In the first six months of 2025, consumers have lost over $108,000 in beauty service prepayments, revealed the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) — a staggering 464 per cent increase from the $19,000 losses that was reported in the beauty industry in the first half of 2024.The consumer watchdog said on Tuesday (Aug 5) it received 558 consumer complaints in the beauty sector from January to June 2025, down slightly from the 600 complaints made across the same period in 2024.Of the beauty sector complaints this year, feedback on aggressive or misleading sales tactics comprises about 28 per cent, with many cases involving consumers who were pressured into signing high-value packages under unclear or exaggerated promises.In one instance, a consumer who had signed a contract value of over $370,000 alleged that the business engaged in aggressive, high-pressure sales tactics, made false promises that were not fulfilled, offered misleading discounts and overcharged.«Despite a slight drop in complaint numbers, the beauty industry remains a concern due to the sharp increase in prepayment-related losses,» said Case president Melvin Yong.

A record number of more than 578,000 crossings were made on June 20 at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, surpassing the previous peak of over 562,000 crossings on Dec 24, 2024,  the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 5).A daily average of more than 525,000 travellers crossed during during the June school holidays from May 29 to July 1, 2025, a 10 per cent increase compared to the June school holidays in 2024.Travellers who departed the checkpoints during the June peak period had to wait up to three hours for immigration clearance, due to traffic tailback from Malaysia. The agency also said that those travelling to Malaysia over the National Day weekend can expect longer waiting time to clear immigration at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, the ICA said.It expects heavy traffic at both land crossings from Aug 8 to Aug 10. 

The wife of Mohammed Fairuz Razali, 38, who was involved in a fatal motorcycle crash along Bedok North Road on July 18, is looking for the man who administered CPR to her husband after the accident.In a Facebook post on August 3, 39-year-old Hazura said that witnesses saw how the man «did not give up» while trying to revive Fairuz.«He performed CPR on my late husband and tried his best, even doing mouth-to-mouth multiple times to help revive him before the ambulance arrived...and for that, I am forever grateful,» she wrote.She then asked for those living in Singapore or nearby to share her post and requested that the kind Samaritan, or anyone that may know him, contact her privately.«I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart,» she said, adding that she hoped he will be blessed with «the greatest rewards for [his] kindness and humanity».AsiaOne has reached out to the woman for more information.

A 23-year-old woman died after a private-hire car she was travelling in with a friend crashed into a public bus in Yishun on Saturday (Aug 2). The surviving passenger, Ong Meiyi, 20, said she and her friend Queenie Leong had taken that car home after attending a friend's birthday party at Bedok.Recounting the incident, Ong told Shin Min Daily News that Leong had fallen asleep on the back seat shortly after getting into the car, while she sat beside her. The next thing she knew, the car crashed into a bus in Yishun.«Everything happened very suddenly. My hand hit the back of the seat, and it hurt. [Leong] might have also hit the front [before she] fell on me,» Ong recalled, adding that she suffered a hand injury in the crash. Ong noted that Leong fell unconscious and was bleeding from her head, nose, and mouth due to the impact. «I called her name and held her hand - she moved slightly. I immediately tried to save her and perform CPR, but one of my hands was badly injured. There was really nothing I could do,» said a distraught Ong. 

SINGAPORE — One of the last memories Pombuena Kevin Paul Famacion has of his girlfriend is when she sang a love song to him, just a few days before she died in a car accident.Queenie Leong was on her way home from a birthday party in Bedok when the private-hire car she was in with a friend crashed into a public bus at the junction of Yishun Avenue 2 and Yishun Central 1 at about 5.35am on Aug 2.A photo of the scene showed a silver car at the rear of a Tower Transit bus, its windows shattered and right doors left ajar, as Singapore Civil Defence Force officers attended to the emergency.Her friend had tried to save Leong, 23, immediately after the accident. Despite fracturing her arm in the accident, she performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the ambulance arrived at the scene.Both women and the driver were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where Leong eventually died.The Straits Times visited the wake set up at the void deck of Block 162 Yishun Street 11, where Leong lived. Her father was too distraught to speak but said he wanted to understand how the accident happened.

Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh was “grilled” by several “special guests” on Monday (Aug 4), in his first interview on local radio since the 2025 General Election in May.The Leader of the Opposition appeared on Kiss92 FM’s morning programme with DJs Glenn Ong and Angelique Teo, where he took questions from eight young Singaporeans aged between four to 11.In a segment titled “The Kids Ask Mr Pritam”, one young Singaporean asked if politics in Singapore is fair and if all parties played by the same rules.In response, Singh said: “I think that we should always endeavour to develop and nourish a system where the rules are the same for everyone.“I would like to think that is a road we are on, and we should remain on that road.”There were also candid responses to questions such as his worst subject in primary school.“I was not too thrilled about mathematics,” he said. “Which is very sad because I actually loved mathematics.”He also revealed that he is “not much of a dancer”, when asked what music choices.

Malaysian authorities have launched an investigation into a Singapore-registered car after its driver was spotted filling a tank of subsidised Ron95 petrol at a petrol station in Johor Bahru.The incident occurred at Caltex Nusa Sentral, located in the Iskandar Puteri township, on Sunday (Aug 3) at around 6.30pm, according to a post on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page.Photos showed a blue Mini Cooper, with a Singapore-registered licence plate, and a driver filling up a plastic container with Ron95 petrol. Ron95 is subsidised petrol that is available for sale only to Malaysian-registered vehicles.Foreign-registered vehicles are prohibited from purchasing Ron95 fuel and are only permitted to purchase Ron97, which is not subsidised.Lilis Saslinda Pornomo, director of the Johor Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN), said that the ministry is aware of the incident and has opened an investigation.

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner flight from Singapore to Seoul on Monday morning (Aug 4) encountered technical issues and returned to Singapore.Flight SQ600 took off at around 8.35am and was scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport at about 3.30pm local time (2.30pm Singapore time) on the same day. The flight, which operates on weekdays, would usually make a left turn after passing Berakit in Batam before continuing towards Seoul. This time, data from flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 showed the flight in a holding pattern over the South China Sea before returning to Changi at around 9.55am.A holding pattern is an oval-shape racetrack pattern that an aircraft fly while awaiting further instructions from air traffic control. These patterns are used for various reasons, including managing airspace congestion or allowing pilots time to troubleshoot in-flight issues. 

Many can regale their nephews and nieces with tales of how Basic Military Training (BMT) was like during their time — but things have been quickly changing.Among these changes is the introduction of drones into the military training curriculum, which all recruits will have to learn to operate, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said during his visit to Pulau Tekong on Monday (Aug 4).Chan was making his first visit to the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) BMT Centre (BMTC) alongside Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad where they saw many of the new technological advancements at work, including the drones.«We will always know that no matter how many soldiers we have, we will never fight on the basis that we outnumber others,» Chan told the media. «The SAF has always used technology to complement our fighting capabilities at the individual level and at the unit level.»In order to do so, the latest advancement to be unveiled is the training of every recruit to be able to make use of drone technology, both for utilisation and to counter the use of drones against Singapore.

In an effort to manage the growing monkey population in Punggol, some National Parks Board (NParks) contractors have turned to an unexpected solution: gel blasters.In a video uploaded on TikTok, NParks contractors can be seen using devices believed to be gel blasters, aiming water gel beads near the monkeys at a housing block in an attempt to scare them away.Gel blasters are toy guns that shoot small, water-filled gel beads.Several monkeys are seen escaping or avoiding the gel beads while residents and onlookers watch on.In the comments section, several netizens have chimed in, with some finding the scene humorous, while others voiced concern about the potential harm to these animals. «Don't hurt them», said one user while another wrote «Poor monkeys, it was their home».Others, however, found light in the situation. One user wrote, «Best job ever. Where do I apply?» while another joked, «Can I apply? I've got marksmanship badge from army.»

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.1. No plans to ‘fully liberalise’ cross-border ride-hail services: LTAThere are no plans to fully liberalise ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor Bahru, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said on Sunday (Aug 3)…» READ MORE2. Tanjong Katong sinkhole: President Tharman thanks migrant workers for saving driver who fell in

The Government will have five new committees to strengthen Singapore's economic relevance amid geopolitical uncertainties and technological disruptions.The new committees were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong at a press conference on Monday (Aug 4), where he detailed Singapore's Economic Strategy Review (ESR).The ESR, he said, will chart a «forward-looking economic blueprint» to sharpen Singapore's economic competitiveness and deepen its economic resilience. This comes amid major disruptions to the «rules-based multilateral trading system» caused by US tariffs, which make it «important to take a longer term view». DPM Gan, who is the Minister for Trade and Industry and the chairman of SERT, said that the third workstream of SERT — aimed at developing longer-term strategies and responses to transform businesses and support the workforce — will be replaced by the five new committees.SERT stands for the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce.The five committees will develop longer-term strategies in the following areas:

Malaysia's Road Safety Department (JPJ) has issued 1,489 summon notices amounting to RM445,800 (S$136,000) to Singaporean drivers entering Malaysia without a working Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP).The VEP scheme was fully enforced slightly more than a month ago.In a Facebook post on Monday (August 4), the department said that many as 14,379 Singaporean vehicles were checked outside the Sultan Iskandar Building Complex (BSI), Sultan Abu Bakar Complex and surrounding areas of Johor Bahru.This was part of an enforcement operation held from July 1 and August 2 said JPJ Senior Director of Enforcement Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan at a media conference in BSI.The drivers who were issued fines made up around 10 per cent of the 14,379 vehicles which were checked between that period. 

Amidst the National Day festivities at the Istana open house, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam met with the seven migrant workers who helped to save the woman who fell into the Tanjong Katong sinkhole on July 26.The seven workers and their project manager, who work for Ohin Construction, were invited to the Istana's National Day open house on Sunday (Aug 3).President Tharman, accompanied by his wife Jane Ittogi, walked up to the workers and greeted them warmly while shaking their hands.As he chatted with them outside his office, he was heard saying: «You saved her life, thank you.»He also wished the workers well. 

There are no plans to fully liberalise ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor Bahru, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said on Sunday (Aug 3).This comes after Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi said in a Facebook post that the proposal for a cross-border e-hailing service was discussed during his meeting with Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Aug 1.Onn Hafiz said that such a service would «offer more flexible mobility options» and reduce congestion on major routes as well as opening revenue opportunities for drivers.LTA, however, said in a statement on Sunday, that no decision was made on whether to allow cross-border e-hailing services to ferry passengers.«While we are open to ideas to improve the cross-border commuting experience, we would like to clarify that LTA has no plan to fully liberalise cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services,» it added.LTA, instead, said that it is exploring ways to enhance its existing cross-border taxi scheme, which allows a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from each side to ferry passengers between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng has pleaded guilty on August 4 to abetment of obstruction of justice in a case related to ex transport minister S. Iswaran.The 79-year-old admitted to one charge of abetting Iswaran in obstructing the course of justice by helping the latter pay $5,700 to Singapore GP for a business class flight ticket from Doha to Singapore.Another second charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts was taken into consideration for sentencing.The prosecution had, in court, noted that the defence had asked that the court impose a fine on Ong on the grounds of judicial mercy. Judicial mercy is when the courts give leniency in the sentencing of offenders with exceptional personal circumstances. It has been exercised in cases where an offender has terminal illness, or dire medical conditions that endanger their life if they were to be imprisoned. Ong suffers from multiple myeloma, a rare type of bone marrow cancer. 

Nine days after a sinkhole formed on Tanjong Katong Road South, towards East Coast Parkway (ECP), road repairs and reinstatement works have been completed. Just before 5am on Monday (Aug 4), workers removed barricades facing Mountbatten Road and Tanjong Katong Road, allowing motorists to pass. Bus services 36 and 48 also resumed their west-bound routing.  East-bound bus services and the bound of Tanjong Katong Road South, towards Mountbatten Road, resumed at noon last Saturday (Aug 2).  

Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng has arrived at the State Courts amid the gloom of a rainy Monday morning (August 4), to plead guilty to a charge related to former transport minister S Iswaran's case.The 79-year-old Malaysian, widely known for bringing the Formula 1 night race to Singapore in 2008, arrived just before 9am, and walked into the State Courts building with the help of his staff and lawyers.Ong, wearing a white shirt and black mask, remained silent when approached by the media.His hearing is scheduled for 9.30am.Members of the media were seen braving the rain outside the State Courts earlier this morning, awaiting Ong's arrival.

Two Singaporeans and an Indian national were arrested in separate incidents for attempting to leave Malaysia illegally via a «major land checkpoint» on motorcycles. The men, who are in their 20s and 30s, were detained by the Malaysian Immigration Department and are now under investigation, reported The Star on Friday (Aug 1). In the first incident, a Singaporean man allegedly entered Johor Bahru on motorcycle without having his passport stamped and was caught while trying to exit Malaysia. While he claimed he had taken the wrong route, investigations suggest he had entered the country using an unmanned motorcycle lane at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigrations and Quarantine Complex in Johor. The second case involved two men, a Singaporean and an Indian National, who were travelling by motorcycle. Both were stopped after it was found that they had no entry records in the system. All three men are being investigated under Section 6(1)(C) of Malaysia's Immigration Act for entering the country without valid documentation. 

A teenager who was caught in a viral clip appearing dazed and falling over in an MRT train was found with an e-vaporiser and a pod, according to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).He is currently assisting HSA with investigations.In a clip posted to the Singapore Incidents Instagram account on Aug 1, the teenager, dressed in a white T-shirt and shorts, appears unsteady as he gets up from the seat and walks towards the MRT door.He falls backwards as he tries to exit, landing on the floor and startling other passengers, one of whom can be heard asking him, «Are you okay?»In an Instagram Story posted the same day, HSA stated that it had identified a 17-year-old who was «found with an e-vaporiser and a pod», and that the teenager was currently assisting with investigations.A statement by SMRT Trains' president Lam Sheau Kai to AsiaOne said that SMRT is aware of the video circulating on social media which alleged «the use of an etomidate-laced vape by a male commuter».The statement added that station staff was able to locate the commuter who was observed to be vaping. He was escorted out of the train and handed over to the authorities.

SINGAPORE — It was a Friday, and a snaking queue of young people had formed outside Drip Singapore in Orchard Road.

SINGAPORE — Supermarket operator Sheng Siong is set to open its first store in the Orchard Road area at The Cathay shopping mall.A spokesperson for the supermarket told The Straits Times that the 6,500 sq ft store is expected to open by the end of August.“Sheng Siong previously operated a store in the Tekka area, and over the years, customers have expressed their hope for Sheng Siong to have a presence in the central area,” the spokesperson said.“The Cathay is surrounded by residential developments, and we believe it is a convenient spot for daily grocery needs.”