An impromptu decision to engage the services of a car wash facility in JB turned into a nightmare for a Singapore driver after his vehicle was defaced. He has reportedly been unable to receive compensation for the damage, which will cost an estimated $900 to repair. The driver, surnamed Lee, told Shin Min Daily News he had visited the facility in Taman Maju Jaya on Sept 29. The facility is about 15 minutes drive away from Woodlands Checkpoint.  When he enquired on the price of a car wash, an employee deflected his questions and insisted on polishing his car, pressing the machine to its bonnet for a demonstration. When the machine was lifted, however, large and obvious spiral marks were left on the bonnet. The worker then returned the machine to the facility owner and fled, according to Lee. «I asked the boss who should compensate me. He told me to pay RM450 (S$139) for a full car polish and said he would fix the marks, but it couldn't be removed,» he told Shin Min. The owner then brought down the charge to RM100, before eventually offering the polishing service for free after subsequent attempts to remove the marks failed.

While newlyweds typically go on a honeymoon after their wedding and bask in the joy on starting a new life together with their spouses, a woman received a devastating piece of news just 10 days after her wedding. Ye Yujun, 28, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system. What followed the September 2023 diagnosis were many months of treatment. Ye told Shin Min Daily News she had noticed a lump on her neck the week before her wedding. «I was shocked and immediately went to see a doctor,» she recounted. «After seeing several specialists, I was told there was a 95 per cent chance the lump was cancerous.» Ye and her fiance went ahead with the wedding as planned and postponed the biopsy. «We wanted to enjoy the wedding and we didn't want to worry anyone else.» https://www.instagram.com/p/DAGLOSNuP-i/ Ten days after the wedding, Ye underwent further examination and was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

SINGAPORE – Food delivery rider Roger hates standing still, especially when it is hot. “If I stop moving, that’s when the fatigue hits,” he said. The hotter weather is taking a toll on him mentally, he said. “If you keep getting orders, you’ll forget all the tiredness,” said Roger, 45, a full-time delivery rider for Deliveroo. And he has to work harder these days just to make the same amount of money as a couple of years ago. He works 12 hours a day to make about $150 and earns about $3,000 a month to support his family. “My wife works as well. If not, we really cannot survive,” the father of two told The Straits Times. Like other riders who spoke to ST for this report, he did not want to use his full name. Every day, thousands of motorcycle delivery riders like Roger take to the streets to satisfy the nation’s food cravings. The ultra-convenience of having anything from bubble tea to chicken rice, briyani and pizza delivered costs a few dollars. Peak times are lunch and dinner hours, and pretty much all day on Saturdays and Sundays.

A 26-year-old man was found dead in a hotel room in the Bugis vicinity on Friday (Oct 4) at around 5.40pm, with police investigating the scene for close to five hours, Shin Min Daily News reported. An eyewitness had informed the Chinese evening daily about the incident which occurred at Hotel Boss, located at 500 Jalan Sultan Road.  The man, surnamed Yang, reported seeing a large number of police officers along with several police vehicles at the scene, and had described the atmosphere as being tense. When a Shin Min reporter went by the hotel on Friday night, there were our police cars and a crime scene investigation vehicle at the hotel's multi-storey car park. Hotel personnel were also seen taking police officers to the 19th-floor. A coroner's van arrived at about 9.30pm to remove the body and a blue luggage was also observed being transported to a police vehicle, Shin Min reported. It added that police investigations went on for close to five hours till about 10pm. The deceased was believed to be a foreigner and his body was found by hotel staff, reported the Chinese daily.

Do ministers use sunscreen and go for facials? The public had some burning questions for Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing and local actress Joanne Peh was there to ask them. «No, I use SAF camouflage paint,» Chan, 54, joked. «You ask all the army guys, they all look very good.» Joanne, 41, laughed but was not convinced, as she reckoned the paint would block her pores. Another question Joanne received from her audience for Chan was whether he regretted becoming a minister, to which he said no. Joanne — who previously interviewed Chan on the Mediacorp series A Conversation With Minister and on her own podcast What Do I Know? — didn't miss a beat as she said: «Of course he has to say no, right?» Jokes aside, Chan also received some serious questions.

After learning of his cancer diagnosis, 59-year-old Wu Zhiquan (transliteration) decided to get his affairs in order. His first wish? To donate $100,000 to the Cheng Hong Welfare Service Society, so that it could continue its work in caring for the vulnerable in society, reported Shin Min Daily News on Saturday (Oct 5). Wu, who worked in the insurance industry, had been an active volunteer there since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. His wife Huang Jinye (transliteration), 59, also followed in his footsteps, volunteering together at the society after the pandemic. In late July this year, Wu went for multiple doctors' visits and medical examinations for a pain in his lower back which even prescribed painkillers could not ease. In mid-August, the pain got so bad that Wu was rushed to the hospital emergency department, where he was eventually diagnosed with end-stage cancer. The cancer cells were suspected to have spread to other parts of his body. Wu died on Aug 24, a day before he was scheduled to undergo a biopsy so that doctors could formulate a treatment plan.

Heightened welfare concerns of gig workers, in particular ride-hailing and food delivery riders, were spotlighted in the passing of the Platform Workers Bill last month (Sept 10). Senior Minister of State for Manpower Dr Koh Poh Koon had expressed concerns for their increased exposure to traffic accidents given the long hours they spend on roads. He stressed a greater need for workplace injury insurance coverage, liken to what corporate staff have in place. In recognition of this landmark Bill, Grab Singapore's Managing Director, Yee Wee Tang noted: «We felt that it is the right time to upgrade our benefits to ensure that it continues to be relevant and meaningful and complements the legislation.»

Within 12 hours of his appointment as the person-in-charge of rail replacement works along the East-West Line (EWL), contractor Steve Hall and his team got straight to work on Friday (Sept 27) morning — the third day of the six-day-long train disruption. For the next few days, the 63-year-old construction manager at China Railway First Group slept an average of four hours, and didn't see his family for three days. The British national and Singapore permanent resident had to answer so many text messages and calls that he even brought his phone along with him to the shower. «The phone never stopped. It just kept going and going, even my power packs were [depleted] as well» he told reporters in an interview on Oct 4.  On Thursday afternoon, Hall had been tasked by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to oversee restoration works on a stretch of damaged track closer to Dover station. The biggest challenge, he said, was the hot weather exacerbated by the noise barriers installed along that stretch of track. «There's no breeze, you're stuck,» he said, adding that ongoing welding works also added to the heat.

SINGAPORE — Sixteen months have flown by since the local horse racing fraternity was rocked by news of the Singapore Turf Club's (STC) impending closure, and like a thief in the night, the dreaded date of Oct 5 has sneaked up on everyone at Kranji with the 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup as its epilogue. One of the first things that sprang to the minds of trainers and owners when they heard the shocking news on June 5, 2023 was the fate of the 700 horses. When told that racing would continue till Oct 5, 2024 — the land will be returned to the Government by March 2027 — some were up in arms, while others were undecided on how to proceed. Some thought it was unrealistic for racing to continue within such a tight deadline and hoped for an extension by another two to three years. Others thought the place would implode before Oct 5 after an exodus of both humans and equines. Fielding runners in the next 68 meetings would be a logistical nightmare, they said.

As the youngest member of the Ang Mo Kio-Hougang Community Sport Network (CSN)'s Pickleball Interest Group, 11-year-old Nolan Ang is comfortable playing the sport with other adults.  But what if he has to pit himself against our prime minister?  Ang was given the opportunity to face off against Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who visited the Sports and Wellness Carnival at Block 685A Hougang St 61 N6 Marquee on Saturday (Oct 5). Inside the court, Ang taught PM Wong how to serve the ball and explained the rules of the game, as the latter gamely followed along, earning cheers from the residents watching.  The young boy then asked PM Wong to autograph his pickleball after their short match against each other ended.  «I was quite excited to be able to play with PM Wong, and the game was quite fun,» Ang told AsiaOne after the event.  At the event were also Members of Parliament from Ang Mo Kio GRC as well as Kebun Baru and Yio Chu Kang SMC — Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Darryl David, Nadia Ahmad Samdin, Gan Thiam Poh, Ng Ling Ling, Kwek Hian Chuan Henry and Yip Hon Weng. 

SINGAPORE — Refusing to accept a ticket over a parking offence, a man offered a $10 bribe to a parking warden as he wanted to be let off the hook. Vikneswaran Kumaran, who was working for Certis Cisco Protection Services at the time, rejected Guo Chuankui's offer and alerted the police. Guo, a 46-year-old Chinese national, pleaded guilty to a graft charge and was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Oct 4. Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Da Zhuan, who did not disclose details about the location, said Guo was working as a driver on April 4, 2023, when he illegally parked his company's vehicle on a road with double yellow lines near a construction site before walking away. Vikneswaran, who arrived at the scene on a motorcycle, saw the vehicle and printed out a parking ticket notice. Guo returned soon after and saw him trying to place the ticket on the vehicle. The DPP said: «When the two met, the accused pleaded with Viknes (Vikneswaran)... telling him not to give the ticket.»

A 24-year-old Malaysian man died on his way to work in Singapore, leaving his family devastated as they never had a chance to see him one last time. The accident occurred on Wednesday (Oct 2) at 8am at the junction of Admiralty Road and Woodlands Centre Road, reported 8world. The victim, Wang Fuhan (transliteration), was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital unconscious after his motorcycle collided with a lorry.  Wang's 46-year-old mother, Lin, who works in Singapore, rushed to the hospital but found that her son had died from his injuries. His death comes four days before his 25th birthday.  The victim's father and sister travelled to Singapore from Malaysia that afternoon and were left in shock over his death.  A Facebook post by Singapore Road Accident shows Wang's damaged motorcycle scattered on the left side of a blue lorry. Wang could be seen lying face up on the road unconscious with his pants torn. Wang's cousin, surnamed Chen, shared that the former had been working at a warehouse in Singapore for about three years and that he was heading there at the time of his accident, reported Lianhe Zaobao.

Public nuisance or public service? Someone had installed gym equipment on the 25th-floor staircase landing of Block 423A Northshore Crescent in Punggol. According to Stomp contributor Ben, the equipment was there «for a long time, about more than six months». He shared photos showing the equipment mounted on the wall and a notice put up by Pasir Ris - Punggol Town Council about the issue. The notice, dated Sept 2, appealed for residents to be gracious and keep the estate safe for everyone. It said that an inspection on Aug 27 found an «unauthorised item» installed on «common property» without a valid permit. The notice added: «We seek your cooperation to remove all the items at the staircase landing of Staircase 3A-1, by Monday, 16 September 2024, failing which, we will remove them without further notice.» However, Ben told Stomp on Sept 20 and 24 that the equipment was still there.

Engaging businesses such as car dealers to report suspicious activities and inter-agency data-sharing are some of the new measures the government has proposed on Friday (Oct 4) to tackle money laundering in Singapore. The tightened framework comes after an inter-ministerial committee was formed to review and make recommendations following the country's biggest money laundering case last August involving $3 billion in assets and property. In that case, nine men and one woman, originally from China, were sentenced to jail where over $940 million worth of their assets were forfeited to the state.  The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Anti-Money Laundering, led by Minister in Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, also recommends training 'gatekeepers' to detect and report suspicious activities. These 'gatekeepers' include lawyers, property agents and bank relationship managers.

Residents and motorists waded through ankle-deep waters after construction workers accidentally struck an underground water pipe on Friday (Oct 4). Workers whom AsiaOne spoke to said they were conducting shoring around Block 67 Marine Drive, when one of the beams accidentally struck a water pipe.  Convenience store owner Abdul Rawoof, 51, whose shop is located at Block 67, told AsiaOne that the flooding started at about 11.30am.  As a result, he had to switch off the electrical appliances in his shop, and move several items out of the unit.  «Some goods were damaged, especially carton boxes on ground,» he recounted, adding that business has been affected.

Public nuisance or public service? Someone had installed gym equipment on the 25th-floor staircase landing of Block 423A Northshore Crescent in Punggol. According to Stomp contributor Ben, the equipment was there «for a long time, about more than six months». He shared photos showing the equipment mounted on the wall and a notice put up by Pasir Ris - Punggol Town Council about the issue. The notice, dated Sept 2, appealed for residents to be gracious and keep the estate safe for everyone. It said that an inspection on Aug 27 found an «unauthorised item» installed on «common property» without a valid permit. The notice added: «We seek your cooperation to remove all the items at the staircase landing of Staircase 3A-1, by Monday, 16 September 2024, failing which, we will remove them without further notice.» However, Ben told Stomp on Sept 20 and 24 that the equipment was still there.