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