SINGAPORE - A 23-year-old Indonesian man will be charged on March 12 for allegedly exposing his private parts to a female member of the cabin crew on board an aircraft en route to Singapore. The police said they were alerted to the incident on Jan 23. It is not known which airline was involved, or where the plane had departed from. According to investigations, the man had allegedly unzipped his pants and exposed himself while in his seat during the flight. He then covered himself with a blanket and set up his mobile phone to record a video. When a member of the cabin crew approached him to serve his meal, the man purportedly removed the blanket and exposed his genitals to her in full view. The woman left to report the incident to her supervisor. When the aircraft landed in Changi Airport, the man was arrested, and his phone was seized for investigation. If found guilty of sexual exposure, he can be jailed for up to a year, fined, or both. The police said they take a firm stance against sexual offenders who commit indecent acts that cause alarm, distress and harassment to others, whether in an aircraft or in public.

Diners at an eatery in Johor Bahru (JB) were left stunned after a car with a Singapore-registered licence plate crashed into the premises on Wednesday (Mar 5). A clip of the incident posted on Facebook on Thursday shows a black SUV reversing out of the eatery before pausing and inching forward twice. The driver, dressed in a white shirt, attempts to reverse again but eventually alights to allow another man to take over driving. The car successfully backs out of the eatery with the other man at the wheel. JB South police chief assistant commissioner Raub Selamat said in a statement published on Facebook on Saturday that the incident occurred at a Thai restaurant at about 10.50pm that day. The police statement further said that a 46-year-old, believed to be Singaporean, had lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed into the restaurant, hitting the wall, tables and chairs inside. When the man tried reversing, he hit another SUV parked outside. No one was injured in the incident.

A fire broke out at a two-storey industrial building at 10 Tuas Avenue 18A on Saturday (March 8) evening. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were alerted at 7.30pm. According to an SCDF post on Facebook later that night, the fire involved paint-associated products in an area measuring roughly 30m by 15m. Firefighters extinguished the flames using four water jets in about an hour. Six individuals were evacuated from the premises before SCDF arrived. Two were assessed for smoke inhalation and declined to be sent to the hospital. SCDF added that an unmanned firefighting machine and water jets are being used to dampen down the affected area. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Widow Madam Noor Farahin Ahmad, 54, has to care for her bedridden 81-year-old father, who has severe dementia, and her nine-year-old son.  She is living on her savings as she had to quit her job in the civil service in October 2024 to cope with her many duties. She is among low-income caregivers who will be able to apply for aid under a new NTUC Care Fund (Caregiver Support) programme from mid-April. The $5.4 million fund, first announced in Nov 2024, aims to help over 4,000 beneficiaries yearly from 2025 to 2027. “His expenditure can cost me about $400 to $500 a month,” said Madam Farahin, referring to her father’s adult diapers and puréed food. Single caregivers with a maximum monthly gross income of $6,000 can apply for the fund to look after children aged 19 and below or elderly parents above 63 years old. If the caregiver’s gross monthly income exceeds $6,000, his or her per capita income has to be $1,500 or below to qualify for the fund. Qualified caregivers will be able to get grants of $350 per school-going child, and $200 per elderly dependent.

A multi-agency enforcement operation conducted near Woodlands Checkpoint on Feb 25 has caught several errant motorcyclists. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on March 7 that the traffic police worked with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) for the operation, stopping more than 160 motorcyclists for checks. PHOTO: Singapore Police Force They detected 18 people driving without a valid licence. Under Section 35(1) Road Traffic Act 1961, the offence carries a fine of up to $10,000 and/or a jail term of up to three years. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $20,000, incur a jail term of up to six years, or both. They may also have to forfeit their vehicles. Eight of the 18 motorcyclists were also liable for using a motor vehicle without insurance coverage under Section 3(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act 1960.

When smoke started emanating from her bag while she was commuting on the East-West Line (EWL), one woman was horrified to realise that her power bank had caught fire. Speaking about her experience on Xiaohongshu, the woman said that when the train she was on was at Raffles Place MRT station at about 5.25pm yesterday (March 7), the power bank in her handbag suddenly caught fire and started smoking. «Everyone in the train car panicked. When the train doors opened, everyone ran out. The air was filled with smoke. I quickly threw my bag to the ground and ran out as well. My hand and my bag were burnt,» she wrote. Photos and videos posted by the woman show SMRT staff attempting to put out the fire as the power bank emits white smoke. Other photos posted also show the woman's top partially blackened with soot and her left hand slightly burned. She said in her post the station staff quickly evacuated the other passengers. She added the only other items in her bag were an access card, data cable and earphones.

A man allegedly threw porridge and alcohol at a pregnant woman sitting at the neighbouring table while both were at a frog porridge eatery at Geylang Lorong 16. Sharing her account of the incident in a post on Xiaohongshu, the woman said the incident occurred on the second day of Chinese New Year (Jan 30). She said that the smell of smoke made her feel unwell, which prompted her to ask the man to stop. However, she claimed the man deliberately walked over to her and continued smoking, asking her where she was from. The woman did not respond as her husband had stepped away to order food and she was alone and scared. She explained that she did not wish to disclose her pregnancy at the time as she was still in the early stages of her pregnancy and her baby bump was not visible yet. Seeing no reaction from her, the man allegedly scolded her and returned to his seat. He then allegedly threw porridge and alcohol at her before being pulled away by his friend. The woman also claimed the man «patted her menacingly» and she and her husband thus called the police claiming sexual harassment.

A Singaporean influencer has admitted to a string of offences including breaking into a bungalow on Treasure Island on Sentosa, cheating and forgery. He also admitted to submitting forged payment receipts to deceive Ion Orchard into issuing him more than $76,900 worth of shopping vouchers. Chin Tung Sheng, 26, pleaded guilty to seven charges on March 7 for the offences he committed from April 2020 to December 2023. He appeared in court via video link, keeping his head down during proceedings. Chin, who has been in remand since December 2023, has over 334,000 followers on his Instagram page, where he flaunted his lavish lifestyle. Detailing Chin’s housebreaking offence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Caleb Looi said the owner of a bungalow on Treasure Island was looking to find a tenant for the house in 2023. Chin saw advertisements that the bungalow was up for rent and went to view the house several times in October and November that year. There, he spotted three large trunks, seven suitcases and four boxes from luxury brand Louis Vuitton.

Mental health experts have expressed concern over the rise in the number of unqualified individuals providing counselling services online, which they say have the potential for «misdiagnosis, ineffective or harmful interventions, and breaches of confidentiality». Said James Chong, Clinical Director at The Lion Mind, a non-profit organisation: «Being a 'good listener' is mistakenly equated with having the qualifications to provide effective counselling.» This comes after instances of unaccredited individuals offering mental health services were found on the online marketplace Carousell with some offering free counselling, while others charge up to $70 per session.

When Justin Liew's sister couldn't contact her husband after work last Friday (Feb 28), the duo started getting anxious. It was only after midnight that they received word from the police that their kin had been hospitalised after being involved in an accident. Liew made a post on Wednesday (Mar 5), seeking eyewitnesses to his brother-in-law's accident in Seletar last Friday. In the post, the Malaysian shared a photograph of his brother-in-law Chen Weijian (transliteration) lying on a hospital bed with his right leg in a cast. Liew explained that Chen had been riding a motorcycle at the time of the accident, and that a good Samaritan had called an ambulance that attended to Chen later. «Due to the serious injuries of [Chen], it is currently impossible to confirm what happened in the incident, so we don't know if it was a hit-and-run or something else,» Liew said. Speaking with 8world, Liew recalled how his sister, a Malaysian working in Singapore, had tried to contact Chen that day but got no response. 

Travellers can expect heavy traffic at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints during the upcoming March school holidays and Hari Raya Puasa, according to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).  The school holidays will start from March 14 till March 24, while the Hari Raya Puasa holiday is from March 28 to April 1.  In a statement on March 7, the ICA said that more than three million travellers crossed Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints during the recent Chinese New Year period from Jan 24 to Jan 30, with over 521,000 travellers crossing in a single day on Jan 24.  During peak hours, departing car travellers had to wait up to three hours for immigration clearance due to traffic tailback from Malaysia. The ICA encouraged those travelling by bus or motorcycle to use QR codes in lieu of passports for faster and more convenient immigration clearance. Alternatively, travellers can consider taking the cross-border bus services, the authority said.

People who record and circulate videos of bullying in schools could face punishment, said Second Minister for Education Dr Maliki Osman on Friday (March 7). In response to parliamentary questions on school bullying and the recent Montfort Secondary School fighting case, Maliki said the Ministry of Education (MOE) and schools prefer to handle each case sensitively to «provide space and privacy for the students involved to learn from their mistakes and grow from the experience». However, if a case is publicised online in a manner that unfairly depicts an incident, MOE may have to release information related to the case to provide a balanced view. This would include the actions of all who were involved based on the school's investigation - to be fair to educators and all parties involved, said Dr Maliki. He added that bystanders as well as those who record the incident and share the recordings online will also be called out, counselled and punished if necessary.

Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said local Muslim community groups, also known as qaryah, can help in interfaith and interracial understanding amid a challenging security landscape. He was speaking to qaryah group leaders and volunteers at Khalid Mosque in Joo Chiat on March 6 during a Qaryah Appreciation Iftar (breaking fast), which brought qaryah leaders together to recognise their contributions. “Really, you can see the ‘kampung spirit’ and I think it is extremely important that we continue with this tradition of qaryah,” said Mr Shanmugam. “It is a real ground-up initiative, and we will give it every support.” The 150 attendees at the event included Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam, MPs such as Dr Wan Rizal of Jalan Besar GRC, and senior executives of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, or Muis. Mr Shanmugam focused on three areas: radicalisation, maintaining social cohesion, and the role qaryah plays in strengthening harmony between faiths.

To allow companies to retain older and more experienced workers, the maximum employment period for all work permit holders will be lifted, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng during the Committee of Supply (COS) debate in Parliament on Thursday (Mar 6). Currently, workers who are not from Malaysia or the North Asian territories of Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan can be employed in Singapore for a maximum of 14 to 26 years, depending on their skill levels and industry sector. This restriction had caused firms to let go of experienced workers «who could be at prime working age», stated Dr Tan. Additionally, existing work permit holders will be allowed to work until 63, in line with Singapore's retirement age. Currently, they can work only till 60. The age limit for new work permit applications will also be raised to 61. At present, Malaysian applicants must be aged below 58 while non-Malaysian workers must be aged below 50.  These changes take into account the recommendations made by the Alliance for Action on Business Competitiveness, and will be implemented from July 1.

After living in their Jurong West HDB flat for over 20 years, this Singaporean couple finally decided that it was time to upgrade to a private property.  The value of their five-room flat has, after all, appreciated by around $400,000 over the years.  Jeffrey Teh, 49, and Ling Goh, 46, paid about $350,000 for their flat some 20 years ago. They subsequently forked out about $1.42 million for their three-room condo in Choa Chu Kang last year.  Speaking to AsiaOne, the couple said that their decision to make the move was driven by investment goals and the future of their two children. «We have been living in our HDB flat for a period of time and we have seen a healthy growth in our flat's market value. We thought it was a good time for us to upgrade to a private home,» said Teh, who operates his own business. Goh, who works as an admin manager, added that the leap was also made for their children as they got to enjoy the condo's facilities and the proximity to their schools. This couple is among the growing number of HDB flat owners who made the leap to private housing in 2024.

SINGAPORE — The officers and senior management involved in missteps that led to the disclosure of full NRIC numbers on a government business portal could face a range of «appropriate measures», from counselling to retraining and reductions in their performance grade and performance-based payments. This comes after a review panel investigated the incident that took place on Dec 9, 2024, and found lapses in the process and communication between the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI). Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament on March 6 that while the review found there was no malicious or wilful wrongdoing by the officers involved, «there were inadequacies in their judgment and actions». In its report released on March 3, the review panel flagged six instances where the agencies could have done better, including clearer communications from MDDI.

Students looking to enter Junior College (JC) from 2028 will be assessed using revised admission criteria, the education ministry announced on Thursday (March 6). The revised JC admission scores will be based on the L1R4 — one language and four relevant subjects — instead of the L1R5 introduced in 1989. This means that one less subject will be counted towards students' JC admission score. As a result, they will need a gross aggregate score of 16 points, rather than 20 points, to be eligible for JC. Additionally, bonus points — which recognise co-curricular activities (CCAs) and other language programmes — will be capped at three points instead of four.

A woman and her boyfriend created fictitious female online personas to target men, whom they later extorted money from by threatening to report their interactions with purported minors to the police. On March 5, the 20-year-old woman pleaded guilty to a cheating charge and two counts of extortion. Seven other charges will be taken into consideration during her sentencing. She cannot be named as she was below 18 years old when she was involved in at least one of these seven charges. The case involving her 23-year-old boyfriend is still pending. He also cannot be named, as doing so could lead to her identity. Through their honeytrap ruse, the couple cheated one of their victims into handing over $3,500. They also extorted around $12,000 in total from other victims, including the father of a man they targeted. On Jan 13, 2024, the couple created a fictitious persona named “Farah” on messaging platform Telegram. “Farah” then contacted V1, a 25-year-old man, and they chatted about sexual activities.

A crane truck at Changi Airport's Terminal 5 (T5) worksite caught fire in the early hours of March 4. A video shared on Facebook shows the crane truck's operator cabin compartment engulfed in flames. A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) fire engine and an ambulance are also seen in the video. One worker wearing a Changi Airport Group (CAG) safety vest can be seen on the site.  SCDF said it was alerted to the crane truck fire at 35 Tanah Merah Coast Road at about 4.45am. The fire was extinguished using a hosereel and a Compressed Air Foam backpack.  No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF added. CAG declined to comment on the incident. 

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is committed to ensure that new bus routes will not be longer than two hours as per the recommendation from the Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce, Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai said during the Committee of Supply debate in Parliament on Wednesday (March 5). The Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce was formed in July 2024 to determine how road safety can be improved in relation to public buses.  Speaking on road safety, Murali cautioned that bus runtimes have to be scheduled correctly lest bus captains will feel the pressure to stay on schedule. The runtime is the total time taken for a bus captain to complete a route, Murali explained. «Every day, four million trips are made on our public buses by commuters. At the peak, about 6,000 public buses ply our roads. »A system at this scale — which includes almost 10,000 bus captains — requires sustained and unceasing effort to maintain a strong safety record."

SINGAPORE — After more than a year of careful study and several debates in Parliament on the matter, the Government has ultimately decided not to carve out a separate Certificate of Entitlement (COE) category for private-hire cars owned by businesses. «We have studied this carefully and decided not to proceed with such a move,» said Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor during the debate on her ministry's budget on March 5. Instead, the authorities will continue to increase the COE quota for cars and commercial vehicles every quarter until the supply peaks from 2026, Dr Khor said. This will be done by bringing forward COEs that are guaranteed to expire in future peak supply years to fill the present supply troughs. An injection of 20,000 additional COEs over the next few years, enabled by evolving travel patterns and the roll-out of the next-generation Electronic Road Pricing system, will also boost supply, she added. Dr Khor was responding to Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten), who asked whether the authorities would create a separate private-hire car COE category and introduce other measures to manage premiums.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and transport operators will step up enforcement measures in order to deter commuters who behave badly, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said during the Committee of Supply debate on Wednesday (Mar 5). «While the vast majority of commuters are considerate and gracious, we need to protect the quality of their commute from a small minority of black sheep whose anti-social behaviours and actions cause discomfort and sometimes even endanger others,» Chee said. While public education efforts are ongoing, he acknowledges that «education alone will not be enough and needs to go together with effective enforcement». Chee said: «I have asked LTA and the operators to step up their enforcement... by strengthening our regulatory powers and increasing the penalties to deter egregious commuters, especially repeat offenders and those who refuse to cooperate when they are advised by public transport workers.» Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng also addressed measures to enhance commuter experiences on board buses.

Dr Catherine Wu, former advisor to Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), has resigned from her position. Dr Wu was at the forefront of the recent high-profile City Developments Limited (CDL) boardroom battle between CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his son, CDL CEO Sherman Kwek. Sherman Kwek had previously accused Dr Wu of «interfering in matters going well beyond her scope», adding that «she wields and exercises enormous influence». In a press release on Tuesday (March 4), Kwek Leng Beng said that M&C — the hotel arm of CDL — has received the «irrevocable resignation» of Dr Wu as an unpaid independent advisor, with immediate effect. «Now that Dr Wu has resigned, the CEO and his team of directors no longer have any continuing basis to make such corporate governance allegations about CDL and to justify his board coup,» said the CDL executive chairman.

Seniors living in private properties will soon be entitled to receive subsidies of up to 75 per cent, with a cap of up to $1,200, when they outfit their homes with age-friendly features under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) programme - previously limited for HDB dwellers.  Seniors living in HDB flats currently receive up to 95 per cent subsidy to offset the cost of installing elderly-friendly fittings like grab bars and ramps under the programme. The extension of this Ease programme to those living in private properties is due to its strong support and positive feedback from HDB residents, said the Ministry of National Development (MND) in a press statement. More than 70,000 private property households with seniors will benefit from the subsidy, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Wednesday (March 5) as he laid out his ministry's spending plans in Parliament. «We will do more to improve the safety and mobility of seniors living in private properties, within their own home,» he said. 

More seniors who own private properties will be eligible for a scheme to supplement their retirement income when they move into a three-room or smaller HDB flat. Speaking in his ministry's Budget debate on Wednesday (March 5), National Development Minister Desmond Lee said that the Silver Housing Bonus (SHB) will be extended to include seniors who own a private property with an annual value up to $31,000. A property's annual value is the estimated rent a property can fetch in a year if rented out, and is determined based on market rents of comparable properties and other factors. The SHB scheme - launched in 2013 - currently provides a cash bonus of up to $30,000 for those aged 55 and above who sell an HDB flat or a private property with an annual value of less than $21,000. Lee said that from Dec 1, seniors whose private property has an annual value of between $21,000 and $31,000 will receive $10,000 if they «right-size» to a three-room flat. This amount will be pro-rated at $1 bonus for every $6 that seniors commit towards their CPF Retirement Account. 

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.

A 66-year-old traffic controller died following an accident involving a road roller at a construction site in Joo Chiat on Monday (March 3). The incident occurred at 175 Carpmael Road at around 3.55pm, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). The traffic controller was pronounced dead at the scene by a SCDF paramedic. In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that the 39-year-old male operator of the road roller was arrested on site for causing death by negligent act. Investigations are ongoing, they added. This is the fourth fatal workplace accident in 2025, following the death of a Bangladeshi worker on Feb 26 when he was struck by a steel beam, reported the Straits Times. Last year, there were a total of 20 workplace fatalities, according to a report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in December.

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.