It was yet another wet and stormy night as Singapore was hit by heavy rain and gusty winds on Friday (Sept 20). The National Environment Agency (NEA) had issued a statement at 10:20pm that evening warning that moderate to heavy thundery showers with strong winds were expected over many parts of the island between 11pm till 1am the next day (Sept 21), reported 8world.  The storm reportedly swept past Singapore in about 90 minutes.  This comes after the squall that hit Singapore on Sept 17, which toppled trees and snarled traffic.  A Facebook video by netizen Bing Callo-loh uploaded at around 11pm on Friday showed the heavy downpour in an undisclosed open-air HDB car park. 

SINGAPORE - A 33-year-old male car driver was arrested for careless driving after a passenger in another car died on Sept 21 in an accident in Woodlands. In response to queries, the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Woodlands Avenue 10 and Woodlands Avenue 7 at about 1.55am. The police said a 29-year-old male car passenger was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.  SCDF said it assessed another two people for minor injuries and the persons declined to be taken to the hospital. The male car driver was arrested for careless driving causing death, the police added. In footage of the accident posted on Facebook page Singapore roads accident.com, a white car with a badly damaged rear can be seen in the middle of an empty road. A blue police tent, an ambulance and a police motorcycle can be seen in the background.

Cute or concerning? A video that Stomp contributor Kenneth took of a shrew and its three babies in Sengkang will leave you with mixed feelings. Kenneth said he came across the unusual sight between Blocks 128 and 132 Rivervale Street on Sept 17, at around 10.45pm. The video shows three small shrews trailing behind a larger shrew in single file as they scurry along a walkway, across metal drain covers, and even up and down kerbs. Kenneth told Stomp: «You can see the babies following closely behind their mother crossing obstacles. »I think it's cute and heartwarming. But at the same time, I feel scared as this might be a sign of an infestation in my neighbourhood." Although often mistaken as rats, shrews are not rodents. They can be identified by their sharper and more distinctive snout as well as a shorter tail. They also have poor vision. When a mother shrew wants to move her offspring from one location to another (particularly above ground), each shrew will hold onto the shrew in front to form a long caravan.

SINGAPORE – About 100 residents were evacuated after a fire broke out in a fourth-floor Housing Board unit in Yishun on Sept 20. In a Facebook post, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded to the fire at Block 431C Yishun Avenue 1 at 6.40pm. Upon arrival, firefighters forced entry into a smoke-filled unit. There was no one in the unit at the time of the fire. The fire, which involved the entire living room area, was extinguished using a water jet. The rest of the unit sustained heat and smoke damage. As a precaution, residents from the third to sixth floor were evacuated by the police and SCDF. There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

It's true that Singapore's population is ageing rapidly - but that may not be a bad thing, according to panellists at a DBS dialogue. Come 2030, the percentage of persons aged 65 and above in Singapore will become one in four. «Today the narrative is one that is gloomy and negative. We talk about 'silver tsunamis'. Is anyone truly, really, happy when you talk about tsunamis? I don't think so,» said Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Social and Family Development, as well as the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Eric Chua. He was speaking during a panel discussion at the inaugural session of DBS Foundation's Impact Beyond Dialogue on Sept 18. Instead, he thinks the narrative should be reframed, starting with «positive language». «We have more older folks among us... than young people. That means that our population is going to have more wisdom, more experience,» he explained.

SINGAPORE – She had just returned from the coffeeshop slightly before 1pm when she saw smoke billowing from the top of her neighbour’s unit at Synergy@KB. Ms Vina Tai’s car workshop, on the fifth floor of the industrial building at 25 Kaki Bukit Road 4, is next door to a signage company that was ravaged by a blaze on Sept 19, resulting in the deaths of two men. She quickly alerted the police and SCDF to the fire. As the fire grew, six staff members from signage company Amen Industrial waited anxiously outside the unit. Ms Tai said she saw workers from other units had gathered on a narrow road outside the units. Her voice trembling as she spoke to The Straits Times at her shop unit on Sept 20, Ms Tai said: “People were still standing around as black smoke filled half of the fifth floor. “In the chaos, a staff member from the carpentry shop told me that two persons were trapped. “It broke my heart when he said the person’s last words were ‘there’s too much smoke, I can’t breathe’.” Subsequent calls to that person went unanswered. Ms Tai, 31, said she did not know the deceased men.

SINGAPORE — The four per cent floor rate for interest earned on all Special, MediSave and Retirement account (SMRA) monies has been extended for another year until Dec 31, 2025. In a joint statement on Sept 20, the Housing Board and Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board said the extension from Jan 1, 2025, will «continue to provide CPF members with certainty on the returns of their CPF savings amidst the volatile interest rate environment». Since 2008, savings in SMRAs have been invested in Special Singapore Government Securities, which earn an interest rate pegged to the 12-month average yield of 10-year Singapore Government Securities plus one per cent. All interest rates are quoted on a per annum basis.  From Oct 1 to Dec 31, the SMRA interest rate will be set at 4.14 per cent, up from the 4.08 per cent in the third quarter, due to the pegged rate exceeding the floor rate of 4 per cent. The Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate will remain unchanged at 2.5 per cent from Oct 1 to Dec 31, as the OA pegged rate remains below the floor rate of 2.5 per cent.

Three 19-year-olds have been arrested following an operation by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Wednesday (Sept 18) which resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of drugs, said the agency in a statement on Friday (Sept 20). Two of the three teens - a man and a woman - were arrested in a residential unit in the vicinity of Rivervale Walk in Sengkang. Officers found drug paraphernalia in the bedroom of the 19-year-old man, including a digital weighing scale. Officers then brought the man to his rented unit along Hougang Ave 7 where they found about 486g of Ice (crystal methamphetamine) and 695g of cannabis in the premises. Officers then raided a unit along Serangoon North Ave 3, arresting another 19-year-old male who was found in the bedroom. Some 24g of Ice was found in the bedroom, as well as various drug paraphernalia and $11,400 in cash. The total worth of all the drugs seized by CNB is estimated to be around $78,000 and is enough to feed 390 drug abusers for a week, CNB said.

A mother-and-son duo is facing charges for giving false and misleading information to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) during its audit of cases of the so-called «99-to-1» arrangement for private properties. This is the first prosecution of taxpayers providing false and misleading information to Iras during its investigation into the two-step «99-to-1» property transactions for possible tax avoidance, said the agency in a statement on Friday (Sep 20). The mother, 56-year-old Ng Chiew Yen, and her son, 26-year-old Keith Tan Kai Wen, face five charges each. They are both Singaporeans. Investigations revealed that Tan bought a condominium unit at the 99-year leasehold The Watergardens at Canberra in Sembawang in his sole name on Sep 24, 2021, said Iras. He subsequently sold a 1 per cent share of the property to his mother. Data from URA Realis showed that the fourth-floor unit, 753 sq ft in size, was transacted on Aug 28, 2021, for S$1.1 million, or S$1,477 a square foot.

They may have enjoyed tucking into their kingly meal, but seeing their bill may have caused them to get a little crabby. One Facebook user surnamed Ong has accused a Boat Quay restaurant of «unethical business» after they charged her daughter and her friends $356 for a serving of Alaskan King Crab, she wrote in a now-deleted post to Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Wednesday (Sept 18). Her 16-year-old daughter had gone out for dinner with friends and had chosen to order crab from Seafood by the River in Boat Quay. Unexpectedly, the restaurant cooked up an Alaskan King Crab, «slapping them with a $356 bill», she said. «Ridiculous,» she added. «For a restaurant to think teenagers want to eat Alaskan King Crab? They don't even know and wasn't told of the cost.» In a photograph of the receipt uploaded in Ong's post, the crab is indeed listed as costing $356.40. Notably, however, the receipt also includes Prosecco and House Red - different types of wine - and «Tiger», which is presumably Tiger beer. Along with other food items, the total bill was $536.47. «Please avoid this restaurant at all costs,» Ong stated.

Three 19-year-olds have been arrested following an operation by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Wednesday (Sept 18) which resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of drugs, said the agency in a statement on Friday (Sept 20). Two of the three teens - a man and a woman - were arrested in a residential unit in the vicinity of Rivervale Walk in Sengkang. Officers found drug paraphernalia in the bedroom of the 19-year-old man, including a digital weighing scale. Officers then brought the man to his rented unit along Hougang Ave 7 where they found about 486g of 'Ice' (crystal methamphetamine) and 695g of cannabis in the premises. Officers then raided a unit along Serangoon North Ave 3, arresting another 19-year-old male who was found in the bedroom. Some 24g of 'Ice' was found in the bedroom, as well as various drug paraphernalia and $11,400 in cash. The total worth of all the drugs seized by CNB is estimated to be around $78,000 and is enough to feed 390 drug abusers for a week, CNB said.

SINGAPORE — A significant proportion of youth in Singapore has experienced severe or very severe symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress, the first nationwide survey on youth mental health by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) found. Nearly a third of young people aged 15 to 35 reported symptoms that included feeling empty, tense or upset most of the time, according to the National Youth Mental Health Study. «Navigating the complexities of youth is challenging enough, but young people today are grappling with unique issues that previous generations did not,» said Associate Professor Swapna Verma, who chairs IMH's medical board and was co-principal investigator of the study. «For instance, social media exposes them to constant comparisons, intensifying concerns about body image. »The anonymity of the online world has also given rise to cyber bullying, which adds a new dimension of harassment that can be relentless and far-reaching."

The owner of a fried oyster omelette stall listed in the Singapore Michelin Guide has clarified that the small portion size of their cheapest option is in consideration of elderly customers. On Monday (Sept 16), a netizen took to the Complaint Singapore Facebook group and compared the size of the $5 dish from Huat Heng Fried Oyster in Whampoa Makan Place to «leftovers». «I have no intention to boycott this outlet,» wrote the user. «I strongly understand F&B [industry], I personally think is too much.» The second-generation owner of Huat Heng Fried Oyster told Shin Min Daily News that the Facebook user had returned to enquire about the portion size of his meal after it was served. «He was drinking with five or six other people at the time. Such a small amount would definitely not be enough for them,» said the female hawker, who declined to be named. The stall sells oyster omelette at three price points: $5, $8 and $10. The $5 option is specially designed for seniors as they have smaller appetites, she explained.

SINGAPORE — A Singaporean national who lives in the United States was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents over a conspiracy to steal and launder more than US$230 million (S$297 million) in cryptocurrency. Malone Lam, 20, was charged in a US district court in southern Florida on Sept 19, according to a press release from the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Also facing charges is Lam's alleged co-conspirator Jeandiel Serrano. The 21-year-old appeared in a district court in California on the same day. The two men each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Lam, who splits his time between Miami and Los Angeles, uses the online monikers «Anne Hathaway» and «$$$», while Serrano uses the names «VersaceGod» and «@SkidStar», said the release. According to the indictment, Lam, Serrano and their conspirators contacted a victim in Washington DC on Aug 18 and fraudulently obtained over 4,100 bitcoin, which was worth over US$230 million at the time.

Grabbing their peers' posteriors for a laugh, vandalising school and public properties, vaping and brawling were allegedly par for the course for the teens in the 2023 bullying video that has been making the rounds. In the TikTok video that was uploaded on Sept 15 but has since been removed, at least five teenagers who appear to be wearing Bukit View Secondary School uniform are seen surrounding a smaller boy with a backpack at the void deck of a Housing Board flat. The teens appear to be laughing at the boy before one of them grabs the his backpack and kicks him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. Unfortunately, the bullying seen in the video was allegedly common for the teens in the video. «They would even threaten or insult the teachers,» their ex-schoolmate told TNP. «They also got into fights outside school and bullied others in real life as well as online, sending sexually explicit stickers over WhatsApp.» Although he felt sorry for the victims, the teen who was in the same cohort as the bullies was too scared to intervene.

SINGAPORE - About 110 people were seen queueing outside the Apple Store on Orchard Road at about 6.10am on Sept 20, ahead of the iPhone 16’s launch. Customers who came to the store on the night of Sept 19 were told by Apple staff to leave and return at 4am the next day to queue. The Apple Store opens at 8am. The iPhone 16 line-up is the first Apple smartphone designed around AI features. Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 began on Sept 13, with the phones becoming available at launch only on Sept 20. Mr Harold Lim, 22, the first person in line at the Apple Store, told The Straits Times that this was his first time queueing for an iPhone. “I came at around 10 plus last night actually, because I thought the queue would be crazy,” said Mr Lim. “I went to a nearby coffeeshop at Shaw Theatres for a few hours... and made my way here at 3am, because I didn’t want to take public transport or a private hire vehicle back and forth.” He then realised he was the first person there.

SINGAPORE - A 31-year-old Singaporean man, who was arrested by Thai police in his landed property residence near Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport for suspected drug trafficking offences, was deported to Singapore and arrested by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Sept 19. He will be charged in court on Sept 20 with drug trafficking. The wanted fugitive in Singapore, who has not been named by the Singapore authorities, was nabbed by Thai police on Sept 17 and deported two days later, said CNB. Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) had been tipped off about the man by CNB on Aug 12, said Lieutenant-General Panurat Lakboon, secretary-general of the ONCB. The fugitive’s drug trafficking activities were uncovered by investigations into two separate drug cases in December 2020 and November 2022, CNB said on Sept 19. An arrest warrant was issued against him for his suspected role in supplying drugs to associates for subsequent sale and trafficking in Singapore.

SINGAPORE — A man who said he has a fetish for «anime girls mostly in uniform attire» admitted to molesting three primary school girls aged 11 to 14. On Sept 19, Kieron Ng Kay Lin, 20, pleaded guilty to one charge of outraging the modesty of an 11-year-old girl. The charges involving the two other victims, 12 and 14, and a separate charge under the Protection from Harassment Act will be taken into consideration during sentencing. Other than these three victims, there were many other young girls whose legs he had touched, said the prosecution. According to an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) report, Ng confessed that he had repeatedly done this since 2021. When asked how many girls he had touched, he said: «Two digits but below 60.» The girls were mostly below the age of 16, and the majority of them were in school uniform. Ng was arrested for molesting a 12-year-old girl in May 2023 but was released on bail. In July 2023, he committed a similar offence and was arrested again. He was again released on bail but reoffended the next month.

Three children aged 11, 13 and 15 were found in a residential unit in the vicinity of Anchorvale Lane in Sengkang when the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) carried out a raid in the morning of Sept 17 (Tuesday).  The CNB said in a media statement on Sept 19 that appropriate arrangements have been made to ensure that the welfare of the children was taken care of. The children have also been placed in the care of their next-of-kin. The operation saw the arrest of five Singaporean men between the ages of 19 and 39 for suspected drug trafficking. A large assortment of drugs: about 6.5kg of cannabis, 957g of 'Ice', 292g of 'Ecstasy', 695 lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) stamps, and 1,434 Emirin-5 tablets were recovered during the raid, which included the homes of the five men and two motor vehicles.  The drugs seized are worth an estimated $333,000 and could potentially feed the addiction of 1,480 abusers for a week.  If found guilty of trafficking more than 500g of cannabis, the five men may face the mandatory death penalty. 

SINGAPORE — A woman's eggs age a lot faster than the rest of her, cutting her chances of giving birth to a baby as she gets older. But researchers from Singapore have made a breakthrough in reversing the age of women's eggs, paving the way for greater success in assisted reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). While still restricted to the petri dish for now, the research findings offer renewed hope for older women looking to take motherhood off the back burner after taking time to focus on other life priorities, including their careers. The discovery centres on how the follicular environment plays a crucial role in the development and quality of a woman's oocytes, or immature egg cells. Putting a young egg cell in an aged follicle aged it, while the reverse actually rejuvenated older egg cells, scientists from the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) at the National University of Singapore and the NUS Bia-Echo Asia Centre for Reproductive Longevity and Equality (ACRLE) found.

More than three-quarters of Singapore residents agree that the death penalty should be used for the most serious crimes, including trafficking a significant amount of drugs and murder, according to a 2023 survey by the Minister of Home Affairs (MHA).  This figure of 77.4 per cent is higher than the 73.7 per cent found by the ministry in 2021. In a report released on Thursday (Sept 19), MHA said that they commissioned a survey in 2021 to understand Singapore residents' attitudes towards the death penalty. And two years later, the ministry conducted the survey again - involving face-to-face interviews with 2,000 Singapore citizens and residents - to find out how their attitudes might have changed over time. Death penalty an effective deterrent against serious crimes MHA said that the 2023 survey also found that a «significant proportion» of respondents agree that using the death penalty should be mandatory for the most serious crimes. This includes trafficking a significant amount of drugs, discharging or attempting to discharge a firearm with intent to cause physical injury, and intentional murder. 

At the 2023 edition of the Singapore Grand Prix, a Formula One (F1) fan in Singapore who met Ferrari racer Charles Leclerc snagged his autograph on a rather unusual item — a pack of potato chips. TikTok user Gawmtit shared in a viral video then that there was «nothing else» for Leclerc to sign on and dubbed their interaction as the «funniest thing that's ever happened to me». Continuing the humorous 'practice' this year, the same fan got Japanese F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda to sign a packet of Mamee noodle snack at a promotional event held on Tuesday (Sept 17). «Second funniest thing to happen to me,» captioned Gawmtit in a TikTok posted the same day. The 24-year-old Red Bull racer is seen smiling as he autographs the snack packet in the five-second-long clip, which has garnered over 23 thousand views and three thousand likes at the time of writing. https://www.tiktok.com/@gawmtit/video/7415567559367396625 «Last year was potato chips, now its Mamee noodles,» commented one netizen.

SINGAPORE - For a second day, passengers on the Circle Line (CCL) had their journeys disrupted after several trains briefly lost power at about 8pm on Sept 18, stalling for about 15 minutes. Rail operator SMRT said in a statement that a fire broke out in one of the power system cubicles at Kim Chuan Depot, leading to a power trip that disrupted the power supply to the entire 35km rail line. “This caused some trains to stall, and lighting within the trains was affected,” SMRT added. The operator said the fire was extinguished by its engineers, who were on site, while the Singapore Civil Defence Force was also activated. SMRT said it restored power to the CCL by 8.10pm and normal train service resumed at around 8.15pm. “We sincerely apologise for the disruption to your journey this evening,” it added. https://www.facebook.com/SMRTCorpSG/posts/920996323393025 The rail disruption on Sept 18 comes after 11 CCL trains stalled for about an hour during the evening peak period on Sept 17 due to a power fault that also affected the entire MRT line.

SINGAPORE — A former finance director of Singapore-listed New Silkroutes Group was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison on Sept 16 after pleading guilty to manipulating its share prices to allow its shares to be used as consideration for corporate deals. According to sentencing documents, William Teo Thiam Chuan, 55, played a «critical» role in the market-rigging scheme, which the prosecution alleged was masterminded by Goh Jin Hian, former chief executive of the investment holding firm. On Sept 16, Teo pleaded guilty to six charges under the Securities and Futures Act for abetment by conspiracy over false trading and market-rigging transactions. Another 25 charges were taken into consideration.  Goh, 55, the son of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, Teo, Kelvyn Oo Cheong Kwan, the group's former chief corporate officer, and Huang Yiwen, the sole director of GTC Group, a commercial market maker that New Silkroutes had engaged, were handed in September 2023 a total of 132 charges related to false trading offences. The pre-trial conference for Goh, Huang and Oo is scheduled for Sept 26.