An eatery in Ang Mo Kio has accused a customer of trying to cheat his way to free meals by submitting dubious refund claims through food delivery platform Grab.Speaking to AsiaOne, Eleanor Ng, the owner of Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee, said that they have encountered the same customer more than once — in June, August and the latest on Oct 1. His modus operandi was to make an order through the Grab app indicating special requests, but later claimed that items were missing from his delivery after they were delivered. Ng, 44, added that Grab then deducted the full amount from the eatery’s earnings after the customer made the complaint through the delivery platform. The eatery’s boss said that she had make two appeals to Grab through the app before the payments were released to her a week later. “That’s where we found [it was] unfair and started to take notice of the customer’s name,” she said. In a Facebook post on Oct 1,  the eatery said that the same customer had ordered from them again — but this time, the eatery was prepared.

Singapore Pools generated $12.7 billion in turnover for the financial year 2024/2025, according to its annual report, which was released on Wednesday (Oct 8).The amount surpassed the record $12.2 billion the previous year.Singapore Pools added that 97 per cent of the amount, amounting to $12.3 billion, was «dedicated to benefiting Singaporeans and the broader community» in the form of prize payouts ($9.45 billion), taxes ($2.28 billion) and Tote Board contributions ($575 million).«The Tote Board, in turn, uses these funds to support impactful causes in the arts, community development, charity, education, health and sports,» said Singapore Pools Chairman Kai S. Nargolwala and Chief Executive Officer Lam Chee Weng in their joint message.They added that the remaining three per cent ($353 million) was reinvested in business operations as well as technological upgrades «aimed at strengthening capabilities and improving customer experience».

AUSTIN — The United States Senate confirmed Dr Anjani Sinha, an orthopaedic surgeon from President Donald Trump's home state of Florida, as the United States ambassador to Singapore in an en bloc vote on Oct 7.Dr Sinha was among a group of more than 100 nominees voted in with a simple majority after the Republicans changed Senate rules to end Democratic attempts to slowwalk the confirmation of Trump's appointees with a process that dramatically accelerated their confirmation.Several other appointees critical to Trump's Asia diplomacy were also confirmed in the 51-47 vote. These included nominees for senior State Department positions like Michael DeSombre as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Dr Paul Kapur as his counterpart in charge of South Asian Affairs.Sergio Gor was confirmed as the Ambassador to India while Sean O'Neill was voted in as Ambassador to Thailand.Some Democratic Senators objected to the fast-tracking of nominees, naming some as «blindly loyal» to Trump and «unqualified» for the job in speeches in the days leading up to the vote,

Bodies of a man and a woman were found in a Sengkang HDB flat on Monday (Oct 6), after a resident downstairs reportedly noticed a foul-smelling fluid dripping from her ceiling.The deceased were father and daughter, according to a Shin Min Daily News report.The Chinese evening daily stated that the woman was discovered in the living room while the man's body was found in the bedroom, in a badly decomposed state.In response to media queries, the police said it was alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 324D Sengkang East Way at 1.35pm on Monday. A man, whose age is not known, and a 47-year-old woman were pronounced dead at the scene.A neighbour on the same floor as the deceased told The Straits Times that the woman appeared to be mentally unwell, and the family rarely left their home.The deaths were discovered after an elderly neighbour living in the unit below noticed liquid dripping from her ceiling on Monday morning, reported Shin Min.Her son, surnamed Zeng, said he visited his mother at about 9am to help clean the red-coloured fluid, which he described as «sticky» and «pungent».

Authorities are investigating cases of gastroenteritis at Raffles Girls' Primary School (RGPS) after 15 students developed symptoms on Oct 1.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a joint statement with RGPS and the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) today (Oct 7) that they are aware of the incident and are investigating it.The statement noted that RGPS immediately suspended the sale of the potentially implicated canteen food item as a precautionary measure, and staff closely monitored the well-being of all affected individuals.«RGPS also conducted a check with all students in the school immediately and observed that the rest of the students remained well,» the statement read. None of the students were hospitalised and all of them returned to school by Oct 2.According to The Straits Times, the affected students had consumed noodles.The statement also revealed that RGPS had informed all parents of the cohort about the situation, and that the school is currently working with CDA and SFA on investigations.

Local businesses hoping to digitalise and adopt artificial intelligence (AI) can find tailored solutions with support from the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and partnerships with industry stakeholders.Speaking at the inaugural SMEs Go Digital Day held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on Tuesday (Oct 7), Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, Tan Kiat How said that «SMEs can punch above their weight» with the effective use of AI.«We cannot stand still. Technology developments, especially AI is advancing rapidly. Customer expectations are increasing, demanding quicker responses and more personalised services,» he said.According to the Singapore Digital Economy (SGDE) report by the IMDA, the number of local SMEs adopting AI has tripled to around 15 per cent between 2023 and 2024 — resulting in cost savings of 52 per cent on average.Go Digital AdvisorAt the event, Tan launched Go Digital Advisor, a new tool in the IMDA's Chief Technology Officer-as-a-Service (CTO-as-a-Service).

The trial of Malone Lam, a Singaporean accused of carrying out a cryptocurrency heist involving hundreds of millions of dollars, was delayed at the last minute on Monday (Oct 6).The postponement was due to the case being «superseded with 11 more defendants and an additional RICO conspiracy count», they told CNA.«We have a status conference at the end of October and we anticipate a trial date being set at that hearing,» a spokesperson said.Lam, 20, faces multiple charges which include wire fraud, money laundering and RICO conspiracy. His trial date was initially set for Oct 6.According to the US Department of Justice, RICO refers to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act. It is a law which was designed to target mafia bosses, reported The Economist.RICO conspiracy is a felony and the most serious charge Lam faces. It carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Wire fraud and money laundering each carry up to 20 years' jail.Lam and 12 of his associates had formed a «Social Engineering Enterprise» in late 2023 via online gaming platforms, according to prosecutors.

A two-year government grant of up to $100,000 will be available to local businesses that export or operate in overseas markets, amid concerns over the impact of the recent trade tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.The Business Adaptation Grant (BizAdapt) will support up to 50 per cent of eligible costs for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and up to 30 per cent for non-SMEs, Enterprise Singapore said in a factsheet on Tuesday (Oct 7).The grant will be available from Oct 7 until Oct 6, 2027, and will cover two categories of businesses.The first group includes companies that export to or operate in overseas markets and are affected by the tariffs, and the second group includes businesses with manufacturing facilities locally or overseas that support to reconfigure their operations.  For the first group, the grant will help them conduct free trade agreements, trade compliance assessments, legal and contractual advisory and supply chain optimisation and market diversification advisory.

The police have warned members of the public to be wary of calls from people claiming to be M1 or Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) employees as they could be scammers.At least 13 cases of government official impersonation scams involving MAS and M1 have been reported since September, with total losses amounting to at least $362,000, said the police in an advisory issued on Monday (Oct 6).Victims would usually receive unsolicited calls, including on WhatsApp, from scammers posing as M1 employees.The callers would then claim the victims had outstanding payments or mobile phone deliveries linked to existing mobile plans. Upon denying having such subscriptions, victims would be told to contact «customer service» via WhatsApp to terminate them.Their calls would be connected to another scammer pretending to be an MAS officer, who claimed their personal details had been misused for criminal activities such as money laundering or fraud.Victims were then instructed to transfer money to what the scammers referred to as «safety accounts», make payments via PayNow or cryptocurrency, or hand over cash to strangers. 

SINGAPORE — Teachers in Singapore schools are spending fewer hours teaching and marking, but they are clocking more work time overall due to non-teaching tasks.These include lesson planning, student counselling, co-curricular activities and communicating with parents, a new global survey has found.Singapore's teachers reported working an average of 47.3 hours a week, higher than the OECD average of 41, according to the Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) released on Oct 7.In the previous edition of the survey in 2018, teachers here said they put in 46 hours a week.The survey's findings also indicate that Singapore teachers are quick to adopt digital technologies, with three in four using artificial intelligence (AI) to teach or facilitate student learning. This is more than double the global average of 36 per cent.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development study polled 194,000 teachers worldwide, with a total of 55 education systems joining the latest round.

Remember to look up on Tuesday (Oct 7) evening for the first of three supermoons of the year — the Harvest Moon. Its appearance comes right after the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday (Oct 6), the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. In the past, the Harvest Moon gave farmers in the Northern Hemisphere extra hours to gather crops with its evening glow.The supermoon on Oct 7 will begin rising around 7pm and will be visible in the sky from around 8pm onwards in Singapore.Keen observers can visit open public areas such as East Coast Park, Marina Barrage, and the Southern Ridges. Supermoons occur when the moon's orbit is closer to the earth, making the moon appear larger and brighter than usual. It will be visible to the naked eye as long as the skies remain clear.According to the weatherman, the 24-hour forecast for tonight will be partly cloudy.The next supermoons after Tuesday's are the Beaver Moon on Nov 5 and the Cold Moon on Dec 4, symbolising the onset of winter.

A drivers' association in Malaysia is calling for Singapore-registered private-hire vehicles (PHV) to be barred from entering the country.The Southern Private Hire Vehicle Association made this demand in a Facebook post on Monday (Oct 6) night, urging Malaysian authorities to act on their requests immediately.In addition to stopping Singapore PHVs from entering Malaysia, the group is asking for the government to start legalising local cross-border point-to-point services, as well as to strictly penalise Singapore PHVs operating illegally in Malaysia.«End the vague 'let's not harm each other' stance and shift towards concrete action,» states another request.The association said that the list of demands was created with agreement from group members and industry stakeholders.«Our industry is not demanding special privileges — we are merely calling for a fair and level playing field,» it added.«If no action is taken soon, local operators will be pushed to the brink of survival, and the industry's order and stability will become increasingly difficult to sustain.»

The task force formed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and train operators SMRT and SBS Transit has convened an independent advisory panel of rail experts to assist in improving rail reliability in Singapore.The task force, chaired by LTA chief executive Ng Lang and includes the CEOs of SMRT Group and SBS Transit Group, aims to address the recent spate of train service disruptions.This will be done by reviewing the incidents to identify worn out components and conducting full audits of the maintenance and operation of critical systems.It will also look at reducing the impact of service delays to commuters, LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit said previously.On Monday (Oct 6), the task force, formed in September 2025, said the independent panel will review the findings of the technical audits and share international best practices that can improve rail reliability.The five-member panel consists of Ir Dr Tony Lee Kar Yun, Patrick Bauchart, Dr Cai Chang Jun, Professor Tsay Huel-Sheng and Kon Shinichiro, who each have different expertise in areas including operations and maintenance, signalling technology and power supply systems.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) will be getting a new leader after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced a leadership change on Monday (Oct 6).How Kwang Hwee, 46, will be appointed Commissioner of Police on Jan 6. He will take over from Hoong Wee Teck, 62, who is retiring after 10 years in the role.How joined the SPF in 1998 and rose to his present post as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Policy) in 2024.He had previously led the Operations Department as its director and was also the Deputy Commissioner for Investigation and Intelligence. How is credited with leading the planning and execution of several major operations, including the security operations of the Trump-Kim Summit in 2018 and the anti-money laundering cases which resulted in the arrest of 10 foreign nationals. 

The police are appealing for information on the whereabouts of an 18-year-old woman who was reported missing on Oct 3.In a news release on Monday (Oct 6), the police said Nurin Huraiyah Binte Hasnizam was last seen on Oct 3 at around 5pm in the vicinity of Block 556 Bedok North Street 3.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:723311]]editor@asiaone.com 

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has extended his condolences to the families of those who died in the Optus outage.The Australian telco is wholly owned by Singtel.In an interview with Australian broadcaster ABC on Thursday (Oct 2) and released on Monday (Oct 6), PM Wong noted that he fully understands the anger and frustration caused by the incident.«I would like to extend my condolences to everyone who has been impacted by the outage, especially the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.» A 68-year-old woman and two men, aged 74 and 49, died and more than 600 customers were affected across Australia after Optus' emergency call services suffered an outage for about 13 hours on Sept 18. This was Optus' second major outage since 2023.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will be making his first official visit to Australia and New Zealand as head of government from Oct 6 to 11.His visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with both countries, and also reaffirms the excellent state of bilateral ties, said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a statement on Oct 6. PM Wong will visit Australia from Oct 6 to 9, and will hold the 10th Singapore-Australia leaders' meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.The leaders will also participate in the signing of the joint declaration to launch the upgraded Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. PM Wong will also call on Governor-General Sam Mostyn and meet with leader of the opposition Sussan Ley.He will then leave Canberra for Sydney where will meet with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, senior business leaders, and have a dialogue at the Lowly Institute.