«If you feel ok, there is no point going for health screening». This is a common misconception deterring people from getting their health checked. Reasons why one might avoid regular screenings could include the fear of discovering a negative outcome and assumptions that it takes time to keep up with appointments. Healthier SG, a national initiative, is here to help you navigate your preventive care journey with ease. In this episode, follow Chef Bob, a culinary host and esteemed chef, as he brings you through his journey of enrolling in Healthier SG. To learn how Healthier SG can help Singaporeans in their 40s like him, Bob visited Dr Precelia Lam, a Healthier SG General Practitioner (GP) from Raffles Medical who has assisted more than 300 Healthier SG enrollees in customising their health plans and supporting them in managing their health or conditions in the long-term. Dr Lam likens the Health Plan to «a recipe you and your family doctor create together». «It gives you a clear picture of your health right now and changes you need to make to keep your health on track and prevent issues down the road», she explains.

A woman, claiming to be the mother of a student kicked by schoolmates at Montfort Secondary School, has filed a police report and is threatening legal action, she said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 23). The post by user Joleen Wee claimed that she is a single mum speaking out on behalf of her son's «traumatic experience.» This comes after a Facebook post on Saturday (Feb 22) depicted a boy being kicked and tripped by schoolmates. The video, which has garnered over 3,900 reactions and more than 10,000 shares, has since been removed. One of the earlier posts on Facebook had reportedly racked up more than 1.2 million views. In the video, a group of Montfort Sec students trail behind their schoolmate for a distance, before two break off to approach him. One of them then trips the boy and pushes him, causing him to fall, while the other kicks him. The boy then gets back to his feet and attempts to walk away before being tripped again. Phobia about going school Adding to this video, Wee claimed that her son had been strangled and beaten prior to the video that was uploaded.

A fire that broke out at a Kranji warehouse on Feb 19 has been successfully extinguished after four days of intense firefighting efforts by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).  In a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 23), SCDF said that they have «worked round-the-clock to douse the deep-seated pockets of fire within the waste heaps» since Wednesday (Feb 19).  SCDF added that resources are being scaled down, but a fire engine and crew will be maintained at the premises to watch over the area that was affected by the fire.  The agency said they will also progressively hand over the site at 11 Kranji Crescent – listed online as the address of recycling firm Wah & Hua – to the premises owner for their recovery operations.

SINGAPORE – The measures announced in the 2025 Budget are not just about vouchers, but also steps Singapore is taking to strengthen the social support system and economy to ensure that nobody is left behind. In a speech to Marsiling-Yew Tee residents on Feb 22, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he hopes the $143.1 billion spending plan announced on Feb 18 will give Singaporeans the confidence that there is a plan to take the nation forward. He said the Government is aware of cost-of-living concerns. “We are doing more to help all of you cope with cost-of-living pressures,” said PM Wong, who added that Budget 2025 is more than just vouchers alone. “Beyond short-term measures, we are taking steps to strengthen our social support system and economy, so that we can continue to create good jobs and opportunities for all Singaporeans.”

Eight people were injured after 14 vehicles collided along the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) on Friday (Feb 21) night. In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident which happened along PIE towards Changi after Jalan Eunos exit at about 9.50pm. The police said eleven cars, two taxis and one motorcycle were involved in the accident. Among the eight people injured were a 25-year-old male motorcycle rider, a 71-year-old male car driver and his two passengers aged 54 and 67, two female taxi passengers aged 39 and 82 and two female car passengers aged 26 and 34. SCDF said seven of them were taken to Changi General Hospital, and one person was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital. According to videos of the accident circulating on Facebook, multiple vehicles with varying degrees of damage were seen piled up on the expressway, with the bonnets of several cars seen badly crumpled. A red car also appeared to have crashed into the road divider.

SINGAPORE – Opposition Progress Singapore Party founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock has indicated that he intends to contest the next general election. When asked after a walkabout in Clementi on Feb 23 if he will stand in the election due by November, Dr Tan, 84, said: “As long as I am able and I’m still relevant, I will be around.” Asked again if he will be at the nomination centre before the election, he stopped short of confirming his candidacy but said: “That has to be the natural conclusion, right? “I think so long as I’m relevant, and I think the country needs people, and I feel that I can contribute to the country, I cannot shirk that duty.” Dr Tan added that the party expects West Coast GRC’s boundaries to change before the polls, but he said the party will contest in the area regardless. “You are a politician, you fight… I am not making excuses – however West Coast is going to be cut, we will be there,” he said. He was also asked why the PSP was walking about in Clementi, which is in the neighbouring Jurong GRC.

The People's Power Party (PPP) has withdrawn from its four-party alliance, People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), which includes the Peoples Voice (PV), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Reform Party (RP).  Secretary-general Goh Meng Seng announced this in a Facebook post on Saturday (Feb 22) and said that the decision was due to the parties' «irreconcilable strategic differences» for the 2025 General Elections (GE).  «We have reached a consensus that it would be a better option for PPP to withdraw from PAR,» he said.  «This is to ensure that PAR could continue to function as an effective political force in the upcoming GE without unnecessary disruptions that might arise from our fundamental strategic differences.» 

SINGAPORE — The four Ong children, aged three, five, eight and 10, do not go for tuition, travel or shop for clothes or toys — hand-me-downs from neighbours serve them just fine. They share bedrooms and have their meals in their five-room flat. Weekends are spent at the parks, having picnics and playing Frisbee. This simple lifestyle makes the family's single income go a longer way. The father of the four children, James Ong, 42, had heard from older relatives and friends that they wished they had spent more time with their families. And so, while others in their 30s chased their careers, he made the decision to put his family first and support them with his paid work as a self-employed life coach. His wife, 41-year-old Quek See Leng, who had been engaged in youth work before she had her eight-year-old, said people spend a lot of time and energy making sure they have enough to meet the high costs of living here. «In time to come, we realise that actually we are serving money. We've always felt that money must serve us. We cannot serve money. So we must first know what we really want.»

SINGAPORE - When Jeremy Cheong, 41, attended his secondary school reunion party in 2024, he said his former classmates looked their age - with wrinkles on their faces and frown lines between their eyebrows. Standing among them, the administrative executive looked like a young man in his 20s. He could even have easily passed off as one of their sons. «Nobody really explained to me that because my cortisol production had stopped, I had to be on steroids for life. The good thing is that I won't age. It actually took me 10 years to realise it,» Cheong told The Straits Times. Cheong looks forever young due to a rare condition called panhypopituitarism. The condition is caused by the reduced production of hormones in the pituitary gland, a pea-size organ that sits behind the bridge of the nose at the base of the brain. «The gland controls many of our hormonal functions, like our thyroid gland, the maturation of our sexual organs in both gender, production of growth hormones, the regulation of human output from our body,» said Dr Mok Shao Feng, a senior consultant in the Division of Endocrinology at the National University Hospital. 

A video of a lorry with its windscreen punctured by a pipe has shocked some netizens. The 25-second clip shared by TikTok user Zulkifil Nordin on Friday (Feb 21) shows one end of the pipe resting on the road, with the other end appearing to have pierced through the lorry's windscreen. The affected lorry was transporting a bundle of pipes on its rear deck. The driver did not appear to be in the cabin at the time of filming. According to the video, the accident occurred at the junction of Yishun Avenue 8 and Avenue 9. https://www.tiktok.com/@zulkifli.nordin0/video/7473693211186253063 Zulkifil said in response to comments under his post that no one was hurt. AsiaOne understands the police were not alerted to the accident. The clip has garnered over 170,000 views at the time of writing and has also been reposted to other social media platforms. Netizens surmised that the lorry driver might have braked suddenly, causing the transported pipe to slide towards the road and hit the vehicle's windscreen. Others expressed their shock at the dangerous situation and wondered if the driver is safe.

After being caught with prohibited weapons in his baggage, an Australian man verbally abused Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. El Sayed Aladdin's passport was then impounded by the police, but the man attempted to flee Singapore using another person's passport. On Friday (Feb 21), the 28-year-old Australian was sentenced to eight months and two weeks' jail, and a fine of $6,500 in default of 20 days' imprisonment. ICA and the police said in a joint news release that Aladdin was stopped by ICA officers for baggage checks at Changi Airport on Dec 14, 2024, and found to be carrying several prohibited items including knuckle dusters and flick knives. When told that the matter would be referred to the police for further investigation, the man made derogatory and insulting remarks against the ICA officers.

Tiong Bahru Market will be closed for a period of three months, from April 14 to July 13, to undergo renovations. A post made by Tiong Bahru Hot Plate Western Stall on the Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 showed a notice dated Jan 17 posted at the market and hawker centre by the National Environment Agency (NEA). It informed that the NEA had hired a contractor to carry out «Repairs and Redecoration works» at Tiong Bahru Market, including re-painting as well as replacing of tables, stools, floor and wall tiles, and anti-skid waterproof materials at the carpark deck. The horticulture at the courtyard will also be enhanced. Hawkers were also asked to remove unwanted articles, turn off their utilities supply and shroud their stalls in protective covering before locking up on April 13, after which no entry is permitted into the work area.

Unlike most students who anxiously waited to collect their A-level results on Feb 21, Ida (not her name) had motivations beyond just applying for higher education. She hoped to inspire her two children, whom she sees only occasionally, to work hard and not give up on their dreams. Ida, who went to prison in 2015, is serving a 25-year sentence for drug trafficking. “I want (my children) to know that even though I’m coming to 40 years old, and I have white hair, education is important, and I haven’t stopped studying,” the 38-year-old said in an interview with The Straits Times. “If I can do it, then they can do it too.” Ida, who has a 13-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son, was one of 13 students who took the A-level exams in Prison School in 2024. Each year, more than 300 inmates further their education in the Prison School, which is located inside Institution Tanah Merah 1 (formerly known as Tanah Merah Prison). It runs academic classes of various levels, including General Education (GE) courses, Normal Academic (NA), Ordinary (O) and Advanced (A) Levels.

Last year, Singapore saw spikes in the number of fatal traffic accidents due to speeding as well as the number of speeding violations. Speeding-related fatal accidents rose by 43.8 per cent, from 32 cases in 2023 to 46 cases in 2024, said the traffic police in their annual Road Traffic Situation report on Friday (Feb 21). There was a 64.8 per cent jump in the number of speeding violations in 2024 as compared to 2023. The police noted 191,931 such cases last year, up from the 116,440 cases in the year before. Additionally, the proportion of fatal accidents occurring due to speeding was 33.1 per cent in 2024, a notable increase from 24.4 per cent in 2023, said the traffic police.

SINGAPORE — Four more individuals have been charged with having a role in the alleged sexual assault of a two-year-old girl in 2023. On Feb 21, three women and one man were charged after investigations revealed their alleged involvement in covering up another man's sexual assault on the child. The women, aged 48, 61 and 65, and the man, 58, cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order to protect the identity of the pre-schooler. They were each given one charge of intentionally omitting information on the alleged sexual assault. The 48-year-old woman and 58-year-old man each face another charge of the obstruction of justice as they allegedly reformatted the pre-school's closed circuit television system on Nov 26, 2023, which contained a clip of the alleged offence. The two of them were also given a third charge of obstruction of justice between Nov 16, 2023, and Nov 17, 2023, after the woman deleted a video clip of the alleged sexual assault in her WhatsApp chat with the male co-accused who was in Vietnam at the time.

Have you been passed over for a job role after being told you were too old for it? Or denied a promotion because you were planning to start a family? Read on to learn more about stronger protections for jobseekers and employees against workplace discrimination, and how this will promote fair and harmonious workplaces that benefit both employers and employees. To strengthen protections against workplace discrimination, while preserving our fair and harmonious workplace norms, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is introducing the Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) to complement the current Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). Singapore's approach to Workplace Fairness Legislation to prioritise workplace harmony The legislation is particularly timely given Singapore's ageing population and tight labour market. Prohibiting discrimination based on age supports the employment of senior workers. Similarly, protections for caregivers and women aim to boost workforce participation and provide opportunities for career progression.

Hawkers must personally operate their stalls to prevent subletting, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Thursday (Feb 20). «Subletting would drive up rental prices and food prices to the detriment of Singaporeans,» they added. The agency was responding to AsiaOne's queries after a hawker's complaint went viral on social media this week. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Noorman Mubarak said that he was forced to make his heavily pregnant wife stand in their nasi lemak stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, after they received a warning for violating NEA's tenancy agreement.  Noting that it is «rightly so» that hawkers must personally manage the stall, he took issue with NEA saying that «personally means physically being in the stall». According to Noorman, he and his wife have been managing the original Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang stall since 2017.  After personally manning the stall for up to 18 hours daily for years, the couple now let their staff run the stall while they handle administrative work and other matters.