Singapore faces no “insurmountable challenges” should it decide to adopt nuclear energy as a source of power, said the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi on Saturday (July 26).The UN nuclear watchdog chief made the remarks during a sit-down interview with local media at the sidelines of his one-day visit to Singapore, which is part of the S R Nathan Fellowship, a high-level programme for foreign leaders and prominent individuals to visit the country.The 64-year-old said that unlike some countries which would have to start from scratch, Singapore has already laid the “groundwork” if it chooses to embark on a nuclear energy programme.The Argentinian pointed to Singapore as a “fine technological base” with “mature” regulatory framework, and “very good safety and research capabilities”.“I don’t see any obstacles (for Singapore),” he added. “For some countries, it could be financing, or the lack of human capacity — the workforce.“You don’t have these problems… There are many boxes that have been checked already.”

A sinkhole appeared in Tanjong Katong Road this evening (July 26).From videos posted to social media, a car can be seen floating in the waterlogged hole. PUB said in a Facebook post that the incident occurred today at approximately 5pm at the junction of Tanjong Katong Road and Mountbatten Road, adjacent to an existing PUB worksite. Two lanes of the road were affected.PUB added: «One vehicle fell into the sinkhole. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rescued the female driver, and conveyed her conscious to Raffles Hospital.»The police, SCDF, and Land Transport Authority (LTA) are currently on site managing the situation. Both directions of the affected road have been closed to traffic. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and use alternative routes."Two water mains were damaged in the incident and PUB is isolating the affected water mains.

Two men will be charged in court on Saturday (July 26) for their suspected involvement in several cases of government official impersonation scams.The duo, aged 20 and 21, allegedly impersonated an official from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said the police on July 25.The scammers allegedly instructed a victim to hand over $35,000 in cash to one of the men, who acted as a cash mule, according to a police report received on June 23.Following extensive ground inquiries and investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command managed to arrest the two men on July 24.Preliminary investigations by the police found that the other man involved is allegedly the accomplice of the cash mule.The two men were allegedly working under instructions from an unknown person to collect money from scam victims.Police also believe that the duo are involved in other similar cases.The 20-year-old man faces a fine of up to $500,000, a jail term of up to 10 years, or both if convicted on the charge of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct.

SINGAPORE — Close to 12,000 Housing Board flats in Tengah have been completed, comprising around 40 per cent of the 30,000 flats launched so far in the new town.Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat gave this update on July 26 at HDB Community Day, adding that almost half of the planned 30,000 flats in Tengah will be completed by the end of 2025.Speaking at Tengah Community Club, Chee said the planning of the new town gave residents opportunities to share ideas for the estate before moving in.

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) thwarted an attempt to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes through Woodlands Checkpoint on Wednesday (June 23).In a Facebook post on Friday (July 25), it said that officers had directed the Malaysia-registered vehicle for enhanced checks and discovered over 500 packets concealed in various components.Photos uploaded by ICA show the duty-unpaid cigarettes wrapped in black hidden within the body of the motorcycle.The case has been referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigation.  

A joint operation by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) yielded almost three tonnes of illegally imported produce from Malaysia at Woodlands Checkpoint.Conducted on July 24 and July 25, the operation targeted delivery trucks which typically transport produce intended for direct distribution to retailers and customers, said the authorities in a joint statement on Friday (July 25).ICA officers at Woodlands Checkpoint noticed discrepancies in the consignment transported by a truck and subsequently referred them to SFA for further checks. Upon investigation, SFA found under-declared vegetables in the truck including eggplants, cucumbers and long beans. All illegally imported produce were seized.SFA investigations are also ongoing.Food imports into Singapore must meet SFA requirements, and illegally imported produce of unknown sources can pose a food safety risk. Food can only be imported by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit, the authorities said.

SINGAPORE — Etomidate has been detected in the blood samples of two people involved in a fatal road accident in Punggol Road in May, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said on July 25.The pair were riding in a car that collided with a bus at about 2.50pm on May 13.The police discovered 42 e-vaporisers and more than 1,200 pods in the car, with some tested by HSA to contain etomidate, the authority said in a statement.The 30-year-old male driver was conscious when taken to hospital after the accident. His passenger, a 28-year-old woman, was taken unconscious to hospital where she subsequently died.«The driver is currently assisting the police and HSA in investigations regarding both the accident and e-vaporiser-related offences,» the authority said.Etomidate, which is used as an anaesthetic agent, is allowed for use only in clinical settings and subject to strict conditions, according to HSA.On July 20, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the Health and Home Affairs ministries are working to list the substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act, amid a growing trend of e-vaporisers — or vapes — containing the drug.

The Ministry of Health, Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and People's Association have launched a campaign encouraging vape users to kick the habit and safely dispose their devices in designated bins set up at 24 locations island-wide.Those who surrender their devices by binning them, or voluntarily seek support for quitting, will not face any penalties for doing so, said the authorities.Starting July 25, disposal bins have been placed at 23 Community Clubs and one Residents' Network Centre for members of the public to voluntarily dispose of vapes. This comes amid fresh public concern over vapes laced with etomidate, an anaesthetic agent that can cause seizures and psychosis.Etomidate will be listed as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in the next few weeks, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on July 20.[[nid:720403]]Ahead of this, HSA is encouraging users of e-vaporiser to give up their devices and related components and quit vaping through the new initiative called Bin the Vape.

East-West Line MRT stations Tanah Merah, Expo and Changi are set to be converted to the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Friday (July 25).A new interchange station - the TEL-Cross Island Line (CRL) interchange station at Terminal 5 - will also enable a direct rail connection between Changi Airport and the city centre.This new TEL-CRL interchange station will be part of the Thomson-East Coast Line extension (TELe).This 14km addition will extend the TEL from Sungei Bedok station to the new interchange station which will then connect to Tanah Merah station.From there, the TEL will be further extended to connect to Tanah Merah station, with the existing East-West Line stretch between Changi Airport and Tanah Merah stations converted to TEL systems.«Future passengers from the existing Changi Airport station and the new Changi Terminal 5 station will enjoy seamless and convenient access to the TEL network,» said LTA.Preparatory works to modify Tanah Merah station into an interchange station between the East-West Line and TEL have been ongoing since 2016.

A 23-year-old motorcyclist died after an accident with a lorry near Woodlands Checkpoint on Friday (July 25) morning.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said they were alerted to the accident along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) towards SLE at 6.50am.A 23-year-old male motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene and his 23-year-old male pillion rider was unconscious when taken to the hospital.Videos posted to social media show a blue police tent covering the body on the left-most lane of the expressway, with a trail of blood on the road.A lorry is seen stationary on the road shoulder. The police said a 39-year-old male lorry driver is assisting with investigations, which are ongoing.

A company director has been convicted for his involvement in a scheme that collected a total of $112,400 in kickbacks from migrant workers in December 2020.Loo Kim Huat, a 68-year-old Singaporean, was fined $90,000 and a penalty order of $42,000 on Thursday (July 24) after pleading guilty to six charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).Twelve other charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a press release.The ministry said Loo was the director and group head for conservancy at WIS Holdings, which manages Weishen Industrial Services — a company that provides estate cleaning and maintenance services for town councils. He had conspired with four individuals, which included Lim Choong Seng, a former site manager at Weishen, two conservancy workers, Kabir Mohammad Humayun and Robel, and Kamaruzzaman, an employment agent based in Bangladesh.In 2020, Loo and the four individuals collected amounts ranging from $900 to $7,000 from 18 workers of Weishen as a condition for renewing their work passes.

A boy was sent to hospital after he was hit by a car while dashing across the road.The incident, which happened on Wednesday (July 23) at around 1pm, was captured on video and posted on SG Road Vigilante (SGRV) Facebook page on Thursday (July 24) morning.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that it received a call for help on Wednesday at around 2pm.The incident occurred at the junction of Moulmein Road and Sinaran Drive, SCDF said, adding that it sent a person to KK Women's and Children's Hospital. In the video, the student is seen pausing at the road junction before dashing across and being hit by a Mitsubishi ASX.The boy seems to tumble onto the road upon impact with the car, but is seen walking away when the driver stops to check on him.Speaking to AsiaOne, the police said that a 72-year-old male driver is assisting with investigations.The police also said that the boy involved is a nine-year-old, who was taken conscious to the hospital.Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:720490]]dana.leong@asiaone.com

SINGAPORE — A cook employed at a Compass One eatery had just completed work when he spotted and molested a drunken man sleeping on a bench at the Sengkang shopping mall at 2.30am.After molesting the victim, who was reeking of vomit and alcohol, Aung Chue Marn walked away and then returned three more times to grope the man's private parts. The victim had remained asleep.The 26-year-old offender was sentenced to seven weeks' jail on July 24 after he pleaded guilty to one count of molestation over the incident which took place in October 2024.Aung Chue Marn, a Myanmar national, also admitted to an unrelated charge of being in possession of obscene films.The acts of molestation came to light only after the 29-year-old victim woke up and approached a security guard at the mall as his mobile phone was missing.Court documents did not disclose what happened to the device.«(The guard) reviewed CCTV footage and found that the accused had touched the victim whilst he was unconscious,» said Deputy Public Prosecutor Karl Tan.

Graceson Ang, an ex-inmate who was featured in CNA's Inside Maximum Security documentary, appeared in court on Thursday (July 24) over fresh charges.The 40-year-old Singaporean is accused of failing to present his passport when leaving for Malaysia at Woodlands Checkpoint in March 2023 and lying that he had lost his passport the following month when applying for a passport.Ang is also charged with importing mini LED flashlight stun guns in a parcel on Mar 7, 2023.At the time of importing the stun gun, he was under a remission order from November 2022 to June 2025.He was charged with the three offences last month.CNA reported that the prosecutor sought another two weeks' adjournment for the Singapore Customs and Central Narcotics Bureau to complete their investigations.The case was adjourned for investigations to be completed.Ang's lawyer said that he would be meeting him on Friday (July 25).If convicted of leaving Singapore without presenting a passport, Ang could face imprisonment of up to 10 years, fined up to $10,000, or both.

Scammers are posing as staff members from the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) to phish for personal information in a new scam variant, the police have warned.These scammers would make unsolicited phone calls to members of the public, some of whom were told that their identities had been stolen and used to apply for credit cards, or to register phone numbers that were allegedly involved in criminal activities.The police said that in one case, the scammer had transferred the call to another «officer» from NCPC, who talked to the victim via WhatsApp.The scammer sent fake official documents to the victim to enhance his credibility. The victim was then instructed to transfer money into a «safety account» as part of police investigations.The victim only realised he had fallen for a scam after telling his family member about the alleged investigations, prompting the family to verify directly with the police.Senior Assistant Commissioner Devrajan Bala, director of the police's Scam Public Education Office and executive director of NPCP, said they had received information about this scam variant from the ScamShield Helpline.

SINGAPORE — One day after a fatal fire resulted in two deaths in Toa Payoh Lorong 1, some residents said they believed one of the victims was a «hoarder».The fire on July 22 that ravaged a three-room flat on the second floor of Block 173 caused over 100 residents to be evacuated from the block at about 7.30pm.A 56-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman were found lying motionless in the unit, according to the police.They were pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.Although the identities of the victims have not been revealed by the authorities, a resident on the third floor told The Straits Times that he was familiar with the dead man.The resident, who gave his name only as Wong, was cleaning the soot off his front window when ST visited him on the morning of July 23.

SINGAPORE – In the first prosecution involving etomidate-laced vapes, known as Kpods, the court has directed the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to provide more information for sentencing, including a profile of end users.Mohammed Akil Abdul Rahim, 41, who is alleged to have made the Kpods at home with the intent to sell them, had been expected to plead guilty on July 23.The Singaporean, who is facing a total of eight charges, including two for selling and possession to sell etomidate under the Poisons Act in Yishun, is now scheduled to do so on Aug 11 after the case was adjourned for the prosecution to flesh out its sentencing submissions.In court on July 23, Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu noted that the prosecution had furnished a skeletal sentencing submission. She added that, given the novelty of the case and the fact that there are no precedents for the possession for sale of etomidate under the Poisons Act, time should be given for the prosecution to furnish a full version.This would include case law for a case of this nature, Judge Ong said.

A video of a student, believed to be from a primary school, being bullied by a group of boys and threatened with a knife has gone viral.The incident was captured in a Facebook video originally posted on Tuesday (July 22) at around 1pm.In response to AsiaOne’s queries, the police confirmed that reports were lodged in relation to the incident, which occurred on July 6.In the video, a young boy is seen being cornered by a taller male and several other boys, whose voices can be heard in the background.The taller boy is seen pushing the victim against the wall and holding a butterfly knife to his throat.The bully continues to verbally abuse the victim and even slaps him, before another boy — who seems to be the one recording the video — joins in and badgers him.The victim eventually strips down to his underwear at the end of the video, and is asked to kneel on the ground before the video cuts off.The original video has been deleted, but was uploaded to the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on Wednesday at 1.20pm and has garnered over 20,000 views so far.

Under the hot sun at a tennis court in Cambodia, then 17-year-old Singaporean Tan Sue Yan beamed with excitement as she played her first match representing Singapore at the 32nd SEA Games in 2023.To the budding tennis player, it was a big opportunity to see where she stood in South-east Asia, and to play against «great players with a lot of experience».But it turned out to be one of the toughest and most painful matches she had played. «I was just two points away from winning a bronze medal,» she told AsiaOne.«I had the lead but couldn't close out the match. Nerves got the better of me, especially with the pressure of everyone watching.»Now, Tan is gearing up to compete in the 33rd edition of the Games in Thailand this December.The 19-year-old said: «I am really looking forward to getting back out there and giving it my all on behalf of Singapore.»Started training at 4She started playing the sport when she was four, after her kindergarten teacher noticed that she had a competitive streak.

A Redditor went on what he thought was a free cultural tour of columbaria, but ended up being persuaded to book «property» in the afterlife.While Ahfookies was impressed with the quality of the columbaria, which he found well-designed and spacious, he was surprised at how the staff tried to sell niches like a property agent might.«They're even selling their under-construction units and referring to them as BTOs (Built to Order, just like HDB flats), lol!» he wrote, adding that the columbaria agents operated on a commission basis.There was even a banner celebrating top sales staff, just like property agents.Which made the Redditor wonder: «Is it time to speculate on this 'property' market?»

What started as a routine trip for a bus captain turned into a heartwarming act of integrity when he returned a missing wallet to a distressed passenger.In a Facebook post on Monday (July 21), SBS Transit shared the incident involving bus captain, Tan Chiy Ping, who had just completed his shift for Service 138 at Ang Mo Kio Interchange. While inspecting the bus, he discovered a wallet that had been left behind.Inside it was the passenger's work permit and $2,400 in cash. At that time, Senior Assistant Interchange Supervisor Nithyananthan Palne (Nathan) noticed an anxious passenger who reported to the Passenger Service Office that his wallet was missing.Nathan then quickly confirmed the bus' location with the Operations Control Centre and took the man there, in hope of retrieving the lost items. Fortunately, they were able to locate the passenger's belongings, which were then returned to him.

SINGAPORE — The Housing Board launched 5,547 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats on July 23 for sale across eight projects in Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Clementi, Sembawang, Tampines, Toa Payoh and Woodlands, including the first units in the new estate of Sembawang North.Another 4,662 balance flats have also been put on offer, including 1,733 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) units that are completed and ready for home buyers to move into. The bulk of the balance flats are in Kallang/Whampoa, Tengah and Geylang.A slew of policy changes that benefit singles and families looking to upgrade or right-size their homes will also take effect from this sales exercise.HDB announced it would increase the subsidies for four Prime projects in Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Clementi to keep the flats affordable for more Singaporeans. It did not specify the extent of this increase.Owners of these flats will be subject to a higher subsidy clawback upon the resale of their flats. The clawback is set at 11 per cent for Toa Payoh Ascent, and Alexandra Peaks and Alexandra Vista in Bukit Merah. At Clementi Emerald, it is 12 per cent.

Ten drivers were caught providing illegal ride-hailing services at Changi Airport on Friday (July 18), following a tip-off from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA).In a Facebook video posted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on July 19, enforcement officers were seen apprehending the drivers and impounding their vehicles for operating without valid licences. The illegal services were being offered both within Singapore and across the border between Singapore and Malaysia.LTA stated that it is stepping up enforcement against illegal point-to-point transport services that operate without a valid Public Service Vehicle Licence, including cross-border services. «Such crackdowns aim to protect passengers from potential disruptions and to ensure safety. The public is urged to use only licensed services for a safer and smoother ride,» said LTA.