When Farah Charles was selecting a flat in 2017, one of her main considerations was being able to live near her mother and sister, who both have homes in Punggol.  She decided to buy a four-room Build-to-Order (BTO) flat for $317,000 at Sengkang's Rivervale Shores, an estate which was completed in 2023.  Farah and her husband are currently staying in their new flat over the weekends with their five-year-old daughter. The family plan to officially move into their new home when the school holidays begin next month.  Rivervale Shores comprises 2,500 two-room Flexi, three-, four- and five- room flats across 16 residential blocks on 10-hectares of land, making it HDB's biggest BTO project to date.  Speaking to AsiaOne, the 32-year-old homemaker shared that she was drawn to the estate.

It's no Romeo and Juliet, but this is a love story that many Singaporeans can sympathise with. TikTok user ntshatan's husband was seen shedding tears and hugging his car, reluctant to part with it, the user shared in a video uploaded on Oct 10. «My husband had to let go of his car today,» ntshatan wrote in the video. Throughout the video, her husband can be seen gently stroking his Honda Civic and hugging it, staring at it contemplatively. In another instance, he rests his chin on the roof of the vehicle, patting it lovingly. The man is visibly emotional as he inspects his vehicle for the last time, going around it as though to commit the car to his memory. «Breaks my heart to see him cry… but that's the reality of owning a car in Singapore,» ntshtan wrote, referring to the cost of having a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for cars.

SINGAPORE — The Court of Appeal on Oct 23 upheld the sentence of 16 years' jail that was handed down to a teenager who killed his schoolmate at River Valley High School with an axe in 2021. Singapore's highest court dismissed the teen's appeal for a jail term of between eight and 10 years. The assailant, who cannot be named for legal reasons as he committed the crime when he was 16 years old, had initially faced a murder charge. It was later reduced to a charge of culpable homicide after he was found to be suffering from major depressive disorder at the time of the killing. He had pleaded guilty to the reduced charge on Dec 1, 2023 and was sentenced to 16 years' jail by the High Court.

A 33-year-old man was arrested on Monday (Oct 21) for allegedly running a prostitution ring. He was arrested along with 16 other individuals in a series of raids conducted by the police within the vicinity of Airport Boulevard, Geylang Road, Dover Road, Jurong West Street 64, Minbu Road, Upper Serangoon Road and Upper Thomson Road. The 12 women and five men, aged between 20 and 50, were arrested for their alleged involvement in vice-related and illegal drug activities, according to a police press release. Two of the men — a 38-year-old and a 50-year-old — are also being investigated by the Central Narcotics Bureau for suspected drug-related offences. Investigations against the other individuals are still ongoing. During the raids, the police seized cash amounting to $6,100, mobile phones, vice-related paraphernalia, controlled drugs and drug paraphernalia.

About 14,000 private and public homes are planned for new estates in Sembawang and Woodlands, National Development Minister Desmond Lee announced on Tuesday (Oct 21). The first two Build-To-Order (BTO) housing projects will be launched next year, he added. Speaking at the yearly HDB Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Lee said that the government will «help Singaporeans fulfil their home ownership aspirations» by maintaining a stable supply of homes to meet «broad-based demand». About 10,000 new homes will be built in Sembawang North, a 53-hectare site within Sembawang town, according to HDB in a press release. At least 80 per cent, or 8,000, will be set aside for public housing. Future residents of Sembawang North can look forward to connectivity initiatives such as the Community Wharves Link - a network of pedestrian connections which will link public housing estates. New recreational, community and commercial facilities - including a neighbourhood centre with retail and dining options - will also be built in the area.

The church bells will ring for two familiar faces in Singapore come 2025.  Workers' Party (WP) chair Sylvia Lim and former national striker Quah Kim Song will tie the knot in January.  Lim, a Catholic, told CNA that the ceremony «will take place in (a) church, in the presence of family members».  In an interview with AsiaOne, Quah, also a Catholic, shared that their marriage will be solemnised at the St Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok. Lim was a member and cantor in that church's choir, according to the Catholic News in 2014. «We have been together for 12 years.  »It has been blissful, blessed and wonderful, (so) we decided to tie the knot and journey together all the way", said Quah.  The couple reportedly met at a WP variety show in January 2013. Since then, Quah, 72, has often been featured in Lim's Instagram posts.  Quah is a widower, and Lim has never been married.

SINGAPORE — The two men were involved in grassroots activities of the Trivelis Residents' Network, which serves the Trivelis estate at Clementi Ave 4. But in the late afternoon of Monday (Oct 21), shouts and screams shattered the peace of the estate as one of the men, a 50-year-old, attacked the other man, a 41-year-old. The latter was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital where he died, and the suspect was arrested. They were residents of the estate.

The authorities have disabled access to 10 inauthentic websites set up by foreign actors. These websites could be used to mount hostile information campaigns (HICs) against Singapore, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Oct 22).  The Broadcasting Act allows the authorities to issue directions to take action against content that does not comply with regulations.  Investigations revealed that these inauthentic websites were designed to look like genuine Singapore websites through their domain names and incorporating familiar local features and visuals.  Two of the banned websites utilised domain names similar to popular local websites, such as www.zaobaodaily.com, a name similar to local Chinese news outlet Lianhe Zaobao. 

The Singapore government has said that British media outlet The Guardian's proposition that Lee Hsien Yang and his family are victims of baseless and unfounded persecution is itself «without basis».  In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 22), Lee revealed that he sought asylum in the (UK) in 2022 and is now a political refugee.  «The Singapore government's attacks against me are in the public record. They prosecuted my son, brought disciplinary proceedings against my wife, and launched a bogus police investigation that has dragged on for years,» he wrote. «On the basis of these facts, the UK has determined that I face a well-founded risk of persecution, and cannot safely return to Singapore.» He then added that he sought asylum protection as a last resort. «I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that some day it will become safe to return home,» he said.

A woman was filling in a Malaysia Digital Arrival Card for her maid when she was apparently led to a fake link and that took her to a site asking for her credit card details. She lost more than $123 to the scam. Yang, a 52-year-old retiree, told Shin Min Daily News that she had gone to Malaysia with her maid at about 4pm on Oct 18. She was told that her maid needed to complete the Malaysian Digital Arrival Card in advance. «I used the maid's phone to find the website and clicked on the first link after searching. After filling in the information, I saw that I was also asked to fill in my credit card information.» Yang then used her own mobile phone to search for the website. «I went to the same website and saw that I was still asked to fill in my credit card details, which I thought was a security measure, so I filled it in.» She then received a text message from the bank within 10 minutes saying that US$94 (S$123) had been charged to her card. Yang immediately called the bank hotline and was told that the bank could not stop the transfer because she had filled in the information herself.

The October HDB Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise has seen a notable increase in demand for two-room flexi flats from first-time single applicants, with up to 20 applicants per unit in some estates. In the recent exercise, eligible first-time singles can now apply for new two-room Flexi flats across projects in all locations under the Housing Board's new classification framework, which deems projects as Standard, Plus or Prime based on factors like proximity to the city centre and transport connectivity, said the Housing Development Board (HDB) in a Facebook post on Monday (Oct 21). In previous exercises, they were limited to applying for projects in non-mature estates. This change led to a pent-up demand for two-room Flexi flats from first-time singles, resulting in an overall surge in BTO applications during this exercise, said HDB. It added that there were nearly 28,200 applications across all flat types received as of 5pm on Monday, with 20 per cent of them being from first-timer single applicants.

SINGAPORE — A 75-year-old married woman was sentenced to five weeks' jail on Oct 22 after she opened a bank account on behalf of her «online boyfriend» whom she had met on WhatsApp. Kang Pue Hua then received nearly $260,000 in her account from suspicious sources. Separately, she also lied to the police that she had lost her automated teller machine (ATM) card linked to another account. In reality, she had handed it to her «boyfriend», known as «John Lee Marina», whose actual identity remains unknown. Public defender Vadi P.V.S.S. had earlier asked the court to either call for a report to assess Kang's suitability for probation or sentence her to not more than two weeks' jail. He told Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu that Kang had also been scammed of $20,000. Vadi added that Kang's husband was suffering from multiple health issues and «John» had promised to help her and her spouse. However, on Oct 22, Judge Ong said that probation was not appropriate in this case and that deterrence is the key sentencing consideration for Kang's offences.

Two lucky punters walked away with over $6.6 million each in the latest Toto draw that took place on Monday (Oct 21) night. No Group 1 winners were chosen for three consecutive draws prior to Monday, causing the grand prize to snowball to a whopping $13,214,250. The last time a Group 1 prize snowballed to over $10 million was earlier this year in May when a sole winner took home a total of $13.12 million. The winning numbers for Monday's draw were 4, 13, 19, 44, 46, and 49, with 31 as the additional number.

A customer service officer from SBS Transit was surprised to find a brown envelope containing some $10k wedged between the seats of an MRT train at Harbourfront MRT station on Monday (Oct 21).  Soh Sin Chye, 44, had discovered the envelope while on patrol, and he promptly contacted the Operations Control Centre. He was then instructed to hand over the envelope to the station staff for safekeeping, said SBS Transit in a Facebook post on Monday.  The envelope also contained a passport and an ID card. «I was initially surprised by the amount of money, but my first thought was that it needed to be returned safely— it must have been incredibly important to the owner,» said Soh.

SINGAPORE – Scams and other criminal activity on Telegram are extremely concerning, with scammers adding unsuspecting victims to chat groups to cheat them. Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said this on Oct 21 at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2024 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. She said scammers have pivoted to online platforms, with Telegram emerging as a platform of concern. “Specifically, we have observed that scammers are creating and adding unsuspecting victims into channels and chat groups on Telegram, and deceiving them into parting with their monies,” she added. In the first half of 2024, the number of scam cases reported on Telegram spiked by 137 per cent, compared with the same period in 2023. Common scam types perpetrated on Telegram include investment scams and job scams. Ms Sun added that criminal activities on Telegram are not limited to scams.

Former Workers' Party (WP) member Yudhishthra Nathan admitted in court on Monday (Oct 21) that he had disregarded clear instructions not to discuss evidence that he was supposed to provide to the Committee of Privileges (COP). Nathan was cross-examined by Pritam Singh's lawyer, Andre Jumabhoy, on the sixth day of the WP chief's ongoing trial. During his cross-examination, Jumabhoy asked the ex-WP cadre if he remembered speaking to fellow member Loh Pei Ying about which text messages to redact when providing evidence to the Committee of Privileges regarding former Sengkang MP Raeesah Khan's conduct in Parliament. Nathan said he and Loh spoke about the overall redaction process, adding that he had told her that he believed private views expressed to Khan after Oct 4, 2021 were «immaterial». The defence lawyer then asked Nathan if he was aware Loh had been told not to discuss her evidence with anybody, and whether Nathan had also been explicitly warned not to do so. «And you leave Parliament, and you do exactly that?» he asked, to which Nathan answered: «Yes.»

SINGAPORE - A 50-year-old man was arrested in connection with the death of another man, aged 41, who was found unconscious at the void deck of a housing block in Clementi on Oct 21. The 41-year-old man was taken to hospital, where he died, said police. The men knew each other, according to preliminary police investigations. Police had received a call for assistance at 5pm in Clementi Avenue 4. The 50-year-old suspect was detained at the scene and arrested in relation to the case, they added. MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Sim Ann was seen comforting a tearful elderly man and woman at the scene. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call for assistance at Block 311B Clementi Avenue 4 around 5pm and took one person to Ng Teng Fong Hospital. Another person was assessed for minor injuries by an SCDF paramedic but declined to be taken to hospital, it added. More to follow.

Mechanical push buttons at pedestrian crossings will soon be replaced by touchless sensors, making them a thing of the past. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced this on Sunday (Oct 20) through a Facebook reel showcasing the new technology. The new touchless buttons will be operated through the use of microwave sensors where pedestrians can simply wave their hands in front of the button to activate it.  The new touchless sensors will have a guide for the visually impaired, including braille text embedded on the exterior of the devices that say «Touch to activate».  Upon activation, the sensors will emit a sound to indicate that the system has registered a pedestrian’s intention to cross the road. There are reportedly about 11,500 push buttons at around 2,790 traffic junctions across Singapore.  Two years of testing LTA said it has been conducting trials for the touchless buttons since 2022 with touchless buttons installed at multiple pedestrian crossings, at Jalan Besar, Syed Alwi Road, and Bukit Batok Street 32.

While trying to bring her drunk friend home, a woman was allegedly punched by two male friends of the former. The assault left the woman — named only as S — bleeding from the mouth and caused three teeth to be loosened, according to a screengrab of an Instagram Story (IGS) on the incident circulating online. Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, S said she was invited to a female friend's birthday celebration at a club in Suntec City. When she arrived at the club in the early morning of Tuesday (Oct 15), a group of men were already present. «These few men are friends of my female friend. I've met them before and this is my second time seeing them,» she said. At about 3am, the woman's drunk friend asked her to send her home. Both women live in the same condominium. Just as they boarded a taxi, however, one of the men suddenly opened the vehicle's door and insisted on taking the intoxicated woman away. «I said don't worry, I will send her back safely and he suddenly said, 'do you believe I will take out my ring', which meant he wanted to hit me,» S told Shin Min.

Some 22 crew members were rescued from a burning tanker anchored off the East Johor Straits, within Singapore waters. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement that they were alerted to the fire on board the Malta-flagged tanker Med Atlantic at 10.30am on Monday (Oct 21). The fire started in the engine room. Singapore Civil Defence Force marine firefighting and rescue vessels, and two tug boats were deployed on-scene to render assistance and ensure navigational safety. An MPA patrol craft, two police coast guard craft and two tugboats were also deployed to render assistance and ensure navigational safety, MPA added. According to a media statement by MPA, all 22 crew members have disembarked the vessel, and are reported to be safe with no injuries.