Singaporean child sex offender Amos Yee is facing deportation from the US to Singapore after being paroled while serving a six-year jail term for child pornography and sexual grooming.Yee, 27, who first rose to notoriety 10 years ago – when he posted an expletive-laden video four days after the death of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew – was released from the Danville Correctional Center in Illinois on Nov 20.A notification from the Victim Information and Notification Everyday, or VINE, service at 7.14am Illinois time (9.14pm Singapore time) said Yee was let out of prison.He was originally supposed to be released on Nov 7, with the service issuing a notification that he had been let out. Not even a minute later, a subsequent notification stated that he was taken into custody again.A post on a blog maintained by his supporters dated some time earlier in the month said his release was delayed as Yee did not have a place to stay that would be located away from children, with the prison needing to find him a halfway house.

At least $6,000 has been lost since October 2025 to scams claiming to have concert tickets to shows by K-pop girl group Blackpink, said the Singapore police.The K-pop group will be staging their Deadline world tour at the National Stadium on Nov 28, 29 and 30.In a statement on Thursday (Nov 20), the police said that there were at least 11 reported cases in which victims bought tickets offered for sales on messaging or social media platforms. These victims had responded to offers for the sale of concert tickets on platforms such as Carousell, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, TikTok and Xiaohongshu. Scammers would then provide screenshots or videos of fake tickets or receipts to convince victims that the tickets were authentic.They would also claim that ticket sales were time-sensitive or limited in quantity and promise to deliver the tickets after payment were made.When the victims told the scammers that they did not receive their concert tickets, the scammers would ask for additional payment, claiming that the initial payment was not received.

Water with a milky appearance allegedly seen flowing from multiple taps in Waterway Point on Wednesday (Nov 19) was possibly a result of maintenance works on the water valves, a spokesperson for the mall told AsiaOne.Preliminary assessment indicated that fine air bubbles may have affected the clarity of the water.Ealgene Mok, a visitor to the mall in Punggol, had expressed alarm to AsiaOne on Nov 20 at the unusual appearance of the water.«I first noticed the issue after observing that the tap water in the Basement 2 toilets appeared chalky and cloudy. It also had a slightly powdery touch,» said the 40-year-old. Wanting to confirm whether the issue was isolated, she proceeded to the Basement 1 washroom, where she said she observed the same appearance from the taps.«At that time, I spoke with a staff member from a cafe who also happened to be in the washroom,» said Mok. 

Water with a milky appearance was allegedly seen flowing from multiple taps in a mall in Punggol on Wednesday (Nov 19), prompting a visitor to raise her concerns.Speaking to AsiaOne on Nov 20, Ealgene Mok expressed alarm at the unusual appearance of the water at Waterway Point's toilets.«I first noticed the issue after observing that the tap water in the Basement 2 toilets appeared chalky and cloudy. It also had a slightly powdery touch,» said the 40-year-old. Wanting to confirm whether the issue was isolated, she proceeded to the Basement 1 washroom, where she said she observed the same appearance from the taps.«At that time, I spoke with a staff member from a cafe who also happened to be in the washroom,» said Mok. She added that the staff member candidly shared that the cafe's tap had shown a similar chalky appearance since Nov 18. 

An elderly man has been fined $3,000 for repeatedly leaving garbage on his neighbour's air-conditioning unit.The 88-year-old man, Choo Hoe Chiang, was sentenced in court on Thursday (Nov 20) after pleading guilty to one charge of using threatening behaviour under the Protection of Harassment Act, with a second similar charge also taken into consideration.Choo, who lives in a HDB flat at Margaret Drive, was reportedly upset with his neighbour living one floor above on the twelfth storey.The dispute persisted for several months, with Choo leaving bags of rubbish on his neighbour's air-con ledge on 24 separate occasions between Nov 14, 2024 and Aug 28, 2025.Choo would attach plastic bags of garbage to the end of a pole and hoist it upwards to discard on his neighbour's aircon ledge, reported CNA.According to court documents, his neighbour perceived his actions as harassment and even feared for his safety when he removed the rubbish from the ledge each time.District Judge Carol Ling sentenced Choo to a fine of $3,000, failing which he will have to serve a jail term of 10 days.

SINGAPORE — A pre-school teacher has been hauled to court for allegedly ill-treating three children under her care, including force-feeding one child until she vomited.The 36-year-old Singaporean woman, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, was handed three charges under the Children and Young Persons Act on Nov 20.Charge sheets state that the incidents took place in September 2024. The location where the incidents occurred was redacted from court documents.On Sept 23, the teacher allegedly force-fed a 12-month-old child until she vomited, and hit her on her face and back.Two days later, on Sept 25, she allegedly stuffed a bib into an eight-month-old baby's mouth and put a blanket over the child's face.That day, she also allegedly ill-treated a third child, who was 10 months old, by hitting the child on the right hand.She purportedly lifted a bumper chair the child was sitting in and dropped it from knee height.The woman did not indicate a plea when her case was mentioned in court.She was offered bail of $15,000. Her case will be heard again on Dec 18.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has charged a 35-year-old man for allegedly trafficking etomidate e-vaporiser pods, also known as Kpods. The man, identified as Wee Rong Hong Marcus, was charged in court on Thursday (Nov 20). During an enforcement operation at Geylang on Nov 18, HSA officers conducted checks on Wee, who was «vaping and behaving suspiciously», said the agency in a statement on Nov 20.HSA officers found and seized a total of 17 e-vaporisers and pods from Wee, of which 13 pods were meant for sale. Laboratory testing confirmed that the seized pods contained etomidate. Investigations are ongoing and the case has been adjourned to Dec 18. HSA said that it takes a serious view of e-vaporiser and etomidate trafficking offences. Importers, sellers and distributors of etomidate e-vaporisers now face stiffer penalties. If convicted, importers can be jailed for three to 20 years and receive five to 15 strokes of the cane, while sellers and distributors can be jailed for two to 10 years and receive two to five strokes of the cane. 

SINGAPORE — Two women accused of shoplifting at different Sheng Siong outlets in unrelated incidents were each handed a theft charge on Nov 20.Catherine Tan Li Eng, 50, and Leong Seek Yuen, 45, were allegedly identified through the supermarket chain's facial recognition CCTV technology.In a statement on Nov 19, the police said that Tan allegedly stole three bottles of red wine worth around $86 from a Sheng Siong outlet in Punggol Central on Sept 11.A store manager immediately recognised her following an alert from its facial recognition CCTV technology.The police added that Tan was then detained while she was attempting to leave without paying. She was arrested soon after.A police spokesperson added: «Further investigations revealed that the woman was also allegedly involved in earlier cases of shop theft at the same outlet.»Court documents stated that Tan allegedly stole 19 bottles of red wine worth nearly $556 in total from the outlet between Sept 2 and 11.

The police are seeking information on a 15-year-old girl who has been reported missing since Nov 12.Police appealed today (Nov 20) for information on the whereabouts of Fyetrisha Amelia Mohamed Farmi, who was last seen at block 365B Upper Serangoon Road.In their appeal, the police said that anyone with information can contact their hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at police.gov.sg/i-witness.All information would be kept strictly confidential, said the police.[[nid:724420]]editor@asiaone.com 

A father of three young children died last week after an accident along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), leaving behind his grieving wife and kids under the age of five.Mohamad Syddyq Mohammad Ramlan, 27, had been riding his motorcycle to work at about 10.25am on Nov 10 when a car hit him on the expressway towards Changi Airport.He later succumbed to his injuries at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force.In a Facebook post the next day, Syddyq’s wife Eyzra Nadyrra said that her husband had left her and their three young daughters “far too soon”.“I still can’t believe you are gone,” she said. “Thank you for loving us deeply, for being the best husband and father. You’ll always live in our hearts, and I promise to stay strong for our girls, just like you would have wanted.”The police said that the 31-year-old car driver involved in the accident was arrested for driving without reasonable consideration and causing death.

Two men have been arrested for their suspected involvement in a series of phishing scams targeting WhatsApp users, the police said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 19). The police had received several reports in October 2025 of victims receiving unsolicited SMSes, informing them of issues with their WhatsApp account due to a prolonged lack of verification. Victims would then be prompted to verify their accounts through a phishing link leading to a fake WhatsApp page. After entering their mobile number and verification code on the webpage, their WhatsApp account would be taken over by scammers, who would send fraudulent loan requests to the victims' contacts. Victims would only realise 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 on the fraudulent loan requests. One victim that fell prey to this scam variant suffered a total loss amounting to about $1,823, said the police. 

SINGAPORE — The general manager of a Tuas incineration plant (TIP) has been fined $145,000 after a 2021 explosion led to the death of two employees.On Nov 20, Ng Wah Yong, 56, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.This comes just two days after Ng's employer, the National Environmental Agency (NEA), was fined $230,000 on Nov 18 for safety lapses in the 2021 Tuas Incineration Plant explosion.Another NEA officer, Christopher Lee Yew Binn, 50, divisional director of the waste infrastructure operations and management division of NEA at the time, is scheduled to undergo a pre-trial conference on Nov 28.Lee also faces a single, similar charge to Ng.The court heard on Nov 20 that Ng had been appointed general manager of the TIP sometime in 2018, and his duties include overseeing the safety and health of employees at the plant and safety at the workplace.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has defended Singapore’s stance on combating money laundering amid a series of high-profile cases in the county.At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum Gala Dinner on Wednesday (Nov 19), PM Wong was questioned if Singapore’s «big push to lure» wealthy foreigners might unintentionally attract those who seek to park their ill-gotten gains in the country.This comes after 10 foreigners were arrested in 2023 in a $3 billion money laundering probe, and most recently in October this year when the police seized more than $150 million in assets linked to Prince Holding Group and its founder Chen Zhi.The 38-year-old was charged in the United States for allegedly masterminding a massive cryptocurrency scam that involved forced labour camps in Cambodia.«We do have quite a big fly swatter,» said PM Wong at the event in Clifford Pier.He was responding to a question from Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait on «how many flies can Singapore tolerate».

A 55-year-old man was charged in court on Wednesday (Nov 19) for allegedly importing e-vaporisers and related components into Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint.Lai Mun Leong was caught on Nov 17.In a media statement on Wednesday, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said that 2,380 e-vaporisers and related components were found by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers in the Singapore-registered car driven by Lai. He was referred to HSA and arrested.

Instead of a bed, an elderly man slept on stacked sheets of newspaper for over 10 years.Volunteers from Keeping Hope Alive recently stepped in to help clean up and refresh the cluttered rental flat in Clementi when the 76-year-old man was hospitalised, ensuring that he had a clean, safe space to return to, according to MustShareNews.The volunteer initiative revealed in a Facebook post on Nov 11 that the flat had no furniture — only newspapers which covered every inch of the floor and stacked chest-high.Also, the volunteers realised that he had been stashing cash in the pile, and they managed to pick them out, digging deep into the rubbish.«Uncle had been sleeping on newspapers for over a decade. When they got dirty, he simply laid fresh ones on top. Layer after layer, year after year,» it wrote.Photos shared in the post show piles of newspapers and sundries in the flat.

Singapore's triumphant football team returned home on Wednesday (Nov 19) after making local football history in qualifying for the Asian Cup on merit.Ahead of their scheduled 4.30pm touch down, a smattering of supporters dotted the arrival hall of Changi Airport's Terminal 2, bearing clappers and placards of cheer and encouragement.Banners were then handed out to the crowd, which swelled to some 100, before the Lions squad walked out to rousing screams and shouts at about 5.30pm.The team sung a birthday song for captain Hariss Harun — who turns 35 on Wednesday — before launching into a deafening cheer which continued as players walked down the barricades to greet eager fans, occasionally stopping for pictures.

A 19-year-old Singaporean student has been praised online for volunteering at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH). In a Facebook post on Monday (Nov 17), SKH wrote: «Most students spend their nights studying or sleeping. Justin Tan spends his volunteering at SKH from 9pm to 6am.» Justin has been volunteering as a 'night watcher' at the hospital since 2023, the post said. SKH wrote: «'Medical dramas got me interested initially, but I wanted to see what healthcare actually looks like,' said Justin. So he signed up to be a 'night watcher' — helping nurses with patient care, running lab samples, and keeping an eye on patient safety during the quiet hours.» 

Singapore needs to remain «cautiously optimistic» and adjust its current economic strategies to ensure that it is well-positioned for the future, said Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow.Speaking on the sidelines of a closed-door engagement session between Economic Strategy Review (ESR) members and business leaders on Wednesday (Nov 19), Siow told the media that the conditions for Singapore's success have «fundamentally changed».Amid a global shift that has led to less free trade and intensified competition between economies, the ESR and its five committees are working to recalibrate Singapore's economic strategies and double down on those that may not work anymore, said Siow.In particular, the committee on global competitiveness, which Siow co-chairs, is focused on developing strategies to strengthen Singapore's value proposition as an investment destination.To do so, Singapore is working with its MNC partners, such as Applied Materials and GSK, to bring in more value-added projects that are «on the frontier of their businesses».