A suspicious person was sighted in the vicinity of Soo Chow View in Upper Thomson on Tuesday (Feb 24) afternoon. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police said it received a call for assistance at about 2pm. The person had left the area before officers arrived. Soo Chow View is adjacent to Marigold Drive, where an intruder trespassed into a landed home on the night of Feb 21. A similar case of trespass had occurred on the night of Feb 17 at a private residential property along Taman Permata, some 500m away from Marigold Drive. When AsiaOne arrived at the scene just before 6pm, two Special Operations Command vehicles were seen along Upper Thomson Road. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has no plans to stop the issuance of five-cent coins as there continues to be public demand for these coins, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.DPM Gan, who is also the Chairman of MAS, was responding to a parliamentary question on Monday (Feb 24) by Member of Parliament Fadli Fawzi. Fadli, who represents Aljunied GRC, had asked about the cost of minting each five-cent coin, and whether the Government has any plans to withdraw five-cent coins from circulation if the difference between the face value of the coin and its product cost is negative. In his written reply, DPM Wong said that MAS has not minted any new five-cent coins in the last five years, adding that the authority also has no plans to mint new five-cent coins.He also updated that the estimated cost of producing a five-cent coin remains below its face value. Turning to the question on circulation, DPM explained that there is still public demand for five-cent coins.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Feb 24) evening urged Singaporeans to remain united amid a world which is becoming more contested, fragmented and fractured.PM Wong was speaking at An-Nahdhah mosque in Bishan, where he joined some 300 Muslim congregants for a breaking of fast event. Referring to the different festivals, traditions and religious occasions taking place together, PM Wong said that it is «something quite special» that Singaporeans can mark these events together.«That's truly special in Singapore.»You don't see this always in other countries. But here in Singapore, we are able to do so, and it is this harmony which we must treasure, cherish, nurture and continue to strengthen," the prime minister explained.

In the first case involving a child attending preschool, a 11-month-old female infant has contracted measles.This comes after the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) stepped up measures to contain the infection, according to a press release on Tuesday (Feb 24).The agency was notified of the case on Feb 17, which is also the fifth measles case involving an infant below 12 months of age this year.The 11-month-old attended a preschool in Singapore and was not yet due for her vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella.During the infectious period of the measles she contracted, she had attended school.Parents and children in close contact with the case have been notified by the preschool, and epidemiological investigations are ongoing.Among the close contacts with the child, all except four were up to date with their measles vaccination or were in progress of getting vaccinated against measles, CDA said.The four were subsequently issued quarantine orders, but these orders were rescinded following their receipt of vaccination or post-exposure treatment.

Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has called on the Government to provide a comprehensive «record card» of its spending after «one of the largest fiscal surpluses in decades».Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 24), Singh said the political timing of the General Elections last May was «calculated» so that the ruling People's Action Party could use the US President Donald Trump's tariffs as a «rallying call» for voters to back the tried and tested. He said that since then, there has been little information of the tariffs and their actual impact on Singapore.«Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the Liberation Day tariffs, this PAP Government begins its new term with what may be the greatest fiscal surplus any PAP government has seen in decades.»In his Budget speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that Singapore's budget surplus for the 2025 financial year has been revised to $15.1 billion, more than double the earlier estimate of $6.8 billion.He cited several reasons for this, including a better-than-expected economic performance, as well as the increase in corporate income tax collections.

A man has accused a hair salon in Clementi of hard selling a prepaid treatment package to his 71-year-old mother, who he said is «usually very frugal».The complainant named Leon told Stomp that his mother had visited Salon One at Block 449 Clementi Avenue 3 for a haircut on Jan 3 and ended up paying for a 12-session scalp-treatment package.He alleged that a hairstylist conducted a scalp analysis after finishing her haircut and repeatedly persuaded her to have a scalp treatment for $99.Leon alleged that his mother subsequently bought the package because of hard selling.In a negative review left on the salon's Google page, he said his mother, who works as a cleaner, was «pressured» into the sale and did not tell her family of the incident until they checked her bank account statement.He uploaded pictures showing the $1,294.92 Nets transaction and a magnified image of her scalp presumably taken during the analysis process after the haircut.

Have you found yourself watching the pennies more closely?About six in 10 Singapore consumers said their grocery expenses have increased the most in the past 12 months, according to a post-Budget 2026 poll conducted by Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).Results of the survey, which collected responses from 366 users of the Price Kaki app, was shared by Case president and Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Feb 24).About 59.5 per cent of respondents said grocery costs rose the most, while above 10 per cent of respondents each chose healthcare and transport as the areas they spent more on over the past year.The poll also found that a combined 82.1 per cent of those surveyed believe that the Cost-of-Living Special Payment and CDC vouchers announced at Budget 2026 would be most helpful in addressing cost of living concerns.Eligible Singaporean adults will receive a Cost-of-Living special cash payment of between $200 and $400, and every Singaporean household will get $500 in CDC vouchers in 2027.

Molestation cases went up 7.3 per cent in 2025 compared to the year before, according to the latest police's annual crime brief.The number of cases rose to 1,531 compared to 1,427 in 2024.This is despite the decrease in other crimes of concern — shop theft, theft in dwelling and voyeurism.Of the outrage of modesty cases in 2025, 372 were reported in residential premises, 164 in public transport and 115 in public entertainment outlets.Molestation cases in shopping complexes saw a decline compared to 2024.More than half of the molestation cases in 2025 involved offenders known to the victims, the police added.Overall, last year saw a total of 20,857 cases while 2024 had 19,969, a 4.4 per cent increase.Theft in foreign worker dormsTheft in dwelling saw a 0.9 per cent decrease from 1,514 cases in 2024 to 1,500 in 2025, but the number of cases in foreign worker dormitories jumped 57.4 per cent from 54 to 85 in 2025.Victims and perpetrators were most often residents sharing the same room, police said.

If you encounter a pop-up alert from the police while browsing websites, informing you that «your computer has been blocked» due to outstanding fines, do not enter any bank card details, or your bank balance may be hurt. The scam variant was revealed by the police in a news release on Tuesday (Feb 24), following reports from members of the public. According to the police, victims would encounter fraudulent pop-up alerts claiming to be from the police while browsing websites on their computers or laptops. The websites would appear frozen and unresponsive, while carrying alerts that would contain the police's logo and the victim's purported outstanding fines for violating the law. They would then be asked provide their bank card details to pay the «fines». Those who did so would realise that they have been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions made on their cards. «These alerts are fraudulent,» said the police. They also reminded the public to ignore any pop-up alerts claiming to be from the police. 

Member of Parliament Saktiandi Supaat on Tuesday (Feb 24) called for the Government to raise the income tax exemption threshold to «restore» fairness in the tax structure for lower- and middle-income earners. For workers in Singapore, the first $20,000 they make is not taxed. Kicking off the Budget 2026 debate in Parliament, Saktiandi, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Trade and Industry, said that threshold has remained unchanged since its introduction in 2002, while median incomes and the GST have increased. «In real terms, its value has eroded… more low- and middle-income earners enter the tax base not because they are significantly better off, but because the system has not been recalibrated,» he said. The MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC suggested raising the income tax exemption threshold to $25,000 or $30,000 to provide «meaningful relief» to families, so that they can retain more savings and build their assets. To maintain fiscal discipline, Saktiandi said that this move can be paired with calibrated adjustments at higher income tiers.