A Malaysian national was charged in court on Friday (Nov 7) for allegedly offering a bribe to a Traffic Police officer in relation to an illegal ride-hailing service. Lee Keh Meng, 44, allegedly offered a bribe of $50 to Sergeant Ahmad Hafiz Bin Abdul Sukur on Oct 23, as an inducement not to report a case of an unauthorised cross-border ride-hailing service. Sergeant Hafiz rejected the bribe, and the case was subsequently referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau by the police. Lee faces one charge punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. If convicted, he can be fined up to $100,000, or sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both. [[nid:721951]]esther.lam@asiaone.com 

A preschool centre for children from lower-income families, operated by Beyond Social Services (BSS), will close by the end of 2025.The Healthy Start Child Development Centre (HSCDC) in Bukit Merah was the preschool that four-year-old Megan Khung attended before her death in 2020.In a statement on Oct 14, BSS said that HSCDC will wind down due to declining enrolment, which had fallen from more than 50 children in 2018 to just 14 in 2024.Referrals have decreased as families relocated due to housing redevelopment, the organisation added.More affordable and accessible preschools have become available in Bukit Merah and other areas, reducing the need for a specialised centre like HSCDC, said BSS.HSCDC opened in 2002, after a community survey in the Henderson and Bukit Merah estates found that many children were at risk due to inadequate childcare, parental incarceration or leaving school early.The organisation added that it plans to redirect its resources towards community-rooted initiatives.

The rule of law is a cornerstone of Singapore’s system, not “rule of the mob”, and suggesting that public opinion can trump a court decision is a "very dangerous idea”, said Law Minister Edwin Tong on Saturday (Nov 8).Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, was speaking on the sidelines of a community event in Buona Vista. He was responding to a comment made by Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh on an episode of CNA's series The Assembly 2 which aired on Nov 5. During the interview, Singh was asked by a participant how he felt about being called “a liar” due to former WP Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan’s case.In his reply, Singh said that being in the “business of politics” means that political opponents will “do whatever it takes” to lower his and the Workers’ Party esteem in the public eyes.

A multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) registered in Singapore was caught at the Johor Bahru checkpoint on Wednesday (Nov 5) for allegedly providing illegal private-hire services.In a Facebook post the next day, the Johor Road Transport Department (JPJ) stated that it had been conducting Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) enforcement operations at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) CIQ Complex that day.JPJ officers detained the MPV, which was inbound, at the entrance of the checkpoint after finding that its driver conducted private-hire services without a valid operator's license.Pictures posted to Facebook showed two passengers in the vehicle during this time.The vehicle was seized, and its owner will be charged under the Road Transport and Land Public Transport Acts, said the post.The department stated that it will «continue to be committed to carrying out monitoring and enforcement to ensure all vehicles comply with the laws for the sake of safety and well-being of road users, especially on the Malaysia-Singapore international route».[[nid:724098]]bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

Two suspects linked to the $3 billion money laundering case spent more than S$69.8 million on properties in London while on the run from the authorities in Singapore.The Straits Times, working with investigative reporting group, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), learnt that the pair had purchased the properties through their UK-listed firms between July and September 2023.One of the suspects, Su Binghai, bought nine apartments in London worth $27 million just one week after he escaped police raids in Singapore.China-born Su Binghai, who holds Cambodian citizenship, and has passports from Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean nation, and St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, was among 17 suspects who evaded arrest during the police operation on Aug 15, 2023.In all, 10 foreigners were arrested that day. They were eventually convicted, sentenced and barred from returning to Singapore.

Victims have lost about $52,000 to scammers impersonating Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officers since September this year.There have been at least seven cases of such scams, said the police in a news release on Friday (Nov 7).In this scam variant, victims would first receive unsolicited calls from scammers posing as representatives from a bank.These scammers would claim that a credit card had been found under the victim's name, or that transactions had been made using a credit card supposedly belonging to them, according to the police.Upon denying this, the victim would be transferred to another scammer impersonating an officer from MHA who would accuse them of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering — even presenting them with fake official documents in some cases.These documents included a «warrant of arrest», a «notice of investigation» and a «court hearing appointment”, said the police.The scammers would subsequently instruct the victims to make monetary transactions »for investigation purposes". 

From March 1 next year, Singaporeans will be able to use their $100 SG Culture Pass credits to purchase SingLit books, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo.Neo made the announcement during his opening speech at the Singapore Writers Festival 2025 on Friday (Nov 7) at Victoria Theatre.«Literature gives voice to our hopes and dreams, and gives us our bearings in times of change,» Neo said, adding that the works particularly by Singapore's early literary community have illuminated shared experiences and helped to shape national identity.According to Neo, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has been working closely with bookstores, publishers and distributors since the announcement earlier this year by then-Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.«I hope SG Culture Pass will be a key catalyst to help Singaporeans love SingLit,» Neo said, highlighting National Library Board’s 2024 National Reading Habits Survey, which found that only around one in three adults had read a SingLit book last year.

Two children were taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a second-floor Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on Friday (Nov 7) afternoon.The incident took place at about 1.20pm at Block 128 Yishun Street 11.In a Facebook post on Nov 7, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the fire started in the bedroom.«Upon arrival, a bedroom in a second-floor unit was on fire. Firefighters entered the smoke-filled unit and extinguished the fire with a water jet,» SCDF said.Three occupants from the affected unit had evacuated before SCDF's arrival.Police and SCDF also evacuated 50 residents from the affected block as a precautionary measure.Two people from the affected unit were assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital. AsiaOne understands that there are seven occupiers in the affected unit, including five children. At the time of the incident, only a woman and two of her youngest children were at home. The woman's husband and three other children were away when the fire broke out. 

Neighbours Singapore and Thailand strengthened cooperation on rice trade and healthcare during Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's one-day official visit to Singapore on Friday (Nov 7).At a joint press conference with his Thai counterpart after both sides held a bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that the two countries have forged a relationship built on «trust, respect and deep friendship». «Our ties today are deep and resilient, and our bilateral relations are excellent,» PM Wong said, adding that «there remains tremendous potential for us to do even more together».

The driver involved in the Telok Blangah hit-and-run case has been charged for various traffic offences.Kenneth Kang, 34, was handed seven charges on Friday (Nov 7), for: driving while under disqualification, dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention causing hurt, failing to stop after an accident, failing to make a police report after a traffic accident, failing to render assistance after a traffic accident, and leaving a vehicle in a position likely to cause danger. At about 8.30am on Nov 4, Kang was allegedly driving a car along Telok Blangah Drive despite being disqualified from holding a driving licence from Nov 11, 2024, to Nov 10, 2025, according to charge sheets.Police officers had been patrolling the area when they spotted a car that had mounted a kerb. As the officers were checking on him, the driver suddenly drove off — colliding with two cars, a van and a bus, said the police in a news release on Nov 6.A 48-year-old man, who was driving one of the cars, was injured and taken to hospital.

Two children were sent to hospital after a fire broke out at a second-floor Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on Friday (Nov 7) afternoon.The incident took place at about 1.20pm at Block 128 Yishun Street 11.In a Facebook post on Nov 7, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the fire started in the bedroom.«Upon arrival, a bedroom in a second-floor unit was on fire. Firefighters entered the smoke-filled unit and extinguished the fire with a water jet,» SCDF said.Three occupants from the affected unit had evacuated before SCDF's arrival.Police and SCDF also evacuated 50 residents from the affected block as a precautionary measure.Two people from the affected unit were assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital. AsiaOne understands that there are seven occupiers in the affected unit, including five children. At the time of the incident, only a woman and two of her youngest children were at home. The woman's husband and three other children were away when the fire broke out. 

A passenger on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Singapore to Milan lost consciousness after take-off and died despite efforts to resuscitate him.Dr Desmond Wai, who was on SIA flight SQ378 from Singapore to Milan on Nov 5, shared with 8world how he heard an announcement asking if there were any doctors available to assist with a medical emergency two hours after takeoff. The gastroenterologist and hepatologist posted a video on TikTok on Thursday (Nov 6) night recounting the incident. «Some passenger stopped breathing on the plane,» he recounted. «They woke me up at 2am [and] asked me to help. So from 2am to 2.30am we did [cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)] and failed.»He said that he, along with two other doctors, went to the rear of the cabin to provide assistance and found a middle-aged man lying unconscious on the floor.The man had no pulse, and when the crew's use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) failed, the three doctors took turns performing CPR.The deceased was a terminal cancer patient, and his wife was also on the plane at the time, reported 8world. 

About three million Singaporeans aged 21 and above will receive between $100 and $600 in cash from Dec 5.This payout - under the enhanced Assurance Package (AP) - aims to help defray living expenses for Singaporean households and provide more support for lower to middle-income families. It was announced during Budget 2023.In a press release on Friday (Nov 7), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said that adult Singaporeans must have an annual assessable income of not more than $100,000 and not own more than one property to qualify for this.These cash payments are given out to eligible Singaporeans each December from 2022 to 2026. They can check their eligibility and the amount they will receive on the govbenefits website by logging in with their Singpass credentials.MOF also cautioned that government officials will never ask the public to transfer money or disclose bank log-in details over a phone call, urging those who are unsure if something is a scam to call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.

Punters who bought one or more units of a set of iToto bet were the sole winners of the $12.3 million Toto prize money in Thursday’s (Nov 6) draw. An iToto bet comprises 28 units, with each unit costing $33. Punters may buy one or more units of an iToto bet. According to Singapore Pools’ website, all 28 units of an iToto bet must be sold before a new set of iToto numbers is generated islandwide. For the Nov 6 draw, 18 of the 28 units were purchased through the Singapore Pools account betting service.The remaining 10 units were purchased from 10 outlets across Singapore:Dawn Florist along Aljunied Avenue 2Fatt Chye Heng Trading along Hougang Avenue 3Nel’s Store along Bedok Reservoir RoadNTUC FairPrice Changi Business ParkNTUC FairPrice White SandsNTUC FairPrice Jurong PointSeah Geok Eng Agency along Rivervale DrivePapillon Florist along Jalan Bukit MerahSingapore Pools branch along Clementi Avenue 5Livewire Marina Bay SandsThe winning numbers were 3, 20, 24, 29, 32 and 44. The additional number was 46.