Ten drivers were caught for providing illegal cross-border ride-hailing services at Singapore's land checkpoints on Wednesday (Oct 15).In a Facebook post on the same day, Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling said that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) conducted joint enforcement operations.According to LTA, officers at the borders acted on tip-offs from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association and National Taxi Association.All 10 vehicles were impounded, said LTA.'Crucial to protect commuter safety': SunToday's enforcement operation comes amid enhanced crackdowns by both Singapore and Malaysian authorities on illegal ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor Bahru.According to Sun, the total number of vehicles impounded for providing such illegal services since July is now 117.«These operations are crucial to protect commuter safety,» she said, emphasising the safety risks involved when commuters engage with unlicensed vehicles that lack the necessary insurance.

SINGAPORE — A maid accused of causing grievous hurt by performing a rash act that led to the death of a four-year-old girl will now be contesting a reduced charge.Lilyana Eva, 33, an Indonesian national, had claimed trial over the charge relating to a fatal road accident at Institution Hill, near River Valley Road, on Jan 23, 2024.Lilyana was the child's maid, and the girl had run across an unsignalised junction and was hit by a car.The Indonesian was facing up to four years' jail and a fine of up to $10,000 after originally being charged with causing grievous hurt by performing a rash act.Lilyana now faces a reduced charge of endangering the child's life by a negligent act.If convicted, she faces a jail term of up to three months, a fine of up to $1,500, or both.Lilyana is accused of failing to ensure the safety of the child by not holding onto her while jaywalking at an unsignalised junction at Institution Hill.The first day of her trial had been slated to start on Oct 15 at 9.30am.But the prosecution and Lilyana's lawyers met in the chambers of District Judge Ong Luan Tze, and it was adjourned to 2.30pm.

SINGAPORE — To keep premiums for national long-term care insurance in check, older individuals with mild and moderate disabilities will no longer be able to opt in to the scheme from 2026.Some seniors will even enjoy lower premiums than what they are paying now, said Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon in Parliament.The aim is to safeguard sustainability and affordability of the scheme, he said during the debate of the CareShield Life and Long-Term Care (Amendment) Bill, which was passed unanimously on Oct 15.«By restoring the underwriting criteria for the scheme, we will lower premiums for older Optional Cohort policyholders, who today pay higher annual premiums than Mandatory Cohort policyholders, who joined the scheme at a younger age.»From 2026, those born in 1979 or earlier who have mild and moderate disabilities will no longer be allowed to opt-in to CareShield Life, but those who do not have pre-existing disabilities can still do so.

A new Bill was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 15) which will give the Government powers to order social media platforms and app providers to take down harmful content.The Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill will also establish an Online Safety Commission (OSC) for victims of 13 online harms — including stalking and online harassment — to seek timely relief and obtain redress by the end of the first half of 2026.The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said in a statement that victims will be required to first report the harm they have experienced to the online platform before submitting a report to the OSC.Victims of online harms that «warrant urgent relief», such as when their intimate photos are leaked without their consent, can approach the OSC directly.The proposed government agency will be empowered to include directions to take down the harmful content, restrict the perpetrator's online account, or to allow the victim to post a reply.

More than 9,100 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats have been launched by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the October sales exercise, including the first flats in the Mount Pleasant and Berlayar estates.A total of 10 projects across Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Jurong East, Sengkang, Toa Payoh and Yishun are available during the sales exercise, which began on Wednesday (Oct 15), said HDB in a press release on the same day.Berlayar's first project, Berlayar Residences, has a subsidy clawback of 14 per cent — the highest seen for BTO flats to date.A subsidy clawback means that upon the sale of their flats, owners have to pay HDB a percentage of the resale or valuation price, whichever is higher.These clawbacks correspond to the extent of the extra subsidies offered for these flats, said HDB, adding that there is also a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP) for them.In comparison, the rates for other Prime flats in the July sales exercise were between 11 and 12 per cent.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle almost 5,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes at Tuas Checkpoint on Oct 9.In a Facebook post on Oct 15, ICA said that the cigarettes were hidden in a Malaysia-registered lorry carrying cargo declared as «oats».The cigarettes were discovered when ICA Search & Examination officers carried out enhanced checks.The 45-year-old male Malaysian driver was arrested.The exhibits and the suspect were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.Buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are considered serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act.If convicted, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both.Vehicles used in these offences and proceeds of sales of duty-unpaid goods are also liable to be forfeited.[[nid:723782]]dana.leong@asiaone.com

SINGAPORE — A former UOB employee was convicted on Oct 14 of multiple charges following the disclosure of information on more than 1,000 customers to a scammer.Cao Wenqing, 30, was convicted of 14 charges under the Computer Misuse Act and 13 charges under the Banking Act.The Chinese national had contested the charges and was represented in court by lawyer Kalidass Murugaiyan from Kalidass Law Corp.Court documents showed Cao was a junior officer working in the bank's mortgage department at the time of the offences. She had access to the customer database for her work, which involved selling mortgages to new customers and servicing existing customers with mortgages.The database contained information on customers' names, nationalities, account numbers, addresses, identification numbers and bank balances.In March 2021, two unknown individuals known as «Xiang Ying Dong» and «Captain Lu» contacted Cao, claiming to be police officers from China. Court documents did not specify what they told her.Cao later agreed to act as a person assisting the «Chinese police» on a voluntary basis.

Two people were taken to the hospital after a fire broke out in a HDB flat kitchen in Jurong West on Tuesday (Oct 14).Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to a fire at Block 675A, Jurong West Street 64, at about 5.40pm.Upon arrival, SCDF found the kitchen of a 13th-floor unit on fire and extinguished the blaze using a water jet.Two people were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.SCDF reminded the public not to leave any cooking or heating activities unattended and to switch off all gas and electrical appliances when not in use.According to SCDF's annual statistics report released on Feb 13, the number of residential fires in 2024 remained largely unchanged, with a total of 968 cases. Unattended cooking and electrical faults continued to be the two leading causes of fires in residential premises.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has warned the public against hanging on traffic lights and signposts as part of a social media trend.In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 14), the authority stated that it is aware of the trend where people film themselves hanging from traffic lights, road signs and other road infrastructure.«Fun's fun, but our road infrastructure isn't a playground. It helps facilitate travel and keeps everyone safe. Please don't use them as props for social media. Let's keep our roads safe (and your content risk-free),» said LTA. The post also had images depicting the challenge which were generated by artificial intelligence. 

Sales staff of a beauty chain in Singapore have been accused of misleading and hard selling packages or products, amounting to nearly $1 million, to customers.Fifty-three complaints against DNA Brands Co were made to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) from August 2024 to Oct 14, 2025, with at least 20 elderly consumers submitting complaints to the watchdog.Case said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 15) that the complaints involved a total value of over $980,000 and pertain to two beauty brands run by DNA Brands Co. The businesses involved are beauty salons operating under the Beautique name and wellness retail outlets under The Mineral Boutique label. High-pressure sales tactics Complainants alleged that they had been misled or pressured by sales assistants into purchasing excessive beauty packages or products.25 cases were lodged in the last five months of 2024, and 28 in 2025.Half of the complaints involved purchases exceeding $10,000, according to Case. One consumer was charged at least $370,000 for products and packages.

A Singaporean man who helped his Thai wife run a multi-million-dollar luxury goods scam was sentenced to a jail term of five years and 10 months.Pi Jiapeng, 30, pleaded guilty to three charges for fraudulent trading, breaching his duties as a director and money laundering on Tuesday (Oct 14).According to the police, another four charges were also taken into consideration in his sentencing.Pi and his wife, Pansuk Siriwipa, 30, were arrested in August 2022 after fleeing the country during police investigations.They made the headlines in 2022 as the couple involved in the $32 million luxury goods scam.The couple started two businesses, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, operating primarily as re-sellers of luxury watches and bags on a pre-order basis, offering the goods for sale online.The luxury goods were sold at fixed prices around 10 to 20 per cent lower than other local resellers, and customers were required to make full payment when placing their order.According to the police, Pi was the sole director of both companies.

Four men and one woman will be charged in court on Wednesday (Oct 15) for their suspected involvement in separate cases of outrage of modesty.In a press release on Oct 14, the police said that five individuals, aged between 30 and 72, allegedly committed their crimes between January and August this year.The only woman in the group, a 31-year-old, allegedly molested a 25-year-old woman along Duxton Hill on July 11. She was identified through follow-up investigations and the use of CCTV images and subsequently arrested by the police.Separately, a 72-year-old man allegedly molested a 47-year-old woman along Temple Street on Jan 28 and was arrested at the scene.On May 17, a 30-year-old man allegedly molested a 24-year-old woman along Veerasamy Road, and was also arrested at the scene.The other men who will be hauled to court include a 47-year-old man who allegedly molested a 33-year-old woman along Rochor Canal Road, and 41-year-old man who allegedly molested a 29-year-old woman along Bayfront Avenue on July 7.

The Workers' Party (WP) statement on foreigners attempting to influence the General Election 2025 (GE2025) was «ambiguous», Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam told Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 14).Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said in a ministerial statement that race and religion must not be brought into Singapore politics.He touched on several «troubling incidents» of foreign interferences during GE2025 and attempts to canvass votes from the Malay/Muslim community.One case involved Singaporean religious preacher Noor Deros, who said on April 19 he would campaign for any political party who could meet his demands for the rights of the Malay/Muslim community to be prioritised.