A new Bill was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 15) which will give the Government powers to order social media platforms and app providers to take down harmful content.The Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill will also establish an Online Safety Commission (OSC) for victims of 13 online harms — including stalking and online harassment — to seek timely relief and obtain redress by the end of the first half of 2026.The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said in a statement that victims will be required to first report the harm they have experienced to the online platform before submitting a report to the OSC.Victims of online harms that «warrant urgent relief», such as when their intimate photos are leaked without their consent, can approach the OSC directly.The proposed government agency will be empowered to include directions to take down the harmful content, restrict the perpetrator's online account, or to allow the victim to post a reply.

More than 9,100 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats have been launched by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the October sales exercise, including the first flats in the Mount Pleasant and Berlayar estates.A total of 10 projects across Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Jurong East, Sengkang, Toa Payoh and Yishun are available during the sales exercise, which began on Wednesday (Oct 15), said HDB in a press release on the same day.Berlayar's first project, Berlayar Residences, has a subsidy clawback of 14 per cent — the highest seen for BTO flats to date.A subsidy clawback means that upon the sale of their flats, owners have to pay HDB a percentage of the resale or valuation price, whichever is higher.These clawbacks correspond to the extent of the extra subsidies offered for these flats, said HDB, adding that there is also a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP) for them.In comparison, the rates for other Prime flats in the July sales exercise were between 11 and 12 per cent.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle almost 5,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes at Tuas Checkpoint on Oct 9.In a Facebook post on Oct 15, ICA said that the cigarettes were hidden in a Malaysia-registered lorry carrying cargo declared as «oats».The cigarettes were discovered when ICA Search & Examination officers carried out enhanced checks.The 45-year-old male Malaysian driver was arrested.The exhibits and the suspect were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.Buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are considered serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act.If convicted, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both.Vehicles used in these offences and proceeds of sales of duty-unpaid goods are also liable to be forfeited.[[nid:723782]]dana.leong@asiaone.com

SINGAPORE — A former UOB employee was convicted on Oct 14 of multiple charges following the disclosure of information on more than 1,000 customers to a scammer.Cao Wenqing, 30, was convicted of 14 charges under the Computer Misuse Act and 13 charges under the Banking Act.The Chinese national had contested the charges and was represented in court by lawyer Kalidass Murugaiyan from Kalidass Law Corp.Court documents showed Cao was a junior officer working in the bank's mortgage department at the time of the offences. She had access to the customer database for her work, which involved selling mortgages to new customers and servicing existing customers with mortgages.The database contained information on customers' names, nationalities, account numbers, addresses, identification numbers and bank balances.In March 2021, two unknown individuals known as «Xiang Ying Dong» and «Captain Lu» contacted Cao, claiming to be police officers from China. Court documents did not specify what they told her.Cao later agreed to act as a person assisting the «Chinese police» on a voluntary basis.

Two people were taken to the hospital after a fire broke out in a HDB flat kitchen in Jurong West on Tuesday (Oct 14).Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to a fire at Block 675A, Jurong West Street 64, at about 5.40pm.Upon arrival, SCDF found the kitchen of a 13th-floor unit on fire and extinguished the blaze using a water jet.Two people were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.SCDF reminded the public not to leave any cooking or heating activities unattended and to switch off all gas and electrical appliances when not in use.According to SCDF's annual statistics report released on Feb 13, the number of residential fires in 2024 remained largely unchanged, with a total of 968 cases. Unattended cooking and electrical faults continued to be the two leading causes of fires in residential premises.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has warned the public against hanging on traffic lights and signposts as part of a social media trend.In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 14), the authority stated that it is aware of the trend where people film themselves hanging from traffic lights, road signs and other road infrastructure.«Fun's fun, but our road infrastructure isn't a playground. It helps facilitate travel and keeps everyone safe. Please don't use them as props for social media. Let's keep our roads safe (and your content risk-free),» said LTA. The post also had images depicting the challenge which were generated by artificial intelligence. 

Sales staff of a beauty chain in Singapore have been accused of misleading and hard selling packages or products, amounting to nearly $1 million, to customers.Fifty-three complaints against DNA Brands Co were made to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) from August 2024 to Oct 14, 2025, with at least 20 elderly consumers submitting complaints to the watchdog.Case said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 15) that the complaints involved a total value of over $980,000 and pertain to two beauty brands run by DNA Brands Co. The businesses involved are beauty salons operating under the Beautique name and wellness retail outlets under The Mineral Boutique label. High-pressure sales tactics Complainants alleged that they had been misled or pressured by sales assistants into purchasing excessive beauty packages or products.25 cases were lodged in the last five months of 2024, and 28 in 2025.Half of the complaints involved purchases exceeding $10,000, according to Case. One consumer was charged at least $370,000 for products and packages.

A Singaporean man who helped his Thai wife run a multi-million-dollar luxury goods scam was sentenced to a jail term of five years and 10 months.Pi Jiapeng, 30, pleaded guilty to three charges for fraudulent trading, breaching his duties as a director and money laundering on Tuesday (Oct 14).According to the police, another four charges were also taken into consideration in his sentencing.Pi and his wife, Pansuk Siriwipa, 30, were arrested in August 2022 after fleeing the country during police investigations.They made the headlines in 2022 as the couple involved in the $32 million luxury goods scam.The couple started two businesses, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, operating primarily as re-sellers of luxury watches and bags on a pre-order basis, offering the goods for sale online.The luxury goods were sold at fixed prices around 10 to 20 per cent lower than other local resellers, and customers were required to make full payment when placing their order.According to the police, Pi was the sole director of both companies.

Four men and one woman will be charged in court on Wednesday (Oct 15) for their suspected involvement in separate cases of outrage of modesty.In a press release on Oct 14, the police said that five individuals, aged between 30 and 72, allegedly committed their crimes between January and August this year.The only woman in the group, a 31-year-old, allegedly molested a 25-year-old woman along Duxton Hill on July 11. She was identified through follow-up investigations and the use of CCTV images and subsequently arrested by the police.Separately, a 72-year-old man allegedly molested a 47-year-old woman along Temple Street on Jan 28 and was arrested at the scene.On May 17, a 30-year-old man allegedly molested a 24-year-old woman along Veerasamy Road, and was also arrested at the scene.The other men who will be hauled to court include a 47-year-old man who allegedly molested a 33-year-old woman along Rochor Canal Road, and 41-year-old man who allegedly molested a 29-year-old woman along Bayfront Avenue on July 7.

The Workers' Party (WP) statement on foreigners attempting to influence the General Election 2025 (GE2025) was «ambiguous», Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam told Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 14).Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said in a ministerial statement that race and religion must not be brought into Singapore politics.He touched on several «troubling incidents» of foreign interferences during GE2025 and attempts to canvass votes from the Malay/Muslim community.One case involved Singaporean religious preacher Noor Deros, who said on April 19 he would campaign for any political party who could meet his demands for the rights of the Malay/Muslim community to be prioritised.

Singapore's multiculuralism has positioned our society ahead of other countries, but ensuring equality for all races is still a «work in progress», said Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam.Incidents relating to racism and discrimination is the «lived realities» of minority groups, he said in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 14), adding that a fraction of the Chinese community have also told of similar experiences.Delivering a ministerial statement on political interference and canvassing during the General Election 2025, Shanmugam stressed that race and religion is fundamental to the Republic.He told of how founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew declared that all citizens would be equal and enabled to preserve their own racial and religious heritage.English was recognised as one of the official languages and taught as the primary language in schools with Malay being a national language.At that time, many other nations chose the language of the majority ethnic group as their official language and implemented policies favouring the majority. 

The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) will be getting a new leader after the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) announced a leadership change on Tuesday (Oct 14). Lim Shung Yar, 45, will be appointed chief executive officer on Feb 1, 2026. As part of the transition, he will be appointed chief executive officer-designate on Nov 1. He will take over from Tan Li San, 50, who became NCSS' chief in 2020. Lim is currently senior director for leadership development and strategy in the Public Service Division, and has also held appointments in the culture, community and youth, and education ministries. President of NCSS Anita Fam welcomed Lim's appointment and said: «We are confident that with his experience and commitment, he will steer NCSS to another exciting new chapter with continued growth and innovation.»Outgoing CEO Tan is credited with strengthening NCSS' role as a sector developer. MSF said that she led NCSS through a period of transformation and rapid responses to community needs arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Amendments to the Penal Code and other legislation have been proposed to further rationalise Singapore's criminal laws, better protect vulnerable victims, and tackle emerging crime trends. Among the key amendments to the Bill introduced in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 14) is the introduction of caning for scams and scam-related offences. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement that judicial caning serves the function of deterrence and proportionate punishment. «There are currently 161 offences that attract caning: 96 attract discretionary caning, while 65 attract mandatory caning.»Fighting scams continues to be a top national priority. The number of scam cases and scam losses remain concerning. MHA will introduce caning for scams and scams-related offences for stronger deterrence," added the ministry. Earlier on March 4, former MP Dr Tan Wu Meng had called for mandatory caning for scammers in egregious cases. 

Amendments to the Criminal Law Bill has been proposed to further rationalise Singapore's criminal laws, better protect vulnerable victims, and tackle emerging crime trends. Among the key amendments to the Bill introduced in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 14) is the introduction of caning for scams and scam-related offences. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement that judicial caning serves the function of deterrence and proportionate punishment. «There are currently 161 offences that attract caning: 96 attract discretionary caning, while 65 attract mandatory caning.»Fighting scams continues to be a top national priority. The number of scam cases and scam losses remain concerning. MHA will introduce caning for scams and scams-related offences for stronger deterrence," added the ministry. Earlier on March 4, former MP Dr Tan Wu Meng had called for mandatory caning for scammers in egregious cases. 

A food court, a cafe and a childcare centre - these are just some of the offerings the public can enjoy with the opening of the new Central Manpower Base (CMPB) today (Oct 14). Speaking at the official opening of this new facility at Bukit Gombak on Tuesday (Oct 14), Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing pointed out that the new CMPB is more than just a building for administrative matters.«It is our commitment to providing the best support for our servicemen and women. Most importantly, it is our commitment to continue to innovate at speed,» he said.This new CMPB which was progressively launched in 2025, is the only publicly accessible Mindef/SAF building till date.It features a range of community amenities including outdoor exercise facilities, a food court with a beer garden, a cafe, a convenience store, and a childcare centre.Located opposite Cashew MRT station, the new CMPB will also serve as an integrated one-stop service hub to support the National Service (NS) community throughout their NS journey.

Almost exactly a year ago, 48-year-old Roger Tan was told he had only 12 months left to live.Today, the former bank risk manager, who was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer in 2024, is still defying the odds.Tan writes daily letters of encouragement to prison inmates and leads charity work for inmates and the community, reported Shin Min Daily News.He has even complied a collection of his letters written to inmates over the years into a book, and all 200 copies have sold out.Liver problems run in his familyLiver problems run in Tan's family. Since the age of 14, he has gone for yearly check-ups, all of which showed no issues.But during a routine screening in 2024, doctors found a tumour in his liver.After his diagnosis, Tan told Shin Min, he underwent surgery in August. However, during the operation, the tumour ruptured unexpectedly, causing blood clots which worsened his condition.Last October, doctors told him his cancer was terminal and that he had only a year to live.

A nine-year-old boy was taken to hospital after he was hit by a taxi while crossing a traffic junction along Middle Road towards Nicoll Highway on Monday (Oct 13).A video of the incident recorded by a dashcam camera was posted on the SGRV Facebook page the same evening.The short clip showed a boy on a kick scooter dashing across the junction before being hit by the ComfortDelGro taxi. The video did not show the aftermath of the collision.According to the caption to the video, the boy had been crossing the junction of Middle Road and Bencoolen Street and had failed to conform to the red-light signal.The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force told AsiaOne that they were alerted to the incident at 2.40pm and 2.45pm respectively on Oct 13. A nine-year-old pedestrian was taken while conscious to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:723860]]candicecai@asiaone.com