The State Courts will see a leadership change with Justice Christopher Tan succeeding Justice Vincent Hoong as Presiding Judge of the State Courts from Jan 1, 2026. According to the judiciary's website, the Presiding Judge has overall responsibility for the leadership and management of the State Courts which consist of the coroners', district and magistrates' courts, and the tribunals for community disputes resolution, employment claims and small claims. Justice Tan was one of three new Supreme Court judges appointed on Aug 1. Prior to his appointment as Judicial Commissioner in 2023, he concurrently held the positions of registrar of the State Courts and deputy presiding judge of the State Courts. A career legal service officer, he has served in various agencies including the Attorney-General's Chambers, Competition Commission of Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.Justice Tan's areas of focus include criminal trials, defamation and professional negligence. 

Upset that a macaque had allegedly stolen his child's food during a visit to the Singapore Zoo, a man swung his bag at the animal.In a video posted to TikTok on Sunday (Sept 28), a monkey is seen crawling along a railing while a child looks on. Moments later, a man dressed in a blue jersey approaches the monkey and swings his bag at it.During the attempt, the child beside him — believed to be his son — was accidentally struck by the bag.Towards the end of the video, a woman can be heard saying, «You don't do that,» as others nearby voiced their agreement.According to 8world, the video was recorded by a visitor who said that the incident took place around noon on Sept 27, along the trail leading to the elephant exhibit area.The visitor, who wished to be known only as Paul, told 8world that prior to the incident, visitors had been laughing and taking photos of the monkeys when one of the animals unexpectedly jumped on a boy and snatched food from his hand.

Eight drivers were caught for providing illegal ride-hailing services in Singapore for trips to and from Malaysia. In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 30), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the drivers were caught at land checkpoints following tip-offs from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association and National Taxi Association. All eight foreign-registered vehicles have been impounded by LTA.  Drivers caught providing illegal ride-hailing services may be fined up to $3,000, jailed up to six months, or both. PHOTO: LTA Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling also shared on Facebook on Sept 30 that enforcement efforts on illegal cross-border and point-to-point hail trips are continuing.

Police are investigating a video posted online which showed a woman allegedly catching sharks at Sentosa.The video on Xiaohongshu, which has since been taken down, showed a woman holding a fishing rod against the backdrop of a marina.One and later two, sharks resembling blacktip reef shark pups are seen placed on the wooden floorboards of the marina. The clip ends with the woman walking along the pier, fishing rod in hand.It is not clear what happened to the sharks.According to 8world, the incident is believed to have occurred at Sentosa on Sept 21 or 22.A Sentosa Development Council told 8world that they have lodged a police report, and emphasised that fishing, poaching, or any act that would hurt wildlife are strictly prohibited.The guidelines are also clearly stated on the island attraction's website.Police confirmed to AsiaOne that a police report has been made and investigations are ongoing.AsiaOne has reached out to Sentosa Development Council for more information.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 390 vapes into Singapore via a Malaysia-registered car at Woodlands Checkpoint. In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 30), ICA said that its officers had detected 398 vapes concealed in the modified dashboard of the car after directing it for enhanced checks.The 41-year-old female driver and her 43-year-old male passenger, both Malaysians, were arrested, and the case referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for further investigation.“Border security is a crucial aspect of the enforcement strategy against e-vaporisers,” said ICA.“As guardians of the nation’s borders, ICA remains committed to safeguarding Singapore by ensuring our borders remain safe and secure.”

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.

A Singaporean woman refused to cooperate when Malaysian traffic police officers issued a summons against her on the Tuas Second Link on Sept 27.The 29-year-old was later arrested for verbally abusing police officers there, the New Straits Times reported.Police chief Assistant Commissioner M. Kumarasan said police officers manning a roadblock found that her Singapore-registered vehicle had an illegally modified exhaust.«She refused to cooperate when stopped and obstructed the policemen from carrying out their duties by uttering profanities,» he added. According to Malaysian law, offenders caught obstructing a public servant from carrying out his duty face a fine of up to RM10,000 (S$3,069), two years’ jail, or both.Using insulting words carries a maximum fine of RM100.Malaysian police said that she is also being investigated for not having valid documents to remain in Malaysia, which carries a fine of up to RM10,000 and up to five years’ jail.There have been several recent incidents involving Singaporeans running afoul of the law in Malaysia.

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