Unable to focus at work after discovering that his girlfriend had cheated on him, a man decided to forge his grandfather's death certificate in order to take leave from his job. For his actions, Barath Gopal, 29, received a fine of $4,000 after pleading guilty on Wednesday (Feb 5) to one count of forgery under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, local media outlets reported on Thursday. Gopal was working as a security financing operation analyst between November 2022 and December 2023, according to The Straits Times. Distraught after finding out about his girlfriend's infidelity in November 2023, he decided to take a break from work. However, instead of filing for leave using the four days of annual leave he had held at the time, Gopal lied to his supervisor. He claimed that his grandfather had died in his sleep and requested three days of compassionate leave — the maximum duration allowed under the company's policy. His leave request from Nov 8 to Nov 10, 2023, was granted.
Former president Halimah Yacob has denounced US President Donald Trump's recent comments regarding the Gaza Strip, stating that they were «truly horrifying». Trump, in a joint press conference with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held at the White House on Wednesday (Feb 5), had said that the US would «level» the Gaza Strip, «take over» and rebuild the territory. The recently inaugurated president also suggested relocating Palestinians residing in the area to neighbouring countries such as Egypt and Jordan.
Lion City Sailors winger Khairin Nadim has secured a move to Portuguese second-division side FC Vizela on a one-and-a-half-year deal. The 20-year-old will feature primarily for Vizela's under-23 squad, while being closely monitored by the first-team coaches. Khairin could make his debut on Feb 25 when Vizela's under-23s take on Benfica B. «Playing in Europe has always been my goal, and I'm happy to be able to realise this dream,» Khairin said in a Sailors press release on Feb 5. «I'm not just representing the Sailors, but also Singapore as a young player here.» Khairin was once the youngest debutant in the Singapore Premier League (SPL), when he played for the Young Lions in 2020 at 15 years and 298 days. The record is now held by Nathan Mao, who debuted at 15 years and 5 days for the Sailors in 2023. Khairin still holds the record as the second-youngest Singaporean to score in the SPL, netting against BG Tampines Rovers at 16 years and 194 days.
A 30-year-old Chinese national has been charged for stealing US$885 (S$1,197) of cash on a flight to Singapore. The police were alerted to the case of alleged theft onboard the flight at around 1.56pm on Tuesday (Feb 4). According to court documents, the theft had occurred between 8.40am and 1.48pm on Scoot flight TR813 en route from Jeju to Changi Airport. A passenger had seen the man touching her bag stored in the overhead compartment and confronted him, according to a police statement released on Wednesday. Upon checking the contents of her backpack, she discovered the sum of cash missing from a draw string pouch within the bag. Officers from the Airport Police Division subsequently conducted follow-up investigations once the flight landed at Changi Airport, the statement read. With the assistance of cabin crew aboard the flight, the missing stack of cash was discovered in another overhead compartment near where the man, identified as Zhang Youqi in court documents, was seated during the flight.
In Matthew Lim's WhatsApp group chat with his National Service buddies, football banter and workout routines are frequently brought up. But in the past year, their light-hearted conversations have taken a somber turn after two of the 30-year-old's friends were laid off. Lim, who has been in the tech industry for six years, is not feeling too confident about keeping his job either. He added that the recent news reports of mass layoffs in the once-booming tech sector, such as when consumer electronics giants Dyson and Samsung axed jobs last October, gave him the «chills.» «The price of a cup of kopi first went up by 20 cents, and now 50 cents,» he told AsiaOne on Monday (Feb 3). «I'm not even concerned about a pay raise, but more about whether I will still have a job at the end of the year.»
Two men have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a man with a brick in Geylang. The police were alerted to the incident which occurred at Lorong 21 Geylang on Tuesday (Feb 4) at 9am, according to a statement released on Wednesday. The two individuals, aged 21 and 22, had allegedly used a brick to attack a 43-year-old man. The victim was conveyed to Changi General Hospital after being found with multiple fractures on his face and abrasions on his body. Officers from the Bedok Police Division used images from CCTVs and police cameras to identify the suspects and arrested them within 11 hours of the report. The two men will be charged in court on Thursday with the offence of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous means with common intention. If convicted, the suspects face jail terms of up to 15 years. They may also be caned and/or fined. «The police have zero tolerance for such brazen acts of violence and will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly disregard the law,» said the police.
SINGAPORE - Nearly $7 billion will be spent on marriage and parenthood initiatives in financial year 2026, up from over $4 billion in 2020. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah cited this figure to show how much recent policy changes to the early childhood sector and to parental leave entitlements will add up to on an annual basis. Speaking in Parliament on Feb 5, Ms Indranee said Singaporean families continued to be a top national priority, even as family formation and fertility rates fall here and around the world due to changing social norms. She noted that the $7 billion figure is over and above government subsidies in other areas such as education and housing. “The decision to marry and have children is a deeply personal one, but we know from our surveys that the majority of Singaporeans aspire to get married and have children,” she said. “This is encouraging and gives hope for the future.” In the last five years, the Government has made a series of “major shifts and bold moves” to address people’s concerns in order to make Singapore as conducive to marriage and parenthood as possible, she said.
