The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) enforcement officers raided two residences on July 22, uncovering drugs and e-vaporisers with etomidate. The raids followed an alert from a courier company after its staff discovered that the parcel he was transporting contained e-vaporiser pods. The incident came to light when the recipient accidentally exposed the items inside it. The sender had falsely declared the parcel to contain food items such as chocolates and chilli sauce.  E-vaporiser pods concealed in food packaging. PHOTO: Health Sciences Authority When HSA officers raided the residence along Grange Road, a 25-year-old woman, identified as the seller, was found in an unresponsive state.There, 43 e-vaporiser pods, 13 e-vaporisers and related components were found, along with drug paraphernalia. 

He may be more comfortable holding a paintbrush in his hand, but when duty called, he answered.Special Constable Corporal Muhamad Irfan Bin Muhamad Rapid, 20, had just graduated with a diploma in the visual arts from the School of the Arts (Sota), when he entered National Service in February 2024, he told AsiaOne in an interview on Thursday (Aug 21).He was assigned to the Special Operations Command (SOC) which came as a surprise to both him and his family, he said during the Annual Police Dinner 2025 at Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre, an event to recognise individuals and community partners who have contributed or collaborated with the Singapore Police Force (SPF).The SOC is the strategic force of the SPF, providing the highest level of tactical options to prevent, deter and detect crime.The event also commemorated the 50th anniversary of Police National Service (PNS) and the 100th anniversary of the SPF Band.Being an art student, Irfan admitted that he wasn't suited to the more physical aspects of the SOC.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will be adding a dedicated tab on its website for members of the public to report illegal delivery riders.The tab will make it easier for the public to alert the ministry when they see foreign workers doing delivery work, said Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower Koh Poh Koon in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Aug 20).This comes after recent islandwide enforcement operations by MOM — during which three foreigners were arrested for working in food delivery illegally.In his post, Dr Koh also thanked local delivery riders for their support during the operations.«In the middle of their own busy shifts, 372 riders took the time — about 10 minutes each — to assist our officers. For food delivery riders, every minute counts,» he said. «Their willingness to pause and help was no small sacrifice, and we are deeply grateful for their co-operation and sense of responsibility.»Dr Koh explained that while such checks may cause inconvenience to various parties, they are crucial. 

More Singaporeans view religion as a very important part of their lives and overall sense of identity, a survey has found, with a growing number saying their religious beliefs have considerable influence over their views in other areas.Researchers from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at the National University of Singapore polled 4,000 people from April to August last year about their views on identity, religion, daily experiences in a multiracial society and various policy issues.The report, released on Wednesday (Aug 20), also compared the findings with prior surveys from 2013 and 2018.  According to the 2024 survey, researchers found that over three-quarters of people agree that their ideas about religion or spirituality are one of the most important parts of their lives, which in turn have a considerable influence over their views in other areas.The study also found that 73.9 per cent of people agree that their spiritual beliefs give meaning to their lives’ joys and sorrows, while 68.3 per cent turn to God or religion to find out their best course of action when faced with life choices.

The seating plan for the 15th term of Parliament, set to convene on Sept 5, has been revealed.As per tradition, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong takes the middle spot of the first row on the right side of the Speaker.He will be flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam.In the previous term of Parliament, PM Wong was seated between Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then-Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.Meanwhile, the remaining 14 Cabinet ministers fill out the rest of the row.Leader of the House Indranee Rajah, who is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, takes up her usual spot next to the Speaker.Behind the Cabinet ministers are the senior ministers of state, followed by the ministers of state and senior parliamentary secretaries.The remaining seats on the right side of the Speaker will be filled up by several first-term MPs.

A mother is looking for the man who saved her four-year-old son from drowning in the swimming pool at Pan Pacific Hotel.The incident occurred on Aug 10 at around 10am, according to a post on Xiaohongshu made on Tuesday (Aug 19) by the mother, Wang (transliterated).In her post, she recounted how her son Jasper almost drowned in the pool but was rescued by one or two bystanders who rushed to help and perform CPR on him.Wang said that Jasper was rushed to hospital after regaining consciousness, where he was warded for two days before being discharged on Aug 12.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that they received a call for assistance at around 10.45am at 7 Raffles Boulevard, where Pan Pacific Hotel is located.SCDF said they sent one person to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.«Without (the bystander), I wouldn't dare to imagine where we would be today. Because of them, Jasper has a second life,» Wang said.

SINGAPORE — North East Line operator SBS Transit has been found to be «100 per cent responsible» for an incident at Punggol MRT station, where the doors closed on a woman's head and neck after she tripped and fell while trying to exit the train.The woman, Ng Lai Ping, had filed a civil suit against SBS Transit for negligence over the June 27, 2022, incident.She contended that she was trapped between the doors for 12 seconds, though SBS Transit presented CCTV footage to show that, at best, it was for one to two seconds.In a judgment dated Aug 13, District Judge Sim Mei Ling found that SBS Transit had breached its duty of care to Ng.The trial will proceed to the next stage to determine whether the breach had caused the injuries allegedly suffered by Ng and the quantum of any damages to be awarded.SBS Transit has 14 days from the date of the judgment to file an appeal.According to the judgment, Ng had boarded a train at Sengkang MRT station, which was bound for Punggol MRT station, on the morning of June 27, 2022.She had intended to ride the train back from Punggol MRT station to Little India MRT station.

SINGAPORE — The Chinese city of Chengdu is famous for two things: Giant pandas and hotpot.After spending days in the capital of Sichuan without experiencing these delights, Singaporean powerlifter Farhanna Farid finally managed to catch the famous bears and indulge in the spicy local cuisine when the World Games 2025 concluded on Aug 17.Ahead of the Games, she held off on both to focus on the competition.Her hard work and discipline paid off as the 32-year-old broke the deadlift world record twice at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre Gymnasium on Aug 14, lifting 210kg and 217kg in the women's lightweight final.Her new mark of 217kg was almost 8kg more than her previous mark of 209.5kg set at the IPF World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships in Chemnitz, Germany, in June.It was her 12th world record since first achieving the feat in June 2022.With additional lifts of 147.5kg in the squat and 70kg in the bench press, she finished sixth overall with 110.58 points. France's Tiffany Chapon took gold (124.45), ahead of New Zealand's Megan-Li Smith (122.69) and Evie Corrigan (120.79).

SINGAPORE — Unhappy with a six-year-old stranger who had caused his daughter to fall, a man slapped the boy's face once, bruising it.For about a week following his ordeal, the boy was observed to be noticeably quieter, and he also experienced occasional nightmares.The bruise he sustained subsided several days after his assault and his behaviour has since returned to normal, the court heard.On Aug 20, his assailant pleaded guilty to an assault charge.The 39-year-old Singaporean man cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, who was around three years old at the time of the incident and referred to in court documents as X1.Individuals below 18 years old are protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.The court heard that the man, his wife and their three daughters had gone to an indoor playground at Westgate shopping mall in Gateway Drive, near Boon Lay Way, on Dec 22, 2024.At around 2.30pm, he saw the boy kick a wall made of multicoloured styrofoam building blocks while at least one of his daughters was standing near to it.

SINGAPORE – A staff member at the MindChamps PreSchool in East Coast has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) after a screening of children and staff there, as well as at MapleBear Toa Payoh.None of the children at either pre-school has tested positive so far, and there is “currently no evidence of spread within the pre-schools”, said the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) in a statement on Aug 20.The agency conducted screenings at the MindChamps and MapleBear pre-schools on Aug 13 and Aug 15 respectively, after a pre-school teacher who had taught at both schools tested positive for the disease.The staff member who was newly diagnosed on Aug 18 from the screenings is a household contact of the pre-school teacher, whom CDA was informed about on July 15.“The individual is currently asymptomatic and is on medical leave. She has commenced TB treatment and will be non-infectious after completing two weeks of treatment,” CDA said.

SMRT bus captain Yau Minddin Bin Muhamad had a moment of deliberation when he saw a car on fire near KK Women's and Children's Hospital, but concern for the vehicle occupants spurred him into action.The 48-year-old had been driving bus service 960e back to Woodlands Depot when he passed by the burning BMW along Bukit Timah Road on Sunday (Aug 17) evening.In an interview with AsiaOne on Wednesday, Yau said he stopped his vehicle at a bus stop ahead and thought for «a couple seconds» if he should lend a helping hand.«Then, I saw the driver waving but no one helping,» he recounted.«If my family or our colleague was trapped there, I cannot just ignore and leave it...if something happened [like an] explosion, I cannot forgive myself.»The bus captain of almost 10 years grabbed a portable fire extinguisher on board the bus and ran across the road.«No matter who they are, strangers or [someone] close, it's not important. That's why when I reached, the first thing I asked was whether any person was trapped in there.»

SINGAPORE — Ahead of a meeting with creditors set for Aug 29, the firm behind Singapore indie cinema The Projector has revealed that it owes them more than $1.2 million.In an e-mail sent out to creditors on Aug 19 and seen by The Straits Times, Pocket Cinema listed 33 different creditors comprising individuals and organisations.The highest amount — $382,888.03 — is owed to Overseas Movie (Private), while others named in the list include the firm's director, Karen Tan, as well as other shareholders, including one of The Projector's founders, Blaise Camille Trigg-Smith.Tan, who is also one of The Projector's founders, is owed more than $120,000, while Trigg-Smith is owed slightly above $100,000.ST has contacted Tan for more information.Other creditors include those who held memberships with The Projector that have yet to expire. These comprise 2,295 people who are owed a total of more than $89,000.The majority of them, or 1,566, held memberships with The Projector Fan Club.

SINGAPORE — FairPrice Group has apologised after a woman said she found a worm in a piece of salmon she bought from one of its Bedok North outlets and later cooked at home.In a statement on Aug 19, the supermarket chain said it was investigating the matter with its supplier.The incident has also been reported to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), which is carrying out its own investigation.The woman, who wanted to be known only as Liz, told The Straits Times that she had bought a discounted packet of salmon with bones on Aug 12.According to a receipt seen by ST, she bought four items at about 11.25pm on Aug 12, including three packets of xiao bai cai — a type of Chinese cabbage — and the salmon. The bill came up to $5.47.Her mother cooked the salmon on Aug 15, and Liz ate it later that night. She realised something was wrong only while eating.«I think my folks didn't eat the fried salmon bones, I ate 2½ pieces. The last half was the part with the worm,» she said, adding that the worm appeared to be white and «very long». She later measured it at 6.5cm with a ruler.

A leadership development programme designed to train the next generation of leaders for Chinese community groups, including clan associations, will receive funding support from the government. This follows Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's announcement of a new training programme to «systematically nurture the next generation of community leaders».PM Wong made the announcement at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 17).During his Mandarin speech, PM Wong paid tribute to the Chinese community for playing a «crucial role» — through their philanthropy, nurturing bilingual and bicultural talent for Singapore - in championing and fostering a strong Singaporean identity.Providing further details on the programme on Wednesday (Aug 20), National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said that participants of the programme will be nominated by Chinese community groups and selected by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA). The programme targets to develop about 100 active Chinese community leaders, in theirs 30s and 40s, over the next five years. 

SINGAPORE — People in Singapore will be alerted to emergencies on their mobile phones via a disaster alert system that will be progressively implemented in Singapore by early 2026.Law Minister Edwin Tong said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is currently working with local telco companies to set up the Cell Broadcast System.The system will enable authorities to quickly alert the public in the affected area of an incident and broadcast emergency messages directly to their mobile phones, he said on Aug 20 at the Asean Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management.“The messages will provide the public with very clear guidance on the protective measures which they can take.”Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, was addressing around 230 guests at the dialogue held at Grand Hyatt Singapore, including government officials, representatives from non-government organisations and professionals in disaster relief and management.

Local ride-hailing platform Grab has cited a «temporary system issue» that led to «abnormally high prices» being wrongly displayed on the app on Wednesday (Aug 20).At around noon, many users noticed unusually high fares for rides within the country.In a post on Complaint Singapore Facebook page today, a user shared a screenshot of how a 20-minute trip from Changi Airport T2 to Punggol would cost him $1,516.A quick check by AsiaOne showed that a short 10-minute drive from Boon Keng to Middle Road would have cost over $1,500.The outage on Grab's app lasted for a total of 17 minutes.In response to AsiaOne's queries, a spokesperson from Grab said that the issue has been resolved and that the app is now functioning as usual.«We deeply regret the inconvenience caused,» the spokesperson said.Grab's system is designed to detect bookings with such abnormally high fees and typically blocks them. Grab is conducting checks to see if any rides went through, where affected users will be compensated.[[nid:716510]]dana.leong@asiaone.com

Three people, including a 14-year-old girl, were taken to hospitals after the minibus they were in smashed through railings and fell into a canal in Bukit Panjang, according to a post uploaded to the Singapore Roads Accident Facebook page on Tuesday (Aug 19).In photographs of the incident, a green minibus can be seen stationary inside the canal, perpendicular to the water's flow.The green railing separating the canal from the pedestrian pathway above is also visibly damaged.A separate post of the incident shows video footage of Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel escorting a man, woman and a girl out of the canal via a ladder.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the SCDF said that they were alerted to a road traffic accident near the junction of Bukit Panjang Road and Bukit Panjang Ring Road at about 1.10pm on Tuesday.When they arrived, the SCDF noted the van in the drain and officers used a ladder to gain access to the stranded civilians within.Three persons were brought out to safety, with two being taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while another was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.