Hong Kah North SMC MP Amy Khor said she will continue to focus on serving residents, after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee dissolved her constituency into neighbouring GRCs of Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC and Chua Chu Kang GRC. Senior Minister of State Khor was addressing the media after her walkabout outside the Bukit Batok West hawker centre on Saturday (March 22), where she was accompanied by Prime Minister and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Lawrence Wong. Responding to queries regarding her plans following changes to the electoral boundaries, Dr Khor said that her standing in the upcoming election is a decision that PM Wong — who is also the Secretary-General for the People's Action Party — will decide. «But in the meantime, I will continue to focus on serving residents and really understanding their needs, assisting them, as well as continuing to enhance their living environment as I have done,» she stated, adding that she had  opened the new Bukit Batok West hawker centre just the week before. Dr Khor shared with AsiaOne about the experiences and fond memories of serving the Hong Kah North region for 24 years.

Opposition People's Power Party (PPP) secretary-general Goh Meng Seng has said that his party will not contest in Nee Soon GRC in the coming election. Instead, his party will «step aside» for Red Dot United (RDU) to run against the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP). The PPP and RDU had both staked their claim in Nee Soon GRC after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee released its report on March 11. But in a Facebook live stream on March 16, Goh said that he will be «glad» to withdraw his team from Nee Soon GRC if the PAP slate, currently led by Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, confirms that an «LGBTQ activist» will not be fielded in its team. In a press conference on Saturday (March 22) Goh, with RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon, said that since the PAP is «unlikely to field the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) activist», his party will no longer contest in Nee Soon GRC for the sake of «opposition unity». He said: "Mr Shanmugam had gone to meetings with the church leaders twice, and thereafter a certain messaging came up that no decision has been made about the (LGBTQ activist).

Hong Kah North SMC MP Amy Khor said she will continue to focus on serving residents, after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee dissolved her constituency into neighbouring GRCs of Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC and Chua Chu Kang GRC. Senior Minister of State Khor was addressing the media after her walkabout outside the Bukit Batok West hawker centre on Saturday (March 22), where she was accompanied by Prime Minister and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Lawrence Wong. Responding to queries regarding her plans following changes to the electoral boundaries, Khor said that her standing in the upcoming election is a decision that PM Wong — who is also the Secretary-General for the People's Action Party — will decide. «But in the meantime, I will continue to focus on serving residents and really understanding their needs, assisting them, as well as continuing to enhance their living environment as I have done,» she stated, adding that she had  opened the new Bukit Batok West hawker centre just the week before. Khor shared with AsiaOne about the experiences and fond memories of serving the Hong Kah North region for 24 years.

Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been issued a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) correction direction over statements he made about the employment of foreign auxiliary police officers (APOs). The order relates to a March 9 article he published on his website The Ricebowl Singapore as well as Facebook and X posts from the day, and marks the 10th correction order issued to the politician. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in their statement on March 21 that Jeyaretnam made false statements alleging APOs have all the powers of regular police officers, and that foreign APOs are hired by the government and used to keep the incumbent political party in power despite violating the Singapore constitution and «using force in breach of fundamental liberties». He also claimed that the government prefers hiring foreign APOs and thus sets their salaries at a level that would make the role of an APO less attractive to Singaporeans, said the MHA. The Minister for Digital Development and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs, Josephine Teo, instructed the Pofma Office to issue the order to Jeyaretnam.

Former lawyer M Ravi was spotted at a walkabout with opposition party Red Dot United (RDU) on Friday (March 21) evening in the new Jalan Kayu single-seat ward. Donning a lanyard identifying him as a volunteer, the 55-year-old was seen chatting with residents and distributing flyers near Fernvale LRT station and at the hawker centre in Fernvale Community Club. When asked if he is contesting in the coming general election, Ravi told the media after the hour-long walkabout that he has «pledged his support» to RDU as a «strong alternative voice in Parliament». While not a member, Ravi said he is attracted to party due to its «sustainable policies». «I live here, and I was born in Jalan Kayu, and so this place is very special to me, he said. »I also know that RDU is contesting in Nee Soon GRC, where I spent my teenage years." Ravi was part of the Reform Party slate that challenged for the six-member Ang Mo Kio GRC against the People's Action Party(PAP) during the 2015 General Election. The PAP, led by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, won with 78.6 per cent of the votes.

A TikToker and former scriptwriter-actor with local YouTube comedy channel Wah!Banana was convicted by the High Court on March 21 for raping a woman he met on the dating app Tinder. Lev Panfilov, a Singapore permanent resident originally from Russia, was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault by penetration, and one count of outrage of modesty. The 28-year-old will be sentenced at a later date. The assault took place on Jan 12, 2021, in his bedroom after he took the woman back to the flat he shared with flatmates to work on her script. The woman, who was then 30 years old, had worked as an actress and model and was trying to branch out into comedy writing. She and Panfilov presented different accounts of the incident. During the trial, which began in May 2023, she was cross-examined for an “unprecedented” 13 days, according to the prosecution’s written submissions. The two matched on Tinder and later moved their chat to WhatsApp before arranging to meet in person at a restaurant in Robertson Quay.

A popular Mediacorp radio DJ was charged with sexual offences at the State Courts today (March 21). The Straits Times reported that Gunalan Morgan, who was an actor and a producer-presenter at the Tamil-language Oli968 station at the time of his alleged offences, was charged with seven offences in total, including three counts of voyeurism and one count of sexual communication with a minor under 16. The 43-year-old Singaporean was also charged with performing an act that could obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice. In response to a query from AsiaOne, Mediacorp stated that Gunalan «was immediately suspended from work upon [their] knowledge of his arrest, and a termination notice has been served on him». According to his charge sheets obtained by AsiaOne, Gunalan is accused of having sexual communication with the minor on four separate instances between Aug 25 and Aug 31, 2024, and then deliberately deleting his Instagram conversations with her on Sept 16 after being informed that a police report had been lodged against him.

A large cement silo blocked two traffic lanes along Balestier Road on Friday (March 21) after slipping off the trailer transporting it, causing a over two-hour traffic jam. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Balestier Road and Kim Keat Road at about 9am. The trailer is believed to have self-skidded. No injuries were reported. A 31-year-old male trailer driver is assisting with police investigations. Photos of the incident circulating online show the cement silo in a perpendicular position to the trailer. The cement silo also hit a traffic light. A cement silo is a large, cylindrical storage container, typically made of steel or reinforced concrete. It is used to store and dispense cement at construction sites. The obstruction meant that vehicles could only use the right-most lane. When AsiaOne arrived at the scene close to noon, traffic had built up, with tailback up to Moulmein Road. Marshalls were directing vehicle flow at the junction.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) are investigating 241 individuals for their involvement in scams. In a two-week operation between March 7 and March 20, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and seven police land divisions placed 165 men and 76 women under investigation, the police said on Thursday (March 20). These individuals, aged between 16 and 75, are suspected to be involved in over 900 cases of scams either as scammers or as money mules, the police said. Their alleged offences include cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence. The scams comprised mainly friend impersonation scams, investment scams and job scams among others, with victims reportedly losing over $8.2 million. If found guilty of cheating, a scammer could face jail of up to 10 years or a fine, or both. Money laundering under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 comes with a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.

Businessman David Yong has been denied his application to travel overseas to Seoul and Kuala Lumpur for the third time, after a judge found him to be a “serious flight risk”. On March 20, District Judge Brenda Tan said she had previously rejected his application on Feb 19, as the issue of his Cambodian passport remained unresolved. His first application was rejected in Aug 30, 2024. It was earlier revealed in court that Yong, 37, who is facing charges of falsifying accounts, possessed a Cambodian passport under the name “Duong Dara” that he claimed to have surrendered to the Cambodian authorities in June 2024. Judge Tan said she is again rejecting his application to leave jurisdiction, as there was still no official confirmation on the whereabouts of his Cambodian passport. Yong’s bail quantum, which had been set at $1 million, will also remain, as there have been no material changes that warrant a reduction, the judge added. Yong, the chief executive of Evergreen Group Holdings, had applied to visit Seoul and Malaysia from March 21 to April 2 for business. His lawyers also applied to reduce his bail amount.

While most teens his age spend their weekends playing video games, watching TV or playing games, this 13-year-old earns pocket money by cutting hair at the stairwell of a HDB block.  Speaking to AsiaOne, Keanu Akbar said that he was motivated to take up this job after he had a bad haircut when he was younger. «I thought to myself that I could do a way better job cutting my own hair,» said the New Town Secondary School student.  The Secondary 2 student then went online to learn how to cut hair and avoid another bad experience.  By December 2024, he had mastered various hair-cutting skills and techniques, which he practised on his 17-year-old brother and his friends.  'Earned over $800 since the first haircut' Due to space limitations, Keanu was only able to set up his make-shift shop on the HDB stairwell at his home in Clementi, where he charges just $8 per haircut.  He would frequently post videos of his work on Instagram or Tiktok, where his content would gain significant traction, amassing thousands of views and likes.

SINGAPORE — More than $198 million in claims have been submitted by creditors to the liquidator of beleaguered online marketplace Qoo10, but only $34,650 has been recovered, according to minutes of the latest creditors' meeting seen by The Straits Times. Of the sum recovered, $20,000 was from Qoo10's 11 bank accounts with DBS Bank, $14,150 was from rental deposits that were held by landlords of employees, and $500 came from the disposal of office furniture and IT equipment. According to information submitted by Qoo10 founder and chief executive Ku Young-bae to the liquidator, AAG Corporate Advisory, Qoo10's total assets are valued at $685.6 million. But the bulk of that comes from Qoo10's three e-commerce platforms — Tmon, WeMakePrice and Interpark Commerce — all of which are now under corporate restructuring in the Seoul Bankruptcy Court after failing to make payments to the platforms' merchants since 2024.