Scammers have «pivoted their playbook» as bank accounts become more protected, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling on Tuesday (March 4). Speaking during the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) Committee of Supply debate, Sun explained that these scammers are asking victims to convert their money to cryptocurrencies prior to performing transfers, thereby evading banking safeguards.  Scammers have also targeted assets stored in victims' crypto wallets, she said. Crypto-related scams accounted for nearly 25 per cent of all scam losses in 2024. This was up from less than 10 per cent in 2023, she added. While cryptocurrency is largely unregulated, only a fixed number of digital payment token service providers have been licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) with certain regulatory safeguards in place.

SINGAPORE — The driver of the blue Porsche 911 Carrera killed in a high-speed crash on Nicoll Highway on March 2 was 37-year-old Jeffery Loh Chong Hao, The Straits Times has learnt. Loh was the director and one of three shareholders of Chee Song Foods, a company known for its halal-certified meat products sold under the CS Foods brand in supermarkets. He was also a licensed financial adviser with AIA Singapore until 2020. The Porsche was bought brand new in May 2021 and registered under Chee Song Foods, Land Transport Authority records show. According to Loh's LinkedIn profile, he studied banking and finance at the Singapore Institute of Management under the University of London International Programme. A business associate, who wanted to be known only as Koh, told ST he was shocked when he saw the video of the crash and recognised Loh's car, which he had driven to their meetings. «The industry is in shock, and we are waiting to hear if there will be a wake so we can bid farewell to him,» said Koh.

A total of 187 cases of gastroenteritis were reported during the Total Defence food resilience programme across schools, Active Ageing Centres and public agencies. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu gave these figures in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 4) in response to several MPs who asked about the food safety of the ready-to-eat (RTE) meals distributed as part of a national preparedness exercise. Responding to MPs Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC) and Dennis Tan (Hougang SMC) on the number of cases, Minister Fu said that as at Monday (March 3), 184 were from schools, two from Active Ageing Centres and one in a public agency. This constituted about 0.16 per cent of the participants, she added. «All affected individuals have received the necessary medical attention and have since recovered. None were hospitalised,» said Fu. "The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has also collected samples of the meals for testing and did not find any foodborne pathogens.

An 82-year-old woman was discovered dead in her flat on Sunday (Mar 2) after not responding to her friends' calls for five days. The elderly woman was then living alone in her flat at Block 171, Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.  According to Shin Min Daily News, a close friend of the deceased, who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters that the elderly woman had lived alone for over 40 years.  She added that they would typically arrange to meet up every month.  And the last time she spoke to the deceased was on the second day of Chinese New Year this year. However, when she tried calling the deceased on Feb 25, her calls were left answered.  «I wanted to remind her to watch her favourite TV series and I found it strange that no one answered the phone,» she said.  In the following days, she reportedly continued to reach out to the deceased and even went to her unit to check up on her.   As the deceased did not usually open her windows or turn on the lights, it was difficult to tell if she was home. 

The world of tech is evolving faster than ever, and in Singapore, a new wave of women are leading the charge. In an industry historically dominated by men, these women have shattered the glass ceiling to create solutions that impact lives and shape the future. According to a 2024 study by Infocomm Media Development Authority and Boston Consulting Group, women comprise 40per cent of Southeast Asia's tech sector. This growing presence signals a shift towards greater inclusivity and diversity in the industry. As we celebrate International Women's Day (March 8), it's time to shine a spotlight on the inspiring women in Singapore's tech scene who are paving the way for the next generation. Their contributions are setting new standards and opening doors for more women to thrive in tech. Joan Low https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv1Nb-DJ13A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Who is she: Founder and CEO of ThoughtFull, a digital mental health startup.

Three Montfort Secondary School students involved in a recent viral video share some responsibility for the incident and will be punished, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Monday (March 3). This comes after a viral video, posted on Feb 22, showed a Sec 1 boy being kicked and tripped by his classmates. A woman, who claimed to be the mother of the boy, said in a Facebook post on Feb 23 that she filed a police report, and threatened to take legal action. She said that the «traumatic experience» has left her son with a phobia of attending school.

A Government review into the National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) unmasking issue found no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing or wilful action by officers from the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra). However, the review panel, led by civil service head Leo Yip, said on Monday (March 3) there was a «confluence of shortcomings» by both agencies that should have been avoided. Privacy concerns were raised over Acra's Bizfile portal, which showed names and full NRIC numbers for free via its search function from Dec 9 to 13 last year. This caused public alarm and the number of searches on the portal spiked to 500,000 during the five-day period, instead of the usual daily traffic of 2,000 to 3,000 searches. The Government subsequently apologised for the anxiety caused and explained that the error was due to a misunderstanding between MDDI and Acra. They had intended to change the practice of masking NRIC numbers, but Acra launched its new portal before these plans were publicly announced.

Three Montfort Secondary School students involved in a recent viral video share some responsibility for the incident and will be punished, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Monday (March 3). This comes after a viral video, posted on Feb 22, showed a Sec 1 boy being kicked and tripped by his classmates. A woman, who claimed to be the mother of the boy, said in a Facebook post on Feb 23 that she filed a police report, and threatened to take legal action. She said that the «traumatic experience» has left her son with a phobia of attending school.

SINGAPORE — An anonymous tip-off about computer servers that might contain Nvidia chips being exported to Malaysia, and possibly to an unknown final destination, sparked off a police investigation. This alert did not come from any country or sovereign entity, but the claim was serious enough to get the Singapore authorities to launch an independent investigation, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam at a media briefing on March 3 at the Treasury. The servers arrived in Singapore from the US before being exported to Malaysia. But whether they ended up in Malaysia, or another country, is being looked into, he said. Three men were charged with fraud on Feb 27 in a case allegedly linked to chipmaker Nvidia. Shanmugam said preliminary investigations show servers from US firms Dell and Supermicro were sent to Singapore-based companies. The servers were then exported to Malaysia. He said these servers likely contained items subjected to export controls by the US.

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) aims to improve the psychological well-being of servicemen as they have done so in past years, Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said during the Committee of Supply (COS) in Parliament on Monday (Mar 3). Mindef's budget for the financial year 2025 is projected to be $23.4 billion, a 12.4 per cent increase from the $20.2 billion last year. Senior Minister Heng shared that Mindef piloted the deployment of roving care teams last year which consisted of psychologists and counsellors that were partnered with unit commanders to enhance care for servicemen after basic military training (BMT). BMT is an initiation to the army and rite of passage every full-time National Serviceman (NSF) must go through, and also teaches basic soldiering skills. The ministry's Mental Health Office also ran a well-being campaign in 2024 to foster a positive workplace culture across Mindef and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). An e-learning module for mental health was also launched last year to provide servicemen with the know-how to build a positive workplace culture and support peers.

Some of HomeTeamNS servers containing the data of past and present employees were affected by a ransomware attack which was discovered on Feb 25. In a statement on Monday (March 3), HomeTeamNS said that the affected servers were immediately disabled and isolated from its IT network. Third-party cybersecurity experts were then engaged to investigate and take action. HomeTeamNS is also working with the authorities. «As part of our remediation efforts, the passwords of all our administrative accounts have been changed, and security scans and firewalls have been further enhanced to strengthen our network security,» HomeTeamNS said. Apart from employee data, the affected servers also contained the vehicle details of some HomeTeamNS members and affiliate members. «At this time, there is no evidence of data extraction, but we are monitoring closely,» said HomeTeamNS. «We have reached out to those who are affected to assist them with protecting themselves from phishing or unauthorised transactions and to minimise the impact from this incident.»

SINGAPORE — The mood in the hotel ballroom turned awkward when Catherine Wu walked in. At a major function organised by property group City Developments Limited (CDL) in 2024 was Cecilia Kwek, wife of Kwek Leng Beng, the octogenarian executive chairman of CDL with whom Wu is said to have «a long relationship».  Those close to the Kweks watched uncomfortably as Wu, 65, went around greeting and shaking hands with guests and dignitaries, including government officials. Sources close to the property group tell The Straits Times that Wu started stepping up her profile in the public arena in recent years, «appearing at events where Cecilia Kwek is present too». Wu has been thrown into the spotlight this week in a high-profile boardroom tussle at CDL between the father and the elder son. Sherman Kwek, the son who is CDL's chief executive officer, said Wu is the reason for the rift between his father and CDL's majority board of directors, including him.

One person died in a car fire on Nicoll Highway on March 2. The victim had reportedly been trapped inside the blazing car, which had been involved in a traffic accident, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on the same day. SCDF was alerted to the burning car on Nicoll Highway towards Guillemard Road, before the KPE entrance, at 2.10pm. Firefighters extinguished the flames with a water jet. The victim was found inside the wreckage of the car and pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic. Seven other people who were in other vehicles were assessed by SCDF. Two were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while the rest declined to be sent to hospital. The cause of the fire is under investigation. This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

A Tower Transit bus captain has been praised for his bravery after suffering multiple blows to the head by a passenger in a senseless attack during his peak-hour shift. Tham Kok Poi, 50, was driving the number 969 double-decker bus towards Tampines on Jan 6, when 24-year-old Cheng Yuan Kang boarded the bus with his mother in Yishun. The bus captain told Lianhe Zaobao that while the bus was travelling at around 60 kilometers per hour on the Seletar Expressway with more than 50 passengers onboard, Cheng attacked him «for no reason». During Cheng's sentencing on Feb 26, the court heard that he had been upset after an acquaintance called to tell him to meet at a different location than the one initially planned. Cheng then attacked Tham, and demanded to be alighted - all while they were still on the expressway. But after the driver suggested that he could do so at the next bus stop, Cheng grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and attempted to steer the bus into a tree

An elderly hawker decided to shut his stall on Feb 26 after the new coffee shop operator had planned to triple his monthly rent. Leo Shang De, 76, and his wife ran Shang De Vegetarian at 566 Serangoon Road for more than a decade. Before running the stall, the hawker had worked in Denmark with his brother, and was in the food and beverage industry for over 10 years before returning to Singapore. «At the time, I was around 50 years old. I initially helped out at a friend's steel factory, but ultimately, I wanted to start my own business,» he said. «I sold items, such as chicken rice, wanton mee, and prawn noodles. Later on, I got introduced to vegetarianism through religion. I was so inspired that I wanted to promote healthy dining.» After the coffee shop changed hands, Leo decided to move out after the rent was expected to rise over three-fold from $930 to $3,000. «I am just running a small business, and I only earn enough to get by. I can't afford such rent,» he told Shin Min Daily News. «I may bid for a stall at a government-owned hawker centre to continue running my business.»

Siti Nur Sarah was just 14 when her mother brought her out for a spring cleaning event organised by the estate's Residents' Committee, joining voluntary works to help underprivileged communities living in the Jalan Kayu area. Some 11 years down the road, Sarah is the vice-chairperson of the Jalan Kayu Youth Network and has even spearheaded an initiative - Project Kayu Wave - alongside her peers to help raise awareness on environment and sustainability. Aside from picking up litter along the beaches on East Coast Park, Sarah also shares her volunteering experience with members of the public. «While there are many initiatives and events out there promoting sustainability and the environment... the act of jio-ing (inviting) people really makes a huge difference,» she told AsiaOne. Once there's one person who's willing to make that change, their friends would naturally be very curious, and when they gradually join in events, that's when they'll realise [about the common issues] in Singapore." Launch of Youth Charter Looking ahead, more young Singaporeans like Sarah may embrace volunteering for the community.

Content creator Simonboy posted a series of emotional Instagram Stories on Friday (Feb 28), remembering his late daughter Megan and asking God to teach him forgiveness. This came after his ex-wife, Foo Li Ping, pleaded guilty at the High Court to three charges on Friday: child abuse, allowing the death of a child, and the intentional disposal of a corpse to impede investigations, reported The Straits Times.  Foo's boyfriend at the time of Megan's death, Wong Shi Xiang, also pleaded guilty to four charges including culpable homicide, reported CNA. The four-year-old girl died after Wong, a freelance mechanic, punched her in the stomach at a Paya Lebar condo on Feb 21, 2020.  Sharing a black-and-white photo of himself with Megan, Simonboy, whose real name is Simon Khung, wrote: «Have fun with Jesus. Till then, my precious baby».  In his next Instagram Story, the 37-year-old prayed for God to «take this bitterness away from» his heart and to help him «forgive like how You have forgiven me».

As early as 45 minutes before Hume MRT station on the Downtown Line (DTL) was due to open at 3pm on Feb 28, about 40 people were already waiting in anticipation outside. Among them was Primary 6 pupil Cayden Goh, 12, who rushed over after classes ended at his school in Punggol. He arrived at the station at 2.20pm and was among the first to enter the station. He had been looking forward to the opening of Hume station since January, when the opening date was announced. Cayden told The Straits Times: «I'm here to chant 'open, open, open, o-p-e-n'.» The crowd outside one of the two entrances at the station grew steadily to more than 100 closer to 3pm, when the station opened for service. Auxiliary police officers were on site to control the crowd. Excitement filled the air as the crowd moved towards the platforms once the shutters at the entrance were lifted on the dot at 3pm.

Ramadan starts on March 2 this year, and supermarket chain FairPrice will be providing refreshments for Muslim customers breaking their fast all month. The company will be distributing 75,000 sets of snacks (dates or biscuits) and drinks (milk, an isotonic beverage, or water) at 59 different stores islandwide, 30 minutes before and after buka puasa (breaking fast). This giveaway will last from March 2 to 30, said the FairPrice Group in a press statement. It is the company's 17th year in a row carrying out this initiative. On March 3 and 4, the company, with support from the FairPrice Foundation, will also distribute 1,500 Ramadan care packs to beneficiaries of Mendaki and M³, a joint initiative between the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), Mendaki and the Malay Activity Executive Committees Council (Mesra). FairPrice Group's group chief executive officer Vipul Chawla said: "Ramadan is a time for prayer, and reflection, and we want to take the opportunity to support our Muslim community during this important period.

As the nation celebrates its 60th birthday, Singaporean babies born in 2025 will receive a gift package and a congratulatory letter from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Sharing details of the SG60 Baby Gift in Parliament on Friday (Feb 28), Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah said: «It is a symbol of our hopes and aspirations for our future generations.»   The gift package features a specially designed trolley bag containing items intended to support the child's initial growth and development as well as encourage family bonding. Some of the 10 items include wooden building blocks, two storybooks, a straw cup set and a limited edition SG60 plushie. «We encourage parents to bond with their babies over these books and inspire a love of reading through them,» said Indranee.