Amid a sea of students at a lecture hall in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a young bespectacled boy listens curiously.At just seven years old, Theodore Kwan has been attending freshmen chemistry lectures at the university thrice weekly since August. The homeschooled Singaporean sat for the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) Chemistry paper — the equivalent of the GCSE O-levels — this April when he was just six years and 10 months old.He obtained an 'A', setting two records in the Singapore Book of Records for being the youngest Singaporean to attain an IGCSE certificate, and an A-grade.Now, the prodigy is stretching his science knowledge with the help of senior lecturer Dr Sumod Pullarkat, according to NTU's student magazine, Hey!.«I thought that sitting in as a guest in my freshmen chemistry lectures would give Theodore an avenue to probe the depth of his interest in chemistry,» said Dr Pullarkat. Theodore does not attend lab sessions or sit exams.The boy's presence at lectures has surprised some students and netizens.

SINGAPORE - A man and his former lover, who were on trial over the alleged sexual abuse of the woman's daughter when the complainant was between 11 and 16 years old, were acquitted of all charges on Sept 30.The 74-year-old man, who used to provide massages at a temple, was accused of sexually violating the girl under the guise of massaging her to «cure» her menstrual condition, and performing «ritual showers» to get rid of her «bad luck».The woman, 66, was accused of helping the man commit the offences, including holding down her daughter's ankles.The pair had contested the allegations in a trial that began in November 2021.Delivering his verdict on Sept 30, High Court Judge Pang Khang Chau said he did not find the complainant's evidence to be sufficiently credible and convincing.He concluded that the prosecution's case has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt, and thus, it would be unsafe to convict the pair of the charges against them.The pair cannot be named under a gag order to protect the identity of the complainant, who is now 24 years old.The man faced 15 charges for alleged offences committed between 2012 and 2017.

Two pedestrians were hit by a car while crossing the road in front of Khatib Polyclinic on Tuesday(Sept 30) morning.A man living in the area, surnamed Huang, told 8World that he was in his living room at about 10.25am when he heard loud noises. He claimed that when he looked out of the window he saw two women lying on the road.They had seemingly been hit while at the zebra crossing. One of them fell on the pavement, while the other was flung further, Huang was quoted as saying.The car stopped after it hit a road sign and its airbags were deployed, said the resident, adding that the driver appeared to be in his 30s.Pictures of the accident show that the car is a white Mercedes Benz.Another witness surnamed Lin told Shin Min Daily News that both women were seriously injured, with blood all over their heads. The man driving the car also had blood coming out of his mouth, according to Lin.The second pedestrian was lying on the grass in front of the polyclinic and some employees from the polyclinic administered medical aid to her, said the witness.

A 57-year-old man involved in a chain collision along the Seletar Expressway (SLE) in 2022 was found to have been killed by a foreign metal object discharged from a defective Takata airbag.It was stated in a coroner's court on Monday (Sept 29) that this is the first death in Singapore involving the airbag, which has a defect that may cause metal shrapnel to be ejected when deployed, CNA reported.Over the past decade, more than 100 million vehicles fitted with Takata airbag inflators have been recalled worldwide, including 67 million in the United States, reported Reuters in 2024.To date, in Singapore, 198,800 vehicles with the airbag issue have been recalled, with a completion rate of 94 per cent, the court heard.Michael Ong was driving along the SLE at about 8am on Oct 10, 2022 when he got into in a chain collision involving six cars.His vehicle, fifth in the collision, had an impact with the car ahead that was «quite extensive». Of all the vehicles involved, only Ong's airbags were deployed, reported CNAOng was taken unconscious to hospital in traumatic arrest and was pronounced dead later that morning. 

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is currently investigating a case of rat infestation after a rodent was spotted at a food stall in the Singapore Institute of Technology’s (SIT) campus in Punggol.In a 16-second video posted on Reddit on Friday (Sept 26), a rat can be seen crawling around the cashier counter of a food stall. The stall, said to be located within the campus' Foodgle Hub food court, appeared to be closed at the time the video was taken. In response to queries from AsiaOne, the food court operator Foodgle stated that the incident had occurred at its Economy Rice stall on Sept 25 outside of opening hours. The company was alerted to the issue at around 10pm. Immediate action was taken, and the stall was disinfected at 6.30am the next day before operations resumed, said Foodgle.«We sincerely apologise that this occurred on our premises and take full responsibility. Food safety and hygiene remain our top priority,» it added.

More than 950,000 Singaporean HDB households will receive rebates for their utility and conservancy bills in October.In a statement on Tuesday (Sept 30), the Ministry of Finance said that depending on their flat type, eligible households will receive up to $190 in U-Save for their utility bills, and a maximum of a month of rebates for their service and conservancy charges (S&CC).For example, people living in a four-room flat will get $150 and half a month in rebates for their U-Save and S&CC respectively.Those living in one and two-room flats will receive $190 in U-Save and a month of rebates for S&CC.The utility and S&CC rebates will be credited directly into the eligible households’ accounts with grid operator SP Services and town councils respectively.The rebates are part of the GST Voucher scheme and Assurance Package which helps to offset the utility bills and conservancy charges for lower- to middle- income HDB households, said the Finance Ministry.They are disbursed quarterly each year — in April, July, October and January.

Two winnings tickets will be sharing the $12.2 million Toto prize money in Monday’s (Sept 29) draw. One of the two tickets was a System 12 ticket costing $924. The other winning ticket was a $44 System Roll ticket. The System 12 ticket was purchased at a 7-Eleven store at Block 1A Eunos Crescent, while the other winning ticket was purchased at Singapore Pools’ People's Park Centre outlet. The winning numbers were 15, 16, 22, 34, 35 and 43.According to Singapore Pools, the total prize money is the 20th highest since October 2014. Monday’s draw is the 10th Toto draw of this year that had a jackpot of over $10 million, with the most recent one on Aug 28, where three winning tickets won the $12.5m prize. The next draw will be held on Oct 2, with a prize money of about $1 million. [[nid:723178]]editor@asiaone.com 

The police are appealing for information on the whereabouts of Teo Mai Lan, 15.In a news release on Monday (Sept 29), they said she was last seen on Sept 29 at around 3.20pm in the vicinity of 1 Aljunied Walk.According to checks done by AsiaOne, the location is the registered address of Nexus International School. Anyone with information is urged to contact the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential, said the police. [[nid:722427]]editor@asiaone.com 

The Ministry of Health (MOH) submitted its intention on Monday (Sept 29) to suspend operations of cord blood banking services at Cordlife for a year.Cordlife has 14 days to submit its written representations to the ministry.MOH said that a follow up audit on Cordlife conducted in July had found significant lapses in the collection and processing of new cord blood units (CBU).Cord blood is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta after childbirth and contains blood stem cells, which have been successfully used in stem cell transplants to treat blood cancers, immune and genetic diseases.The suspension will require Cordlife to focus on properly maintaining the safety and quality of its existing CBUs. It will be disallowed from banking new CBUs.This intended action by MOH comes a year after the cord blood banking facility partially resumed operations in September 2024.It was revealed in November 2023 that seven of Cordlife's 22 storage tanks had been exposed to suboptimal temperatures, damaging around 2,200 CBUs in one affected Tank A.

A heated brawl erupted between two motorists heading to Johor Bahru on Sunday (Sept 28) afternoon after one accused the other of cutting the queue.A video shared by Facebook Group I Love JB showed the two men punching and kicking each other against a Causeway Link bus near the Bungunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex.Another man is seen trying to break up the fight. It is unclear how the conflict between the pair was resolved.The video has since garnered over 90 comments, 470 reactions and 175,000 views. Several netizens criticised the pair for allowing their frustrations over the heavy traffic on the Causeway to get the better of them.“You end up in the police station if you win, the hospital if you lose,” said a Facebook user named Wallace.

Three teenagers aged between 14 and 15 were arrested for their suspected involvement in a case of loanshark harassment by fire.In a statement on Monday (Sept 29), the police said they were alerted to an incident at a Housing Board flat along Boon Lay Drive on Sept 24 at around 3.05pm.The main door and gate of the unit had been set on fire, while a wall at the staircase landing near the unit was also scribbled with loanshark-related graffiti.With the aid of police camera images, officers from the Jurong Police Division and Criminal Investigation established the identities of the teenagers and arrested them within six hours.A mobile phone, black marker, black hoodie and a pair of sunglasses were seized as case exhibits, the police said.«Investigations against the three teenagers are ongoing,» they added.For first-time offenders, a loanshark harassment offence carries a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000, up to five years’ jail and up to six strokes of the cane.«The police have zero tolerance for loanshark harassment activities,» the statement said. 

Singapore's total population has risen to 6.11 million — with a 0.7 per cent increase in its number of citizens — up 1.2 per cent from last year.The figures were published on Monday (Sep 29) in the annual Population in Brief report by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) of the Prime Minister's Office and its partner agencies.Of the 6.11 million, there are 4.20 million residents — comprising citizens as well as permanent residents (PRs) — and 1.91 million non-residents, which include the foreign workforce, migrant domestic workers, dependants and international students.The citizen population rose from 3.64 million to 3.66 million, while the PR population remained stable at 540,000, said the report.While citizen births in 2024 saw a 1.2 per cent increase from 2023, the average number of births per year in the last five years (30,400) was lower than in the preceding five years (32,900).In addition to citizen births in Singapore, there are also children born overseas to at least one Singaporean parent. 1,409 children born overseas to at least one Singaporean parent were granted citizenship by descent in 2024.

Permanent residents (PRs), who are overseas without a valid re-entry permit (REP), will no longer automatically lose their PR status from Dec 1. Instead, they will be given six months — or 180 days —  to apply for a new REP, during which they will still be allowed to return and remain in Singapore, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)  in a news release on Monday (Sept 29). «We encourage PRs to obtain a new REP or to renew their expiring in a timely manner before travelling out of Singapore, to minimise the risk of losing their PR status,» the ministry said.Currently, all PRs here who go overseas need to have a valid REP, which allows them to re-enter Singapore.Under the existing laws, a PR who is overseas with an expired REP would automatically lose his PR status, and has only a one-month grace period to apply for reinstatement.MHA said that it has been exercising flexibility by allowing some PRs who miss their deadline to have their PR status reinstated if they have «legitimate reasons», such as if they were hospitalised overseas.

SINGAPORE — The day he died, Goh Yong Le was taken out of class and questioned by two teachers in the conference room about taking a classmate's belongings the previous week.He cried three times that day. Shortly after the school day ended, he took his life. He was 11.In 2024, the year Yong Le died, there were 314 suicide deaths, a provisional number that will be updated in 2026.Still, for the sixth consecutive year, suicide remained the leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 29 in Singapore, a persistent and tragic trend.The day it happenedIn a recent interview, Yong Le's father, who requested anonymity to safeguard the privacy of his family, said his son sobbed when he was asked to find the missing item, which he had apparently hidden in the school's garden.He and his teachers could not locate it, and it is unclear whether Yong Le had actually taken the item.He was subsequently asked to write a statement about what he had done, and his school bag was searched. He became upset and cried again.He then returned to class to complete a practice paper before attending another class.

A domestic helper died after falling from a HDB block in Toa Payoh on Thursday (Sept 25).She was reportedly cleaning the windows in that unit located at Block 9 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh at that time.The maid had arrived less than a week before the incident occurred, reported Shin Min Daily News.Rags and cleaning agents were reportedly found at the scene. Her employer, in an interview with Shin Min, suspected that the deceased had slipped and fallen while cleaning the windows.In a photo shared on Facebook, a woman can be seen lying at the foot of an HDB block, with police officers present at the scene.Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a 75-year-old cleaner, who wished to be known only as Xiong, said that he was sweeping the floor when he heard a loud bang.He added that when he went to check, he found a woman lying on the ground and called out to her, but she did not respond.When Shin Min reporters arrived at the scene, a blue tent had been set up, with several police cars present.

77 persons have been arrested for suspected drugs-related offences following a five-day islandwide anti-drug operation from Sept 21 to 26. The operation covered areas such as Aljunied, Boon Keng and Selegie, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in a statement on Monday (Sept 29).A total of about 351g of heron, 99g of 'Ice', 69g of cannabis, 10g of ketamine, one 'Ecstasy' tablet, one bottle of methadone, numerous vape-related products including 527 e-vaporiser pods believed to contain etomidate and cash amounting to $4,228.70 were seized. CNB said that the drugs seized are estimated to be worth more than $74,000, while the heroin, 'Ice' and cannabis seized can potentially feed the addiction of 235 abusers for a week.On Sept 21, a 60-year-old Singaporean man was arrested for suspected drug trafficking offences after about 106g of heroin and 26g of 'Ice' were recovered from a New Bridge Road residential unit he was in.

More homes are set to be built next to Pasir Ris MRT station, on the site of the former Pasir Ris Bus Interchange, while a new community hub for the town centre is in the works.Based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Draft Master Plan 2025, the homes will be built on a plot about 2.9ha in size – equivalent to the area of four football fields – that has been zoned for housing, with commercial use on the first storey.In addition, the Government is studying plans for a new neighbourhood in the town, to be located next to Sungei Loyang on a site that is currently largely vegetated.“An environmental study is under way to incorporate the area’s biodiversity into future development plans,” the URA said of the proposed neighbourhood at its draft master plan exhibition.The master plan, which is expected to come into force later in 2025, will guide Singapore’s development for the next 10 to 15 years. The exhibition runs until Nov 29 at The URA Centre.