Singapore Customs seized more than 1,540 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and arrested three male Chinese nationals in two enforcement operations on Nov 4 at Joo Koon Circle and Bendeemer Road. The total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about $167,125, Singapore Customs said on Wednesday (Nov 12). During the first operation at Joo Koon Circle, officers observed a man transferring a black rubbish bag from an industrial unit to a van. Checks uncovered 768 cartons and 12 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes inside the unit and vehicle. The cigarettes and van were seized and two men, aged 38 and 44, were arrested. In a follow-up operation at Bendeemer Road, officers stopped a 41-year-old man alighting from a truck, and a search of the vehicle revealed more than 768 cartons and 10 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes. Checks at his residence at Moulmein Rise uncovered another four cartons and five packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes. The truck and all cigarettes were seized. 

SINGAPORE — The guardians of a teenager who in 2021 died after a basketball backboard structure fell on him have settled a civil suit filed against East Coast Town Council (ECTC) and EM Services, a real estate services company.The Straits Times learnt that the guardians of 17-year-old Mohd Ridwan had filed claims in July 2024 seeking $150,000 from the two parties.ST understands that the matter was settled in April 2025 for an undisclosed sum, with the parties signing a non-disclosure agreement.Lawyers K. Anparasan and Grace Tan from WhiteFern, who were acting for ECTC, said: «We wish to state that the civil proceedings have been amicably resolved on a confidential basis.»In response to queries from ST, a spokesperson for the town said: «We have extended our deepest sympathies and support to his family. Our thoughts remain with his loved ones.»The guardians were represented by Thirumurthy Ayernaar Pambayan of Murthy & Co, while CIVIC Legal represented EM Services.The teenager died on July 26, 2021, after sustaining serious injuries while playing basketball at a court near Block 18 Bedok South Road.

Singapore must be better prepared for future pandemics, and the new Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) will play a key role in strengthening the nation's response readiness, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (Nov 12).Officially launching the statutory board, which falls under the Ministry of Health's purview, PM Wong said the Covid-19 pandemic required an integrated response from various sectors and pushed the nation to improve processes and systems.«But we also know that we cannot simply copy the same playbook and end up fighting the last war because with every new emerging disease, there will be new challenges,» he stated.By marrying public health functions previously under various agencies, CDA will enhance collaboration and ensure pandemic preparedness plans are quickly refined and implementable.PM Wong, who is also Minister for Finance, said the statutory board must firstly focus on strengthening international co-operation, as support for multilateralism in global health is weakening.

The police have warned members of the public to be wary of a new scam variant that targets access to victims' WhatsApp accounts.In an advisory issued on Wednesday (Nov 12), the police said that such scams begin with SMSes containing phishing links, informing victims that there are issues with their WhatsApp accounts due to the prolonged lack of verification.Victims would be prompted to verify their accounts through the phishing links that lead to a fake WhatsApp webpage.Entering their mobile number and a verification code on the fake WhatsApp webpage would then grant scammers access to their WhatsApp accounts, allowing scammers to send fraudulent loan requests to the victims' contacts.Victims would only realise that they had been scammed when they were logged out of their WhatsApp accounts, discovered unknown devices linked to their accounts, or when they were notified by their contacts about the fraudulent loan requests.Users who suspect that their WhatsApp account has been compromised should contact WhatsApp to recover their accounts, said the police.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle over 250 cartons and over 1,500 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes at Woodlands Checkpoint on Nov 1.In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Nov 11), ICA said the cigarettes were hidden in various compartments of a Malaysia-registered car including the boot and the glove compartment.The car was driven by a 38-year-old Malaysian man. The cigarettes were discovered after ICA officers directed the vehicle for enhanced checks.The man has been arrested and the case referred to the 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:724835]]editor@asiaone.com 

One person was taken to hospital after a fire broke out in the kitchen of a second-floor HDB flat in Yishun on Wednesday morning (Nov 12).The incident took place at about 10.10am at Block 839 Yishun St 81.In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the fire was extinguished with a water jet, and that one person from the affected unit felt unwell and was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. It added that preliminary findings indicate that the fire likely originated from cooking left unattended. Speaking to AsiaOne, a female resident in her 30s, who wished to be known only as Ng, said that the occupier is an elderly Indian lady who lives alone.

Sixteen men and six women are being investigated for various offences following a 10-day multi-agency enforcement operation in Geylang.The operations, conducted from Sept 18 to 28, involved officers from Bedok Police Division and the Criminal Investigation Department; Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB); Health Sciences Authority (HSA); Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA); Land Transport Authority (LTA); Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF); Singapore Food Agency; and the Singapore Customs.In a statement to the media on Tuesday (Nov 11), the police said that the operations are part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on illegal and criminal activities in Geylang.The alleged offences the 22 persons are being investigated for include: breach of fire safety regulations, drugs-related activities, illegal gambling, illegal hawking, illegal sales of health products, and vice activities.Illegal online gambling in residential unitSix men and one woman, aged between 49 and 64, were arrested for suspected illegal online gambling activities on Sept 18.

A 27-year-old motorcyclist died following an accident on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Monday (Nov 10).In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they were alerted to an accident along the PIE towards Changi Airport after the Lorong 6 Toa Payoh exit at around 10.25am.The motorcyclist was conveyed to Tan Tong Seng Hospital, SCDF added.The police also said that the motorcyclist was unconscious when taken to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries and died.The 31-year-old car driver involved in the accident was arrested for driving without reasonable consideration and causing death, the police added.Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:725162]]dana.leong@asiaone.com

For over a year, a domestic helper secretly used her elderly employer's debit cards to make cash withdrawals totalling almost $70,000.Indonesian national Selvi Moede, 37, was sentenced to 14 months' jail on Monday (Nov 10). She pleaded guilty to two charges of theft, with three charges relating to unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act taken into consideration for sentencing.According to court documents seen by AsiaOne, Moede stole $69,600 from her employer's OCBC and DBS accounts between Dec 6, 2023, and April 14, 2025. She and the 82-year-old victim lived together in a flat, reported Shin Min Daily News.Her employer kept two debit cards in her wallet and had written down her PIN numbers on a piece of paper, which she stuck on the cards.Without her employer's knowledge and consent, Moede would take a debit card from the wallet and withdraw cash from an ATM in Bishan.She did so on 86 occasions, according to the Chinese daily.Her sentence was backdated to the date of her arrest on Oct 23. No restitution has been made to the victim, reported Shin Min.[[nid:725175]]

BELEM, Brazil — Singapore was among 185 of the world's cities that pledged on Nov 11, the second day of the COP30 UN climate talks held in Brazil, to do more to curb unsustainable cooling practices that are fuelling rising temperatures across the globe.Cooling can be unsustainable when it relies heavily on electricity generated from fossil fuels, which contribute to planet-warming emissions. Certain cooling devices also rely on refrigerants, some of which are powerful greenhouse gases.A UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report released on Nov 11 showed that planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from the rapidly growing demand for cooling could more than triple by 2050, resulting in more extreme heat events.At current rates, emissions from cooling could overwhelm power grids and lead to an estimated 7.2 billion tonnes of planet-warming carbon emissions by 2050, despite existing efforts to improve energy efficiency and phase away pollutive refrigerants, the report found.

SINGAPORE – A former loan shark who was on the run from the authorities for 33 years was convicted on Nov 11 for fatally stabbing a debtor in 1990.Ng Kwang Keng, now 80, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means. He was previously charged with murder. Court documents did not state why his charge was reduced.The Singaporean was charged and detained in Johor Bahru for an immigration offence, and deported to Singapore in December 2023.The victim, Lim Kim Leng, a 27-year-old Singaporean, had owed Ng $22,000.On Nov 6, 1990, Ng drove to Lim’s residence at Block 14 Taman Ho Swee with two other men, identified as “Tan” and “Pui Kia” in court documents.Shortly after they met, Lim and Ng started arguing and fought with each other. Tan got out of the car to try to stop the fight.During the altercation, Ng punched Lim in the face. Lim then chased Ng up a flight of stairs, with Tan and Pui Kia following behind.At that time, Ng was holding a knife in his right hand and Pui Kia shouted at him to put it away. But Ng lunged forward and stabbed Lim in his upper thigh.

The police have arrested a 34-year-old Brazilian man for allegedly possessing cloned ATM cards.He was arrested within nine hours of police receiving a report of an individual using suspicious cards to make cash withdrawals from an ATM.«Through extensive ground queries and follow up investigations, officers from the Central Police Division established the identity of the individual and arrested him within nine hours of receiving the report,» the police said on Tuesday (Nov 11) evening.Preliminary investigations revealed that he allegedly attempted to use 15 suspected cloned ATM cards.The police said they have seized over $2,000 in cash, 66 suspected cloned ATM cards, and a mobile phone from the man as part of investigations.He will be charged in court on Wednesday (Nov 12). Using and possessing cloned ATM cards constitutes an offence of unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act. Those found guilty of the offence may be jailed for up to two years, fined up to $5,000, or both.

SINGAPORE – Tempted by fast cash, a man agreed to be a «dummy director» of multiple companies, and one of them later processed US$1 million (S$1.3 million) in scam proceeds in its bank account.Tan Yew Sin also tried to deposit a cashier’s order for over $7 million in scam proceeds for another company.Both firms – Accord Technology and Huachang Trading – were shell companies with no legitimate businesses, the court heard.On Nov 10, Tan, 24, a Singaporean, was sentenced to two years and three months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to offences including those linked to the benefits of criminal conduct.Deputy Public Prosecutor Grace Teo told the court that Tan had earlier responded to a job advertisement on messaging platform Telegram in May 2021.He was then directed to an unidentified person known only as «Lerex», who offered him $5,000 to become a nominee director for “people from overseas who want to do business in Singapore”.Without asking for more details, Tan accepted the offer and shared information such as his identity card number and full name with Lerex.

Employers of lower-wage workers should give salary increases between 5.5 and 7.5 per cent, said the National Wages Council (NWC).At a press conference on Tuesday (Nov 11), the NWC released new wage guidelines that will cover the period from Dec 1, 2025, to Nov 30, 2026, and are applicable to all employees in unionised and non-unionised firms and in both public and private sectors. «This year's guidelines involved extensive discussions amongst tripartite partners,» said NWC chairman Peter Seah, who added that the significant uncertainties facing the global economy were also taken into consideration.«To narrow the wage gap between LWWs (lower-wage workers) and the median wage worker over this decade, wages of LWWs must consistently grow faster than the median wage,» said the council in its annual guidelines on pay and employment issues.It suggests that employers who have done well should provide their lower-wage workers with a built-in wage increase at the higher end of the stipulated percentage range, or a hike of at least $105 to $125, whichever is higher.

A town council cleaner made a startling discovery on Tuesday (Nov 11) morning when he stumbled upon more than 100 e-vaporisers stored in an electrical riser compartment of a HDB block in Tampines.The incident reportedly took place at about 5am at Block 494D Tampines Street 43.Huang Youcai (transliteration), a newspaper vendor, told Shin Min Daily News that he usually starts work at about 2am and was approached by the cleaner at about 5am.According to Huang, 70, he then went to the block where he found a black luggage and a plastic bag containing e-vaporisers stored in the said electrical riser compartment.«I took the items back to my stall and called the police,»  Shin Min quoted him as saying.The report said that the footage taken by Huang shows eight boxes — each containing 10 e-vaporisers — in the luggage, with at least another two boxes in the plastic bag. The police arrived at about 9am and seized the vapes.

Four people were taken to hospital after an accident involving a car and two motorcycles along Whitley Road on Sunday (Nov 9).In a video shared on Facebook page ROADS.sg, a silver car can be seen turning out from an intersection, appearing to attempt to head in the opposite direction as three motorcyclists approach the vehicle.Two of the riders then collide with the car, with one landing on its roof. A third motorcyclist, who was further behind, manages to avoid the crash.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed they were alerted to an accident along Whitley Road towards the PIE at about 8.30am.Two male motorcyclists, aged 33 and 37, and two female pillion riders, aged 21 and 28, were conveyed conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.A 51-year-old male car driver is assisting with investigations. Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:725075]]

Eight men, aged between 23 and 42, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in abetting persons to enter Singapore illegally.The eight foreigners were crew members onboard a foreign-registered tugboat.In a media statement on Tuesday (Nov 11), the police said that the eight men were arrested onboard the tugboat after Police Coast Guard officers mounted an operation at Pulau Punggol Aggregate Terminal (PPAT) on Nov 9.«Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the crew members, a 23-year-old Indonesian man, was believed to have aided unauthorised persons to enter Singapore illegally on October 26, 2025,» police said, without specifying the number of unauthorised persons. According to the police, the unauthorised persons had hidden onboard the tugboat's barge when it was being towed to Singapore. 

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) recorded a $6.34 billion deficit for the financial year (FY) 2024, with a majority of the loss attributed to the building and sales of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats.This amount is down slightly from the record high $6.775 billion housing deficit incurred in FY2023.In a statement on Tuesday (Nov 11), HDB said that $5.51 billion of the deficit stemmed from the sale of flats, expected losses from flats under development, as well as the disbursement of housing grants.HDB explained that it incurs a significant deficit every year as the amount collected from the sale of flats is lower than the total development cost of BTO flats and housing grants disbursed.The $5.51 billion losses include the sale of 14,900 new flats in FY2024, which marked a gross loss of $1.77 billion.Another $2.69 billion of the net deficit was attributed to the provision for the anticipated loss of new housing projects under construction, where about 23,600 flats commenced development in FY2024.

Singapore Pools will absorb transaction fees for all its electronic payment options from Tuesday (Nov 11).In a statement on Nov 11, Singapore Pools said that the move follows its reviews with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), their partner banks, and NETS.«They included a review of existing contracts with our partner banks and NETS that allow the recovery of processing costs charged by our partners for services related to PayNow and NETS,» said Singapore Pools. «As a result, Singapore Pools will absorb the transaction fees for PayNow as well as other e-payment options including FAST and NETS.»Singapore’s sole legal gaming operator added that they will be working with their partners to absorb the eNETS transaction fees.«As significant system and operational changes are required, eNETS payments will be temporarily suspended until further notice,» added Singapore Pools. The announcement was welcomed by the ABS. "PayNow provides a secure and easy-to-use e-payment method that Singaporeans use everyday. 

SINGAPORE - Two vessels, including one ferry carrying 165 passengers from Batam to Singapore, collided in the city-state’s waters on Nov 10, Indonesian media reported. The Singapore-bound MV Horizon 9, which also had seven crew members on board, collided with the LA Digue, a Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker in Singapore’s waters, Batam News reported, citing Batam’s port authority KSOP, which said it received a report of the collision at about 7.30pm (Singapore time). All passengers and crew from both ships were safely evacuated to HarbourFront Terminal in Singapore, Antara news agency quoted a KSOP official as saying.The bow of the Horizon 9 suffered damage, Antara said, citing KSOP. The ferry reportedly departed Batam at around 3.30pm in Indonesia.Investigations are ongoing to find out the cause of the accident and potential environmental impact, said the KSOP, adding that it was communicating with the passenger ferry’s operator Horizon Ferry and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

A man started feeling unwell while working on a 30-metre-high tower crane at a construction site in Katong and was unable to climb down on his own.He was then rescued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).At about 5.30pm on Monday (Nov 10), SCDF firefighters and rescuers from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) responded to the incident which occurred along Thiam Siew Avenue.Four Dart rescuers and two SCDF firefighters used a cat ladder to climb up the crane and get to the worker, who was inside the crane cabin. The rescuers provided him with water and administered oxygen. They also set up height lowering equipment before securing the worker onto a stretcher and lowering him to the ground. He was accompanied by one of the rescuers — who was attached to the stretcher to ensure the man's safety.The worker was assessed by an SCDF paramedic before being taken to Changi General Hospital.

A total of 91 individuals are being investigated for their suspected involvement in unlicensed moneylending activities, with more than half of them alleged to be money mules.The suspects, aged between 16 and 77, are being probed following an operation that took place from Oct 27 to 31 — during which officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Police land divisions conducted raids islandwide, said the police on Monday (Nov 10).Preliminary investigations revealed that 10 of these people had allegedly harassed debtors at their residences, while 29 of them are believed to have assisted in unlicensed moneylending activities by carrying out ATM transfers.The remaining 52 individuals are suspected to have facilitated unlicensed moneylending activity by opening bank accounts as well as providing their ATM cards, Personal Identification Numbers and/or Internet Banking tokens.Investigations against all 91 individuals are ongoing.