Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers intercepted over 1,100 vapes that were hidden in a Malaysia-registered car at Woodlands Checkpoint, according to a Facebook post on Friday (Sept 19).Search and examination officers had directed the vehicle for enhanced checks on Wednesday (Sept 17), where they discovered 1,169 vapes concealed within the modified seats, foiling their attempt to smuggle the devices into Singapore.In a video taken by ICA, officers can be seen pulling out multiple packages of vapes sealed in transparent plastic bags out of a pocket behind the car's backseat, collecting them in a container before bringing them away.A separate video shows an officer demonstrating how the backseat could be shifted forwards to reveal the vapes hidden within.The case was subsequently referred to the Health Sciences Authority(HSA) for further investigation.Just two days before, ICA had intercepted over 18,400 vapes and more than 1,400 related components in a single smuggling attempt at Tuas Checkpoint.

The public service must make sure that its policies reflect both long-term goals and current, lived-in realities to reinforce mutual understanding and trust with the public, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Friday (Sept 19). «As public service leaders, we must demonstrate not just competence, but also compassion and empathy in how we lead. We must believe in what we do. »We must connect national priorities with the everyday concerns of Singaporeans,« he said.DPM Gan was speaking at the Annual Public Service Leadership Ceremony held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention centre.Also present were Minister-in-charge of Public Service Chan Chun Sing, chairman of the Public Service Commission Lee Tzu Yang and head of Civil Service Leo Yip.Reflecting on Singapore's 60 years of independence, DPM Gan said that the public service has been »at the centre of every chapter of our nation's development« — from building public housing estates and world-class infrastructure, to establishing strong economic, healthcare and social institutions — adding that »these achievements are not because of chance". 

Various legislation relating to criminal and traffic offences will be amended to deal with evolving criminal threats and situations, and ensure Singapore remains a safe country.The Government is also committed to address the population challenges of a falling fertility rate and rapidly ageing population.These plans were revealed on Friday (Sept 19), in ministries' addenda to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam's address at the opening of Parliament.The ministries are the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Law (MinLaw), Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Ministry of Finance (MOF).In his address on Sept 5, President Tharman said that in a tense geopolitical environment, Singapore cannot take security for granted — foreign actors will seek to manipulate public opinion while dangers at home such as terrorism scams and drugs will threaten society.

A company director has been charged with misappropriating over $400,000 intended for foreign exchange (forex) investments, on Friday (Sept 19).In a statement on Sept 19, the police said that Yeo Wei Zhi Lloyd, sole director of Lloyd Capital Pte Ltd, was charged in court with six counts of criminal breach of trust. Additionally, he faces three counts of carrying on a business in a regulated activity of fund management without a capital markets services licence.According to the police, Yeo allegedly operated a fund management business both personally and through Lloyd Capital between June 2017 and November 2019.This included handling forex trading, leveraged forex trading, and managing portfolios of capital market products on behalf of investors.Between August 2018 and November 2019, 17 investors paid a total of $639,406.02 to Lloyd Capital for the purpose of forex investments. 

A car caught fire in the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) tunnel during the evening peak hour, bringing traffic to a halt.In a video posted to Facebook page Singapore roads accident.com on Thursday (Sept 18), a car is seen stationary on the road shoulder, engulfed in flames.The tunnel's sprinkler system is seemingly activated, causing traffic to come to a standstill as the fire gets extinguished.Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicles and personnel can also be seen in the clip, which is over a minute long. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, SCDF said that it was alerted to the fire along MCE towards the AYE at about 6.40pm on Thursday.The blaze was extinguished by MCE's deluge system and SCDF firefighters using a compressed air foam jet.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operators SMRT and SBS Transit will be forming a rail reliability task force to develop and implement «immediate solutions» to improve rail reliability and joint responses to service disruptions.This task force will be chaired by LTA chief executive Ng Lang and include SMRT Group CEO Ngien Hoon Ping, SBS Transit Group CEO Jeffrey Sim as well as technical specialists drawn from across the rail sector, according to a joint statement by the agency and transport operators on Thursday (Sept 19).They added that the task force will report its findings to Acting Minister of Transport Jeffrey Siow regularly, and submit their final recommendations by the end of the year.Among the objectives of the task force is to review recent incidents that have occurred to identify components involved that are approaching end-of-life and require replacement, upgrading or increased maintenance.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) seized 27 e-vaporisers and related components in anti-vaping operations conducted at hotspot areas including Tampines and the Central Business District area.The four-day operation, which started on Sept 15, saw four persons between the ages of 24 and 43 fined for vape-related offences. Under new anti-vaping laws from Sept 1, repeat offenders will face a maximum fine of $2,000. Those caught using vapes containing etomidate will also have to undergo rehabilitation.  AsiaOne was tagged with one of the HSA teams on patrol in Tampines where officers covered extensive ground around Tampines Central 1, 4 and 5, including pathways between the buildings, bus interchange and MRT station. 

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) foiled a smuggling attempt involving 1,700 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and 0.8g of methamphetamine, or Ice, according to a Facebook post on Thursday (Sept 18).On Sept 11, an image analyst with the ICA had noticed anomalies in scanned images of a Malaysia-registered lorry declared to have been carrying «assorted carbonated drinks».After directing the vehicle for further checks, ICA officers searched the vehicle and found the 1,700 cartons of cigarettes hidden within the consignment.Information from ICA's Integrated Targeting Centre (ITC) also prompted even deeper checks of the vehicle — yielding drug paraphernalia inside the driver's bag and about 0.8g of «Ice».«The case was referred to the Singapore Customs and the suspected drug-related offences were referred to CNB Drug Free SG,» ICA stated, adding that investigations are ongoing.[[nid:722622]]khooyihang@asiaone.com

Those looking to travel across the border can soon rely on ComfortDelGro's (CDG) services to do so, according to a Facebook post by the taxi company on Thursday (Sept 18).According to the post, Singapore's largest taxi operator will begin cross-border taxi services from Sept 25, with rides costing a fixed fare of $80 for travel from Singapore to Johor Bahru (Larkin Terminal).However, pick-ups from Ban San Street taxi stand and from the airport will differ, priced at $60 and $120 respectively.There will be 90 cabbies — all with valid cross-border taxi licenses — at the ready for this service, which can be booked up to 24 hours in advance, a CDG spokesperson told The Straits Times.“We recognise the growing demand for cross-border transportation and are committed to expanding our travel options for passengers, as well as more earning opportunities for our cabbies,” the spokesperson also added.Customers can make bookings via the CDG hotline at 6552 1111.

A Malaysian man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a series of government official impersonation scams.The arrest was made on Sept 16 by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) in Malaysia after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the State Courts of Singapore, according to a statement on Wednesday (Sept 17) night.The 31-year-old suspect was handed over to the Singapore Police Force on Sept 17.The police stated that they had received multiple reports of government official impersonation scams where victims were allegedly contacted by people claiming to be officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore between July 12 and Aug 8.Victims were informed that their bank accounts had been implicated in money laundering activities or that their personal information had been compromised. They were subsequently prompted to surrender their money or valuables, or transfer money to a specified bank account to assist in investigations.The scammers would become uncontactable after the victims complied with instructions.

Singaporeans travelling to or from Johor Bahru via land checkpoints will be able to clear immigration using QR codes very soon, with Malaysia trialling its National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) from Sept 22.The MyNIISe (pronounced «my nice») app can be used by Malaysians as well as travellers from 63 countries and territories, including Singapore, at land checkpoints at the Causeway and Second Link, said the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry in a statement on Wednesday (Sept 17).The trial is set to run until Feb 28, 2026 and the system will also be rolled out in stages at five airports.This includes Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Terminals 1 and 2, and those in Penang, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.The MyNIISe app will help reduce congestion at the two Johor checkpoints, which see more than 300,000 people crossing daily, reported The Straits Times (ST).The team behind the new app told ST that commuters travelling in groups can also clear immigration checks using a single QR code — an improvement from the current MyBorderPass app for Malaysians which requires each traveller to scan a QR code for immigration clearance.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 450 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint on Aug 26. In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Sept 17), ICA said that the motorcycle was directed for enhanced checks and more than 450 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found concealed in various compartments.The case has been referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigation.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU) have expressed their dismay over Agoda's alleged attempt to silence their retrenched workers, according to a joint statement by the two unions on Wednesday (Sept 17).This comes after the online travel platform announced that it has phased out customer service support roles in Singapore, Shanghai and Budapest.Fifty employees in Singapore were retrenched following an exercise that was announced in a closed town hall on Aug 4.Cost and recruitment challenges were cited as reasons for the move, The Business Times reported on Wednesday.According to the unions' joint statement, workers were purportedly warned via severance agreements not to make reports on their retrenchments to trade unions, the Government or other organisations.They were also allegedly warned against bringing any mediation requests, claims or proceedings relating to their employment or termination against Agoda.

Microsoft has seized 338 websites used in relation to a rapidly growing phishing service that has seen around 70 people in Singapore fall victim, the company said in press release on Wednesday (Sept 17).The service, known as RaccoonO365, is a tool used by cybercriminals to steal Microsoft 365 usernames and passwords, according to Microsoft.Phishing kits are offered via a subscription, letting users steal credentials from victims even if they are not familiar with the technology.«This case shows that cybercriminals don't need to be sophisticated to cause widespread harm — simple tools like RaccoonO365 make cybercrime accessible to virtually anyone, putting millions of users at risk,» Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) assistant general counsel Steven Masada said in a blogpost on Tuesday (Sept 16).Since its operation, these kits have been used to steal at least 5,000 Microsoft credentials from 94 countries, he said.Among these credentials were some that belonged to around 70 people in Singapore, the tech giant said.

SINGAPORE — A certain religious organisation's council member, whom the prosecution described as «outwardly pious», committed sexual offences against his friend's son when the child was between 11 and 12 years old.The offender, 66, even recorded a video of himself touching the child's private parts and took more than 40 pictures showing the victim's genitals.Details about the religious organisation have been redacted from court documents.Stressing that the man's conduct was «abhorrent», Deputy Public Prosecutor Dhiraj G. Chainani said: «(He was) so strict in his religiosity that he forbade any females from staying the night in his home.»Yet, behind closed doors, he revealed a markedly different self — a man driven by perverse intent, who consumed child pornography involving young males before turning his predatory attention to a young child who trusted him."The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victim's identity, was sentenced to 13 years and three months' jail on Sept 16.

The Government will take strong action against vaping and enhance support for students' holistic development to build a fairer and more inclusive society that supports Singaporeans at every stage in life.These plans were announced on Wednesday (Sept 17) in their addenda to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam's address at the opening of Parliament, by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Education (MOE).In his address on Sept 5, President Shanmugaratnam highlighted the importance of «comprehensive social support systems in place» that will support social mobility and help Singaporeans navigate through challenging and uncertain times.As such, the ministries will enhance support for families, nurture the youth, and strengthen care for the elderly so that all Singaporeans can be reassured throughout their various stages of life.[[nid:722675]]Here are the highlights from the statements by each ministry.

The recent train disruptions are isolated incidents and not indicative of systemic issues, said SMRT Trains President Lam Sheau Kai.Speaking to media at Kim Chuan Depot on Wednesday (Sept 17), Lam explained that a faulty component in the power system caused a signalling failure, affecting services between Aljunied and Tanah Merah stations on Sept 16.«The component has since been isolated, and train services resumed as normal this morning,» he said.For the Sept 17 breakdown on the Thomson-East Coast Line, Lam said SMRT is working with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to investigate a signalling fault that required a system restart.«To minimise inconvenience during the morning peak, commuters were disembarked and advised to use alternate lines,» he said, adding that train services were temporarily suspended for about 30 minutes.