The first of two new light rail vehicles (LRV) for the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) line began its first passenger service on Tuesday (July 15) where it completed three loops over the course of an hour in the afternoon.The two new trains will ply the 14-station line, and will be deployed to the Punggol West Loop and Punggol East Loop over the two upcoming weekends, announced the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SBS Transit.They will then be deployed for weekday service towards the end of July. These trains are part of the 25 new third-generation LRVs which will be progressively introduced into passenger service beyond the third quarter of 2025 after comprehensive testing and commissioning.Come end 2028, the SPLRT fleet will consist 33 two-car LRVs, which will increase passenger capacity to meet ridership demand, LTA and SBS Transit said.Speaking with the media at the first train's maiden voyage at Punggol station, Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling shared that residents of Punggol and Sengkang «have been looking forward to this development for many years now».

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has taken four law firms and one lawyer to task for anti-money laundering breaches over the purchase of properties in the $3 billion money laundering case, with one of the practices receiving the maximum penalty.In a press release on July 15, MinLaw said it is supporting the Director of Legal Services (DLS) in conducting inquiries into the law practices that were involved in the conveyancing of the real estate seized in an anti-money laundering operation in August 2023.It said the DLS conducted investigations into 24 law practices that were involved, and 11 of the probes have been concluded.The DLS heads the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, which is a department under MinLaw that oversees the regulation of all law practice entities and the registration of foreign lawyers in Singapore.The DLS has ordered two law practices to pay financial penalties of $30,000 and $100,000 respectively.

A woman's life became a nightmare after discovering that a friend had allegedly been stealing her identity card details to borrow money from loan sharks.Speaking to AsiaOne, the woman, who only wished to be known only as Zhuo, said she was overwhelmed with despair and frustration after receiving funeral wreaths on the evening of July 7.They were all addressed to her. Several of these wreaths were delivered to the music studio she owns in Jurong West, as well as to a beauty salon and a neighbouring residential unit located below her unit. «My son had arrived at our club to meet us when he noticed funeral wreaths placed outside our studio at around midnight. He called me immediately, and I rushed down and contacted the police,» said the 60-year-old.Zhuo later found out that two other wreaths had also been delivered — one to the beauty salon located on the third floor and another to a neighbour's residential unit on the second floor.«I had to apologise to the neighbour and the salon owner for being dragged into this. I didn't want our relationship to turn sour because of this,» said the mother of three.

Punters can now put their luck to the test as the Toto jackpot has snowballed to an eye-watering $10 million for the upcoming draw on Thursday (July 17). The top prize went unclaimed with no winners for the past three draws. The Singapore Pools' website shows that the unclaimed prize money for Group 1 was about $1.2 million on July 7, around $2.9 million on July 10 to almost $5.8 million on Monday (July 14). Prior to this, the last Group 1 prize to be won was on July 3, where a single ticket managed to win nearly $2.9 million. This win was a System 7 ticket purchased online.The upcoming $10 million draw marks the seventh time the jackpot has hit the $10 million mark in 2025.In the last draw where the jackpot surpassed $10 million, a sole winner of Group 1 managed to take home about $12.3 million on June 19.The winning ticket, a QuickPick System 7 entry, was sold at the NTUC FairPrice outlet in Yew Tee Point.The next draw with $10 million on the line will take place on Thursday at 9.30pm.[[nid:719144]]khooyihang@asiaone.com 

One person was taken to the hospital and 60 residents evacuated after a fire broke out at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Toa Payoh on Monday morning (July 14).A picture of the aftermath of the incident was posted to Facebook by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Monday (July 14).According to its post, SCDF responded to the fire in Block 194 Kim Keat Avenue at about 11.50am that day.Upon arrival, it was discovered that the fire was in a bedroom in a unit on the 12th floor. Firefighters entered the smoke-filled flat and put the flames out using a water jet.The unit and the corridor area outside the unit sustained heat and smoke damage as a result of the fire, said SCDF. 

A 26-year-old man will be charged with the attempted murder of a 29-year-old woman in court on Tuesday (July 15), said the police.In a media release, the police said they had received a call for assistance at Kallang Wave Mall at about 1.25am on Monday (July 14).Preliminary investigations found that the man had allegedly attacked the woman with a knife.Members of the public had disarmed and detained the man, before he was arrested by officers.The woman was taken to hospital and received treatment for her injuries. She is in a stable condition.According to a Lianhe Zaobao report, the attacker and victim do not know each other, and the man had allegedly used a small fruit knife in the attack.The police stated that a court order will be sought for the man to be remanded for psychiatric assessment.If convicted of attempted murder, he may face life imprisonment and caning, or a jail term of up to 20 years with fine or caning, or both.[[nid:718665]]lim.kewei@asiaone.com

A 23-year-old cyclist was captured on dashcam footage riding his Power Assisted Bicycle (PAB) across a traffic junction in Hougang, when he was ran over by a silver car on Sunday (July 13).Miraculously, the rider was able to stand and walk away from the scene.Horrifying footage posted by Facebook page SG Road Vigilante shows the car, which was turning left at the junction, mounting the pedestrian crossing, ramming and running over the cyclist who had stopped there.The impact pushes the man forward onto the road and the car wheels roll over him a second time. The cyclist is seen stumbling and slowly standing up to pick up an item near his damaged PAB. A passer-by then approaches and gestures for him to sit at the crossing.Several cars can be seen driving past the scene while the car, which had crashed into the road divider, remains lodged against the traffic light.It then reverses, revealing a visibly damaged front bumper, before driving off.A street name sign was also dislodged in the accident. 

A locksmith has filed a police report after he was harassed by members of the public for allegedly raising his voice at an elderly woman in Yishun, according to a Facebook post by the locksmith last Saturday (July 12).The locksmith, surnamed Koh, said he has made a police report regarding an incident last Thursday (July 10) where he was called to unlock a door in Yishun.According to a viral Facebook post then, an elderly woman was locked out of her home at around 7am because of a broken key and sought help from two neighbours.The neighbours, unable to open her door, enlisted Koh's assistance.While Koh was on his way over, however, the trio managed to retrieve the woman's spare keys by using a long stick to reach into her home, unlocking the door.By the time Koh was notified that his assistance was no longer needed, he was already near to the woman's home and went to meet them.The post alleged that Koh «looked really angry» and began scolding them, seeking $80 in fees and ignoring requests for him to check her door.After Koh left, the elderly woman was purportedly in tears.

SINGAPORE — A 31-year-old woman who was suffering from persecutory delusions became frightened that her adoptive father would kick her out of the family's Sengkang flat after her adoptive mother died from cancer.After he rejected her demand to be added as an owner of the flat, she killed him at home with a chopper.On July 14, Tan Qiu Yan was sentenced to 18 years' jail after she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for the killing in November 2022.She was originally charged with murder, but was found to be suffering from a delusional disorder that diminished her mental responsibility for her actions.Tan was adopted by Tan Ah Bang and Madam Koh Li Hua in 1992 when she was a baby.After Madam Koh was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, she promised her daughter her share of the flat.However, the flat was owned by Tan's parents as joint tenants, which meant that when Madam Koh died, her share automatically passed to Mr Tan.Madam Koh died on Aug 29, 2022.

Singapore's economy continued to expand in the second quarter of 2025, despite global uncertainty stemming from US tariff policies.The economy grew by 4.3 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, up from 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, according to advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Monday (July 14). On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 1.4 per cent, a turnaround from the 0.5 per cent contraction in the first quarter of 2025, said MTI.For the first half of 2025, GDP growth averaged at 4.2 per cent year-on-year, though MTI warned of «significant uncertainty and downside risks» in the second half of the year citing heightened uncertainty surrounding US tariff policies.On a sectoral basis, the manufacturing sector grew by 5.5 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, showing a significant uptick from 4.4 per cent in the previous quarter. According to MTI, the growth was driven by output expansions across all clusters, except for the chemicals and general manufacturing clusters. 

Seven people received medical treatment after a fire broke out at the corridor of a Chai Chee Housing and Development Board (HDB) block.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that firefighters from Paya Lebar and Changi Fire Station responded to a fire at Block 52, Chai Chee Street at about 8:05am on Sunday (July 13).Upon their arrival, the fire was «well-alight» - and it involved household items placed at the 13th floor lift lobby which was extinguished using a water jet, said SCDF.Two units above the lobby sustained heat and soot damage and 35 residents were evacuated from the block by the police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.Seven people were treated by SCDF paramedics at the scene and declined to be sent to the hospital.The fire involved the burning of joss paper near some «miscellaneous» items and affected power supply to the entire block, reported Lianhe Zaobao.According to the Chinese daily, a large amount of debris, alongside blackened pots, pans and charred wooden cabinets and chairs, was piled up in the lobby where the fire broke out.

When making payments using their SG60 vouchers, an elderly couple was befuddled when told that some of it had already been spent.One of them then approached the police for help and discovered that over half of their $800 in vouchers had allegedly been redeemed by a stranger.Retiree Li, 64, told Shin Min Daily News that he had claimed his SG60 vouchers at a community club in Chinatown on July 2, where staff had printed out the QR codes for his convenience.On July 5, his wife tried using $12 in merchant vouchers to pay but was purportedly told that one $10 voucher had been used.The same thing happened again the next day, when Li tried to make payment with two $10 in supermarket vouchers but was informed that one voucher had been spent.The retiree immediately reported the matter to staff at the community club, who asked if his family members had used the vouchers.«I called my two sons to check again, and they both said they never used it. The staff then suggested that I file a police report,» he recalled.[[nid:719561]]

Renny Rahman first received a call from her daughter's form teacher, informing her that her one-year-old had been injured while playing at her pre-school.The bleeding had stopped and little Lisa was no longer crying, the mother was allegedly told by the staff at the Ang Mo Kio pre-school on Thursday (July 3).But what was described as a «minor injury» turned out to be far more serious - her daughter required painful surgery on the same day to close a deep laceration on her tongue.In a series of Instagram stories, Rahman, 35, who declined to give her occupation, said she has several questions for the school. Among them, why her daughter was put to sleep for nap time after the incident, instead of being taken to a clinic immediately after the accident.«They are not medical professionals, so it's not up to them what is serious and what is not,» she added. «And the fact they downplayed the whole situation about the fall. They didn't even mention how deep the cut was.»