SINGAPORE — Instructed by his former stepfather to steal a luxury watch worth more than $47,000 from a Carousell user, a teenager «chickened out» three times before finally doing so with the help of a friend.Nigel Tan, 19, was also promised by the older man a larger share of the proceeds from the sale of the watch.Nigel was sentenced to reformative training on Aug 14 after pleading guilty to one count of cheating.His former stepfather, Kyoshirocaeden Tan Lee Yu, 37, is still at large.Nigel's accomplice, Lucian Tan Keat Hong, 20, was also arrested, but court documents do not state if he has been charged.Kyoshirocaeden Tan married Nigel's mother when the boy was about three years old. After the couple divorced in 2019, Nigel began living with Tan from 2022. The older man was unemployed, while Nigel worked as a bartender.On April 22, 2024, Tan told Nigel he needed money badly and asked for the youth's help to cheat someone into handing over an expensive watch, so they could sell it.

Singapore and India reaffirmed close ties and discussed areas to strengthen bilateral collaboration during the third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) on Wednesday (Aug 13) in New Delhi.In a doorstop interview after the conclusion of the ISMR, DPM Gan said that Singapore's six-member delegation held productive talks with their Indian counterparts and detailed potential collaborations regarding sustainability, digitalisation, skills development, healthcare and medicine, advanced manufacturing, and connectivity. In particular, DPM Gan highlighted interest from Singaporean companies to set up a semiconductor ecosystem between the two nations in hopes of strengthening their supply chains.Citing the «very long and complex» supply chains where different semiconductor parts are often manufactured at separate locations, DPM Gan said that it is important for businesses to diversify their pipelines so that they are less susceptible to disruption, alluding to the external disruptions caused by US tariffs.

A former secondary school teacher has been sentenced to jail for targeting three teenage girls and trying to engage in sexual activities with them on separate occasions in 2021.The 33-year-old man, who was referred to as a «sexual predator» by prosecution, pleaded guilty to four charges under the Children and Young Persons Act on Aug 11 and was sentenced to nine months' jail.The man cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victims’ identities.Responding to AsiaOne's queries the Ministry of Education stated that the man is no longer working as a teacher, and stopped working for the ministry in March 2022.Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Bryan Wong told the court that the man was posted to the school in 2017 and had given advice to its student councillors.He also regularly received and accepted «follow» requests from students on his personal Instagram account.The man got to know one of the victims when he taught her in Secondary 1. The pair followed each other on Instagram, and she left the school some time before 2021.

The size of the compensation package and rehousing options will weigh heavily in their decision to sell their HDB flats back to the Government under the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (Vers), elderly residents living in older estates have said.They were reacting to National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat’s remarks in an interview that his ministry aims to use the current term of Parliament to develop the policy framework for the scheme.This includes identifying possible sites where the scheme will be first offered, ensuring that there are sufficient homes for those involved to relocate to, and working out a fair compensation package for residents whose flats are taken back early.Once the policy parameters are in place, Vers will be progressively offered to a “few selected” sites likely from the first half of the next decade when the flats there are about 70 years old, Chee said.Vers was first announced by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2018 to allow the Government to buy back flats nearing their 99-year lease by compensating residents and redeveloping the land.  

A man and a woman in their 30s died following a blaze that took place at Block 106 Jalan Bukit Merah on Wednesday (Aug 13) afternoon.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire at around 4pm, according to a Facebook post that day.Upon arrival, they saw that the living room and bedroom of a unit on the fourth floor were on fire, and worked to extinguish the flames with a water jet.Amid the operation, firefighters found two unresponsive individuals in the kitchen and immediately carried them out of the unit before conveying them to Singapore General Hospital.According to police, a 34-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were conveyed unconscious to the hospital, where they subsequently died.The police do not suspect foul play and investigations are ongoing.

A 31-year-old woman was taken to the hospital following an accident involving two cars along Joo Chiat Road on Monday (Aug 11) afternoon.A video posted to Xiaohongshu the same day showed several people tending to a person lying on the pavement before Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers took over. An ambulance can be seen parked on the side road.The crash left the right rear bumper of a white car severely damaged, while the white Mitsubishi behind sustained a dent on its front, leaving its hood slightly crumpled. Debris was also seen scattered across the road between the two cars.When a Shin Min Daily News reporter visited the scene, a female shop assistant nearby said that she saw a passenger in a private-hire car injured after the accident, and a man falling to the ground after getting out of the vehicle. She added that the two cars had been travelling along the main road and had likely collided in a rear-end crash. Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and SCDF confirmed that they were alerted to the road traffic accident along Joo Chiat Road at around 3.10 pm.

Four alleged members of a Chinese criminal syndicate, who were charged with possessing housebreaking instruments, were taken back to Bukit Timah on Thursday (Aug 14) as part of police investigations. He Jiao, 38, Zhou Qifa, 36, Yang Chao, 41, and Zhou Yinggui, 36 were allegedly found carrying three screwdrivers and two wrenches near the Greenleaf private estate on the night of Aug 8, according to court documents. The quartet were charged in court on Aug 10.On Thursday morning, two of the men were brought to the Rail Corridor in two police cars. He Jiao, the first suspect to arrive, wore a stoic face when he alighted from the vehicle just before 10.30am.Flanked by three officers, he was led to a stretch of path near the Bukit Timah Truss Bridge and questioned. He jutted his head towards the bridge and pointed in that direction in response to questions posed by the officer. The man left in the police car slightly over five minutes later. The second suspect, Zhou Qifa, arrived at 10.37am and stepped out of the vehicle with his head kept bowed.

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.