A cat was found dead at a stairwell in Ayer Rajah on Tuesday (Oct 14), with its body allegedly severed in half.Speaking to AsiaOne on Friday (Oct 17), a witness, who wished to be known only as Bob, said he was leaving office in the JTC Launchpad building at 81 Ayer Rajah Crescent at around 12pm when he spotted the carcass. «I was heading out for lunch and took the stairwell from the third floor down when I noticed an unfamiliar object. As I got closer, I realised it was a severed top half of a cat,» said the 36-year-old engineer. «There wasn't any blood and it looked like a cleanly sliced carcass. It was quite shocking and scary.» Bob added that he called the police, and officers arrived about 20 minutes later.He noted that the particular stairwell he accessed was less frequented, as it was located at the far end of the building and typically used only by his office and neighbouring units.«On most days, I would use the stairwell during lunch hours as it is easier to exit. But since that incident, I don't use that stairwell anymore,» said Bob.

The fiery orange glow seen in Singapore sky on Wednesday (Oct 15) was due to an unplanned shutdown by a chemical plant across the border, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has said.In a Facebook post on Friday (Oct 17), the agency said that the power outage at one of Lotte Chemical Titan’s chemical plants in Pasir Gudang near Johor Bahru, led the company to activate recovery work.Known as flaring, this common safety measure in petrochemical plants removes excess gas which then releases harmless water and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.In a separate statement, Lotte Chemical Titan said that the power outage began at 4.13pm. Recovery work began at 6pm and was completed at about 9.30pm.Taking to the CloudSpotting and SkySpotting Facebook group on Oct 15, a Yishun resident said that she was startled by the bright flaming sky in front of her door.Netizens also shared photos of where they could see the glow from their window — from Marina Bay Sands to up on a plane.While the flares are harmless from afar, several residents were concerned about pollution.

It is «not for foreign entities or individuals to tell Singaporeans how to vote», said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday (Oct 17), in response to a statement by Malaysian political party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).“Least of all along racial and religious lines. That is divisive and acceptable,” said MHA. “It may be how politics and political parties are organised in other countries, but it is not in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore.”In a statement shared on social media on Wednesday, PAS said that it “firmly rejects” to be cast as a “convenient boogeyman” to advance domestic political agendas in Singapore.It was responding to Coordinating Minister and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam’s ministerial statement in parliament on the politicisation of race and religion.In his speech on Oct 14, Shanmugam said several members from PAS had urged Singaporeans on social media to vote along racial and religious lines at the General Election.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 8,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint on Sept 27. In a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 16), ICA said that anomalies were detected in the vehicle’s scanned images and directed it for additional checks. Aided by ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre, officers found more than 8,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed within the consignment declared as clothes hangars and car rims. A 38-year-old male Malaysian driver was detained and the case referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigation. Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are considered serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act. If found guilty, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.

In the six weeks since changes to anti-vaping laws saw stiffer penalties for vaping kicked in, 1,339 persons were caught for related offences, said the Ministry of Health and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Thursday (Oct 16). Of the 1,339, 102 were in possession of e-vaporisers laced with etomidate, also known as Kpods. «Among them, 67 have been placed on rehabilitation programmes at Institute of Mental Health, Health Promotion Board and social service agencies,» said the authorities, adding that two offenders have failed to attend their first rehabilitation appointments.«HSA is investigating and will prosecute individuals for their e-vaporiser or etomidate-related offences should they fail to attend their rehabilitation appointments,» they said.1,968 cases of vaping-related activities reported to HSAOver the six-week period, HSA said it received 1,968 reports of vaping-related activities through its online reporting form and hotlines.

A 56-year-old woman died after an incident at Jewel Changi Airport on Thursday (Oct 16) afternoon.She is believed to have fallen from a height.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they received a call for assistance at about 1.55pm from 78 Airport Boulevard.The woman was subsequently taken to Changi General Hospital.The police said that the woman was unconscious when she was taken to the hospital where she subsequently died.Investigations are ongoing. 'We are deeply saddened'In a TikTok uploaded by sgseewhatsee, a woman can be seen administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a person lying on the ground of Jewel.A few people dressed in black, likely staff members from the mall, are also seen barricading the area.In response to queries from AsiaOne, Lee Ching Wern, chief executive officer of Jewel Changi Airport Development, said that Jewel is working closely with the authorities to provide their full support for investigations.

An additional 31,000 students from lower- and middle-income families will receive financial support and schooling subsidies from the academic year 2026.The Ministry of Education (MOE) will raise the income eligibility criteria for several financial aid schemes at the primary, secondary and post-secondary levels, it announced on Thursday (Oct 16).For example, students in government schools, government-aided schools and specialised schools currently can apply for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) if their gross household income (GHI) is $3,000 or less, or if their per capita income (PCI) is $750 or less.When the higher income eligibility ceilings come into effect, students with a GHI of up to $4,000 and PCI of up to $1,000 will be eligible for FAS.The GHI cap for the highest income tier of Government bursaries for students enrolled in publicly-funded Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) will similarly be increased to $12,000 from the current $10,000.

Thundery showers are expected in the second fortnight of October, due to the prevailing inter-monsoon conditions over Singapore and the surrounding region.Short-duration thundery showers are expected over parts of the island in the afternoon on most days, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Thursday (Oct 16).Winds are forecast to be mostly light and variable in direction.In addition, Sumatra squalls may bring widespread thundery showers and gusty winds during the predawn hours and morning on some days.Sumatra squalls are lines of thunderstorms that develop over Indonesia's Sumatra island or the Strait of Malacca and move eastward across the strait, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.According to the Met Service, the total rainfall for the second half of October is forecast to be above average.

Finding a place to rest during a layover can often prove difficult.To combat this, some tourists in Singapore have started finding quiet areas in Changi Airport to catch some shut eye — including one which has been dubbed the «sleeper village».A woman from the US posted a video to TikTok on Oct 5, showing how she and her husband rested at that area.She explained that they opted to do this before their morning flight as their visit coincided with the Singapore Grand Prix and hotel prices were «astronomical» as a result.Hotels near the airport were charging US$400 (S$518) a night at that time, while the average is usually less than US$200, she said.While the couple had «a rough time» finding a place to rest initially, they discovered the Terminal 1 Arrival Garden, where they saw «at least 30 other people» sleeping.The woman referred to this area as the «sleeper village».The pair had come prepared with blankets and inflatable neck cushions, which they placed on the garden floor so they would lie down.

A breeding pair of Philippine cockatoos at Bird Paradise hatched a chick for the first time in 10 years since being rescued in Palawan and brought to Singapore.The critically endangered species, also known as the red-vented cockatoo, was once common throughout the Philippines but only exists primarily on the Palawan islands now due to illegal trapping wildlife trade and habitat loss, said the Mandai Wildlife Group and Mandai Nature in a statement on Oct 16.Fewer than 750 of these mature cockatoos remain there, they added.«These birds are notoriously difficult to breed in human care, so having this little one is both exciting and encouraging,» said Anais Tritto, assistant vice-president of animal care (operations) at Mandai Wildlife Group.She added that the fledgling is a reminder of how zoos can support species recovery by preserving genetic diversity and maintaining a safety-net population.With the new chick, knowledge gaps can be filled in terms of pair bonding and parental behaviour, which can be useful to enhance breeding efforts.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer and his wife were charged in court on Thursday (Oct 16) for cheating the SCDF and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of over $130,000.The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement that Muhammad Zahid Rosli, 41, was a SCDF officer posted to the Civil Defence Academy at the time of the offences.Nuraifa Ahmad, 38, was the owner of Grundy Wellness Network and the director of Clutch Esports at the time. Business records showed that both companies were registered to run training courses for sports and games.Zahid faces a total of 28 charges, while Nuraifa faces 19.CPIB said that between 2017 and 2023, Zahid allegedly cheated the SCDF of about $52,000 by “dishonestly concealing his personal interest” in Grundy and Clutch when he submitted quotations from both companies on separate occasions for paintball and e-sports events.His wife allegedly aided him by uploading invoices from Grundy and Clutch in the Government Electronic Business Portal, so that both companies would receive payment for organising the events.

A fiery orange glow lit up the skyline on Wednesday (Oct 15) night, which left several residents wondering where it was from. Taking to Facebook on the CloudSpotting and SkySpotting Singapore group, a Yishun resident said that she was startled by the bright flaming sky in front of her door.“It’s still burning now after more than an hour,” she said.The social media post has since garnered over 280 comments and 1,100 reactions.Some netizens also shared photos of where they could see the mysterious glow from their window — from Marina Bay Sands to up on a plane.Among the more imaginative responses, a netizen quipped that The Eye of Sauron — the ominous presence from The Lord of The Rings — had appeared to cast its watchful gaze over northern Singapore .Another netizen believed that the mysterious glow is not a serious matter.“I saw this too while on my nightly hike, but there were no fire alarms or fire trucks,” he said.The more likely source, some netizens said, is flares from one of the petrochemical plants in Pasir Gudang near Johor Bahru.

A 23-year-old on duty full-time police national serviceman was found with a gunshot wound to his neck at about 9pm on Wednesday (Oct 15).In a late night statement the same night, police said the officer was found by his team mates in a toilet at 328 Pasir Panjang Road. Checks online by AsiaOne show the address is listed as a Shell petrol kiosk. “The officer was subsequently conveyed conscious to the hospital.“His service revolver and remaining ammunition were accounted for and seized at the scene. No other person was injured,” the police said. Based on preliminary investigations, police believe the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. The police also said they do not suspect foul play. Police investigations are ongoing. [[nid:723792]]editor@asiaone.com

A male pedestrian died after being hit by a van in Bedok on Wednesday (Oct 15).In a video posted to Facebook, several police officers can be seen at the accident site, with a red van parked along the side of the road. Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that they were alerted to a road traffic accident along Bedok North Street 3 towards Bedok North Avenue 2 at about 5.15pm. A 62-year-old male pedestrian was conveyed unconscious to Changi General Hospital where he subsequently died. A 69-year-old male van driver was arrested for careless driving. Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:723860]]xingying.koh@asiaone.com