A leopard tortoise and spiny-tailed monitor were among the endangered animals seized by the National Parks Board (NParks) in a series of coordinated raids on Oct 9.In a statement released on Monday (Oct 20), NParks said that the operations were targeted at people suspected of illegally trading wildlife through online platforms, such as Telegram.A total of six premises were raided with 16 wildlife specimens seized and confiscated.Among them were endangered species such as yellow-headed day geckos and an Argentine black-and-white tegu.The animals are being housed and cared for at NParks’ Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation.The people involved were interviewed in connection with illegal wildlife sales, NParks said, adding that investigations are ongoing.«These enforcement efforts complement NParks’ border surveillance operations by extending the fight against illegal wildlife trade into domestic physical and online marketplaces,» it said. «Through regular monitoring and targeted actions, NParks ensures that offenders are held accountable across all fronts.»

Three years after beating cancer, a senior physician suffered a serious bout of pneumonia that left her hospitalised.Dr Emily Pwee died last Friday (Oct 17) aged 54, according to an obituary.Speaking to Shin Min Daily News at her funeral wake, her husband, Jimmy Teo, an associate professor who heads the National University Hospital's department of nephrology, said Dr Pwee developed a fever and cough on Oct 10.Thinking that it was a simple case of the flu, she remained at home to rest and recover, but her condition worsened after the weekend.«We went to the hospital and learnt that it was pneumonia. Unexpectedly, she passed four days after being admitted,» said Assoc Prof Teo.He also told the Chinese publication that his wife was an ovarian cancer survivor and remembered her as easy-going and caring.«She was down-to-earth and very gentle; even when she was angry, she wouldn't raise her voice and scold others,» he described.Dr Pwee was a general practitioner at Raffles Medical Group and had over 25 years of experience, according to her profile published on the healthcare provider's website.

Singapore is moving away from its traditional approach of keeping matters of classified threat intelligence and national security solely within government agencies. Instead, it will now share classified threat intelligence with owners of selected critical infrastructure in Singapore, announced Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam at the opening of the Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) on Tuesday (Oct 21). Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, stated that the move to share classified threat intelligence with organisations in critical sectors such as telecommunications, energy and finance is necessary, so as to «level the playing field» between threat actors and defenders, and «turn the tide» against the former. "Most owners of critical infrastructure are private sector companies whose primary job is to ensure the delivery of essential services — water, power and transportation and so on. 

The police are investigating a suspected case of fireworks being set off illegally on Oct 18 near Newton.A witness to the incident, Mr Chen, told Shin Min Daily News that he saw fireworks being set off at around 10.15pm that night.According to the 52-year-old, the incident appeared to have happened at a construction site in Carlisle Road, near Kampong Java Flyover.An eight-second clip showing the pyrotechnics display was posted by an onlooker, Mr Aun Koh, on his Instagram story that night.The police confirmed in a media response that a report had been lodged and that investigations are ongoing.An earlier case of fireworks being set off illegally happened on April 9, 2024, the eve of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.A 40-year-old man was arrested on April 14 that year for the discharge of dangerous fireworks. He was fined $5,000 on May 28, 2024, after he admitted that he had unlawfully lit the fireworks.Under the Dangerous Fireworks Act, anyone found guilty of discharging dangerous fireworks can be jailed for up to two years, fined between $2,000 and $10,000, or both.

For most of its 173 years in business, the Men’s Bar at the Singapore Cricket Club admitted, as its name suggests, only men.This changed in 2006 when it opened its doors to all patrons 10 years after women were granted voting rights at the club, located at the Padang.The name has since become a point of contention among some members. Different groups in the past few years have pushed to change it to something new, or to change it back.Most recently, a group of 53 members called for a special general meeting on Sept 23 to rename the bar. They wrote a letter to the club’s president to request the session, some five months after the annual general meeting.Led by Mr Suresh Shankar and Ms Zaibun Siraj, the group felt that the name Men’s Bar was not inclusive and did not reflect the equality and progress of Singapore today.They tabled a resolution for the name to be “immediately replaced with a new and neutral name to be chosen by members”, suggesting “1852” – the year the club was established – or “Captain’s Bar”.In the end, 53.49 per cent of those who were registered for the meeting voted against the change.

The police are investigating after the body of a 23-year-old man was recovered from waters near the shore of Sembawang Park on the afternoon of Oct 20.In response to queries from The Straits Times, the police said they received a call for assistance at around 2.20pm that day after a body was seen floating in the water. The body was subsequently retrieved, they added.The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a call for assistance at Kampong Wak Hassan at about 2.30pm, and its paramedic pronounced a man dead at the scene.In a photo posted on the sgfollowsall Instagram page on Oct 20, a blue tent can be seen in the distance, behind a police cordon. Other photos in the post show police vehicles and officers at Kampong Wak Hassan.Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play.

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) imposed a three-year suspension in September on a young doctor for faking two medical certificates to cover two days of absence as a houseman in 2022.This is the most severe penalty that SMC can impose on a doctor for wrongdoing, short of striking the person off the register.In October, the council imposed a similar penalty on Dr Wong Yoke Meng, a doctor with 40 years of practice. He inappropriately prescribed hormone replacement therapies to 18 patients, causing actual harm to at least three of them. He had been punished by SMC for other breaches in 2001, 2011, 2015 and 2024.

A total of 88 people were caught for various offences, including over $1.4 million in undeclared cash brought into Singapore, during a multi-agency enforcement operation spanning a week across the land, air and sea checkpoints.The police, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Singapore Customs and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said in a joint statement that over 14,000 travelers and 280 vehicles were checked between Oct 9 and 15.More than 11,700 pieces of luggage and hand-carry bags were also scanned or searched, the authorities said, adding that the operation was part of «continued efforts to detect and enforce against Singapore’s cross-border cash reporting regime and other illegal smuggling activities».Eleven foreigners, aged between 34 and 60, were caught moving more than $20,000 —or its equivalent in foreign currencies— into or out of Singapore without making a declaration, or by making an inaccurate one, authorities said.The largest amount was detected on Oct 13, when three men and a woman were separately found carrying over $1.2 million in cash in various currencies.

SINGAPORE — People living with asthma are most vulnerable when taking a breath of air, yet their use of widely prescribed inhalers to help them breathe better contributes to the worsening of air quality.Doctors say asthma patients should be managing their conditions better instead of turning to the inhalers frequently for treatment, to prevent more damage to the environment.Scientists from SingHealth Polyclinics (SHP) have found that these inhalers generate a significant amount of greenhouse gases.

In an attempt to «protect» a beer promoter arguing with customers accused of not paying for drinks, a man threw glass bottles at them.Several foreigners were caught in the crossfire during the fight on Saturday (Oct 18) night at a coffee shop on Tyrwhitt Road.An eyewitness surnamed Yang told Shin Min Daily News that the beer lady quarrelled with two customers over money for alcohol.«Another male customer wanted to help her and threw the bottles and glasses at them,» the 52-year-old said, adding that the police were called in for help while other customers pulled the man away.The police reportedly also reviewed the CCTV footage from the coffee shop.The beer promoter said that the whole incident was a «misunderstanding».«No one was injured and nothing serious happened,» she added.[[nid:721753]]chingshijie@asiaone.com 

SINGAPORE - In the days leading up to her move to Macau in 2024 to work as an aerialist, Ms Megan Lau grappled with doubt.As a philosophy, politics and economics graduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS), the 24-year-old could not help but wonder if she was trading a secure future for a fleeting dream.In her last year of university, she had applied on a whim to join the House Of Dancing Water, touted as the world's largest water-based show, after seeing a casting advertisement online.She was taken by surprise when she received a callback for auditions, and later an offer to join the cast.«Am I making the right decision? Am I throwing my degree away?» she remembers asking herself on the morning of her departure in October 2024.The dream of performing professionally had been a seed planted long ago, when she started ballet at the age of five.She believes everything she did - years of dance training and aerial practice - had prepared her for this moment.Still, she had to weigh the pros and cons of taking up the offer.

At least 30 lucky draw and 13 e-commerce scams have been reported in Singapore since August 2025.According to the police in a statement on Saturday (Oct 18), the losses have amounted to at least $160,000 in total.In the lucky draw scams, the victims encountered Facebook live streams promoting scratch cards offering the chance to win cash prizes.After they had purchased the cards, the scammers would ask them to transfer more money to «upgrade» their chances of winning or increase the amount of the cash prizes, with some allowing deferred payment.Once the victims won, they would be asked to transfer money again for various reasons, such as for administrative fees, to receive their winnings.In e-commerce scams, the victims would come across Facebook live streams selling «gold mine bags», said to potentially contain gold.If the victims did not win, the scammers would ask them to purchase more bags, or to purchase «upgraded» bags which purportedly had a higher chance of containing gold.

A Palestinian baby girl has been named Singapore as an expression of gratitude to the country that had provided her family with aid and support, according to the newborn's father. In an Instagram post uploaded on Saturday (Oct 18) by Love Aid Singapore — a humanitarian organisation led by Singaporean activist Gilbert Goh — the baby's father explained the reason behind his daughter's name.«Amidst the famine, her pregnant mother was eating from the Singapore kitchen,» said Hamdan, who has worked as a cook with the group for two years.«I am happy and I really want to name her Singapore because I really love them.»According to Love Aid, Hamdan's daughter, born on Oct 16, is the first Palestinian child in Gaza to be named Singapore. The girl's birth certificate, which was shared on social media also showed that she weighed 2.7kg at birth.