One man now has a happy wife and a happy life after winning US$1 million (S$1.3 million) in a lucky draw.  Balasubramanian Chithambaram won the grand prize last Sunday (Nov 24) in a lucky draw held by Mustafa Jewellery. He visited the store in Little India and spent $6,000 on gold chains for his wife about three months ago.  The annual draw event was held at the Civil Service Club @ Tessensohn. Customers who spent at least $250 were eligible for the grand lucky draw, according to the store's website.  Chithambaram, a project engineer who has been working in Singapore for 21 years, was in a state of disbelief when the lucky draw's host called him to deliver the good news. In the video call, the teary man said: «Today is also my father's fourth death anniversary. It's a blessing.»  He added that he would tell his mother about the windfall and also spend some of the money giving back to the community as a token of appreciation for the years he worked in Singapore. At the event, several other customers who won the store's monthly draws also walked away with prizes of US$5,000.

How do you measure a man? By the car he drives? Or the different classes of vehicles he is licenced to operate? In an argument between two car drivers in a carpark, one pointed out he was driving a BMW while the other, who was driving a Mazda, boasted about holding four classes of driving licences. Videos of the confrontation between the two men in the open carpark at Hougang Avenue 5 on Nov 17 were posted online. The dispute started after the black Mazda 3 came to a stop and appeared to block the path of the oncoming white BMW 318. PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Roads.sg The BMW honked at the Mazda to give way, but the Mazda driver probably thought there was enough room for the BMW to squeeze past and so he merely honked. This led to the two cars honking at each other until both drivers eventually got out of their vehicles and confronted each other.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) has highlighted a recent case of animal abuse. In a video posted to Acres' social media accounts, co-CEO of its advocacy branch Anbarasi Boopal said the organisation had received a report of «horrific cruelty» towards a reticulated python. According to Acres, the incident took place at an unknown location on Nov 20. «I'm here today because I'm overwhelmed with disgust, shock and frustration,» Boopal said. In the clip provided to Acres, two men can be seen setting a live reticulated python on fire using spray cans and a lighter. One of the men can also be seen stepping on the snake's head. At the end of the video, the snake is transferred into a clear container and appears to be alive and moving. Addressing the clip, Boopal said the two men were trying to capture the python, which appeared to be stuck in machinery and did not struggle or pose any danger to anyone. The pair then used a flammable spray and a lighter to burn the snake three times, she added.

Six people were taken to hospital after a chain collision occurred on the PIE towards Tuas on Tuesday (Nov 26) morning. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident involving five cars and a van, which occurred before the Jalan Bahar exit at about 7.15am. A 53-year-old male car driver and five van passengers aged between 26 and 61 were conscious when taken to hospital, said the police. SCDF said it conveyed five people to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and one to National University Hospital. A clip uploaded to Facebook shows a line of vehicles at the left-most lane of the expressway. The front and rear bumpers of some vehicles appear dented. Police investigations are ongoing.

When AsiaOne polled readers living in Singapore on their concerns, daily expenses, healthcare, transport, housing, and raising children topped the list. They were also concerned about job security. Acknowledging these challenges, we wanted to find out how Singapore is doing in areas of interest and concern to citizens: what's working, and what's changing? To do this, we turned to the latest Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review (SPOR) that was published on Nov 1, 2024. To our surprise, we found many initiatives that have been introduced or enhanced in recent years. Here are some important takeaways: Health and Wellness While the prevalence of obesity and high blood pressure have increased, we made progress reducing the prevalence of high cholesterol and diabetes since 2019. More Singaporeans are taking charge of their health, with over one million residents enrolled in Healthier SG with a primary healthcare provider. Additionally, healthcare remains affordable for all through subsidies, MediShield Life and MediSave.

When he didn't receive morning greetings from his father for three consecutive days, one man got worried. He was about to check on his father when he got a phone call from the police. The 62-year-old was found dead in his home at Block 499C Tampines Avenue 9 by a friend on Sunday (Nov 24) morning, Shin Min Daily News reported. The elderly man, a stroke survivor, had left his door unlocked so that others could check on him with ease. That morning, the friend arrived at the flat to find that the man had died in his sleep, immediately calling the police after discovering the body. The police then contacted the deceased's son, who rushed to the scene. According to a cabby who alerted Shin Min to the incident, several police cars and ambulances were seen around the ground floor of the HDB block.  After speaking with residents in the area, the cabby learned that someone had died. Deceased wished others a good morning every day Speaking with a Shin Min reporter at the scene, the deceased's son, who declined to be named, shared that his father lived alone in the flat after his mother's death.

SINGAPORE — People in wealthy Singapore have taken for granted comforts such as electricity and air-conditioning for decades, but a dwindling band of residents on a tiny island to its east saw the arrival of a solar grid 11 years ago as a miracle they still talk about. The outlying island of Pulau Ubin, a rare rural spot amid the futuristic architecture of the southeast Asian financial hub, is a treasure trove of biodiversity and home to wetlands once under threat of reclamation until the plans were postponed. Though electricity was expensive, said Chu Yok Choon, one of 30 people living on the island that spans just 10 sq km, he loved the fact that the solar grid let him hit a button by the village well to pump water to his home. «Life on the mainland doesn't feel natural,» said the 79-year-old, who had to draw water from the well and use generators to provide electricity until 2013. «Life here is quieter.»

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has retired its last two Challenger-class submarines, making way for the new Invincible-class submarines. RSS Conqueror and RSS Chieftain were decommissioned in a ceremony held at Changi Naval Base on Monday (Nov 25), the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a news release. The ceremony, officiated by Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral (RADM) Sean Wat, marked the final handover of duties from the Challenger-class Submarines to the Invincible-class Submarines, said Mindef.

Local property developer UOL Group has apologised after several attendees of a dinner and dance event were photographed in blackface make-up. A picture shared by TikTok user Summer88959 on Sunday (Nov 24) shows eight people — wearing matching tracksuits and afro hair wigs — posing in front of a backdrop bearing the company logos of UOL Group and the Pan Pacific Hotels Group. «Emmm … like that will kena (be punished) or not?» the TikTok user asked in the caption. Another photo circulating online shows the group on stage at the event, which was held in the Sands Grand Ballroom at Marina Bay Sands on Nov 14. PHOTO: X/Surejwrites The photos sparked criticism online, with one netizen commenting: «Eight people and not even one person thinks it's not ok to do this.» «It's 2024 already, why are we still doing this?» asked another.

SINGAPORE — The Singapore banking sector's overall exposure to the Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate embroiled in bribery and fraud allegations by US authorities, is small, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Monday (Nov 25). «Banks have in place measures to review and manage their exposures to borrowers and counterparties,» an MAS spokesperson said in a statement.  

All civil servants will receive a 1.05-month year-end bonus, said the Public Service Division (PSD) on Monday (Nov 25). Junior staff in grades equivalent to MX15 and MX16 as well as those in the Operations Support Scheme will receive an additional one-time payment of $600. Together with the mid-year payments, civil servants will receive a total of 1.5-month bonus in 2024, with those in the more junior grades receiving total additional payments of up to $850. «This year-end payment takes into consideration that Singapore's Gross Domestic Product is expected to grow by around 3.5 per cent in 2024 as well as the National Wages Council guidelines for 2024/2025,» said the PSD.

SINGAPORE — A man was taken to hospital after a container fell on the forklift he was operating at the Pasir Panjang Terminal on the morning of Monday (Nov 25). In a statement, port operator PSA Singapore confirmed the incident happened at the container yard at Pasir Panjang Terminal 3 at about 6.40am. The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident at about 6.55am and took the conscious 37-year-old man to National University Hospital. He is in stable condition, according to PSA. In a video circulating online, a forklift is seen lifting a container, which then moves a column of five containers directly behind. The column starts to fall towards the forklift as it backs away, with the top container of the pile then falling on the operator's cabin before rolling to the ground. As the video ends, a man can be seen falling out of the damaged cabin onto the ground. In another visual, a column of four containers is seen bracing against the front of the forklift, with the cabin tilting backwards. At least six firefighters are seen at the scene, with two tending to a person lying on the ground.

A stall in a coffee shop has closed its doors after some uninvited guests found their way in. In a video circulating online last week, several rats were seen scurrying inside the porridge stall at Block 23, Hougang Ave 3. In the video, at least five rodents can be seen searching for food in the shop before stopping to nibble on what appears to be a large slab of meat. A voice can be heard saying: «It's (the rats) eating the meat!» According to Lianhe Zaobao reporters who visited the location on Nov 23, the stall was undergoing renovation. The stall's tiles were being replaced, and the signboard was taken down. A man, who declined to be named, claimed that he was the «new owner» of the stall, adding that the stall had already been fined in the past. Noting that it is not unusual for rats to be spotted at food stalls, he said: «I've seen the video, I think the reactions are quite exaggerated. »The coffee shop regularly engages pest control, so I'm not worried that this will adversely affect business."

Some homes in a Clementi HDB block have no water supply after a pipe burst in the wee hours of Monday (Nov 25) morning. According to Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng, the burst pipe affected the water supply to the lower floors of Block 324 Clementi Ave 5 as well as Block 325. A video Dr Tan posted on Facebook on the same day shows the walkway leading to Block 324 flooded with muddy water. The burst water pipe was right beside the block, wrote Dr Tan in his post. He visited the site at about 7.30am on Monday and saw that some nearby homes and businesses have been affected.

[UPDATE Nov 25] A taxi driver has shed light on the accident in Yishun on Nov 21. The 38-year-old cabby told Shin Min Daily News that he was waiting at the traffic light when he heard a sudden loud bang. «I looked to my left and saw the car that flipped right next to me. It scared me to death,» he said. According to the eyewitness, the male driver opened the door on his side to let his female passenger climb out of the flipped car. The woman then took off running towards Yishun Community Hospital, followed by the driver who climbed out using the same door. «I turned left and saw the woman running towards the emergency department of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital,» he added. The taxi driver described the pair as a young couple. While he saw a clear liquid leaking from the car, the cabby said he did not see any smoke. The eyewitness told the Chinese evening daily that once he drove further down the road, he spotted a police car and immediately reported the accident.

Insisting on transferring money to an online 'friend', a woman disregarded the advice of bank staff and police officers who suspected she had fallen for a scam. When she realised she was conned, the woman had already exhausted her savings and even taken out loans, losing a total of about $330,000 to scammers. Peck Chun Hua, investigator at OCBC's anti-scam unit, told Shin Min Daily News that the woman in her 30s had wanted to transfer $20,000 to an international bank account on April 16. As there was no prior transfer history, the bank's fraud analyst contacted the woman to confirm the transaction and found that she was speaking anxiously and could not reasonably explain the purpose of the transfer. During the phone call, the fraud analyst also discovered the woman wanted to make five transactions to two bank accounts and only had an email address but not the recipient's name. The case was then flagged to investigator Peck, who learnt from colleagues at the police's Anti-Scam Centre that the recipient's account was marked as suspicious. He blocked the transaction and alerted the police.

SINGAPORE — The USB charging ports on public buses here are of significantly lower voltage, which greatly reduces the likelihood of electrocution, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said. «These ports operate at a significantly lower voltage of about 5V DC (direct current), compared to the 230V AC (alternating current) voltage of standard three-pin sockets,» it said in response to queries. LTA added that it regularly checks on public bus operators to make sure that their monthly inspections on their vehicles are up to maintenance standards. Some 870 public buses here are equipped with USB charging ports, the authority said. As at May 2022, Singapore has about 5,800 public buses. Malaysia has banned the use of three-pin sockets and USB ports on express buses since Nov 6, after an 18-year-old died from electrocution on Nov 1. He was using an electric socket to charge his phone while he was on an express bus to Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Nov 20 that the teenager died due to faulty electrical wiring installed by unlicensed parties.

SINGAPORE — When Jillyn Lee, 19, first tried a matcha drink in 2022, she was captivated by its rich and creamy taste. The Singapore Polytechnic student has since made drinking matcha — powdered green tea — a daily ritual, enjoying it at least twice a day. Her obsession with the superfood even led her to Japan in October 2023, when she visited tea shops and returned with 30 tins of matcha worth $900. However, the global surge in popularity for the green powder, packed with nutrients and antioxidants, over the past year could spell trouble for enthusiasts like her. Brewing trouble Photos circulating on social media show snaking queues and signs outside tea shops in Tokyo advising customers about out-of-stock products or purchase limits.

The People's Action Party (PAP) elected its 38th central executive committee (CEC) - the party's top decision-making body - during the biennial PAP Conference on Sunday (Nov 24). Party chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced the top decision-making body's new members during the event's finale, after party cadres voted on the matter earlier that morning. Over 3,000 attendees, including PAP cadres, guests and branch activists, were present at the conference, which was held at the Singapore Expo. Aside from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the new CEC comprises:

The People's Action Party (PAP) elected its 38th central executive committee (CEC) - the party's top decision-making body - during the biennial PAP Conference on Sunday (Nov 24). Party chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced the top decision-making body's new members during the event's finale, after party cadres voted on the matter earlier that morning. Over 3,000 attendees, including PAP cadres, guests and branch activists, were present at the conference, which was held at the Singapore Expo. Aside from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the new CEC comprises: