From Jan 1, 2025, manufacturers and suppliers dealing with industrial machinery as well as combustible dust will have to comply with enhanced workplace safety and health (WSH) measures, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday (Nov 29). This follows recommendations put forward by the inquiry committee probing the Tuas explosion which killed three workers and injured seven others in February 2021. According to the committee's findings, the unsafe use of a mixer machine had caused it to explode, igniting the combustible potato starch powder used in the workshop and leading to subsequent flash fires. To prevent similar incidents, the Multi-Agency Workplace Safety and Health Taskforce (MAST) will introduce enhanced control measures to ensure the safe use of combustible dust — materials which can disperse in the air and ignite when in contact with a heat source. Manufacturers and suppliers must label associated hazards on packages or containers of combustible dust and communicate to workers on safe use.

SINGAPORE — A man was sentenced to 21 weeks' jail on Nov 28 after he forged Grab receipts on more than 460 occasions and work-related timesheets in eight instances, to dupe his then employer into disbursing more than $24,000 to him. Muhammad Fariz Shaik Sha Marican, 33, also made false medical certificates and an electronic letter purportedly from the Singapore Armed Forces, causing the Ministry of Health (MOH), where he worked as a temporary staff member, to excuse him from reporting for work. On Nov 12, he pleaded guilty to two forgery charges, and two other similar charges were considered during sentencing. Recruitment firm Persolkelly (PSK), which worked with MOH to provide employees, had hired Fariz, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ng in earlier proceedings.  In November 2021, PSK deployed him to work at MOH to support its Covid-19 operations. The ministry later checked Fariz's annual leave balance in April 2023, as it wanted to convert him to a staff member.

SINGAPORE — Veronica Shim Wai Han, a former Singapore Airlines flight stewardess-turned-private banker of almost 20 years' standing, broke down in court on Thursday (Nov 28) as she testified that at least two investors in businessman Ng Yu Zhi's $1.5 billion nickel trading scam «had died directly or indirectly because of pressure from this case». Prosecutors alleged that Ng's Ponzi scheme, which promised attractive profits from nickel trading was «pure fiction» that duped 947 investors of almost $1.5 billion, of which more than $481 million was channelled to Ng's personal bank accounts and used to finance his lavish lifestyle. The first prosecution witness to take the stand, Shim, the former chief executive of fund manager Envysion Wealth Management (EWM), and her company are named as victims in two cheating charges against Ng, the alleged mastermind of the scam.

SINGAPORE — In what he described as the lowest point in his life, a cyber-security specialist stole a few thousand dollars from a savings account meant for his daughter so that he could keep gambling. The 35-year-old, who gave only his surname as Sow, peeped to find out his wife's password for the account under her name. «I stole the money to top up my betting account,» he said. He had lost at least $500,000 from football matches since getting addicted to illegal gambling sites in his teens and ended up owing both legal and illegal moneylenders. Still, the father of three young children continued. «I was betting every day — in the toilet, at work and on the bus or train.» A National Council on Problem Gambling survey of more than 3,000 Singapore residents aged 18 and older found that more people, like Sow, have gambled on illegal online sites. The percentage of those who said they have done so rose from 0.3 per cent in the 2020 survey to one per cent in the 2023 poll. But the probable pathological and problem gambling rate remained stable at around 1.1 per cent of those polled in the 2023 survey, which was released on Nov 28.

SINGAPORE – Five Cabinet ministers were among more than 100 recipients across 31 government agencies who have received e-mails demanding payment over doctored images since Nov 26. These images are supposedly screenshots from videos where victims’ faces are superimposed onto those of individuals in compromising situations. The e-mails all have the same contents and images, with the only difference being the face of the victim. In a statement on Nov 28, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said 12 male political office-holders were affected, in addition to public officers. The five Cabinet ministers are: Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong National Development Minister Desmond Lee Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman Also affected are senior ministers of state Janil Puthucheary, Tan Kiat How and Koh Poh Koon; ministers of state Alvin Tan and Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim; and senior parliamentary secretaries Baey Yam Keng and Eric Chua.

SINGAPORE — For more than 1.5 years, Eden Tan has had to reach for a pail each time it rains because water would start dripping from the ceiling of her Serangoon Housing Board flat. Shortly after Tan moved into the four-room flat on the top floor in 2022, she noticed that the ceiling would leak when it pours. Roof repair works by the town council have not fixed the issue, which has become worse amid the recent rainy weather. It has caused mould to grow inside one of the bedrooms, and parts of the plaster on the ceiling to crumble off. «I always have a pail in the affected room to catch the murky water, but it gets full in a few hours. This entire ordeal has been very distressing for my family and we are desperate for it to be fixed,» said the 36-year-old housewife. Tan, who lives in the flat with her husband, five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter, is one of at least four households in the same block that have had to live with leaky ceilings. She told The Straits Times she is worried that the leaks could potentially be dangerous if water drips onto electronics at home.

When two Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers showed up at one man's door and asked to enter his home for an inspection, he refused to let them in.  The man then posted a series of six videos of the encounter named «uninvited guests» on his TikTok account Rapperboya. His first video, which was posted on Nov 15 and garnered over 2.1 million views, shows two plainclothes HSA officers at his door showing their IDs and asking to search his home for e-cigarettes and vaporisers. However, the man insists he will not open the door unless he is shown a warrant. In a second video, two police officers are seen accompanying the HSA officers as they return to the man's home. After explaining the nature of their visit, which was shown in subsequent videos, the man agreed to co-operate with the investigation and let the officers into his flat. Before entering his home, one of the officers asked the man: «Would you like to declare any vapes?» To which he replied: «No.»

Some residents in Punggol were startled by the sight of bloodstains at the staircases and void deck on Tuesday (Nov 26) evening.  A fight allegedly broke out among a group of youths at Block 622B Punggol Central at about 8pm, reported Shin Min Daily News.  A resident surnamed Huang told 8world that he was waiting for the lift when he saw three men and one woman at the void deck.  One of the men was bleeding profusely from the neck, and his blood was dripping onto the floor.  «I got a little nervous because I didn't know what happened to him,» said Huang, who estimated the men to be in their 20s.  The resident saw the group walking towards the nearby coffee shop, but did not know where they were headed.  Huang said he's lived in Punggol for 14 years but has not seen anything like this happen before.  A resident, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Ye, told Shin Min that she spotted an ambulance and police cars parked below the block. Several police officers were also seen walking around the area, before cordoning off a sizable area of the void deck.

The police are looking into a series of fires — suspected to be the result of arson — at a Yishun executive condo construction site. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that eight fires broke out in Yishun Close from Nov 20 to Nov 27. The fires mainly involved construction materials and furniture at various locations within the site and were swiftly extinguished either by firefighters or construction workers. SCDF's preliminary investigation findings indicate that the fires were intentionally started. Two people were conveyed to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation in one of the fire incidents. There were no other reported injuries. A video shared by TikTok user Jayfit on Nov 22 shows one of the fires, saying that it took place at the construction site of North Gaia, an executive condominium. https://www.tiktok.com/@jay_absbus/video/7439618596235676935 In a comment, Jayfit claimed he also witnessed a fire at the worksite the day before. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police confirmed that reports were lodged regarding the matter and investigations are ongoing.

SINGAPORE — Car owners who left their doors unlocked at the Suntec City carpark saw various items including luxury watches and more than $25,000 in cash stolen. The thief, Mohamed Rasid Mohd Ali, 56, was sentenced to 26 months' jail on Wednesday (Nov 27), after he pleaded guilty to three theft charges. State Prosecuting Officer Ting Nge Kong said one of the victims — a 40-year-old Singaporean — had parked his Porsche in the basement one carpark at about 3.30pm on May 13, 2024. Rasid, who had gone there intending to steal from unlocked vehicles, noticed that the Porsche was not locked.

SINGAPORE - A Chinese national has been arrested in Pahang for kidnapping and other offences, after a man reported that his 15-year-old daughter had failed to turn up at her school in Singapore. In a media release, Johor police chief Commissioner M. Kumar said the girl, also a Chinese national, was found following a raid in Kuantan, Pahang, on Nov 26. He added that the student had passed through Singapore’s Woodlands Checkpoint into Malaysia on Nov 24. The girl’s father, a 48-year-old Chinese national, made police reports after his daughter failed to turn up for school in Singapore on Nov 25. The Singapore Police Force said it received a missing persons report involving the 15-year-old girl at about 2.15pm on Nov 25. Preliminary investigations indicated that the girl voluntarily left Singapore unaccompanied before the report was made. According to media reports, the girl’s father alerted police in Johor on Nov 26, leading to them tracking her down and raiding the location in Kuantan on the same day.

Six months after her spine was fractured in the SQ321 turbulence incident, one Malaysian passenger is getting back on her feet. 23-year-old Hong Manying told Shin Min Daily News on Wednesday (Nov 27) that she was flying home from London to celebrate her mother's birthday in May. The Singapore-bound plane, however, encountered severe turbulence while flying over Myanmar. Hong was flung out from her seat. Recalling the incident, Hong said she hit her head on the overhead compartment before she fell to the ground.  «I was terrified, but I tried to remain calm. My entire body was in pain but I told myself not to move to avoid further injury,» she added.  This caused her to suffer a spinal fracture which nearly left her paralysed.

An elderly woman who was adopted and taken to China is searching for her biological family in Singapore. Kang Yu'e had been adopted by her father's sworn brother when she was a year old, reported Shin Min Daily News. Her 26-year-old grandson told the Chinese evening daily that she only realised she was adopted when she got married. Kang was very angry at her adoptive father, Zheng Shui Gen, for keeping the origin of her birth a secret for such a long time, said her grandson. She then cut off all contact with Zheng and started using the name her biological parents gave her. Before Kang stopped speaking to her adoptive father, he had given her the address of her biological family in Singapore so she could get in contact with them. Kang and her biological family would communicate via letters until they lost contact in 1985. The last known address of her family in Singapore is Block 32, Jalan Rumah Tinggi in Bukit Merah. According to her grandson, Kang was born in Singapore in 1953 and has seven siblings in total: An older brother, four older sisters, a younger sister and a younger brother.

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.

A personal mobility device (PMD) user suffered minor injuries after he was hit by a truck in Ubi on Tuesday (Nov 26) afternoon. Footage of the accident, shared on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page, shows the elderly man riding his PMD across the road just as a truck drives down the exit slope of an industrial compound at Ubi Road 1. As he reaches the middle of the road, the truck bumps into the PMD, causing him to topple. He props himself against the road with his right arm and struggles to free himself. The truck then reverses, causing the PMD rider to fall onto his back. He subsequently sits up as the truck driver and another person go to his aid.

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.»