SINGAPORE - In a collage of photos, former deputy prime minister Heng Swee Keat, 64, paid a surprise tribute to his wife, Madam Chang Hwee Nee, for standing by him when he was recovering from stroke.He was speaking at the Stroke Support Station's (S3) 10th Anniversary Gala - A Decade of Stroke Care, held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on Thursday (Oct 23).Mr Heng suffered a stroke caused by an aneurysm on May 12, 2016, and collapsed during a weekly Cabinet meeting.He underwent neurosurgery to relieve pressure in his brain due to the bleeding and the aneurysm was successfully closed. He was hospitalised for more than six weeks.Madam Chang was his primary caregiver.Mr Heng, who retired from office in May, has since fully recovered.In the tribute to his 62-year-old wife, who is the chairman of S3, Mr Heng said Madam Chang was the rock who made the call for doctors to «carry out the procedures to save my life».«Without her approval, I would not be here today,» he told dinner attendees.He said it was harrowing for her as she did not know if he would fully recover, be able to speak, walk, eat or even write.

Five people were taken to hospital after a multi-vehicle collision occurred along Upper Serangoon Road on Friday (Oct 24).In a video posted on Instagram on Friday, the aftermath of the collision shows a white car with its front severely damaged, while a black car nearby appears to have a damaged bumper and hood.A stationary green Go-Ahead bus is also seen along the leftmost lane, with police cars and an ambulance at the scene. Passengers on board the bus were heard being instructed to exit the vehicle slowly, reported The Straits Times.One of the drivers involved in the accident, who declined to be named, told reporters: «I was driving when I suddenly felt someone hit my car from behind. When I got out, I saw at least three other cars and a bus involved as well.»Oil, glass, and debris were seen scattered across three of the five lanes at around 4.30pm.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said that they were alerted to an accident involving a bus, two vans and three cars along Upper Serangoon Road at about 4.35pm.

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Chinese premier Li Qiang to make 2-day official visit to SingaporeEven as Singapore forges on with economic transformation, the creation of good jobs and effective job matching cannot be left entirely to market forces... » READ MORE2. 'My father found her on the floor': Diner says sister fell ill and fainted after eating fruits at Seletar Mall's Haidilao outlet

The supply of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) for the November 2025 to January 2026 period will go up by 1.5 per cent compared to the previous quarter, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (Oct 24). The total number of COEs will rise to 18,894, up from 18,701 during the period from August to October, which saw a 3 per cent increase. Compared with the last quarter, the quota for Categories A and B will rise slightly by about 1 per cent, while the quota for Categories C and E will increase by around 3 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.The quota for Category D will remain unchanged.LTA added that bidding under the new quota will begin on Nov 3.The COE quota for the bidding period of February to April 2026 will be announced in January.The upcoming COE quota consists of the following components: 

From Monday (Oct 27), the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) will roll out two updated Covid-19 vaccines at over 600 GP clinics, 10 polyclinics, and through mobile vaccination teams.In a statement on Friday (Oct 24), the CDA said that the updated LP.8.1 Moderna/Spikevax and LP.8.1 Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccines have been approved by the Health Sciences Authority and will be administered at all vaccination locations.«The updated vaccines provide better protection against current and emerging strains of Covid-19 compared with previous versions, while maintaining similar safety profiles,» the statement read. The Expert Committee on Immunisation also recommended that individuals at increased risk of severe Covid infection should get vaccinated.These include those aged 60 years and above, medically vulnerable individuals aged 6 months and above, and residents of aged care facilities.

Twelve motorcyclists were arrested for riding without valid licences and insurance during a multi-agency enforcement operation at Tuas Checkpoint on Oct 14.The one-day operation was carried out by the Traffic Police, National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), said the police in a statement on Oct 24.Those arrested were aged between 20 and 49, and were among 300 motorcyclists who were stopped for checks.During the operation, NEA issued 83 summonses for offences involving vehicular smoke emissions and excessive noise while LTA issued 67 summonses for the offence of displaying improper licence plates. According to the police, all motorists entering Singapore must comply with Singapore’s traffic laws and vehicle regulations.Breaching Singapore's laws and regulations will result in penalties, and foreign-registered vehicles may even be denied entry into the country.Those convicted of driving without a valid driving will face a maximum fine of $10,000, a jail term of up to three years, or both.

A woman fainted and was rushed to the hospital for food poisoning, purportedly after she consumed fruits served at hot pot chain Haidilao's Seletar Mall branch on Oct 12.Her older brother, surnamed Wang, told Shin Min Daily News that three other relatives who ate from the same fruit platter also experienced stomach aches and diarrhoea after the meal.The 36-year-old explained that he and 11 family members had gathered for a birthday celebration at Haidilao, where only his father, uncle, young brother and younger sister consumed the fruit platter.After they returned home, the four diners began experiencing diarrhoea, with Wang's sister being the worst-hit.«She felt dizzy after going to the toilet,» he recalled.«Our father was resting in the room when he heard a shout and found her in a faint on the floor. He was shocked and immediately called an ambulance.»According to Wang, his sister was diagnosed with gastroenteritis at the A&E and administered IV fluids.She was reportedly discharged that evening but reportedly continued to suffer from diarrhoea afterwards, fully recovering after three days.

SINGAPORE - They began exchanging letters in 1982, when they were only 12 years old, and kept at it for 43 years.Yet, even as they wrote to each other all those years, they had never met in person. Not until last week, when Ms Michelle Anne Ng, a Singaporean, flew to St John's in Newfoundland, Canada, on Oct 17 to see an old friend, Ms Sonya Clarke Casey.«We realised that visiting each other may no longer be a dream. We can make our sign-off dream 'Hope some day we will meet' come true,» Ms Ng told The Straits Times.«I mean I'm still young. So, if not now, when? Seize the day because, with age catching up with us, travelling long distance may not be as easy as someone who is in her 30s or 40s,» she said.Ms Ng and Ms Casey were paired through the International Youth Service (IYS) in 1983, when Ms Ng was in Primary 6 and Ms Casey was in Grade 5.IYS is a now-defunct Finnish service that matched those aged 10 to 20 as «penpals» or «pen-friends», people who wrote to each other and sent letters across vast distances through postal mail.

SINGAPORE - The bank employee whose role in a forgery case in 2021 contributed to the largest money laundering probe in Singapore was sentenced on Thursday (Oct 23) to two years' jail.Wang Qiming, 28, had pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery, one count of money laundering and one for the obstruction of justice.The Chinese national had forged documents to conceal the source of funds belonging to Cambodian national Su Baolin, who was one of the 10 foreigners arrested in 2023 in the $3 billion money laundering probe.Six other charges, including for forging a document to allow money launderer Vang Shuiming to deposit $1 million into Vang's Citibank account, were taken into consideration for sentencing.Wang's lawyer, Mr Vinit Chhabra from Vinit Chhabra Law Corporation, had argued for seven to 11 months' jail, saying that it was disproportionate for his client's sentence to be longer than that of the convicted money launderers.The 10 foreigners were jailed for between 13 and 17 months in 2024.