SINGAPORE — In a ploy to withdraw money from her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account before the permitted age of 55, a woman forged two medical documents claiming she had a respiratory illness.Although the CPF Board (CPFB) saw through the ruse and did not disburse any funds to her, the prosecution said Nasuha Zakaria's crime constituted serious mischief.On Aug 12, the 34-year-old was sentenced to five months and 10 weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to one forgery charge and two unrelated charges of theft.Four other charges of theft, forgery and fraudulently possessing property were taken into consideration during sentencing.Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan said the scheme Nasuha tried to exploit was intended for individuals with a reduced life expectancy, those who are permanently unfit for work or those lacking mental capacity.The prosecutor added: «CPF is a government body and this is a situation where the public confidence is at stake.»The court heard that in 2021, the CPFB received two medical certification forms from Nasuha.

Workers' Party (WP) candidates said that their decision to contest in Singapore's next general election will not depend on personal choice, but on whether the party attracts more qualified candidates.WP candidates Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar and Sufyan Mikhail Putra sat down with fellow party members and hosts of This Side of the House, Eileen Chong and Andre Low.In a 42-minute-long debut episode uploaded to the party's social media channels on Monday (Aug 11), the first-time candidates reflected on GE2025 and their personal experiences stepping into Singapore's political arena as newbies.When asked about their plans to run again at the next election in five years, Siti Alia said that it would depend on what is best for the party.«It's always a question of if there are better candidates, more experienced candidates, more trained candidates — people that the party feels would be a better fit,» she said.Siti Alia said it may not be necessary to field the same candidates, but that it might be more important for the party to continue contesting in the same constituencies.

As Singapore ramps up enforcement efforts against drivers providing illegal ride-hailing services within the country and across the border, local licensed drivers are reportedly seeing their business pick up.Many of the drivers offering illegal cross-border point-to-point rides or chartered transport hail from Malaysia and charge less, reported Shin Min Daily News.A limousine driver surnamed Chen told the Chinese evening daily that such unlawful services is a major point of discontent among Singapore drivers.But since the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) clampdown, he said that illegal ride-hailing drivers from Malaysia do not dare to offer their services, leading to a «boom» in business for local drivers.«My business these few days has increased by 30 per cent,» Chen added.At least another five local drivers also told the Chinese daily that they have been picking up more passengers.Liang, 72, said that he still sees some illegal ride-hailing foreign drivers on the weekend, but there are fewer drivers as compared to before the crackdown.

Former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng has settled his claim for defamation against former Singapore Democratic Party chairman Jufrie Mahmood.Cheng sued Mahmood over a Facebook post made in March this year about Cheng's comments on activists who disrupted a Meet-the-People Session in Chong Pang.Mahmood had said that Cheng, who proposed sending the activists to Gaza as long as they did not return, was an Islamophobe and a threat to racial and religious harmony to Singapore.Cheng has since apologised for his comments and said he should have been more sensitive.On Mahmood's accusations, Cheng said in April that they were «factual inaccuracies» and «outright lies», and took legal action against him.In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Aug 12), Mahmood said that he has met with Cheng to «speak to each other frankly and civilly». He added that he has retracted all of his statements against Cheng after accepting he is «neither a racist nor an Islamophobe».

An off-duty Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer died following an accident in Punggol on Tuesday (Aug 12). In a video posted to Facebook on the day of the accident, several people can be seen holding up a white sheet beside a white van to shield the victim from being viewed by other motorists. Towards the end of the video, a blue tent is visible next to a motorcycle, with police officers present at the scene.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police confirmed they were alerted to an accident at about 6.45 am on Tuesday, involving a motorcycle and two vans at the junction of Sumang Link and Punggol Way.A 50-year-old male motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. His 15-year-old male pillion rider was taken conscious to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.Two male van drivers, aged 40 and 54, are assisting with investigations.

SINGAPORE — A total of 466 luxury items and 58 pieces of gold bars from the $3 billion money laundering case have been handed over by the police to professional services firm Deloitte to manage and liquidate.They include Patek Philippe and Richard Mille watches, multiple diamond-encrusted jewellery, Hermes and Louis Vuitton handbags. The gold bars each weighed between 999g and 1kg.The assets were among items seized in an anti-money laundering operation that saw 10 foreigners arrested in multiple raids on Aug 15, 2023, and 17 other suspects who fled Singapore amid the probe.The police said it would progressively hand over all the remaining non-cash assets to Deloitte to manage and liquidate.In total, police seized or took control of around $1.25 billion in non-cash assets during investigations, including cars, properties, art, watches, jewellery, gold bars, handbags and bottles of alcohol.

A team of off-duty nurses from Parkway East Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital managed to save an elderly man's life after resuscitating him at a carpark in Johor Bahru.The incident happened on Saturday (Aug 9) around 4.30pm, when Veenoshini Sandrasagan, Subhashini Subramaniam and Shareen Kaur Rangit Singh were going back home to Johor Bahru after completing a morning shift at the hospital.Two nurses from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Nanthiine GudialKumara and Hemaadewi Balakrishnan, were also part of the group.The group of nurses were waiting for a ride at Johor Bahru Customs when they heard a woman shouting for help and saw that an elderly man had collapsed.The Australian, who appeared to be in his 70s, was unconscious but breathing.The team then sprung into action, with Veenoshini checking the man's pulse while Subhashini called for an ambulance.Initially, the team thought that he was having a seizure and placed a metal key in his hand to alleviate his symptoms, but they later discovered that he had low pulse and had stopped breathing.

A Singaporean woman was deported from Malaysia in the first week of August, the New Straits Times reported.The woman left Malaysia via the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johor Bahru, according to a statement from Malaysian Immigration Department.The statement did not state the Singaporean's age, and the reasons for her deportation.She was among the 53 people reportedly deported from Malaysia since the start of August, which also included 36 Bangladeshis, 11 Thais, two Vietnamese, two Indonesians, and one Chinese national.The Malaysian Immigration Department said that they all paid for their own repatriation costs.«All deportees were blacklisted and are barred from re-entering Malaysia for a stipulated period,» it added.AsiaOne has contacted the Malaysian Immigration Department for more information.On January 19, two Singaporeans were reportedly deported from Malaysia.

The North East Line (NEL) resumed full service at 2.10pm and trains are progressively returning to schedule, said SBS Transit on X at 2.19pm.There are still no Sengkang-Punggol LRT services due to the power fault and free regular bus rides as well as bridging bus services are still available at designated bus stops, the transport operator added.Services along NEL are now available between Harbourfront and Buangkok stations, said SBS Transit in an update on X at 1.05pm.There are still no train services between Punggol Coast and Buangkok stations, it added.«We are working hard to recover service which may likely take two to three hours to restore. Please consider alternative routes,» said the transport operator.Train service on the NEL between Farrer Park and Punggol Coast MRT stations was disrupted due to a power fault on Tuesday (Aug 12).This was announced by transport operator SBS Transit on its social media platforms on Tuesday morning.There are free bus and bridging services available between Punggol Coast and Dhoby Ghaut stations as well as affected Sengkang-Punggol LRT stations during this period, said SBS Transit.

The Johor state government is seeking to strengthen existing legislation and impose stricter action against foreign drivers who illegally refuel with subsidised petrol. The state's executive committee chairman for Investment, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources, Lee Ting Han, said on Monday (Aug 11) that the idea had been proposed several months ago, reported the New Straits Times. He added that current regulations only penalise petrol station operators who sell subsidised fuel to foreign vehicle owners.«At the state level, we will continue to propose to the federal government that enforcement action [will] be taken against those who violate the country's laws, such as foreigners refuelling their vehicles with subsidised fuel,» said Lee.«Currently, action can only be taken against petrol station owners. We propose that legislation be further enhanced to empower enforcement personnel from the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry to act against offenders directly.»

A Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aircraft departed for Jordan on Tuesday (Aug 12) morning to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza for the ninth time.The RSAF C-130 transport craft left Paya Lebar Air Base carrying medical supplies from the Ministry of Health and food from various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) at about 7.10am.The NGOs included Humanity Matters, Caritas Humanitarian Aid and Relief Initiatives Singapore, Mercy Relief, and the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation. These were coordinated through the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre.The C-130, at the invitation of the Jordanian government, will conduct airdrop operations alongside other foreign air forces to deliver this aid.This is the transport craft's second time conducting airdrop operations to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, Singapore and Singaporeans have conveyed nine tranches of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, amounting to over $22 million, said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).A total of 58 military personnel were deployed for this operation.

A man suffered a swollen ankle and has been unable to walk unaided after he was hit by an active mobility device allegedly travelling at «high speed» along a walkway in Ang Mo Kio.The victim, Tony Tan, told AsiaOne that the incident occurred under Block 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 at about 1pm on July 31.The 61-year-old private swimming coach said he had been walking under the block and towards the car park when a Personal Mobility Aid (PMA) ridden by a couple heading towards the bus stop struck his left leg, causing it to bleed and swell.After the impact, Tan claimed the couple «showed no concern for my well-being».«I confronted them, asking why they were riding so fast at the walkway and reminded them that PMAs are not allowed on pedestrian walkways,» he recounted.The female rider then apologised while the male rider inspected the device for any damage.

Over 53,000 retail workers can expect an increase in wages effective Sept 1, the Tripartite Cluster for Retail (TCR) announced on Monday (Aug 11). The new set of progressive wage model (PWM) recommendations for the retail sector includes an increase of at least $130.The PWM was first introduced in 2022.From Sept 1, retail workers will earn at least the entry-level PWM wage of $2,305, up from the existing wage of $2,175.From 2025 to 2027, the baseline monthly gross wages will increase from $2,305 to $2,565.Retail workers can expect a year-on-year increase of up to $160 in the next three years.Under the PWM, employers must pay at least the PWM wage to eligible workers for their job level and meet the PWM training requirements for eligible workers, according to the Ministry of Manpower.The PWM recommendations involve a «two plus one year» schedule of wage increases approach, which translates to fixed annual wage increments between Sept 1, 2025 and Aug 31, 2028.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will deliver his National Day Rally speech from 6.45pm onwards on Sunday (Aug 17) at the Institute of Technical Education College Central in Ang Mo Kio.Keeping with tradition, he will speak first in Malay, followed by Mandarin. His English speech will begin at 8pm, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement on Monday (Aug 11). The rally will be broadcast on local TV channels and radio stations, and will also be live streamed on the YouTube channels of PM Wong and PMO. 

A tree in Jurong West caught fire after exterminators reportedly removed a beehive from it on Friday (Aug 8).In a video posted to Facebook a day after the incident, the tree is seen engulfed in flames from a top view.Towards the end of the video, small sparks of fire can still be seen smoldering on the tree.According to Shin Min Daily News, the fire occurred near Block 330, Jurong West Street 93. One witness, Feng Shengkuan (transliteration) told the Chinese daily that he smelled smoke near his home that night before spotting a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicle below the block.Curious, he went downstairs to find out what was happening.The 26-year-old clerk said that by the time he reached the scene, firefighters were already spraying water on the tree, and no visible flames remained. He added that the fire might have started earlier and speculated that a cigarette butt thrown from an upper floor could have ignited the branches.In response to queries from AsiaOne, the SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at about 10.20pm near 329 Tah Ching Road.