SINGAPORE - When an online retailer began selling his products on e-commerce platform Qoo10 in August 2023, he did not bat an eyelid when it took 30 to 45 days for the platform to disburse his first payout, compared with about three to seven days for other e-commerce sites he was using. But nearly a year later in July, payments owed to his business by Qoo10 had ballooned to about $1.6 million, as the platform’s payment delays exceeded two months and disbursements began trickling in, in smaller amounts. The Singaporean, who wanted to be known only as Mr T and did not wish to divulge what he sold, pulled the plug on his Qoo10 shop this year in the middle of July, and filed a civil claim with the courts. He obtained a default judgment in October for Qoo10 to pay him what he is owed, after the e-commerce site failed to serve a notice of intention to contest or not contest the claim. Mr T, who added that he had borrowed nearly $1 million from banks, friends and relatives to pay his suppliers, said: “I am not holding out hope that I will get much, or any, of my money back from Qoo10... By this point, I just want closure because it’s been so stressful.”

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported a 42 per cent fall in its half-year profit on Wednesday (Nov 13), as the firm was hurt by the absense of S$1.2 billion it had logged through the divestiture of Telkomsel shares in its prior corresponding period. Last year, Telkomsel, the Indonesian associate of Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm, agreed to merge with its parent's IndiHome broadband arm in an effort to expand into Indonesia's fixed broadband market. SingTel's Australian unit Optus, currently embroiled in a legal battle with the country's competition watchdog, reported operating revenue of A$4.02 billion (S$3.51 billion) during the six months, in line with A$4.02 billion reported a year ago. «Optus and NCS drove the positive momentum, underscoring our focus on execution and operating rigour,» the group's Chief Executive Officer Yuen Kuan Moon said. Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm said net profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was S$1.23 billion, as compared to S$2.14 billion last year and missing a Visible Alpha estimate of S$1.37 billion.

The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) will be able to mandate mental health treatment for those who cause unreasonable interferences in the community if a bill to amend the Community Disputes Resolution Act (CDRA) goes through.  The bill was proposed in Parliament by Minister for Community, Culture and Youth Edwin Tong on Tuesday (Nov 12). The CDRT currently hears disputes under CDRA between neighbours involving acts of unreasonable interference with the enjoyment or use of places of residence. Under the bill, the tribunal will be able to issue Mandatory Treatment Orders (MTO) should there be a belief that the acts of disturbance stem from an underlying psychiatric condition. «In those cases, the issue therefore is not just a disamenity one,» Minister Tong said. «Hence, the MTO is intended to address the root cause of certain acts that a resident may engage in.» Tong added that their priority remains in persuading the resident to go for treatment voluntarily, and that the CDRT-issued MTO is a measure of last resort. There are also criteria that must be met for the MTO to be issued.

SINGAPORE – The police are investigating deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School (SSP) students that were created and spread by other students. In response to queries from The Straits Times, school principal Ong Kim Soon said SSP is “aware of the incident involving the creation and sharing of deepfake photos by our student-athletes”. “The school does not condone such harmful behaviour,” he said, adding that it has launched an investigation and lodged a police report. The police, in response to queries from ST, confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. A reader who identified himself as a parent of a victim had alerted ST in an e-mail on Nov 12 about the deepfake nude images that were being circulated. “Many parents of affected female students in Singapore Sports School are making police reports about deepfake nude photos of their daughters generated by male students from the school,” the parent said. When contacted, the parent said that female teachers were also targeted, and that the school has offered affected students counselling.

As a group of friends circled a hearse, chants were heard. Then, they stopped and bowed to the portrait displayed at the front of the vehicle. This was not a typical Buddhist funeral, but rather the unconventional birthday celebration of a funeral director, reported Shin Min Daily News. According to the Chinese evening daily, a video circulating online showed the friends chanting a birthday song. The hearse's interior had been decorated with balloons and a birthday banner, with the man even laying inside for photos. The clip garnered criticism from netizens, with some deeming it overboard and disrespectful to the funeral industry. In an interview with Shin Min, director of Xin An Funeral Services Chen Weisong (transliteration) explained that he had celebrated his birthday at the company's premises with his friends and family last week. Halfway through the performances by singers, his employees and business partners had surprised him with the birthday-themed hearse bearing his portrait. Chen told 8world he was not angry and did not think it was taboo. «I was too embarrassed to turn down their gesture,» he said. 

The police are on the search for a driver who fled the scene after crashing their rental car last Saturday (Nov 9). The incident occurred at around 1.55am and involved a GetGo rental car that had driven through a road divider at Bedok Reservoir Road. In a video provided to Shin Min Daily News, the car is severely damaged with a broken windshield and liquid leaking onto the road. A part of the divider can be seen embedded in its bonnet. An eyewitness, surnamed Huang, was on the way to open his hawker stall at 1.45am when he drove past the scene. «I saw a car rushing towards the road divider. My car also drove over some metal objects which made crackling sounds, which I later found out were broken pieces of the road divider,» Huang said when speaking to Shin Min. He stopped his car along the roadside and got out to investigate but didn't see a driver in the GetGo car. Police looking for driver In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that the GetGo car «was believed to have self-skidded along Bedok Reservoir Road». The police were unable to locate the GetGo driver upon arrival at the scene. 

Errant employers who are found to have carried out more severe discriminatory practices may be fined or face legal consequences under a proposed workplace fairness law. The Workplace Fairness Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12), will allow the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to take a range of actions against the company and/or person responsible for their discriminatory practices if passed. For example, job advertisements seeking preferential characteristics in candidates may be classed as lower severity. In such cases, MOM can give directions to employers to rectify the breaches and prevent future recurrence, said MOM in a press statement.  In moderately severe cases such as when firms fail to rectify earlier identified breaches, the ministry may then impose financial penalties. And in the most severe cases such as when it is found there was a clear intention to discriminate, MOM can take legal action against the errant employer by recommending the Courts to impose higher quantum financial penalties.

SINGAPORE - Singapore and China took steps to refresh their relationship and deepen collaboration in areas such as trade and finance at the apex bilateral cooperation meeting between the two countries on Nov 11. At the first Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting held since Mr Lawrence Wong took the helm in Singapore as prime minister in May, progress and continuity were stressed amid the leadership transition. “With every new generation of leaders, you need to refresh the relationship, continue to strengthen mutual understanding, so that you can build trust and confidence with one another,” Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who took over from PM Wong as JCBC co-chair in 2024, told the Singapore media after a series of meetings held under the umbrella of JCBC on Nov 11. Leaders from both sides agreed to continue to collaborate and tap opportunities in emerging areas to deliver high-quality outcomes that will benefit both countries and contribute to regional prosperity, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.

SHOALWATER BAY, Australia - Amidst the camaraderie of shipmates and delicious meals, nothing compares to the longing for home when Corporal First Class (CFC) Lim Shi Xian is out at sea aboard a Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) vessel. After weeks in the RSS Persistence, the 22-year-old full-time national serviceman was recently joined by a familiar face - his younger brother who has also been deployed to the same overseas exercise during his national service.  Like CFC Lim, 21-year-old Corporal (CPL) Lim Shi Rong, is participating in Exercise Trident at Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Australia. CFC Lim is a fast craft specialist with the RSN while CPL Lim is a platoon marksman with 3rd Battalion, Singapore Guards.  Held from November 6 to 15, the bilateral Exercise Trident involved more than 1,900 troops from the Singapore and Australian militaries training together in a space four times the size of Singapore. This year's Trident will see soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Singapore Guards conduct assaults by landing via fast crafts and chinooks from the RSN’s vessels. 

The Singapore High Court on Nov 11 ordered beleaguered online marketplace Qoo10 to be wound up and for liquidators from AAG Corporate Advisory to take over management of the insolvent company. This comes after Korea Culture Promotion (KCP), which operates culture portal sites and issues culture gift certificates in South Korea, sought to wind up Qoo10 over nearly 76 billion won (S$72.4 million) in unpaid debt. Describing itself as one of Qoo10's «many merchants left high and dry», KCP alleged that Qoo10 had defaulted on 5.8 billion won in payments for gift certificates, according to court papers seen by The Straits Times. KCP also claims Qoo10 refused to honour its guarantees to secure more than 70 billion won in debt from its two e-commerce platform units, Tmon and WeMakePrice. Both Qoo10 subsidiaries have filed for corporate rehabilitation in the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, after failing to make payments to merchants using their platforms since early July 2024.

An elderly man sustained injuries to his head and knees after falling from his wheelchair, which got stuck in a drain with a broken cover in Paya Lebar.  The incident took place below Block 121, Paya Lebar Way at around 6am on Nov 6, reported Shin Min Daily News. The man's maid was pushing him when one of the wheels from his wheelchair got stuck, witnesses told the Chinese evening daily.  Photos provided by these witnesses showed the man bleeding from his forehead and knees, and his helper cleaning his wounds with tissue. The man's wife, surnamed Feng, told Shin Min her husband suffered a stroke in 2008 and had been recovering well until a fall in 2014 caused an infection. He now has limited mobility, and requires a wheelchair to get around. He also has heart problems and relies on a pacemaker, his wife told Shin Min. On weekdays, the helper would bring him to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast at around 6am, pushing his wheelchair over that drain that happens to be on their usual path, the 73-year-old woman said. The couple had noticed that cracks and small holes in the drain covers around three months ago.

SINGAPORE — Road users who cause accidents leading to death or serious injuries will face the full force of the law and can be handed maximum jail sentences. To prevent less egregious offenders from being overly punished, as other road users might have also contributed to the accident, changes in the traffic rules are being proposed. This will allow the courts to have more discretion in sentencing these offenders. To achieve this, the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill was introduced for first reading in Parliament on Monday (Nov 11).

Low crime doesn't mean no crime - and this father's vigilance may have paid off. A father confronted a man who allegedly tried to pick up his primary school daughter when she was alone in Thomson Plaza, according to a video uploaded to Facebook group SG Kaypoh on Thursday (Nov 7). The video has since been reposted on multiple platforms, with the earliest being a post on TikTok - now deleted - on Wednesday by TikTok user Busybeesingapore. According to the Facebook post, the father had left his nine-year-old daughter alone to play with a claw machine in the mall's arcade and went to the washroom. When he came back, he was told by his daughter that she had purportedly been approached by a 30-year-old man who asked for her phone number and told her to text and call him. 'No motive, just making friends' Returning to the arcade, his daughter identified the man and the father confronted him. In the video, the father can be heard forcing the man to remove his daughter's phone number from his device, and also happened to see his other messages.

Police may be getting powers to instruct banks to restrict transactions of potential scam victims, according to a bill tabled in Parliament by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (Nov 11). Under the Protection from Scams Bill, the police will be able to issue restriction orders (RO) to banks so long as there is reasonable belief that scam victims will make monetary transfers to the scammer, according to MHA. Under this bill, money transfers, ATM facilities and all credit facilities (e.g. credit card transactions, personal loan facilities) will be restricted for potential scam victims. «This will enable the police to better protect targets of ongoing scams who refuse to believe that they are being scammed,» the ministry stated said in a press release on Monday When issued, the RO will be sent by default to the seven major retail banks in Singapore: OCBC, DBS Bank, UOB, Maybank, Standard Chartered, Citibank and HSBC. Other banks not included may also be sent an RO where there is reasonable suspicion that an account under these banks might be involved.

Some Bishan residents are frustrated with the noisy crows in their neighbourhood that have been disrupting their lives. In a video posted to Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Nov 6 by one such resident, numerous crows can be seen perched on a tree near an HDB block. These crows then proceed to fly back and forth from one tree to another while cawing loudly. According to the Facebook post, this occurred at around 1.30am at Block 197, Bishan Street 13 and the resident estimated that there were over 200 crows in the area. The birds «made a lot of noise, like two gangs fighting,» the resident said. Other residents interviewed by Shin Min Daily News said that the crows posed a problem in their neighbourhood. When the Chinese evening daily visited the estate on Nov 6, crows were spotted at nearly every single tree in the car park behind the block. The birds do not shy away from people. A 65-year-old retiree surnamed Zeng told the Chinese evening daily that this issue has persisted for many years, affecting residents' lives and public hygiene.

SINGAPORE — The man arrested for allegedly stabbing a priest at St Joseph's Church in Bukit Timah has been charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon. Basnayake Keith Spencer, 37, appeared at the State Courts via video-link on Monday (Nov 11) at 10.10am. The Singaporean man, who had close-cropped hair, was expressionless during court proceedings as the prosecution applied for him to be remanded at Changi Prison Complex Medical Centre for three weeks for a medical examination. His case will be heard in court again on Dec 2.

A fire broke out at a HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio after a washing machine caught fire on Sunday (Nov 10) afternoon. The incident occurred at around 3.25pm in a unit located on the 20th floor of Block 260B, Ang Mo Kio Street 21. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that the fire was started due to a washing machine in the service yard. Preliminary investigations showed that the fire was likely caused by an electrical fault. The fire was extinguished by members of the public using buckets of water and dry powder extinguisher before the SCDF arrived to the scene. «There were no reported injuries,» said the SCDF. According to SCDF statistics, the overall number of fires increased by 8.6 per cent to 1,954 cases in 2023, up from 1,799 cases in 2022.  SCDF said that they stepped up the number of fire safety enforcement checks in 2023, where they conducted 15,044 fire safety enforcement checks and issued 1,466 Notices of Offence and 2,734 Fire Hazard Abatement Notices.