayment losses, representing over half of the losses within the beauty industry, said Case. Of the complaints received against the beauty industry in 2025, approximately two in five involved prepayment losses resulting from sudden business closures, while around one in five involved unfair practices such as pressure sales tactics and misleading claims. Melvin Yong, president of Case, said that the sharp rise in prepayment losses in 2025 highlights the «urgent need for stronger safeguards».

SINGAPORE — Singapore's telecommunications infrastructure has come under attack from cyberespionage group UNC3886.All four of the country's major telcos — Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba Telecom — were targeted, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo revealed on Feb 9.UNC3886 is a state-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) actor and poses a menace to national security in many countries, including Singapore.Even though no sensitive data was seen or exfiltrated, Teo said the attacks cannot be taken lightly.«They could deploy more tools to disrupt telecoms and internet services. Everything that requires a phone or internet connection would then be affected,» said Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation in Singapore.«The knock-on effects of their campaign could also have included other essential services like banking and finance, transport, and medical services,» she added. «Successful cyberattacks can also affect trust and confidence in Singapore as a whole, and our economic security.»

Even as Singapore remained one of the safest countries in the world in 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has flagged the increased number of young drug abusers below the age of 30, speeding violations and scams as some of the trends it is concerned with.These trends were presented by MHA in its annual overview of safety and security situation on Monday (Feb 9), ahead of its departments - referred to as the Home Team - releasing their annual statistics this month.The Home Team comprises the Central Narcotics Bureau, Gambling Regulatory Authority, Home Team Academy, Home Team Science and Technology Agency, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Internal Security Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Singapore Police Force, Singapore Prison Service (SPS), and Yellow Ribbon Singapore.

A 22-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) has been arrested in relation to the false bomb threat at Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) on Jan 23, according to a press release by the Ministry of Defence on Monday (Feb 9).The NSF, who was working in the air base, is suspected to be the perpetrator of the threat and was placed under close arrest in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) detention barracks on Jan 28.He had created an online post claiming that improvised explosive devices (IED) were installed across 12 locations in the air base and in Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) senior officers' vehicles.«The threat was confirmed to be a hoax after bomb sweeps and other precautionary measures were taken,» Mindef said. «Current evidence suggests that the NSF was a lone perpetrator.»The NSF may be charged for communicating false information of harmful thing and tried via general court martial depending on how the investigation proceeds, the ministry stated.If found guilty, he may face up to seven years' jail and a $50,000 fine.

Singapore's four major telecom operators — Singtel, StarHub, M1, and Simba — are under threat from cyber espionage group UNC3886.The foreign actor targeted the telecommunications sector in 2025 but did not succeed in stealing any personal or sensitive customer data, said the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a statement on Monday (Feb 9).«At stake was not just sensitive data,» said Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation Group, at an engagement event to recognise cyber defenders on Monday.«The consequences could have been more severe. If the attack went far enough, it could have allowed the attacker to one day cut off telecoms or internet services.»UNC3886 was publicly identified as the advanced persistent threat (APT) group conducting a «serious» and ongoing attack on Singapore's critical infrastructures by Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam in July 2025.

SINGAPORE - Singapore drew more investment in 2025 despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties, with China forming a larger share of total commitments and business expenditures, according to data released on Monday (Feb 9) by the city-state's Economic Development Board.Fixed asset investment commitments in Singapore rose 5.2 per cent to $14.2 billion, from $13.5 billion a year earlier, while total business expenditure rose 6 per cent to $8.9 billion, the agency said in a statement.Singapore has seen an influx of Chinese companies looking to domicile in Singapore to reduce the risks to their business arising from the growing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States.China's share of fixed asset commitments accounted for 20.6 per cent of the total last year, exceeding the United States for the first time, with the US share falling to 17.3 per cent. In 2024, China accounted for only 2.5 per cent of the commitments, with the United States at 55.5 per cent.EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said that many Chinese companies are seeking to expand internationally in response to slower domestic growth.

Three men were praised for stepping in to direct traffic in Sengkang after a traffic light malfunction during a rainy day.A video of the incident was uploaded to TikTok on Saturday (Feb 7) by Tanisha Singh, the wife of one of the three pedestrians who helped direct traffic.The incident occurred on Friday night at a traffic junction outside Rivervale Mall, which is located between Rivervale Crescent and Rivervale Drive.The traffic lights at the junction were not working, according to Singh's caption, and the ground appeared slick from rain.The 23-second video captured Singh's husband and two other men using the flashlights on their mobile phones to direct traffic at the intersection.Singh's video has since garnered over 67,000 views, with many netizens leaving comments lauding the actions of the three men.«A salute to these men,» said TikTok user Leo Heng, while another another praised them for using their phone lights to alert approaching vehicles.Some netizens shared about witnessing the scene on Friday night, and thanked the men for taking the initiative to help out.